A Chaotic World

"So have I proven myself with this?" Lu Tianzi smirked as he asked Nancheng Wei.

He had not forgotten the fact that this Nancheng Wei was the main reason for all this trouble, so Lu Tianzi naturally had to go through him to put an end to this.

"D-Don't be too full of yourself!" Nancheng Wei stuttered a little as he tried to find the words to say next.

Lu Tianzi's display was truly too dazzling, such that even Nancheng Wei had been shocked. Had Lu Tianzi not addressed him directly this time, Nancheng Wei might still have been in a daze.

"I am too full of myself?" Lu Tianzi was starting to lose his patience. "I challenged the Iron Soldiers Combat Array at one difficulty level higher than yours, and even then I lasted longer than you. Yet now you actually claim that I am being full of myself?"

"So what if you managed to beat me?" Nancheng Wei retorted. "After all, you are still only at the Essence Building realm. As for the current Inner Sect members, all of them have already reached the Essence Condensation realm. When senior apprentice sister Nanlan Qianxue was at your age, she had already managed to break through to the Essence Condensation realm. Yet even she had to go through the official selection test to enter the sect when she first joined. Just what makes you so special that you are entitled to enjoy such special privileges?"

"Enough!" Elder Diansheng roared from behind, causing everyone to jump in fright.

Just like the others, Lu Tianzi was startled by the sudden shout. In fact, he was even more affected than the others.

When Lu Tianzi was still challenging the Iron Solders Combat Array, even though it looked simple from the outside, he had to really concentrate in order to achieve what he had done. Thus, he had not spread out his perception to observe his surroundings, and as a result never noticed Elder Diansheng's arrival.

The sudden appearance of an Origin Core realm demon martial artist was still something that Lu Tianzi would subconsciously get nervous about. Of course, he took care not to show any of that outwardly.

"Are you treating me as invisible right now?" Elder Diansheng was obviously displeased about the current situation as he yelled at Nancheng Wei.

"I don't dare to!" Nancheng Wei trembled as he knelt down in shock.

What a joke!

How would Nancheng Wei ever dare to challenge Elder Diansheng, regardless of whether it was something he had said or done?

Elder Diansheng was a part of the upper echelons of the sect while he was just one of the many Outer Sect members.

This difference in status was already staggering enough.

But even if their respective statuses could be disregarded, Elder Diansheng was an Origin Core realm martial artist!

If Elder Diansheng wanted to, snuffing out his life could be as easy as a snap of the fingers.

And even if he truly did so, given Elder Diansheng's status, who would be willing to stand up for a mere Outer Sect member to pin a huge blame onto the Elder?

That much was obvious to everyone, and Nancheng Wei clearly understood it as well.

Elder Diansheng glared at Nancheng Wei as he continued to spit out angrily, "The benefits given to him that you explicitly call special privileges were all decided upon by the elders of the sect. Coincidentally, I am one of these elders as well! By doubting his right to the benefits, it is equivalent to you blatantly doubting my authority as an elder! Who do you think you are to do that?"

Hearing Elder Diansheng yell at him, Nancheng Wei could only clasp his fists up high towards Elder Diansheng, at the same time looking down in fear.

"I have learnt my mistake! I am willing to accept any punishment meted out by Elder Diansheng!" Nancheng Wei called out while still staring at the ground.

"Don't think that I am unaware of what happened here," Elder Diansheng added. "To think you are even the one who decided on the competition! Nanlu Tianzi beat you fair and square despite possessing a lower cultivation level, yet here you are whining about it after losing. All of this is a result of your martial heart being too weak to resist the waves of jealousy. For the next month, you are to accumulate double the contribution point requirement, and you will not be given any beast cores during the regular distribution either!"

"I accept the punishment!" Nancheng Wei hurriedly answered.

The punishment this time could be considered rather light, and he was definitely grateful for it. It seemed that despite his harsh words, Elder Diansheng did not truly feel that Nancheng Wei had challenged the authority of the elders.

"As for you…" Elder Diansheng turned towards Lu Tianzi, causing the latter to nervously swallow a mouthful of saliva.

Even though Lu Tianzi did not believe that he had done anything wrong, he was after all still unclear on the rules of the Nine Suns Sect.

Who knew if there were any rules about sect members not being allowed to bet with each other or something along the lines?

"I believe that by now, you should have heard that in five days' time, there will be a separate selection test held for you?" Elder Diansheng asked.

"Yes, I have heard about it, but I did not know that it will be held five days from now," Lu Tianzi admitted.

"I see, but you don't have to worry about the test anymore. Now that I have seen what you are capable of, with my authority as an elder of the Nine Suns Sect, I hereby exempt you from the need for the selection test!" Elder Diansheng deliberately raised his voice, announcing it loudly to everyone present. "I shall officially ask you one final time. This is also your last chance if you wish to change your mind. Are you, Nanlu Tianzi, willing to join the Nine Suns Sect and strive for its glory alongside the rest of us?"

Lu Tianzi widened his eyes before kneeling down before Elder Diansheng in respect.

"This one is willing to join the Nine Suns Sect!" Lu Tianzi shouted out.

"Then I, Nanhe Diansheng of the Nine Suns Sect, hereby declare that from this day onwards, Nanlu Tianzi shall be part of the Nine Suns Sect!" Elder Diansheng roared, his voice travelling out to cover almost the entire Outer Sect Grounds.

"Thank you, Elder Diansheng!" Lu Tianzi answered with vigour.

"Nanqing Haowen," Elder Diansheng called out. "Arrange for Nanlu Tianzi's accommodation and to collect his sect robes."

"Yes, Elder!" Nanqing Haowen stepped forward as soon as he was mentioned.

"As for the rest of you, you better not have any funny ideas towards this fellow sect member of yours!" Elder Diansheng swept his gaze across the rest of the crowd. "If I find out that any of you have the audacity to move against your own sect members, don't blame me for meting out a harsh punishment!"

"Yes, Elder!" the rest answered immediately.

Elder Diansheng cast one last look at Lu Tianzi and nodded in satisfaction before leaving, while Lu Tianzi sent him off with an appreciative gaze.

Lu Tianzi understood that there was no need for Elder Diansheng to go out of his way to do what he just did.

Since the elders had already decided on the date of the separate selection test, Elder Diansheng could simply have waited a few days for Lu Tianzi to join officially.

Lu Tianzi was confident that at the time, he would definitely pass the test and become part of the Nine Suns Sect.

However, by choosing to decisively induct Lu Tianzi into the sect at this very moment, it was clear that Elder Diansheng was trying to send a clear message to these other sect members, especially since they were obviously doubting Lu Tianzi's right to the benefits he had been given.

It was as though he was outrightly telling them to back off and stop making things difficult for Lu Tianzi!

Seeing through Elder Diansheng's thoughts, it was no wonder that Lu Tianzi would start to feel a sense of appreciation for this Elder whom he had never met beforehand.

"Hurry and get up, Brother Nanlu," Nanqing Haowen was all smiles as he stepped forward to help Lu Tianzi up from the ground. "I have an Elder's orders to carry out!"

"Indeed," Lu Tianzi nodded. "Let's go!"

Nancheng Wei could only grit his teeth in frustration as he stared at the backs of the leaving duo.

In the end, instead of achieving his original goal, Nancheng Wei had ended up as the one who was humiliated. Not just that, but he was even being punished for it!

How could he just take this lying down?

After spending years in the Nine Suns Sect, he had his own connections within the sect as well.

Even though he had no way of going against Elder Diansheng, as for Lu Tianzi who was just a fellow Outer Sect member, Nancheng Wei did not believe that there would not be ways to make things difficult for him!

Just wait and see!

Nancheng Wei sneered in contempt as his eyes blazed with a hidden rage within.

---

It did not take long before Lu Tianzi received his sect robes and personal accommodation.

As a newly joined member of the Nine Suns Sect, he was naturally inducted as an Outer Sect member, and had his own allocated accommodation located in the Outer Sect Grounds.

It was a simple house with a small courtyard, and was even less furnished than the guest accommodation that he had been staying at previously.

However, one thing made Lu Tianzi appreciate it even more than the guest accommodation was that there was a concealing formation set in place, hiding whatever happened within the accommodation from prying eyes.

While it would not be too difficult for most martial artists to pierce their perception through the simple concealing formation, any such attempts would be instantly detected by Lu Tianzi, and thus he would be able to react in time.

It was not just for his accommodation, but other sect members' accommodations were the same. This was the sect's consideration for the fact that all martial artists had their own secrets. Even among fellow sect members, it was best to maintain some level of privacy.

What this meant was that Lu Tianzi was now able to freely cultivate his Spiritual Essence system without the need to worry about any spying eyes, so he was naturally grateful for it.

Along with his sect robes and accommodation, Lu Tianzi also received a low ranked beast core from the sect. This was part of the sect's regular resource distribution that sect members were entitled to.

Since he had only just joined, all he was entitled to was a single low ranked beast core.

Unfortunately, by the time everything was done, Lu Tianzi no longer had the time to go check out the Pagoda of Knowledge.

The day before, he had already promised Inscription Master Nanbai that he would head on over to the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower at noon.

At the same time, Nanqing Haowen's newly inscribed Darkwater Grape would be available for collection as well, so he had asked Lu Tianzi to collect it in his stead since Lu Tianzi was making the trip anyway.

But even though he was unable to make time for the Pagoda of Knowledge right now, Lu Tianzi was not too disappointed.

After all, the Pagoda of Knowledge would always be there, and he would be able to enter any time he wanted.

In comparison to the Pagoda of Knowledge, the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower similarly provided a whole new range of unknown possibilities waiting for him to discover!

The only bad thing about it was that Lu Tianzi would have to work for it. But considering the pros and cons, this was still quite a worthwhile trade!

Thus with much excitement in his heart, Lu Tianzi left for the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, ready to begin his first day at work as an Inscription Assistant!