Silence descended on the entire sect as the youths and surrounding crowd listened to the Elders words in stunned silence. They had all heard the Elder's words, but none of them dared to believe it.
Mason's face was stunned at the Elder's words as well, as he never imagined such a thing was possible. After many seconds of silence, Mason finally managed to regain his composure.
"Elder, surely such a thing is impossible...are you sure he didn't cheat, or that you are mistaken?" Mason asked, trying to find a hole in the Elders story.
He refused to believe that John was able to slay a beast an entire minor realm above his cultivation. Fighting against an opponent was one thing, but killing them was several times harder.
Many in the crowd nodded in agreement, as they too believed such a thing was impossible.
The Elder in charge narrowed his eyes as he stared at Mason.
"You dare suggest that we are incapable of monitoring our own trials?" The Elder asked in a cold tone, causing Mason to shiver in fear. The Elder's pressure was pushing down on him, and clearly Mason had stepped too far.
He had already questioned the sect and the Elders by bringing this up in the first place, and now he suggested that they had been fooled by John as well.
"I apologize, Elder. I have no further questions," Mason replied and stepped backwards, putting an end to that discussion. The youths and surrounding crowd all stared at John as if he were a monster. Such a thing was basically unheard of, and none could recall such a thing happening in a previous entrance exam.
John was unconcerned with such attention, and stood there lazily before Adam walked up and punched him on the shoulder.
"Why didn't you tell me you did something that amazing?" Adam asked in an inquisitive tone.
John looked towards Adam as if he were a complete idiot before responding "I did, in the cottage before the fourth trial, but you refused to believe me."
"Oh, haha, I guess you did. My mistake," Adam responded in a sheepish tone as he thought back to that night.
"I knew I had an eye for greatness," Adam continued with a prideful smile on his face.
John rolled his eyes and ignored Adam, who was doing his best to make it obvious that he was friends with John. John had just revealed his immense talents, and Adam was making sure all knew that he was a close friend of his.
A pressure descended on the courtyard, and all those talking immediately became quiet. All eyes turned back to the Sect Leader at the top of the palace stairs. A warm smile still hung on his face as he stared at the youths below.
"With that settled, that concludes this year's entrance exam. Congratulations for becoming Disciples of our Heavenly Lightning Sect," The Sect Leader stated for all to hear, before his figure suddenly vanished from view.
The Vice Sect Leader and many other Elders also quickly left, and the crowd began to slowly disperse. Excited discussions were taking place all around, as this year's entrance exam had many noteworthy things happen.
The Elder in charge of the trial addressed the group of new disciples, detailing the next steps of what to do. There were Elders assigned for Outer Sect Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples, and Core Disciples, and each group was told to follow those Elders to their new lodgings.
John and Adam began to follow the main Elder, as he was the one in charge of showing the Core Disciples around.
"Haha, you're not bad. You actually managed to kill the final beast. I want to fight you even more now," A voice sounded out behind John, and he turned around to see Russell walking behind him. John began to talk with Russell, and they both agreed that they would have a friendly fight soon. Both were battle maniacs, and both were eager to test out each other's strength.
A gloomy look appeared on Mason's face as he heard Russell mention such a thing, while Hartley, Mae and June curiously looked towards John, inspecting him closely. They had looked down on him at the start of the entrance exam, but surprisingly, he had bested all of them.
Although his cultivation was still a realm lower than theirs, they didn't dare look down on him now.
The group followed the Elder through many streets that winded throughout the Heavenly Lightning Sect, and the Elder explained the various buildings they came across.
John listened closely as well, as he had not toured this part of the sect before, and was only able to walk through the business district before.
"These are the main grounds for the disciples of the sect. That building there is one of the main study halls, while that building holds several large arenas for battles," The Elder stated.
The group walked for some time through the sect, and past many grand buildings that served various purposes. Before long, the group came to a small mountain, at which point the Elder leading them stopped.
The mountain was several thousand yards tall, and was covered in many types of beautiful flowers and trees. Mesmerizing waterfalls cascaded down at many points, and an ethereal mist hung in the air. Through the mist, the youths were able to spot many grand buildings dotting the mountainside.
"This mountain contains the lodgings for the First Year Core Disciples. Your houses have been assigned to you by your rank."
The Elder waved his hand, and ten scrolls flew to each of the youths. John grabbed the scroll and quickly unfurled it, which contained a map pointing to his particular lodging on the mountain. The scroll also had a detailed schedule, which told John which classes he was to take and what buildings they were located in.
"Please follow your maps to your lodgings. Classes start tomorrow, make sure to not be late," The Elder stated before promptly leaving the group.
John looked at the map before his eyes trailed up the mountainside to identify his house, which rested at the very top of the mountain. John bid Adam farewell before he quickly began to climb the mountain. A pathway zigged and zagged up the mountainside, and he reached his lodging at the top of the mountain a while later.
The view from the top was breathtaking, and John took several moments to take in the view. The sect grounds sprawled below him, and countless grand buildings dotted the landscape. Beautiful blue rivers meandered all throughout the sect, and many other mountains pierced into the sky.
After taking in the view, John turned around to enter his new home. It was a grand building larger than his mansion in the Fenix Clan, and the architecture was incredibly detailed, making it feel incredibly luxurious.
John walked to the main entrance doors, which had twin lightning bolts carved into each side, and pushed them aside. His eyes widened slightly as he looked inside.