“Move to the inner court? What inner court? After the grand ceremony, aren’t we supposed to go to our own master’s peak?” Evan Parker asked in astonishment.

“Seriously? Mr. Parker, your master didn’t tell you?” Iron Bull blinked his small eyes, unable to understand.

Then Emily Spencer gave a detailed explanation, and only then did Evan Parker learn about the many arrangements after the ceremony. He couldn’t help but feel both amused and helpless—while everyone else’s master had given them countless instructions and reminders, his own master had simply tossed him a Chun Jun Token and disappeared.

Chapter 13 Cultivation in the Inner Court

It turned out that although people like Evan Parker had already been accepted as disciples by a Golden Core master and qualified to become inner disciples, if they failed to break through the bottleneck of the Ninth Innate Realm and reach the Foundation Establishment stage within a year, they would lose this opportunity. They wouldn’t even be able to become outer disciples, but would be expelled from the sect altogether.

In the eyes of the world, stepping into the Innate Realm is considered the beginning of the cultivation path, but among the nine great sects, the Innate Realm doesn’t even count as a true start.

Only Foundation Establishment—this is truly the first step on the path of cultivation.

Generally speaking, with enough spirit stones, a cultivation method above the Yellow grade, and a bit of luck, a cultivator at the early Innate stage might succeed in Foundation Establishment after ten years of hard training.

But now, the twelve people including Evan Parker were required to reach Foundation Establishment within a year. Even more outrageous, at least half of them hadn’t even reached the Innate Realm yet. The strictness of this requirement was obvious.

But considering that each of them had unique talents and were favored by the lofty Golden Core masters, if they couldn’t cultivate and improve at a rate far beyond ordinary people, what right would they have to receive such special treatment and be granted the precious status of inner disciples upon entering the sect?

During their casual conversation, Evan Parker learned that Emily Spencer’s master Danyangzi and Iron Bull’s master Nuyangzi had given them quite a few pills, especially a spiritual pill called “Huangtian Dan,” which could help them break through to the Innate Realm in one go.

Recalling how much hardship he had endured to reach the Innate Realm, Evan Parker couldn’t help but sigh at the many benefits of having a master.

When all ten elders of the Supreme Xuanyang Sect’s outer court arrived and presided over the initiation ceremony, a sect member drove a colorful nine-crane carriage to pick up Evan Parker and the others, soaring into the sky.

Arriving at a place called “Bitian Peak,” Evan Parker and the others each received a Yuanyang Jade Token symbolizing their status as inner disciples. They were also given thirty “Yuanling Pills” to enhance their cultivation, two hundred mid-grade spirit stones, a Qiankun storage pouch, a copy of the “Supreme Xuanyang Chronicle,” and a high-grade Xuan-level cultivation manual, “Six Yang Spirit Art.”

These were among the many benefits of being an inner disciple. Except for the Qiankun storage pouch, the “Supreme Xuanyang Chronicle,” and the “Six Yang Spirit Art,” which were only given once, the rest of the pills and spirit stones were distributed monthly as a regular stipend.

Compared to the one hundred thousand outer disciples, the inner disciples’ stipend was more than a hundred times greater. The level of attention and benefits given by the sect was astonishing, fully displaying the deep resources of the nine great sects.

If one could be promoted from inner disciple to personal disciple, the treatment would increase dramatically. In the Supreme Xuanyang Sect, there were over one hundred thousand outer disciples, just over six thousand inner disciples, and only a little over two hundred personal disciples. The status of these personal disciples within the sect was in no way inferior to that of the elders; even some weaker Golden Core masters couldn’t compare to their standing.

If a personal disciple’s cultivation ranked in the top ten and they were listed on the “Supreme Xuanyang Ranking,” their status would be even more extraordinary, faintly surpassing that of the sect elders.

It’s worth noting that in the tens of thousands of years of the Supreme Xuanyang Sect’s history, almost all of the sect leaders—eight or nine out of ten—were personal disciples listed on the “Supreme Xuanyang Ranking.”

After the distribution, the sect member led Evan Parker and the others to a palace complex built halfway up the mountain, allowing everyone to freely choose their own residence, gave a few instructions, and then quietly left.

Originally, Evan Parker, Iron Bull, and Emily Spencer had planned to choose residences close to each other, but to their surprise, the palace complex for inner disciples was simply enormous.

Even the Forbidden City in Evan Parker’s memory might not be as vast and luxurious as this place. The houses were spaced far apart; though the three lived as neighbors, they were actually separated by several miles.

According to the sect member who led them, this was only the smallest of the many residential areas for inner disciples.

Since both Iron Bull and Emily Spencer had not yet reached the Innate Realm, they needed to take “Huangyuan Dan” and enter seclusion for more than ten days to break through, so the three agreed to meet in a month to collect their stipend together, then parted ways and returned to their assigned luxurious residences.

Evan Parker’s residence was a siheyuan covering more than fifty mu. Around the courtyard was a “Spirit Gathering Array,” and in front of the courtyard was a training ground made of lapis lazuli, which could increase the concentration of spiritual energy in the courtyard tenfold.

To the east was a fully equipped pill refining room; to the west, a large medicinal garden planted with all kinds of rare spiritual herbs and fruits that Evan Parker couldn’t even name; to the south was a meditation chamber for Evan Parker’s cultivation.