The might of the Central Celestial Dynasty was beyond comprehension. The prowess of the Central Celestial Dynasty was immeasurable.

Even Upper-Tier Immortal Sects and Great Immortal Sects required vetting and assessment from the Central Celestial Dynasty. The foremost Dynasty under Heaven—the Central Celestial Dynasty!

This place was akin to the Heavenly Court manifest upon the earth! It was said that within the Central Celestial Dynasty, Upper-Tier Immortal Sects numbered in the countless thousands, and Great Immortal Sects were exceedingly numerous.

When all was said and done, the Southern Territory was merely the Southern Territory, a desolate backwater. The Central Celestial Dynasty, however, was truly where Grandmasters gathered like clouds and Great Grandmasters descended like rain.

And the Huashan Immortal Sect was soon to face the assessment of the Central Celestial Dynasty. Should they pass, the Huashan Immortal Sect would be honored with promotion to a Great Immortal Sect.

Chu Duan had never concealed this ambition, nor could he. The elevation to a Great Immortal Sect was an event of such magnitude that concealment was impossible.

Huashan Immortal Sect had become quite lively recently, with many cultivators making final preparations. Assessing for a Great Immortal Sect required scrutiny across all aspects, demanding five separate evaluations.

The first assessment focused on the new generation of disciples and the sect's spiritual (Spirit Vein) endowment. The Spirit Vein quantity was fixed, so the focus fell on the disciples: their total numbers, the average caliber of the Core Disciples, and the peak standard among the Core Disciples.

Everyone was busy on all fronts. These individuals were now tirelessly boosting the strength of the Core Disciples.

Of course, even when forcefully advancing a Core Disciple’s cultivation, they generally didn't push too hard, as unstable foundations were terribly detrimental to long-term practice. Orthodox Immortal Sects placed the greatest emphasis on foundational cultivation.

Demonic Sects would surge ahead at a thousand miles a day, yet later face constant inner demons and slow progress. Orthodox Sects advanced slowly and steadily, ensuring a smooth path toward the Great Dao with few hindrances.

In truth, the envoys from the Central Celestial Dynasty were not solely here for Huashan Immortal Sect; they carried numerous assessment missions along their route. The Jin Kingdom was second to last on their itinerary.

Word had it that in the Great Qin State, the Dafa Hualing Temple was also petitioning to become a Giant Immortal Sect; whether they would succeed was unknown. Regardless, the days continued to pass.

Those who trained swordsmanship trained swordsmanship; those who needed secluded cultivation entered seclusion. Time flowed onward, slowly but surely.

Among all the Core Disciples, Lu Yuan felt the least pressure and had the most leisure, primarily because his master had passed away, leaving him without supervision. Finally, news arrived: the Dafa Hualing Temple in the Qin State had failed its petition to become a Giant Immortal Sect.

The next stop was Huashan Immortal Sect in the Jin Kingdom. On this day, Lu Yuan followed behind Venerable Yuanyuan.

This time, it wasn't just Venerable Yuanyuan; the peak masters of Huashan’s Five Peaks had all turned out, with Sect Master Chu Duan leading the procession. Ahead, a Cloud Chariot approached.

The restrictive enchantments layered upon this Cloud Chariot were almost beyond imagining—perhaps numbering in the hundreds of thousands. In a land like the Jin Kingdom, a typical defensive array might employ tens of thousands of restrictions.

Achieving hundreds of thousands was exceedingly difficult, yet this humble vessel from the Central Celestial Dynasty—a location not considered paramount—boasted such a density of prohibitions. It was an unimaginable display of power, stunning to behold.

And that wasn't all. Following the chariot were fifty young male acolytes and fifty young female acolytes, each one possessing delicate, beautiful features.

Additionally, over a dozen other young men and women followed this revered Daoist, accompanying him to witness the world. The Cloud Chariot finally opened, revealing a venerable Daoist robed in purple.

Spiritual power surged around this Daoist, seemingly swirling like vital energy, with the faint resonance of the Great Dao's laws subtly present within him. A figure of the Great Dao Realm!

Lu Yuan instantly confirmed that this individual must be of the Great Dao Realm. In terms of sheer strength, many figures within Huashan were not inferior to him, and perhaps even surpassed him.

However, this man hailed from the Central Celestial Dynasty. This status alone compelled Sect Master Chu Duan to personally emerge and offer greetings.

"Fellow Daoist, your journey must have been taxing," Chu Duan offered with a smile. The purple-robed venerable Daoist nodded.

"So, you are the Huashan Immortal Sect seeking promotion to a Great Immortal Sect. Enough pleasantries.

Bring out your Core Disciples for inspection. We will test your disciples first, then assess the Spirit Veins.

Traveling south, we have passed through countless nations. The Core Disciples emerging from so many states are simply too weak, lacking any qualification." He cut straight to the chase, commencing the disciple assessment immediately.

The examination took place on the East Peak, Sun-Rising Peak. At the summit of Sun-Rising Peak, as the sun ascended, myriad rays of light pierced down.

The purple-robed venerable Daoist from the Central Celestial Dynasty stood with his hands clasped behind his back. "The scenery here is acceptable, but the spiritual energy is far too sparse—less than one-tenth of the energy in the Central Celestial Dynasty." The spiritual energy in the Central Celestial Dynasty was immensely rich, a density incomparable to a backwater region like the Southern Territory.

The assessment had begun. The first to be tested were the ten Core Disciples of the East Peak.

The venerable Daoist in purple spared them a glance, showing little interest. "Shi Jian, you shall step forward.

This Shi Jian is a Core Disciple from a sect within the Central Celestial Dynasty." "Yes, honored Sir," the young man named Shi Jian leaped forward. On the Huashan side, the ten Core Disciples of the East Peak took their positions.

Shi Chaoyang and the others looked toward Chu Duan, who nodded, signaling a ten-against-one engagement. Shi Chaoyang and the others felt a flicker of dissatisfaction.

Even if the opponent, Shi Jian, was a Core Disciple from the Central Celestial Dynasty, fighting ten at once seemed excessive. Nevertheless, since the decision was made, they resolved to defeat their opponent swiftly.

Shi Chaoyang flicked his hand, unleashing a sword strike. The blade flashed past, its golden radiance not overly fierce, yet imbued with a subtle, chilling killing intent.

This was the Sun-Rising One Qi Sword. Shi Chaoyang had recently comprehended his first trace of sword intent—the Sun-Rising Sword Intent.

The other nine disciples, naturally, had not grasped external intent, but they each unleashed their ultimate techniques, such as the Sun-Rising One Qi Sword and the Xi Yi Sword Style, their various attacks converging on the Central Celestial Dynasty's Shi Jian. The Core Disciples of the East Peak had progressed quite rapidly.

Yet, Shi Jian from the Central Celestial Dynasty merely moved his hand and deployed the Swift Wind Sword Style. Each strike was faster than the last, clearly indicating comprehension of the Wind Sword Intent.

As his movements accelerated, by the seventh move, he had already defeated Shi Chaoyang. Based on his performance, he seemed to have comprehended only a single sword intent, but his cultivation base was firmly at the seventh layer of Body Tempering.

Leveraging such profound spiritual power, Shi Jian easily defeated Shi Chaoyang. Once Shi Chaoyang fell, the rest of the disciples were effectively irrelevant.

With just three more strikes, Shi Jian swept away the remaining nine disciples of the East Peak. Ten strikes in total, and the ten disciples of the East Peak were defeated.

After vanquishing his opponents, Shi Jian displayed no surprise, treating the outcome as entirely expected. The elders of Huashan, initially prepared to offer praise—Shi Chaoyang, at his young age, mastering the Sun-Rising Sword Intent suggested he could one day lead the Huashan Sword Sect—were stunned.

How many disciples achieved Sun-Rising Intent so young? They had never expected their opponent to defeat ten Core Disciples in ten strikes.

The opponent was too strong! Were the Core Disciples of the Central Celestial Dynasty always this formidable?

The subsequent battles were even more one-sided. Mo Qianbian, the foremost Core Disciple of the Southern Peak of the Sword Sect, who had yet to grasp the Mist Sword Intent, stood no chance against Shi Jian.

The ten disciples of the South Peak held out for a mere eight strikes before being routed, two strikes fewer than the East Peak’s performance. Next up were the disciples of the West Peak of the Qi Sect.

Song Nanshan of the West Peak had always been considered the top master among the Core Disciples beneath Lu Yuan. When Lu Yuan was at the first layer of Body Tempering, Song Nanshan had already reached the first layer himself.

By now, Song Nanshan had attained the third layer of Body Tempering. His rate of spiritual power accumulation naturally could not compare to a monstrous talent like Lu Yuan.

However, possessing the power of the third layer of Body Tempering was enough to be considered elite within Huashan, certainly a top figure among the tenth generation. Alas, Song Nanshan, despite utilizing numerous Wood-elemental spells, could only sustain twelve strikes before falling to Shi Jian.

The others fared even worse, barely managing three strikes combined. In total, they held out for fifteen strikes before succumbing to Shi Jian.

The Jade Maiden Peak of the Central Qi Sect had always been reputed as the weakest of the Five Peaks. This time, none of their disciples could withstand even a single exchange with the Central Celestial Dynasty's Shi Jian; they were all defeated within five strikes.

By this point, the Core Disciples of Huashan's Five Peaks had all been vanquished. The Sword Sect East Peak held for ten strikes; the Sword Sect South Peak lasted eight; the Qi Sect West Peak did slightly better, enduring fifteen strikes in total; and the Qi Sect Central Peak fell after only five strikes.

All that remained was the North Peak of the Huashan Sword and Qi Sect. The envoy from the Central Celestial Dynasty, the venerable Daoist in purple, shook his head but said nothing.

However, it was clear that if this was the extent of their ability, passing the assessment was impossible. The Core Disciples who had accompanied the Central Celestial Dynasty envoy burst into laughter.

"They exerted themselves so much just dealing with one Shi Jian and were completely wiped out. They dare to claim they want to advance to a Great Immortal Sect with this strength?" "How is that possible?

How could becoming a Great Immortal Sect be so easy?" "The Southern Territory is truly a remote backwater, just as expected. Look how weak their Core Disciples' cultivation is—unbelievable, haha!" "Indeed.

The strongest among them is only at the third layer of Body Tempering. What pathetic strength," these Core Disciples from the Central Celestial Dynasty had come along to gain some insight, only to discover how weak cultivators in other regions were, and how thin the spiritual energy in other places remained.

"It’s understandable, though. In places like this, the highest they reach is an Upper-Tier Immortal Sect, never even a Great Immortal Sect.

Truly pitiful." "Right. Unlike our region, where Giant Immortal Sects are quite common." As these individuals were chattering, Lu Yuan stepped forward.

One step forward! With a single stride, he stood before the crowd: "Lu Yuan, North Peak Core Disciple of Huashan's tenth generation, challenges the Central Celestial Dynasty's Shi Jian." His voice was calm.