The silence over the marble plaza lasted three full heartbeats before total bedlam broke out.
Ten thousand young cultivators surged forward, their shouts rising like a crashing wave. Behind them, Zhou Tian remained collapsed on the ground, staring at the cracked, darkened shell of the three-hundred-year-old Nine-Star Pillar. His lips trembled, but not a single sound escaped his throat.
"A Heavenly Talent!" Elder Mo’s voice cracked as he stepped closer to Adam, his hands shaking inside his wide silk sleeves. "In the three hundred years since this pillar was raised, no one has ever lit all nine stars!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three blinding beams of light, emerald green, crimson red, and brilliant gold, crashed down from the sky and slammed onto the marble dais.
The air over the plaza thickened. The pressure forced thousands of trial participants to bow their heads, their knees buckling under the weight of three Golden Core Grand Elders arriving at once.
"Move aside, Mo!" a grand elder in fiery red robes roared. He had a tangled mane of scarlet hair and eyes that burned like living coals. "Adam Hale! I am Elder Lie, Head of Flame-Dragon Peak! Join my peak, and I will grant you a top-tier Earth-Grade fire technique and three hundred low-tier spirit stones every month!"
"Pfft! You old dog, have you no shame?!" an old woman in emerald robes sneered, floating down on an ancient jade sword. "I am Elder Mu, Head of Azure-Wood Peak! Adam, my peak controls the sect’s central medicine garden. Join us, and every high-grade pill the sect refines will be yours first!"
"Both of you, out of the way!" a third elder in golden chainmail barked, his voice humming with metallic sword resonance. "He cracked the stone with sheer sword intent! He belongs on Sword-Throne Peak!"
The three Grand Elders, who usually held the power of life and death over hundreds of thousands, stood six inches from Adam’s face, glaring at each other with reddened eyes, ready to roll up their sleeves and brawl on the dais.
Down on the ground, Zhou Tian felt his soul turn icy. He had bragged about being chosen for the Inner Sect, but here were three Peak Leaders practically begging the "lowborn dog" he’d mocked to become their personal core disciple.
Adam stood at the center of the storm, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood.
’Three Golden Core Grand Elders,’ Adam thought, his Eyes of Divine Insight reading the spiritual structure of each. ’Even with my Foundation perfected, a fight against all three would cost me my cover. And if I join a peak as a core disciple, one of them will watch me constantly and limit my access to location sign-in rewards.’
"Elders," Adam said, his calm, measured tone cutting straight through the argument.
The three froze and turned, their eyes bright with expectation.
"I’m grateful for the honors offered by Flame-Dragon Peak, Azure-Wood Peak, and Sword-Throne Peak," Adam said smoothly. "However, my martial path is solitary. I prefer not to join any peak or take a personal master."
"What?!" Elder Mo gasped, his jaw dropping for the second time that day.
"No master?!" Elder Lie’s crimson eyebrows twitched. "Boy, do you realize what you’re saying? Without a Peak Leader’s backing, how will you secure top-tier resources?!"
Before the elders could press further, a clear bell tone rang out from the highest floating mountain in the clouds, the Zenith Sanctuary.
Dong—
A streak of violet light descended from the heavens and became an ancient, dark-purple jade token that hovered silently between Adam and the three Grand Elders. A single sweeping character was carved into it: Decree.
The three Grand Elders paled, stepped back half a pace, and bowed deeply toward the token.
"The Sect Master’s decree..." Elder Mu whispered in awe.
From the token, a majestic, ethereal voice resonated across the plaza:
"Adam Hale is granted the status of Independent Core Disciple. He shall reside on Ghost-Sword Peak, answer to no Peak Leader, and hold access to the sect’s scripture libraries, spirit arrays, and standard resource vaults. The higher vaults will open as he earns contribution points. He will report to the Zenith Sanctuary in seven days. This is my command."
The voice faded, and the purple jade token settled into Adam’s waiting palm.
The plaza fell into dead silence.
An Independent Core Disciple! A rank above standard core disciples, with status equal to an outer-sect elder and the freedom to roam any peak in the sect!
"Understood," Adam murmured, sweeping the token into his sleeve. He turned toward the distant, mist-shrouded silhouette of Ghost-Sword Peak, a desolate, isolated mountain known throughout the sect as haunted by ancient sword spirits.
To anyone else, Ghost-Sword Peak was a dangerous wasteland. To Adam, an abandoned ancient peak was a goldmine for location sign-ins.
An hour later, Adam stood at the summit.
The peak was shrouded in jagged dark gray rocks and swirling silver mist. Broken iron swords from forgotten eras stood thrust into the ground like grave markers, humming with faint, residual sword intent. At the center of the summit stood a weathered, two-story stone hall ringed by a decaying spirit array.
He spent the rest of the day walking the summit, pressing a palm to the broken swords one by one and listening to the sword intent they still held. By nightfall, the silver mist had thickened into a sea around the hall.
When midnight came, a familiar, cool chime sounded in his soul.
Ding!
[Notice: Daily Sign-In refreshed!]
[Current Location: Great Void Sect, Ghost-Sword Peak (Ancient Sword Burial Grounds).]
[Would the Host like to perform today’s Daily Sign-In?]
Adam pushed back his hood, a cold, satisfied smile curving his lips.
"Sign in."
[Sign-In Successful!]
[Location Bonus Applied: Dense Sword Domain Node detected.]
[Congratulations to the Host! You have received: Domain Manual, Ten-Thousand Blade Dominion (God-Tier, 1st Layer Mastery)!]
BOOM!
A wave of comprehension flooded his soul. Tens of thousands of golden sword runes spun through his consciousness and settled around the golden seed of his unformed core.
[Notice: Full domain projection requires the Golden Core realm. Foundation-stage application unlocked: Sword Field (radius 3 feet).]
With a single thought, Adam could now project an invisible Sword Field three feet around his body. Inside it, a blade of grass, a gust of wind, or a drop of rain could be turned into sword Qi under his control. A true domain would have to wait for his core.
Adam opened his eyes, two beams of silver light cutting through the mist like twin razors.
"An independent peak, near-complete freedom, and the seed of a God-Tier domain," Adam said softly, looking down at the sect below him. "The Great Void Sect will be a fine harvesting ground."