The mission of elite disciples in the Sage Devil Gorge was to supervise the selection test. Ordinarily, they wouldn’t act against the participants.
Within the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, the status of elite disciples was highly respected. They were selected from core disciples. Each and every elite disciple was personally guided and entered the tutelage of truly powerful characters in the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. They were only a step away compared to Sage Child characters.
This selection test in the Sage Devil Gorge was to select 160 core disciples from the participants. If elite disciples acted, there wouldn’t be many among them who can withstand it. Supreme geniuses would also be eliminated which defeats the purpose of the selection test.