Chapter 1906: Core Disciple Examination |
Shortly after arriving at Ji Ran's living quarters, Yuan quickly realized that he wasn't home. Instead of blindly wandering around to look for the others, Yuan asked a servant for the location of their living quarters.
However, even after checking all of them, none of them were available.
"They must be quite busy after becoming Inner Court disciples."
After pondering for a moment, Yuan decided to just take the Core Disciple examination and get it out of the way.
Unlike the Inner Court examination, which follows a fixed schedule, the Core Disciple examination can be taken at any time—provided the candidate meets the necessary qualifications.
After arriving at the location where one goes to request for the examination, Yuan approached the sect elder working there and said, "I would like to take the Core Disciple examination."
The sect elder looked at Yuan and said, "You will need to be at least a Spirit Lord, as well as have a thousand contribution points."
Yuan revealed his cultivation to the sect elder, whose eyes widened with surprise, "First level of Spirit Enlightenment? And you're just attempting the Core Disciple examination?"
"Pretty much."
"Xiao Yang."
The sect elder looked through the disciple records, and his surprise became shock when he realized that Yuan had only been in the sect for a few years.
"Heavens! You've reached Spirit Enlightenment in less than a decade? What monstrous talents! Do you have a master yet?"
Yuan nodded and said, "My master is Elder Sun."
"What? The Incompetent Elder? I know she's pretty, but you should really consider switching Masters."
Not wanting to drag on the conversation, Yuan nodded, "I'll consider it. Now, about the Core Disciple examination…"
The sect elder retrieved a medallion and said, "Head to the 77th Immortal Peak for the examination. If you do not take the examination within a month of accepting this medallion, it will be an automatic fail, and you will have to wait a decade to try again."
Yuan nodded and accepted the medallion before heading to the 77th Immortal Peak.
When he arrived at his destination, Yuan descended before a small hut and knocked on the door.
A middle-aged woman answered the door a moment later, "Are you here for the Core Disciple examination?"
Yuan showed her the medallion.
"Yes."
After taking the medallion, she said, "Follow me."
Yuan proceeded to follow the sect elder to a massive arena.
The sect elder entered the arena and spoke, "The examination will consist of three different tests, but you will only need to pass two of them to become a Core Disciple. For the first one, showcase your understanding of the Peerless Immortal Technique. You'll pass this test if you have reached the third level."
Yuan immediately showcased his understanding of the Peerless Immortal Technique. After reaching Spirit Enlightenment, he was able to use it up to the fourth level, but he only showcased the strength of a peak third level.
"What?! It took me 60 years to reach that level! To think a disciple who'd only been at the sect for a few years has reached the peak of third level!" The sect elder almost fell on her buttocks after seeing the results.
"Y-You pass…" said the sect elder as she entered the arena.
"You'll spar with me for the second test. I will restrict my cultivation to the third level of Spirit Enlightenment. You will pass if you manage to defeat me."
Although the test sounded simple enough, most disciples failed the second test. Not only was the sect elder much more experienced than the disciples in combat, but their cultivation was always two levels higher. Unless one was a cultivation genius, they'd have an incredibly hard time passing the second test. This is also why the examination had three different tests.
"Allow me to apologize in advance," Yuan said as he readied his sword.
"Why are you apologizing?" the sect elder asked, her eyebrows raised in a puzzled manner.
"You will find out in a second. Can I begin?"
"Whenever you are ready."
The second the sect elder said that, Yuan rushed forward and began his relentless assault.
'W-What is this pressure?! Am I really fighting a disciple?!'
It only took two exchanges before the sect elder realized she was not fighting an ordinary disciple and was forced to go all out.
However, even when going all out, the sect elder was still being pushed back. In the end, after a short ten-minute fight, the sect elder had to forfeit when the cold steel on Yuan's sword touched her neck.
"I guess I am a Core Disciple now," Yuan calmly said as he lowered his sword.
"Yes… Congratulations. You're probably the fastest disciple to become a Core Disciple in our sect's history," said the sect elder.
"This is all thanks to my Master's teaching," Yuan smiled.
"You can move into the center court as soon as you return, but your new outfits will take a few days to be completed."
Yuan nodded and left the 77th Immortal Peak with a new medallion—one that proved he'd become a Core Disciple.
"I am a Core Disciple now, huh?" Yuan muttered as he returned home. This was Tian Yang's dream before everything happened in the Desolate Continent.
As Yuan walked back to his living quarters, he noticed a certain beauty approaching him from a distance.
"Yu—Xiao Yang! You're back!"
It was Xi Meili.
"Hey, looks like you've made it to the Inner Court."
"Ji Ran learned that we could purchase contribution points, so we all made the move once we met the cultivation requirement," she explained.
"When did you return?" she then asked.
"Yesterday."
"So, how was it? Where did you go? And was it worth it?"
"I went to a place called the Desolate Continent. Although it'd cost me ten million points, it was worth it since I managed to acquire over 70 million points—despite my 50 percent deduction penalty."
If it weren't for the five-year 50 percent point deduction penalty from the tournament, he would've earned over 140 million points from the trip.
"70 million points?! That's enough to purchase every treasure in the point store!" Xi Meili exclaimed with a shocked face.
"It's definitely more than I need. If you need anything from the store, let me know."
"Not really. Although it'd be nice to have more treasure, I am mostly doing this trial for the experience. And now that you're back, do you know when you'll leave?"
"I still have some questions for the Sect Leader. I'll let you know in about a week."
"I understand. I'll let the others know."
Yuan nodded and returned home—but not for long. He returned to the point store to purchase another audience with the Sect Leader.
The following day, Yuan went to meet with the Sect Leader.
"You're back already? What's the rush?"
Yuan showed the medallion he'd acquired from the Core Disciple examination to the Sect Leader and said, "Well, I became a Core Disciple, and there's no reason to idle around when I can ask you questions immediately."
"Very well. Ask me."
Yuan began asking his questions.
"You said this world is a real world. Can you elaborate?"
"This question will cost you 1,000,000 points—"
"Just answer it. I don't care how many points it cost."
"This world may seem like a replica of the Nine Heavens—because it is. A perfect duplicate, to be precise."
"A duplicated world? How does that work? And why?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.