After staying in the Outer Sect for a certain period, if one still wants the sect’s subsidy, they need to work for the sect.
The Inner Sect, however, is different. They take on tasks essentially for self-training and to enhance their Fate Pattern. Their cultivation expenses are fully covered by the sect, allowing them to focus purely on cultivation.
This is where the key point lies.
The Bright Mirror Sect holds a grand competition every few years, divided into the Inner and Outer Sects. The Outer Sect competition aims to determine the winners who will be elevated and whose Fate Patterns will be promoted.
The victors and outstanding performers in the Inner Sect not only have their Fate Patterns improved but also stand a chance to be noticed by the elders and Peak Masters of the Bright Mirror Sect. They may then achieve meteoric success and become [True Transmission within the Hall], learning under their masters and receiving the fundamental Great Dao inheritance of the Bright Mirror Sect.
If An Jing knew, he would understand instantly: the Outer Sect is like compulsory education, the Inner Sect is comparable to high school, and the grand competition is akin to a college entrance examination. Outstanding individuals are selected to become True Transmission, and in the process of learning, they also start to study their martial arts, preparing for their future as graduate students under different mentors.
Through such layers of selection, the majority of Bright Mirror Sect’s True Transmission are highly potential, exceptionally talented, and deeply loved by their masters. The probability of them achieving Divine Repository or even becoming Manifest Saint True Monarchs is also high.
In the generation of True Lord Jinghuang, two True Lords were cultivated, but since the Jinghuang Peak only required one person, the second peak, [Rising Light Peak], emerged.
At that time, the relationship between the two peaks was very harmonious; one inherited the teacher’s legacy, while the other needed to establish its own reputation.
The persons in charge of the two peaks could also be one internal and one external, with the former overseeing internal matters of the sect and the latter expanding territories.
The new [peaks] and [halls] that emerged later all followed this pattern; they added new departments to the Bright Mirror Sect, overseeing internal production, talismans, martial defenses, and Earth Vein formations.
It sounded quite reasonable. Various peaks and halls each performed their duties, Inner Sect disciples could learn specific knowledge and demonstrate particular abilities, making themselves more attractive to the relevant peaks and halls, aiming to become True Transmission.
But this is where the problem arises.
Not every excellent Inner Sect disciple can catch the eye of the Peak Masters and become new True Transmission.
For the past Bright Mirror Sect, this was unthinkable.
Because the sect was too small then, any promising Inner Sect disciple would inevitably become True Transmission and contribute to the sect’s growth.
But now, as the Bright Mirror Sect has gradually expanded, becoming the number one Middle Gate just below the Upper Gate, the number of Inner Sect disciples has increased dozens of times, while the number of True Transmission has not changed significantly.
These numerous Inner Sect disciples can only serve the sect, without any possibility of further advancement.
Is it because of insufficient resources?
More significantly, it is due to the ’intra-sect faction’.
This [peak] system forces every Peak Master to select the best of the best, ensuring that the next generation can inherit their lineage. They would rather leave the position vacant than lower their standards.
This ensures that Peak Masters devote all their efforts to teaching their students, without holding back.
However, it also leads to stratification within the sect.
Initially, it was meant to segregate a portion of excellent cultivators from the overall sect to become the managerial class. Naturally, this managerial power would not self-abandon but would strive to reproduce and preserve itself. Only with the emergence of new Manifest Saint True Monarchs, exceeding the established structure, would new [peaks] appear.
Each peak has its unique domain of expertise, where it has no competitors, resulting in complete monopolies.
Today, the Bright Mirror Sect, as a great sect, has become an independent kingdom, with each major peak hall being a [little sect] within this kingdom.
Furthermore, each peak has a series of affiliated bloodline families, comprised of the descendants of successive generations of True Transmission and True Persons.
They possess the inheritance and foundation of their ancestors. In fact, many of the sect’s spirit lands are bequeathed by their ancestors, enabling them to cultivate faster. Their Fate Patterns are naturally more compatible, and their talents far surpass those of the ordinary Inner and Outer Sect disciples who were selected.
This vast network of family bloodlines has grown from small seeds to encompass the majority of the Bright Mirror Sect.
This issue cannot be avoided by claiming ’master-disciple transmission is superior to bloodline’ because people have parents, relatives, children, and descendants—it’s an undeniable fact.
Especially the children of the prominent families within the sect, who can receive the sect’s resources from a young age, learning martial arts of their predecessors in the Bright Mirror Sect’s library, nurturing their compatibility with the sect’s martial arts.
They can easily obtain spiritual objects for cultivation, which ordinary people couldn’t access in their lifetime. Even without talent, they can live a smooth life under the family’s protection.
When necessary, they can become essential pieces for the family, exploring, confronting, and engaging with others effectively.
Thus, the True Inheritor Seeds cultivated in this manner can reassure the sect while ensuring a baseline standard and are the most convenient to utilize.
Conversely, it can also make them view the sect as their ’family business’.