Chapter 35: The Search
Soon after James and Noel left the beautiful area they had spent their first time in they appeared back at the arena for the Outer Disciple exam. Noel was still under the idea that the exam was now over since James had made it to the platform but that was all but proven wrong when the first thing she saw when they arrived was the angry and worried faces of the elders.
"Outer Disciple James! So that's where you have been!" First Elder said in happiness when he spotted James with Noel.
"What are you talking about? Why do all of you seem so worried?" James asked in confusion when he saw not only First Elder but Third Elder looking happy as well now that they had spotted him.
"Well, we thought you had been kidnapped! The exam isn't over yet and you disappeared before we even got here so we assumed something terrible must have happened." First Elder explained shocking James.
"Not over? What do you mean by that?" Noel spoke up this time not understanding the situation fully. From what she understood the only goal the group should have had is to make it to the center of the forest.
"What he's talking about is the new addition we made so the elders can spot some promising disciples making it up the ladder. At the end of every Outer Disciple exam we now have all of the people that passed the exam face each other in a huge match to see who's the strongest." Second Elder said as he appeared beside First Elder.
"What would be the reason he should participate in that? I don't see any upside for James when he could just be taught by me." Noel explained angrily as she didn't understand why it seemed like Second Elder was refusing James' lack of participation.
"Well, the winner of this also gains one of the three spots in the disciple tournament coming within the next few months. It's a tournament where all the sects in the surrounding area come together and sees who's the strongest within the region in addition to a powerful artifact which will be given to you by the Patriarch." First Elder explained trying to show the bright side of the situation even though he also thought James didn't need to fight.
When Noel heard this she was slightly surprised that the Patriarch would offer an artifact for something like this but she didn't say anything further and smiled at James beside her basically saying whatever he chose was fine with her.
In James' mind, he had no reason to hide how strong he was much less turn down the opportunity to win a powerful artifact so there was only one answer, "Sounds good to me. When do we begin?" James asked with a grin.
Noel was happy to hear this as well as First Elder while Second Elder had a slightly shocked face when he heard James' response, 'We will see how much you're smiling after he's done with you.' Second Elder thought to himself in anger.
"The tournament will begin when the duration for the exam is over so you still have a day to prepare in advance. Sorry again for Second Elder's behavior, he isn't always like this with disciples but for some reason, he seems hell-bent on giving you a hard time." First Elder said with a sigh to James as Second Elder left the scene clearly not in a good mood.
"It's fine we will be prepared for anything he has in store for us." James said with confidence as he looked lovingly toward Noel who also did the same back. First Elder was by no means dumb and clearly saw that the rumors he had been hearing from the disciples were true.
As shocked as he was First Elder had no intentions of telling anyone and simply smiled happy to see that the boy that looked so broken at his home weeks ago was now finding some semblance of happiness, "I understand now, well I wish you luck tomorrow. I will be sure to cheer for you." First Elder said with a smile before taking his leave.
"He's one of the few I wouldn't kill without so much as a thought." Noel said thoughtfully as the two sat down in the bleachers of the arena.
At this thought, James laughed as he couldn't find a way to refute her, "I agree, I like him a lot more than some of the others." Normally people would be scared and even terrified by what Noel had just said about killing elders of such a big sect.
However, neither Noel nor James were normal as their love had already begun to run so deep that they would do anything for each other and they could accept anything the other did no matter how insane it might be.
After they had sex they hadn't realized the changes in their bodies. While Noel and James hadn't gone up in rank meaning their supply of Qi hadn't grown but the purity of it was now on another level. Noel's Dantian had officially fully been consumed by the black Qi leaving her heart to only belong to James and his heart now belonged to her as well as Cara.
While Noel's mental sea had yet to be touched by the black Qi it was only a matter of time before James became powerful enough that he created a mental sea for his Qi to enter and discover with everyone he had infected so far.
*****
Miles away from the entrance of the sect there was a lone girl standing on a mountain looking toward the sect with a familial look. She looked at the place with a fondness before jumping off the cliff landing feet first on the ground below with no injuries and only a crater of damage below her, 'I'm back!~' The girl thought in her mind with happiness before she shot off toward the sect.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone