Chapter 103: Path to Inner Sect Promotion
Inside the grand hall of Qinglu Sect, Gao Yunrui and other high-ranking elders gathered, their expressions grim, tinged with worry. The cause of their distress was the disastrous outcome of the recent True Inheritor Trial.
The trial had encountered an ambush by an unknown force, resulting in severe casualties among the sect's most outstanding disciples. Out of the top nine candidates for True Inheritor status, four perished, three were gravely wounded—suffering irreversible damage to their cultivation foundations—and only two returned unharmed.
Among the fallen were the second and third-ranked Foundation Establishment disciples. As for the three severely injured survivors, their cultivation prospects were effectively ruined unless they could obtain rare celestial treasures to restore their damaged foundations.
In other words, the trial had cost Qinglu Sect seven of its nine top talents. Combined with the heavy losses among other inner disciples, the sect had essentially lost an entire generation of its elite cultivators.
Fortunately, the most highly regarded candidate, He Shaogang, survived unscathed, and Yuan Niya also returned safely. These two youngest True Inheritor candidates escaping calamity was the only silver lining in this tragedy.
However, Qinglu Sect could not rely on just He Shaogang and Yuan Niya to support its future. If the sect still had a Nascent Soul ancestor, there would be time to nurture a new generation—but now...
Gao Yunrui clenched his fists as he reviewed the report, his heart weighed down by anxiety. The massive loss of elite disciples had pushed Qinglu Sect to the brink. The only way to avert this crisis was for him to successfully refine the Nascent Infant Pill and break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
"Summon them in."
With a long sigh, Gao Yunrui issued the order. Soon, the surviving disciples from the trial entered the hall. As they stood scattered before the elders, a deep sense of sorrow washed over everyone present—these were supposed to be the sect's future pillars.
"Now, I will announce the official True Inheritor list!" Gao Yunrui's gaze swept over the gathered disciples as he declared the final results.
"He Shaogang!"
He Shaogang's name was the first to be called. No one was surprised—his performance in the trial had been exceptional. Not only did he complete the mission successfully, but he also managed to defeat a Foundation Establishment assassin in battle. Though he had received some assistance from a protector, this feat still demonstrated his extraordinary talent.
Hearing his name, He Shaogang stepped forward and received his True Inheritor token from Gao Yunrui.
"Disciple, work hard. The future of Qinglu Sect rests on your shoulders," Gao Yunrui said warmly. Given the sect's devastating losses, He Shaogang was now their greatest hope. His talent might be the key to rebuilding the younger generation.
"I will do my utmost," He Shaogang replied solemnly.
With most of the sect's promising young disciples lost, his value had skyrocketed. This meant greater authority—making the eventual downfall of Qinglu Sect even easier to orchestrate.
If it weren't for Gu Mo, everything would have gone perfectly. Now, He Shaogang's top priority was eliminating Gu Mo.
As long as Gu Mo lived, He Shaogang would remain uneasy. Fortunately, plans to deal with him were already underway. This time, He Shaogang intended to be absolutely certain of success.
"Yuan Niya!"
After He Shaogang stepped back, Gao Yunrui announced the second True Inheritor. With the deaths of the second- and third-ranked candidates, Yuan Niya had now risen to second place.
Even if those two had survived, her performance in the trial would have still earned her a top rank. She had not only completed her mission but also slain two Qi Condensation Perfection cultivators and several late-stage Qi Condensation disciples. Though this was not as shocking as He Shaogang's feat, it was still an astonishing achievement.
After all, Yuan Niya was only at the sixth level of Qi Condensation. For someone of her level to defeat a Qi Condensation Perfection cultivator was nearly as impressive as He Shaogang's accomplishment.
"Excellent—you remind me of your master in her prime," Gao Yunrui praised as he handed her the True Inheritor token. Years ago, Yuan Niya's master, Zhuo Suzhu, had achieved a similar feat.
Hearing the sect master's praise, Yuan Niya's face lit up with joy. Gao Yunrui smiled at the resemblance—not just in skill, but in personality as well.
"Ye Yuqi!"
Next, Gao Yunrui called the third True Inheritor. Originally, Ye Yuqi had ranked outside the top nine. Had the ambush not happened, he would likely have missed the selection. But with so many top candidates dead, his ranking had surged to third place.
"Greetings, Sect Master," Ye Yuqi said, stepping forward with a bow. His face remained unreadable, but his mind was in turmoil.
Before the trial, Ye Yuqi had spent everything he had to hire assassins to eliminate Yuan Niya. Then, the large-scale ambush happened.
He couldn't help but wonder if there was a connection between the two events. It seemed unlikely, but if the sect found out about his involvement, he was as good as dead.
The sect was currently investigating the enemy behind the ambush. If he were exposed, they would undoubtedly suspect him of being a spy.
"Train well—the future of the sect depends on you all," Gao Yunrui said as he handed Ye Yuqi the True Inheritor token.
Although Ye Yuqi's performance had not been particularly outstanding, he had once been among the top inner disciples. Gao Yunrui still had some expectations for his future.
After Ye Yuqi, the remaining True Inheritors were named. Compared to He Shaogang and Yuan Niya, their abilities were noticeably weaker. In truth, most of them had little hope of ever reaching the Golden Core stage, even with the sect's resources.
However, the sect always maintained nine True Inheritor positions. Despite the tragedy, the number of True Inheritors would not be reduced. Unfortunately, this generation was shaping up to be the weakest in Qinglu Sect's history.
"You nine are now the official True Inheritors of Qinglu Sect. Your actions represent the honor of our sect—train well and do not bring disgrace upon us," Gao Yunrui warned.
"Yes, Sect Master!" the nine replied in unison.
"I have another announcement," Gao Yunrui continued. "In three months, the sect will hold a competition for outer disciples. The top ten will be promoted to the inner sect."
The massacre in the trial had devastated the ranks of inner disciples, and Gao Yunrui needed to replenish their numbers. Normally, the sect recruited from the mundane world, but finding promising talents this way was rare.
This method was too slow for their current crisis. Instead, Gao Yunrui decided to directly select from the outer disciples.
The ambush had left the sect shaken. While inner disciples had suffered greatly, outer disciples had fared no better—many had been used as assistants in the trial and perished in large numbers. However, because the outer sect had a much larger population, the overall losses were less severe.
Opening an internal promotion opportunity would not only strengthen the sect but also serve to stabilize morale. Plans were already in place to hold a competition for servant disciples as well, offering them a chance to advance to the outer sect.
As expected, the news sent waves of excitement through the outer disciples. Normally, their only path to the inner sect was by reaching the Foundation Establishment stage—an exceedingly difficult feat.
Now, the sect was offering a direct route. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and many outer disciples immediately set their sights on securing a top-ten spot.
"A competition for outer disciples… this is my chance," Gu Mo mused as he read the message from Yuan Niya.
If he could use this event to enter the inner sect, He Shaogang and Qian Qiyi would have to be much more cautious when making a move against him.
He knew that those two would never let him live. A direct confrontation as an outer disciple was disadvantageous—but as an inner disciple, things would be different.
Gu Mo had originally planned to showcase his talent in spiritual plant cultivation to Elder Qi Chunde, hoping to be taken in as an apprentice. But the competition now provided a better alternative.
By winning, he could rise without exposing too many of his secrets. More importantly, it would keep his trump cards hidden.
With this in mind, Gu Mo planted a new batch of Sunfire Flowers in his spiritual field, preparing for the battles to come.
Gu Mo was now just a step away from breaking through his bottleneck and advancing to the seventh level of Qi Refinement. Once he entered the late stage of Qi Refinement, there would be no more bottlenecks before reaching Foundation Establishment. As long as he had enough Solar Essence, he could rapidly progress to the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement.
For most cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, reaching the Great Perfection stage was a lengthy process. This was because, at this stage, they needed to condense all the gaseous spiritual energy in their bodies into a mist-like form, which was time-consuming.
Of course, this process could be accelerated with spirit stones, elixirs, or rare treasures. However, Gu Mo's spiritual energy had already been in a mist-like state for quite some time. This meant that when he reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement, he wouldn't need any extra time and could immediately enter the Great Perfection stage.
After that, as long as Gu Mo obtained a second-grade spirit field and secured a complete batch of second-grade Solar Essence, he would be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage without any obstacles.
Speaking of spirit fields, Yuan Niya had successfully become a true disciple, and both Gu Mo and Chu Feifei had received a generous amount of sect contributions. This meant that Gu Mo was already close to exchanging for a second-grade spirit field. Additionally, it seemed that the top ten contestants in the upcoming outer sect competition would not only qualify for the inner sect but also receive sect contribution rewards.
By then, Gu Mo should have enough contributions to exchange for a second-grade spirit field.
Aside from this method, Gu Mo had another way to obtain a complete batch of second-grade Solar Essence without needing a second-grade spirit field. He could use the fifty mid-grade spirit stones he had just acquired. If he buried them in a flowerpot, they would undoubtedly create an environment with spiritual energy equivalent to a second-grade spirit field in a short time.
Once he planted second-grade Solar Flowers there, condensing multiple complete batches of second-grade Solar Essence would be no problem.
These fifty mid-grade spirit stones were another valuable resource in Gu Mo's hands. If he ever found himself in a truly dire situation, he wouldn't hesitate to use them to condense a complete batch of second-grade Solar Essence, allowing him to step directly into the Foundation Establishment stage.
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