"You little girl, what are you shouting about?"

"This is the Elder Hall. Don't run around wildly. Stay here quietly, understand?"

Guo Hongyun quietly scolded Feng Ling, then glanced at Li Yun, seemingly guessing who brought him, before walking into the Front Courtyard Hall.

Afterward, the Outer Sect Elders arrived one after another.

Ten minutes later.

Li Yun actually saw Hai Fen.

Logically, although Hai Fen belonged to the Outer Sect, he was a Criminal Law Hall Elder, and the matters here had little to do with him.

He couldn't quite figure out why Hai Fen had come.

However, because of the events of last night, Li Yun paused his observation, walked over proactively, and greeted Hai Fen.

To his surprise, Hai Fen's attitude was surprisingly amicable.

"Li Yun, we meet again."

"I heard that the Outer Sect is selecting the Ren Chief Disciple today. I don't need to be on duty at the Disciplinary Hall, so I came over to have a look."

"I reckon the Ren Chief Disciple must be none other than you."

Li Yun quickly replied, "Elder Hai, you flatter me. The matter is not yet settled. How dare this disciple boast that it must be me?"

"Eh, modesty is good, but excessive modesty is arrogance."

"To be honest, I came here specifically because of you today. If a genius like you cannot become the Chief Disciple, who can?"

Hai Fen's words were simply too absolute.

So much so that Feng Ling, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but pout, walking over with a jingle, "Elder, the selection for the Ren Chief Disciple hasn't officially started yet. How can you be so sure it must be Li Yun?"

"Uh..."

Li Yun quickly smiled and said, "Miss Feng Ling, Elder Hai was actually just joking with me. You don't need to take it seriously."

After all, he was a Criminal Law Hall Elder, and he seemed to have a good impression of himself. Naturally, Li Yun couldn't stand by and watch a female disciple openly contradict him, which would damage his dignity.

However, he underestimated Hai Fen's rigidity.

As the most cold-faced Elder in the Disciplinary Hall, Hai Fen was not accustomed to pleasantries or speaking insincere words.

"I was not joking!"

"Li Yun, I came specifically for you today. If a prodigy like you cannot become the Ren Chief Disciple, then this selection is a joke, and there's no need for you to stay in the Outer Sect."

"When the time comes, I will discuss with the Outer Sect Elder Hall about transferring you to the Disciplinary Hall."

"If you join the Disciplinary Hall, you can still cultivation and advance to the Inner Sect, but you will receive greater attention and better resources. You'll just have to set aside some time for law enforcement, but I imagine that shouldn't have too much impact on you."

Li Yun felt his scalp tingle upon hearing this.

He wasn't stupid; he instantly understood that Hai Fen had specifically come today to poach him.

How was he supposed to respond to that?

He estimated that if Zhang Cong were here now, he would probably turn hostile toward Hai Fen on the spot.

"Thank you for your favor, Elder Hai, but..."

"You don't need to say anything more. I understand everything. Just let nature take its course!"

Saying this, Hai Fen patted Li Yun's shoulder and also entered the Front Courtyard Hall.

Feng Ling, standing nearby, was already dumbfounded.

She stared at Li Yun with immense curiosity, sizing him up from head to toe.

"You guy... besides being a bit handsome, I don't see anything special about you. Why does even a Criminal Law Hall Elder favor you so much?"

Li Yun turned his head to look at Feng Ling.

He said seriously, "Actually, I don't quite understand either, just like I don't understand why you wear a pair of bells on your feet..."

Having said that.

Li Yun turned around and walked away, continuing to observe the ancient sword.

Feng Ling was stunned for a moment, wrinkled her nose, and huffed.

"This guy..."

"I refuse to believe it. You can't be that amazing."

Her gaze shifted, and she suddenly noticed something. Following Li Yun's line of sight, confusion appeared on her face: "Why is this guy staring over there? It's just a plaque and an ancient sword. What's so interesting?"

She shook her head but did not approach Li Yun again.

After all, they weren't familiar with each other.

At the same time, several more Outer Sect Elders arrived, accompanied by three young Outer Sect Disciples—two males and one female—all of whom possessed distinguished temperaments and the demeanor of Young Talents.

Needless to say, these three Outer Sect Disciples were definitely also here to compete for the Ren Chief Disciple position.

Feng Ling, who was always lively and outgoing, her eyes lit up, and she proactively walked toward them.

Facing the lively, beautiful, and curvaceous Feng Ling, the two men appeared very attentive, and after the Elder who brought them went into the Front Courtyard Hall, they quickly started chatting.

Li Yun did not join the excitement, mainly because he wasn't interested.

His attention was focused entirely on observing the ancient sword. As time passed, the loading progress of the 【Mountain Suppressing Sword】 had reached 60%.

But this did not prevent him from hearing their conversation.

Through their conversation, Li Yun learned that the three newly arrived Outer Sect Disciples were Xu Jun from Courtyard 02, Mo Yuan from Courtyard 17, and Yang Ru from Courtyard 64.

All three had been designated as the Courtyard Chief Disciple of their respective courtyards by their Martial Arts Deacon, meaning they were all local elites and standouts since entering the sect.

Their conversation clearly exuded strong confidence.

Although they all knew that everyone present was a rival competing for the Ren Chief Disciple position, they firmly believed that the Ren Chief Disciple must be themselves!

"This is truly interesting!"

"It seems the appeal of the Ren Chief Disciple position is quite significant, attracting so many people... It looks like I, Chu Xingyu, am a bit late!"

Suddenly, a voice that was rather playful and carried a hint of arrogance sounded.

Chu Xingyu, the Chief Disciple of Courtyard 01, had already entered the front courtyard with his Maternal Grandfather, Huang Yihe. Standing in the courtyard, his gaze swept over Feng Ling, Yang Ru, Xu Jun, Mo Yuan, and the others, finally settling on Li Yun.

Huang Yihe also glanced at the group, said nothing more, and simply instructed Chu Xingyu: "Wait here."

Then walked toward the Front Courtyard Hall.

Chu Xingyu smiled slightly and said obediently, "Understood, Maternal Grandfather!"

He called him Maternal Grandfather, not Elder.

This was clearly intentional.

Huang Yihe's expression slightly sank, but at a time like this, it was inappropriate to say more, so he left first.

However, that single address of "Maternal Grandfather" caused the expressions of Yang Ru, Xu Jun, and Mo Yuan to turn somewhat unpleasant, and their eyes held a strange hostility toward Chu Xingyu.

After all, they were the type of people in the Heavenly Martial Sect who lacked Foundation and backing.

When it came to Aptitude, they all possessed First-Grade Aptitude and feared no one.

But when it came to background, they were powerless. Especially for something like competing for the Ren Chief Disciple position, they didn't quite believe that the Elder Hall could truly achieve absolute fairness regardless of origin or background.

Chu Xingyu's Maternal Grandfather was an Outer Sect Elder; this was clearly an advantage!

And for the other party to deliberately flaunt this advantage, wasn't that clearly an intentional suppression of them?