A crowd quietly gathered in the square in the Deacon Hall.
The news spread quickly— Yang Shao, the deputy temple master's personal disciple, had recruited five outsiders to join the Sacred Hall without requiring them to undergo the usual assessments.
This is extremely rare in the usually strict and disciplined Supervisory Sacred Hall.
"I heard these people are from another realm?"
"Other realms... they must be from the lower realms, right? What merit do they have to directly enter the inner sect?"
"Perhaps Senior Brother Yang used connections to get in because of a favor..."
The Supervisory Sacred Hall has an extremely rigorous examination system for recruiting disciples. It recruits once every fifty years, and each time only a handful of people pass the examination, sometimes not even a single person passes.
It should be noted that every time the Supervisory Sacred Hall recruits disciples, hundreds of thousands of cultivators come to participate. Some even come from higher-level realms, and because they cannot join the Supervisory Sacred Hall Supervisory Sacred Hall of their own realm, they come to a lower-level realm to join it.
There is no other reason.
Behind the Supervisory Sacred Hall lies the Holy Court.
It is the force that controls the entire World Tree.
Although the whispers were low, they clearly reached the ears of Ye Qiubai and the others.
Yang Shao, however, maintained his smile without the slightest panic, and looked at Mu Fusheng and the others with ease, saying, "With your talent and strength, you won't embarrass me, will you?"
Ye Qiubai nodded and said, "You can rest assured about us, but as for Mu Jiu..."
Um????
Yang Shao tilted his head, his face full of confusion.
What does that mean?
Just as Yang Shao was about to ask,
An elderly man with gray hair and a solemn face emerged from the hall.
The old man wore a dark gold elder's robe with three silver stars embroidered on his chest. His gaze was like lightning, and he exuded an aura of pressure as he swept over the crowd.
It's the Third Elder!
"Quiet."
Just two words, and the square fell silent.
"Today, I will be in charge of verifying the strength of the specially recruited disciples." The Third Elder's gaze fell on Ye Qiubai and the others. "The rules of the Sacred Hall cannot be disregarded. Even if recommended by the Vice Temple Master, one must still demonstrate the corresponding qualifications. Do you all understand?"
Ye Qiubai stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "This junior understands."
The Third Elder nodded slightly and pointed to the high platform in the center of the plaza. "That is the Heaven-Monitoring Stone, forged by the ancestors of the Sacred Hall from meteorite iron collected from outer space and the core of the Soaring Realm's earth veins. It can measure the purity of a cultivator's spiritual power, the depth of their foundation, and... their potential in Dao techniques."
The Heaven-Monitoring Stone is about three zhang tall, and its entire body is as black as ink, yet its surface shimmers with a faint starlight-like luster.
The stone is covered with natural patterns, and upon closer inspection, one can see that countless tiny runes are moving on their own.
"When spiritual energy is infused into it, the Heaven-Monitoring Stone will display different phenomena depending on the cultivator's cultivation level, the quality of the spiritual energy, and the characteristics of their Daoist techniques," the Third Elder said calmly. "Ordinary inner disciple can cause the stone to glow white. Those with exceptional talent can see a silver light. If one can reach the standard of Inspectors... then it will shine with golden light."
He paused, then looked at the five men. "Since you were recommended by Yang Shao, you must have some extraordinary abilities. Who would like to go first?"
Ye Qiubai looked at the Heaven-Monitoring Stone and smiled helplessly.
"It's been a long time since I've experienced this kind of method for assessing strength and talent..."
Hong Ying looked at Ye Qiubai and said, "I haven't experienced that."
Ye Qiubai's face stiffened.
"I don't have any either," Xu Yeming, shrugging.
Mu Fusheng and Jiu Bailu also laughed and said, "It seems that only our senior brother has had this experience before; it's quite novel for us."
Ye Qiubai's eyes twitched. "Then you guys go and experience it first!"
Xu Yeming grinned, "Then I'll go first."
Under the Supervisory Sacred Hall and the probing of those with perception.
Xu Yeming walked to the Heaven-Monitoring Stone, took a deep breath, and pressed his palms flat against the stone.
In an instant, spiritual energy surged forth from within his body!
The Heaven-Monitoring Stone trembled slightly, and the patterns on its surface lit up. First, it emitted a pure white light, and then strands of silver light seeped out from within the white light. The silver light grew stronger and stronger, eventually covering two-thirds of the stone, and the light became stable and solid.
"Eighty percent silver radiance, solid foundation, pure spiritual energy." The Third Elder's eyes gleamed, and he nodded slightly. "Suitable for upper-tier inner sect entry."
Xu Yeming withdrew his hand and stepped back, winking at Ye Qiubai and the others—he had not used the aura of the Great Wilderness Beast Heart, and had deliberately suppressed the special fluctuations of the vampire bloodline.
Everyone else was taken aback.
Inner Gate, Top Grade?
How could someone from the lower realm possess such formidable strength?
It should be noted that there are fewer than two people in the entire Supervisory Sacred Hall Supervisory Sacred Hall could reach the upper level of the inner sect before joining!
"How about it?"
Xu Yeming smiled and returned to the crowd.
Yang Shao gave Xu Yeming a thumbs up and said, "You didn't embarrass me!"
Mu Fusheng then secretly transmitted his voice, " Junior Brother Xu, how about suppressing it a little more? This is still too ostentatious."
Xu Yeming was about to say something.
Hong Ying leaped up and arrived in front of the Heaven-Monitoring Stone, then transmitted her voice to Mu Fusheng and the others.
"Why bother suppressing it? The other side doesn't know our situation anyway. Showing more strength and raising our profile will benefit our intelligence gathering."
Mu Fusheng covered his face.
We're doomed!
Hong Ying hand gently pressed against the stone surface.
Buzz--
The Heaven-Monitoring Stone trembled violently!
A burst of white light appeared instantly, followed almost simultaneously by a burst of silver light that covered eighty percent of the stone in the blink of an eye!
"Eighty percent?!"
"Top-tier among the inner disciples, right?"
"No, that silver light is still rising!"
The Third Elder's pupils also slowly contracted.
Under the horrified gazes of the crowd.
The silver light gradually turned golden, covering the entire stone!
Boom!!!
In an instant, golden light enveloped the entire Supervisory Sacred Hall!
Everyone in the Supervisory Sacred Hall looked up at the direction of the Heaven-Monitoring Stone, their eyes filled with horror.
"Ten percent golden light..." The Third Elder's eyes flashed with surprise, "The spiritual power contains a trace of kingly aura, the depth of its foundation is truly rare."
There were also gasps of surprise from below.
"Ten percent golden light?! That's even higher than Senior Brother Yang and Senior Brother Qin's, right?!"
"Perhaps only that mysterious being can compare to it?"
"Heavens! How could such a person possibly appear in the mortal realm?"
"Could it be from the Upper Realm?"
Hong Ying calmly withdrew her hand and returned to her original position.
Then, before they could react...
Jiu Bailu stepped forward and touched the Heaven-Monitoring Stone.
A silvery light covered eighty percent of the stone!
Even more surprisingly, a faint hint of pale gold shone through the silver light. Although it was fleeting, the Third Elder had already keenly noticed it.
"The silver light is eighty percent complete, touching the threshold of the golden light..." The Third Elder's expression changed.
He gave Jiu Bailu a deep look, but didn't ask any further questions; he simply noted down this unusual occurrence.
The Jiu Bailu calmly withdrew their hands.
Jiu Bailu did not use the Power of Karma; if it had, it could probably have reached the Golden Light level.
The people below stared in disbelief at the scene.
The five people they looked down on not long ago.
The three people who appeared on stage had already reached this level.
The two people behind them...