When the first ray of light passed through the window, it landed on Zhao Jiuge, who was lying on a wooden bed. Soon, his eyelids moved and he opened them.
Sunlight was pouring into the room, and Zhao Jiuge felt that the light was too blinding. It took him a bit to get used to the light, then he looked around the room.
The room was not big, but it had everything. At a glance, he could tell that the room’s layout was simple and clean.
Aside from the small, wooden bed, there was only a willow wood table and two wooden chairs.
There was an ordinary, blue porcelain tea set on the table. Zhao Jiuge’s gaze was attracted to a painting on the wall opposite the wooden bed.
The painting was only about one meter long, with the words “Endless Sword Sea” written on it. The words seemed to be filled with power, and Zhao Jiuge was deeply attracted to these three words.
It took a long time for Zhao Jiuge to recover. “Wasn’t I forced to take the poison pill by that blood-robed man named Cao Bin? How come I didn’t die?”
“Is there anyone around?” Zhao Jiuge's voice was a bit hoarse. He moved his body and found that his entire body was weak. He felt like his bones were all going to dislocate.
Seeing no one respond, he slowly got off the bed. He curiously looked around the room and then went outside.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, he was shocked by the scene before him. It was like he was standing on top of a sea of clouds. The rising sun was bathing the sea of clouds in a layer of golden sunlight.
Then Zhao Jiuge found that he was at the peak of a mountain. There was a huge chain that pierced through the sea of clouds and linked the surrounding peaks with this one.
Zhao Jiuge was shocked by this scene. This was much better than the place he had lived in for the last three years. Zhao Jiuge looked around him and suddenly noticed a middle-aged man in a black robe standing not far in the distance.
After recovering from the shock, Zhao Jiuge felt a bit relieved. The middle-aged man was the stern Elder Li.
Zhao Jiuge was shocked and he quickly arrived beside Elder Li. “Elder Li, what’s going on? Did you save me?”
Elder Li unexpectedly just smiled warmly but didn’t answer his question. This made Zhao Jiuge even more confused. However, he noticed that Elder Li’s gaze toward him was much more gentle.
Luo Bowen suddenly rushed out from the opposite room with a look of horror and cried, “Help!”
When he saw Zhao Jiuge and Elder Li, he rushed forward. “Elder Li, there is remnant of the North Yi Sect hiding in the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect!”
Hearing this, Zhao Jiuge was also startled. He didn’t understand how Luo Bowen had also met a remnant of the North Yin Sect.
At this moment, one after the other, Leng Rufeng, Zhang Pingquan[1], and others all came out. Their faces were deathly pale, but they became even more confused when they heard Luo Bowen’s words.
Seeing this scene, everyone roughly understood what had happened, even if they were fools. They all looked at Elder Li with puzzled gazes.
Zhao Jiuge softly asked, “Elder Li, can you tell us what happened now?”
“I believe you all have a general understanding of what happened. That’s right, there was no mission or Wu Hua Fruit at all. The purpose of this test was to test your loyalty to the sect. You all passed, and the same test took place across the rest of the mountain.” The sternness Elder Li had shown before was long gone. He must have been very satisfied with this performance.
A relatively thin youth asked, “Elder Li, can I ask what the poison pill we were given was?” Zhao Jiuge found this person a bit unfamiliar; he had to be a disciple from the other two peaks. He could tell that this youth still had some lingering fear.
At this moment, Elder Li’s smile became even wider. “What poison pill? It was the Hundred Turn Temper Pill. Although the effect was overbearing, it is very precious. If it wasn’t for the change in the inner sect selection method, we wouldn’t have given it to you. But seeing how well you performed, you deserve the reward. The Hundred Turn Temper Pill can cleanse impurities from your body. Although you tempered your body when you reached the Foundation Realm, there were still impurities left. This pill helped remove those impurities and will help pave the way to form your spirit core.”
Hearing this from Elder Li, the rest of the disciples suddenly became sober. They felt lingering fear of almost losing their lives and then excitement for surviving.
Only Zhao Jiuge showed no trace of excitement. His brows were locked and he looked around. Finally, he asked, “What will happen to the disciples that didn’t pass?”
He didn’t see Bai Qingqing, and a bad feeling arose in his heart. He hoped that Bai Qingqing hadn’t awakened yet or was at another peak. However, the former was almost impossible because with Bai Qingqing’s cultivation, she would have awakened before him. He could only hope for the latter.
At this moment, some of the sternness returned to Elder Li. He let out a snort and coldly said, “They will naturally be expelled from the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.”
Those disciples that had agreed to harm the sect would naturally not be allowed to stay. Even if they had demonic talent and powerful cultivation, what use were they?
Everyone in the room exclaimed. No one expected to be expelled from the sect if they failed the test.
Hearing this news, Zhao Jiuge’s expression became even more ugly. He silently prayed that Bai Qingqing had passed the test.
“That’s right, there is a letter. A pretty little girl asked me to give it to you,” Elder Li suddenly said, then he handed Zhao Jiuge a light yellow envelope.
The light yellow envelope was a bit cold. Zhao Jiuge vaguely felt that this was something Bai Qingqing had left for him. Although he was anxious to know what was inside, he didn’t open it and put it away inside his sword robe.
“Okay, all of you rest for a while and then I’ll take you to the Mysterious Heaven Sword Temple in the afternoon. You all have slept for a full day and night. Have a good look around this scenery you couldn’t see in the outer sect. In the future, your residences will be in a place like this.” After he finished speaking, Elder Li disappeared before their eyes. This just showed how powerful his cultivation was.
He left more than a dozen or so excited disciples. Now that they were inner sect disciples, they would be like the carp that transformed into a dragon.
At the same time, they looked at this wonderland-like place. They were all thinking about what a marvelous future they would have, and they couldn’t help but smile. Leng Rufeng also had a smile, and Zhang Sai stood beside him. However, Luo Xie and Cai Mengxuan could not be seen. It was unknown if they had failed or were at another peak.
Unlike everyone’s happiness, Zhao Jiuge stood calmly on the side, he looked out of place. He had no time to pay attention to Zhang Pingquan’s hateful gaze and quietly returned to the room he had slept in.
He stood on the wooden bed and held the slightly cold, light yellow envelope.
He didn’t want to open it for a long time. He already had a hunch, but he refused to believe it. He was afraid of hearing any bad news from opening this envelope.
He hesitated for a long before his expression changed. What was going to come would come eventually, so he might as well face it now. Thinking about this, his hands moved.
He opened the light yellow envelope, revealing a jade-like, white paper. The coldness he felt came from this paper.
However, Zhao Jiuge couldn’t be bothered with the material of this paper—his gaze locked onto its contents
1. The girl who led the Mysterious Strange Peak in the training exercise.
When the first ray of light passed through the window, it landed on Zhao Jiuge, who was lying on a wooden bed. Soon, his eyelids moved and he opened them.
Sunlight was pouring into the room, and Zhao Jiuge felt that the light was too blinding. It took him a bit to get used to the light, then he looked around the room.
The room was not big, but it had everything. At a glance, he could tell that the room’s layout was simple and clean.
Aside from the small, wooden bed, there was only a willow wood table and two wooden chairs.
There was an ordinary, blue porcelain tea set on the table. Zhao Jiuge’s gaze was attracted to a painting on the wall opposite the wooden bed.
The painting was only about one meter long, with the words “Endless Sword Sea” written on it. The words seemed to be filled with power, and Zhao Jiuge was deeply attracted to these three words.
It took a long time for Zhao Jiuge to recover. “Wasn’t I forced to take the poison pill by that blood-robed man named Cao Bin? How come I didn’t die?”
“Is there anyone around?” Zhao Jiuge's voice was a bit hoarse. He moved his body and found that his entire body was weak. He felt like his bones were all going to dislocate.
Seeing no one respond, he slowly got off the bed. He curiously looked around the room and then went outside.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, he was shocked by the scene before him. It was like he was standing on top of a sea of clouds. The rising sun was bathing the sea of clouds in a layer of golden sunlight.
Then Zhao Jiuge found that he was at the peak of a mountain. There was a huge chain that pierced through the sea of clouds and linked the surrounding peaks with this one.
Zhao Jiuge was shocked by this scene. This was much better than the place he had lived in for the last three years. Zhao Jiuge looked around him and suddenly noticed a middle-aged man in a black robe standing not far in the distance.
After recovering from the shock, Zhao Jiuge felt a bit relieved. The middle-aged man was the stern Elder Li.
Zhao Jiuge was shocked and he quickly arrived beside Elder Li. “Elder Li, what’s going on? Did you save me?”
Elder Li unexpectedly just smiled warmly but didn’t answer his question. This made Zhao Jiuge even more confused. However, he noticed that Elder Li’s gaze toward him was much more gentle.
Luo Bowen suddenly rushed out from the opposite room with a look of horror and cried, “Help!”
When he saw Zhao Jiuge and Elder Li, he rushed forward. “Elder Li, there is remnant of the North Yi Sect hiding in the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect!”
Hearing this, Zhao Jiuge was also startled. He didn’t understand how Luo Bowen had also met a remnant of the North Yin Sect.
At this moment, one after the other, Leng Rufeng, Zhang Pingquan[1], and others all came out. Their faces were deathly pale, but they became even more confused when they heard Luo Bowen’s words.
Seeing this scene, everyone roughly understood what had happened, even if they were fools. They all looked at Elder Li with puzzled gazes.
Zhao Jiuge softly asked, “Elder Li, can you tell us what happened now?”
“I believe you all have a general understanding of what happened. That’s right, there was no mission or Wu Hua Fruit at all. The purpose of this test was to test your loyalty to the sect. You all passed, and the same test took place across the rest of the mountain.” The sternness Elder Li had shown before was long gone. He must have been very satisfied with this performance.
A relatively thin youth asked, “Elder Li, can I ask what the poison pill we were given was?” Zhao Jiuge found this person a bit unfamiliar; he had to be a disciple from the other two peaks. He could tell that this youth still had some lingering fear.
At this moment, Elder Li’s smile became even wider. “What poison pill? It was the Hundred Turn Temper Pill. Although the effect was overbearing, it is very precious. If it wasn’t for the change in the inner sect selection method, we wouldn’t have given it to you. But seeing how well you performed, you deserve the reward. The Hundred Turn Temper Pill can cleanse impurities from your body. Although you tempered your body when you reached the Foundation Realm, there were still impurities left. This pill helped remove those impurities and will help pave the way to form your spirit core.”
Hearing this from Elder Li, the rest of the disciples suddenly became sober. They felt lingering fear of almost losing their lives and then excitement for surviving.
Only Zhao Jiuge showed no trace of excitement. His brows were locked and he looked around. Finally, he asked, “What will happen to the disciples that didn’t pass?”
He didn’t see Bai Qingqing, and a bad feeling arose in his heart. He hoped that Bai Qingqing hadn’t awakened yet or was at another peak. However, the former was almost impossible because with Bai Qingqing’s cultivation, she would have awakened before him. He could only hope for the latter.
At this moment, some of the sternness returned to Elder Li. He let out a snort and coldly said, “They will naturally be expelled from the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.”
Those disciples that had agreed to harm the sect would naturally not be allowed to stay. Even if they had demonic talent and powerful cultivation, what use were they?
Everyone in the room exclaimed. No one expected to be expelled from the sect if they failed the test.
Hearing this news, Zhao Jiuge’s expression became even more ugly. He silently prayed that Bai Qingqing had passed the test.
“That’s right, there is a letter. A pretty little girl asked me to give it to you,” Elder Li suddenly said, then he handed Zhao Jiuge a light yellow envelope.
The light yellow envelope was a bit cold. Zhao Jiuge vaguely felt that this was something Bai Qingqing had left for him. Although he was anxious to know what was inside, he didn’t open it and put it away inside his sword robe.
“Okay, all of you rest for a while and then I’ll take you to the Mysterious Heaven Sword Temple in the afternoon. You all have slept for a full day and night. Have a good look around this scenery you couldn’t see in the outer sect. In the future, your residences will be in a place like this.” After he finished speaking, Elder Li disappeared before their eyes. This just showed how powerful his cultivation was.
He left more than a dozen or so excited disciples. Now that they were inner sect disciples, they would be like the carp that transformed into a dragon.
At the same time, they looked at this wonderland-like place. They were all thinking about what a marvelous future they would have, and they couldn’t help but smile. Leng Rufeng also had a smile, and Zhang Sai stood beside him. However, Luo Xie and Cai Mengxuan could not be seen. It was unknown if they had failed or were at another peak.
Unlike everyone’s happiness, Zhao Jiuge stood calmly on the side, he looked out of place. He had no time to pay attention to Zhang Pingquan’s hateful gaze and quietly returned to the room he had slept in.
He stood on the wooden bed and held the slightly cold, light yellow envelope.
He didn’t want to open it for a long time. He already had a hunch, but he refused to believe it. He was afraid of hearing any bad news from opening this envelope.
He hesitated for a long before his expression changed. What was going to come would come eventually, so he might as well face it now. Thinking about this, his hands moved.
He opened the light yellow envelope, revealing a jade-like, white paper. The coldness he felt came from this paper.
However, Zhao Jiuge couldn’t be bothered with the material of this paper—his gaze locked onto its contents
1. The girl who led the Mysterious Strange Peak in the training exercise.
