Return to Sect

"Is there anything else?"

Xu Chunniang stopped, her gaze a little puzzled.

"Um, I have a rather bold request."

The beautiful female cultivator flicked her hair and lowered her head shyly.

This move was usually effective on male cultivators, but Xu Chunniang was just a little girl under twelve and naturally didn't understand such subtleties. She simply waited where she was for the other woman to speak.

The beautiful female cultivator waited for a long time. Seeing that Xu Chunniang wasn't responding, she continued, "Um, I want to ask you to introduce me to the captain, to join your team. My cultivation is at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, and I definitely won't hold the team back!"

Xu Chunniang suddenly understood. So that was the reason. But she was alone, how could she add anyone to her team?

She refused without hesitation, "Sorry, I'm just a runner in the team. Recruiting new members isn't something I can decide."

A flicker of embarrassment and annoyance crossed the beautiful female cultivator's face, but she quickly put on a smile.

"Junior Sister is joking. Even a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact needs your handling, which shows your status in the team. How can you just be a runner? If Junior Sister agrees, I can join the team in minutes. As long as Junior Sister helps me, I won't forget to reward you."

Xu Chunniang still shook her head, "I can't make this decision, but I will inform the captain about the situation. Whether she's willing to take in more people is beyond my control."

After speaking, she didn't linger and walked directly out of the Treasure Pavilion.

Watching the small retreating figure, the beautiful female cultivator could no longer control herself and gritted her teeth in hatred.

"An ugly freak at the third level of Qi Condensation, just a runner. Relying on her connection with a senior sister at the sixth level of Qi Condensation to act all high and mighty, what right does she have to be so arrogant in front of me!"

Xu Chunniang was naturally unaware of everything happening behind her. Even if she knew, she would only dismiss it.

After all, many people scolded her, so one more wouldn't make a difference.

After obtaining the soft armor, Xu Chunniang rushed back to the sect without time to refine it.

The sect's grand examination was the day after tomorrow. If she didn't leave now, she would truly be late.

After traveling for a whole day, Xu Chunniang finally arrived at the North Gate just before dark.

The guards were still the same two disciples. They remembered Junior Sister Xu Chunniang, who had a distinctive appearance and insisted on venturing out alone.

As she handed over her identity token for registration, one disciple couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Did you really go to the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range alone for training?"

Xu Chunniang smiled and nodded, "But I only went to the outer areas of the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range and caught a few Lair Rabbits. I didn't encounter any powerful demonic beasts."

"That's still quite remarkable. After all, the most dangerous things in the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range are not demonic beasts, but people."

He said with some admiration. Even though he knew the outer areas of the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range weren't dangerous, not everyone had the courage to go alone.

Xu Chunniang deeply agreed. Human hearts were much more complicated than demonic beasts.

"I wasn't wearing sect attire, and I kept a low profile along the way, looking for herbs and avoiding people. I didn't run into anyone."

Xu Chunniang wasn't lying. Apart from White Lion Ridge, where there were more people, Rabbit Slope and Tiger Gorge Mountain didn't have many.

"Then you were quite lucky."

The guard disciple couldn't help but sigh, "This batch of new disciples is truly extraordinary. In previous years, I've never heard of anyone at the third level of Qi Condensation daring to go to the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range alone. This year, there are two!"

Xu Chunniang's heart stirred. Someone else had gone to the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range alone like her?

"Who was that person?" she couldn't help but inquire.

"I remember his name, Su Chen. He just returned yesterday."

Xu Chunniang went over the name in her mind, but she had no impression of him. Since he wasn't someone she knew, she just silently noted the name.

After returning to her cave dwelling, Xu Chunniang, who had traveled all day, felt no fatigue. Instead, she excitedly took out the soft armor. This was a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact!

Even a young master from a cultivation family like Qi Haozhi might not possess such a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact. Yet, she had managed to obtain one through her fierce struggle with the Cloud Tiger Beast.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the excitement in her heart, Xu Chunniang began to refine the soft armor with undivided attention. The mid-grade Spiritual Artifact was inscribed with six layers of formations, making its refinement difficulty greater than that of a low-grade Spiritual Artifact.

Just before the grand examination, Xu Chunniang only managed to refine the outer three layers of formations, making it barely usable.

"Tomorrow is the grand examination. I'll refine it this far for now. It's not good to be late again like last time."

Xu Chunniang did not continue refining. She put on the soft armor close to her body and went to rest early.

The next day, the grand examination arrived as scheduled.

The grand examination consisted of two parts. The first part was a written test, which covered theoretical knowledge.

The written test was divided into two subjects: basic and specialized.

The basic subject exam was mandatory for all disciples in this batch. As for the specialized subject exam, the questions varied depending on the chosen major.

The written test venue was set up in the Lecture Hall. Due to the large number of participants, the new disciples would take the exam in order of their cultivation level, from highest to lowest.

With her displayed cultivation of the third level of Qi Condensation, Xu Chunniang successfully qualified for the first batch of examinees.

Xu Chunniang's chosen major was Spiritual Plants. After finishing the basic exam in the morning, she was assigned to the Spiritual Plants examination hall for the specialized exam in the afternoon.

Upon entering the examination hall, Xu Chunniang discovered that there were only about a hundred people inside.

There were thousands of new disciples in total, so this proportion was extremely low. It seemed that the Spiritual Plants major was indeed quite unpopular.

These thoughts only crossed her mind for a moment. Xu Chunniang quickly refocused her attention on the exam.

Although she didn't plan to become a follower of an Inner Sect disciple, she still intended to take the assessment seriously.

Since it was a new disciple assessment, it primarily tested what they had learned over the past three years, so the questions weren't too difficult. Xu Chunniang finished writing the test questions quickly.

After submitting her paper and leaving the examination hall, she saw that the other examination halls were packed with people, and many more were waiting in line outside. This stood in stark contrast to the quiet atmosphere of the Spiritual Plants major.

Xu Chunniang glanced at them once before looking away and heading outside.

The written portion lasted a full three days before concluding. Starting on the fourth day, the practical portion would begin. This was the highlight of the major examination, and many Inner Sect disciples would come to observe and select suitable followers.

Originally, the sect did not have this process of selecting followers.

Many Outer Sect disciples would remain in the Outer Sect for nearly a century, unable to break through to Foundation Establishment until they were on the verge of old age. In the end, they could only pass away after exhausting their lifespan.

After all, those who could win the Outer Sect Grand Competition, enter the top ten, obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, successfully establish their foundation, and then enter the Inner Sect were always a minority. Strength and luck were both indispensable.

Some Outer Sect disciples were unwilling to remain stuck at Qi Condensation for their entire lives. They set their sights on the spare Foundation Establishment Pills held by Inner Sect disciples, exchanging them for qualifications. They were willing to lower their status and follow Inner Sect disciples, all for that sliver of opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment.