Zhang Menglong spent the next period deciphering the mirror he brought back from the Ancient Cave Heaven. The craftsmanship was incredibly complex, taking him a full week to understand the principles.

Afterward, he began replicating this item. Although he couldn’t achieve a perfect replica, it was sufficient for cultivators practicing the Nine Nether Sunset Art to see the path trajectory of the destiny force flowing within their bodies clearly.

Zhang Menglong named it the Destiny Peeping Mirror. To avoid attracting attention, he incorporated the design with the Shamate Clan’s President’s emblem, making it appear to outsiders as nothing more than an ordinary badge.

During this week, Zhang Menglong secretly provided extra training to all the intern disciples, gradually helping them understand what kind of energy the destiny force was, and even a third of them already sensed its presence!

This was just the beginning, but it already met the threshold for cultivating the Nine Nether Sunset Art. With the Destiny Peeping Mirror’s use, learning the Nine Nether Sunset Art to a significant level within three years should pose no great difficulty.

Usually, Sunset Sect has many instructor-level figures giving them lessons, and these instructors are almost half-footed into the Dao Realm, mostly teaching the basic cultivation techniques and martial arts of Sunset Sect.

In Sunset Sect, even the most basic cultivation techniques and martial arts far surpass the power and effectiveness of conventional Ninth Grade Empire standards. Each intern disciple has made substantial progress during this period.

As usual, advancing to the Divine Cultivation Realm within three years guarantees a 100% pass rate to become outer sect disciples, while Divine Breath Ninth Grade has over an 80% chance.

But this year, because everyone trained in the Ancient Cave Heaven for three years under such a high-density environment, many have already reached the Divine Breath Ninth Grade strength themselves, raising the assessment threshold higher.

Zhang Menglong was not at liberty to violate Sunset Sect’s rules and teach the intern disciples anything beyond what instructors taught. However, he possesses insights and even improvement methods on basic cultivation techniques and martial arts.

He taught these materials to the intern disciples almost without reservation, leading them to make astounding progress!

Even the instructors noticed their teaching pace couldn’t keep up with the learning speed anymore, seeming as if whatever they taught was immediately comprehended, and the learning speed was several times faster than any previous intern disciples they taught!

Puzzled, they eventually attributed these exceptional results to the remarkable gifts of this batch of intern disciples.

...

In the blink of an eye, three years passed, and the day for the intern disciples’ assessment arrived swiftly.

This time, the assessment was overseen by an elder of the Sunset Sect, whom Zhang Menglong met once sitting beside Qi Congyun and calling him Senior Brother Qi during the admission assessment.

He briefly introduced the assessment rules, consisting of two types: internal assessment and external assessment.

Internal assessment involved random one-on-one matches among intern disciples. Winners advance to become outer sect disciples, while losers are directly eliminated.

This method has a 50% elimination rate, considered relatively conservative, chosen mostly by those confident in their own strength.

External assessment is more complex and diverse, split into two types. The first is individual assessment, involving exploration of certain areas or capturing a notorious fugitive, with difficulty varying per individual. This assessment generally has a higher advancement probability than internal assessment, but with a higher failure-related mortality rate.

The second type is group assessment, with only two outcomes: either the entire group passes, or fails completely!

No one has chosen this method before, as no one wants their future tied to others’ actions, potentially jeopardizing great futures due to a few individuals’ mistakes.

"Which assessment will you choose?" the elder asked after explaining the rules.

"Of course the group assessment!" Zhang Menglong decided reflexively, aiming to bring everyone into the outer gate of Sunset Sect!

Anyway, after investing so much time and effort into training them, it would be unwise if anyone failed the assessment.

"All right, group assessment... group assessment?" the elder finally understood, looking at Zhang Menglong incredulously, not expecting him to make such a choice.

"Gu Xiao, think carefully. Once you choose group assessment, everyone’s fate will be bound together. Your strong gift won’t change that; failure will mean expulsion from Sunset Sect."

"I know," Zhang Menglong nodded, "I just wish for everyone to enter the outer gate, so I hope we can advance and retreat together."

"What’s your opinion?" the elder asked the other intern disciples.

"Senior Gu Xiao’s opinion is our opinion too!" Everyone respected Zhang Menglong wholeheartedly over this period.

"I don’t know how you’ve influenced them," the elder shook his head, "But be psychologically prepared. Group assessment is exceptionally challenging, with potential uncontrollable factors. There’s still time to change your mind."

"Thank you, elder, we have decided," Zhang Menglong confirmed.

"Fine, since that’s the case, I won’t persuade you further," the elder said, "This task is set for three months: a Sixth Grade Empire protected by our Sunset Sect is caught in warfare. I need you to assist this empire in securing victory!"

Hearing the task content, everyone paused slightly, prepared mentally but surprised at its immense difficulty.

They were to alter the outcome of a large-scale war with only 8000 individuals! A seemingly impossible task!

It’s known that a single empire in this world is enormous, with war involving hundreds of billions or even trillions of people!

In a Sixth Grade Empire, cannon fodder strength levels are generally above Divine Breath Fifth Grade, most being Divine Breath Seventh or Eighth Grade. In such a grinder, even martial artists in the Divine Cultivation Realm face mortal danger.

"Just this?"

"Just this?" the elder was taken aback, "Do you understand how challenging this task is? Initially meant for a team of a hundred inner sect disciples to undertake, and despite that, the difficulty level remains extremely high."

"Can you handle it?" Zhang Menglong asked back.

"Yes! A man can’t say no!"

"Wipe them out completely?!"

"Hundreds of billions? Almost enough for us to shine!"