“Well if it isn’t Zhao Wuye of Longsu’s Zhao Clan?” Before Zhao Wuye’s voice fell, a short monkey-like man smiled insincerely. Behind him was a feminine youth who was wearing a white headscarf which covered his mouth and nose as he glanced at the sky with both eyes incessantly. “How is it that you’re finally willing to leave your poor neck of the woods at the Zhao Clan? Oh, which high branch did you climb up on? The Zhao Clan is actually even able to know of this opportunity?”

“Hehe, it surprises me that your Ge Clan of Jianghan can actually be aware of this information. I heard a few years ago that the old lord of Xichuan’s Baili Clan chose a cemetery, and your clan really did pick a tomb for him in the cemetery. The Dragon Vein seeking of your clan is getting worse by the generation.” Zhao Wuye immediately riposted, sneering as he replied.

“Hmph.” The old man surnamed Ge snorted coldly: “We might be getting worse each generation, but at least we have generations to liken. Unlike your clan, which has lost the Netherpierce Eye for three generations. You bunch really even got the cheek to come here.”

Zhao Wuye laughed grimly, but didn’t respond. Zhao Ziqi was the Zhao Clan’s genius of this generation. Although Ziqi only started drawing qi into the body, he could just barely be regarded as the initial stage of Qi Condensation. However, the impressive nether eyes had indeed been inherited by him.

A small pond was hard-pressed to rear a golden dragon. When Zhao Wuye heard that his patron arrived with information on the Xingtian Legion, he had immediately dragged Zhao Ziqi towards Panshan City without a moment’s delay.

In addition… the business spoken about with that unknown cultivator last time was probably also implemented… From what he could see of the information coming from the clan, Danxia Temple’s activity was becoming increasingly intense. It was extremely plausible that a treasure or secret realm had come into the world.

The Zhao Clan… really couldn’t wait. Concerning the Netherpierce Eye, Zhao Wuye still had faith. After all, this was the root that the Zhao Clan has established itself on. This willingness to part with fostering this talent had also been a restless debate within the clan. It wasn’t after over a dozen days had passed was Zhao Ziqi reluctantly let go.

The Xingtian Legion’s financial resources and fortune… was honestly not something the Zhao Clan could presently compare to.

“Uncle, look over there!” This was the first time the young Zhao Ziqi had left home. He simply didn’t pay attention to the two elders’ open struggles and covert schemes and pulled on Zhao Wuye’s sleeve: “That auntie brought a snake in!”

Zhao Wuye took a glance and saw the woman sweep her gaze over like a blade because of the word “auntie”. He promptly pulled Zhao Ziqi’s hand and walked away: “Young ancestor… say a few words less! That’s Guifang Province’s Golden Serpent Stronghold. For many generations, they’ve reared Gu for a living… Come, uncle will let you look around whether or not there’s something strange…”

However, the more he walked, the more lacking his confidence was. He saw a quiet man covered in head to toe in what seemed to be machinery, but two spirited eyes clearly indicated that he was still a living being. From time to time, a sparkling and pure blade would extend from his hand, and he would lick it. No one in the surroundings dared to come near. His face was covered in a black mask, only revealing his eyes, but on this mask, a red number was carved on: twelve.

“The Reddust Executioners…” Zhao Wuye gasped coldly. In this famous assassin organization, only a core successor would be carved with a number on their mask. Regardless of what this assassin’s goal was, in the end… he had come.

He also saw a woman. As she walked, an immeasurable amount of green qi emerged on the ground as if they were leaves on the cusp of congealing. In the wake of her footsteps, they gently fell.

“Yangcheng’s Gong Clan…” He tightly pursed his lips, his heart writhing in pain.

The Gong Clan practically had no offensive divine abilities, but the “Gong Clan’s Fourteen Needles” could save a cultivator countless times. In a squadron, there was no shortage at all of such a person. Just she herself almost internally decided half the quota of spots!

“Why have so many famous clans come?!” In his heart, a sliver of anxiety appeared for the first time. Such a scenario was completely outside of his expectations. The emergence of each genius caused his originally certain quota to begin to waver.

It wasn’t until he saw a mixed group of five enter did his complexion thoroughly change. Each one was at the peak of the middle stage of Qi Condensation! Two were even at the late stage of Qi Condensation! In particular… the clan emblems on their chests moreover couldn’t be faked!

“Ninghai’s five great clans… They’ve also come?!” Zhao Wuye was no longer able to keep his cool. In these five great clans, two of the clans likewise had speciality divine abilities they excelled in! It wasn’t the least bit weaker than the Netherpierce Eye!

At this moment in the venue, an unknown number of people were like him. In the beginning, their confidences were brimming, but now, their complexions had faintly changed. They stifled the nervousness in their hearts.

This truly was… a gathering of geniuses! Each one was at least ranked among the top ten of the newly advanced disciples within the second-rate or quasi-first-rate clans! This wasn’t the middle stage but the initial stage!

Nonetheless, even though the venue had at the minimum 200-plus people, the Xingtian Legion would only pick ten! It was roughly a twenty-to-one ratio, causing the formerly confident clans to be anxious and uneasy at this moment. And yet there were inevitably those who were never afraid and absolutely wouldn’t cower back. Even confronted with ten million people, they would forge ahead bravely. [1]

A fur-clad youth around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old had a gruesome scar that cut across his cheek. From head to toe, he was covered in the red tattoos. On his shaven head, there was a coiling scorpion. No one approached this person’s surroundings.

He only opened his eyes faintly and brushed quickly over everyone present. He shut them again and said coldly: “A bunch of good-for-nothing rice buckets.”

A woman of unspecific age who was wearing an evening dress was rocking a fan. She smiled indifferently as she sat in a corner. It was as if she had just come from a soiree, yet all the surrounding people feared her like she was a serpent or scorpion.

The last disciple of Changbai Mountain’s Old Lady Poison, Qin Xueluan…” A cultivator situated not too far away, so much that he even wanted to sit a bit further over, warned his companion at his side: “Medicine and poison are dual extremes… Don’t fancy her beautiful… At all costs, don’t offend her… This woman will turn inhumanely insane…”

On third flight of steps, there was a seemingly eleven-or-twelve-year-old lolita, but her realm reached the peak of the middle stage of Qi Condensation! It was unknown how many people regarded her appearance as terribly odd.

This person was certainly somewhere between thirty or forty years old… Throughout one’s life, a cultivator could fix their appearance once and pick an age to stop at… But this girl stayed at eleven or twelve years old… What was this mentality? However, no one ignored the sledgehammer she carried in her hand. A sledgehammer a full two meters tall, completely unproportional to herself!

“Grandmaster Gao Muya’s disciple… The Artificer Hall’s Quan Ningyue… A genuine human-shaped weapon… This artifact… is that woman’s handicraft?”

Amidst the silence, following the advance of time, the present floor’s atmosphere became hotter and hotter. So many people… Some were powerful in actual combat ability and some harbored the supreme divine abilities of their clans. Furthermore, both sides were all true fiends! Everyone had come for a portion of this cup of soup, but how was the Xingtian Legion going to choose?!

Who would be the pearl in the palm of the Xingtian Legion?

Their breathing became rushed among their unwittingness. An hour quickly passed, and the martial stage suddenly flashed with an expanse of white light.

His eyes shut, the bald youth opened them, bearing a wisp of ardor as he looked towards the center of the stage. Leaning on her hammer and drooling, Quan Ningyue who appeared to be dreaming woke up with a jolt as, as well. She rubbed her drowsy eyes and mumbled: “It started?”

Zhao Wuye’s lips were somewhat chapped. It had begun… Finally begun… Whether or not the Zhao Clan’s Zhao Ziqi would transform into the Zhao Clan’s future pillar. Today could even be said to be the forking road of the other’s life!

Gazes carrying limitless expectation looked towards the stage. The white light died away in a fleeting moment. Afterwards, everyone… was dumbfounded.

Xu Yangyi stifled his madly pulsing temple veins. His well-trimmed suit and handsome face caused the gazes of quite a few female cultivators on the floor to shine. He cupped his hands and said: “You’ve waited long, Fellow Daoists. I am Commander Xu Yangyi of the Xingtian Legion.” He paused and grinded his teeth: “As for the thing behind me, everyone, no need to care for him.”

Behind him… was a swivel chair… A swivel chair enough to seat one person, yet below it, the few words of “I WANT YOU” were written in english but in gray. A blurring black-white tail was shaking proudly. A suited, self-walking dog was leisured and content on the swivel chair. Once he heard these words, he flew into an immediate rage: “C’mon, c’mon! Come over and show me what you’re frickin’ made of! Who’s a thing?! Who’re you saying is a thing, you bastard!” [2]

The effect was too horrifying. Everyone was dazed. Xu Yangyi studied the ceiling with both of his eyes. Should I go to Heavens Law and exchange managers… or exchange managers? Or even exchange managers?

Naturally, Xu Yangyi wished such a situation was a bit more formal. He walked over step by step, truly unable to make it through this spectacle, so he consequently used a talisman. He didn’t want to be too luxurious, but he also didn’t want to be too unremarkable. But never did he expect… that Mao Ba’er would take out a talisman and come over together with his “meticulously prepared” item!

This son of a bitch’s scheme today can be REALLY thought as of shocking sometimes...

“Hello, everyone. I’m the head examiner this time…” Mao Ba’er pressed the swivel chair and it spun around. He had a pair of glasses supported on his snout, and he accidentally saw Xu Yangyi’s bladed look, changing his tune: “Woof… I’m the judge, Mister Ba’er. Once the commander nods and then the “I WANT YOU” flashes behind me, it represents you’ve passed, woof.”

In the end, he confidently ran his eyes over the entire audience: “Don’t ask who I am. I’m Wang Toutiao.” [3]

Was such strong attention-seeking really fine? [4]

Everyone was flabbergasted, their eyes wide and mouths foolish. The first impression the Xingtian Legion gave them… seemed to be… a little… hehehe, special?

Xu Yangyi lifted up his wrist and made stopping gesture: “You have three minutes to disappear.”

Mao Ba’er appeared to have been struck by lightning: “Why don’t you love me anymore?” [5]

“You still have two minutes and fifty seconds.” Xu Yangyi looked at his watch: “Otherwise, there won’t be medicinal pills for you later on.”

Struck by double the lightning, Mao Ba’er clutched his chest and walked down reluctantly. He gritted his teeth and said: “Its always heard that only new friends laugh, but you don’t see the old buddies cry… I understand… I’ll leave! I’ll just go! You can just go hang out with that little vixen!” [6]

Wait a second… Quite a few female cultivators in the venue really wanted to ask what was going on with this abrupt transformation of Qiong Yao’s style? Who even was this little vixen? [7]

“Slow down.” Xu Yangyi said indifferently. Regarding the sudden radiant glow of Mao Ba’er’s eyes, the corner of his mouth tugged: “Take your soundtrack.”

“You don’t need it?” Mao Ba’er was shocked: “I specifically made it for you! Also, you just turned your back on me, right?! Your mouth twitched, yeah?! It definitely twitched, right?!”

Finally seeing off this lowly attention-seeking dog, Xu Yangyi sighed and glanced at the entire audience. The mood was subtle… Each person’s face carried some degree of contemplation. What… was going on with this idiotic legion? Would they truly be capable of integrating with such excess of a weak-minded child’s merriment, the style of a basketcase’s many thoughts?

Letting it be, Xu Yangyi gently shook his head. This appearance was a failure… There was an awfully large discrepancy with his predicted low-key arrival on stage… But in any case, action would tell all of them everything!

“The examination begins now.” He said calmly, studying everyone in the venue: “Whoever believes their qualifications are sufficient, stand up here. Receive my fist, defeat me, draw, or get a slight edge on me, and I’ll take it as a sign on the spot that this Fellow Daoist should be enrolled.”

If you’re not enough, I apologize. Besides, I hope that after the first bout, no one else will waste their time.” Xu Yangyi looked at the number of people present: “Otherwise, I’ll reject this clan’s enrollment application later on.”

No matter the Xingtian Legion’s philosophy, he wanted its essence to be an aggregate of geniuses!

To those not strong enough… Regardless of how much of a jokester our Xingtian Legion appears, you don’t even have the qualifications to join this joke.

[1] “Against ten million people they forged ahead bravely” - this is a line from Chinese philosopher Mengzi or “Mencius”

[2] “Show me what you frickin’ got”. It was difficult to get this phrase down since it so slangy. Literal Chinese is “Check your guts in great battle for three hundred rounds!” The thing about this is that it is supposed to have a somewhat sexual undertone about it at the same time. As in testing one’s ability in the bedroom. Or something like that.

[3] Quite frankly, I’m not even sure if I completely understand the context of this joke/pun. Mao Ba’er calls himself “Wang Toutiao” and not to ask who he is. So there’s two jokes going on here. When I type “woof” its actually “wang”. Mao Ba’er says woof sometimes. Chinese people think that dogs make a “wang” sound. The “Toutiao” portion took me a while to get, but this is referring to a Chinese information/news website for sharing info, etc. Mao Ba’er is tell them not to ask who he is, but people use Toutiao to get info.

[4] “Attention-whoring/craving/seeking” This is another Chinese slang. Literal: “Swiping existence in world”. This refers to China’s netizens thinking that a way to be noticed/impact by others/society is to buy stuff. Swiping refers to action of a credit card.

[5] Author does this line in english: “What makes you no longer love me?”

[6] “Its always heard that only new friends laugh, but you don’t see the old buddies cry” - This is a line from a poem by Tang poet Du Fu.

[7] Another thing that only really makes sense if you have the background. Qiong Yao is considered the most popular romance writer in the Chinese literature world. Films/media have been adapted from her works.