Selvara stood with her hands behind her back, her silver eyes calmly looking at Damian.

"Your disciples both have good cultivation arts," she said.

Damian blinked. "They are not bad."

Selvara’s gaze became sharper. "If your disciples are already cultivating Top-Rank Profound Grade cultivation arts, then your own cultivation art should not be ordinary either."

Damian’s smile stiffened slightly.

Of course, his cultivation art was not ordinary. It was the Top-Rank Noble Grade Heavenly Core Cultivation Art.

But casually saying that out loud would be asking for trouble.

Selvara looked at him calmly. "I will not ask where you got it for now."

Damian secretly sighed in relief.

Then Selvara continued, "But I need to know your foundation and combat ability. Show me your power."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Here?"

Selvara nodded. "Here."

Damian looked at the stone platform beneath his feet, then at the deep sword marks carved into the ground.

For some reason, he felt that this training ground had probably survived worse things than him. "Alright."

Damian stepped forward and slowly drew his sword.

The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, his expression changed. His casual smile faded, and his aura became sharper.

Lightning wrapped around his legs, while faint flames coiled around his sword.

Selvara’s eyes moved slightly. "Dual-element mutated Qi."

Damian did not answer.

[Thunder Flash Steps]

Thunder burst beneath his feet.

His figure vanished from the platform, leaving behind a flickering afterimage.

In the next breath, he appeared several meters away, then disappeared again.

His movement was fast, sharp, and difficult to predict.

Violetta and Vulkara, who had not actually gone too far, secretly watched from the edge of the bamboo forest.

Vulkara’s eyes widened. "Damn... he’s showing off again."

Violetta smiled faintly. "Master is quite serious this time."

On the platform, Damian suddenly stopped moving.

[Mountain Breaking Sword Art]

His sword fell.

BOOOOM!

The strike smashed into the stone platform, causing cracks to spread outward like a spiderweb.

The force was heavy, violent, and burning at the same time.

Selvara watched calmly, but her silver eyes became slightly more focused.

Damian did not stop. Instead, he inhaled deeply as Flame and Thunder Qi rushed toward his throat.

[Lion Roar]

ROOOAAARRR!

A violent roar exploded across the training ground.

The sound wave carried thunder vibration and burning pressure, making the bamboo forest tremble violently.

Several loose leaves were shredded in midair.

Damian lowered his head slightly and exhaled.

His chest rose and fell, and faint smoke escaped from his lips.

Then he looked at Selvara and grinned. "That’s basically everything I can use right now."

Selvara remained silent for a few breaths.

Then she nodded slightly. "Your foundation is rough, but your talent is real."

Damian relaxed a little but Selvara’s next words made his smile freeze.

"Good. That means I do not need to be gentle with your training."

Damian’s mouth twitched. "Master... what exactly do you mean by that?"

Selvara’s silver eyes remained calm. "From today onward, I will break every flaw in your foundation."

Damian suddenly felt a chill run down his back.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Why does that sound painful?"

---

Damian quickly learned one very painful truth which was Selvara’s training was really brutal.

No, calling it training was too kind. It was basically damn torture disguised as guidance.

From morning until afternoon, Selvara corrected almost everything about him, including flaws he did not even know he had.

His stance, breathing, Qi circulation, footwork, sword angle, timing, balance, reaction speed, and even the way he shifted his weight before attacking.

Every time Damian thought he had done something properly, Selvara would calmly point out three more mistakes and force him to repeat it again.

By the time the sun began to set, Damian was lying flat on the stone platform, staring at the sky like his soul had already left his body.

"Damn it..." he muttered weakly. "Is this training or murder?"

Selvara stood nearby with her hands behind her back, calmly looking at the almost-passed-out Damian. "Your talent is good."

Damian slowly turned his head toward her. "Master, why does that sound like bad news?"

Selvara looked at him calmly. "Because good talent means I can demand more from you."

Damian closed his eyes. "Yeah. I knew it."

At night, after Damian had barely recovered enough to stand, Selvara tossed him a silver token.

Damian caught it with a tired expression. "What is this?"

"Your disciple token," Selvara said. "Go to the sect office and register yourself properly. After that, you will officially be my core disciple."

Damian sighed deeply. "Master, can’t this wait until tomorrow?"

Selvara looked at him.

Damian immediately stood straighter. "I mean, I’ll go right now."

A short while later, Damian dragged his sore body toward the sect office.

When he arrived, the office was almost empty, and the disciple in charge looked at Damian in surprise.

It was rare for anyone to come this late at night, and it was even rarer for someone to arrive looking like he had just been beaten half to death.

The office disciple stared at Damian for a moment before asking carefully, "Junior Brother... are you here to report an attack?"

Damian’s mouth twitched. "No. Registration."

He placed the silver token on the desk, and the moment the disciple saw it, his expression changed.

He quickly picked it up, checked the mark, and immediately became respectful. "Elder Selvara’s disciple..."

Then his gaze moved back to Damian’s miserable appearance, and he quickly understood the reason. "No wonder."

Damian frowned. "No wonder what?"

The office disciple coughed lightly. "Nothing. Elder Selvara is one of the top sword cultivators in the sect, but she is also famous for being extremely strict."

He looked at Damian with a trace of sympathy. "Anyone who becomes her disciple should already expect... difficult days."

Damian stared at him silently, then lowered his head and sighed. "Damn it. To think the system reward this time is really this harsh."

The office disciple wisely pretended not to hear that strange sentence.

Damian pushed the token closer. "Just register it fast. I still need to go back before my master thinks I ran away."

The office disciple’s hands moved quickly.

He recorded Damian’s name, stamped the jade tablet, and returned the token with both hands. "Done, Senior Brother Damian."

Damian took the token and nodded tiredly. "Good."

Without saying anything else, he turned around and left the office.

The disciple watched his miserable back disappear into the night and silently shivered. "Elder Selvara’s disciple... poor guy."