Xiao Xuefeng was also among the chief elders overseeing the situation. All had received the information extracted from Can Mouye by Matriarch Huang Yufeng. Even if they couldn't be sure that she had told the Wubei Sect everything, they trusted the Huang family enough to consider her information with the utmost importance. However, no one knew what was planned by the demonic cultivators. Maybe they would do something when the Palace of Supreme Wisdom would open. Maybe they had something planned sometime during the year. Or it would happen at the end of the year when the Palace of Supreme Wisdom would open once more to let everyone out. Worse yet, they might have already acted.
With so many unknowns, some voices had wanted to convince Sect Leader Xuan to postpone this year. After all, it was possible to ask this year's disciples to enter the Palace of Supreme Wisdom only next year. But the problem remained the same. From what they knew, the demonic cultivators were waiting for a certain opportunity that only happened every seven year. Would they close off the Palace of Supreme Wisdom every seven years? Even then, it was entirely possible that the demonic cultivators had other contingency plans in place. Right now, the only thing they were sure about was that they would strike this year.
In the end, Sect Leader Xuan, supported by more than half of the chief elders, had decided to do everything as usual. But he had of course increased security to the maximum. At all times, a chief elder would oversee the situation, not just an elder. And during the two most critical moments when the Palace of Supreme Wisdom would open, all chief elders would be there. In fact, even Sect Leader Xuan in person was watching from his palace on top of the Heidai Peak.
"Miss Xiao, do you sense anything strange with those disciples? Anything at all?"
"I've been spreading my spiritual senses over each one of them. I went all the way to their very cells. Short from entering their souls, I saw everything that was possible. Not one of them has either any seal or any trace of ever practicing a demonic art."
"But they could have a seal planted in their souls..."
"After what happened to Lu Meihan in front of everyone, I don't even think a seal is necessary to threaten them."
This reminder embarrassed Xiao Xuefeng. The poor girl had died in front of her and she had even been forced to put an end to her suffering. In the end, Lu Meihan had never harmed anyone. Although she had intended to do so, she was stopped beforehand. And many people had understood where she was coming from. Such a brutal and painful death was too harsh a punishment for her. Despite her fame as the cultivator with the most perceptive spiritual senses, Xiao Xuefeng was as blind as everyone else. And she wasn't going to imitate Elder Bian and try to pierce through the souls of young disciples though.
As such, the chief elders had no other option except to wait and see. They were all ready for battle, just in case. After all, there was a Spirit Warrior with the demonic cultivators. Apparently, it was someone named Mo Tian. But of course, he would not use his real name. They did not even know whether he was a man or a woman. They did not know his cultivation level either. But they knew he was working directly under the Demon King. So he had to be a late Spirit Warrior at least. Of course, they had no way of knowing for sure. But it made sense, especially since his seal had bested Xiao Xuefeng and he was still hiding from her senses.
This Mo Tian had necessarily practiced demonic arts and yet Xiao Xuefeng was still blind to his presence. So this demonic cultivator had to have an impressive mind cultivation. Even an early Spirit Warrior would have no way to hide his use of demonic arts to Xiao Xuefeng. A late Spirit Warrior on the other hand had his chances. Xiao Xuefeng could not believe that someone who had a lesser cultivation than her could exceed her senses. Not even her own master, Director Ge, could do so. So this Mo Tian had to at least be a 7th-grade Spirit Warrior, which meant he was a terrible threat. Most likely, he was not an elder, but a chief elder.
And everyone was well aware of that fact. Some were secretly hoping that Chief Elder Bian was the traitor. Otherwise, yet another chief elder would disgrace the Wubei Sect. But no one truly believed it. Chief Elder Bian's problem was that he stuck to the rules so much that he lost sight of the facts and let pride and arrogance dictate his actions. This really wasn't what this hidden mastermind was doing. And some suspicions also went to Xiao Xuefeng. After all, being the most perceptive, she was also the best at hiding. Paranoia was becoming more and more powerful among the chief elders, either from the outer sect or the inner sect.
-
In the meantime, the outer disciples were getting ready to finally step inside the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. All around the small hut, there were one hundred and eight stone pedestals. Only fifty-seven disciples would enter the Palace of Supreme Wisdom this time around, but more were getting out.
Ren Chao, Mei Hua and Sun Liao joined with Cao Yun.
"It seems like we're going to be separate once more... Brother Ren, with your physique finally awaken, you should be able to grow faster than before. Brother Chen and Sister Mei have almost left us in the dust. I do not intend to let them. So you must also catch up!"
"Do not worry about that. Although my cultivation is not as fast as yours, I already felt that it was way better. My master also helped me a lot. I have no chance of becoming a Mortal Warrior in a year, but I aim for 8th-grade Mortal."
"That's almost three grades! Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, Sister. And even if I fail, I'll still be a 7th-grade Mortal. Ha ha ha!"
"You're certain of crossing two grades in a year? I think this physique messed with your head a little..."
"Yeah?! Well, let's see if you can even equal my speed! Brother, if my cultivation is higher than yours when we exit the palace, you'll have to admit I'm the senior brother! And you'll always call me 'Senior Brother'!"
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Once again, Ren Chao was pushing Sun Liao into a bet. As he was about to accept, he immediately remembered how much he had suffered when he had first entered the Wubei Sect. His master's 'training' came back to his mind and he stopped himself.
"Brother, seniority cannot be decided by a bet. Only competence is a real proof of seniority. But I am not against a friendly competition. Brother, I got some exquisite wine thanks to my family. If you win, you'll get a full bottle of it. I can swear that you won't regret it. But if I win, you'll owe me a weapon. Of course, I'll wait until you actually become a great blacksmith."
"Wait?! I'm already a great blacksmith! And I will only get better and better. Fine! If you win I swear that the moment I become a Human ranked blacksmith, I'll make you the greatest weapon you've ever seen! Hell, I'll even make you a new one when I become a Heaven blacksmith."
Both brothers kept on bantering for some time while Mei Hua and Cao Yun decided to talk about alchemy and what would await them once they would become Mortal Warriors. Until now, Cao Yun had still hidden his recent breakthrough to everyone. Following both Xiao Xuefeng and Chief Elder Baishen's advice, he had even used his new 'Ashen Feather Seal' to hide it. From the sky, Xiao Xuefeng was truly impressed with this technique. But in the end, it wasn't that difficult to hide his cultivation level. Cao Yun had reined in his Wei Qi as much as possible and had used a few ashes to conceal some of his cells. As such, he appeared as though he was ready to break through at any moment but still not quite there yet.
Of course, if she looked carefully, Xiao Xuefeng was able to see some discrepancies. Such a seal could not work on her, but she hoped that it was sufficient to dupe Mo Tian, whoever he was. The fact that he was able to hide from her did not mean he had great perception. After all, Cao Yun could almost hide from her and he had no spiritual senses. This 'Ashen Feather Seal' was just a very good technique. No wonder it came from a genius of the Huang family.
Just before the time came, everyone got their weapons ready. And Ren Chao finally saw 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear'. Immediately, he stopped his brother's hand. His eyes were fixated on the shaft of the spear. To a blacksmith's eyes, this spear was in a really bad condition. After all, it had taken a lot of abuse in the Yellow Death World. And it had been partially consumed by the Yellow Sorrows Water.
"Brother?"
"Your spear... It seems to be... ready to die."
"What do you mean? Check your eyes, Brother. It sure is in a poor state, but not that bad."
Sun Liao was still in the mood of teasing Ren Chao, but the blacksmith was way more serious than usual.
"That's not what I meant! It feels like it... resolved itself to go to the death."
"Nonsense! That's not even a Human weapon, it doesn't have a spirit, it doesn't even have any form of awareness."
"Ah! Never mind, you just don't get it!"
"By the way, Brother, you really should have changed your weapon. When you become a Mortal Warrior, it won't be useful at all."
Cao Yun barely answered as he was still intrigued by Ren Chao's reaction. For a while, Cao Yun tried to focus on the spear. Because he wanted to conceal his cultivation as much as possible, he didn't send any Qi in it. But he still tried to feel the scale of the Ebony Snake Dragon. It had resonated with the stars of the Azure Dragon in his sea of consciousness several times. Although his weapon shouldn't have had any awareness, Cao Yun could still feel a sense of familiarity from that scale. It probably was just something related to the bloodline of a dragon though.
It was very faint, but Cao Yun did feel a great resolve, and then, a deep shame. It wasn't clear at all, but it felt real.
-
Finally, eighty-four of the stone pedestals began to shine. That was exactly the number of third-years. And suddenly, all of them appeared. Amongst them, Cao Yun recognized of course Zhi Yin, Ling Hui, the Zhao twins, but also Long Huafang and Wang Mei among others. Immediately, he realized that not a single disciple had become a Mortal Warrior. Some were very close like Long Huafang or Wang Mei. But there was a single exception, Zhi Yin.
Cao Yun could not know her exact cultivation, but the aura around her was unmistakably the Wei Qi of a Mortal Warrior. Most likely, she was only a 1st-grade Mortal Warrior. Before entering the Ancient Ruins, she had been an 8th-grade Mortal who was able to inject Qi in her attacks. Maybe she had even gone beyond the first grade. And indeed, from the sky, the chief elders were all really pleased with the results of this year. All had also realized that Zhi Yin was almost a 2nd-grade Mortal Warrior. She really needed just a little push. A nineteen-year-old Mortal Warrior was something to be proud of. What they didn't knwo was that Cao Yun was even one year younger than her and he had broken through without the assistance of this place.
Sun Liao hid it but Mei Hua was sensitive enough to see that his eyes were always going back to Long Huafang. On the other hand, Ren Chao did not hide anything at all. In front of everyone, he literally ran toward Wang Mei. But halfway through, he realized that many people were watching him and he froze. He had been too lost in his joy and now he was too lost in his embarrassment. Seeing his reddening face, Wang Mei chuckled and went to him instead.
"Brother, you've become even sturdier than before. Impressive!"
"And... you're even... prettier..."
Even Elder Tang could not bear that scene. Seeing Ren Chao so embarrassed was just too much. He was the tallest and the biggest, also the oldest, of the outer disciples. Yet, he was absolutely clueless in front of this young woman.
"Silence! You all did great inside the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. But do not disturb your juniors. You should know how important this opportunity is. Second-years, you're all officially third-years now. The portal will soon close. First of all, take off your second-year emblems. Once you get out of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, you'll get new fourth-year emblems. And never forget your Supreme emblem, without it you'll be lost. I am not kidding! Now get on the pedestals on the ground."
Without losing any time, the outer disciples all obeyed Elder Tang. As soon as they took off their emblems, they floated in the air and reached Elder Tang's hand. Most likely, those emblems would be reused for the first-years becoming second-years.
Everyone put their Supreme emblem somewhere safe and walked to the closest shining pedestal. Since the array formation would create worlds specific to them, there was no point in choosing a specific one. All would do the same.
Elder tang lost no time at all. After all, the window of opportunity for opening the Palace of Supreme Wisdom was short. Those who had built it were probably able to control it, but the Wubei Sect had always failed. Thus, they were completely subjected to the current cycle of opening. Every year, it would only open for less than an hour. Everyone was sent out and then, every person standing on a pedestal was sucked in. That also meant that they couldn't send more than one hundred and eight disciples at once. They had never tried putting two disciples on the same pedestal and they were not too keen to try it out, just in case.
Before long, a powerful light enveloped every disciple and they all disappeared. Then, the pedestals around the hut dimmed down and their light extinguished. The door to the small hut also shut close.