After waiting for a full two hours, the thousand-strong line had finally dispersed by half, and it was almost Evan Parker and Iron Bull’s turn to enter the testing grounds for their assessment.

Evan Parker already possessed the cultivation of the Innate Initial Stage, so he naturally didn’t have to worry about not being selected. What he was considering now was how to surpass the threshold of outer sect disciple and become an inner sect disciple of the Supreme Xuanyang Sect in one fell swoop.

Though there was only a single character difference between the two, the treatment they received was worlds apart. Evan Parker had already learned this clearly during earlier idle gossip with Iron Bull.

The Supreme Xuanyang Sect was one of the nine great sects, an absolute overlord on Xuanyuan Star, with over a hundred thousand disciples. Ninety percent of them were outer sect disciples, while the remaining ten percent formed the very foundation of the Supreme Xuanyang Sect, recognized as elite inner sect disciples.

Above the inner sect disciples, there were even personal disciples, selected from among nearly ten thousand inner sect disciples as the most outstanding.

In the Supreme Xuanyang Sect, any personal disciple was a lofty existence. Even elders within the sect might not have a status much higher than theirs.

In fact, some personal disciples who were taught directly by the sect master or grand elders had identities, status, and even cultivation far above the ordinary elder class.

Now, what Evan Parker was striving for was precisely this opportunity to become a personal disciple as quickly as possible. It concerned whether he could return to Earth in his lifetime, and whether he could live a good life on this cultivation planet. Evan Parker was absolutely going all out.

To be honest, after three years of arduous cultivation in the mines, Evan Parker had gradually come to enjoy cultivation. The thrill of constantly gaining greater power made him feel exhilarated. Pursuing stronger power and higher cultivation was now seen by Evan Parker as a challenge to himself.

“These are your number tokens. Go on in.” At the entrance to the trial grounds, a man in blue handed two jade tokens engraved with numbers to Iron Bull and Evan Parker.

Stepping through the gate, they entered a plaza spanning several dozen acres. In front of the plaza, before a building, a hundred-meter-wide platform built of diamond-hard lapis lazuli stood. Over a dozen Supreme Xuanyang Sect disciples in white stood tall upon it—these were the examiners for this round of entry selection.

Once inside the trial grounds, Iron Bull excitedly dragged Evan Parker toward the high platform in the plaza. As he ran, he pointed at the examiners on the platform and said, “Mr. Parker, are those immortals up there?”

Following Iron Bull’s finger, Evan Parker was surprised to find that he could see through the cultivation levels of everyone on the platform at a glance. Astonished, Evan Parker gained a deeper understanding of the wonders of divine yuan power.

“Sixteen examiners: eight at Innate Sixth Stage, five at Innate Seventh Stage, two at Innate Eighth Stage, and one at Innate Ninth Stage… With my current cultivation, it seems I’m qualified to be an examiner myself!”

With a chuckle in his heart, Evan Parker was pulled by Iron Bull to the front of the platform. The hundred or so entrants listened to the announcement in turn, then ascended the giant platform with their number tokens for testing.

Looking around, the test items seemed simple, but the difficulty was far beyond what ordinary people could accomplish.

Seeing one person after another fail and return from the platform, Evan Parker couldn’t help but doubt the claim that the Supreme Xuanyang Sect would recruit ten thousand outer sect disciples this year. After all, the difficulty of the tests was extraordinarily high—one in a thousand might not even fully pass.

From the time Evan Parker entered the trial grounds, half an hour had passed, and in the blink of an eye, more than half of the hundred had been eliminated. Not a single person had passed—the acceptance rate was zero.

“Next.”

The voice of Examiner Number Six interrupted Evan Parker’s thoughts—Iron Bull was up.

“First round: lift the thousand-jin stone lock ten times.”

In front of Iron Bull was a stone lock about the size of a basket. Judging by its quality, it was made of top-grade lapis lazuli, which was second to none in both weight and hardness. Though it didn’t look large, its weight was indeed as the examiner said—about a thousand jin.

Unlike others, Iron Bull was not the least bit afraid of this test. It was practically tailor-made for someone with his natural strength. Taking a deep breath, the big, burly Iron Bull pressed down on the lock with one hand, shouted “up,” and easily lifted the stone lock above his head, showing no sign of strain.

Iron Bull’s strength clearly satisfied Examiner Number Six, who nodded slightly and said, “Lift it ten times in a row, and you’ll pass this round.”

Miners on this side of the mine had long engaged in heavy labor, so there was no shortage of strong individuals. But someone who could toss a thousand-jin weight up and down as lightly as Iron Bull—there wasn’t a single one.

Very soon, Iron Bull completed the required number of lifts. The examiner then led Iron Bull to another testing area ten paces away. This was a separate area, about ten zhang in diameter, completely shrouded in a white glow. It was impossible to see what was inside. The examiner pointed at the white circle and said, “Go in. If you last the time it takes for one incense stick to burn, you pass. If you’re thrown out of the circle halfway through, it counts as a failure.”