Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"Mu Qing, what was that just now?"

After the mirror-like object disappeared, Xia Jin withdrew her gaze and looked at Mu Qing beside her with a puzzled expression.

Mu Qing took a deep breath, his playful expression completely vanishing: "Boss Xia, that mirror just now was the magic weapon of our temple's fifth hall master, the 'Sky-Gazing Mirror'."

"The Heaven-Gazing Mirror?" Jian Wuhen frowned, asking with some curiosity, "Brother Mu, tell me quickly, what's so special about this mirror?"

Mu Qing nodded, his tone tinged with awe: "Besides its powerful combat capabilities, the most important function of this mirror is to observe a person's aptitude and assess their talent. Anyone who has been looked at by the Sky-Gazing Mirror will have their aptitude and cultivation talent clearly revealed."

He paused, gazing in the direction where the Sky-Gazing Mirror had disappeared, and murmured, "The Sky-Gazing Mirror's sudden appearance this time is probably... for the selection of Heavenly-level disciples."

"A top-tier disciple?!"

Jian Wuhen and Venerable Miaodi exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. This was the first time either of them had ever heard the title of "Heavenly Disciple."

But soon Mu Qing showed a puzzled expression and muttered to himself:

"Strange, that doesn't make sense... If it really is for selecting top-tier disciples, why didn't we see this Sky-Gazing Mirror appear in the previous Thunder Pool assessments, but it suddenly appeared this time?"

"Could it be that someone with such talent and strength has emerged in this assessment that they have caught the attention of the Fifth Palace Master?" Mu Qing unconsciously turned his gaze to Xia Jin beside him.

While Mu Qing was puzzled, Jian Wuhen and the others also looked at each other, but what they were more concerned about was the fifth temple master that Mu Qing had mentioned.

Fifth Palace Master...

The fifth temple master...

This being is one of the true rulers of this temple.

call out!

A golden light suddenly flew down from above the clouds and landed on the token hanging at Xia Jin's waist.

Xia Jin frowned and looked down at her token.

Jian Wuhen and the others all turned their gazes toward them, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Only Mu Qing, upon seeing that golden light, had a sudden thought flash through his mind and hurriedly said:

"Boss Xia! Quickly check your token! See if the numbers on it have changed?!"

"Numbers?" Xia Jin's eyes flashed with a sharp light upon hearing this. She immediately took the token from her waist and flipped it over.

The next moment, his eyes flickered slightly.

The number on the back of the token had changed from "Earth Thirty-Seven" to "Heaven Twenty-Three".

Numbers starting with the character "天" (tian).

What this means is self-evident.

"this……"

Mu Qing leaned closer for a look, and his eyes widened instantly. He gasped, "Boss Xia, I knew it! You...you've probably caught the eye of the Fifth Palace Master! You've been promoted directly to a Heavenly Disciple!!"

As one of the elders among the temple's disciples, he knew all too well the difficulty of becoming a top-tier disciple.

Becoming the top scorer in the Thunder Pool assessment is just one of the conditions!

However, if one is favored by the temple master, one can rise to the top in one step.

"It seems that it won't be long before you leave this first level of the temple." Mu Qing swallowed, his tone full of envy.

Jian Wuhen and Venerable Miaodi also came over, looking at the four characters "Tian Twenty-Three" on the token, a complex look flashing in their eyes.

There was surprise, there was envy, but not a trace of jealousy.

"Brother Xia, you..." Jian Wuhen opened his mouth, but finally shook his head with a wry smile, "Forget it, sometimes the difference between people is even greater than the difference between a mouse and an elephant!"

Venerable Miaodi was quite open-minded, and smiled slightly at Xia Jin: "Amitabha, congratulations, Benefactor Xia. With Benefactor Xia's talent, it is only natural that you have been promoted to the Heavenly Disciple rank."

The temple elders who had originally planned to disperse turned their attention to Xia Jin after hearing Mu Qing's exclamation. When they heard the words "Heaven Twenty-Three" on the token, their expressions changed.

What started as mere curiosity has now turned into a sense of awe.

Because they knew very well that those who could become top-ranked disciples in this temple could not possibly do so by luck.

Only talent matters!

Only strength matters!

Without these two things, no matter how powerful your background is, you can forget about stepping into the top tier.

For a moment, the gazes directed at Xia Jin were filled with apprehension and awe.

That is, the day after Xia Jin became a top-tier disciple,

There was a gentle knock on Xia Jin's courtyard gate.

Xia Jin, who was refining the small snake formed from hundreds of drops of lightning tribulation liquid in the courtyard, raised an eyebrow and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

is her?

"Come in!" Xia Jin stopped refining and said calmly.

The woman wearing a white veil pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in, her gaze fixed intently on Xia Jin.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "We've only been in the temple for a short time, and you've already given me a big surprise."

Xia Jin smiled faintly: "It's just luck."

"Luck?" The woman scoffed, a hint of disbelief flashing in her eyes.

But she didn't dwell on the topic and went straight to the point: "Come with me. All the top-tier disciples will be cultivating in the second level of the temple. This place... is no longer suitable for you."

The second heaven.

Xia Jin pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Give me a quarter of an hour. After that, I will leave with you!"

"Okay!" The woman didn't ask why and sat down on a stone bench next to Xia Jin.

On the contrary, Xia Jin went back into her house, took something, and left her courtyard.

A quarter of an hour later, Xia Jin returned to the spot. He looked at the woman in white and a smile appeared on his face.

"Alright, I've finished my business. Let's go!"

"Follow me!!" With a flick of her sleeve, the woman and Xia Jin transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the sky above the courtyard.

After an unknown amount of time, the two landed in front of a stone staircase.

The stone steps were extremely long, stretching as far as the eye could see, as if they led straight to the sky.

"Let's go. To reach the Second Heaven, we must first ascend these stone steps."

The woman in white veil stepped onto the stone steps first, followed closely by Xia Jin.

Level 1, Level 2, Level 3...

With each step she climbed, Xia Jin felt the pressure on her body increase.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the stone steps came to an end, and a high platform finally appeared in front of us.

"Stand in the center." The woman in white pointed to the array pattern in the middle, indicating that Xia Jin should stand there.

Xia Jin frowned, but still walked over.

The next moment, a bright light emanated from between the woman's eyebrows and shot directly into the center of the array pattern.

Immediately afterwards, a soft white light slowly shone from the array, enveloping Xia Jin completely.

Xia Jin felt her body become lighter, as if she had lost her weight, and began to slowly rise upwards uncontrollably.

Below, the figure of the woman in white veils grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the clouds.

Xia Jin raised her head, letting the gentle force lift her up.

Keep going up.

After passing through the clouds, a bright and clear view suddenly appeared before me.

He saw the entire first level of the temple, a vast and boundless land, with the entire temple spread out before him. His own small courtyard, however, appeared as insignificant as dust.

It continues to rise.

He saw the outline of this world—a huge circular world shrouded by an invisible barrier, beyond which lay endless chaos and nothingness.

So this is the whole picture of this world.

Xia Jin was deeply shocked and speechless for a long time.

I don't know how much time passed.

hum!

My body shuddered slightly, and the feeling of rising finally stopped.

Xia Jin looked up.

Before us lay a vast cluster of islands suspended in the sky. The islands, large and small, were scattered in a well-organized manner.

This is... the second heaven of the temple?

Xia Jin was engrossed in watching when an old voice suddenly came from beside her.

"Kid, stop looking. Once you've seen it a lot, it won't be so interesting anymore."

"Hmm?" Xia Jin looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man with white hair and beard sitting on a blue stone not far away.

An old man held a fishing rod, the line dangling into the sea of ​​clouds, seemingly fishing for something. Then, he turned his head and looked at me with a smile.