Ten days had passed since Stephen entered the Cultivation Hall.
Among the available chambers, he had chosen one of the highest-grade cultivation rooms, a place where the concentration of spiritual energy was amplified to nearly five times that of the outside world.
The cost had been painful.
But worth it.
Inside, the chamber was quiet and enclosed, large enough for a person to move around comfortably. At its center lay a massive formation carved into the floor, countless runic markings woven together in intricate patterns.
They pulsed faintly with light.
Streams of spiritual energy gathered continuously from the surroundings, flowing toward the center like invisible tides.
Stephen sat cross-legged atop the formation.
Completely still.
Within his body, however, enormous changes were taking place.
The qi inside his soul sea had long since liquefied. Now, under constant refinement and compression, it was growing denser and denser, slowly transforming into something far more powerful.
This was the final stage before the King Realm.
The last opportunity to excavate one's latent potential and strengthen the foundation of the soul sea itself.
Once someone stepped into the Emperor Realm, improving one's base became vastly more difficult. Every flaw left behind now could become a hidden danger in the future.
So Stephen refined relentlessly.
Again.
And again.
Tempering the qi.
Purifying the soul sea.
Pushing himself to the limit.
As this process continued, impurities buried deep within his body were gradually forced out. Dark residue seeped from his pores before being burned away by circulating qi.
Painful.
Exhausting.
Yet Stephen endured it without pause.
Another full day passed.
Then—
A sharp cracking sound echoed from within his soul sea.
It was subtle.
Yet at that instant, Stephen's entire body trembled slightly.
The pressure that had weighed upon him for days suddenly vanished.
Relief washed over him.
His tightly wound mind relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever.
Stephen slowly opened his eyes.
The world felt… clearer.
The flow of qi throughout his body had become incomparably smoother than before, circulating effortlessly through widened meridians.
Even his body felt lighter.
Stronger.
He exhaled slowly and rose to his feet.
Then casually threw a punch forward.
Crack!
The air burst apart beneath the force of it.
A deep indentation formed in the reinforced chamber wall, nearly three inches deep.
Stephen stared at it quietly for a moment before clenching his fist.
A faint smile finally appeared on his face.
His foundation—
Had reached perfection.
—
Elsewhere in the Cultivation Hall—
Elsa stepped out from her own chamber.
Her aura had grown sharper than before, her cultivation clearly having improved significantly during her seclusion.
The first thing she did after exiting—
Was glance toward Stephen's room.
The identity card beside the chamber door was still inserted into the mechanism.
Meaning—
He still hadn't come out.
Her brows slowly furrowed.
Only one day remained before registration for the Inner Disciple examination closed.
If Stephen failed to appear before then, they would lose the opportunity entirely.
And waiting another year…
Would mean falling behind everyone else.
Resources.
Status.
Training opportunities.
Everything in the Inner Sect was far superior.
Missing that window could affect their future cultivation greatly.
Elsa remained silent for a while before walking toward the waiting area nearby.
Normally, disciples weren't allowed to linger around the cultivation chambers.
Absolute silence was enforced there.
If someone cultivating at a critical moment was startled, the lightest consequence would be injuries from qi deviation.
The worst—
Death.
Because of that, strict rules had been established forbidding disturbances near the chambers.
Yet Elsa still stayed.
Sitting quietly in the waiting area, occasionally glancing toward Stephen's room.
Waiting.
—
Not long after—
The chamber door finally opened.
Stephen stepped out.
The moment Elsa saw him, the tension in her eyes eased slightly.
"You finally came out," she said, exhaling softly. "I was starting to think you planned to stay in there forever."
Stephen rubbed the back of his head with a faint smile.
"Sorry."
Then he noticed the concern hidden beneath her calm tone and paused briefly.
"You waited here this whole time?"
Elsa looked away immediately.
"We only have one day left to register," she replied flatly. "If you missed it, I'd have to wait another year too."
Stephen laughed lightly.
"Then I guess I owe you one."
She ignored the comment and turned around.
"Let's go."
—
The moment they stepped outside the Cultivation Hall—
Noise flooded their ears.
The sect was unusually lively.
Disciples crowded the streets, conversations overlapping everywhere as excitement spread through the mountain paths.
Everyone was talking about the same thing.
The upcoming Inner Disciple examination.
For probationary disciples, this was the true turning point.
Once they passed—
Their status would rise completely.
Inner disciples possessed far greater authority and received vastly superior resources. Even outside the sect, their identities alone would earn respect.
For many—
This was the moment they worked toward for years.
---------------------------------
Since they would be participating in the Inner Sect examination, Stephen and Elsa were granted temporary passes allowing them access to the Inner Sect grounds.
The passes were issued after they completed their registration at one of the booths arranged specifically for the examination process.
The registration area was set up in a vast open plaza.
By the time they arrived, however, the place was only sparsely crowded. The registration deadline was drawing close, and most disciples had already finished signing up earlier.
The process itself was simple.
Each participant only needed to undergo a cultivation assessment.
The minimum requirement—
The King Realm.
Fortunately, with so few people left in line, everything moved quickly.
Once they completed their registration and received their identification tokens, Stephen and Elsa left the plaza together and headed deeper into the Inner Sect.
The examination grounds were located near one of the sect's controlled rifts.
That alone was enough to stir excitement among the disciples.
The event would not only be observed by Inner Sect disciples, but also by numerous elders.
And this year—
Even a Grand Elder would personally attend.
The news had spread like wildfire throughout the sect.
Because in all the centuries since Great Sword Mountain had been founded after the first Rift War, countless Inner Sect examinations had taken place…
Yet never before had a Grand Elder appeared for one.
Grand Elders stood directly beneath the Vice Sect Masters in status and authority. Figures like them rarely involved themselves in matters concerning probationary disciples.
Naturally, speculation exploded.
Many believed the sect was preparing for something significant.
Especially after word spread that the higher-ups intended to make an important announcement once the examination concluded.
As for the rules of the competition—
They still remained unknown.
The sect had intentionally kept them hidden to prevent participants from preparing in advance.
That only fueled the tension further.
The crowd moving toward the Inner Sect plaza grew larger with every passing moment, disciples discussing theories and rumors in excited voices as they made their way toward the rift grounds.
Stephen and Elsa quietly joined the flow of people heading in the same direction.