Chapter 292: Entering the Sect

Ten breaths passed in the blink of an eye.

This ninth-tier great demon had originally possessed around six hundred thousand combat power, but after being captured, it seemed to have suffered quite a bit of torment. Its condition was poor, and its strength had fallen below five hundred thousand.

For Yaoguang, killing it wouldn't be difficult. The difficult part was having only ten breaths of time.

To slay such a great demon within ten breaths, he would have had to go all out and reveal every trump card he possessed.

One supreme divine ability could still be explained away as some fortunate encounter. Five supreme divine abilities could not.

More importantly, both the Wandering Dragon Sword and the Two-Realm Ruler were top-grade treasures even among spirit treasures. Before obtaining true disciple status, exposing them was unwise.

Even so, relying solely on the Space-Splitting Strike, he still completely overwhelmed that great demon throughout those ten breaths.

The instant the ten breaths ended, Xiang Yunlong immediately put on a bright smile. "Junior Brother Yaoguang, that’s enough. Congratulations. You’ve passed the assessment. From today onward, you are one of us in the Heavenly Dao Sect."

Seeing this, Yaoguang’s figure flashed, and under the envious gazes of all the candidates, he stepped out of the assessment array.

"I never expected that the batch I oversaw would recruit a talent like you. Junior Brother, we must get to know each other in the future." Xiang Yunlong rushed over at once.

His enthusiasm compared to how he treated others was like heaven and earth.

But before Yaoguang could respond, the Void-Piercing Realm elder overseeing the assessment burst into laughter. "Good, good, good!"

He descended directly from the sky and landed before Yaoguang in an unexpectedly approachable manner. "You’re called Yaoguang, correct? And you have cultivated for only fifty-seven years? To possess such cultivation in less than sixty years, what a remarkable talent!"

"You flatter me, Elder," Yaoguang replied politely.

"I’m only speaking the truth. Looking back over the past several assessment cycles, no one can compare to your talent," the Void-Piercing Realm elder said bluntly. "I am Elder Jin Yuliu of the heavenly lineage. For you to meet me in this assessment means we share some measure of fate. Combined with your extraordinary talent, I have developed an appreciation for your gifts. Therefore, I wish to accept you as my direct disciple. What do you think?"

Jin Yuliu’s words made Xiang Yunlong pause for a moment. Then inwardly, he sneered with contempt.

"Accept me as a disciple?" Yaoguang, however, quietly frowned.

Whether in the Heavenly Dao Sect or any of the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects, the most important bond that maintained relationships was that of master and disciple.

The importance of that relationship was no less than that of father and son.

Once one accepted the other as a disciple, the master bore the responsibility of imparting teachings, passing on knowledge, and resolving doubts. Likewise, when the disciple later achieved success, he was obligated to repay his master. He even had a duty to support his master in old age.

If it were an ordinary Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator, being accepted as a direct disciple by a Void-Piercing Realm elder would have been enough to send him into ecstasy.

But Yaoguang had already displayed combat strength comparable to that of an Azure Golden Core cultivator and possessed the potential to compete for true disciple status. For a Void-Piercing Realm elder to jump out and offer to take him in as a disciple...

This was not admiration for talent. This was clearly taking advantage. More than that, it would make it easier to feed off him in the future.

A disciple owed more than support to his master. In many matters, the master also held influence over the disciple’s resource allocation and cultivation path.

Once a master-disciple relationship was established... If the disciple later dared to defy his master, and the master killed him in response, the master would still be considered morally righteous and justified. No one could object.

For Jin Yuliu, a Void-Piercing Realm elder, to want to accept an inner sect disciple with Azure Golden Core Realm strength and true disciple potential was unquestionably ill-intentioned.

Standing face-to-face with a Void-Piercing Realm elder, Yaoguang naturally could not refuse directly. Instead, he said, "Elder, Jin Yuliu, I am grateful for your kindness. However, in my younger days, I received favor from a senior of the Heavenly Dao Sect, and he even imparted a divine ability to me. The reason I managed to reach this point in cultivation and came here was to find that senior and become his disciple. I hope you can understand."

"A senior of the Heavenly Dao Sect once showed you favor..." Jin Yuliu’s expression shifted. "Which elder was it? Perhaps I know him. If so, I can personally take you to visit him now."

"I do not know exactly who he was. That senior did not reveal his identity at the time. Only by meeting him face-to-face and sensing his aura would I be able to confirm it," Yaoguang said solemnly. "Also, perhaps he was not an elder, but a lineage leader or peak master."

Jin Yuliu frowned. He was ninety percent certain Yaoguang was making up nonsense. But there was still that remaining ten percent possibility that he was speaking the truth.

Besides, even if this was simply an excuse to brush him off, Jin Yuliu could not press the matter further at this moment. He could only quietly observe for now.

If Yaoguang truly had ties with some peak master or lineage leader, then so be it. But if he was lying...

Heh, if that's the case, he will learn exactly what methods a Void-Piercing Realm elder has in the Heavenly Dao Sect. Jin Yuliu thought.

"In that case, what a pity," Jin Yuliu said. "Still, not every peak master or lineage leader is skilled at teaching disciples. If you ever change your mind, come find me. The doors of my lineage will remain open to you."

"Thank you very much, Elder Jin." Yaoguang offered a fist-and-palm salute politely.

The assessment then continued.

Xiang Yunlong, who had originally been eager to speak more with Yaoguang, no longer dared get too close in front of Jin Yuliu. Instead, he resumed overseeing the assessment with a formal, serious demeanor.

In the end, of the more than four hundred and sixty candidates, only forty-two passed.

The pass rate was under ten percent. Of course, that was because this assessment had been exceptionally difficult.

In previous years, an average of twenty to thirty percent of candidates would pass the inner sect assessment, while the death rate was only around ten percent.

Once the assessment ended, Jin Yuliu departed directly. Xiang Yunlong, meanwhile, led the newly accepted disciples deeper into the sect for registration and recordkeeping.

During that time, several people gathered around Yaoguang, their attitudes noticeably warm and enthusiastic.

Clearly, they all understood that based on Yaoguang’s performance, he had an excellent chance of competing for true disciple status in the future and becoming one of the Heavenly Dao Sect’s eighty-eight true disciples.

A disciple with limitless prospects like him existed on a completely different level from people like them, who merely hoped to secure a spot in the inner sect.

Xiang Yunlong also remained by Yaoguang’s side the entire time, personally guiding him through every step of registration in the manner of a caring senior brother.

His two-faced nature was displayed for all to see, without any restraint.

After Yaoguang completed registration, Xiang Yunlong smiled and began explaining, "Inner sect disciples pay over ten thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills in assessment fees, face an average pass rate of less than twenty percent, and even a death rate of fifteen percent. Yet, Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivators still come in endless waves to take the assessment. That alone proves the weight and benefits attached to being an inner sect disciple."

He pointed at a storage bracelet given during registration. "The moment you become an inner sect disciple, the sect grants you a treasured robe and a treasured sword. In addition, your identity token carries many functions. It grants unrestricted passage through numerous arrays, and you can even communicate directly with the sect’s grand array spirit to receive support..."

Yaoguang’s psychic thought had already swept through the storage bracelet. The internal space was not large, but it contained many items. And the value of those items was far from low. Altogether, they were probably worth over a thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills.

"And unlike cave dwellings that require payment to rent, inner sect disciples are each assigned their own cave dwelling..." Xiang Yunlong paused before continuing, "Of course, if you become a true disciple one day, you’ll be assigned an entire mountain peak. In terms of residence and personal space, your treatment would be enough to rival the thirteen great peak masters."

Whether outer sect disciples or inner sect disciples, to a sect, they were little more than cannon fodder and labor at the bottom tiers. Even if they all died, the sect would not care much about the loss.

Only upon reaching the level of true disciple did one truly become part of a sect’s core.

That was why, whether it was the Taiyi Immortal Sect or the Heavenly Dao Sect, the number of true disciples was fixed. They could only be fewer, never more.

The birth of every true disciple represented a transformation in status. By becoming a true disciple, one would become part of the profit-sharing class. The sect nurtured them as future Void-Refining Realm or even Void-Shattering Realm experts.

Not only were they granted extremely high authority, but the sect would also immediately allocate vast assets to their name, providing resources for their daily cultivation and expenditures.

Being assigned a mountain peak, something only a Void-Refining Realm peak master was normally qualified to possess, was the clearest proof of that.

In many sects, if one judged purely by status, true disciples ranked even above Void-Piercing Realm elders.

The reason they appeared half a step beneath those elders was simply that, in the end, strength ruled the world.

No matter how lofty a true disciple’s status, when facing a Void-Piercing Realm elder capable of killing him with ease, he still had to remain courteous and respectful.

Even if his future accomplishments might one day surpass those of that elder, appearances still had to be maintained until one had sufficient strength.

"True disciples..." Yaoguang said. "Within the Heavenly Dao Sect, what is the process for an inner sect disciple to become a true disciple?"

Xiang Yunlong was momentarily stunned, then quickly answered, "To become a true disciple, the most important requirement is to dominate the inner sect. Every five years, the inner sect holds a grand competition. Whoever ranks first is promoted to become a true disciple. If all true disciple seats are already filled, then that person must choose one true disciple to challenge. If he wins, he takes that disciple’s place and becomes the new true disciple. At the same time, all the sect assets previously assigned to that true disciple will transfer to the challenger."

He added after a pause, "Generally speaking, true disciple challenges are held six months before disciple assessments."

"Six months earlier?" Yaoguang frowned. "In other words, if I want to compete for true disciple status, I have to wait another four and a half years?"

"Yes. I’ve heard that this rule exists to reserve four and a half years to observe a disciple’s conduct and character..." Xiang Yunlong lowered his voice.

Four and a half years. To a Golden Core cultivator with a lifespan exceeding a thousand years, that was not especially long. But it would unnecessarily delay Yaoguang's attainment of true disciple status.

A single true disciple, through the sect assets allocated under his name alone, could earn at least one hundred thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills a year.

And in reality, even those true disciples ranked near the bottom earned several hundred thousand annually.

The top-ranked true disciples earned even more than Void-Piercing Realm elders.

Over four and a half years, rounding down, that was equivalent to losing millions of Pure Yang Grand Pills.

"There’s no other way to become a true disciple earlier?" Yaoguang asked.

"There isn’t. This is one of the rules inscribed in the Great Dao Golden Book. Not even money can change it."

Hearing that, Yaoguang could only set the matter aside.

Suddenly, he sensed something and turned toward a certain direction.

Almost at the exact instant he looked over, an inner sect disciple at the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm turned his head away, as though his gaze had merely swept past Yaoguang by accident.

Seeing this, Yaoguang gave it no further thought and headed to the cave dwelling the sect had assigned him.

Without true disciple status, he needed to think about how to smoothly claim the several hundred thousand in bounty placed on the Black Dragon Pirates by the Great Shang. He needed a plan.