Initiation

Chapter 10: Entering the Sect

As the last sliver of the setting sun dipped below the mountain peaks, the world suddenly fell silent.

The yellow sand ceased its swirling, and the howling wind vanished.

All the Undead Soldiers that had been charging forward stopped in unison.

Then, with a soft rustle, the phantom soldiers dissolved into dust, and even the flesh-and-blood Undead Soldiers collapsed back into piles of bones.

After a moment of stunned silence, cheers finally erupted across the battlefield.

"We succeeded!"

"We survived!"

"We passed the test!!!"

The waves of cheering were incessant, shattering the brief tranquility.

Ning Ye stood there quietly, not moving an inch.

He had suffered too many wounds; his face had been slashed three times, and his chest, waist, abdomen, arms, and legs were all covered in blade wounds.

But the worst was the sneak attack from the Green-Faced Man, which brought not only surface injuries but also severe internal damage; the wounds refused to heal, and blood continued to gush out.

Ning Ye felt as if he were about to bleed dry.

How miserable!

To pay such a price just to join a sect.

Was it worth it?

Of course it wasn't.

Even if he only became an outer disciple, Ning Ye was confident he could slowly climb the ranks.

But he could not do that.

His ambitions were too great, so great that every step of his plan was like a chasm.

Facing such a daunting task, neither strategy nor martial prowess was the most important thing.

Determination was!

Only with the courage to burn his bridges and the resolve to ignore all dangers could he hope to see even a glimmer of success.

For this reason, he would not give himself any excuse to retreat.

There was no worth or lack thereof, only doing or not doing.

The cheering continued until a group of people from the Black and White Divine Palace appeared in the sky. A small portion were disciples, but in the center were fifty true immortal masters.

These fifty immortal masters varied in strength; the lowest were in the Hualun Realm, while the highest were in the Myriad Laws Realm. Among them, five were particularly conspicuous.

A man in white, pale-faced, waving a bamboo fan with a strange smile on his face.

This was Young Master Five-Sheep, Gongsun Ye.

A woman in colorful robes, holding a flower basket, stood upon a lucky cloud. She looked somewhat languid, her eyes filled with charm.

Guan Cai Niang, formerly a disciple of the Sea Salt Sect, had killed her mistress due to an affair with her master. After being reprimanded by her master, she slaughtered his entire family and fled. When she reappeared, she was already a member of the Black and White Divine Palace.

An old man, also appearing to have a benevolent and kind face.

His name was Zhu Baicang, known as Elder Mincang. Elder Mincang claimed to have pity for all living beings and could not bear to see the suffering of the world. Since the dead do not suffer, whenever he saw those in misery, he would grant them death to relieve their pain. The number of people he had "relieved" of their suffering was in the tens of thousands.

A bald master with a face of great compassion, forever wearing a kind expression.

Master Wubei; his favorite saying was that his heart was inherently good.

Master Wubei advocated that heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, so he never killed. For his opponents, he would not kill them, but instead cripple their cultivation, sever their limbs, gouge out their tongues, destroy their eyes, and slice off their noses. If they had achieved some success in cultivation, he would also destroy their primordial spirit before letting them drift away. As for whether they lived or died afterward, that was for heaven to decide, and had nothing to do with him.

Thus, Master Wubei, who never killed, and Elder Mincang, who loved to relieve others of their pain by sending them to their end, were known as the two great philanthropists of the Black and White Divine Palace.

Finally, there was one more person: a man in tight-fitting attire filled with fiery, masculine energy. He had a pair of tiger-like, piercing eyes. Standing there, he gave off an impression of boundless killing intent surging into the sky. Even though he carried no weapon, he himself was like a blade, his sharpness fully displayed.

Seven Kill Heavenly Blade Zhang Liekuang, whose temperament was fierce and violent, was peerless in battle, and his Seven Kill God-Destroying Blade possessed boundless power.

These five were all at the peak of the Myriad Laws Realm. Each one could crush a sect leader like Xin Ranzi, and in the Black and White Divine Palace, there were thirty-six such existences, also known as the Four-Nine Human Demons, whose status was only below the Twelve Heavenly Dippers.

In other words, such terrifying individuals were not even considered top-tier in the Black and White Divine Palace.

Led by these five, a total of fifty immortal masters were the ones who held the quotas for recruiting disciples this time.

As long as one obtained the approval of these fifty, one could enter the sect and naturally receive first-class treatment.

Failing that, one could enter the divine palace as an outer disciple.

Failing that, one could only roll away in disgrace.

At this moment, seeing the immortal masters appear, the crowd below knelt one after another. Only Ning Ye remained standing, making him stand out like a crane in a flock of chickens.

"Audacious! How dare you not kneel upon seeing the immortal masters!"

Below the fifty, several Black and White Divine Palace disciples sternly rebuked Ning Ye.

"Shut up." A voice said, "This man has exhausted his strength in a bitter battle and is relying entirely on his willpower to hold on. If he were to kneel, I fear he would never be able to stand up again."

The one speaking was Zhang Liekuang.

The Killing Heart Blade Art was left behind by him, as it was one of his Seven Kill Heavenly Blade techniques.

Ning Ye had chosen this blade precisely because of him.

Looking at Ning Ye at this moment, Zhang Liekuang's eyes revealed a sense of appreciation: "This child's physical aptitude is mediocre, but the Seven Kill Heavenly Blade does not prioritize physical talent; it prioritizes willpower. This child possesses excellent willpower and comprehension, making him the perfect candidate to enter my lineage."

As he spoke, he flicked his finger, and a medicinal pill flew into Ning Ye's mouth.

Ning Ye felt a warm current rise within his body, and his severe wounds began to recover.

So... did I finally succeed?

A trace of joy welled up in his heart, and as Ning Ye closed his eyes, he drifted into a deep unconsciousness.

When he woke up again, Ning Ye found himself lying on a stone bed. Surrounded by rock walls, there was no decoration to be seen; it was extremely simple.

He sat up and discovered that the wounds on his body had completely healed.

"He's awake, he's awake!"

A shrill voice shrieked. Looking up, he saw a strange, colorful bird calling out. It looked somewhat like a parrot, though its beak was not as curved.

Ning Ye knew this was a Herald Bird, a creature born with the ability to speak human language. By nature, they were gossipy and often used to transmit messages.

Sure enough, the next moment, Ning Ye heard a voice: "Come over once you're awake."

It was the voice of Zhang Liekuang.

Ning Ye got up and walked out of the stone cave, finding two paths to his left and right. For a moment, he did not know which way to go.

Ning Ye thought for a moment and chose the path on the left. After walking for a while, he saw that a hidden world lay before him.

This was a small valley, yet it contained nothing but endless gravel, covered in marks left by blades and axes.

Though it was merely an empty valley, it gave off an infinitely cold and biting sensation. Standing within it felt as if thousands of blades were hacking toward him; anyone with weak willpower would likely have collapsed on the spot.

Zhang Liekuang was standing in the valley. Beside him were two others: one was an old man with a withered, gaunt appearance, and the other was a woman whose entire body was wrapped in gray bandages, leaving only her eyes exposed. On her back, she carried an exceptionally long, curved-handle blade, which was unsheathed and similarly wrapped in cloth strips.

With his back to Ning Ye, Zhang Liekuang said, "How did you know this was the correct path?"

Ning Ye lowered his head and replied, "The right side is drier, and the moss growth is sparse, suggesting it leads to the outside of the mountain. In contrast, the left side is damp and carries a biting, murderous intent. Since we are in the mountains, Master must be in the heart of the mountain, so this disciple chose to come left."

Unable to see Zhang Liekuang's face, Ning Ye could not discern his expression, only hearing him say, "Then how did you distinguish between the true and false undead?"

Ning Ye continued to answer, "The false undead were merely illusions. When they stepped on the yellow sand, no dust rose; it was easy to tell."

Zhang Liekuang laughed softly.

He turned to look at Ning Ye. Although he was laughing, his face, which looked as if it had been carved by blades and axes, showed no trace of a smile.

He said, "You are very clever. I usually do not like clever people. Dealing with such people is too exhausting. Most importantly, those who are too clever often know how to exploit others, winning through trickery in battle rather than hard fighting. My Seven Kill Heavenly Blade prioritizes momentum in a duel. If one has too many thoughts, their momentum will weaken, which is not ideal. Therefore, I do not like clever people."

Ning Ye said softly, "Master's words are absolutely correct. However, what Master speaks of is the general situation, and in this world, there are always a few exceptions. If a person can think but also dares to risk their life, I believe they can still earn Master's favor."

Zhang Liekuang paused, then suddenly threw his head back and laughed aloud: "Good, very good! You need not display your wit before me; what I value is only the brave. Do you understand!"

Ning Ye knelt down: "This disciple understands."

Zhang Liekuang said coldly, "You are not yet my official disciple. All inner disciples who pass the assessment have a one-year probationary period. Only after passing this period will you truly be initiated."

"I will not let Master down!"