Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor-Chapter 1014: Doubt

When Huang Miao’s team laid out the cultivation resources they had gathered on the stone platform, it sparked a wave of amazement among the thousands of disciples in the square, many of whom had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Even Ren Jingbo and the other high-ranking officials of Bitao Martial Academy exchanged glances with each other, finding it somewhat hard to believe.

One must know that Huang Miao’s team was composed of three Inner Court disciples, one External Courtyard disciple, and one menial servant disciple. Such a cultivation team, in terms of overall strength, could only be considered average among the hundreds of teams that had ventured into the mountains.

Yet it was this very team that nobody had high hopes for that reaped a bountiful harvest on this mountain venture, securing the impressive rank of third place, so it was no wonder that it aroused everyone’s surprise and bewilderment.

"Huang Miao, how did you get so many antelope horns?"

After carefully examining the antelope horns, Ren Jingbo couldn’t help but ask in amazement.

If they had obtained a pair of antelope horns, it could be explained as good luck, but to suddenly obtain dozens of pairs, it could no longer be attributed merely to luck. Ren Jingbo, like everyone else present, was filled with curiosity and wanted to understand clearly.

"It went like this..."

Huang Miao told Ren Jingbo the story of how her team encountered an attack from a group of Antlered Silver Lions, took refuge in the Stone Forest, and came out to find the group of lions dead.

These words had all been told to Huang Miao by Fang Bai, and now Huang Miao was merely recounting them.

After listening, Ren Jingbo and the high-ranking officials of the Martial Academy looked at each other, all with complex expressions.

Dozens of Antlered Silver Lions, three to four hundred years old, with formidable attack power, could not possibly be killed by a Desolate Level Martial Artist. Unless, while Huang Miao and others took refuge in the Stone Forest, a Vast Level Expert intervened, killing those dozens of Antlered Silver Lions.

In the True Martial Realm, where there were many martial artists, it was not unusual for disciples of prominent clans and loose cultivators to engage in cultivation experiences all year round. Thus, the possibility of a Vast Level Expert appearing in the Bitao Mountain Range was not strange.

However, what puzzled Ren Jingbo and others was that Vast Level Experts usually held themselves above others, even dismissing Desolate Level Martial Artists. Why would they intervene to help Huang Miao and her team?

Moreover, having killed dozens of Antlered Silver Lions, why didn’t the Vast Level Expert take the most valuable antelope horns with them? Why leave them behind, giving Huang Miao’s team such a windfall?

"Could it be that the Vast Level Expert noticed Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing had Innate Spiritual Roots, and did this as a favor, wishing to take them as disciples?"

Ren Jingbo suddenly thought of this possibility, his eyelids twitching rapidly as he turned his gaze nervously towards Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing, asking, "On your journey into the mountains, did you encounter any strangers?"

While the True Martial Realm had many martial artists, Innate Spiritual Roots were so rare that they might only appear once in a million people. As such, they were coveted by the major sects and prominent clans. Both Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing possessed Innate Spiritual Roots, especially Fang Bai, who had a Dual Attribute Innate Spiritual Root. If nurtured properly, he might have a future prospect of becoming a Pharmacist.

If a Vast Level Expert came across Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing, they might be tempted by their extraordinary talents, showing favor first and then trying to win them over. Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing were young and guileless, likely unable to resist the temptation of a Vast Level Expert.

If the two were to leave Bitao Martial Academy, it would be a tremendous loss for the academy.

Of course, all of these were nothing more than Ren Jingbo’s speculations.

But Ren Jingbo felt uneasy and still wanted to ask them clearly.

Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing had no idea Ren Jingbo was thinking so much. They looked at each other and shook their heads in unison, saying, "No."

"Really none at all?"

Ren Jingbo couldn’t help but to ask again.

"There’s really none!"

Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing still shook their heads.

"That’s good... that’s good..."

Seeing that Fang Bai and Liu Qingqing did not seem to be lying, Ren Jingbo secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his face regaining its smile.

"Perhaps I was overthinking it. Maybe a Vast Level Expert just happened to pass by Huang Miao and the others’ hiding place in the Stone Forest and ended up being attacked by the Antlered Silver Lions, killing them all in a fit of rage? As for why the Vast Level Expert didn’t take the antlers... hmm, probably because those Antlered Silver Lions weren’t mid-tier Spirit Beasts, and the Vast Level Martial Artist didn’t deem them worth the effort!"

Ren Jingbo comforted himself with these thoughts.

Soon, Elder Ge Feng of the Elixir Hall announced the ten teams with the best results in this year’s mountain expedition and publicly revealed their rewards.

To motivate the disciples to diligently cultivate, this year’s rewards included more Cultivation Resources than in previous years, and the opportunity to receive guidance from high-level members of the Martial Academy also increased, causing envy and even jealousy among other disciples.

"May the disciples who received rewards continue to strive and achieve even better results in next year’s expedition! And to those who did not receive any rewards, don’t lose heart, there will be another chance next year..."

Ren Jingbo delivered an impromptu and passionate speech on the spot, inspiring the thousands of disciples assembled in the square.

The Cultivation Resources awarded to the top ten teams would soon be delivered to each member’s residence by disciples assigned by Elder Ge Feng from the Elixir Hall.

As for the opportunity to receive guidance from the Martial Academy’s high-level members, it would be personally assigned by Academy Head Ren Jingbo, who would appoint an Elder. That Elder would then choose the time and gather the awarded disciples for guidance in the Martial Dao.

How much one could comprehend during the guidance depended on the individual.

Some disciples would have a moment of enlightenment after guidance from the high-level members of the Martial Academy and could make breakthroughs in a short time, advancing their strength even further.

While others would be utterly confused, making no progress and squandering the opportunity.

"Following tradition, it is now time for your free challenge period! If any disciple feels that their strength has progressed during the expedition, they may issue a challenge to their peers to prove themselves! Myself and the high-level members of the Martial Academy will serve as your witnesses!"

After Ren Jingbo finished speaking, he and a dozen high-level Martial Academy members turned and walked to a row of stone chairs at the north end of the Stone Platform and sat down.

Every year after the Bitao Martial Academy’s disciples completed their mountain expedition, they could publicly issue challenges to their peers on the stone platform in the square, witnessed by the high-level members of the Academy. For the victorious challengers, it was a great honor.

According to the rules set by the Martial Academy, menial servant disciples would issue challenges first, and the only challengers for them could be the External Courtyard disciples who were just one rank above them.

Of course, if a menial servant disciple defeated the number one ranked External Courtyard disciple, they could earn the right to challenge an even higher-ranked Inner Court disciple.

After the menial servant disciples finished their challenges, it was the External Courtyard disciples’ turn to challenge the Inner Court disciples.

Similarly, if an External Courtyard disciple could defeat the number one ranked Inner Court disciple, they could also go on to challenge a Core Disciple.

However, such cross-rank challenges, though they had happened before, were extremely rare.

After all, it was not common for a disciple to be capable of a cross-rank challenge after just a month of training, unless they had a great fortune or were a heaven-defying talent.