The East Sword Pavilion’s Outer Sect occupied a total of nine mountain peaks, with each Sword Institute residing on one.
The first step of today’s Outer Sect Grand Ceremony was to choose a Sword Institute.
All nominal disciples who met the requirements were to climb the peak corresponding to the Sword Institute they wished to join.
If they passed the subsequent assessment, they would be accepted into that Sword Institute.
Over a thousand nominal disciples headed toward the Outer Court Nine Peaks.
It had to be said, there was a reason the East Sword Pavilion was the undisputed power for hundreds of thousands of miles around.
These were merely nominal disciples, yet every single one of them had already reached the Yellow Extreme Realm.
Furthermore, none of them were older than twenty-five.
This was the minimum requirement of the East Sword Pavilion: one had to reach the Yellow Extreme Realm before the age of twenty-five.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t even be qualified to become an Outer Disciple.
Consider Shen Ming.
In the Jue Mountain Sect, he was honored as one of the ten great Inner Sect Disciples, yet he only reached the Yellow Extreme Realm at the age of twenty-eight.
Even so, Shen Ming was considered a top-tier genius in the Jue Mountain Sect.
Here at the East Sword Pavilion, however, he wouldn’t even have the chance to enter the Outer Sect.
The difference was truly like that between the heavens and the earth.
The East Sword Pavilion was indeed a gathering place for geniuses.
The talented youths from the ten surrounding empires all considered it an honor to be able to enter the East Sword Pavilion.
Along with Mo Jie and the others, Xiao Chen also headed for the Outer Court Nine Peaks.
Along the way, many nominal disciples couldn’t help but turn their gazes toward him.
It was unavoidable.
Having broken through to the Yellow Extreme Realm at just eighteen, Xiao Chen’s talent made him the most dazzling existence among this batch of nominal disciples.
“Which Sword Institute do you think this Xiao Chen will choose?”
“Is there even a need to ask?
The First Courtyard, of course.
He reached the Yellow Extreme Realm at eighteen, so he already meets the First Courtyard’s requirements…”
“I’m not so sure.
The First Courtyard’s requirements are too strict.
Although Xiao Chen’s cultivation speed is fast, I’m afraid it will still be difficult for him to join the First Courtyard based on that alone.”
“Let’s stop talking about pointless things.
We don’t have a chance with the First Courtyard.
I’m planning to choose the Eighth Courtyard.
Hopefully I can pass.”
Many people were secretly watching Xiao Chen and whispering amongst themselves.
Facing everyone’s stares, Xiao Chen remained perfectly calm.
When they reached the foot of the Outer Court Nine Peaks, Xiao Chen smiled at Mo Jie and the others.
“Senior Brothers and Sisters, I’ll see you in the Outer Sect.”
“Yeah, see you in the Outer Sect.”
“Junior Brother Xiao Chen, don’t you dare embarrass us!
You have to pass the First Courtyard’s assessment.”
It was the same seven people who had accompanied him back to Lingshan County; they were the ones closest to Xiao Chen.
Hearing his words, one of the young women spoke to him with a charming smile.
Unlike Xiao Chen, they didn’t dare choose the First Courtyard.
It couldn’t be helped; its requirements were simply too high.
Among this batch of nominal disciples, not a single person other than Xiao Chen dared to choose the First Courtyard.
They had all chosen the Second Courtyard.
Xiao Chen smiled and nodded at the group, then headed directly for the mountain peak where the First Courtyard was located.
Unlike the paths leading to the other Courtyards’ peaks, the road to the First Courtyard was empty save for Xiao Chen.
Clearly, of all the nominal disciples in this batch, only he had chosen the First Courtyard.
Watching Xiao Chen ascend the peak of the First Courtyard, many people had looks of adoration on their faces.
The First Courtyard…
It was the strongest Sword Institute in the entire Outer Sect.
Its disciples were all geniuses among geniuses.
It was even rumored that disciples of the First Courtyard held a status within the sect that was no less than that of some ordinary Inner Sect Disciples.
Moreover, their cultivation resources were allocated at the same level as a typical Inner Sect Disciple’s.
Everyone envied the cultivation environment of the First Courtyard, but envy was useless.
An ordinary genius simply couldn’t get in.
Even if they managed to enter by a fluke, it would be difficult to survive there.
After all, you have to be among your own kind.
If you put a sheep in a den of lions, the outcome is predictable.
Paying no mind to the onlookers, Xiao Chen continued toward the peak of the First Courtyard, his figure looking somewhat solitary from behind.
‘The path of the Martial Dao is inevitably a lonely one.’ Xiao Chen had understood this for a long time.
Back in the Xiao Family, when the disciples of his generation were still in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had already reached the Vein Opening Realm.
His peers simply couldn’t keep up with his pace.
That was why, at the age of fifteen, he had chosen to leave and temper himself alone.
Remaining in the Xiao Family would have only shackled his progress.
Watching Xiao Chen’s lonely figure, Mo Jie sighed from the foot of the First Courtyard’s mountain.
“I wonder how long we’ll be able to follow in Junior Brother Xiao Chen’s footsteps.
It probably won’t be long before we can only look up at him from afar.”
Xiao Chen’s progress was simply too fast, so fast that even a Celestial Pride like Mo Jie was left in the dust.
Hearing Mo Jie’s words, the beautiful young woman who had spoken earlier smiled faintly.
“Since when does the Crown Prince of our Lingfeng Country belittle himself like this?
Junior Brother Xiao Chen’s progress is fast, which means we must work even harder.
I’m not expecting to catch up to him, but it’s enough as long as we aren’t left too far behind.
I, for one, don’t want to spend the rest of my life just looking up at Junior Brother Xiao Chen from a distance.”
This young woman’s name was Qin Shuirou.
She had just turned twenty, and her talent was by no means weak, though there was still a gap when compared to Xiao Chen.
As she spoke, Qin Shuirou’s eyes filled with determination.
Hearing her, Mo Jie shook his head with a wry smile.
They all knew that Qin Shuirou had a secret crush on Xiao Chen.
Forcing her to watch helplessly as he pulled further and further away, while she could only look up at him, would be absolutely unacceptable to her.
Unaware of what Mo Jie and the others were thinking, Xiao Chen soon reached the summit of the First Courtyard’s peak all by himself.
Before the courtyard gates, a man and a woman dressed in First Courtyard disciple uniforms stopped Xiao Chen.
As disciples of the First Courtyard, their Outer Disciple uniforms were different from those of the other eight Sword Institutes in order to signify their status.
The uniforms of the other eight Sword Institutes had an embroidered silver longsword on the chest, while the First Courtyard’s was a golden longsword.
One glance at this embroidery was enough to tell if you were from the First Courtyard.
“If you’re over twenty, you can leave.
My First Courtyard doesn’t accept disciples older than twenty,” the male disciple said with an indifferent expression as he watched Xiao Chen slowly approach.
The very first requirement was incredibly strict.
The First Courtyard only recruited those under the age of twenty.
In other words, the basic requirement to enter was to break through to the Yellow Extreme Realm before one’s twentieth birthday.
This point alone was enough to bar ninety-nine percent of all geniuses.
Paying no mind to the male disciple’s attitude, Xiao Chen stopped and bowed to the two of them.
“Senior Brother, Senior Sister.
This Junior Brother is Xiao Chen.
I have just turned eighteen…”
Hearing Xiao Chen’s words, the two were visibly stunned.
An eighteen-year-old Yellow Extreme Realm Martial Artist was a rare sight even in the First Courtyard.
At once, their expressions softened, and the female disciple smiled as she spoke to Xiao Chen.
“So you’re Junior Brother Xiao Chen.
We weren’t wrong, after all.
You really did choose the First Courtyard.”
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