66: A mere soldier of the Heavenly Court, yet at the pinnacle of power!

"Listen up, everyone!"

Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao stood before the heart-questioning dao stele, his voice echoing across the plaza.

"Those with red or orange Aptitude are Utility Disciples; stand to my left!"

"Those with yellow or green Aptitude are Outer Sect Disciples; stand to my right!"

The crowd automatically split.

The scrawny young man named Er Gou silently joined the left queue.

Beside him were hundreds of equally dejected young people.

Many of them, in their hometowns, in their Sects, were once acclaimed Geniuses.

But here, they were merely the lowest-ranked, Utility Disciples.

A young man who had once served as the chief Disciple in a second-rate Sect looked at the identity token in his hand, symbolizing an Outer Sect Disciple, then at the few individuals who had been led away separately, glowing green in the distance. A mix of emotions churned within him.

He gave a bitter smile and said to a companion beside him, who also looked conflicted.

"To think I, Zhang Yuan, was an undisputed chief in the Flying Cloud Sect. Here, I can't even touch the threshold of the Inner Sect."

"You're telling me," his companion sighed. "However, just getting in is a stroke of great fortune."

"Indeed." Zhang Yuan nodded, his eyes once again resolute.

He looked at the mist-shrouded Immortal Palace and the heart-questioning dao stele emanating endless Dao rhythm.

"Being an Outer Sect Disciple here is probably a more promising future than being a Sect Master in the Flying Cloud Sect."

"When we return to the Eastern Wasteland in the future, if someone asks about our lineage,"

"We only need to say four words."

"Myriad Dao Divine Sect."

The two exchanged glances, seeing a flame named 'pride' in each other's eyes.

On the other side, the atmosphere in the Utility Disciple queue was much more subdued.

Er Gou kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone.

"Hey, new guy."

A voice rang out beside him.

Er Gou looked up and saw a similarly scrawny young man, half a head taller than him, pointing at him with his chin.

"Look at your cowardly demeanor, do you think being a Utility Disciple is shameful?"

Er Gou didn't speak, just clenched his fists.

The young man scoffed.

"My name is Zhao Si. I used to be the young master of Clear Wind Stockade. My father said I would become a Mountain King someday."

"But I'm a Utility Disciple here too."

He patted Er Gou's shoulder.

"Don't look so down. Let me tell you, I just heard those white-bearded Immortal Elders say."

"Our Myriad Dao Divine Sect is where Immortals live."

"Do you understand?"

He lowered his voice, mysterious.

"It's like, we're small soldiers guarding the gates of the Heavenly Court. Even those generals in the mortal world would have to respectfully call us 'Immortal Elders' when they see us!"

"Is it shameful to be a small soldier in the Heavenly Court?"

Er Gou's eyes suddenly brightened.

He seemed to understand a little.

"So, we're Utility Disciples in the Sect, but if others still think we're Utility Disciples when we go out,"

"Then we'll have to have a word with them..."

...Cloud Sea Peak, where Personal Disciples reside.

This is one of the places with the richest Spiritual Qi in the entire Myriad Dao Divine Mountain.

The residences of Personal Disciples like Ye Chenfeng, Su Linger, and Wang Duojin are all located here.

When Li Xiaoyao led Ye Wushang here, even with his cynical nature, he couldn't help but glance around several times.

"Kid, this place is where the Sect Master's Personal Disciples live."

Li Xiaoyao pointed to an empty mountain peak not far away.

"The Sect Master means for you to temporarily live here. Be closer to your Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, so you can look out for each other."

Ye Wushang didn't speak, just nodded.

He looked at the several Immortal Caves, each with a different style but all exuding terrifying auras. For the first time, a complex emotion flashed in his dead-water-like eyes.

He could feel that everyone living here was stronger than him.

Much stronger.

"Alright, find a place to settle down yourself."

Li Xiaoyao waved his hand, like shooing away flies, then turned and ambled away.

He still had to go to the Outer Sect to give the new batch of younglings their first ethics class.

Ye Wushang walked alone into the vacant mountain peak.

He found a clean stone and sat down cross-legged.

He neither Cultivated nor observed his surroundings.

He merely placed the weapon wrapped in black cloth across his lap and closed his eyes.

He was like a statue, merging with the solitude of this mountain peak... Seven days passed in a flash.

During these seven days, the entire Myriad Dao Divine Sect was in a state of high-speed, excited operation.

Several Elders, led by Shi Potian, worked almost non-stop, reorganizing, supplementing, and perfecting all the Sect's rules, benefits, promotion channels, and contribution point System into a thousand-page thick

And the towering white jade staircase finally welcomed its last batch of climbers.

When the last blood-soaked young man struggled onto the mountain gate plaza,

The Path of Immortal Fate, which had lasted seven days and seven nights, finally concluded.

Ultimately, out of tens of thousands of seekers who came looking for Immortals, less than 20,000 successfully reached the summit.

Among them, there were 15,000 Utility Disciples.

Over 4,000 Outer Sect Disciples.

360 Inner Sect Disciples.

Those who could emit a cyan light numbered no more than 300.

Those who could emit a blue light were only 60.

As for the legendary purple, besides Ye Wushang, there was no second person.

This result caused Elders like Shi Potian, who had extremely high standards, to sigh repeatedly.

Yet, it left Yun Tianqing and Lin Canghai utterly shocked.

360 Inner Sect Disciples!

This force was enough to sweep through any top Sect in their Eastern Wasteland!

And this was merely the most insignificant part of the Myriad Dao Divine Sect.

After all the newly promoted Disciples were led off the plaza and properly settled,

The divine mountain, suspended above the sky, once again emitted a soft hum.

Amidst the complex gazes of awe, envy, and regret from countless people below the mountain,

The heavenly ladder, connecting Immortals and mortals, slowly dissipated.

The entire divine mountain began to turn ethereal, finally transforming into a stream of light that vanished into the horizon, leaving no trace.

As if it had never appeared.

The Tianqiong Mountain Range once again returned to its former tranquility.

Only the temporary giant city, formed by the gathering of tens of thousands of people, and countless legends about Immortal fate remained... Clear River City, small courtyard.

Chu Xuanjin lay in his rocking chair, looking at the final recruitment list.

"More than twenty thousand people, huh..."

He shook his head, a little disappointed.

Not a single capable one.

Not even one with immortal grade Root Bone appeared.

"Forget it, even a mosquito's leg is still meat."

He comforted himself.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, your Sect's Disciple count has exceeded ten thousand!]

[Sect Reputation has reached 'Eastern Wasteland Supreme'!]

[System rewards are being calculated...]

The long-unheard System prompt sound rang out again, interrupting his thoughts.

[Congratulations, Host, you have received: Sect Strategic Material - myriad dao immortal robe!]

[myriad dao immortal robe: Woven from Grand Dao Laws, it comes in seven Ranks: Utility, Outer Sect, Inner Sect, Core, Personal, Elder, and Sect Master. It possesses effects of purification, defense, and spirit gathering. Bound to the identity token, it cannot be destroyed.]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received: Massive Sect Development Resources (Medicinal Pills, Magic Treasures, Spirit Stones, Materials)!]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received: Cultivation Empowerment (Directly to Early Mahayana Stage)!]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received: Special Reward - Character Summon!]

[Summoning... Summoning complete!]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received: Early Integration Stage character *1 (Absolute Loyalty)!]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received: Late Void Refinement Stage character *3 (Absolute Loyalty)!]

A string of System prompts, like a string of the sweetest candied haws, hit Chu Xuanjin's forehead.

He was completely stunned.

Early Mahayana Stage?

He abruptly sat up from the rocking chair, feeling the terrifying power within him that seemed capable of overturning the entire Azure Cloud Continent with a single thought.

He felt that his connection with the Laws of this world was no longer simple.

Instead, it was control!

The Heavenly Dao of this continent, before him, was like a clay figure that could be molded at will.

If he wished, he could make this place eternal spring.

If he was angry, he could plunge this place into eternal winter.

This was the Mahayana Realm!

It was the pinnacle of power that this Lower Realm plane could accommodate!

"I... am invincible?"

Chu Xuanjin murmured to himself.

He hadn't yet recovered from the exhilaration of his soaring Cultivation when the System's next reward made him gasp.

Again?

Summoning characters again?

One Body Integration, three Void Refining?

He looked at the reward list, feeling his heart almost leap out of his throat.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He felt his current expression must be quite spectacular.

"Six, six, six..."

After a long while, he finally squeezed these three words through his teeth.

Other than this, he couldn't think of any other word to describe his current mood.