Entering the Sect

Ten breaths passed in a flash. The rank-nine great demon's original combat power had likely been around six hundred thousand, but having been captured and seemingly subjected to torture, its condition was poor, dropping below five hundred thousand. It would not have been difficult for Yaoguang to kill it. The difficulty lay in having only ten breaths of time. To slay such a formidable demon within ten breaths, he would have to go all out and bare all his trump cards. A single supreme divine ability could still be credited to a fortunate encounter, but five supreme divine abilities would be impossible to explain. Furthermore, both the Swimming Dragon Sword and the Two Realms Ruler were top-grade spirit treasures without exception; exposing them before securing the status of a true disciple was ill-advised. Even so, relying solely on the supreme divine ability Sky-Cleaving Strike, he still suppressed the great demon completely throughout those ten breaths. The moment ten breaths were up, Xiang Yunlong broke into an immediate, beaming smile. "Junior Brother Yaoguang... that's enough! Congratulations on passing the assessment. From this day forward, you are a member of our Heavenly Dao Sect." Seeing this, Yaoguang's figure flickered, stepping out of the assessment formation under the envious gazes of all the examinees. "To think that the assessment I presided over would recruit a talent such as Junior Brother for the sect! Junior Brother, we must get to know each other much better from now on." Xiang Yunlong hurried over at once. His enthusiasm was a world apart from how he had treated everyone else. Before Yaoguang could reply, however, the Void Cavern realm elder overseeing the assessment burst into hearty laughter. "Good, good, good!" He descended directly from the sky, coming right up to Yaoguang without putting on any airs. "You're called Yaoguang, yes? Cultivated for fifty-seven years to date? To achieve such cultivation in less than a cycle of sixty years—what fine stock you are!" "The elder flatters me," Yaoguang replied politely. "Haha, I speak only the truth! Looking back over the past few batches, not a single person possessed talent comparable to yours." With that, the Void Cavern cultivator declared straightforwardly, "I am an elder of the Heaven Lineage, Jin Yuliu. Meeting me in this assessment shows there is affinity between us. Coupled with your extraordinary talent—truly exceptional among your peers—I have taken a liking to your potential. Thus, I intend to accept you as my direct disciple. What do you say?" Jin Yuliu's words gave Xiang Yunlong a brief start. Immediately following that, he sneered inwardly with disdain. 'Accept me as a disciple?' Yaoguang secretly frowned. Be it the Heavenly Dao Sect or any other among the Ten Great Immortal Sects, the crucial bond maintaining relations was that of master and disciple. The importance of a master-disciple relationship was not inferior in the least to that of father and son. Once one accepted the other as a disciple, one had to shoulder the responsibilities of imparting the Dao, teaching skills, and resolving doubts. Likewise, when the disciple attained success in their cultivation in the future, they were duty-bound to repay their master. They were even obligated to provide for their master. If he were merely an ordinary Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator, having a Void Cavern elder willing to take him as a direct disciple would naturally have sent him into raptures. Yet Yaoguang had just displayed combat prowess not inferior to an Azure Blue Golden Core, possessing the potential to compete for the true disciple rank. For a Void Cavern elder to leap out and take him as a disciple right now... This was not taking a liking to the disciple's talent; it was a blatant attempt to take advantage of him. It was even to make it easier to leech off this disciple in the future. A disciple was not merely obligated to support their master; in many respects, a master wielded considerable power to intervene in a disciple's resources, cultivation path, and post appointments. Once the master-disciple relationship was established... If the disciple ever dared to defy the master in the future, the master could simply strike him dead and still hold the moral high ground and righteousness; no one could utter a word of protest. Jin Yuliu was a mere Void Cavern elder, yet he wanted to accept an inner disciple who possessed Azure Blue Golden Core strength and showed true disciple potential as a direct disciple. His intentions were unmistakably sinister and self-serving. With a Void Cavern cultivator standing right before him, Yaoguang naturally could not refuse outright. Instead, he said, "I appreciate Elder Jin Yuliu's kind intentions. However, years ago, I received grace from a senior of the Heavenly Dao Sect who imparted a divine secret art to me. Now that my cultivation has borne fruit, my purpose in coming was to find that senior and enter under his tutelage. I hope Elder Jin will forgive me." "Received grace from a senior of the Heavenly Dao Sect years ago..." Jin Yuliu's expression shifted slightly. "May I ask which elder it was? Perhaps I know him, and I could take you directly to visit him right now." "I do not know his specific identity either. That senior did not disclose who he was back then. Only by seeing his face and sensing his aura could I tell." As Yaoguang spoke, he added with solemn deliberation, "Furthermore, he might not be an elder, but rather a Lineage Master or a Peak Master." Jin Yuliu knitted his brows. He was ninety percent certain Yaoguang was fabricating nonsense. However... That remaining ten percent chance was not entirely impossible either. Besides, even if the young man was deliberately using this excuse to brush him off, he could hardly press the matter aggressively at this moment; he had to observe quietly for now. If he truly had ties to a Peak Master or Lineage Master, so be it. But if he was lying... Heh, he would teach him what kind of methods a Void Cavern elder commanded within the Heavenly Dao Sect. "In that case, what a pity," Jin Yuliu said indifferently. "Still, not every Peak Master or Lineage Master is skilled at teaching disciples. If you ever change your mind, you may come find me anytime. The door of my lineage will remain open to you." "Thank you for your high regard, Elder Jin." Yaoguang cupped his hands politely. The assessment then resumed. Xiang Yunlong, who had originally been eager to butter up Yaoguang, dared not get too close to him in front of Elder Jin Yuliu. He conducted the rest of the assessment strictly by the book. In the end, out of over 460 candidates, only forty-two successfully passed the assessment. A pass rate of less than ten percent. Naturally, this was because the assessment's difficulty had been pushed to an extreme level this time. Under normal circumstances, twenty to thirty percent passed on average, with a casualty rate of around ten percent. Once the assessment concluded, Jin Yuliu departed directly. Xiang Yunlong led the group of disciples deeper into the sect to register their names and rosters. During this time, several people crowded around Yaoguang, acting extremely cordial. Evidently, they all knew that given Yaoguang's performance... There was a strong likelihood he could compete for the true disciple rank and become one of the Heavenly Dao Sect's eighty-eight true disciples. A disciple with such limitless prospects was simply not on the same level as people like them, who merely wanted to scrape together an inner disciple slot. Xiang Yunlong also stayed at Yaoguang's side the entire time, acting the part of a senior brother by guiding him step-by-step through his identity registration. He portrayed the two-faced sycophant to absolute perfection. Once Yaoguang finished registering, Xiang Yunlong smiled and began introducing the sect: "An assessment fee of ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, an average pass rate under twenty percent, and even a fifteen percent fatality rate—yet Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivators still flock here one after another. That alone proves the prestige and benefits of being an inner disciple." He pointed at a storage bracelet issued during the registration. "The moment you become an inner disciple, the sect bestows a set of treasured robes and a treasured sword. In addition, your identity medallion possesses numerous functions—it grants passage through many formations and even allows direct communication with the spirit of the sect's grand formation to request assistance..." Yaoguang's divine mind had already swept across the storage bracelet. The interior space was not large, but it held quite a few items. Moreover, none of these items were cheap; all told, they were probably worth upwards of a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills. "Unlike having to spend money renting an immortal's cave, all inner disciples are allotted their own caves..." Xiang Yunlong paused briefly before continuing, "Of course, if you become a true disciple one day, Junior Brother, you will even be granted an entire mountain peak... In terms of residence and personal domain, the treatment rivals that of the thirteen Peak Masters." Whether outer disciples or inner disciples, to a sect they were all cannon fodder and the servant class. Even if they all died off, the sect wouldn't feel a twinge of heartache. Only upon reaching the true disciple stage did one truly become the core of a sect. Therefore, whether in the Taiyi Immortal Sect or the Heavenly Dao Sect, the number of true disciples was fixed—it could only be fewer, never more. The emergence of every true disciple marked a fundamental metamorphosis in status, stepping into the exploiter class. The sect groomed them entirely as future Void Refining or even Void Shattering realm powerhouses. Not only were they granted immense privileges, but a substantial share of industries and estates was allocated to each true disciple to fund their daily consumption. Being granted a mountain peak that only a Void Refining Peak Master was normally qualified to receive was the clearest proof. In many sects, a true disciple's sheer status was actually higher than that of a Void Cavern elder. If they appeared half a step lower than a Void Cavern elder, it was merely because the world ultimately bowed to strength. No matter how high a true disciple's status was, facing a Void Cavern elder capable of effortlessly obliterating him, he naturally had to remain courteous and respectful. Even if their future achievements might surpass the elder's, until they possessed sufficient strength, appearances still had to be maintained. "True disciples..." Yaoguang murmured, then asked, "What is the procedure for an inner disciple to become a true disciple in the Heavenly Dao Sect?" Xiang Yunlong was taken aback, then answered swiftly, "To become a true disciple, the most important requirement is to suppress the entire inner sect. Every five years, the inner sect holds an inner sect tournament, and the one who ranks first can be promoted to true disciple... If the roster of true disciples is full, one must choose a true disciple to challenge. If the challenge succeeds, the victor supplants them to become the new true disciple, and the sect industries originally under that true disciple's name fall into the challenger's hands as well." He then added, "Usually, the true disciple challenge is held half a year before the new disciple assessment." "Half a year earlier?" Yaoguang frowned. "In other words, if I want to contest for true disciple, I have to wait another four and a half years?" "Yes. It's said the rule exists precisely to leave four and a half years to observe a disciple's character and conduct..." Xiang Yunlong whispered. Four and a half years. For Golden Core cultivators who lived over a thousand years, that was not long at all. However... It needlessly delayed the time it would take for Yaoguang to become a true disciple. One had to realize that for a true disciple, the various industries granted by the sect alone yielded at least a hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills annually. In reality, even those ranked toward the bottom among the true disciples pulled in several hundred thousand each year. The top-ranking true disciples earned even more than Void Cavern realm elders. Four and a half years, rounded off, was equivalent to a loss of several million. "Are there no other ways to become a true disciple ahead of time?" Yaoguang asked. "None. This is one of the regulations inscribed in the 'Golden Scripture of the Great Dao'—not even paying extra can bypass it." Hearing this, Yaoguang could only drop the matter. Just then, as if sensing something, he glanced in a certain direction. Almost at the very moment he looked that way, he saw an inner disciple at the Radiant Sun Golden Core realm turn his head away. It seemed the person's gaze had merely swept across him by chance. Seeing nothing further, Yaoguang gave it no more thought and went to the immortal's cave arranged for him by the sect. Without the status of a true disciple, he would have to do some planning on how to smoothly collect the several-hundred-thousand bounty on the Black Dragon Pirates from Great Shang.