"Dong, dong, dong…"
The sound of a bell echoed throughout the Azure Sky Sect. This bell was very heavy and muffled.
Xue Mo knew that this was a notice for the sect assessment according to Lin Feng's memories.
When Xue M arrived at the square, it was already filled with people. There were roughly 2,000 people.
Even the inner sect disciples he rarely met were present, numbering in the hundreds. Their clothing was distinguishable from the outer disciples, as they wore a deep green attire.
There were those who were anxious, excited, and proud, each with their own expression.
"Senior Brother Wang, you've broken through!"
"Haha, Junior Brother Liu, didn't you break through too?"
"Someone help me, someone help me, I don't want to be expelled, I don't want to have to go back to my family as a disgrace."
Looking at the noisy crowd, Xue Mo simply sat cross legged on the ground.
Two hours later, the crowd suddenly quieted down as seven beams of lights descended from the sky.
After landing on the ground, the beams of lights were shown, five men and two women.
One young man, two middle-aged and two elderly people, one teenage girl, and one old woman.
Their expressions were varied, ranging from plain and indifferent, to pity and regret, the only thing that was the same was that they all wore black robes inlaid with gold, exuding a strong aura, full of oppression.
They were direct disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage!
Suddenly, the air became stiff as a force could be felt coming closer and closer. It was suffocating on the people gathered.
A radiant golden light enveloped the entire area, descending from the sky above the gathered crowd.
Under the imposing momentum of the golden light, everyone felt incredibly oppressed, their Qi becoming uncontrollable, causing all the sect disciples faces to turn pale, excluding the direct disciples.
Xue Mo's face turned pale, although having already stabilized his Qi, he made sure his face was pale like the rest of the disciples to avoid attracting attention.
A fear was sprout like a beast getting closer and closer. It was like encountering a natural enemy coming from the bottom of their heart, and was completely uncontrollable.
The seven direct disciples cupped their hands and bowed to the blood river respectfully.
"Greetings to Golden River Elder!"
"Greetings to Golden River Elder!" Everyone also quickly bowed and saluted towards the golden river.
A vortex appeared out of nowhere in the center of the golden river. In just a few breaths, it absorbed all the golden light in the sky, condensing into an old man wearing a crimson robe.
It was none other than one of the famous Golden Core Elder of the Azure Sky Sect, a terrifying being in the sect.
The Golden River Elder radiated a presence that was both chilling and monumental. His voice, devoid of warmth, echoed like distant thunder
"The sect assessment starts now. Anyone who hasn't arrived will be expelled."
"Respect the Elder's decree. Any disciple who has not yet arrived from both inside and outside the sect is considered expelled!" The seven direct disciples used their magical powers to repeat the words of the Golden Core Elder.
With the blessing of their Qi, their voices thundered like explosions, causing the crowd to ring in their ears.
Some disciples who wanted to hide because their cultivation levels did not meet the requirements turned ashen when they heard this.
"Let the assessment begin," the Golden River Elder announced in a low voice. His voice was not loud, but there was a special power that stirred the hearts and minds of the people.
"Respect the Elder's decree!"
The seven direct disciples first bowed to the Golden River Elder, then turned to face the crowd and each spoke in turn.
"Those who have been in the sect for three years, stand in front of me."
"Those who have been in the sect for six years, stand in front of me."
"Those who have been in the sect for nine years, stand in front of me."
…
Each direct disciple corresponded to a length of time in the sect, allowing the disciples of the inner and outer sect to line up on their own.
The Azure Sky Sect recruited disciples once every three years. Those who had just joined the sect became miscellaneous disciples and did some odd jobs.
They were required to successfully absorb spiritual energy within three years and be able to advance to the first level of Qi cultivation to become outer sect disciples.
After six years in the sect, they were required to reach the third level of Qi cultivation. After nine years in the sect, they were required to reach the fifth level of Qi cultivation, and then every three years, they were required to advance one level of cultivation.
In other words, within 21 years, they must reach the ninth level of Qi cultivation, and then they have nine years to strive for the Foundation Establishment stage.
Anyone who failed to meet the standards at any stage would only have one fate—being expelled from the sect.
Having spent nine years in the sect, Xue Mo positioned himself in front of the direct disciple representing that milestone.
This direct disciple was a middle-aged man, towering above everyone else, with a look of disdain, and looking down on these outer sect disciples as if they were ants.
Xue Mo observed the direct disciple with indifference, recognizing that judgment from those below him held no weight.
With that thought in mind, Xue Mo glanced at the Golden River Elder, who was just looking at them with a calm expression.
There were 300 disciples in Xue Mo's group. The higher up the ladder, the fewer people there were.
Seeing that everyone had lined up, the direct disciples spoke again, "Take out your identity tokens and infuse them with spiritual Qi."
Upon hearing these words, Xue Mo took out his identity token and infused it with spiritual power.
As the spiritual energy was injected, the identity token emitted a golden light and displayed the holder's information in mid-air.
[Name: Xue Mo]
[Entered the sect 9 years ago 1073 of the Kuiyuan era]
All of the other identity tokens were the same, except for the name and the year they entered the sect.
The Foundation Establishment direct disciples had been given a treasure to assist with checking and preventing any person from cheating.
It could confirm the information and current cultivation level of all disciples and the year they came..
"Six years since entering the sect, and you disguise yourself as three years to stand in front of me?" A direct disciple suddenly sneered, and Qi gushed out from his body, wrapping up one person.
The disciple shouted in fear, "Senior Brother, spare me. I just misheard and stood in the wrong place."
"Hehe." The direct disciple sneered, and grabbed at the void.
"Ah~"
The disciple let out a miserable scream, and a large amount of blood gushed out of his body, as his cultivation was instantly destroyed.
"Pa!" He fell to the ground as he was on the verge of death, immediately after, the other direct disciples also took action.
The Qi in their bodies like golden chains extended, entangling the outer sect disciples one by one.
One of the tentacles even reached towards Xue Mo's direction, forcing him to pretend to break out in cold sweat, almost losing control of his Qi.
However, the target of the golden chains was not Xue Mo, but the disciple directly opposite him.
"Ahhh…"
Instantly, screams rose and fell in the square.
Whether it was at the first level of Qi cultivation or the eighth level, they were all unable to resist and their cultivation was destroyed.
With the Golden River Elder at the Golden Core stage presiding over everything, they dared not resist even if they wanted to.
In an instant, nearly a hundred disciples lay sprawled on the ground, their faces pale and lifeless, mouths agape in silent horror at their fate.
A small number of them were trying to pass off as someone else by using secret techniques to temporarily boost their cultivation level.
The vast majority, however, tried using someone else's identity token and year of entering the sect.
Even among the inner sect disciples, more than a dozen people had their cultivation abolished.
The Golden River Elder remained perfectly expressionless, as if those whose cultivation bases were destroyed weren't humans, but weeds by the roadside.
The faces of the seven direct disciples were indifferent although you could see the pity in some of their eyes.
And this was only what was visible; there were countless others who risked their lives to break through, just like the original owner of his body.
The seven direct disciples glanced at the remaining people. They announced.
"You guys have passed."
"Phew~" All the disciples heaved a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the Golden River Elder said, "My Azure Sky Sect doesn't raise trash. If you don't work hard to cultivate, then the trash on the ground will be your fate."
Although it sounded more like a threat than a reminder, everyone still bowed gratefully and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Elder."
The Golden River Elder ignored everyone and turned into a golden light before disappearing.
"Farewell, Elder!" Everyone bowed again.
Although the Golden River Elder had left, the seven direct disciples were still present. Everyone remained standing in their original positions, afraid to even breathe loudly.
The seven direct disciples ignored everyone and began to talk amongst themselves.
"How are we going to distribute those who are hiding and didn't participate in the sect assessment?"
"How about we each choose a direction and rely on luck?"
"Okay, I choose east."
"Then I'll go southeast."
"I'll choose west."
With their choices made, the seven direct disciples transformed into beams of golden light, shooting off in various directions like arrows released from a bow.
"It's finally over!" Only then did everyone dare to straighten their backs and talk to each other.
The inner sect disciples returned to their haughty demeanor and looked down upon the outer sect disciples.
Xue Mo had no intention of chatting and just turned to walk towards his cave dwelling.
Back in his cave dwelling, Xue Mo began to ponder about how to proceed in the future.
First, he had to go and meet Li Mumin, then complete the sect mission.
He should be able to break through to the seventh level of Qi cultivation within six months and qualify to compete with the inner sect disciples.
Coupled with hunting that provided him with beast blood, he should be able to break through to the seventh level of Qi cultivation within two to three months and qualify to compete with the inner sect disciples.
However, advancing too quickly could easily arouse suspicion.
Originally a disciple with low aptitude and barely meeting the standard in cultivation, suddenly making rapid progress would make it hard for people not to get suspicious.
The spear hit the bird that stuck out, so it was still better to keep a low profile.
"I need to visit Li Mumin."
Li Mumin had previously told Xue Mo to come to him after he passed his sect assessment, Xue Mo remembered and was planning on fully exploiting him to gain the most benefits.