Chapter 201: Chapter 198: Discovery of a Spirit Vein, Three Matches

Elder Hall.

Several Elders were seated, and with them was a young man.

"Yinghao, you said you had good news. What is it? Tell us quickly."

Xiang Yinghao, ranked third among the Core Disciples.

He had been traveling and training with two other Core Disciples to temper himself, but this time, he had suddenly returned.

As soon as he was back, he sought out several Elders, claiming to have good news.

"Reporting to the Grand Elder, while First Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister, and I were training outside, we unexpectedly discovered a Spirit Vein!"

"What? Are you serious?"

In an instant, all the Elders were visibly moved.

What was a Spirit Vein? It was the very foundation of a Sect’s survival. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it their lifeblood.

This was because Spirit Stones could be mined from within a Spirit Vein. Moreover, only a Spirit Vein could provide a continuous supply of Spiritual Qi for cultivation.

The Yanyue Sect was a Major Sect with tens of thousands of disciples. The resources required to sustain such a Sect were astronomical.

"Good, good! The Yanyue Sect is in dire need of a Spirit Vein right now. This is wonderful news!"

The Grand Elder broke into a wide, joyous smile.

The Yanyue Sect was currently extremely low on Spirit Stones. According to his calculations, the Sect’s current reserves wouldn’t even last a year.

Without Spirit Stones, how would the disciples cultivate? How would they raise their Cultivation?

"By the way, what Level is this Spirit Vein?"

Spirit Veins came in various sizes, with larger ones being much rarer.

The Yanyue Sect once possessed a large-scale Spirit Vein, but it was now almost completely depleted.

"Reporting to the Grand Elder, it appears to be a small-scale Spirit Vein," Xiang Yinghao said with a cupped-fist salute.

"Small is fine. A small-scale Spirit Vein is enough to sustain our Yanyue Sect for three years," the Grand Elder said.

"With the Yanyue Sect’s current strength, we probably wouldn’t be able to defend a large-scale Spirit Vein even if we found one."

Another Elder gave a wry smile. Without sufficient strength, even a large-scale Spirit Vein would be useless to them.

Once a large-scale Spirit Vein was discovered, other Sects would inevitably move to seize it as soon as they heard the news.

"Yinghao, besides the three of you, does anyone else know about this small Spirit Vein?" the Grand Elder asked.

If anyone else knew, the matter would become troublesome.

Xiang Yinghao’s expression darkened as he replied helplessly, "Aside from the three of us, people from the Fire Cloud Sect also discovered it."

"What? The Fire Cloud Sect again."

All the Elders furrowed their brows. Their relationship with the Fire Cloud Sect had always been like that of fire and water; they would certainly fight for this Spirit Vein.

"Grand Elder, what should we do? Should we try to fight the Fire Cloud Sect for it?"

one Elder asked. Competing with the Fire Cloud Sect for this Spirit Vein required careful consideration.

After all, the Yanyue Sect was not what it used to be. Their strength was far inferior to the Fire Cloud Sect’s, and at their current level, they could hardly contend with them.

The Grand Elder’s eyes glinted. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "We fight! Those bastards from the Fire Cloud Sect have bullied our Yanyue Sect for too long. If we let them have it, they’ll only become more arrogant."

"But if we do fight, I’m afraid the Yanyue Sect’s strength won’t be enough."

"Heh, in terms of overall strength, we are indeed lacking compared to the Fire Cloud Sect. But don’t forget, the Five Great Sects established a rule for matters like competing for a Spirit Vein!"

"I understand. There is indeed such a rule. Grand Elder, are you suggesting we let the younger generation compete for it?"

The other Elders’ eyes lit up as they immediately understood.

The Five Great Sects had once established a rule: if multiple factions discovered a Spirit Vein, its ownership could be decided by a competition between their younger generations.

This rule was also created to reduce casualties.

After all, if two Major Sects both wanted a newly discovered Spirit Vein, the resulting slaughter would be horrific.

This was a scenario none of the Five Great Sects wished to see, which was why they created this rule to decide the ownership of a Spirit Vein through a competition among the younger generation.

This rule had been in effect for over a hundred years. With the Five Great Sects leading by example, no one had ever dared to violate it.

"Honorable Elders, while we can use this rule, we still don’t have an advantage against the Fire Cloud Sect, even among the younger generation, do we?"

Xiang Yinghao frowned. Although he was a top-tier genius, there were only three such individuals in their entire Sect.

The Fire Cloud Sect, on the other hand, had more than ten.

Furthermore, they even had a figure at the Young Giant Level. If someone like that made a move, they would have no chance of winning at all.

"That’s right. We didn’t have an advantage before, but now we have the Ninth Elder," the Grand Elder said with a faint smile.

Although Ning Jiang was an Elder of the Yanyue Sect, the title was merely nominal. Fundamentally, he was still a member of the younger generation.

As long as someone was under thirty, they were considered part of the younger generation, regardless of their status.

"The Ninth Elder? Who’s that?" Xiang Yinghao was stunned, still unaware of the situation.

"You’ll know when you meet him," the Grand Elder said, keeping him in suspense.

A short while later, Ning Jiang was summoned to the Elder Hall.

"What? *He’s* the Ninth Elder?"

Xiang Yinghao was astonished, his face a mask of disbelief. ’Isn’t he a bit too young?’

All of them, the Core Disciples, were over twenty years old, yet Ning Jiang was far younger than any of them.

"Yinghao, do not be rude. The Ninth Elder may be young, but his strength surpasses even yours," the Grand Elder warned.

"For real?" Xiang Yinghao’s face was filled with disbelief.

"Just yesterday, people from the Cyan Splendor Sect came looking for trouble. In the end, it was your Ninth Elder who acted, killing two of their geniuses, Ma Yan and Liang Xiao. I wonder if you’ve heard of them," the Grand Elder said lightly.

"Liang Xiao... It was actually him! His attack power is on par with mine, but he has the edge in speed. Against him, I’d have a thirty percent chance of winning, at best."

Xiang Yinghao sucked in a sharp breath. Among their Core Disciples, the only one who could reliably defeat Liang Xiao was probably their First Senior Brother.

’Ning Jiang actually killed Liang Xiao?’

"Greetings, Ninth Elder."

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Xiang Yinghao greeted him.

Regardless, he had to respect Ning Jiang’s strength.

At all times, the strong are respected.

"Ninth Elder, we’ll have to trouble you to lead the group this time," the Grand Elder said.

"I understand," Ning Jiang nodded.

...

An hour later, Ning Jiang, Xiang Yinghao, Yuan Tao, and the other Core Disciples gathered together.

WHOOSH.

A great wind kicked up.

They were riding on the back of a giant eagle, which the Yanyue Sect had raised from a chick. Its name was the Iron-Winged Eagle.

The Iron-Winged Eagle was powerfully built. Its wingspan was several dozen feet, and its body was covered in blackish-green feathers that glinted like sharp metal in the sunlight. Its talons, curved like iron anchors, looked as if they could easily snatch up a house.

With the resources of the Five Great Sects, it was common for them to raise Demon Beasts.

In truth, with Ning Jiang’s speed, he could have simply used Flying in the Sky to get there himself. However, some of the Core Disciples on this trip had not yet entered the Spirit Realm.

The purpose of bringing them along was for them to witness the events, hoping it would motivate them to train even harder.

"Ninth Elder, be careful on your journey."

As the Elders watched them go, the Iron-Winged Eagle soared into the sky, leaving the Yanyue Sect at an incredible speed.

As for Yue Lianxi, she did not go with them. She needed to stay in the Sect to look after Yue Wenfu.

"Ninth Elder, at the Iron-Winged Eagle’s speed, we should arrive at the Spirit Vein’s location before sunset," said Xiang Yinghao.

"Mm," Ning Jiang nodded. "What are the specific rules for the Spirit Vein competition?"

"According to the rules, the competition is divided into three matches: a test of Willpower, a team battle, and finally, a one-on-one battle. It’s the best of three."

Xiang Yinghao explained, "However, each person can only participate in one match. They can’t compete more than once."

This rule about not competing twice was for the sake of fairness.

Otherwise, what would be the point of the competition if one powerful individual could just sweep all three matches from start to finish?

"The team battle can be left to me, First Senior Brother, and Second Senior Sister," Xiang Yinghao said.

"I’ll give the Willpower battle a try," Yuan Tao volunteered.

In the current situation, he could only bite the bullet and step up. After all, the Yanyue Sect’s pool of talent was dwindling and couldn’t compare to the Fire Cloud Sect’s.

"In that case, I’ll take the one-on-one battle," Ning Jiang nodded.

He was confident he could win the one-on-one battle, but the Willpower battle and the team battle were potential problems.

If they lost those two rounds, it would be over. The one-on-one battle wouldn’t even need to happen.

’I do have some joint Arrays I can teach them when the time comes,’ Ning Jiang thought to himself.

"Ninth Elder, I’ve heard you’re incredibly fast, even faster than Liang Xiao. I’d like to see for myself," Xiang Yinghao said while Ning Jiang was lost in thought.

Although he had heard about Ning Jiang’s speed from others, he had never witnessed it firsthand. He wanted to use this little race to gauge Ning Jiang’s true strength.

"Alright. The finish line is that mountain up ahead. I’ll give you a ten-breath head start."

"Then I won’t be polite."

Xiang Yinghao didn’t dare to be complacent. With a single movement, he transformed into a beam of light and shot forward.

After ten breaths, he was just a black dot, dozens of li away.

"The Ninth Elder is fast, but a ten-breath head start... isn’t that cutting it a bit close?" the other disciples murmured to each other. Xiang Yinghao had flown incredibly far.

SWOOSH.

Just then, Ning Jiang moved. The Heaven-Devouring Sparrow’s Wings unfurled from his back, and in an instant, he vanished from everyone’s sight.

About five breaths later, watching Ning Jiang overtake him and fly on ahead, Xiang Yinghao was completely convinced. "So fast!"

When they returned to the Iron-Winged Eagle’s back, Xiang Yinghao offered a cupped-fist salute and said respectfully, "I hope the Ninth Elder won’t take offense at our little race just now. Yinghao had no intention of being provocative."

"It’s nothing. This is how young people should be—daring to challenge others," Ning Jiang said calmly.

Xiang Yinghao was taken aback. He was a good seven or eight years older than Ning Jiang, yet Ning Jiang’s tone carried a world-weariness, as if he were someone who had lived through countless ages.

"The Ninth Elder jests. Aren’t you a young man yourself?" Xiang Yinghao shook his head. ’It must be my imagination.’

Ning Jiang just smiled and said nothing. The secret of what happened a hundred thousand years ago was one he could only keep buried in his heart.

"Ninth Elder, we’re here."

Before sunset, they had finally arrived at their destination.