Extreme Almightiest Young Master-Chapter 1788 - 1770: Selected for the Heavenly Court
"It’s impossible to let you off, but considering that you didn’t make a move against Fang Yan previously, the situation isn’t too dire. The death penalty can be avoided, but not the living punishment. Go and receive a hundred lashes with the Dragon Jump Rod and meditate at Tranquil Heart Cliff for two years!" Elder Wang pondered for a moment before giving such a punishment.
The Dragon Jump Rod is no ordinary punishment; it is a unique penalty of the Divine Sword Sect. The Dragon Jump Rod is a special Dharma Treasure with some extremely special prohibitions, specifically used as a tool to discipline cultivators. Even a Heaven Flipping Realm expert would find it unbearably painful to receive a single stroke, let alone Wu Kexiong, who is merely in the early stage of the Earth Covering Realm!
With these hundred strikes of the Dragon Jump Rod, even if Wu Kexiong doesn’t die, he would certainly lose half his life, but it won’t harm his foundation. Once he’s healed, he can still resume his cultivation. As for the penalty of meditating at Tranquil Heart Cliff for two years, it’s to give Wu Kexiong a good opportunity for self-reflection, to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
"Thank... thank you, Elders, for your mercy!" Wu Kexiong, upon hearing that Elder Wang wouldn’t kill him nor expel him from the Divine Sword Sect, immediately showed joy on his face and knelt on the ground to express his gratitude.
"Don’t delay the matters of the Inner Sect assessment, stand aside." Elder Wang no longer wished to speak to him, coldly reprimanding him before turning his gaze to Fang Yan, saying, "Fang Yan, come stand behind us and leave with us after the Inner Sect assessment is over."
"Yes!" Fang Yan simply responded without being polite, immediately moving to stand behind the five Elders.
"Let’s continue the assessment now. Please come up in sequence." Seeing that everything was settled, Elder Wang said calmly.
Qin Kun looked around and realized he was first in line. He immediately stepped up to Elder Wang, gave a deep bow without saying a word, waiting for Elder Wang to announce the assessment conditions.
"We five Elders will each assess you on one capability, namely Willpower, Comprehension, Spell, Wisdom, and Physical Body. I am responsible for the first, and if you can endure in front of me for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, you will pass, with longer endurance indicating better performance."
Elder Wang explained to Qin Kun in detail, also ensuring the others understood the nature of the assessment; he originally should have explained this during Fang Yan’s assessment, but Wu Kexiong disrupted the proceedings, so he needed to add clarification now.
"I understand, please proceed with the assessment, Elder." Qin Kun bowed immediately upon hearing Elder Wang, though he didn’t understand what Willpower entailed, he knew he had to undergo the assessment regardless.
Unexpectedly, right as he finished speaking, Elder Wang made his move. Elder Wang’s eyes suddenly brightened, and Qin Kun instantly felt a voice emerging in his mind, commanding him to kneel down, kneel down...
He must not kneel!
Qin Kun quickly understood what this Willpower assessment was about. If he really kneeled, his assessment would end, and realizing this, a sense of defiance rose within him, beginning to resist the voice in his mind.
As time went on, Qin Kun’s face became increasingly strained. The pressure from the voice was immense, even causing his body to tremble, and cold sweat to break out all over him. Yet, despite this, he persevered...
Ultimately, he could no longer withstand the invisible pressure and knelt on the ground. As soon as he did, the voice vanished without a trace.
"Not bad, not bad at all, you lasted almost the time of one stick of incense." Elder Wang said with a smile as he looked at Qin Kun. Such willpower was already considered excellent among past Outer Sect disciples, and he was very satisfied with this first candidate.
Qin Kun, coming back to his senses and hearing Elder Wang’s words, immediately exhaled in relief; it wasn’t disgraceful. Quickly, he picked himself up from the ground and moved to stand before the second Elder.
"The comprehension assessment here is quite simple." The second Elder, seeing Qin Kun approach, did not delay. After saying this, he slowly made six hand gestures in the air, seemingly simple yet containing profound mystery, and unexpectedly these six slow movements created six whirlwinds, drifting outside the gestures.
"In the time of one stick of incense, replicate as much as you can." The second Elder instructed, and then said no more.
Qin Kun did not expect the comprehension assessment to be like this but quickly recovered and began recalling the second Elder’s gestures, then started imitating them while reflecting. It was only when he began the imitation that he realized how complex these six gestures were, nothing like what he originally thought.
In the blink of an eye, the time for one stick of incense passed, and Qin Kun became so absorbed in understanding the six gestures that he even forgot the time. By then, he was able to form the third gesture’s rudimentary shape, researching how the whirlwind of the third gesture was created.
"Excellent, commendable comprehension." The second Elder interrupted Qin Kun’s realization at this moment, giving a brief evaluation, and with a gesture, instructed him to proceed to the next Elder for assessment...
...
Altogether, the five Elders took nearly one hour. By the time Qin Kun completed his assessment, he collapsed to the ground, even with blood at the corners of his mouth. Though there was no danger, it was an astonishing process, which could fully expose a person’s overall strength. A test of genius or stupidity, it reveals all at once.
"Excellent, I didn’t expect that aside from Fang Yan, there would be such an outstanding disciple this year. Enter the Profound Courtyard." Elder Wang nodded at Qin Kun. After evaluating him in various aspects, although Qin Kun’s performance was not as good as Fang Yan’s, he was still a promising candidate. Hence, Elder Wang directly arranged for Qin Kun to enter the Profound Courtyard.
Upon hearing Elder Wang’s arrangement for him to enter the Profound Courtyard, Qin Kun was so thrilled that he almost jumped with joy. Initially, he thought it would be good enough to enter the Inner Sect, but he did not expect to enter the Profound Courtyard. This surprise made him unable to control his emotions, and with an extremely excited expression, he thanked Elder Wang, saying: "Thank you for arranging this, Elder."
"No need to thank us. Stand behind us." Elder Wang gently shook his head and, after ordering Qin Kun to stand behind him, began assessing the next person.
...
Originally, there were only fourteen people participating in the assessment. Fang Yan was directly promoted to a Core Disciple of the Inner Sect, and Wu Kexiong was about to be punished and hence lost his qualification. This left twelve people, whose assessments were completed very quickly, in less than six hours. Among those who successfully entered the ranks of Inner Sect Disciples, aside from Qin Kun and Wu Shan, there were two others who were promoted, namely Hua Feng and Jia Chen. They were originally Outer Sect Disciples at the Divine Firmament Realm Peak and now had half-stepped into the Earth Covering Realm. Fortunately, the assessment considered overall strength, allowing them to qualify, and they were assigned to the Yellow Courtyard.
Once the assessments were completely finished, Elder Wang ordered Hu Yi to escort the other disciples back, and then took Wu Kexiong to receive the Dragon Jump Rod, and subsequently left the assessment site with Fang Yan and the five others, as the other five elders flew away.
After exiting the assessment site, led by the five elders, everyone headed toward the auxiliary peak at the top of Divine Sword Peak.
Upon reaching the base of the auxiliary peak, looking up, Fang Yan and the others noticed that the architecture of the auxiliary peak was layered, with an unknown number of layers stacked upon each other; it appeared truly magnificent!
Just as they were about to speak, Elder Wang said: "Now, what is before you is the true Divine Sword Sect. Here lies a Super Spirit Gathering Array, the abundance of Spiritual Energy is far greater than that of the outside world; the higher the level, the denser the Spiritual Energy. The first layer is the Inner Sect’s Yellow Courtyard, the second layer is the Profound Courtyard, and so forth. The bottom four layers are the residences for all Inner Sect disciples, and above are the residences for various elders of the sect. Only when your strength improves can you reside higher, one layer at a time."
"So that’s how it is!"
"Looks like I need to work hard!"
"I really wonder what the peak is like!"
...
Fang Yan said nothing, while the other four couldn’t help but express their thoughts at that moment, each feeling a surge of determination. To make a name in Divine Sword Sect, reaching the Heavenly Court is essential. They now set this as their goal for striving forward.
Elder Wang glanced at Fang Yan, seeing no change in him, and nodded approvingly. Without further words, he led them to the first layer of the Yellow Courtyard.
A thin, black elder had been waiting for quite some time there and immediately approached upon seeing Elder Wang.
"Thank you, Elder Wang, for bringing the newcomers." The thin, black elder spoke with utmost respect, knowing that Elder Wang was his superior. He was in charge of the Yellow Courtyard, while Elder Wang managed the four courtyards of the Inner Sect, so he knew how to address appropriately.
"These two are the newcomers to the Yellow Courtyard this time. You need to guide them well and arrange their residences appropriately." Elder Wang spoke faintly to the skinny, black elder, and then told Hua Feng and Jia Chen: "He is your Resident Elder here at the Yellow Courtyard, Elder Liu. If you have any questions in the future, you can consult him."
"Greetings, Elder Liu!"
"Greetings, Elder Liu!"
Hua Feng and Jia Chen stepped forward and greeted Elder Liu, knowing they would spend quite some time with him and hence needed to establish a good relationship.
Elder Liu nodded at Hua Feng and Jia Chen, but he quickly realized something: usually, new arrivals mostly stayed within the Yellow Courtyard. Why were only two left this time? What was going on?
"Elder Wang, only two for the Yellow Courtyard this time?" Unable to resist, he asked, pondering what happened with the other three disciples.
"Elder Liu, it’s just the two for the Yellow Courtyard this time. The other three are up above; you don’t need to worry about them." Elder Wang, understanding Elder Liu’s thoughts, smiled lightly, uttered a simple explanation, and left with Fang Yan and the three others heading toward the next level, the Profound Courtyard.
Along the steep blue stone steps, they soon reached the Profound Courtyard. There, beside the steps, they encountered an elder who appeared to be in his sixties, dressed in a long robe. This was none other than the Resident Elder of the Profound Courtyard, Elder Zhao.
