The competition ended. Those who passed were high-achieving, while those who failed were dejected, knowing the next round wouldn't come for several years, and they would have to compete again then. Without any extraordinary encounters, passing would be extremely difficult.
Those who passed were disappointed, while the eldest prince also passed, demonstrating his considerable strength.
The Sun and Moon Gate was neither far nor near the Great Wind Dynasty, about a three-day journey.
Three days later, the group arrived at the Sun and Moon Gate.
On Sun and Moon Mountain
stood the Sun and Moon Gate. A sect of this caliber was almost certainly located on a mountain, and a spiritual mountain at that, filled with abundant spiritual energy, perhaps even a dragon vein.
The gate stood at the foot of the mountain, a massive frame without a door, but the three characters "Sun and Moon Gate" were inscribed upon it. The characters
were powerful and vigorous, seemingly naturally formed, with a flowing, elegant style, carrying a touch of spiritual charm, a domineering presence tempered with subtlety.
Foundation!
Qin Chuan saw the arrogance and domineering aura from this simple gate, or more precisely, from those three characters—this was the true foundation of a sect.
The path from the foot of the mountain to the summit was made of stone steps, straight and not very wide. The group ascended the steps, reaching the summit after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The surrounding scenery was beautiful, especially as they climbed higher. Mist swirled around them, creating a picturesque landscape with strangely shaped rocks, exotic flowers and trees, and a pleasant fragrance in the air.
Upon reaching the summit, they stopped, and someone went to inform the four halls of the Sun and Moon Gate:
the Sun Hall, the Moon Hall, the Star Hall, and the Hour Hall.
Judging from their names, the Sun Hall and Moon Hall are likely the main ones, but the Star Hall and Hour Hall also have their own specialties.
The Star Hall and Hour Hall primarily focus on researching medicine, runes, and formations; cultivation is secondary, serving the purpose of researching medicine and runes.
The Sun Hall and Moon Hall are the main combat personnel. The Sun Hall is predominantly male, with women, but very few, unless they have exceptional constitutions.
The Moon Hall is predominantly female, with a very small number of men, also with exceptional constitutions. One could say that the women in the Sun Hall are not truly women, and the men in the Moon Hall are not truly men.
Men and women stood separately, about seventy men and thirty women.
To Qin Chuan's surprise, two men actually entered the Moon Palace, but no women entered the Sun Palace.
The Star Palace and the Hour Palace did not separate by gender, but these two locations needed fewer people, a total of twenty-eight people, ten women and eighteen men.
The remaining men entered the Sun Palace, and the women entered the Moon Palace, and of course, the two men also entered the Moon Palace.
After the personnel were assigned, they received some essential supplies, and were then officially members of the Sun and Moon Sect.
The inner disciples of the sect had nothing else to do but cultivate, go down the mountain for training, or deal with some tricky matters.
However, it wasn't just about cultivation; progress was also monitored. There were monthly assessments, and failing the assessments resulted in punishment for inner disciples. If they failed to meet the assessment standards for three consecutive months, they would have to go to the outer sect.
Inner disciples didn't need to do any manual labor; that was done by designated people. Inner disciples had only one task: cultivation, to improve their cultivation level.
Entering the inner sect didn't bring Qin Chuan any sense of ease. His strength had reached a point where his cultivation level was insignificant; at the eighth level of the Void Realm within the inner sect, he was merely average, very average.
His combat prowess was certainly considerable, but within the Sun and Moon Sect, Qin Chuan's strength was insignificant, barely attracting attention, especially since some of the younger generation had already reached the War God Realm.
The Sun and Moon Sect also had its share.
As time passed and Qin Chuan progressed, the mysterious aura of the War God Realm gradually faded. Although he knew reaching the War God Realm was incredibly difficult, he
also knew that the War God Realm was truly divided into different levels; some War God Realm cultivators were actually quite weak, but even the weakest was still a War God Realm cultivator.
If reaching the War God Realm was a lifelong goal, then even the weakest War God Realm cultivator would be overjoyed, as it would be a satisfactory achievement.
However, if reaching the War God Realm wasn't his lifelong goal, then breaking through to the weakest War God Realm meant his cultivation would likely stagnate, essentially stagnating.
This is why breaking through to the War God realm requires thorough preparation, including Yuanli Pills, the Heart of the War God, and soaking in the Immortal Pool, among other things. Only
after these preparations are complete will one attempt to break through to the War God realm. If one can surpass a four-star War God, that's already quite good; as for the higher five-star to ten-star realms, that's beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Even four-star is a luxury for over 90% of people; two-star and three-star are the most common, with one-star being quite prevalent, but in reality, many can surpass one-star.
Qin Chuan, arriving here for the first time, felt no sense of superiority. It wasn't that he had no sense of superiority, but rather that he felt somewhat powerless for the first time, only able to slowly wait for an opportunity.
Now, trying to seize it was very difficult.
The inner disciples were quite good; each had their own separate residence, with pavilions and courtyards, uniquely built, luxuriously decorated, and fully equipped. They
had three days of free time to explore the Sun and Moon Sect and familiarize themselves with the environment. After three days, they would begin cultivation, receiving instruction in advanced techniques. Of course, those who didn't like these could choose not to learn them, but those who came here generally didn't have the right to refuse the techniques offered.
Qin Chuan had actually learned many techniques and combat skills, but many were already somewhat obsolete, their power too weak to be effective. Therefore, Qin Chuan's offensive methods were currently limited.
This was still within the Void Realm; if he reached the War God Realm, the number of usable techniques would be even fewer. However, the Golden Divine Eye, the Nine Divine Dragons, and the Hundred Dragons Divine Power Technique were still unknown, as they could be upgraded.
Some Great Dao techniques were affected by realm, but the Divine Skill of the World's Momentum would never become obsolete. The Vajra Divine Dragon Claw was currently fine; he might continue to use it after reaching the War God Realm, but its power would certainly not be as terrifying as in the Void Realm.
Qin Chuan wouldn't think about these for now; he'd focus on reaching the War God Realm first. The techniques and combat skills of the Sun and Moon Sect also seemed very strong; he could learn them in a few days to see if they were stronger than his own Hundred Dragons Divine Power Technique.
Princess Lan and Changge led Qin Chuan and the eldest prince around the Sun and Moon Sect. The two women weren't particularly strong, but they seemed quite famous within the sect, given their beauty.
Wherever she went, she was greeted by many people, some even fawning over her, and some shameless men followed her around—clearly suitors of one of the two women.
However, Changge had a special constitution; she wasn't particularly cold, but to most people, that coldness made her seem even more unapproachable. That indifference and disregard was very hurtful, and men, especially those with weaker hearts, find it hard to recover from such a blow.
Therefore, not many people pursued Changge, while many pursued Princess Lan.
This woman was somewhat aloof, but also intelligent, generous, elegant, poised, and mature—fulfilling many men's fantasies about women. Therefore, many men pursued Princess Lan.