Two months passed. Mu Chen remained remarkably true to his commitment, barely setting foot outside his residence except for the necessary trips to the sect's high-end restaurants.
To the eyes of an outsider, he appeared more like a wealthy vacationer than a disciple.
Beside him, Shen Xi had spent the majority of her days immersed in the complex study of the ancient formations and runes. Nibi, for her part, had embraced the life of a pampered house cat, moving only when the promise of a snack or a comfortable lap dictated.
On this particular morning, Mu Chen found himself strolling aimlessly through the misty mountain paths. He moved without a specific destination in mind, simply enjoying the cool air and the vibrant spiritual energy of the Sky Sect.
His wanderings eventually led him toward a massive, multi-tiered structure that radiated an aura of profound wisdom. It was the Scripture Pavilion, the most frequented destination for the disciples currently residing in the outer mountains.
The pavilion was a grand repository of knowledge. Inside, jade tablets and ancient scrolls were piled up in staggering numbers, each containing techniques that would have been considered priceless family inheritances in the world outside the sect's walls.
Most of the techniques available here were of the Earthly level. As for Heavenly techniques, they were reserved exclusively for the elite who managed to fight their way into the inner mountains.
Mu Chen moved through the aisles with a look of mild detachment. He picked up jade tablets at random, scanning their contents. While he lacked any real passion for the techniques on display, browsing through them was a marginally better way to pass the time than staring at the ceiling of his room.
"Are you having trouble in choosing? Or do you simply not want anything at all?"
The voice came from directly behind him, breaking the scholarly silence of the hall. Mu Chen turned around to find Wu Yan standing there, her arms crossed as she watched him with an inquisitive gaze.
She had been observing him for a few minutes, noting how he moved past powerful techniques that other disciples would have already selected for practice.
"The latter," Mu Chen replied simply, his voice flat.
Wu Yan blinked, clearly surprised by his bluntness, but she quickly began to rationalize his answer within her own framework of logic.
"It looks like you have sufficient techniques for now, then," she speculated, her brow furrowing in thought. "It makes sense. Practicing too many arts at once won't bring any real results. In fact, it often does nothing but reduce your cultivation speed by fragmenting your focus."
Mu Chen looked at her, a small spark of surprise colouring his otherwise bored expression. He hadn't expected his simple answer to lead her to such a complex and reasonable conclusion. It seemed this girl had a habit of thinking a bit too much, filling in the blanks of his indifference with her own martial theories.
"Which summit will you choose then?" Wu Yan asked, changing the subject.
Based on the Mu Chen's strength, Wu Yan considered it a foregone conclusion that he would enter the inner mountains. Even a top-ten ranking in the upcoming ceremony wouldn't be a problem for him.
Reaching the top ten would instantly elevate him to the status of a Gold Belt Disciple, a prestigious rank that granted the individual the rare privilege of choosing exactly which of the peaks they wished to join.
"Holy Peak," Mu Chen replied.
He remembered what Tian Cang, the founder of the sect, had told him. When the Sky Sect was first established, the foremost and most important peak—the one where the ancestor himself cultivated—was named the Saint Origin Peak.
"Are you choosing the Saint Origin Peak?!" Wu Yan's beautiful eyes widened in genuine shock.
Unlike many of the newer disciples, Wu Yan was one of the few who understood the situation of the Sky Sect. She knew the history of the Saint Origin Peak. Although it had once been the hallowed cultivation retreat of the Tian Cang Ancestor, the peak was now a shadow of its former glory.
Its main summit had been sealed, and it lacked a Peak Master to guide its growth. The strength of the Saint Origin Peak was in steady decline. Very few ambitious disciples chose to join it, as it offered none of the resources or prestige of the other summits.
"Actually, the other six peaks are much more suitable for you," Wu Yan advised, her tone earnest. "Even Hongya, the Body Refining Peak, is currently much stronger than the Saint Origin Peak."
"Hehe, I didn't expect someone to choose the Saint Origin Peak. What a disappointment."
A new voice entered the conversation, dripping with mockery. A young man dressed in elegant white robes approached them, his expression one of cold disdain. This was Lu Feng, a disciple whose strength was widely considered to be at the absolute pinnacle of the outer mountain rankings.
He was the favoured candidate to take the first place in the upcoming ceremony, and he was well aware of the Saint Origin Peak's reputation as a dumping ground for those without ambition.
"Are you looking down on it?" Mu Chen asked, a teasing glint appearing in his eyes.
Lu Feng's arrogant expression froze instantly. He glanced around the hall, noting the other disciples nearby, and found himself unable to offer a direct reply. While the Saint Origin Peak was indeed seen as weak in terms of its current roster, its historical importance was extraordinary.
It was the place where the Sect's Ancestor had cultivated in seclusion. To openly mock the peak was to indirectly mock the Ancestor himself—a crime that no outer disciple, no matter how talented, could afford to commit.
Lu Feng realized he had overstepped. He was a mere Nascent Soul expert, still an outer disciple, and he lacked the standing to criticize the heritage of the summits.
"Humph! Selecting a peak is a matter for later," Lu Feng said, quickly diverting the topic to save his face. He puffed out his chest, his Southern Domain pride flaring. "Before that happens, I will make you realize exactly how large the gap is between your weakest Northern Domain and us of the Southern Domain."
Mu Chen merely shook his head, a weary sigh escaping his lips. He turned and walked away without another word, feeling that his mental peace would be irreparably disturbed if he stood there for even one more moment.
He couldn't fathom how these people functioned. How could they spend every waking hour thinking about challenges, rankings, and fights? It seemed like a truly exhausting way to live.
...
"Tsk, he still hasn't answered," Wu Yan muttered to herself, suddenly remembering that Mu Chen had left without acknowledging her advice about the other six peaks.
"Wu Yan, do you know this person named Mu Chen well?" Lu Feng asked, forcing a kind, cultured smile back onto his face.
Although both he and Wu Yan hailed from the Southern Domain, Lu Feng's background couldn't truly compare to the depth of her lineage.
"We don't know each other very well; we're more like neighbors," Wu Yan said indifferently. She hadn't seen much of Mu Chen in the past two months and had no idea where he had been hiding.
She was secretly a little puzzled. Not utilizing the high-tier cultivation sites like the Spiritual Mountain was an incredible waste in her view. Those sites were top-tier rewards reserved specifically for the only first-class disciples.
Shen Xi was the same way, rarely showing her face at the common training grounds. No wonder they lived under the same roof; in their shared laziness and lack of drive, they were remarkably similar.
Lu Feng nodded, his smile widening slightly. He could deduce from her tone that her relationship with Mu Chen was purely that of acquaintances. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about Mu Chen being a romantic rival.
"I'm leaving first," Lu Feng said, bowing slightly.
Wu Yan nodded perfunctorily. She felt nothing for Lu Feng—no admiration, and certainly no attraction. In fact, she was somewhat indifferent to his presence. Like the many suitors who had come before him, she suspected that his interest was more in her background than in her person.
...
Ten days passed in a flash of preparation. At dawn, the usual silence of the mountain morning was transformed into a deafening clamor. Today was the day the Mountain Selection Ceremony officially began.
After three months of cultivation and adaptation, tens of thousands of new disciples were ready. The outer mountains were not their goal in coming to the sky Sect. They were the geniuses of four domains, the scions of ancient dynasties and orthodox families. Only by venturing into the inner mountains would their long journeys be considered a success.
Mu Chen and Shen Xi arrived at the assembly grounds with their usual unhurried pace. Nibi was currently lying on top of Mu Chen's head, her paws tucked in as she surveyed the crowd with bored eyes.
High in the sky, a massive structure began to manifest. It was a gargantuan pyramid formed of shimmering spiritual light, blossoming against the clouds.
Inside the pyramid were 9,999 stone platforms, arranged in a strictly hierarchical fashion. Near the apex of the structure were nine silver-coloured platforms, and at the very top, bathed in a golden radiance, sat a single gold-coloured stone platform.
Of the tens of thousands of disciples participating, only those who managed to secure a platform would be allowed to enter the inner mountains. It was a brutal, vertical slaughterhouse of ambition.
"All disciples, welcome the Sect Master and the Lords of the Summit!"
An Elder's voice boomed through the void, carrying a power that silenced the tens of thousands of voices in an instant. Every disciple looked up toward the sky in a mixture of awe and desperate curiosity.
For many, this would be the only time in their lives they would witness the arrival of the Sect Master—a giant of the cultivation world whose strength was the stuff of legends.