Outer Sect Disciples

The crowd followed the burly middle-aged man and soon arrived at the mountain gate of Wind Ling Island.

At the mountain gate stood an enormous plaza spanning a thousand zhang in every direction. Quite a few people from Wind Ling Island were already waiting there.

They were evidently the assessors from Wind Ling Island.

"Elder Wei, all the disciples participating in the assessment have been brought here."

The burly middle-aged man spoke respectfully to a short, plump old man among them.

"Mm, you may leave."

The short, plump old man waved his hand, then signaled to a stern young man beside him.

The young man nodded and strode forward. Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, he shouted, "Everyone with a Recommendation Letter from the Purple Gold Pavilion, step forward."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Around a hundred people stepped out from the crowd.

Su Mo was naturally among them.

With a Recommendation Letter from the Purple Gold Pavilion, one could directly become an Outer Disciple of Wind Ling Island.

Su Mo had already heard that without a Recommendation Letter, if one's cultivation had not reached the Spirit Martial Realm, then even if one passed the entrance assessment, one could only become a Servant Disciple.

Servant Disciples held the lowest status on Wind Ling Island. Not only was their status low, but they also had to do odd jobs every day. It was damned miserable.

Therefore, Su Mo intended to become an Outer Disciple directly.

He had no interest in relying on his own abilities to pass the assessments step by step just to prove himself.

That would be nothing but having eaten his fill and having nowhere to vent it!

Since he had a Recommendation Letter, he would be a fool not to use it.

"Follow me!"

The young man shouted at the hundred-plus people who had stepped out.

Then, the young man led them away from the scene and to the other side of the plaza.

The remaining young men and women watched Su Mo and the others leave, their eyes all flashing with a trace of envy.

Then, following the short, plump old man's instructions, they began the various complicated assessments.

When Su Mo and the others reached the other side of the plaza, the stern young man collected their letters of introduction one by one.

Then, everyone lined up as the young man instructed.

"The fact that you possess Recommendation Letters from the Purple Gold Pavilion shows that all of you are exceptionally talented. Thus, unlike them, you need not undergo the entrance assessment and may directly become Outer Disciples of Wind Ling Island."

Standing before the crowd, the stern young man spoke loudly.

"However, in order to understand the specifics of your talents, release your Martial Souls now and let me have a look."

As soon as the young man finished speaking, everyone released their Martial Souls without hesitation.

Su Mo released his Martial Soul as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless rays of yellow light immediately burst forth, dazzling the eye.

There were all kinds of Martial Souls, strange and varied beyond imagination.

There were pythons, monkeys, and fierce tigers; sabers, swords, and axes; great trees, flowers, grass, and more.

Among the many Martial Souls, three were especially eye-catching.

The Martial Souls of those three were a golden longsaber, a purple flower, and a block of ice wreathed in cold air.

All three Martial Souls shone with eight yellow halos, exceptionally brilliant. They were clearly Human Grade Eighth Tier Martial Souls.

The owner of the golden longsaber Martial Soul was a sturdy young man, while the owner of the purple flower Martial Soul was a delicate girl in violet robes.

And the person with the Ice Martial Soul was none other than Yan Qi.

As for the others, most possessed Human Grade Seventh Tier Martial Souls, with only around twenty people possessing Human Grade Sixth Tier Martial Souls.

There was not a single person with a Human Grade Fifth Tier Martial Soul.

Other than Su Mo, everyone looked at Yan Qi and the other two with immense envy.

A Human Grade Eighth Tier Martial Soul could be called genius-level even on the vast Wind Ling Island.

It could be said that with a Human Grade Eighth Tier Martial Soul, breaking through the Spirit Martial Realm and entering the higher True Spirit Realm in the future would not pose much of a problem.

True Spirit Realm Martial Artists were considered the foremost experts throughout the entire Tian Yue Kingdom.

Basking in everyone's attention, the three of them were rather proud. Yan Qi in particular wore a look of utter arrogance. He glanced at Su Mo, his eyes full of disdain.

Earlier, when Yan Qi saw that Su Mo also had a Recommendation Letter, he had worried that Su Mo might possess great talent. Now that he saw Su Mo only had a Human Grade Sixth Tier Martial Soul, he immediately sneered.

Seeing that three among the crowd possessed Human Grade Eighth Tier Martial Souls, the stern young man's eyes lit up, and he secretly nodded.

"Good. There are actually three Human Grade Eighth Tier Martial Souls. Not bad. What are the names of you three?"

The stern young man asked with a smile, clearly placing great importance on the three of them.

"My name is Cao Yuan!" the short, sturdy youth said.

"My name is Feng Zilan!" the girl in violet robes said.

"My name is Yan Qi!"

The stern young man nodded. Then he swept his gaze over the crowd and said, "I now have a clear idea of each of your Martial Soul Talents. I will take you to the Outer Sect Area and assign you residences."

Then, everyone followed the stern young man away from the plaza and headed into the mountain gate.

Meanwhile, the nearly ten thousand young men and women remaining in the plaza were undergoing round after round of assessments, and the atmosphere was blazing hot.

Wind Ling Island's entrance assessment was divided into three parts.

The first was the Martial Soul assessment. The grade of one's Martial Soul was the most important standard for judging a martial artist's talent.

The second was the comprehension assessment. A martial artist's comprehension was also an important measure of cultivation talent. Those with high comprehension progressed at lightning speed when cultivating martial skills and other martial arts.

The third was the perseverance assessment. This tested a martial artist's personal will, perseverance, and temperament. If a person's resolve was strong enough and their willpower astonishing, then even if they were slightly lacking in other areas, they could make up for it.

Overall, Wind Ling Island's assessments covered Martial Souls, comprehension, and temperament, making them fairly comprehensive.

Of course, the latter two assessments merely served as supplements. Martial Soul grade was still the most important standard in Wind Ling Island's assessment.

However, these complicated assessments had nothing to do with Su Mo. He had now arrived at Wind Ling Island's Outer Sect Area.

The Outer Sect Area was enormous, located halfway up the mountain. A thousand courtyards rose and fell in succession, an exceptionally magnificent sight.

"Alright, this is the Outer Sect Area. Courtyards numbered seven hundred through one thousand are all vacant. You may choose freely."

After bringing everyone there, the stern young man spoke indifferently.

All the courtyards had clearly marked door numbers and were laid out in an orderly fashion.

"Each courtyard has three separate rooms, so only three people may live in each courtyard," the stern young man added.

"May I ask who lives over there?"

At that moment, one youth pointed into the distance and asked.

Everyone followed the direction he indicated and saw ten pavilions at the very top of the Outer Sect Area.

Each of those ten pavilions had three floors. Their construction was elegant and luxurious, far beyond that of ordinary courtyards.

Hearing this, the stern young man revealed a faint smile. "Those are the residences of the Top Ten Outer Disciples. On Wind Ling Island, the stronger you are, the better your treatment. If one day any of you can defeat one of them, you may replace them and move into a pavilion."

"The Top Ten Outer Disciples not only have residences different from ordinary Outer Disciples, but the resources they receive on the island are also far beyond comparison."

"Therefore, if you wish to receive better treatment, you can only work twice as hard."

The stern young man patiently explained everything in great detail.

Although this young man looked stern, his heart was not as cold as his appearance suggested.

Everyone was astonished. They were all Outer Disciples, yet the difference was actually so vast?

"Ten days from now, the sect will hold the Azure Origin Trial for newly admitted disciples. Every new disciple must participate. Those with outstanding results will receive generous rewards, so all of you must cultivate diligently."

"Alright, choose your rooms! There is a sect booklet in every room, recording the Sect Rules and various other matters. You may take a look!"

After saying that, the stern young man turned around, preparing to leave.

"Oh, right. My name is Wang Hui. I am an Outer Sect Elder. If there is anything you do not understand, you may find me at the Outer Sect Elders' Hall."

Wang Hui added one more sentence. With that, he strode away.

"He's actually an Outer Sect Elder?"

"He looks only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, doesn't he? Yet he's already an elder!"

"Hmph! What do you know? He may look only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but he is very likely already in his thirties. It is merely because his cultivation is high that he appears young."

Everyone discussed animatedly.