Chapter 21: Into the Inner Sect (1)

After the brief battle ended, Gu Yuan first took a moment to catch his breath before turning to Xu Liang to check his condition.

Fortunately, his injuries were not serious. After confirming that he was fine, Gu Yuan turned his attention to the other two, who had contributed almost nothing to the battle.

"I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him. Bai Qing, Wu Jian, go to the Mission Hall and bring someone here to take him away."

The two nodded without saying anything and immediately left.

Gu Yuan then sat down where he was and began meditating, keeping part of his attention focused on the unconscious enemy while his Spiritual Sense remained spread over the surrounding area. Xu Liang, after taking a healing pill, also sat down nearby to recover.

Nothing unexpected happened.

Before long, Bai Qing returned. Her expression noticeably more nervous than when she had left. The reason became clear the moment Gu Yuan saw who she had brought with her... not disciples from the Mission Hall, but members of the Disciplinary Hall.

Leading them was a familiar face, Mo Chen, the same man Gu Yuan had encountered three years ago.

"Explain exactly what happened," Mo Chen said, his expression serious as he looked at Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan did not hide anything. He calmly recounted everything that had happened, from encountering Zhang Jun to discovering his identity and the ensuing battle.

Mo Chen listened without interrupting. Once Gu Yuan finished, he looked toward the barely clinging to life Zhang Jun, then back at Gu Yuan.

"And how exactly did you manage to defeat him like this?"

His tone became more peculiar.

"Not only did you avoid any casualties, but you’re completely unharmed yourself."

"Well, he probably let his guard down after seeing that the other three were only at the Qi Refinement Realm. I took advantage of that and used my strongest move right from the beginning, so I was able to catch him off guard."

The answer came smoothly, as though it had already been prepared.

Bai Qing, standing nearby, remained silent, but the strange look she gave Gu Yuan made it obvious that she did not believe a word of it.

Mo Chen stared at Gu Yuan for a moment longer. Then, seemingly unable to keep up the serious act, the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.

"So that’s how it happened?"

He gave a small chuckle and shook his head.

"Fine. Whatever the case, you did well. You kept your team alive, captured an enemy spy, and completed your mission. That is what matters."

Gu Yuan bowed. "Thank you for your praise, Senior Brother."

Once responsibility for the scene and the captive had been formally handed over, Gu Yuan did not linger. He turned around and left the forest, making his way back toward his residence without another word.

...

An unexpected and unwanted incident had occurred on the final day of his patrol mission, but the mission itself had still come to an end.

Back in his house, Gu Yuan sat quietly for a while, his gaze wandering over the four wooden walls surrounding him.

He had lived here for years.

It had been simple, quiet, and sufficient for him. Yet now, as he looked around, he suddenly realized that it was time for a change.

After a moment of thought, Gu Yuan stood up.

"It’s time to move."

With those words, he left his house and headed toward the forge.

There, he found Deacon Zhao.

"Deacon Zhao, I have broken through into the Foundation Establishment Realm, and I’ve also finished my Sect Defense mission. I plan to enter the inner sect now. Could you please recommend me?"

For several seconds, Deacon Zhao simply stared at him, his eyes filled with surprise and a trace of admiration.

Then he cupped his hands.

"First and foremost, congratulations on successfully building your foundation."

Now that they were both Foundation Establishment cultivators, Deacon Zhao did not let the fact that he was only one step away from the Golden Core Realm make him treat Gu Yuan casually. He still showed him the respect appropriate for a fellow cultivator.

"In the path toward immortality, I have only taken my first step." Gu Yuan returned the gesture humbly. "I still hope Deacon Zhao can break through into the Golden Core Realm soon and give me some guidance in the future."

"Hahaha! Good, good!" Deacon Zhao’s eyes brightened, and the desire to break through that had been burning quietly within him seemed to flare up again.

After a few more words, their brief pleasantries came to an end.

"I’ll go to the inner sect immediately. Wait here for me."

Deacon Zhao was a man of action. The moment he made his decision, he left the forge without wasting any more time.

Left alone, Gu Yuan slowly exhaled.

It had not been an easy decision.

For a long time, he had been trying to avoid entering the inner sect because he did not want to get any closer to the twins. But he had already decided to stop running from them. Entering the inner sect was only a matter of time, so there was little point in delaying it any longer.

Besides, with the war still raging, the inner sect was far safer than the outer sect. It was surrounded by the five peaks, and the sect’s strongest forces were concentrated there.

More importantly, Gu Yuan hoped to obtain something from the inner sect that could further increase his strength.

Earlier today, when he fought that spy, he had failed to kill him with a single strike.

Gu Yuan did not like that.With his Heaven-Rank saber technique and the advantage of catching his opponent off guard, he had believed that a one-stage difference in cultivation should have been irrelevant. Yet, he had still failed to take Zhang Jun down in a single strike.

He did not like overestimating his own strength. Still, a Heaven-Rank technique ought to have allowed him to go further than that.

And so, he hoped the inner sect would give him the means to make up for what he currently lacked.

Of course, Gu Yuan knew that things would have been different if he had mastered the first move of the Heaven Rend Saber Technique completely, or if he could execute the second move. Even so, he had always been strict with his own evaluation, and the fact that he had failed to kill Zhang Jun in one strike was enough for him to regard his current strength as insufficient.

In any case, how was one supposed to advance from the outer sect to the inner sect?

The most straightforward method was naturally the Outer Sect Competition, which was held once every four years. However, that was mainly for young Qi Refinement Realm disciples seeking to enter the inner sect.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, things were different.

Gu Yuan simply needed an elder or a Deacon to recommend him.

Otherwise, he could go through the Mission Hall, although that method was considerably more complicated.

But why were there so many procedures in the first place? Why couldn’t a disciple who had broken through into the Foundation Establishment Realm simply go to the inner sect and report his breakthrough?

The reason was actually quite logical. The recommendation system served partly as a way to filter out spies. More importantly, however, the inner sect was not a place one could simply walk into.

To reach it, one needed to use a teleportation array.

Without an inner sect identity badge, attempting to use the array would likely result in him being torn apart before he could even arrive.

And physically entering the inner sect was apparently impossible as well. The five peaks surrounding it served as the nodes of a massive formation, making the entire inner sect effectively isolated from the outside world.

Or at least, that was what Gu Yuan had heard.

With both anticipation and a trace of wariness, Gu Yuan waited for Deacon Zhao’s return.