The sun had already risen above the horizon by the time all of the inner disciples had gathered in the Sect's Arena for their first test. On the stands, the outer disciples and the elders were also present, here to watch the show, filling up the empty seats. The inner disciples were made to stand in a circle, while in the middle stood Leinor, his eyes closed, calmly, looking like an actual prince, drawing a lot of female disciples' attention, especially as his loose, blonde hair gently fluttered in the wind.

  "Show off," Isha murmured, leaning against the railing in the stands while Zern chuckled beside him.

  "Well, originally, he WAS a prince."

  "Talking about princes, what about Reignar?" She raised her eyebrow, asking Zern. "Shouldn't he be part of this?"

  "Not really. Even if he is not at our level, as we have already advanced a realm, he has picked up his pace. Maybe he needed this pressure. He is about to become an Elder."

  "He has a completely unique way of doing things." Poli also cut in, arriving beside them to watch Emi's performance in the test. "Plus, he would mop the floor with any disciples of ours. For now..."

  "I bet." Isha agreed with a grin. "Plus, I bet he is away, having raunchy sex."

  "You can't deny his talent," Poli added with a shrug. "When did you ever see another person with this many types of powers? No wonder he got permission from the Sect Head to travel again and be absent... He said he would be back only when he finally broke through."

  "What about Orsi? Did he pass her on to you again?" Zern asked, concerned, furrowing his brows.

  "No. He took her with him."

  "Really… Now I am afraid for the little one." Zern clicked his tongue after hearing that.

  "Don't. He is not a bad guy. I really like his attitude if you get to know him." Poli shook his head, trying to defend him, "Anyway, I bet that when he comes back, he will be a pretty strong Elder, wielding multiple affinities simultaneously. I am looking forward to crossing swords with him!"

  "Aren't you already in a training frenzy with Lacuss?" Isha smiled, gncing at him.

  "Nah, I need a break. He is a zealot!" Poli said with a shiver, "It was fun at first, but now he comes to spar every morning. Honestly, he is a freak who is only concerned with fighting! I had enough! I like to just take it easy sometimes. He doesn't know the meaning of having a day off!" His loud sigh made the others ugh beside him, but it died off as the test was about to start.

  "I am gd to see everyone looks ready and able," Ren spoke up, standing on a stand, before the Sect Head, who had Frenir sitting beside him, along with the Grand Elders. "I bet everyone is curious about our Sect's first official test of the new disciples. Rex, this little show won't carry any great meaning behind it. We only wish to showcase your potential to everyone and show you how we reward those who put in the effort!" She expined, looking at everyone present, "The top 10 disciples will receive a reward. As to what it is, let Grand Elder Dermitos tell you!" She giggled as she stepped down, giving way to Dermitos, fnked by Shaman.

  Seeing a rge chimpanzee demon wearing the Sect's uniform, signaling that he was an Elder in the Alchemy Department, cemented many people's realization that the rumors were true. The Sect does not care about race, origin, or past; it cares only about talent.

  "I am pleased to meet you all. My name is Dermitos, and he is Elder Edu."

  "Shaman." He corrected him immediately, with a grumbling voice, having big, bck bags under his eyes, holding back a yawn.

  "I bet most of you already know we have an Alchemy Department, and it's Pill Hall!" Dermitos continued, not even flinching, "Its main job is to produce wondrous pills to support your cultivation or future battles. Many outer disciples are already helping us out and working within the garden, and I thank you all for that." He nodded toward the seated disciples, knowing precisely which of them were doing it. "Now, about the prizes!" He smiled and produced ten blue gss bottles that floated before him, right above his palm. "The first pce gets the bottle with 10 particur pills, the second gets 9, and so on, down to the tenth pce. Every pill is the same... And it is a new invention of Elder Edu and me."

  "Shaman." He groaned once again, but Dermitos just ignored him.

  "The name of the pill is Breakthrough Pill." He expined, "All of them are Tier 1 pills except for those who will pce in the first three positions. All of their bottles will contain two Tier 2 pills. You are already familiar with tiers, so I won't waste your time on that. You may wonder what the pills' effects are, yes?" He chuckled, gncing at the inner disciples, "Take one pill when you feel ready to achieve a breakthrough to the next body-refinement level. It will amplify your energy to the maximum, helping you achieve a breakthrough! Using a Tier 1 pill will enhance your success rate of advancement by about... 50%." his words immediately sent a wave out, making the inner and outer disciples whisper and discuss between them as Dermitos just smiled and continued, "The Tier 2 pills have even a better effect! If used when breaking through, it will provide a 70% success rate. Also, a Tier 2 pill may help you accumute the energy you need so you can use it even when you're not breaking through but still feel stuck. Of course, how you use it depends on who will win them... You can keep them, exchange them for other resources, or trade them with your fellow brothers and sisters. Even if you give it away, we won't interfere with how you use them! They will be yours and yours to use as you see fit."

  The prospect of having pills that can help you take any steps in the Body Refinement realm immediately fired up any spirit in the inner disciples, ready to take the test and give it their all.

  "Thank you, Elder Dermitos." Ren took back the podium, smiling and looking over the disciples. "Now, everyone, prepare yourselves! Your test is easy. Elder Leinor is going to release his special aura, enveloping the arena. It will drain your energy, and the closer you get to him, the stronger it will be. Those who can get the closest to him will be the ones who will come out in the top 10. But beware! You may get as close to him as you can, but if you faint, you are disqualified. Unconscious people won't count. The time limit is... ten minutes." She expined before raising her hand, and Leinor opened his eyes simultaneously. The moment he did so, everyone present felt a heavy aura descending on them. Some weaker outer disciples also felt like fainting on the stands, yet they were out of the influence of his aura... "Start!" Ren cpped with thunder rumbling in the air, and the inner disciples felt like they were thrown into a whirlpool as vertigo assaulted them from nowhere.

  "His control over it is astonishing, and he can expand it in a pretty big zone… marvelous," Dermitos commented proudly, watching from the VIP stands. As for the disciples on the ground, they quickly tried to reel in the sudden sickness and stay on their feet, advancing towards Leinor as they fought for the best spots.

  "Mmm. He worked hard. You can be proud of him." Xendar nodded, delighted with his son-in-w's strength.

  "He has a good discipline towards this power of his. Also… he already overtook his father in his mastery." Carthus added who was there when Leinor advanced and developed this technique. He held nothing back when he took him out to train, telling him the story of Erterion and his unique spell, allowing Leinor to come with his own version, further refining it.

  "You don't see it, but I do." Aerthus chuckled as, in his eyes, the arena down there was covered in a bckish, half-transparent bubble with small, tentacle-like strands attaching themselves to every inner disciple, reguting the drain on their energy and strengthening the effect as they got closer and closer to the source. "It is a very interesting technique. Ren..."

  "Yes?" She asked, smiling proudly.

  "Can he reverse the flow?"

  "Yeah. Instantly." She nodded with a grin. "When he connects to you, taking and giving are just simple thoughts for him. Anything he takes can be sent back in a heartbeat, so none of the disciples are in any danger. Those who faint…." Ren looked down as a disciple fell over, unconscious. "Get their energies back. Honestly, he got so proficient with it that I can't exhaust him anymore."

  "That is a good thing; finally, someone can keep up with you!" Anya giggled, making her daughter blush but also keep grinning proudly.

  "Mm, I thought so." Aerthus nodded as Frenir, beside him, nervously pyed with his fingers. Everyone around him was a hero in his eyes, and listening to their conversation was exhirating... Even if he did not understand anything. "Did he submit it to the library?"

  His question made Carthus flinch for a moment, but soon he closed his eyes, calming his reflexes, then reopened them, free of fear, and took out a jade tablet from his inner pocket, presenting it to the Sect Head.

  "Let me see…." Aerthus took it away, quickly going through it. "Very good. This will be the first S-rank technique in our Sect."

  "S-rank?" Frenir asked by reflex, but immediately put his hand on his lips as Arthus just chuckled, patting his head.

  "We are going to have the following tiers. D-rank spells; only for outer disciples. These are training techniques, nothing to be concerned about. C-rank spells are easy, basic spells that can be learned by anyone and don't require high mastery to be useful. B-rank spells: These are techniques that require knowledge, effort, and skill. You have to put in the effort and determination to learn them. Those without either may never master them! As for A-rank spells, they are those that even talented disciples need years or even decades to master. S-rank… these are unique spells and have hard requirements, only open for Core Disciples or above. No others can access them. This is going to be the first of those." He smiled with a satisfied expression. "The reward for it… will fall upon you, Ren. You know him the best."

  "Ahahaha, don't worry, Master. I already have something in mind~!"

  As the elders discussed it amongst themselves, down in the arena, many disciples were already stopped in their tracks, sitting to meditate and focusing only on keeping their consciousness intact. Only a few remained who kept trying, still standing, fighting to take one more step towards Leinor, even if just by a few centimeters. The closest to him was Emi, only 2 meters away, drenched in sweat and clearly struggling to keep herself standing upright. Her eyes burned with literal fmes, exhaling hot air as she battled his aura, repelling it with sweat and blood.

  "Don't try it. I am stronger than you." She received a voice transmission from Leinor.

  "Hmf… If I take my true form…." Emi sent back, but she did not continue, as the time and energy required to transform would give Leinor ample opportunity to cause Emi to fall into an unconscious state.

  Seeing Emi that close already cemented her position in the first pce. Behind her, a close race was underway to decide between Lulu and Yanda for second and third pce. They were standing shoulder to shoulder, sweating buckets... Yet none of them said anything or even looked at the other, only focusing forward, almost in a trance, trying to muster the strength to take another step and beat the other.

  Another surprise was the three brothers. Or at least the youngest of them, Shin, who now stood still, close to being in fourth pce, as his "opponent" was none other than Rem, who was floating in the air, cross-legged, panting heavily, being at her limits. Botan and Jiro, the rest of the trio were already sitting down, way back, but their minds were strangely connected... So, instead of competing, they tried to support their little brother, keeping his mind sharp and strong.

  Monitoring the time, Ren finally raised her arms, ready to cp once again as everyone was concentrating on staying awake, signaling the end of the test. At the st moment, Lulu took just a half step forward, just as Ren's cp came, making Leinor terminate his ability, freeing everybody from it. As soon as the weight was gone, they felt instant relief, and multiple heavy breaths escaped the inner disciples' mouths. Some even fell over, unable to move a muscle, just lying on the ground.

  "Second." Lulu giggled, wobbling heavily, almost falling over, but her right leg was pnted firmly, unwilling to go down. Yanda simply looked at her for a second before crossing his arms and closing his eyes, not answering.

  "Mmm, yes, you are." Leinor nodded, looking at her with a small smile, then shook his body, and the unconscious disciples woke up as well.

  "I congratute everyone who took part in our first official test!" Ren chuckled, announcing the end of the test, "Those who could keep their consciousness can be proud, as you have just started to cultivate, yet can already show results." She said warmly, "Those who could not keep up, don't feel too down! Cultivation is a long road; you just need to keep walking and putting in the effort, and the results will come, trust me."

  After a little bit of silence, she waved her hand, and the bottles flew down, nding in the top tens' palms. Even the 10th pce disciple, a young girl with short brown hair and freckles across her youthful face, who received only one pill, hugged it as if it were the most precious thing she'd ever received, her green eyes filled with excitement.

  "Use it well. You earned it." Ren smiled, looking at them. "For the next month, every morning, we will have a lesson that I'll host here." She addressed the inner disciples, "Attendance is not mandatory. I'll talk about different affinities, spells, and techniques, whether human or demon, my experiences in the Body Refinement realm, and what it was like taking on the Tribution. Come if you will, or work on your own; it's up to you. For now, everyone can go back, rest, celebrate, or work hard. Everything is dependent only on you." She cpped once again, ending the first test of the Sect and pnting the fme in many hearts to rise above the rest.