and her intuition that he might be the one for her had proven to be right. A pity that he chose to be the assistant of Hao Ying instead of following her.

But there was no longer any need for Hao Ying. Having triggered a response in the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, Liang Shao Yang was immediately elevated into the top position among disciples, his path in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect looking to be paved with success and fame. No one would be able to stop his climb upward.

Even as everyone continued to watch him enviously, Liang Shao Yang ignored their gazes and continued to quietly commune with the Spirit Engraved Pillar for a long while. After minutes had passed, he finally opened his eyes. Initially, he seemed dazed, but then he finally understood what was going on. With a cold smile, he rose to his feet confidently and turned to sweep his steely gaze over the crowd, the sect leader, the sect mistress and the elders.

That bastard..

I was suddenly aware of the reason for the triumphant smile. The guy had planned everything. The timing was too perfect, too coincidental. Liang Shao Yang wouldn't have murdered Hao Ying if he wasn't confident that he would be able to trigger a response in the Spirit Engraved Pillars. He must have realized that he was coming close to comprehending the intricate mysteries behind the arcane pictures after over three months of meditating and communing with the Nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, and chose his timing very carefully.

For, the moment he became an inner sect disciple and gain recognition for triggering a response from the Spirit Engraved Pillars..

"Hurry and greet the sect leader, the sect mistress and the great elders," Elder Tong Pan whispered hastly to the smiling Liang Shao Yang. He nodded and cupped his hands respectfully, all the arrogance from earlier erased.

"Greetings, Sect Leader, Sect Mistress, and Elders.."

"Let's skip the formalities," Zi Shou De interrupted with an impatient wave of his hand. He grinned as he approached Liang Shao Yang enthusiastically. "What have you learned from the Spirit Engraved Pillar?"

"A single Spirit Engraving..the Divine Demon Seal." Liang Shao Yang paused as he tried to recall more details from his communion, then he shook his head. "I apologize. I have yet to reach a deep enough comprehension.."

"That is fine, that is fine!" Zi Shou De brightened up, delighted. "The Divine Demon Seal! Impressive! Excellent! From today onward, you're an inner sect disciple. We'll make arrangements for you to move into the core of the sect!"

"Thank you very much."

Liang Shao Yang bowed respectfully. I wondered how much of it was an act, and how much of it was genuine.

Nodding in satisfaction, Zi Shou De turned toward his wife and the elders.

"Our Nine-Tailed Fox Sect has been truly blessed by the Heavens indeed! In just ten years, two prodigies have appeared in the sect! This is a sign that we'll prosper and grow stronger! Spread the news and tell every major sect in the Great Zhou Empire that we have another genius who has shown up within our ranks!"

"Dear, don't get too excited."

Despite the reprimand, Zi Da Ji's eyes were shining just as excitedly as her husband's. Zi Shou De laughed.

"Of course, my beloved. But this is truly an occasion to brag about! Who cares about the Five Star Constitution Bai Ning Xue in the White Tiger Sect? Now we have two prodigies!"

Zi Da Ji continued to smile, but she said nothing. She was not the only one who was delighted by the news. The elders, the masters and all the disciples were all bathing Liang Shao Yang in gazes of admiration and jealousy.

"Follow us to the Flame Volcano immediately," Zi Shou De instructed Liang Shao Yang, who was still acting modest. "We'll need to speak about this, as well as expand on what you've learned from the Spirit Engraved Pillar."

"Understood. I shall obey Sect Leader." Liang Shao Yang nodded deferentially. "I look forward to your teachings."

"Of course, of course. You deserve every bit of it." Zi Shou De's smile expanded further, and then he swept another gaze across the gathered crowd. "Any outer sect disciple who attains enlightenment from any of the Spirit Engraved Pillars shall immediately be promoted to an inner sect disciple! Our sect will spare no resources and do our best to nurture them!"

Even though they were already aware of that, the outer sect disciples couldn't help but turned to stare at the Spirit Engraved Pillars, their longing intensified. If only it would be that easy. I shook my head, knowing the odds of another prodigy appearing would be near zero.

If you would just place your hand on these pillars..if you would just open your heart to them, you'll be able to immediately understand them. You're similar to the spirits imprisoned within these tombs, little friend. If it's you, you'll surely..

I cut off the insidious voice that whispered directly to my mind. The malevolent entity was still lurking, tethered to its abysmal cage beneath the floating platform. It had found me and was whispering seductively in hopes of convincing me to let down my guard, commune with the Spirit Engraved Pillars aand in doing so become an unwitting host to it.

Like hell I would do something as stupid as that. As much as I desired power, it would be pointless if I lost my physical body and became a slave in the process.

But still, I had to hand it to Liang Shao Yang. That was one heck of a stunt he pulled. He really had impeccable timing, having planned everything out from the very beginning. As I suspected, he probably wouldn't have dared to boldly assassinate a senior from the sect if he didn't have the confidence to decipher the Spirit Engravings on the pillars shortly.

And he was rewarded for it..

I nodded grudgingly in respect. As much as I hated him, I had to acknowledge his strength and cunning. To achieve enlightenment and capture the spotlight in front of every disciple, master and elder in the sect, and receive praise personally from the sect leader..nobody but he could pull it off. Well, if someone else could trigger a response from the Spirit Engraved Pillars, he would too, but the chances of that happening were near zero. I could try, but I probably would end up triggering the worst response possible – unleashing the malevolent entity imprisoned beneath the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars and becoming his host.

The bastard probably would massacre everyone in sight, including my friends in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. I absolutely couldn't allow that to happen. While I toyed with the idea of trying that out so that I could kill Liang Shao Yang, it would be meaningless if I ended up killing everyone else as well.

Resisting the urge to sigh, I watched resentfully as Sect Leader Zi Shou De, his wife Da Ji, and the six great elders personally led Liang Shao Yang up the volcano. Most likely they would discuss what he had learned from his communion with the Spirit Engraved Pillar. Everyone else who had remained behind to surround the platform were now animated chatting with each other, their voices filled with envy and awe.

"You guys, come with me," Elder Zhao suddenly spoke up, addressing the motley group of me and my friends.