Inner Court of the Divine Sect

The Inner Court, the most mysterious existence in the Tianyuan Divine Sect. Typically, disciples who graduate from the Inner Court will become captains of the Hidden Guard at the very least, carrying out special missions for the Tianyuan Divine Sect.

Furthermore, they all wear golden masks, which are fundamentally different from the silver masks worn by ordinary Hidden Guards.

Han Fei listened to Qi Xuanxuan's explanation and sighed softly, "The reason the Tianyuan Divine Sect can rule the surrounding Four Great Empires is truly because its foundation is terrifyingly deep."

Qi Xuanxuan said, "The Inner Court is a very special entity. Even among the disciples of the Tianyuan Divine Sect, few truly understand it. To put it bluntly, it's a place to cultivate high-level personnel for the Tianyuan Divine Sect."

In the far north of the Tianyuan Divine Sect, within a valley surrounded by mountains, a vast complex of buildings was situated.

This was the only opening in the entire Tianyuan Mountain Range. The head of the Tianyuan Mountain Range was on one side of the valley, and its tail was on the other.

South of this opening lay the edge of the continent, the "Endless Sea."

Thus, this valley became a no-man's-land and one of the most mysterious places in the Tianyuan Divine Sect.

Han Fei and his group of thirty people arrived at the entrance of the valley.

On both sides of the entrance, dozens of Hidden Guards wearing golden masks stood guard. In the center, a stern-faced man in the attire of a One-Star Elder was in the process of handing over duties with the elder who had led Han Fei.

Then, the stern-faced man spoke loudly, "My name is Gao Cheng, and I am the invigilator for your Inner Court assessment. Han Fei, Gu Yue, Meng Qing... eleven of you are exempt from the assessment and will directly enter the Inner Court. The remaining nineteen must pass the assessment."

Han Fei and the others, hearing the rules for the first time, were stunned.

Qi Xuanxuan explained, "You are participants in the arena battles, so you have direct entry rights. We, however, do not. We were selected by many chief disciples and elders, and we must pass the assessment. If we fail, we still won't be able to enter."

Han Fei nodded in understanding, "So that's how it is."

Gao Cheng said, "The eleven of you, follow me. The rest will begin entering the valley after one incense stick's time. As long as you can successfully pass through the jungle and reach the entrance of the Inner Court, you will be considered to have passed. If you wish to withdraw midway, simply raise your hands, and the Hidden Guards hidden in the shadows will rescue you."

Zhang Yang exclaimed, "What? Raise your hands? Doesn't that mean surrender? I can't believe they came up with that."

Gao Cheng said coldly, "Yes, it means surrender. Since you wish to become the chosen ones, you must endure high-intensity pressure. Of course, I don't think this is much pressure. If there are no other questions, let's begin now."

With that, Gao Cheng unleashed a powerful spiritual energy, directly lifting Han Fei and the other eleven into the sky, flying towards the gate of the Inner Court.

The remaining disciples, including Qi Xuanxuan, began to enter the valley calmly under the signal of the golden-masked Hidden Guards.

They did not know what awaited them. Of course, as Gao Cheng had said, if they wanted to become the chosen ones, they had to be prepared to face anything.

At this moment, Han Fei and the others had arrived at the main gate. Gao Cheng's hand flashed, and an unknown magical artifact appeared in his hand. He then tossed this artifact onto the open ground in front of them.

Swish! With a flash of light, the artifact immediately split into dozens of beams of light, finally forming screens about one meter in diameter, just like the televisions Han Fei had seen in his previous life.

The screens displayed images of various corners within the jungle ahead.

At this time, Qi Xuanxuan and the other nineteen people had already spread out in a fan shape, entering different areas. These individuals were almost strangers to each other, and as geniuses from their respective peaks, they disdained forming temporary teams.

Han Fei saw Qi Xuanxuan choose a direct path forward. To her sides, a few sharp-eyed disciples, while not following directly, still maintained a close distance.

Gao Cheng saw this and smiled, "Ridiculous. Do they think the trial for geniuses would be that simple?"

Han Fei humbly said, "Senior..."

Gao Cheng interrupted, "I'm not a senior. I'm a senior disciple who just graduated from this batch of the Inner Court."

Han Fei was shocked. To be promoted directly to a One-Star Elder right after graduation, how terrifying must his strength be?

Han Fei bowed, "Yes. May I ask, Senior Brother, does the trial have any impact on one's cultivation level? Is it more advantageous for those with higher cultivation?"

Gao Cheng smiled, "You were the first place winner in this year's Martial Arts Tournament, weren't you? It's the first time I've heard of the first place winner of the Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament being in the Innate Realm."

Han Fei humbly replied, "It was all luck. My fellow seniors went easy on me."

Gao Cheng smiled mysteriously, "You asked earlier if cultivation has an impact. If it does, it certainly does. However, what they need to overcome the most is still their own inner struggles, which has nothing to do with cultivation."

As Gao Cheng's words fell, Han Fei saw Qi Xuanxuan encounter her opponent first on the screen, as she had chosen to advance directly.

A strange aura enveloped Qi Xuanxuan's path ahead. Countless white poisonous snakes hung from the surrounding trees. To pass, these poisonous snakes were an unavoidable obstacle.

Fortunately, the white snake skins contrasted sharply with the surrounding trees, making it easy to spot where the snakes were.

Qi Xuanxuan slowly drew her Azure Spirit Sword, and a layer of spiritual energy enveloped her body. She directly charged into the poisonous snake-infested area.

Gao Cheng shook his head, "Wasting spiritual energy to maintain cleanliness during combat. Simply ridiculous."

Zhang Yang scoffed, "Senior Brother, you probably don't know her identity, do you? Daring to speak about her like that?"

Gao Cheng snorted, "Isn't she just the Sect Master's daughter? So what? Do you think she has special privileges? If she had privileges, there wouldn't be an assessment. Let me tell you, in the Inner Court, you can't rely on anything but yourselves. The core disciples of the Divine Sect, why do they have such noble status and so many privileges? Do you think it's due to connections?"

"Furthermore, you are all very lucky to not have to participate in the assessment. Otherwise, whether you could even reach here alive would be a question."

Meng Qing asked, "Does Senior Brother mean the assessment carries a risk to life?"

Gao Cheng smiled mysteriously and said no more, because at that very moment, one person had already been bitten to death by the poisonous snakes.

On the far left, a man had just entered the poisonous snake area when a large number of snakes flew towards him.

In his panic, he used a wide-area destructive move, killing half of the snakes. However, as everyone knows, wide-area moves require time to condense spiritual energy, and there is a moment or even several moments of stiffness after the move is unleashed.

During this time, he was approached by the remaining snakes, one of which bit his neck. Then, other snakes swarmed him, overwhelming him. He died a miserable death, not even having time to utter the word "surrender."

Gao Cheng sneered, "Passing this way is simply courting death. How could someone with such intelligence be selected? The quality of disciples from the Thirty-Three Peaks is declining year by year."

Gu Yue said expressionlessly, "Senior Brother, saying that is a bit excessive. No one who can get here lacks intelligence."

Gao Cheng snorted, "Excessive? The poisonous snakes in the first stage are all low-level. Their spiritual energy hasn't even reached level fifteen, which is equivalent to the fifth level of the Innate Realm. This stage only tests a Martial Artist's speed and the coordination of their moves. There's no difficulty involved. If you can't even pass this, what is it if not low intelligence?"

Han Fei asked, "Then the sect just watches these people die? They are all top-ranked individuals from the major peaks."

Gao Cheng shook his head, "You're wrong. The Tianyuan Divine Sect, or any sect for that matter, has no shortage of geniuses. Remember this."

Han Fei and the others: "..."

At this moment, Qi Xuanxuan had already entered the viper zone and showed no intention of slowing down. Dressed in a purple long skirt, she transformed into a stunning purple figure.

While advancing rapidly, the Azure Spirit Sword in her right hand also unleashed streaks of sword light, agile yet deadly.

Swish, swish, sword light accurately sliced through the vipers, cutting them in half.

Watching Qi Xuanxuan's graceful figure, Han Fei finally let out a relieved smile.

Soon, the viper zone was passed, and the others followed one after another. Only one disciple died in the first stage, but in the second stage, everyone felt the pressure.

Qi Xuanxuan was the first to pass. What greeted her eyes was a Blazing Bear, a demonic beast at level twenty of spiritual energy. Without any pause, she immediately engaged the Blazing Bear in battle.

It was then that Han Fei understood why Gao Cheng said the assessment didn't differentiate by cultivation level.

Because he could now see that the demonic beasts faced by all the participants were not the same. They were all one cultivation level lower than the participant's own.