Outer Sect.
At this moment, the number of names on the list below the two lists on the Combat Pagoda had decreased significantly.
What had originally been ten names on the list had now dwindled to only three:
Lie Hua, Li Yun, and Gao Zhu.
The names on the list had disappeared one after another so frequently over a period of time that only three disciples remained on the entire Combat Pagoda. All of them were on the third floor, striving their best to reach the elusive fourth floor.
Every disciple, whether inside the cave of the combat assessment or in the Outer Sect, had their eyes glued to the list. They didn't want to miss anything, nor did they want to blink for fear of missing a chance if one of the three suddenly forced their way into the fourth floor.
The chances of that happening were slim, but there was no shortage of disciples capable of creating miracles, and two of them—Li Yun and Lie Hua—were on this very list.
One had mastered the most difficult martial technique in the Outer Sect to perfection, a feat unmatched by anyone else, while the other was a disciple with a superior 5-star bone frame, making her one of the most precious geniuses of the Mystic Cloud Sect.
At this moment, in one corner stood two female disciples, both wearing the classic blue robe of core disciples, adorned with cloud-like symbols. One appeared to be around twenty-three years old, while the other was quite a bit younger, around nineteen. The older one was quite beautiful, but the younger one's beauty surpassed her by far.
The younger one had light golden hair, and her face was as white as a doll, the epitome of beauty. At this moment, her eyes were fixed on the list with a calm expression.
"Sister Xu, we are wasting time here in the Outer Sect. No one should be able to enter the fourth floor of the Combat Pagoda on their first try. Only ten have done so far, and all of them are legends."
The other disciple, with long black hair, said to the golden-haired lady.
Xu Lan was the name of the golden-haired lady. Looking at the list, her eyes shone with a faint hope.
"Legends have already been born. What matters is how early one is recognized. It may happen at this moment or it may happen tomorrow or the day after..."
The black-haired lady sighed when she heard Xu Lan. "Even Zhao Tian, the number one genius of our sect, can't breach the fourth floor. If even you, the youngest core disciple can't enter the fourth floor, what chances do these new disciples have? What chances does a nominal disciple with no bone frame and a disciple with a superior 5-star bone frame have when even the legendary 6-star bone frame couldn't enter the fourth floor?"
Xu Lan also sighed upon hearing her friend Zhu Mi. She understood that the chances for the three people on the list were less than one percent, but chances were still chances, and she took a gamble on this one.
'I wonder if they will do it...'
She thought, her eyes focused entirely on the list when suddenly she saw a shift. Upon closer inspection, she let out a deep sigh.
Zhu Mi also noticed the change and looked toward Xu Lan. She didn't feel as disappointed as Xu Lan, for she had no hope for anyone on the list to breach the fourth floor, unlike Xu Lan.
"Another one failed. Now the nominal disciple with no bone frame and the one with the superior 5-star bone frame are the only two left." Zhu Mi shook her head, feeling that they were wasting their time in the Outer Sect when they could find more promising disciples in the Inner Sect to join their alliance.
However, Xu Lan still hadn't lost hope and continued staring at the list with a calm yet hopeful expression.
At the same time, behind the group of disciples surrounding the Combat Pagoda in the Outer Sect, two individuals stood: Elder Zhao and the bearded elder.
At this moment, their entire attention was fixated on the list. The more they saw the number of disciples vanishing from the list, the more pangs they felt in their hearts.
Who wouldn't want a genius disciple to appear in their sect? As elders of the Mystic Cloud Sect, they desired the same. They wanted the sect to flourish for hundreds of thousands of years. But it was easier said than done.
Time was a merciless wave. It rotted everything it touched, and nothing in the world could ever withstand the flow of time. No matter which power, which sect, even the legendary holy lands of myths had turned into nothing but dust in the treacherous scheme of time.
The Mystic Cloud Sect was in the same situation as those powers. They hadn't had any remarkable geniuses for a long time. Even though it hadn't caused immediate problems, one never knew when the sect would face imminent danger. At that time, only those geniuses could possibly protect them from calamity and even carry forward the legacy of the sect if it were truly destroyed.
But in the last hundred years, there had been no geniuses who could enter the fourth floor of the Combat Pagoda on their first try.
Therefore, even though both elders had almost no hope, every year they focused their entire attention on the list, only to feel disappointment after disappointment each time.
Yet their hope hadn't waned. The hope, even if just a flicker, remained in their hearts, burning brighter than ever in search of such geniuses.
"It seems we aren't late."
At that moment, seven individuals appeared before Elder Zhao and the bearded elder. All of them were emitting a formidable aura, their very presence distorting the air around them.
"Huh, so you guys are here. I was wondering if you old men had forgotten about this," the bearded elder sneered at them upon their arrival.
"I have seen the peak masters of various peaks," Elder Zhao, on the other hand, cupped his fist in respect to them.