“Are we still near the Outer Court?” William asked faintly.

“It cannot be seen from here, but yes. It is at the edge of the mountain range.”

He nodded slightly as he absorbed who he was seeing. He never thought that a view from a mountaintop would be waiting after they exited the building.

Nor would he have ever guessed how the Inner Court would have designed. With the Outer Court looking like a small university, William expected the Inner Court to be similar, only bigger.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Stunning, is it not?” The Grand Elder smiled, “I still remember when I first saw the eight peaks. The founders of the Jade Healing Sect had a vision, and they made it a reality. Everything you see was designed to fit perfectly with the formation protecting the entire sect.”

William eyed the picturesque mountains that formed a circle, with a valley in the center being a large, flat area that seemed to contain a town. He could see small dots moving around from this distance, each likely representing a person.

“How are there so many people in the Inner Court?” He asked in confusion. It wasn’t like he spent time counting exactly how many disciples were there in the Outer Court, but he could approximate how many.

It was five hundred at most.

There had to be thousands from the small dots he could see just walking around.

“Why wouldn’t there be?” The Grand Elder said with a raised brow, “I might not be involved with the new entrants to the sect, but there are only around fifty that enter the sect every year. They are given around ten years to show that they are worth investing in before they are allowed into the Inner Court or if they are destined to work elsewhere for the sect.”

This, William already knew. He had met some of the people who were not qualified to become Inner Disciples at the Garden. The place where the sect sources most of its lower-level spirit plants. It was also where he had life-or-death combat against rabbits, of all things.

“As for the Inner Court, there are no time limitations. The paths that disciples take are far too varied to have such a ridiculous rule. It is not strange for disciples to stay as such for hundreds of years, if not longer.”

“Oh,” William had nothing to express except his surprise. That easily accounted for the large number of people he could see. However, It also brought up the question of age. If some disciples were hundreds of years old, there would be some with a relatively high cultivation.

It confused him, thinking of someone like Elder Huang still called a disciple. He needed to ask.

“Does that mean there are Core Formation Realm disciples?” William asked curiously, “I thought they would become Elders in their own right.”

“They could become Elders, but again, that depends on what path they have taken. This will be something that you will be told by your assigned mentor.”

He couldn’t stop the frown. Having another disciple acting as a mentor wasn’t something he was keen on experiencing after Zheng Tao. The Grand Elder saw that.

“I can assure you that you will not be assigned to another traitor,” the Grand Elder chuckled, “Elder Yu informed me that you already know this disciple. But let’s leave that aside! I promised you a tour, so let’s start!”

William would have preferred to know who his mentor would be, but since he already knew who it was, it wasn’t hard to guess who it was. With him being a sentinel and this being the Inner Court, only one person qualified.

Lan Yin.

He smiled, happy that he would see her again. There was also another thing he would like to see. He glanced at Mei Lingxi, who looked ecstatic as she took in the Inner Court. Lan Yin’s reaction to his new attendant would be fun.

“Follow!” The Grand Elder casually created another portal before entering.

William shared a look at Mei Lingxi before shrugging. This hadn’t been the first time he had walked into one of these.

With Mei Lingxi following closely, he stepped through and found himself facing a mountain. He could see it littered with structures connected with a single path, and when he craned his head to see the peak, he could vaguely see the building he was just in at the apex.

“This is the Administration Peak,” the Grand Elder commented, “As the name suggests, this is where matters involving the sect are decided.”

William’s eyes widened before he snapped his head to the other peaks, but they were too far away for him to see if they were also occupied. Thankfully, the Grand Elder didn’t keep him wondering for long.

“If you think the other peaks also have a purpose, you’re right. But they are for the disciples instead of the administration of the sect. Each peak is controlled by an Elder who is the best at their chosen specialization. And the best disciples are chosen by these Peak Masters.”

With eight mountains surrounding the valley and one used purely for administration, that meant there were seven paths that an Inner Court disciple could take. It made him envious. It also made him realize a fact that had been somehow ignored all this time.

William was in the most powerful empire in the continent, and the sect he joined was likely one of the most prestigious in that empire. He was a lucky man.

“Again, this will all be explained by your assigned mentor. The peaks are a marvel to see, but intruding on a Peak Master’s territory without warning is not something I wish to do. However, the common ground has its own attractions.”

William followed the Grand Elder as they left the vicinity of the Administration Peak and passed through a gate that led into a market-like atmosphere.

Unlike in Xuanjing City, where it was possible to see beggars in close vicinity to wealthy merchants, the people here were all well-groomed cultivators with not a pauper in sight. It also meant he had to turn off his system’s basic status feature for cultivators.

It had been necessary to do so with mortals in Xuanjing City to avoid getting overwhelmed. Now, it seemed it also applied to cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm as well. There were far too many of them here to leave it active.

It was a relief when the endless blue text above everyone’s head disappeared, letting William focus on other things, like what was being sold.

In Xuanjing City, there was common food and trinkets for mortals, with the rare low-quality spirit fruits occasionally sold. In the Inner Court, spirit fruits seemed not worth the effort to sell.

There were plenty of stalls that sold cultivation resources, but they were pills, formation arrays, and salves instead. A few even had gleaming treasures, though strangely, they had the least customers around them.

“This is where any disciple can display what they want to sell. Most of the sellers are from one of the peaks, usually trying to offload a low-quality creation to fund their next try, but it can also be something they found while on missions. It can be sold here as long as it does not break the sect rules.”

“Why do they only sell their low-quality creations?” William asked, “Wouldn’t they make more money if they sold their successes?”

“These are stalls,” the Grand Elder chuckled, “Only beginners set up one. As for anything of decent quality, those are sold in stores on the other side of the common ground, or if it meets the requirements, the sect will sell it outside for a portion of the sale. As for money, there is none used inside the sect. Only points are accepted.”

“Sect points?” William repeated, remembering something that had completely passed his mind. The mission that was never completed due to the abrupt detour into the secret realm. He never officially failed it, but there was no doubt it would be marked a failure once he went to the mission hall.

It meant he currently possessed negative one hundred sect points.

“That’s right,” the Grand Elder nodded, “As lively as the market is, let me show you my favorite part of the common grounds. The entertainment district!”

He was a little slow to follow, but Mei Lingxi immediately moved close to him and hissed, “Be respectful, Young Master. The Grand Elder himself is giving you a tour. When such a legendary figure gives you his time and attention to do something so menial, the least you can do is not waste his time further and walk faster.

She was right. William didn’t even think of the Grand Elder’s position with how friendly he was. Even though the title should be enough, the casual nature of their interactions made him look at the man more like Lan Yin instead of Elder Yu.

He resolved to be more mindful and sped up.