Almost at the same moment, the hardened stone suddenly rang out a deafening sound and split in two.
It was shattered on both sides and fell to the ground with a thunderous bang.
Everyone present was stunned.
"How is that possible? How could he break the hardest stone with his sword?"
"That stone is quite sturdy and can only be split by a cultivator who uses a sword skill that is at least at
the third grade of the Spirit Realm. How did he do that?"
"Is this guy even human?"
The scene caused quite a sensation among the onlookers.
Amidst the astonishment, Rocky passed the second trial and proceeded with the third one.
The third trial was the most difficult because he had to defeat all the flying spiritual swords in half an
hour.
Upon entering the area where the third trial would be held, Rocky surprised everyone as he
immediately sat on the ground with his legs crossed instead of standing up like the other disciples who
chose to stand because it provided a more flexible range of movement.
"This guy really must think he's something special, huh?"
"Don't worry. He'll be humbled by the consequences his arrogance brings very soon."
"I bet he won't last for half an hour!"
Although everyone witnessed Rocky's strength as he breezed through the second trial, they were
doubtful he'd be able to do the same in the third trial.
"Let's start," Rocky said.
The disciples tasked with releasing the flying swords glanced at each other before they looked to the
Sword Spirit City's official in charge of the assessment. The official gave a nod which signaled the
disciples to fire the spiritual swords at Rocky.
The first spiritual sword was fired and whizzed through the air heading towards Rocky. Just as it was
about to strike him, the spiritual sword behind him was unsheathed and knocked the flying spiritual
sword to the ground with a clang.
The second spiritual sword was released but Rocky easily blocked it as well.
Soon, the spiritual swords surrounding him moved faster and morphed into blinding white lights that
darted through the air non-stop. Although the swords were close to him, they never once cut his skin.
Although he appeared to be in great danger, he managed to swiftly turn peril into safety.
That shocked everyone present.
Half an hour passed. Much to everyone's surprise, Rocky passed the third trial. That meant he had
officially passed the disciple assessment.
He had surpassed everyone's expectations. Before becoming a disciple, he was just a country bumpkin
and he seemed to be incapable of reaching the Spirit Realm. And now, he officially passed the disciple
assessment. What was more impressive was that only those who reached the third grade of the Spirit
Realm usually passed the exam.
The evaluation finally came to an end after Rocky's spectacular performance.
"You're quite something! I never expected you to make such rapid progress within one month!" Tessa
praised Rocky with admiration as he walked toward her. She always knew he'd succeed but was
surprised that he exceeded her expectations.
"All thanks to your guidance, Tessa." Rocky immediately thanked Tessa. Over the past month, she
taught him some useful sword skills. With his talent, he could've easily mastered them on his own and
made progress without a mentor. However, he still pandered to Tessa.
"Don't flatter me. But I didn't expect your swordsmanship to reach this level in just a month. It's not
easy to make such great progress!" she exclaimed.
"Maybe I just got lucky this time," Rocky responded with a sly smile.
"You're not lucky. You're just talented." Tessa went through the tests, too. She knew there was no way
anyone could pass on sheer luck alone.
"Now that I'm officially a disciple, I finally have a chance to enter the Martial Spirit Graveyard," he said
with relief.
"Although you're strong, I'm afraid you're still not powerful enough to enter the Martial Spirit
Graveyard," Tessa uttered quickly.
"So I'll work even harder and make greater progress," he replied.
"Even with your determination, it'll be impossible to reach the seventh stage of the Spirit Realm in two
months. Ever since the Sword Spirit Sect was established, the quickest one to ever ascend took four
years to reach that level," she informed him as she shook her head.
"Really? Then how many years did it take you?" Rocky asked casually.
"Five years."
"That's not bad!" he replied, impressed.
"So you'd better cultivate one step at a time. Don't fantasize about unrealistic things all day. Since
you're officially a disciple of the Sword Spirit Sect, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to enter
the Martial Spirit Graveyard in the future. For now, don't worry too much," she advised out of worry that
he'd act carelessly with haste.
"Alright, I get it. You love to gabble, don't you?" Rocky mocked her with a cheeky grin.
"How dare you call me a blabbermouth!" Tessa glared back at him, obviously annoyed.
"Haha!" He laughed as they both left under the public's watchful eyes.
With his new position as a disciple, Rocky could no longer do as he pleased like before. He would be
assigned to a different department to work. Coincidentally, he was assigned to the Security Hall where
Ramon worked.
The Security Hall was in charge of guarding the Sword Spirit City. It was anything but easy work. The
members of the hall often went out early in the morning and returned late in the evening. However,
there were some benefits. One of those was getting to see Hannah, the daughter of the Sword Spirit
Sect's leader, often.
Hannah handled all of the business that involved the Sword Spirit Sect and the Sword Spirit City. She
often visited other cities to purchase some items, which was why she needed the protection of the
guards.
The guards of the Security Hall were split into two teams—the Cloudlet Team which was led by Ramon
and the Wolf Team.
"Captain Ramon. It appears we're destined to work together. I never expected to be assigned to a team
led by you. I'd appreciate your assistance in the future." Rocky reported to Ramon in the Cloudlet
Team's office early in the morning.
Ramon was visibly annoyed the moment Rocky appeared. He never expected that he and Rocky would
work together and that he could ever pass the official disciple assessment.
"Well! Although you've been assigned to my team, you must know now that I will kick you out if your
performance is unsatisfactory," Ramon informed him seriously.
"Don't worry! I assure you you'll be satisfied with my performance. But I hope you'll reconsider what I
just said. Great opportunities like that often don't happen twice," Rocky responded casually.
Ramon was even more furious, but he still ignored Rocky's words. Then he summoned the other
disciples and announced, "Today's task is to transport a batch of ethereal crystals from the Grand Sky
Sect with Miss Hannah. There's been a recent spike in raids on ethereal crystals by the Robber
Regiment, so you all must be extra vigilant during this trip."
"Yes, sir!" all the disciples replied in unison, except for Rocky who was busy picking his ear.
"Now get ready. We'll set out in an hour." Then, Ramon waved his hand towards Rocky and
commanded loudly, "Basil, come here!"
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