The crowds observed with attentive eyes as the Ancient Divinity trailed along the Temple’s Platform.

The adorable creature appeared like it was having the best time of its life. It strolled in circles seemingly enticed by the present crowd, giggling and posing pompously. As for Jack, it had completely ignored him, as if he wasn’t worthy of its attention.

Distracted by the Ancient Divinity's weird behaviour, nobody had noticed that Jack’s face had long lost its colour.

He knew that sometimes, when one sowed karma, it may have to be reaped. But the scene playing before his eyes seemed like a cruel prank from the heavens!

His entire body was trembling, wanting to shed tears of blood. He was finding it hard to accept how a stupid creature, the same creature he had quarrelled against in the forest, would have such an important identity!

Just when he thought he had finally found some peace, the entire earth had become an abyss, and the heavens crumbled!

After wandering about for a long time, the Ancient Divinity finally rested its gaze at the still shivering Jack. Its eyes glittered, and a mocking expression was visible on its face.

Jack instantly understood that if the creature could talk, he would be receiving a barrage of insults right now.

Elder Tian noticed that something was amiss and was about to express something, but the Ancient Divinity had already sprung into action.

It turned around, giving its back to the crowds and revealing its furry tail. The tail shuddered, then it slowly expanded… 1 metre… 1.25 metres… 1.5 metres…. until finally stopping at 2 metres.

When the crowds noted the length of the tail, they were clearly left disappointed.

“So much for drama… it’s the two-metre tail…”

“Well, did you really expect otherwise?”

After having observed the strange behaviour of the Ancient Divinity, all of them had thought that something unusual was about to happen. But once they saw the tail growing to a full two-metre before stopping, their hopes quickly faded away.

Meanwhile, Elder Tian felt relieved as he nodded towards Jack. “Congratulations, from today you are officially a disciple of the Sky Water Sect.”

However, his joy was not shared by Jack.

Instead, Jack had a sense of growing uneasiness. He thought that unless the creature before him had the memory of a goldfish, there was no way he was going to get out of this situation unscathed. No, after observing the creature’s behaviour earlier, he was already preparing himself for the worst.

And he had guessed correctly.

The Ancient Divinity, like a predator playing with its prey, was just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Suddenly, its tail shivered, and in a couple of breaths, it expanded to three metres!

When everyone noticed the sudden expansion of the tail, a huge commotion erupted. Even Elder Tian felt flabbergasted, unwilling to believe what his eyes were seeing.

Loud voices competed with each other as the various disciples discussed the possible meaning of this length. They were only used in seeing the two-metre tail; they never had the opportunity to experience the different lengths before!

After a brief moment of discussions, an old woman with freckles appeared. She flipped through a dusty looking manual, then yelled with a loud voice, “According to the sect’s manual, the three-metre tail signifies rejection!”

But her words had yet to reach the ears of the disciples when the Ancient Divinity’s tail began enlarging again, and in a short number of breaths, it was now four metres erect!

This sudden development naturally shocked the crowds even more. Everyone stared at each other dumbfounded. Not even in their wildest dreams would they have anticipated this unexpected turn of events; what was supposed to be a boring admission of a useless cultivator, actually turn out to be so exciting! And this was not just any recommendation by the way, but a recommendation by one of the Sect Elders!

Suddenly perceiving an overwhelming amount of glances on herself, the old woman rubbed her nose and straightened her back. She seemed to struggle with the sudden expectations from the crowd. She cleared her throat before shouting. “Jail punishment! The four-metre tail, signifies Jail punishment!”

The various disciples seemed to be having a blast as they immersed themselves, discussing the implications of the different lengths. Unlike Jack, who was biting his lips and gazing at the creature with murderous eyes.

“Aren’t you taking it a bit too far now?”

The creature arrogantly ignored him. This was its moment to enjoy. It knew that it had the upper hand here, and revenge was surely guaranteed. From its perspective, Jack was not in a position to do anything. Right now, it was the king, and Jack was a disposable pawn.

Instead, it let out a low pitched moan, and a red strain appeared on its face as if the tail’s extension required a lot of physical effort. However, knowing that it was the centre of attention, it seemed to regain its composure.

It cried a miserable shriek as its tail began shivering again, extending to five metres!

“Incredible! It enlarged again!”

“I can’t believe it! Five metres!”

“What grave immoralities has this man done to trigger such a heavenly condemnation?!”

The yelling of the crowd began attracting nearby cultivators. Piqued by their curiosities, soon more and more cultivators of different ages arrived. In a short amount of breaths, the entire piazza surrounding the temple was fully occupied.

One of these new arrivals was a notable man wearing an azure robe. He was surrounded by a noble aura, his face as white as the light of the moon. His facial hair was also white, but his eyes were as sharp as a wolf’s and his back as solid as a tiger’s.

He floated towards the middle, then elegantly descended next to Elder Tian.

When the disciples noticed him, they all bowed respectfully. Not a single one of them dared to act recklessly before the third most powerful expert of the sect.

Because this man was none other than one of the two sect’s elders, Sect Elder Shui!

“What’s this ruckus?” Unlike his counterpart, he didn’t hesitate to use power in his voice as a form of intimidation.

His enquiring eyes extended towards Elder Tian, then passed over Jack until finally resting fixed over the Ancient Divinity.

“The five-metre tail… death penalty…” He said, his voice calm yet radiating killing intent.

Jack remained motionless, unwilling to believe this absurdity.

He was a man who had survived for years inside a slave market, he had survived a crazy supernatural human who could stir the heavens and crack the lands, he also had managed to outlive the encounter with that black creature and that grotesque face… but now he was going to perish because he ate a fruit?

But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t think of a way out of this mess. He was just too powerless against these monsters. The only thing he could do was cursing at himself for starting a fight with that creature. If he knew it would end up like this, he would have definitely let it obtain that fruit back then!

Elder Tian was the first to break the silence. “Elder Shui… don’t tell me you are considering to harm–

“Nonsense!” Elder Shui quickly rebuked him, his authoritative voice thundering into everyone ears. “You are a sect elder, and you dare to even propose something so outrageous?! So what if he is a mortal?! The Ancient Divinity is the direct descendant of our Ancestral Divinity! It is also the Patriarch's personal wish that the Ancient Divinity filters new candidates! Don’t tell me you want to act against both the wills of the Ancestral Divinity and the Patriarch?!”

After hearing Elder Shui’s words, Elder Tian lowered his head and fell into complete silence. His face was full of gloom as he glanced towards Jack with a sense of guilt.

Jack frowned. If he had to die, then he definitely had to bring that creature down with him. Only by doing so he would die without regrets. Otherwise, his soul would surely never find peace for all eternity.

On the other hand, even though the Ancient Divinity was dying from pain and its face was now redder than blood, it appeared more ecstatic than before.

It was at this moment that both Elders seemed to have noticed something. Both of them had thought of the same idea, but unfortunately for Elder Tian, Elder Shui had a faster reaction.

“Hmm?! How could I have forgotten about that important matter? Am I becoming too old?” This sudden change of conduct by Elder Shui confused everyone present.

“Elder Tian, unfortunately, I have to leave this trial in your good hands.”

He flipped his robe and flew away, his speed quickly accelerating.

All sect disciples appeared puzzled as they watched Elder Shui’s silhouette fade away. They wanted to ask questions, but any doubts they had were immediately repelled when they heard a familiar voice.

“Aw man. All of you are here having fun, and nobody bothered to invite me? Simply unforgivable!”

A young man could be heard approaching the area. He wore a colourful robe, much more vibrant than those of the other disciples. His hands were clasped behind his back, his expression totally unreadable. Fixed over his head was a small medicinal plant, giving him an odd appearance.

Everyone but Jack instantly recognised him. He was one of the seven junior elders, the infamous Dai Jun!

The various disciples all glanced towards Dai Jun with different expressions. Some glanced at him weirdly, others with disgust, while the majority seemed to fear him. Regardless of their reaction, everyone appeared to be spreading out, keeping a safe distance from him.

Dai Jun turned to look at the direction at which Elder Shui left, but seeing that he had already fled, he snorted. Instead, he kept walking towards the entrance of the temple.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, the Ancient Divinity shivered, slowly retracting its tail. At this instant, it had entirely forgotten about Jack.

Dai Jun inspected the crowd. “So? What’s going on? Where is the fun?”

He waited for a response. However, nobody dared to reply. “Geez… What a boring sect I’ve found myself mingled with…”

Dai Jun kept walking ahead until arriving in front of the Ancient Divinity, only a short distance away.

The creature’s fur spiked upwards, revealing its threatening teeth. However, it didn’t dare to make a move but instead took a couple of steps in reverse.

“You know, if it weren’t for you being the descendant of the Original Ancestor, I would have already had the pleasure of tasting that meat of yours. I can’t believe the sect’s Patriarchs never noticed what a boring and useless creature you are.”

Upon hearing these words, the Creature shivered in terror as it hurried its retreating steps. It let out a squeak of defeat, then ran back inside the temple.

Dai Jun then turned around and moved towards the blinking Jack. “Seems like that pile of crappy fur hates you. Anyone it hates, is inevitably my friend.”

He summoned a medallion and a bottle of medicinal pills, which he casually threw towards Jack. As soon as Jack grabbed the medallion, it started glittering with strange colourful lights that circulated it, giving it an ethereal feeling.

When the various disciples noticed the medallion, shivers ran down their spines, and their hearts skipped a couple of beats. That is because every one of them understood the real significance of that special medallion!

Dai Jun coolly said, “I’m using my privileges to promote you to an inner sect disciple. Until you unlock your cultivation, you should take one of those pills per day. It will keep you alive without the need to eat…”

These words left Dai Jun mouth in an unimpressive manner, yet they were enough to silence everyone present. It felt like a cold wind had descended from the underworld and froze the entire area with chilling ice. Even Elder Tian was left speechless.

“Inner Sect Disciple?” Jack, who was still recovering from his earlier crisis innocently asked.

Not only Jack, everyone present in the piazza was asking the same question.

An inner sect disciple? They knew the implications of those words very well!

Only a genius who had worked hard his entire life or those born with rich bloodlines had a chance to obtain the inner disciple status, and that was still not a guarantee for success! After all, the number of inner disciples in the sect could be counted with one’s hands!

And yet, this guy appeared out of nowhere and received this position! Not only that, but apparently this good for nothing who just a moment ago had one foot in the grave had yet to unlock his cultivation base! He was a useless piece of junk!

Many of these were proud cultivators who had experienced a lot of hardships, and had long given up on their dreams of becoming an inner sect disciple! But today, this complete stranger was promoted to an inner sect disciple! How could they not feel humiliated? This entire affair was a massive blow to their dignities!

Many of them started loathing Dai Jun and Jack with sharp and maddening eyes.

Dai Jun noticed this and nonchalantly asked. “What? Someone has an objection?!”

However, none of the disciples replied back.

It was then that Jack fell on his knees and kowtowed in appreciation. “Thanks for saving this lowly one’s life!”

Dai Jun glanced at him and snorted. “Enough with the formalities. Follow after me.”

The stunned disciples and Elder Tian watched as Dai Jun walked away with Jack. However, Dai Jun suddenly paused for a moment.

“Elder Tian, you still haven’t paid me for those pink pills.” Then he kept walking.

When he heard this, Elder Tian’s mouth fell to the floor as the entire piazza focused its attention on him.

Elder Tian coughed a few times. “Don’t worry Dai Jun… cough cough I will have the sum delivered in the coming days.”

His face now redder than red bayberry, he turned to address the gossiping crowds. “What are you thinking? The pink pills are just… cough cough medicinal pills for improving… my ageing skin…”

The disciples nodded in agreement, seemingly accepting his explanation. However, Elder Tian could sense that deep down they didn’t believe him.

He lost his composure for the first time and flew away in shame.