Astonishment widened the eyes of the seven peak masters and Mo Zhiyuan as they beheld the luminous orb. Within, Shen Ruizhe and Mo Zhiyuan's spiritual energies intertwined effortlessly, appearing to originate from the same being.

Shen Ruizhe furrowed his brows and withdrew his hand, after which the orb dissipated into thin air. Mo Zhiyuan politely stepped backward, genuinely confused by what he had just seen.

What was Shen Ruizhe's spiritual power doing inside his body?

Was it a side effect of regression?

Mo Zhiyuan chewed on his lower lip and cautiously lifted his eyes to meet Shen Ruizhe's, but Shen Ruizhe was not looking at him. He was lost in his own thoughts.

"Peak Master Shen?" Wu Mansong carefully probed. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Shen Ruizhe answered without blinking. "You can go, Disciple Mo. We should continue with the induction event."

The barrier opened on a different side, allowing Mo Zhiyuan to join the ranks of the newly inducted inner disciples.

Mo Zhiyuan left, not without giving the peak masters another round of bows. As he walked past Shen Ruizhe, he stole a glance at the peak master, but any emotion Shen Ruizhe exhibited upon seeing the spiritual orb was already gone, replaced by cold indifference.

Mo Zhiyuan's eyes flashed with anger as he left the pavilion. Inside, he was seething with discontent.

But the discontent quickly evaporated when he saw the gloomy faces that belonged to the newly inducted inner disciples of Wuchang Peak.

Most of them were drowning in their sorrowful tears.

Some forced themselves to stay strong, but the quivering of their lips readily betrayed them.

Unlike Mo Zhiyuan, these young men and women failed the induction test and had to join Wuchang Peak involuntarily.

"Hey, Mo Shidi."

The sturdy young man who threw a wooden pail at his head when he woke up this morning sauntered toward him, his eyes red from grief. Mo Zhiyuan squinted at him, trying to remember his name. Ah, if he was not mistaken, this guy was surnamed Zhou.

"Zhou Shixiong."

"You also failed, huh?"

Disciple Zhou swallowed his tears and sighed woefully.

"I did so well in the written examination, that's what they said, but unfortunately, I have neither the aptitude nor the skill to excel in any of the six peaks."

The talk of their written examination prowess was undoubtedly a generous exaggeration. After all, how many outer disciples hailed from families that could afford to teach them to read and write?

The sect offered basic literacy lessons during their stay, but it was not comprehensive enough to make the disciples excel in a written examination. Whether or not they managed to answer each question was not as important as the legibility of their messy handwriting.

"Hmm."

"What about you? Why did you fail?"

"I, uh..."

Mo Zhiyuan pondered the best lie to spout. He couldn't possibly tell this dejected bunch of people that he voluntarily offered to join Wuchang Peak, and that his spiritual power was strong enough to contend with Shen Ruizhe's.

Before he said anything, another young man burst into the Wuchang Peak section's waiting room, tears running down his face like water past a broken dam.

"Fan Shidi."

It was the other young man, whom Mo Zhiyuan met this morning.

Disciple Fan hiccuped in distress.

"They... they said that I barely possess any innate talent to progress in any peak. I... I can only join Wuchang Peak!"

The two young men huddled together and cried. Mo Zhiyuan felt somewhat awkward as he watched their tearful embrace.

"Oh, Mo Shixiong, you are also here."

Disciple Fan blinked at Mo Zhiyuan in disbelief.

"I have always thought that you would end up joining Zhanfeng Peak, if not Jinlian Peak..."

Disciple Zhou spat onto the floor in disdain.

"Pfft. Pfui, pfui. Jinlian Peak. Stay away from such a lofty, unattainable wish. Don't you two know that Peak Master Shen has only accepted one disciple thus far? That lucky guy doesn't even have to fight anyone for the head disciple position!"

Mo Zhiyuan chuckled to himself.

Zhang Shixiong, he recalled Shen Ruizhe's beloved disciple fondly. When he first joined Jinlian Peak in his former life, he also thought that Zhang Xukai was something special. But Zhang Xukai was not special at all. He was average. Shen Ruizhe's acceptance had been purely out of pity.

Why? Because a horde of demons had slaughtered Zhang Xukai's entire family. That, and his noble lineage, which afforded him good birth and education.

The only good thing about Zhang Xukai was his deep-seated hatred toward demons and his unshakeable devotion toward Shen Ruizhe.

Even someone like Shen Ruizhe, who enjoyed a high standing at the apex of the cultivation world, still needed Zhang Xukai to rub his ego from time to time.

But Mo Zhiyuan did not have the time to waste his thoughts on either Shen Ruizhe or Zhang Xukai. The person he had been waiting for was going to pass through the barrier anytime now.

Just then, a delicate young man with a boyish look and soft appearance stepped into the room, and Mo Zhiyuan's face lit up in excitement.

"Yiran...!" he called out as he approached the younger man.