The Inner Immortal Courtyard was where every outer disciple had to go if they wished to ascend into the ranks of the inner sect.
Yuhua Sect had hundreds of thousands of outer disciples—but only three to five thousand inner ones. The gap was enormous, and the path between them was steep. To pass the test and enter the inner sect was to rise from dust to sky; from that moment on, one's life would change completely.
Food, clothing, weapons—everything would improve in quality a hundredfold. But most importantly, an inner disciple would gain access to the true cultivation arts: secret mental disciplines that could transform raw physical strength and blood energy into spiritual power.
Such techniques didn't exist in the mortal world. In the secular realm, one could only train the body; no matter how powerful a warrior became, even if he reached the level of a so-called Divine Transformation, his strength would be no more than the power of five horses.
Within Yuhua Sect, however, things were different. With the aid of spiritual food, elixirs, and advanced cultivation methods, one's body could reach the strength of six horses, seven horses… even ten.
"This Inner Immortal Courtyard really does carry an air of mystery…" Fang Han murmured as he stepped inside.
The place was tranquil and otherworldly. A faint fragrance floated through the air; the courtyards were shaded and serene, imbued with an aura both ancient and divine. Unlike the bustling outer training grounds, where crowds of disciples sparred and debated, here there was not a soul in sight.
"Stop right there! What are you doing here?"
The sudden voice made Fang Han halt. He turned and saw a tall woman in a pale yellow robe. Her features were delicate yet commanding, her bearing sharp as a sword's edge. She wasn't dressed in the standard Yuhua Sect uniform—immediately setting her apart.
"I've completed a sect mission," Fang Han said quickly, bowing. "I'm here to claim my qualification for the inner-sect assessment."
"Oh?" The woman's tone was mild, yet carried natural authority. "You completed a mission strong enough to earn a place in the assessment? Do you have proof?"
Her calm, probing gaze made Fang Han tense. Clearly, this woman was no ordinary disciple. He immediately drew out the Asura Bone Spike.
The black spike gleamed with a sinister light, heavy and sharp as a blade. It weighed over a hundred pounds and was three feet long—Fang Han had been carrying it sheathed across his back like a sword.
The woman's eyes widened slightly. "An Asura Bone Spike? You killed an Asura?"
With a graceful motion, she gestured. "Bring it here."
Fang Han handed it over respectfully. She caught it between two slender fingers and twirled it lightly—handling it as if it were weightless.
Fang Han's heart jolted. That spike weighs a hundred pounds! Even a cultivator at the Divine Transformation stage would struggle to wield it one-handed. Yet she—she's holding it like a chopstick!
Her strength… it's at least twice mine, he thought, secretly in awe. Who is this woman? She's even stronger than Senior Sister Mo!
The woman examined the spike carefully. "It truly is an Asura Bone Spike. Impressive. I wouldn't have expected someone like you to bring down such a creature." Her eyes swept over Fang Han again, as though trying to see through him entirely. The disbelief in her tone was subtle but unmistakable.
Fang Han met her gaze calmly. With Fang Qingxue as his backer, he no longer feared scrutiny. And besides—he had killed the Asura, even if he'd borrowed some of Yan's power to do it.
"Follow me."
After a brief pause, the woman tossed the spike back to him and turned, walking deeper into the courtyard.
They wound their way through pavilions, stone bridges, and tranquil lakes, along corridors that twisted like coiled dragons. Finally, the path opened into a vast hall.
Inside, dozens of disciples stood in neat rows. At the front of the hall, behind a ten-yard-long jade table, sat several Yuhua Sect elders.
The contrast between outer and inner disciples was stark. Inner disciples were directly taught by elders—guided personally in their cultivation. The sect poured its true resources into them. Outer disciples, by comparison, were simply handed a few manuals and left to fend for themselves.
The elders were questioning the gathered disciples one by one. Each disciple presented an item—proof that they had completed a mission worthy of the inner-sect examination.
Fang Han watched as one group unveiled several corpses of Flying Yakshas, their enormous, winged bodies sprawled on the floor. The elders nodded approvingly.
"To slay a Flying Yaksha—remarkable," one of them said. "You've proven your worth. Take this token, rest for three days, and then report to the Sky Courtyard. You'll enter the Demon Battlefield for your assessment."
Each successful disciple received a gleaming jade token—their ticket to the next stage.
Nearby, a few outer disciples whispered among themselves.
"They actually killed Flying Yakshas? That's insane. I barely survived after slaying thirty-six ordinary ones in the Hanhai Desert."
"I heard hundreds of disciples died this time. I saw Junior Brother Zeng get torn apart and eaten alive—one bite and his arm was gone…"
"Those people come from noble families in the Great Xu Empire. They have top-grade artifacts and inner-sect friends helping them. No wonder they succeeded."
"Maybe. But did you hear about the Great Virtue royal disciples? They teamed up with Senior Sister Mo and even called in Yuan Jiankong—the tenth on the Mountains and Rivers Ranking, the one who wields the Silver Snake Sword. But they fell right into Prince Hongfen's ambush. Nearly all of them were wiped out! Even the elders at Yuhua Celestial Palace were alarmed."
"What? Yuan Jiankong suffered defeat? Impossible."
"Believe what you want—I just heard it from someone inside the palace."
Fang Han's pulse quickened. So the Da De princes and Mo Shijie survived after all. Yuan Jiankong must have gone to fetch reinforcements. If the elders know about this incident… will it involve me too?
If he got dragged into it, the seven flying swords and the Blood Cotton Demon Robe he'd taken would become very hard to explain.
Then, a sudden chorus of greetings broke out across the hall.
"Senior Sister Long!"
"Senior Sister Long!"
"Greetings, Senior Sister!"
Fang Han looked up. The yellow-robed woman he'd followed—now addressed as Senior Sister Long—was the focus of every disciple's awe and flattery. The scene reminded him of courtiers fawning over a visiting noble.
So she's someone of real power, he thought, finally understanding the reverence in their eyes.
Long Shijie ignored the greetings and walked straight to the elders' table. She murmured a few quiet words.
"What? A disciple who killed an Asura?" One elder abruptly stood, his eyes sharp with shock. He turned to Fang Han.
"You there—Fang Han, was it? Bring out your proof. Let us see the Asura Bone Spike."