For just one month into the sect, Ye Yun had directly become an outer disciple. Before he even received his first mission, his cultivation broke through again, entering the Golden Core stage and becoming an inner disciple.
His cultivation speed was so astonishing, it was as if he was cheating. The entire Qingyue Sect was shocked. Even the personal disciples had to lower their arrogant heads when they met Ye Yun.
And this was just the beginning. Within half a year of entering the sect, Ye Yun became the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in the entire Qingyue Sect.
One year after entering the sect, Ye Yun broke through again, shattering the shackles that all cultivators believed to be unbreakable. With only a year of cultivation experience, he stepped into the Void Return stage, becoming a true disciple of the Qingyue Sect. With just one more breakthrough, he would become an elder of the Qingyue Sect.
The Qingyue Sect was founded 1,700 years ago. The current Sect Master, Dongfang Dao, had reached the Dao Comprehension realm. He was arguably the strongest sect master in the history of the Qingyue Sect. Under his bold reforms, the entire Qingyue Sect had been elevated from a ninth-tier sect to an eighth-tier sect in just a few hundred years.
The sect had twelve elders. Excluding two elder members, the remaining six had been promoted from former true disciples, all of whom were cultivators at the Dao Integration realm.
"Sect Master, Sun Xiaoshan has reached the Great Perfection of Dao Integration. Jian Yan mentioned he seems to have entered seclusion again. Do you think he might attempt to break through to Dao Comprehension now?" a middle-aged elder asked with concern.
"So soon? I recall Xiaoshan joining our Qingyue Sect just over a year ago. His cultivation speed is indeed astonishing," Dongfang Dao said, looking at Elder Wuming below, and couldn't help but laugh.
"Sect Master, aren't you worried? With such speed, it won't be long before our Qingyue Sect touches the threshold of a fifth-tier sect," Wuming reminded Dongfang Dao, seeing him smile.
Every sect hoped to produce prodigies among their disciples. However, they were merely prodigies. Once a cultivator with terrifying talent emerged, one that could threaten the ruler's position, it became a path to death for some sects!
The sect rankings in this world had no fixed criteria; they had been passed down since ancient times. However, in recent years, as new powerhouses continuously emerged from the first-tier sects, a higher tier, the Sacred Land, was established above the first tier.
One Dao Comprehension cultivator and ten Dao Integration cultivators were sufficient to promote a sect to eighth-tier.
Five Dao Comprehension cultivators made a sect seventh-tier.
Ten Dao Comprehension cultivators made a sect sixth-tier.
Only when a sect produced a True Person did it qualify as a fifth-tier sect.
Upon the emergence of a True Person-level cultivator, a sect was required to report to the Sacred Land within six months. Failure to do so would result in the sect being completely wiped out by the Sacred Land!
The underlying implications were understood by all. As the Sacred Lands on this planet, they always considered themselves masters, while other races and sects were merely their subordinates. Although these sects offered them endless wealth and treasures annually, they feared the emergence of powerful cultivators from these sects, which could affect their own interests.
Therefore, once a sect entered the fifth-tier category, it would be under the covert surveillance of the Sacred Land. If any signs of uncontrolled growth were detected, they would intervene without hesitation.
"Heh heh, Elder Wuming, do you know why the Hongtian Continent is called the Hongtian Continent?" Dongfang Dao stood up, walked to Wuming, and chuckled.
"Legend has it that ten thousand years ago, the Hongtian tribe produced a peerless prodigy who, within a few hundred years, achieved the Mahayana realm, suppressing all other races on the continent. Thus, the continent later came to be known as the Hongtian Continent," Wuming said, lowering his head. The Sect Master had reached the peak of Dao Comprehension and was on the verge of full mastery, his aura putting immense pressure on him, a mere mid-stage Dao Integration cultivator.
"Correct."
Dongfang Dao patted Wuming's shoulder and then walked out of the grand hall, gazing at the vast landscape below, taking a deep breath.
"A peerless prodigy, suppressing thirteen tribes! Achieving Heavenly Venerate in a few hundred years."
"So... Sect Master, are you willing to gamble with the fate of the human race?" Wuming followed him out.
"The human race is weak, and if this continues, it will only grow weaker. Currently, I, a mere Dao Comprehension realm cultivator, can still suppress the few nearby seventh-tier sects. But if you and I are gone, do you think the human race will have a future?" Dongfang Dao looked up at the distant heavens.
"Indeed. In the past century, the disciples we have taken in have become fewer and fewer, and their talent has diminished with each passing generation," Wuming said, looking at the vast expanse of mountains and rivers with Dongfang Dao, sighing.
He was over a hundred years younger than Dongfang Dao, but his lifespan was nearing its end. Dongfang Dao was in the same predicament.
"Therefore, Sun Xiaoshan's talent is our last hope. If he succeeds, our human race may stand on this continent for countless generations, with prodigies emerging everywhere, and everyone becoming like dragons. If he fails, our human race will forever fall into hell, with no hope of rising again."
An unprecedented divine light erupted from Dongfang Dao's eyes, a reflection of his faith in the human race and his aspirations for the Great Dao.
"Heh heh, I hope I can live to see the day our human race rises again. I only have a few years left to live. Since the Sect Master has made his decision, I will join you in this gamble," Wuming bowed to Dongfang Dao.
"Good. Then summon all the elders and true disciples. We must unite to ensure that young fellow can go further!" Dongfang Dao declared with a hearty laugh.
The Qingyue Sect possessed twelve Dao Integration elders and thirty Void Return true disciples. In terms of overall strength, they could crush the surrounding few seventh-tier sects. However, these seventh-tier sects were backed by the powerful sects of their respective races. Thus, the Qingyue Sect could only endure these smaller sects, remaining in obscurity for hundreds of years, accumulating strength.
Wuming bowed and retreated, heading towards the mountainside where the true disciple quarters were located.
"Dao Integration in one year, approaching Dao Comprehension in less than half a year. Sun Xiaoshan, you, a prodigy with such cultivation before the age of ten, must not disappoint me."
...
The next day, just as all the disciples of the Qingyue Sect were preparing to begin their day's cultivation with the rising sun, the long-silent bell on the sect's mountain peak suddenly rang throughout the entire sect.
Three long tolls of the bell!
This was a major event!
Three thousand core disciples, twenty thousand inner disciples, and seventy thousand outer disciples, nearly all disciples, rushed to the sect's main square as soon as they heard the bell.
"Wh-what is going on? Has one of our sect elders perished?"
"Is that... an elder's corpse? What in the world happened?"
Countless disciples were aghast as they arrived at the square.
White cloth was draped around the stone pillars on both sides of the sect. A corpse, covered by white cloth, lay flat in front of the gate. Judging by its size, it was the body of a child no more than 1.4 meters tall.
Tying white cloth around the sect's two stone pillars was a ceremony usually reserved for the fall of an elder. Moreover, not only were all the true disciples and elders present, but even the Sect Master, who rarely appeared, stood there with a grim expression.
"Our Qingyue Sect is the first and only sect founded by our human race, and it has existed for 1,733 years!"
"In these 1,733 years, our Qingyue Sect has sacrificed 2,076,461 outer disciples, 10,756,329 inner disciples, 1,759,019 core disciples, and 20,601 true disciples!"
"And today, it is a day of utter humiliation for our Qingyue Sect! For yesterday, our Qingyue Sect's youngest elder, Sun Xiaoshan, perished during a secret mission! He is also the 756th elder sacrificed by our Qingyue Sect for our human race!"
Dongfang Dao looked at the hundreds of thousands of disciples gathered below, his expression filled with grief and indignation. Behind him, many true disciples were already weeping. If Ye Yun were here, he would surely find a way to award them an Oscar for Best Actor.
Unfortunately, he was still in seclusion, striving to reach the Dao Comprehension realm.