Elder Chao absentmindedly stroked his perfectly trimmed beard as he observed the latest batch of hopeful outer disciples.

His Ascendant Realm aura spread all over the surrounding mountains, completely undetectable to the weaker cultivators, forming a blanket of tightly controlled power that swept through the young aspirants without alerting any of them of its presence.

As he casually moved through the elevated ground at speeds that would leave any mortal gawking in wonder he examined their fledgling auras.

Many of the lower stage outer disciples were shaking from the effort of withstanding the Core Disciple’s aura, despite him not actively trying to suppress them and some were even panicking as they couldn't discern the artificial aggression he was constantly emitting from genuine enmity.

Chao Xi shook his head in reproach and sighed in disappointment as he observed not only their bodies but also their emotions.

They were unconsciously pushing all of their feelings in their aura, which made reading them like open books laughingly easy for someone at his level.

The middle aged looking man frowned to himself as he crossed his arms behind his back, the problem wasn’t that they weren’t good or strong enough to simply ignore the weight of a superior presence.

They plain and simple didn’t understand the purpose of this test!

His concentration shifted as he now focused more on the ones who were in a much better situation.

Disciples Xiang Yu, the elder made sure to remember his name as it would be unbecoming of him not to know of one of the sect born outer disciples, Fen Lin and Su Rong.

The three of them had already passed the exam. From right after it began for that matter.

The second they sensed a stronger presence settle over them instead of just bearing it alone and unflinchingly like granite statues, they decided to pool their powers together and cooperate with other people.

Which was exactly what all of this was for.

Disciple Su Rong had extended his aura towards his weaker companions, who didn’t hesitate to take shelter under the bigger teen’s presence, while the young Xian Yu and Fen Lin had gone to the trouble of actually melding their auras, a move that had left even him surprised, even if only for a moment, as it plainly demonstrated both an inherent trust in each other and a willingness to connect and work together, despite the fact that such an action would usually be regarded as a sign of weakness by the more young and naive cultivators.

Certainly, all three of them would’ve been able to easily finish this first part of the test with ease even without collaborating, but the fact that they didn’t isolate themselves and didn't rely on nothing but their own strength left him hopeful.

It seemed like this time the Golden Peak sect had some promising Outer Disciples.

>>>

Yu Xiang admired the place where the next part of their test would take place, as all around him his fellow aspirants panted in exertion and did their best to recuperate. Elder Chao was even kind enough to give them a few minutes to themselves before he explained their next trial.

Located in the middle of an enormous stony plateau bereft of all life stood a dark spire made of grey stone. Yu Xiang could see many man made walls standing all over the steep peak, almost blending in with the naturally dark stones of the mountain, and dozens of sealed off entrances were dug at its base, no doubt just waiting for them to enter them.

Once the candidates had finally composed themselves Elder Chao finally stepped forward. He clapped his hands once, the sound reverberating through the empty landscape, and gave them a dignified smile.

“Congratulations on passing the first part of the test.” He said encouragingly. “There is still more for you all to do before you can be accepted as an inner disciple, however.” The elder waved one of his hands behind him at the dark tower then he began explaining what they actually had to do.

“Much like your previous trial, you will need to follow me.” He eyed the aspirants neutrally as some of them groaned, not letting his inner thoughts be reflected in his expression. “I will be waiting for you at the top of this tower, while you will enter one of the many entrances behind me and make your way up to the summit.”

Elder Chao’s expression then shifted, settling into a serious frown, glaring eyes stabbing through all of the present aspirants. Yu Xiang could feel his breath shorten as suddenly an enormous weight appeared and slightly pushed down on his shoulders.

“Do not underestimate the tower.” His gravelly voice had become almost a growl now. “You will be alone in there, no outside help will come for you no matter what. If you fear for your life then stop climbing and turn back. Do not let your pride override your judgment, or it will be your doom.”

The young reincarnator took a deep steadying breath as the weight pressing on his shoulders disappeared. The previously serious elder returned to his normal smiling self and gave them some encouraging words.

“Do not hesitate and trust your instincts, for they will be the compass that will lead you to greatness.” Elder Chao smiled at them one last time. “Good luck.”

Then with no more preamble, he simply vanished into thin air, his speed so great nobody was able to follow him.

Yu Xiang recovered quickly and started eyeing the sealed entrances in interest. What did choosing one point of entrance over another change for them? Did different entrances lead to different trials?

As he went over every possibility he could come up with, the core disciple stepped forward.

“Listen up everyone.” Gone was his bored and droopy eyed look, now he held himself with a straight back and a focused gaze, the picture perfect embodiment of a good core disciple.

“You will now all have to choose which entrance to take, be it alone or with others doesn’t matter.” The young man in red robes then raised a rectangular piece of paper. “After you’ve decided where you want to enter through I will use this talisman to open the way. Once you’re through the tunnel will seal itself back on its own.”

His gaze settled on the more rattled aspirants, letting out a derisive snort alongside his next sentence. “If you do decide to give up on the trial then just return to the entrance and the seal will open up on its own.”

His expression became stern then. “Now decide!”

Yu Xiang looked over his options but quickly gave up as there wasn’t really any way for him to get any information about what was inside, so he was only left with guessing. He looked over at his fellow test takers seeing them just as undecided as he himself was then he turned to his long time partner.

“Any ideas?” He asked the feline cultivator as a last resort.

The young alchemist shrugged. “Not a single one.” Truly enlightening.

Yu Xiang sighed and scratched at his head, mussing up his hair, then simply gave up.

He headed towards the leftmost entrance for no other reason than because he needed to choose something, his companion following him a second after he started walking.

As he stopped in front of the thick stone seal that acted as the tunnel’s door, Yu felt Lin tugging at his robe. He turned towards the silver eyed cultivator who motioned at their side with a smirk on his face.

The young reincarnator chuckled to himself and shook his head in exasperation as he saw Su Rong and his two followers head in the opposite direction as the two of them had, on the rightmost sealed entrance.

How childish.

Now that they had broken the spell of uncertainty that had been keeping everyone from acting, the rest of the aspirants quickly stepped forward and decided on a gate. Some of them elected to form small groups to push forward while a few decided to keep going alone, either distrusting other cultivators on principle or simply being confident in their own strength.

As everyone was finally settled the core disciple stepped forward. He raised his hand clutching the paper talisman once again, flicking the no doubt extremely intricate piece of formation towards their chosen entrances.

With a low rumble, the stone seals retracted into the mountain wall, finally making way for the hopeful test takers.

Yu Xiang gulped involuntarily as he laid his eyes on the pitch black darkness that seemed to seep out of the now relatively visible tunnel, and he heard his companion do the same by his side.

He just hoped that there would be no ghosts in these eerie tunnels...