Mysterious mirror hanging high

Zhu Hongluan ignored the two of them and instead looked at the dozen or so young men and women in front of her.

She slowly scanned the row of respectfully standing boys and girls before her, finally fixing her gaze on the tall, composed young man at the head of the left side.

Zhu Hongluan extended her right hand, her five fingers loosely clenched together.

"laugh……"

A burst of blazing golden flames erupted from her palm, stretching and condensing in an instant, transforming into a flame whip with molten golden patterns flowing throughout its body.

As soon as the long whip took shape, the temperature inside the hall rose sharply, and the air seemed to distort slightly.

"You, step forward." Zhu Hongluan's voice was unreadable.

The tall young man trembled almost imperceptibly, but without the slightest hesitation, he immediately took two steps forward and knelt on one knee: "Lord Hongluan..."

Zhu Hongluan raised her left hand and gently placed it three inches above the boy's head.

There was no direct contact between the palms, yet a soft, crimson halo enveloped them, as if carefully examining something.

A moment later, her beautiful brows suddenly furrowed, a flame flickered in her eyes, and a fierce anger erupted without warning!

"Hmph!" A cold snort resounded like thunder in the silent hall.

"Take off your shirt," she commanded, her voice icy.

The boy's face turned deathly pale in an instant. His lips moved, and his eyes revealed deep fear and pleading. But when he met Zhu Hongluan's cold, fiery eyes, all his struggles turned into despair.

With trembling hands, he slowly untied the sash of his fiery red Taoist robe, peeling off his upper garments layer by layer, revealing his taut chest and back.

His skin was smooth and radiant, with a faint glow, indicating a solid foundation and physical cultivation, which should be quite high.

However, Zhu Hongluan didn't even glance at that handsome appearance; she simply gripped the ball of golden-red flame in her hand.

"Crack..."

"what!"

Caught off guard and facing this calamity, the boy couldn't help but cry out in pain.

But Zhu Hongluan completely ignored the boy's pain and showed no mercy to her subordinates.

The other young men and women in the hall were already pale-faced, their heads bowed low, and they even breathed very softly, for fear of attracting attention.

But these people seemed to have gotten used to Zhu Hongluan's behavior. Even when the young man cried out in pain, no one showed any surprise or indignation. They were only terrified.

Jing Yu's eyes twitched as she watched, and she quickly transmitted her voice, "Goodness, they're in for it now. I never expected Zhu Hongluan to be not only a lecherous fiend, but also has some unusual fetishes..."

Before long, the tall young man looked somewhat listless, barely holding on with sheer willpower, but he was already teetering on the brink of collapse.

Zhu Hongluan then withdrew her wrist, and the wisp of golden-red flame in her hand "whooshed" back into her palm and disappeared.

She stared at the boy, who was almost on the verge of death, and spoke coldly, her voice echoing throughout the hall:

"You possessed a purple-grade spiritual destiny [Sparkling Fire], achieved the Eight Apertures stage, were granted the complete [True Interpretation of Crimson Sun], and bestowed with countless rare and precious materials... and yet, after three years, you've only managed to cultivate this kind of impure and mixed [Three Yang Fire]? You haven't even truly stepped into the first level, [Crimson Heart Flame]! What have you been doing for the past three years?"

"We've given you resources, we've given you time, and you even had the personal guidance of a disciple of the Fire Virtue Sect... yet you've disappointed us so much. What a waste of such a fortunate destiny!"

Her anger hadn't subsided. "These few blows are meant to wake you from your laziness! If you still don't learn to temper your will and refine your foundation, next time it won't just be physical pain!"

He then threw out a box of ointments, which landed at the feet of the tall young man.

"Apply this ointment and reflect on your actions in seclusion! If you still haven't mastered the first level of the [Crimson Heart Flame] of the [Crimson Sun True Scripture] in three years, then you're fired!"

"what?"

Jing Yu was dumbfounded by what he saw; he seemed a little confused about the current situation.

"Just now... was Zhu Hongluan testing the young man's progress in cultivation?"

Just then, a girl dressed in a fiery red Taoist robe arrived late. However, compared to the other young men and women whose cultivation was generally at the Nascent Soul or Cave Heaven levels, the aura emanating from this girl indicated that she was a genuine Mahayana cultivator.

Upon arriving, the young woman's expression was one of joy. She greeted Zhu Hongluan with, "Senior Sister, you're back?"

Then he caught a glimpse of the tall young man, and a hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes.

Zhu Hongluan nodded slightly and said, "Yan Que, these two are my newly accepted disciples. Take them to change their clothes, explain the rules here, and then bring them to my cave to see me."

"Yes, Senior Sister." The girl named [Flame Sparrow] responded and led Jing Yu and the other into a side hall.

“Uh… this Senior Yan Que…” Jing Yu was about to ask something when Yan Que glanced at her and interrupted her impatiently:

"Don't call me 'senior' so much, it makes me sound old. In terms of years of cultivation, I'm not necessarily much older than you. Just call me Senior Sister Yan Que."

"Senior Sister Yanque, who exactly are you people?" Guo Tingshu asked in confusion. "Just now, Senior Zhu mentioned something about 'nominal disciples'... We didn't say we wanted to become your disciples."

"Senior Sister Zhu didn't tell you anything? I don't know where she picked you out from."

The girl sighed and patiently explained:

"So that you may know that your great opportunity has arrived!"

"My Daoist name is [Flame Sparrow], and I am an ordinary disciple of the [Fire Virtue Hall], a Dao Lord-level power in the third level of the Immortal Realm."

"You've all heard of the Fire Virtue Hall, right? The Five Elements Immortal Court is divided into the Five Virtues, each under the jurisdiction of a Five Elements Immortal Lord. We are under the jurisdiction of the Fire Virtue Immortal Lord."

"To become a [nominal disciple] under the Dao Lord's disciple? Although I can't be considered a true disciple of my [Fire Virtue Hall], at least I can walk sideways in the Third Heaven, and I won't have to bow down to any Golden Immortal forces."

"This is a blessing that ordinary rogue cultivators can only dream of. Not to mention Senior Sister Zhu, even I... so many people would kill to get a spot as a disciple from me, and I might not even give them a second glance... You two shouldn't be so ungrateful."

Jing Yu vaguely guessed that Zhu Hongluan and the girl named Yan Que in front of her had very important backgrounds, but she didn't expect them to be disciples of Dao Jun. She asked, "Then Zhu Hongluan is also..."

Flame Sparrow looked displeased:

"Senior Sister Zhu is no ordinary disciple... My status is worlds apart from Senior Sister Zhu's, how can we be compared?"

"She is a true disciple of the [Fire Virtue Hall], and was once the number one true disciple below the immortals in the hall!"

"In the past?" Jing Yu caught a key point.

“Yes, once.” Yan Que’s expression was forlorn. “It’s a pity that my senior sister originally had a bright future and at least the potential to become a Golden Immortal, but she was unfortunately harmed by villains and has now become a rogue immortal…”