A vast, peerless pressure erupted from the summit of Saintess Peak, churning the clouds and winds for miles around. Above the firmament, five-colored spiritual clouds gathered into a massive vortex, rotating slowly with a magnificent yet lethal grace.

  "The Golden Core Phenomenon!"

  "It’s the Saintess! She succeeded!"

  Inside the hall, Sect Master Chen Qingyun, who had been resting with closed eyes, snapped upright. His face was flushed with irrepressible ecstasy. Beside him, several Elders trembled with such excitement that their beards shook uncontrollably.

  "Heaven blesses my Maple Red Valley!"

  "Ten years! Only ten years! An ordinary cultivator might struggle for fifty years and never even glimpse the threshold of the Golden Core, yet the Saintess has reached perfection in a mere decade!"

  One Elder clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes filled with reverence as he looked at the Sect Master. "The Sect Master’s foresight was truly profound. Back then, you ignored all opposition to pour the sect's vast resources into her alone. Now, we finally have our harvest!"

  Chen Qingyun stood at the hall's entrance, gazing at the splendid celestial display over Saintess Peak. "Pass my order! The Grand Sect Celebration shall last for seven days! All monthly stipends for Inner and Outer disciples are doubled! Today, the world celebrates with us!"

  The entire Maple Red Valley was submerged in a wave of joy and fervor. Countless disciples poured from their dwellings, spreading the news and bowing toward the peak.

  No one noticed a cyan figure moving against the crowd, silently slipping through the chaotic Outer Sect toward the mountain's base.

  Chen Gensheng kept his six hands tucked within his broad sleeves, his pace neither hurried nor slow.

  Lu Zhaozhao, who should have had a shattered Dao Heart, had instead treated that false, century-long dream as her most unshakable path. Driven by that extreme obsession, she had forcibly broken through her bottleneck.

  How pathetic.

  Gensheng left the sect's perimeter and found a secluded spot in the dense forest at the foot of the mountain. He stripped off the stolen Outer Disciple robes and changed into a set of coarse hemp clothes found in a dead man's storage bag—the typical attire of a youth from a common family.

  He walked to a stream and leaned down. The water reflected a face that was handsome yet unfamiliar. He straightened his collar and retracted every ounce of his lethal edge, leaving only a pair of eyes that looked toward the distance with a mix of longing and apprehension.

  Having completed his disguise, he turned and walked step by step back toward the towering gates of Maple Red Valley.

  Beneath the mountain gates, a sea of people churned.

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  The news of the sect's recruitment had drawn youths from a hundred miles around like schools of fish. With the Saintess reaching the Golden Core and the sect in celebration, even the mountain-guarding disciples looked relaxed, their usual arrogance replaced by rare good moods.

  "Did you hear? That murderous cockroach hasn't been seen lately."

  "Probably got scared by the Saintess's celestial aura and fled with its tail between its legs."

  "But my third grand-uncle’s nephew, who carries water in the Laborer Courtyard, says not a single bone of the missing disciples has been found. They were eaten clean, down to the dust."

  "Quiet! Today is the Grand Entrance Exam. Don't speak of such ominous things."

  Gensheng stood at the back of the line, a handsome youth in coarse hemp.

  "Silence!"

  An Outer Disciple arrived on the wind, landing on a high platform before the crowd. "The sect recruits today. We test only bone-roots. Those without talent, depart immediately. Those with Spirit Roots shall enter my Immortal Gate!"

  Two disciples hauled up a waist-high, obsidian Spirit-Testing Stone. "One by one, step forward. Place your hand upon it."

  The line moved slowly.

  "Wang Erniu, no Spirit Root. Next." "Zhao Chunhua, no Spirit Root. Next." "Sun Youcai, no Spirit Root..."

  After a dozen people, the stone remained dark. The disciple on the platform grew impatient. Mortals were mortals; finding one in a hundred with talent was considered lucky.

  Finally, a thin youth stepped forward, trembling as he pressed his hand to the stone.

  Hum.

  The stone hummed softly, and a faint, earthy-yellow glow flickered on its surface.

  "Earth and Fire dual roots." The Outer Disciple finally looked a bit more interested. "Not bad. Go over there to register."

  The youth wept with joy as he scrambled to the side. A few more were found after him—mostly "Pseudo-Roots," muddled and impure. Not a single Lower-grade Spirit Root had appeared yet.

  Finally, it was Gensheng’s turn.

  He stepped forward calmly under the disciple's scrutinizing gaze. He extended one hand and pressed it lightly against the stone. Beneath his robes, his other five hands remained perfectly still.

  Instantly, five different colors of light erupted from the stone. It was a chaotic, mottled mess, dim and lifeless—far inferior to the earlier Pseudo-Roots.

  Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. All five elements present; all five elements useless.

  "Go to the Laborer Courtyard. Next."

  Gensheng withdrew his hand, his expression serene as he walked toward the registration desk for laborers. But just as he reached it, a voice called out.

  "Wait."

  A middle-aged cultivator in deacon robes appeared on the platform. It was Elder Wan, the man who had reported the disappearances in the Elder Hall.

  Wan looked at Gensheng, his brow furrowed slightly. "What is your name?"

  "Chen Gensheng."

  Wan paced down from the platform, circling the youth. "The Saintess has reached the Golden Core. The valley is flourishing; we need handsome disciples to brighten the atmosphere. The Outer Sect is short-handed lately due to... recent events."

  He waved a hand dismissively. "You—don't go to the Laborer Courtyard. Enter the Outer Sect directly."

  A roar of protest erupted from the crowd. The youths who had been tested with Pseudo-Roots were filled with jealousy and indignation.

  On what grounds? Is being handsome enough?!

  The registration disciple was also stunned. "Elder Wan... this... this is against the rules, isn't it?"

  "Rules?" Wan snorted coldly. "My word is the rule."

  He glanced at the disciple, who immediately bowed his head, silenced.

  "Do you know the state of our Maple Red Valley?" Wan addressed the crowd, though his eyes were on Gensheng. "From the Sect Master down to the Elders, we all have one foot in the grave. Every day is stagnant and lifeless."

  "Her Highness the Saintess is a genius of the heavens, only sixteen this year. She has brought eternal glory to the sect. Do you expect her to face us old, decaying husks every day, or those crooked-faced 'talents' out there?"

  "The sect needs people who are easy on the eyes to bring some vitality. This skin of yours... is your greatest talent."

  He looked at the disgruntled youths. "If you are dissatisfied, go find a new face for yourselves."

  With that, he tossed a cyan wooden token into Gensheng’s arms.