Chapter 136: Four-Sect Trial
It wasn’t just Fang Yun; Wu Junxin also looked toward Bai Qinying.
Like Fang Yun, Wu Junxin had no real background within the Celestial Cloud Sect.
Fang Yun had at least acquired a somewhat tenuous background later on, which allowed him to live in the A Zone for Inner Sect Disciples, while Wu Junxin was still in the B Zone.
The first time Fang Yun had met Wu Junxin, Wu Junxin had stated the zone he lived in and his house number.
It was also because he had no background that Wu Junxin liked to befriend junior brothers and sisters with potential.
In Wu Junxin’s eyes, Fang Yun was his most successful connection.
Compared to him, his childhood friend Jiang Yan was much luckier. Thanks to his Alchemy Talent, an Elder had taken him on as a disciple.
Wu Junxin remembered when Jiang Yan was accepted as an Elder’s disciple. He had thought, ’I’ll probably need his help a lot in the future,’ but things had turned out to be the exact opposite.
Ever since Wu Junxin became an Inner Sect Disciple, Jiang Yan would come over from time to time to freeload off his food and drink.
"There’s no need to look at me like that, Junior Brothers. I don’t know anything either," Bai Qinying said, shaking her head.
Song Qiaoqiao and Yao Shuixiao didn’t react like Fang Yun and Wu Junxin.
With their powerful backgrounds, they understood one thing clearly: they weren’t privy to all their elders’ affairs. Often, they couldn’t get certain news in advance either.
If Bai Qinying had known anything, she would have told them long ago.
As soon as Elder Feng Tianrui spoke, a commotion erupted among the disciples below the stone platform. Some immediately began to guess what this important news could be.
Only after the noise below the stone platform died down and most of the disciples’ gazes were once again focused on Feng Tianrui did he slowly reveal the important news.
"Our Celestial Cloud Sect, along with the Wind Ling Sect, Star Moon Valley, and the Vast Sea Sect, will provisionally hold a joint trial for our four sects’ disciples early next year."
"Each sect will select twenty-five disciples under the age of thirty."
"Suitable disciples on the Inner Sect Ranking will be directly added to the list..."
After announcing the important news, Feng Tianrui quickly explained the general rules for getting on the list.
This list would be posted next to the Inner Sect Ranking.
Disciples who met the age requirement and believed themselves to be strong enough could voluntarily sign up to be on this list.
Until ten days before the Four-Sect Trial officially began, disciples on the list could be challenged at any time. The list would be finalized in the ten days leading up to the trial.
Fang Yun was slightly stunned when he heard this news.
He had never even heard other disciples mention this Four-Sect Trial in their chats.
He had learned about the Inner Sect Grand Competition after just one or two visits to Battle Peak, but he had truly never heard of this Four-Sect Trial.
Seeing Fang Yun’s expression, Wu Junxin wasn’t surprised at all.
Wu Junxin knew that Fang Yun didn’t know much about the outside world.
Because every time the two of them chatted, Fang Yun liked to ask him for news about the outside world.
"Junior Brother Fang, you don’t know about the Four-Sect Trial, do you?" Wu Junxin said directly.
"No," Fang Yun replied, nodding.
"It’s normal that you don’t know," Wu Junxin explained simply. "The timing of the Four-Sect Trial isn’t fixed, unlike our Inner Sect Grand Competition."
"The factors that affect it are closely related to changes in the outside world."
"From what I understand, the shortest interval between trials was ten years, and the longest was forty-eight."
"I understand." Based on what Wu Junxin had said, Fang Yun could already deduce the general idea. ’If even one of the four great sects is unstable, the Four-Sect Trial will be postponed.’
Fang Yun now understood much more about the overall situation of the outside world than before.
Throughout the entire Qionglin Domain, among the Core Formation influences that cultivated Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, only the territories of Star Moon Valley and the Vast Sea Sect were adjacent. The others were all separate.
There were three Evil Dao Core Formation Sects surrounding the Celestial Cloud Sect’s territory.
In such a situation, periods of instability were inevitable.
According to what Fang Yun had recently learned, no Core Formation Sect like theirs in the Qionglin Domain had ever existed for more than three thousand years.
The Celestial Cloud Sect itself had been established for over 1,700 years.
After hearing what Fang Yun said, Wu Junxin nodded. "That’s right."
Fang Yun’s understanding was spot on.
When external instabilities affected a sect, it would cause internal instability.
And as for the Four-Sect Trial, the four great sects all hoped to hold it when their own sects were relatively stable.
"That’s why the Elder said the time is provisionally set for early next year. Generally, once this announcement is made, the Four-Sect Trial should be held sometime within the next year."
At this point, Wu Junxin couldn’t help but pat Fang Yun on the shoulder.
"Junior Brother Fang, with you in the Four-Sect Trial this time, our Celestial Cloud Sect will definitely shine," Wu Junxin said sincerely. ’After all, at just the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, Fang Yun could already contend with Bai Qinying to such a degree. With a whole year to prepare, breaking through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer will surely be no problem for him.’
Wu Junxin knew that Fang Yun was not far from reaching the peak of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
"Is the Four-Sect Trial dangerous?" Fang Yun asked quickly.
This was the question he was most concerned about.
’For me, as long as I’m still in the Qi Refining Stage, I’m just in a growth phase. The time to really start showing my power won’t be until after I break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, at the very least.’
’Living under a Core Formation Sect, I don’t lack resources during the Qi Refining Stage. If the danger is too great, I might just skip the Four-Sect Trial.’
’If the danger is moderate, I’ll only participate after considering my future, the position I’ll eventually hold, and making multiple preparations to ensure everything is foolproof.’
"Junior Brother, you’re worried about danger?" Bai Qinying looked at Fang Yun with an expression of disbelief upon hearing his question.
’Even I can’t break through his defenses.’
"There’s no harm in asking and gathering more information," Fang Yun replied seriously.
This time, Wu Junxin didn’t speak. It was Bai Qinying who answered him: "Normally, there’s no danger, unless you’re overly concerned with your results..."
Bai Qinying gave Fang Yun a relatively simple explanation of the Four-Sect Trial’s general situation.
The Four-Sect Trial involved a total of one hundred disciples from the four great sects, who would participate in a trial held within a Secret Realm.
There would be Elders watching from the outside. If a disciple truly encountered danger inside, they could also leave early.
The Four-Sect Trial was a competition among the disciples of the four great sects. Since it was competitive, battles were inevitable.
The rules of combat forbade lethal blows. At most, a disciple could be injured and forced to leave the trial early.
When selecting disciples for the Four-Sect Trial, aside from strength, their conduct within the sect was also considered. If a disciple’s personality was too extreme, they would not be allowed to participate, no matter how strong they were.
This was because such disciples were prone to causing problems in the Secret Realm, becoming too obsessed with their results and resorting to unnecessary killing.
The four great sects did their utmost to prevent such situations from occurring.
Disciples with normal, stable temperaments would not run into the aforementioned situations.