Those who had made it this far had already passed three rounds of screening. Based on their overall evaluations, those entering the Inner Sect stood on the left, while those entering the Outer Sect stood on the right.
Outer Sect disciples could only be promoted to Inner Sect if they performed well.
That was the official line, but with different starting points and different resources from the very beginning, the gap between them would only widen over time.
Qiao Jiayan stood at the front, his expression stern. “Congratulations on passing the three trials. However, the sect has its rules. Based on your results, only sixteen of you will be accepted into the Inner Sect today. The remaining thirty-four will go to the Outer Sect.”
“Next, according to your rankings, I will distribute disciple tokens, cultivation supplies, and arrange your accommodations. First place, Yan Mingchuan, enters the Inner Sect. Second place, Lu Yunqi, enters the Inner Sect. Third place, Wen Lian, enters the Inner Sect… Ninth place, Gu Er, enters the Inner Sect…”
When Gu Er heard Qiao Jiayan call her name, she collected her token and stood on the left side.
She glanced at their row, about a dozen or so people, all of them outstanding.
After all the names had been read out, a senior brother led the sixteen who had entered the Inner Sect to have their rooms assigned first.
The next day, they were brought by the senior brother to the main hall of Lingyun Sect to determine their placements.
All newly admitted disciples of Lingyun were required to study at Yingzhao Peak for three years first. The curriculum was extensive, covering the cultivation system, dantian and sea of consciousness, formation and alchemy methods, sect rules, and so on. Attendance at these lectures was mandatory. Only after passing all theoretical knowledge exams could they formally go to study at the various peak masters’ mountains.
Otherwise, even if you had already spent three full years in the academy, if you hadn’t passed your theoretical exams, you would still need to squeeze in four shichen of classes each day until you passed all your make-up exams.
The training grounds were packed with people. Some disciples were flying on swords, some were drawing talismans, and one had a book covering his face as he lay dozing beneath a large tree.
The leading senior brother walked to a spot not far from the slacking disciple, furrowed his brow slightly, then recited a brief incantation. The leaves came rustling down all at once, burying the reclining figure with pinpoint accuracy, not a single leaf wasted.
The young man jolted awake, sitting up abruptly. He coughed violently while frantically waving his sleeves. “Who was that?! Disturbing this young master’s sweet dreams! Don’t let me catch you, or else-”
“Ji Fuli!” A sharp shout cut him off.
Ji Fuli froze mid-motion at the sound. He lowered his sleeves, recognized the newcomer, and immediately scrambled to his feet, offering a respectful disciple’s salute. “Senior Brother Su!”
“I sent you here to study diligently, not to slack off and sleep! If you want to sleep, go back to Shaoyang Peak! Look at yourself, you’ve already reached Foundation Establishment, you’re not some newly admitted disciple, and you still can’t memorize the sect rules. You’re always running down the mountain. Aren’t you embarrassed?” Su Hao’s face was full of anger, with the look of someone disappointed in a promising student. He pointed at Ji Fuli and scolded him without pause.
The moment Ji Fuli heard this, he knew Su Hao was about to launch into another long lecture. He promptly and crisply apologized, offered a twenty-character self-criticism, and finally swore solemnly that he would never do it again.
Nothing special, just practice makes perfect.
Su Hao was so exasperated that he could only wave his hand and tell him to go practice his swordwork somewhere else.
Ji Fuli, as if granted a pardon, quickly backed away a few steps. But he hadn’t gone far before he turned around, sidled back up to Su Hao, lowered his voice, and asked with a mysterious air: “Senior Brother Su, are these sixteen the newly admitted disciples? I noticed several of them seem to come from noble families. Why are they all being sent to us? Do the other sects have any?”
The relationship between noble families and sects was complicated. On the surface, families sent their disciples to study at sects, and the sects accepted them with smiling faces, all harmony and goodwill.
But in reality, sects had a love-hate relationship with family disciples. Those who were hardworking, obedient, and unassuming were fine. But if they encountered the “little tyrants” who relied on their family’s power and ran wild on the mountain…
If they punished them, the disciples would sneak home during the annual training expeditions to cry and complain, and the very next day, gifts would arrive at the mountain with messages saying, “The child is young and doesn’t understand, please be lenient, Sect.”
Lingyun was actually one of the better ones. Other sects were more chaotic, especially the smaller ones, where families and sects were tangled together and ordinary disciples without connections were routinely suppressed, a common occurrence.
Fortunately, the upheaval four hundred years ago had eased the tension between sects and families.
Su Hao shot Ji Fuli a glare, told him to mind his own business, and sent him off. Only then did he continue leading the newly admitted disciples to the Internal Affairs Office, where they collected their robes and jade slips, before hurrying them back to Yingzhao Peak.
…
Yingzhao Peak, main summit.
In the vast hall, over two hundred people stood in neat formation, including Inner and Outer Sect disciples who hadn’t yet completed their theoretical studies, newly admitted disciples, stewards, and instructors.
Standing at the center of the main hall was a cultivator in yellow robes, a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, tall and thin, with the appearance of a middle-aged man.
He was none other than the Peak Master of Yingzhao Peak, Venerable Guiyuan.
Venerable Guiyuan clasped his hands behind his back, his expression stern. “New disciples, before you joined the sect, your senior brothers read out the rules to you. Every word and every rule must be committed to memory and never violated, understood?”
The youths answered in booming voices: “Understood!”
Venerable Guiyuan nodded slightly, his expression softening a bit. “Good. Now I will explain to you what you need to do during your three years on Yingzhao Peak…”
The living conditions on Yingzhao Peak varied greatly. Broadly speaking, they could be divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. The Heaven tier was the best, rumored to be a blessed grotto-heaven with the most abundant spiritual energy.
The Yellow tier was the worst, a small courtyard similar to what mortals lived in, remote and sparse in spiritual energy.
“You should more or less know each other by now. Two people per room, so first find your own roommate.” Venerable Guiyuan stroked his beard, his gaze calm. “For the sake of fairness, you will draw lots to decide your accommodations. Some places have abundant spiritual energy, others have little, it all comes down to personal luck. Today, you must understand that in the cultivation world, luck is also part of one’s strength.”
The disciples said in unison: “Understood.”
Gu Er’s eyes lit up at this. She quickly leaned over to Zhao Yao and whispered in her ear, “Big shot, how about we share a room?”
Zhong Daoxue would definitely room with Shen Xun’an.
Zhao Yao turned her head, glanced at her, and gave a slight nod.
“Then, big shot, I’ll leave the drawing of lots to you, my luck has never been good.” Gu Er said with a grin.
At that moment, a steward carrying a plain wooden box walked toward them, telling them to draw lots. The crowd was still a bit timid, pushing and shoving, each urging the other to go first.
After all, no one wanted to be the one with the worst luck.
Seeing this, Venerable Guiyuan frowned and said in a deep voice, “If you keep dawdling like this, you can just sleep on the floor!”
At these words, the disciple representatives in the hall reluctantly reached into the box.
After taking their slips of paper, each one carefully hid it in their palm, afraid of others finding out.
Zhao Yao drew a room in the Earth tier, not bad at all.
After the rooms were assigned, Gu Er made her way to the martial arts arena, spotted a disciple with a kind face who was wiping down a spiritual sword, and quickly approached.
“Senior brother, sorry to bother you, but may I ask you something?” Gu Er said politely, a sweet smile on her face.
The disciple looked at her with a questioning gaze. “What is it?”
“I’d like to know if there’s a roster of disciples here, or any records that list disciples from other sects.” Gu Er clasped her hands together, her eyes full of expectation.
The disciple thought for a moment, then slowly spoke: “There are rosters, but they’re all kept in the Internal Affairs Office. Usually, only the stewards can look at them. Why are you asking?”
Gu Er was delighted inside but quickly explained, “I just want to learn more about the various sects, so that when I go out for training in the future, I’ll know who I might run into. Senior brother, if you know any other way to find out about these things, please do tell me.”
“Hmm…” The disciple hesitated for a moment. “You could check the Scripture Library. There are some rankings there. Also, at the sect’s regular meetings, the elders occasionally mention the goings-on of other sects. If you go listen, you might learn something. But regular meetings are usually only open to inner disciples and outstanding outer disciples.”
Gu Er thanked him repeatedly and headed to the Scripture Library. The moment she stepped inside, she saw several large ranking boards floating in the air.
[Host, what are you doing here?] the system asked curiously.
“I’m looking for a book on guiding qi into the body. I can’t just stay clueless forever.” Gu Er paced between the bookshelves of the Scripture Library, responding to the system in her mind.
“System, can you help me look up information about the male lead?” Gu Er said to the system in her thoughts.
[Of course I can. Wait for me, host.] The system happily ran off to its database again.
“System? System?”
Gu Er let out a long breath. After sending the system away, she quickly walked over to the ranking boards and searched for the name Cen Shiqing one by one.
She flipped through the Heavenly Pride Ranking, the Hidden Dragon Ranking, and the Sect Ranking several times, but her name wasn’t on any of them.
Her name wasn’t among this year’s new disciples either. Gu Er pondered to herself, was it because her arrival had caused a butterfly effect, leading to her not coming, or had she been assigned to the outer sect?
Thinking this, Gu Er bit her lower lip, considering that if she had the time, she could go check the outer sect.
Meanwhile, the female lead Cen Shiqing had been thinking about was crossing a chain bridge, taking the entrance test for Qingmiao Sect.
In this vast world, three iron chains as thick as an arm trembled as they connected two towering, perilous peaks that pierced the clouds.
Beneath her feet was a bottomless abyss, with rolling clouds and mist surging wildly, half-concealing the terrifying scene below.
The chains swayed violently in the fierce wind, creaking and groaning as if they might snap at any moment.
Meanwhile, gleaming boomerangs flashed through the air from all directions, whistling as they carved dangerous arcs through the clouds and mist. One misstep would send a person plummeting into the abyss below.
Cen Shiqing had been maliciously knocked off the iron chain by someone, clinging to it precariously as she swayed.
The long-dormant System 009 awakened in Cen Shiqing’s mind, letting out a series of frantic shrieks: [Cen Shiqing, what are you doing?! Aaaah!!! Why aren’t you going to Lingyun Sect? Our mission target is at Lingyun Sect!]
Cen Shiqing furrowed her brow, dug a finger into her ear, and said with irritation: “Shut up. What would I go to Lingyun Sect for? To be cannon fodder for Gu Er? Those two are truly in love, why would I barge in and get in the way? My ambition is the stars and the sea.”
The system was nearly hysterical, screaming wildly in Cen Shiqing’s mind: [To hell with your stars and sea! Ancestor, I’m begging you, the outer sect entrance exam at Lingyun Sect isn’t over yet. If you go now, you can still make it!]
At this moment, the system was filled with regret, wanting to cry but having no tears. All that remained in its mind was: Gu Er, I’ve failed you, wuwuwu.
After being forcibly dismissed, the system didn’t leave. Instead, it exhausted its last bit of strength and, through immense struggle, found the original novel’s female lead, Cen Shiqing.
It had originally planned to use this to evade the Heavenly Dao’s pursuit, then find a way to take Gu Er away later.
When it first bound itself to the female lead, it had fabricated a story for Cen Shiqing, brainwashing her into believing she was the vicious supporting female character, and that to survive, she had to kill Gu Er. Only by completely killing Gu Er and finishing the entire plot could there be a way to pull Gu Er out of this small world.
However, because the system had exhausted its energy and fallen into a deep slumber, it had only just awakened recently. But the moment it opened its eyes, it saw this woman had directly run off to Qingmiao Sect.