The thirty disciples stood inside a massive cave, their gazes shifting around their new enviro.

  Behind them, a stoaircase led back up to the surface, marking their o.

  The cave itself was surprisingly bright, its ceiling covered in luminous stohat bathed the entire chamber in a soft glow.

  Despite the unusual lighting, the space was otherwise ordinary,a ft floor, no decorations, no obstacles.

  It resembled a training ground rather than a trial site.

  Yuan stood among the other hopeful disciples, quietly .

  Everyone waited in silence, anticipation filling the air as they turo the blond-haired young man who had led them here.

  For a brief moment, the young man's expression softened, an amused smile appearing on his face.

  Then

  A flicker of nostalgia crossed his features.

  As if he remembered his own trial in this very pce.

  After a few seds of silence, he cleared his throat and addressed them.

  "Ahem. Well, future junior disciples, the first trial is quite simple."

  He gestured around the brightly lit cave, his green eyes glinting with amusement.

  "As you see, this room is illuminated by glowing stones embedded in the ceiling.These are knoressuring Will Stones'."

  A pause.

  Then, his tone became serious.

  "The fun of these stones is simple,they exert mental pressure on all who stah them.The longer you ehe better your evaluation.And the better your evaluation the greater your reward from the sect!"

  The young man's gaze sharpened, sweeping across the gathered disciples with newfound iy.

  "This is a crucial test.Our branch sed even more so, our Mai pces heavy emphasis oal endurance!"

  His voice echoed through the cave, his words firm and anding.

  "Even if you e from a noble background.Even if your cultivation surpasses the others,If your will is weak, you will fail.And if you fail, you will not be accepted as a disciple."

  He paused, letting his words settle in.

  Then,his smile returned.

  "So, do your best.Push yourselves.And prove that you have the willpower to walk the path of cultivation!"

  Hearing this serious advice, Yuan quickly grasped why the sect pced such a high value on endurance.

  After all, cultivation itself is the art of enduring time.

  If a cultivator couldn't dedicate their free moments to cultivation, how could they ever hope to advao the stage?

  The Howling Wi clearly didn't want zy individuals.

  It sought ambitious disciples,those who stantly strive for more.

  Yet, even with its preference for strong-willed cultivators, the sect wouldn't blindly reject others.

  After all, hidden talents often reveal themselves only through life ah struggles.

  And or would willingly discard a hidden gem enius with high cultivation potential.

  In the end, manpower was essential for a sect's growth.

  With this realization in mind, Yuan found the Howling Wio be… iing.

  But only that.

  His curiosity did not go beyond mild i.

  Now that the trial was expined, it would surely begin any moment.

  Without hesitation, Yuan sat cross-legged on the cold stone ground, calmly awaiting the mental pressure to desd.

  Seeing Yuan take a meditative lotus position, Emilia followed his example, closing her eyes and trying to focus on the surrounding spiritual essence.

  But they weren't the only ones preparing.

  Around them, the other future disciples reacted in various ways:

  Some also sat in a lotus position, fog their minds.Others stood with arms crossed, their posture rigid, as they waited for the trial to begin.A few even y ft oone ground, staring directly at the Pressuring Will Stones above.Some talked amongst themselves, while others nervously fidgeted.

  However, Yuan paid no attention to the surrounding movements.

  His focus remained solely on the moment the mental pressure would finally desd.

  And then

  It began.

  At first, no o anything.

  For the first 30 seds, there was only silence.

  Then

  At 40 seds, some disciples shifted unfortably, feeling the first hints of pressure.At 50 seds, a few began to breathe heavier, their focus slipping.By one miheir bodies felt sluggish, tration fading uhe increasi.

  At the one minute mark, many disciples began to falter.

  A handful of Mortal Awakening Stage cultivators colpsed, their bodies refusing to ehe strain any longer.

  By 1 minute and 20 seds, even more of them gave up, their minds uo withstand the pressure.By 1 minute and 40 seds, nearly all Mortal Awakening cultivators had succumbed.At 1 minute and 50 seds, Emilia finally reached her limit, colpsing with a deep exhale of exhaustion.

  Now, only two Mortal Awakening cultivators remained.

  One of them was Yuan.

  At the 2-minute mark, the first Blood Purification cultivator fell, uo ti 2 minutes and 20 seds, more Blood Purification cultivators buckled uhe relentless pressure.At 2 minutes and 50 seds, the st remaining Mortal Awakening cultivator, besides Yuan, fell, along with several more Blood Purification disciples.

  Now, only five cultivators remained.

  Four Blood Purification Stage disciples.And Yua Mortal Awakening Stage cultivator still standing.

  Three minutes.

  That was a long time to endure such mental pressure.

  Even the blond haired Inner Disciple was visibly surprised.

  His green eyes narrowed slightly, his curiosity piqued.

  For him, it was normal for Mortal Awakening cultivators to fall before two minutes.

  Anything above that was already remarkable.

  But three minutes?

  That was true endurance.

  A promising sign.

  The thought formed in the blond haired young man's mind as he observed Yuan closely.

  "Iing…"

  For Yuan, however

  He felt nothing.

  Not even the slightest hint of pressure.

  It was as if the Pressuring Will Stones weren't even there.

  But

  If he tianding too long, it would draw too much attention.

  And if the blond haired young man noticed, he might bel Yuan a monster rather than just a talented recruit.

  That wasn't something Yuan wanted.

  So, he preteo falter.

  L his breathing, shifting his posture, and deliberately weakening his presence

  Until, finally

  He let himself colpse.

  The blond haired young man sighed softly, nodding at Yuan in satisfa.

  He seemed pleased with Yuan's performance, but didn't linger on him for long, shifting his attention to the remaining Blood Purification cultivators.

  At the 4 minute mark, only two Blood Purification Stage cultivators remained.

  They were already struggling, their bodies trembling uhe immense mental pressure.

  At 4 minutes and 20 seds, both colpsed, uo endure a sed longer.

  And just like that

  The trial ended.

  The blond haired young man gave a satisfied nod, then snapped his fingers.

  Instantly

  The pressure vanished.

  The suffog weight dispersed pletely, allowing everyoo finally breathe freely again.

  With a wide smile, the blond haired young man addressed the group

  "Well done, juniors. Now, let me announce your results."

  He paused for effect, then tinued:

  "For the Mortal Awakening Stage juniors.Those who sted only one minute or less will bee unofficial outer disciples of the Howling Wind Branch Sect."

  The moment those words fell, disappoi filled the air.

  Several recruits visibly defted, a few even breaking down into tears.

  Some pleaded desperately, their voices trembling:

  "Senior, please resider!""Give us another ce!"

  But the blond haired young man remained unmoved, simply shaking his head.

  "Juniors who sted uwo minutes will bee ordinary outer disciples.And for the two who outperformed all others,those who endured beyond two minutes.You will be grahe status of high outer disciples!"

  Though many disciples were devastated, the young man gave them a reassuring look.

  "You don't o worry too much about your current disciple ranking.Your status ge.The stronger your cultivation bees, the higher you rise within the sect."

  With a wave of his hand, a stack of books appeared out of thin air, ndily beside him.

  "Here, read this."

  The disciples hesitated for a moment before eae stepped forward to take a copy.

  Even Yuan picked one up, his eyes falling ole:

  Howling Wi's Rules & Introdu

  But before anyone could start reading, the Inner Disciple spoke again

  F their attention ba him.

  The blond-haired Inner Disciple tinued his annou, his voice eg through the cave chamber

  "Now, for the Blood Purification Stage juniors.Those who endured uhree minutes will bee outer disciples.Those who endured under four minutes will be grahe status of high outer disciples.And those who sted beyond four minutes,will bee low-rank inner disciples!"

  His words sent a wave of reas through the group.

  Some disciples nodded in satisfa, while others visibly ched their fists, disappointed in their lower rankings.

  But there was no time to dwell on it.

  Because the rial was about to begin.

  The blond-haired Inner Disciple smiled, his green eyes glinting with amusement.

  "Now that you are all officially disciples,let's move on to the sed trial!"

  A brief pause.

  Then, his smile widened.

  "Uhe first trial, where you only had to endure mental pressure.This one will test your actual bat strength!"

  The moment those words fell, the atmosphere shifted.

  Tension rose.

  Eyes sharpened.

  The young man chuckled, clearly enjoying the anticipation building among the recruits.

  "The stronger you are, the better for you.After all, you might catch the attention of an elder.Even if you don't, a high score will still bring satisfying rewards!"

  Then, his tourned pyful.

  "And as for the trial itself?"

  He let the suspense linger for a moment before finally revealing

  "Hehe… A simple tour!One for the Mortal Awakening juniors…And another for the Blood Purification juniors!"

  Hearing about the tour, Yuan quickly uood the reasoning behind the Howling Wi's sele process.

  First, they identify those who endure mental pressure and now, they measure actual bat strength.

  This system separated two types of talents

  Disciples with stroal endurance, who could withstand hardship and cultivate long-term and Disciples who were naturally talented in battle, even if they cked endurance.

  Although it was a simple system, it was an effective way to filter recruits.

  After all, a sect wouldn't want to waste potential warriors just because they cked endurand vice versa.

  However, Yuan also saw a fw in this method.

  The sect was clearly focused on bat strength and long term cultivation.But they pletely overlooked other hidden talents.

  Rune masters,Alchemy geniuses,Formation specialists.

  None of them would be discovered in this sele process.

  But then again

  Every sect had its own priorities.

  And for the Howling Wi

  Their priority was clear.

  Fighting.

  Cultivation.

  And nothing else.

  As Yuan processed all the information given by the blond-haired Inner Disciple, he suddenly felt a gaze on him.

  A sharp, persistent stare,not from an elder, but from another disciple.

  Though it would be normal for an elder to take i in his unusual mental endurance, Yuan doubted that any elder would stare at him so intensely for just that alone.

  So, he subtly turned his head, sing the area

  Until his eyes nded on the source.

  It was the other Mortal Awakening Stage cultivator.

  He appeared fourteen or fifteen years old.He wore a bright red robe, its fabried with entments, likely tute heat and cold.His face was undeniably handsome sharp features, pierg red eyes, and dark brown hair so deep it almost looked bck.

  Even though his robe in in design, it was clearly made from fierials, maybe a wealthy or noble background?

  However

  Yuan had no idea who he was.

  For a brief moment, he sidered the possibilities.

  Had he offehis boy in some way?

  Then, it clicked.

  Yuan had taken the first pce spot from him during the mental endurarial.

  Was it jealousy?

  Maybe.

  But Yuan wasn't ied.

  His gaze lingered on the boy for a mere sed before losing i entirely.

  Seeing this, the red robed boy's expression darkened.

  He clicked his tongue in annoyance, clearly irritated that Yuan had dismissed him so easily.

  Then, with a sharp huff, he turned his eyes away.

  Meanwhile, Emilia had a pletely differeion.

  She was beaming with admiration as she looked at Yuan.

  A high outer disciple!

  Unlike Yuan, she actually uood what that meant.

  Higher privileges,More resources,Better training.

  And most importantly

  Yuan was her servant.

  Which meant

  All his bes… were hers as well, right?

  A smirk crept onto her lips as she chuckled softly, already imagining the advantages she would gain ohey officially joihe sect.

  Yuan g Emilia, notig her soft chuckle.

  Then

  He simply ignored her.

  Her amusement didn't him.

  Instead, he shifted his attention back to the blond-haired Inner Disciple, who still stood silently, eyes closed.

  The blond haired Senior took a step forward, his sharp green eyes sing the gathered junior disciples.

  With a fident smile, he spoke:

  "Juniors, I gave you all ten mio rest.I hope you used them well and have regained your strength!"

  His voice echoed across the training ground, carrying a mix of authority and amusement.

  Then, his smile widened slightly.

  "Now,let us begin the Mortal Awakening Juniors' Tour!"

  A short pause followed.

  Then, his eyes narrowed slightly as he called out the first match

  "The first to step forward Junior Alex and Junior Daoist Pressuring Books.Please step forward!"

  His tone was firm, yet expet, signaling the official start of the tour.

  The crowd of disciples stirred slightly, anticipation rising.

  The first battle was about to begin.