Looking down at the ground from above.
Gujian Mountain stood on the ground. It was more than two thousand eight hundred meters tall, four hundred and eighty miles long, and three hundred and fifty miles wide. With Gujian Mountain as the center, everything within a thousand miles of the mountain belonged to the True Sword Sect. This piece of land was very large.
True Sword Mountain originally occupied a very small area on Gujian Mountain. However, after the expansion, the entire area was more than ten times its original size.
The location of the sect hall did not change. It was at the highest point of Gujian Mountain, two thousand five hundred meters above sea level. It was only three hundred meters away from the peak. However, after the renovation, it was even more majestic and imposing. There was even a hidden sharpness to it.
Strictly speaking, Gujian Mountain was just a mountain. However, if one wanted to divide it carefully, other than the Sect Master Peak where the sect hall was located, one could also divide it into smaller peaks. These peaks were of different heights. The highest was close to two thousand meters, while the lowest was only a thousand meters.
These peaks were originally not used. Now, they were being developed one by one.
One was named Danxin Peak, where the sect refined pills. Another was named Swordcasting Peak, where the sect forged swords. The Punishment Hall was located one thousand five hundred meters above the Sect Master Peak.
The nominal disciples were still in the same place.
The official disciples, or inner disciples, had their own peak. This peak was one thousand two hundred meters tall and was named Iron Sword Peak. The peak for the elite disciples was named True Sword Peak, while the peak for the core disciples was named Gujian Peak.
The one-month disciple recruitment came to an end. The total number of sword cultivators who participated in the assessment reached more than two hundred thousand.
However, only about one in forty passed the assessment and became a disciple of the True Sword Sect. That was about five thousand people.
Very few of them became disciples of the True Sword Sect with their ability to refine pills or forge swords. They were then assigned to Danxin Peak and Swordcasting Peak.
It had to be said that the result was very shocking.
Only five thousand out of two hundred thousand people were selected. That was a passing rate of one in forty. When the outside world found out, many people were shocked. How difficult was the True Sword Sect's assessment?
Sword Principle cultivators were rare to begin with. Those who could achieve something were usually talented. Among the 200,000 Sword Principle cultivators who participated in the assessment, at least half of them were quite talented. If they were placed in some small sects, they would be focused on cultivating disciples. Even if they were placed in some medium-sized sects, they would be treated well.
Some of those who were eliminated were qualified to join even sects like the Purple Mountain Sect.
Just how difficult was the True Sword Sect's examination? It actually eliminated so many outstanding disciples. Then, just how outstanding were those who passed the examination?
Actually, that was not the case. Many of the people who had passed the examination were not as talented as those who had been eliminated.
However, the four tests of the True Sword Sect were clearly different from the tests of other sects.
It was a test that Chu Mu had come up with based on his own experience on the path of cultivation and the experiences of the Grand Elders.
The four tests tested one's comprehension, temperament, and understanding and mastery of the sword and sword techniques.
As for cultivation, that was the initial rule. Those whose cultivation was insufficient would not even be able to take part in the test.
For most sects, the first step in selecting disciples was to test one's cultivation talent. In truth, while cultivation talent was important, other aspects were also very important.
However, cultivation talent was actually the most important factor in selecting disciples for the True Sword Sect. They had to have sufficient comprehension, or it would be very difficult for them to comprehend profound sword techniques. To comprehend profound Way of the Sword, one's temperament and willpower had to pass. Otherwise, they would not be able to persevere and achieve anything.
Understanding and mastery of the sword and sword techniques was also necessary. As a cultivator of the Way of the Sword, if one's comprehension and mastery of the sword and sword techniques had not reached a certain level, it would be better to just give up and save time.
If the True Sword Sect wanted to nurture disciples, they had to nurture outstanding disciples.
Those who were talented in cultivation might not necessarily be better than others in terms of comprehension and temperament.
They all had their strengths and weaknesses. It all depended on how one chose.
The True Sword Sect's test was over, and the recruitment of disciples was over. However, it did not completely cut off the path for others to join the True Sword Sect. After all, some people were quite outstanding in terms of comprehension and temperament, so they had the right to join the True Sword Sect. It was just that they did not make it in time, or there were various other reasons.
The path that was left behind was called the Way of the Sword Cleansing. After passing the Way of the Sword Cleansing, one would have the right to become a disciple of the True Sword Sect.
This time, out of the 200,000 cultivators who had taken part in the Way of the Sword's examination, 5,000 passed. 3,000 of them became inner disciples of the True Sword Sect, and they all lived on the Iron Sword Peak together with the original inner disciples. Over 1,300 of them became elite disciples and lived on the True Sword Peak together with the original elite disciples. Over 600 of them became core disciples and lived on the Ancient Sword Peak together with the original core disciples.
After the recruitment, the number of disciples in the True Sword Sect had increased by almost ten times. This was not just an increase in the number of disciples but also an increase in the overall strength of the True Sword Sect.
Within the main hall of the sect, Elder Yun Feng was responsible for the statistics. He presented a list of the most outstanding inner disciples and elite disciples, as well as the core disciples, and handed it to Chu Mu.
The inner disciples were at the Origin Realm, while the elite disciples were at the Divine Condensation Realm. To Chu Mu, these cultivations were far too weak. They were like ants. Who knew how many people he could kill with a single slash of his sword.
As the master of the sect, he could not pay attention to every single disciple. As a result, he had to make a selection.
Only the best among the inner disciples and elite disciples were worthy of his attention. As for the core disciples, they were at least at the First Heavenly Layer of Nirvana. In the outside world, the cultivators who could reach the Nirvana Realm were all rather ordinary in terms of talent, but their temperament and determination were extremely shocking. They were worthy of Chu Mu's attention.
Adding on the original ones, the number of core disciples was close to seven hundred. Chu Mu glanced over the long list of names, as well as their origins, cultivation, and other aspects, all of which were imprinted into Chu Mu's mind.
Among the seven hundred core disciples, the lowest cultivation was at the First Heavenly Layer of Nirvana, while the highest was at the peak of the Seventh Heavenly Layer of Nirvana, close to breaking through to the Eighth Heavenly Layer of Nirvana. Such a cultivation was completely comparable to Elder Yun Feng and Elder Yun He.
Whether it was the Origin Realm or the Divine Condensation Realm, the difference between the early, middle, late and peak wasn't that great. However, the difference between each Heavenly Layer of the Nirvana Realm was very obvious.
As a result, Chu Mu was considering.
Should a new disciple position be added above the core disciple position? Should the title be different from the core disciple position? Should it be placed above the core disciple position?
The current True Sword Sect wasn't the same as before. Elder Yun Feng and Elder Yun He both brought up this point. Their cultivation was only at the Seventh Heavenly Layer of Nirvana. In terms of strength, they were even weaker than some of the core disciples. They weren't qualified to be Elders.
After some consideration, Chu Mu agreed to Yun Feng and Yun He's request and appointed them as Deacons. Yun Feng was still in the Wind Trust Hall, while Yun He was still in the Punishment Hall.
As for the Hall Master of the Wind Trust Hall and the Hall Master of the Punishment Hall, they had to be chosen from the original seven Supreme Elders.
As the True Sword Sect gradually grew stronger, some changes had to be made in the upper echelons. The seven Supreme Elders all walked out from behind the scenes and became Elders of the True Sword Sect. As for Xia Zhenkong and Ling Feng, they were actually Guest Elders of the True Sword Sect.
Guest Elders were different from Elders.
Chu Mu also set a rule. Only those whose cultivation had reached the Seventh Heavenly Layer of Nirvana could step down from behind the scenes and become Supreme Elders.
As for Yang Zhen, speaking of which, he was quite embarrassed.
The True Sword Sect was a sect of pure sword cultivators. Within the sect, from the Elders to the Sect Master, down to the disciples, they were all sword cultivators or true sword cultivators. He was the only one who was not. Therefore, Chu Mu gave him a mission. From then on, he was to focus on sword cultivation, comprehending sword principles, and comprehending sword energy. The day he comprehended sword energy would be the day he became an Elder of the True Sword Sect.
Yang Zhen's talent was average, but to be able to become a Grand Swordsman, his life essence had changed. With the realm of a Grand Swordsman and Chu Mu's guidance, there was a high chance that he could comprehend the essence of sword skills, master sword energy, and become a Grand Swordsman.
Chu Mu temporarily arranged for Merlin, Wen Fei, and Long Yi to stay at the Iron Sword Peak, True Sword Peak, and Ancient Sword Peak. They were responsible for teaching the inner, elite, and core disciples.
Three days later, Chu Mu made a decision.
Among the core disciples, the elite would be selected to be the Esoteric Disciples.
As soon as this news came out, nearly seven hundred core disciples were boiling with excitement.
Esoteric Disciples were above the core disciples and closer to the upper echelons of the True Sword Sect. They had a higher status in the True Sword Sect. It could be said that their status was the highest among all the disciples. They were valued more, received more training, and enjoyed more resources. In short, becoming an Esoteric Disciple had many benefits. Who wouldn't want to?
The Esoteric Disciple Selection would begin one month later. The selection method would not be announced for the time being.
Although the selection method was not announced, nearly seven hundred core disciples were all prepared. No matter what kind of selection method it was, it was always better to make oneself stronger, to make oneself in a better state, and to be full of energy, Qi, and Spirit.
One month's time could be said to be long, but it was actually very short.
Soon after, the second announcement was made. After the Esoteric Disciple Selection, the True Sword Sect would hold the first round of ranking competition between the inner, elite, and core disciples. The ranking list was divided into three categories. The inner disciples' Iron Sword Ranking, the elite disciples' True Sword Ranking, and the core disciples' Ancient Sword Ranking.
Among them, the Iron Sword Ranking had one hundred spots, the True Sword Ranking had one hundred spots, and the Ancient Sword Ranking had ten spots.
Anyone who could enter the ranking list would receive generous rewards and more training opportunities. They might even be accepted as a disciple by an Elder.
An Elder was a Grand Swordsman. For a moment, every disciple's heart was burning with passion.
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