The majority of these registrants were astonished.

A seventy-five percent elimination? That was too much, wasn’t it?! In other words, amongst more than thirty thousand people present, less than eight thousand of them could pass! The rest would all be eliminated?

A chill descended over them. Although they had heard that the Xuantian Monastery’s disciple selection was extremely harsh, they had never thought it had reached such a level.

Although the majority of people were shocked and worried, the stronger ones only indifferently smiled. They had the self-confidence to pass this trial.

The Xuantian Monastery truly was ruthless enough. Just from the start of the trial, everyone could already tell how cruel the competition was in the monastery.

“Each one of you has a jade tile with one of four words on them: Tian, Di, Xuan, Huang. Once you enter the area for the trial, you’ll need to collect all four of them in order to pass.

“As for how you collect them, there’s no need to dance around it. I trust everyone here is smart enough to know how to gather them,” said senior apprentice-brother Wan lightly.

“Is this a mistake? Isn’t this just you guys playing us like we’re monkeys? You want us to massacre ourselves? That’s not fair!”

Someone angrily shouted out. That person came from a small power. There, he was counted as someone with both power and prestige. He would never receive such treatment there.

But once he had come here, he had seen far too many powerful figures. He had realized that he was merely an existence that could only pad the bottom rankings.

Now he learned that the trial was a huge fight and scramble between everyone. With his power, he didn’t have the slightest hope of passing, and so he indignantly shouted out that it wasn’t fair.

“Fair? Does this world have anything that is fair? You spoiled disciples, you’ve all been given the best resources and medicinal pills to cultivate. You even had experts that temper and cleanse your bodies. Is that fair to those martial artists who are born poor and desolate?

“Remember, within the Xuantian Monastery, there is no fairness. Even the monastery’s rules favor the powerful.

“This is a river of struggle. If you have the capability, then swim to the front. And if you don’t, then just obediently lie under other people’s feet.

“If you have no skill and you also don’t want to feel wronged, then just get lost. The Xuantian Monastery has limited resources and doesn’t raise trash,” shouted senior apprentice-brother Wan icily.

Long Chen nodded. His words were completely correct. If a sect wanted to grow, it required powerful disciples to mature. Those cannon fodders were just wasting resources, slowing down the sect’s development.

Although his words were difficult to accept, it was an indisputable fact that there was never anything known as fairness within this world. These spoiled young masters who had only known peace and comfort within their families were unable to understand the cruelness of reality.

“Hey, if you don’t have any skill then just fuck off. But before you leave, hand over your jade tile to me,” said another registrant disdainfully, perhaps hoping to gain a slight advantage.

“Fuck, I won’t hand it over to a bastard like you,” raged that person angrily. How would it be possible for him to obediently hand over his jade tile?

“Ok, then just wait for me. Once I find you, we’ll see if you still have the same resolution.” The other one also wasn’t some tolerant person.

“Quiet!” shouted senior apprentice-brother Wan coldly. They both shut up.

“In any case, I hope you properly take care of your jade tile. There are only a total of 7963 sets. If you feel like you have no hope, you can always destroy your jade tile or throw it into a ditch.

“If you can’t advance, then you can at least make it so that three others are also unable to advance with you. Although that doesn’t benefit you in the slightest, it’ll at least count as venting some anger,” said senior apprentice-brother Wan.

Quite a few people’s eyes brightened as they thought, Haha, what a good idea. If I have no hope then you guys can also give up any thoughts of advancing either.

Long Chen couldn’t help but shake his head. This senior apprentice-brother Wan really was ruthless.

But he understood that the Xuantian Monastery’s selection of disciples was not at an ordinary level of difficulty. But the more it was like this, the stronger the disciples that remained would become. They would become the best existences to groom. The important thing was to make sure he was one of them.

“Guo Ran, are you confident?” Long Chen wasn’t worried about himself. But he did feel that perhaps Guo Ran was a bit too weak for this.

Although he had perceptive eyes, no matter how he looked at him, he didn’t seem like an expert. After the start of the trial, everything would rely on strength.

“Don’t worry boss. I’ve long since made my preparations.” When he saw that no one was looking at him, his worried expression disappeared.

“Oh? You have a plan?”

“Hehe, I won’t hide it from boss. I didn’t just gather all that information for nothing.

“Amongst the many medicinal pills I gathered, there are several which others would do anything for. There are many people who are about to wash out here. As long as I use my glib tongue, I can easily persuade them to exchange their tile for medicinal pills.” Guo Ran laughed confidently.

Even that was accepted? Long Chen really hadn’t imagined there was such a method. But with the high wash-out rate, Guo Ran’s method truly might be effective.

“What if someone comes to fight with you over the tiles?” asked Long Chen suddenly. According to what senior-apprentice Wan had just said, these tiles couldn’t be placed into spatial rings. If they were, the word on top of them would disappear which would equal as a failure.

“Hehe, boss, don’t worry. I’ve long since made my preparations. I was just acting just now for others. I’ve already prepared all my escape plans.

“But on the other hand, I’m worried for you. Although the trial zone is extremely enormous, there’s still an off-chance you might run into Qi Xin.

“And it’s not just Qi Xin. Even Lei Qianshang doesn’t like you now. If he really does want to force you out, it’d be impossible for you to pass,” said Guo Ran worriedly.

That was a bit troublesome, but Long Chen wasn’t that worried. Although their strengths were terrifying to others, Long Chen wasn’t afraid of them. If he really did end up forced to fight them, it wasn’t sure just who should be fearing who.

“At this point, we’re entering the trial section. All your Magical Beasts must be put away. Send them back to your families. No one is allowed to bring a Magical Beast into the monastery.”

Long Chen was startled by senior apprentice-brother Wan’s order. There was even such a rule? Other people had people from their households who would bring their Magical Beasts back, but Long Chen didn’t.

Little Snow definitely couldn’t part with him. But since the trial was about to start, he could only quietly whisper a few things to Little Snow. Hearing Long Chen’s orders, Little Snow quietly growled and walked off alone.

“Ok, the rules have already been explained. The lines carved into the back of your tiles are your map. After entering the trial region, just insert your spiritual energy into the tile and you’ll be able to tell your position. The method is the same as the one for opening a spatial ring. Are there any other questions?”

Senior apprentice-brother Wan looked over everyone. Seeing no one say anything, he nodded. “Then get ready for the trial. Remember, it is prohibited to maliciously kill others in the trial region. If you do, you will immediately be expelled.”

“Send them off!”

Following senior apprentice-brother Wan’s cold shout, their jade tiles suddenly became hot. Their bodies became light as the scenery around them twisted.

Long Chen was completely astonished. This was the first time he had encountered such a thing. Before he understood what was happening, the space around him brightened and he arrived within a valley.

“What dense spiritual qi!”

The surrounding spiritual qi here was like a spring wind blowing around him. Even without deliberately cultivating, just by breathing he could feel himself quickly advancing.

Examining his surroundings, he saw he was at the bottom of a valley. Just below him was a slow, babbling creek.

“Senior apprentice-brother Wan said there were countless opportunities within this region. First, I’ll take a look. In any case, the trial will continue for a month. As long as I find a full set of tiles before the time is up, it’ll count as a pass.”

Long Chen gathered his thoughts. Examining the tile’s map and figuring out where he was, he disappeared from his original location.

...

Atop a distant mountain, there was an enormous tree. Atop its huge, heaven-reaching crown were two people. One of them was the one who had given Long Chen his registration card, Tu Fang.

As for the other, he appeared to be in his thirties. His face was graceful and natural, and there was a simple longsword on his back. Within his eyes was a peaceful expression.

This man was the Xuantian Monastery’s number one expert, the sword expert who had become famous three hundred years ago, Ling Yunzi.

“That person is Long Chen?” he asked.

“Yes. Originally, I wasn’t planning on giving him the registration card, but for some unknown reason I kept feeling that he would one day grow to become an outstanding existence, and so I still gave it to him,” said Tu Fang.

“Ah, congratulations Tu Fang. That proves you are becoming increasingly closer to the Heavenly Daos. Your breakthrough to Xiantian is only a matter of time,” smiled Ling Yunzi.

“Why do you say that?” asked Tu Fan with surprise.

“Only once you have approached the Heavenly Daos will you sense a few secrets of the unseen world. That is a sign you are about to advance to Xiantian.

“Even I only began to have such feelings over a hundred years ago. And so I am sure that your advancement to Xiantian is only a matter of time,” said Ling Yunzi.

“Then sect leader’s meaning is that Long Chen…?” asked Tu Fang probingly.

“Yes. His Dantian is completely still, but his blood and qi are like a roaring dragon. His physical body is comparable to a third rank Magical Beast. That is completely beyond common sense.

“But most inconceivable of all is that his energy is all gathered and hidden away within his left foot. Once that hidden energy explodes out, his strength will multiply.” Ling Yunzi watched Long Chen.

“Ah, as expected of the sect leader. I could only see that his Dantian had no Spirit Root. I had no idea his energy was all concealed in his foot,” praised Tu Fang admiringly.

“I couldn’t see it clearly. I could only vaguely sense it. And furthermore, I was only able to do so because Long Chen’s cultivation base is low and is only at what seems to be the mid Blood Condensation realm. If he reaches Tendon Transformation, nobody would be able to sense anything.” Ling Yunzi shook his head.

“What? You’re an existence beyond the Meridian Opening realm. Within the Xiantian realm, you might make a breakthrough any day and comprehend the Heavenly Daos. How would it be possible for you to not be able to see through someone at the Tendon Transformation realm?”

“Once you reach my realm, you will understand a couple of things. Now that this Long Chen has arrived at our Xuantian Monastery, perhaps the Xuantian Monastery will never be calm again,” sighed Ling Yunzi.

“Sect leader, this is my fault. Please forgive me,” apologized Tu Fang hastily.

Ling Yunzi smiled slightly. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you. It’s simply fate. But this youth can perhaps bring a couple of changes to our Xuantian Monastery. We can only hope those changes are for the good.”

“Is this Long Chen really that hard to deal with?” Tu Fang couldn’t even believe his ears. But this was the most respected sect leader…

“I don’t know about how hard he is to deal with. But as long as he doesn’t die, perhaps the entire world will change because of him. That is because he is one of those legendary existences of heaven and earth - a Divergent.” Ling Yunzi looked up at the sky, his voice filled with endless respect.

Tu Fang was shocked to see him suddenly cough out a mouthful of blood.