Eight blue-robed elders sat facing each other across a long wooden table. An ornate chair waited at the far end, empty.
Every eye turned to Elder Feng. Silence. Then the sound of him swallowing nervously.
"How could our standards be reduced to this level?" An elder in his sixties, face creased with wrinkles, spoke quietly. His gaze fixed on Elder Feng.
"The Peak Sect—accused of blatant corruption!" Another elder slammed his hand on the table, leaning toward Elder Feng. "What do you have to say to save your position?"
Elder Feng swallowed again. "I... we should wait for the Sect Leader," he said, voice tight. "I acted on his orders, not for my benefit."
The heavy doors creaked open. Thick incense smoke filled the hall.
The elders straightened in their seats, expressions shifting from anger to nervous fear.
A figure stepped through.
Sect Leader Qi, dressed in black robes, his sharp eyes seeming to pierce through the room's tension.
He walked to the ornate chair glowing under the lantern light. Sat down. His gaze swept across the elders' faces.
Satisfied with the fear he saw, he spoke one word: "Report."
Elder Feng cleared his throat. "Two hundred candidates passed the examination. Forty casualties were retrieved from the forest. Their families have been compensated."
"Cut the crap and get to the point." Sect Leader Qi cut him off, a deep frown crossing his face.
"But... but... Sect Leader, there's been a problem—"
"I know." Sect Leader Qi's eyes were cold. "Zhang Long walked through our gates without a single core. The entire sect is calling us corrupt. But we owe the Zhang Clan a debt."
The other elders exchanged nervous glances.
"But—" another elder tried to speak.
"No." The Sect Leader's voice cut through the room. "That's not what interests me."
He leaned forward.
"Tell me about the other one. Yu Zhou. How does a Shenlin Tier 1, Stage 1 cultivator end up with two Tier-2 cores?"
He leaned back in his chair.
"Call him over here."
The doors opened again.
Two grey-robed outer disciples entered, escorting a young man between them.
Yu Zhou.
He looked nervous. His eyes darted around the hall, taking in the elders, the incense smoke, the ornate throne.
When his gaze landed on Sect Leader Qi, he froze.
The Sect Leader studied him for a long moment. A weak boy. Barely any cultivation aura.
Yet he'd survived three days and returned with two Tier-2 cores and a Tier-1 core .
"You're Yu Zhou," the Sect Leader said.
Yu Zhou bowed quickly. "Yes, Sect Leader." Clenching his fist by his side
"Explain yourself."
Yu Zhou felt every eye on him. The elders stared as if he were a monster. Or a thief.
He lowered his head. "I... I found them in a pouch. Lying on the forest floor."
Sect Leader Qi's eyes narrowed.
Elder Feng leaned forward, frowning. "A pouch? But during the examination, you told Examiner Cao Yang you scavenged them from dead beasts."
Yu Zhou's face went pale.
"Which is it, boy?" The Sect Leader's voice was cold. "A pouch? Or dead beasts?
Looking around nervously, sweat slicked his palms, his lips pressed tight.
"What, boy, you turned mute?" Elder Feng added, stroking his beard.
Yu Zhou's throat tightened. Every eye in the room pressed down on him like a physical weight.
"I scavenged the Tier-1 core from a dead beast." He paused, the next words catching in his chest. "The Tier-2 cores... I found them in a pouch. Lying alone in the forest."
"That's the whole truth."
A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, stinging his eye. He didn't dare move to wipe it. He felt like a pinned insect beneath the Sect Leader's heavy gaze.
The Sect Leader's eyes didn't blink. "Then why did you lie to Examiner Cao Yang?"
Yu Zhou's gaze flickered toward the exit before snapping back to the floor.
"I... I just didn't want the official to think I was a thief."
Silence followed.
The elders exchanged glances. Whispers passed between them, quick and careful, none daring to rise above a murmur in the Sect Leader's presence.
The Sect Leader's lips curved slowly.
"Trial disciple," he said simply.
The room went still. Even the whispers stopped.
Elder Feng blinked. "Sect Leader, his cores alone qualify him for—"
"Trial disciple." The Sect Leader repeated the words without looking up. Final.
Unmovable.
Yu Zhou's fist clenched by his sides.
He bowed. "Yes, Sect Leader."
There was nothing else to say, his fate had been sealed.
Two years sacrifice all for this