It was nearly noon in the sect. In the outer zone closest to the boundary leading to the inner region, about 100,000 disciples were gathered in complete silence, waiting patiently. It was at this moment that a figure so round that his steps reverberated approached.
Everyone turned to look at him; a little behind, they saw two well-groomed men walking calmly. Beside the whale, a beautiful woman held his hand gracefully, exuding a charming allure. They moved slowly past everyone, and most didn’t know who they were. But as they approached the front, an elder looked at them and furrowed his brows.
"What the hell did newcomers come here to do?" The elder spoke coldly.
The whale at the front just responded lightly. "Hm? According to the rules, we are obliged to take the test in 18 months, but there’s nothing preventing us from doing it earlier. Especially when one is happening."
The elder snorted and didn’t deny; only disciples from the five main branches were bold enough to take the test with the older members. But the news of these four newcomers and their talents had already spread throughout all the sects. Especially that young woman with a distinctive appearance; the massacre she had caused shocked everyone.
"If you want to take the risk instead of preparing for another year, nothing really stops you. Anyway, it’s time," the elder spoke, and his words became loud for everyone to hear. "Some of you relied on your talent to pass, and some relied on luck. But either way, these are still your strengths, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, you’ve only taken the first step. The tests for the inner sect are not focused on recruiting talents. Instead, they are meant to separate the weak from the strong. Talent without effort and a will to grow means nothing; hence, those who haven’t used their time to elevate themselves will be eliminated here."
Everyone who heard forgot to breathe. All disciples received a small amount of crystals monthly, which could be used to buy equipment or techniques in the sect’s external library. The time of a year and a half was not nearly enough for most to elevate themselves, but everyone felt that their abilities had increased significantly during this period.
"The outer sect trial was just a children’s game, no real danger, while the inner sect trial is... a true battle," the elder continued. "The inner sect trial takes place on a bloody battlefield. The sect had me explain this so you’d know this trial is ruthless. Historically, the chances of losing your life are around 60%. It’s a battlefield where only the capable can survive, so think carefully if you want to try. Although inner sect disciples receive excellent treatment and status, if you choose to give up and become external workers, you still have a chance to become external elders in the future. But if you fail the trial, you’ll have no chance and will only meet your end."
His words echoed in the disciples’ minds. The treatment that inner sect disciples received was like a dream for them, but now it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads.
"If you wish to become inner sect disciples, the first thing you need to do is be prepared to give up your lives. If you can’t do that, the chances of surviving the trial are nil. Once you enter this test, don’t think that the people beside you will be able to save you. If people try to save you, they’ll be putting themselves in danger and reducing their own chances of survival. So, I’m advising all of you, bluntly, not to try without careful consideration. Think about it carefully; your lives are more valuable," warned the elder with genuinely concerned eyes.
The air was tense, and it was as if a stone were pressing on their hearts. The whale looked at the human elder seriously; most likely, he wasn’t forced to speak so much but genuinely wanted to weed out the weak. He was the first decent human they had encountered in this place; it seemed that there were still elders with some dignity in this sect.
"I’ve said all I have to say. As for what you choose, it’s up to you. If you want to participate in the inner sect trial, step forward and register. If you don’t want to, step back, and another elder will take you," concluded the elder.
After his words, about 60,000 disciples stepped forward. The other 1,000 who stayed behind were institute members, and they came just to register and would be directed to an exclusive test from their institutes. All the others simply chose to become external workers, coming from small clans and aware that death was certain.
The whale observed everyone registering quickly, and within an hour, everything was ready. To his surprise, all the institute members who registered came from institutes other than the Forge.
All the external members of the Forge chose to remain as external members forever. Unlike the disciples, they were not demoted to workers with this choice. They could never elevate themselves and would have to pay a monthly fee to the institute.
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It wasn’t a bad deal for them, and only extremely confident institute members chose to take the test. The consequences of failure were becoming an institute worker, below everyone. This was clearly an incentive for them to stay where they were; after all, paying to the institute and having members with low status was much easier to manage.
The whale’s group advanced. Ruri, Loeus, and Corin registered within seconds. When the whale, the sole member of the Forge institute, moved forward, the elder looked at him, and quickly, a figure emerged from the inner sect.
Alm and Bruno recognized him; he was one of the old men from the institute who met with him after he returned. He just looked at the whale and spoke seriously.
"Young Leader, as a newcomer and future leader of the institute, you cannot take the test now. The central members are taking care of everything, and to guide you in the best way, they gave the order for you to..."
"I don’t care what they think. I am the leader, not them. By the sect rules, I can take it now." The whale cut him off sharply without giving him a second glance. Clearly, the elders wanted to delay him as much as possible to take control of the entire institute and then deal with him cleanly. They made sure to read all the rules before proceeding with the game.
The institute old man narrowed his eyes. "Young Leader, the institute test rules are different from the sect. Since there is no member taking the test, we won’t conduct any. We are not obligated to conduct the test just for you before completing a year and a half. If there were someone, you could... but currently..."
The whale snorted. "Doesn’t matter, if there’s no institute test, I’ll do the same as the disciples. There have been disciples who gave up the internal test but became internal institute members and moved there. Of course, they lost the disciple position, but then they just retook the disciple test. This is a loophole for hardworking workers who discovered their talent late. And in the rules, there’s also the reverse, an institute member taking the internal and central test through the disciple route. I’ll still be an institute member, and this will be considered as having passed temporarily, and I’ll have to retake the institute test later."
"The sect rules are fair for the talented, the hardworking, and those who discovered their talents late," the whale concluded in a calm and incisive tone.
The elder and all the disciples around were astonished. A blacksmith wanting to take the disciple test? That was suicidal, and despite being within the rules, no one had been so crazy before. The institute elder just looked dryly at the whale, and internally, he was satisfied. Regardless of the choice, the central members of the institute would win. Either he waited, giving them time, or he took the test and died miserably.
"Young Leader, this..." The old man spoke, feigning concern.
The whale snorted. "You can go. Despite being a blacksmith, I have reliable companions. They will protect me."
Everyone heard and looked at the three around the whale. Trusting others to survive? They wanted to laugh; they would all die together for this foolishness.
The old man tried to say a few more things, but after a few minutes of pretense, he simply left. Soon, the whale was registered without the slightest hesitation, making the elder’s eyes serious and full of concern. He wanted to stop him but found no words.
As soon as the former disciples of the external sect were taken away, the elder said, "Since you’ve chosen to participate in the internal sect test, then I can only wish you good luck. But before the judgment, you need to meet some people. They will be essential for you to survive."
Countless runes on the floor beneath the feet of the crowd illuminated. The space around them twisted, and four figures slowly emerged.
"Let me introduce them. Those in front of you are the five disciples who will take the test with you. They are all leaders of their generation, from the largest clans in the sect," the elder continued.
Everyone could clearly feel the immense pressure from these people, pressure that made it difficult to breathe. All four of them were at the fifth level of the Heaven Stage Realm, and some disciples were at lower levels of the same realm, but they all thought in sync. They were definitely not on the same level.
In contrast, the whale and his group only looked at them as if they were seeing clowns. ’Why the hell are they using spiritual root power to pressure others? It makes no sense and has no attack power whatsoever,’ Ruri spoke through the array.
’This is just to impress and elevate their status. Something very common among cultivators, appearing strong is more important than actually being strong. And these weak disciples can’t differentiate that.’ The whale responded casually.
Quickly, the four figures took steps forward. Then, everyone thought strangely, the elder mentioned five? Why were there only four?
Suddenly, they felt the ground shake and turned scared towards it. They quickly saw a hurried movement, with sounds of the ground breaking, and were astonished. Who was foolish enough to make noise and trouble within the sect like this?
Soon, a figure emerged amid the dust, and everyone looked perplexed. It was a human... or was it an ogre? He was three meters tall and... wide... and extremely round. Immediately, everyone turned to Alm and Bruno; were they brothers? Everyone thought.
The man quickly reached the side of the other four, breathing heavily. In his hands, there were two large pieces of meat from a giant beast. His mouth chewed ferociously, and something dripped from his lips. He just looked at the elder and bowed his head in apology, unable to say anything.
Soon, the elder sighed and spoke. "This is the last member, the young representative of the largest clan in the sect and consequently, the largest clan on the entire planet. The Obsidian Clan."