The clamor inside was every bit as loud as the noise from the worshippers in the outer courtyard.
Yuanxin led us onward.
Soon, we reached the gate to the rear courtyard.
Young Daoist acolytes stood guard at the gate, mainly to keep worshippers from wandering in by mistake.
When they saw Yuanxin bringing us over, they called out:
"Senior Brother Yunxin!"
"Senior Brother!"
"Mm. Keep a close watch on the gate."
"Don't worry, Senior Brother!"
As they spoke, Yuanxin led us through the gate.
The moment we entered, we saw people gathered all around.
Most were disciples wearing Bixia Temple's Daoist robes, clustered in layer upon layer around the square ahead.
Discussion buzzed nonstop.
"I'm definitely going to earn permission to leave the mountain in today's assessment!"
"Yeah! I've been on the mountain for three years. I'm definitely getting out today too."
"Getting permission to leave is easy! Bringing honor to our temple is the hard part."
"Right. Our temple's assessment isn't the main event today.
The temple master has invited talented young practitioners from all over. There's a guy from Laoshan who's pretty formidable.
What really matters is getting the better of those young experts."
"What's there to be afraid of? Our eldest senior brother, Song Kun, is a once-in-a-generation genius.
Even Long Tianyu from Maoshan and Feng Dilin from the Celestial Master's Mansion might not be a match for him. Why should we fear these nobodies?"
"..."
Their conversations gave us a rough idea of what was going on.
The assessment was real, and so was the exchange.
Besides Bixia Temple's internal assessment, there would also be matches among talented young practitioners from outside.
It certainly sounded worth watching...
Meanwhile, Yuanxin spoke to the four of us:
"Fellow Daoists, as you can see, the assessment is currently underway.