Entering the Innate is easy; upgrading the Martial Path Will is difficult.
Lin Chen made a judgment in his heart.
One’s own affairs are known best by oneself, with the blessing of his Life Chart, he’s not afraid of failing the breakthrough to Innate.
As for his master, he must also be confident in letting him advance to the Innate stage, which is why he chose the Canglan Secret Realm.
"Alright, now let’s talk about the two most important things you need to do: one is advancing to the Innate stage, and the other is continuing to climb the ranks on Martial Arts Mountain."
"With your current strength, you should be able to enter the top one hundred of the Martial Arts Mountain. Once you reach the top one hundred, stop there, as the top one hundred is filled with super geniuses from various sects, and the top thirty have already stepped into the Innate Realm."
Are the top thirty all Innate Realm powerhouses?
Lin Chen’s pupils contracted; indeed, it’s the Flame Dynasty, with thirty Innate powerhouses under the age of twenty.
"Master, does our sect have any Innate powerhouses on Martial Arts Mountain?"
"Yes."
Du Xiaofeng smiled and said, "Qiao Yuan, who is among this cohort of Inner Sect disciples, has entered the Innate stage and ranks fourth among this cohort. If it weren’t for you, after the Inner Sect Grand Competition, Qiao Yuan would have been the target of many Elders."
"Senior Brother Qiao has stepped into the Innate stage, yet he ranks fourth among Inner Sect disciples?"
Lin Chen was a bit surprised; shouldn’t the first-ranked individual be higher in Martial Arts Mountain?
"Don’t fall into a misconception. Martial Arts Mountain only allows martial artists under twenty to enter, and some Inner Sect disciples are over twenty and can’t enter Martial Arts Mountain anymore, but that doesn’t mean they’re not strong."
"It’s my mistake as a disciple for thinking so differently."
Lin Chen also laughed. Indeed, it was his preconceived notion that led him astray; Martial Arts Mountain only allows those under twenty, whereas there is no age limit for Inner Sect disciples of Canglan Sect.
According to what he learned from Steward Gao, Canglan Sect’s Inner Sect disciples have a term of ten years, starting from the moment they become Inner Sect disciples. For ten years, they remain Inner Sect disciples unless they reach the Innate Second Realm, which will promote them to Steward.
But becoming an Inner Sect disciple doesn’t mean being worry-free; Outer Sect disciples have a Grand Competition every three years, where the top ten become Inner Sect disciples. If adding these ten Outer Sect disciples makes the number of Inner Sect disciples exceed three thousand, the bottom ten in the Inner Sect ranking must compete with the ten promoted from the Outer Sect. The losers will lose their Inner Sect disciple status.
Losing Inner Sect disciple status means they cannot stay in the sect any longer and will be sent out by the sect. Once sent out, they are essentially abandoned by the sect. Future martial arts resources must be competed for by themselves, and their benefits will not even match those of Outer Sect disciples.
"In a moment, I’ll have Gao Zeming take you to choose your residence. Even though you’re my disciple, Canglan Sect disciples have their own living areas, and even Direct Disciples cannot have special treatment."
"If there’s anything you don’t understand about the sect, you can directly ask Gao Zeming. During this time, continue to challenge on Martial Arts Mountain, and I’ll prepare water-attribute energy and the necessary items for breaking into the Innate, ensuring your breakthrough to Innate without fail."
Hearing his master’s words, Lin Chen initially wanted to say that as long as he had water-attribute energy, he could break through to Innate, but realizing this was his master’s care for him, he did not refuse.
"Then, I, as a disciple, will take my leave first."
...
...
Not far from leaving his master’s courtyard gate, Lin Chen spotted Gao Zeming waiting and quickly stepped forward.
"Steward Gao."
"Finished talking with Elder Du?"
"Yes, Master asked me to follow Steward Gao to my residence."
"Follow me, then. The residences of our Canglan Sect disciples are a bit of a distance from here."
Gao Zeming did not find this unexpected. As an Elder, Elder Du naturally wouldn’t personally take Lin Chen to the disciples’ living area. Typically, when sect disciples join, they are led by a steward or a senior brother to their residence.
Since Lin Chen came through him, and he had already heard that Lin Chen caused a sensation, he naturally hoped to continue this goodwill and waited in advance.
"Junior Brother Lin, today you have caused quite a sensation in the sect, with all the Inner Sect disciples talking about you, wanting to know who you really are."
"Steward Da..."
"Don’t call me lord; I’m only a few... tens of years older than you. Just call me senior brother."
Lin Chen: ...
...
...
Following Gao Zeming to the residence, Lin Chen realized that Gao Zeming wasn’t flattering him; his name truly started to spread like wildfire among the Inner Sect disciples.
When he participated in the Direct Disciple assessment, although the Elders wouldn’t spread it, there were still a few disciples present at the time, who later informed the other disciples of the news.
Scoring over two hundred in the Direct Disciple assessment, full potential score...
These two pieces of news shocked the entire Inner Sect disciples; it didn’t shock the Outer Sect disciples because there is a strict hierarchy between the Inner and Outer Sects, and Inner Sect disciples naturally wouldn’t discuss this with Outer Sect disciples.
...
"Here we are; this is where your Inner Sect disciples reside, and this area is where you Direct Disciples reside, while the area to the right and back is where Inner Sect disciples live."
Gao Zeming took out a map and opened it; it was a map of the Direct Disciples’ living area.
"Junior Brother Lin, the ones circled on the map are already occupied, while those not circled are still unoccupied by any disciple."
Taking the blueprint, Lin Chen glanced at it. There were over a hundred courtyards in the area for direct disciples, and most of the front row had already been circled. After scanning the few that weren’t circled, Lin Chen ultimately chose the first on the left in the second row from the back.
On the left of the courtyard was a lake, making it quite a peaceful spot.
"Senior Brother Gao, I’ll take this one."
Gao Zeming was a bit surprised to see Lin Chen choose a courtyard in the back row, but then he understood that Junior Brother Lin wanted to keep a low profile. However, given today’s direct disciple assessment, it would be impossible to remain low-key in the sect.
"Alright, I’ll take Junior Brother over there."
The two of them arrived at the courtyard. Although no one lived there, the courtyard gate was not dusty, and after pushing the door open, the inside was very tidy, seemingly cleaned regularly.
Meanwhile, not far from where Gao Zeming was leading Lin Chen into the courtyard, three young men were sitting in another courtyard.
"I just saw Steward Gao bring someone in; it should be Lin Chen."
The three young men in the courtyard were all direct disciples, and they were aware of the anomaly in the sky above the sect today. An inner sect disciple had also immediately informed them of the details.
"What is this person like?"
"Doesn’t seem special."
"Not special?" The young man in the middle shook his head. "If there was nothing special, how could he get a score of two hundred and three?"
"Senior Brother Zhu, no matter how high Lin Chen’s assessment score is, it has nothing to do with us. After all, he’s not even an Innate Martial Artist."
All three present had stepped into the Innate stage several years ago.
"Usually, it wouldn’t matter, but don’t forget, the Canglan Secret Realm will open in half a year."
"With the Canglan Secret Realm opening in six months, Lin Chen might only just break into the Innate stage by then, so he likely won’t get a spot, right?"
"If he misses this opportunity, he’ll have to wait another five years. If you were Elder Du, would you fight for a spot for Lin Chen?"
Upon hearing Zhu Tao’s words, the expressions of the other two turned serious. If they were Elder Du, they would definitely fight for a spot for Lin Chen.
"But will the Sect Leader agree?"
"With a total score over two hundred and full marks in potential, if I were the Sect Leader, I would agree for sure."
Zhu Tao’s eyes shimmered. There were strong and weak direct disciples, but to the Sect Leader, what mattered were not their current abilities but their potential.
Most direct disciples spend their lives between the Innate Third and Fourth Realms, and only a few reach the Innate Fifth Realm.
The Sect Leader doesn’t care much about temporary strength differences.
Instead, a disciple like Lin Chen, with full potential, would definitely catch the Sect Leader’s special attention and receive favorable treatment in the sect.
"So, what should we do?"
"Wait."
"Wait?"
"Others are more anxious than us; pass the word to Junior Brother Fang that Lin Chen has already moved in."
At these words, the other two young men smiled, understanding the meaning behind Senior Brother Zhu’s words.
The most anxious one now should be Junior Brother Fang.
Junior Brother Fang became a direct disciple a year before Lin Chen, and he must have been eyeing a spot for the Canglan Secret Realm, but every time it opens, the spots are fixed at ten.
If the sect gives Lin Chen a spot, it will squeeze someone out, and Junior Brother Fang is most likely to be squeezed out.
Since Junior Brother Fang became a direct disciple later and hasn’t broken into the Innate Realm yet.
...
...
"Lin Chen has already moved in?"
Fang Ming listened to an inner sect disciple’s report, his eyes gleaming. He didn’t know if the Sect Leader had already given Lin Chen a spot in the Canglan Secret Realm, but like Zhu Tao, he could also imagine how much the sect valued Lin Chen.
"As a Senior Brother, it’s only natural to visit new Junior Brothers."
Fang Ming smiled and said to the inner sect disciple delivering the message, "Lead the way to find Junior Brother Lin."
Just as the inner sect disciple turned to walk towards the courtyard gate, Fang Ming suddenly stopped, furrowed his eyebrows, and said, "You may leave for now; I’ll call you later."
"Yes."
Though the inner sect disciple spreading the word didn’t know why Senior Brother Fang suddenly stopped, he could only leave the courtyard as instructed, opting to walk to another mansion rather than leave the direct disciples’ living area.
"At this time, someone on the Martial Arts Mountain is challenging me; let’s see which unlucky soul matches up."
Fang Ming’s ranking on the Martial Arts Mountain wasn’t high, not because his strength only warranted that, but because he had been focused on breaking into the Innate stage lately, diverting his attention from challenges on the Martial Arts Mountain.
Otherwise, given his strength, his ranking could rise by at least several thousand places.