At the main peak's grand hall, Xuanyangzi shot up from his throne in a single leap, his breath coming in rapid, ragged gasps.
"A complete trial world? With time acceleration? This is..."
After the initial wave of utter shock, an indescribable ecstasy washed over him, paired with profound awe for Gu Changge's unfathomable capabilities.
"Junior Brother Changge, what you have brought back this time is truly a fortune no one in the sect could ever have imagined!"
Over at Purple Bamboo Peak, Gu Changge finished sending out all information regarding the Myriad Tribulations Battlefield, but he did not stop there.
After a brief moment of consideration, he retrieved two precious artifacts from his system storage space and placed them into a spatial ring.
One was the Myriad Tribulations Mystic Water, and the other was the improved version of the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
Both treasures held the miraculous power to completely transform a cultivator's foundational root bones and aptitude.
With a gentle flick of his sleeve, the spatial ring turned into a streak of flowing light that pierced through the fabric of space. In the next instant, it appeared silently before Xuanyangzi, hovering in mid-air.
Xuanyangzi was startled by the sudden burst of precious light, still not having fully recovered from the shock of the Myriad Tribulations Battlefield, when Gu Changge's calm, unhurried voice resounded once more in his mind.
"Senior Brother, there are two items in the ring: the Myriad Tribulations Mystic Water and the Marrow Cleansing Pills. You have already seen their effects—they can elevate a cultivator's inherent aptitude. Handle them as you see fit, use them to improve the root bones and aptitude of the sect's disciples."
Xuanyangzi instinctively extended his divine sense to inspect the spatial ring.
The moment he looked inside, he froze completely on the spot as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt.
Inside the spatial storage, one side was piled high with jade vials, each one containing ten round, lustrous Marrow Cleansing Pills that glowed like polished jade.
On the other side, a massive jade vat was filled to the brim with dark, unfathomable Myriad Tribulations Mystic Water. Rune patterns swirled across its surface, exuding an aura of chilling dread intertwined with vibrant, pulsating life force.
Xuanyangzi's lips trembled uncontrollably, and he could not stop his mind from drifting back to the earlier scene where Gu Changge had casually said that he only had "a little" of these things on hand.
"This is what you called 'not much'?"
...
A day later, deep within the Cangyun Secret Realm, streaks of light shot like swift arrows straight into the newly formed swirling vortex entrance.
The entire secret realm was thrown into utter chaos.
"Move out of the way, boss! You're blocking my path!"
"What's your rush, third brother? This secret realm isn't going anywhere!"
Past the swirling vortex lay a vast, boundless world of its own.
"Holy hell... the spiritual energy here..."
Before the words could even finish, a dazzling sword light shot straight into the sky, accompanied by Ye Guying's cool voice, which was barely contained in its excitement:
"The battle phantoms of ten thousand races here can perfectly simulate the sensation of life-and-death combat...
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! My sword path will finally be able to advance further!"
Similar scenes were unfolding nonstop across every corner of the Myriad Tribulations Battlefield.
"I just found an incredible treasure over here..."
"I've got a top-tier treasure too!"
"Could this entire pool be innate spirit marrow?!"
"Is this ore the divine material used to forge Imperial-grade weapons?!"
Exclamations of shock, wild peals of laughter, and the thunderous roars of cultivators breaking through to new realms rose and fell one after another.
Xuanyangzi stood near the entrance, watching the completely chaotic scene unfolding before his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
But soon, that twitching gave way to a suppressed grin, which finally burst into a hearty, unrestrained laugh.
"Hahaha! Wonderful! What a magnificent Myriad Tribulations Battlefield! What an incredible Junior Brother Changge!"
He could already picture it—the very bones of the Azure Mystic Sect were being fortified, growing stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye, right in this miraculous new world!
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
When the first rays of morning light pierced through the sea of clouds and spilled over the majestic Daoyuan Mountain, the entire mountain range was already thrumming with people.
Every top talent who had passed the assessment, plus a great many other cultivators who had come to observe the ceremony, had all gathered on the massive white jade square in front of the grand Bright Heart Hall.
Even with such a huge crowd, the square was not noisy at all. Instead, it was filled with a solemn, yet fiery sense of anticipation.
Every gaze in the crowd was fixed on the very front of the square.
Leading the group were Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, Ling Xi, and their two other companions—the twelve peerless prodigies who had successfully climbed over nine thousand steps on the heavenly ladder, standing proudly at the very front of the formation!
After three days of rest and consolidating their cultivation, their auras had grown even deeper and more restrained.
The three who had just stepped into the Saint Realm, in particular, had tried their hardest to suppress their cultivation, but the faint traces of Dao rhythm that occasionally slipped out still caused subtle distortions in the surrounding void, making onlookers' hearts fill with longing and awe.
Fatty Wang and Mo Yu also stood out noticeably among the crowd.
Further behind them were Wang Zhan, Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, Jiang Ruofeng, Lei Dong, and the rest of their peers.
Li Xuanfeng, Mu Chenyu, and the other five Azure Mystic Sect disciples stood quietly at the very end of the nine-thousand-step prodigy formation. Their auras were calm and deep like still pools, drawing countless curious, probing gazes from the surrounding crowd.
"Clang——!"
A grand, resonant bell chime rang out from deep within the Bright Heart Hall, spreading far and wide, cleansing the minds of every person who heard it.
In an instant, thousands of rays of auspicious light spilled forth, and swirling, colorful divine clouds filled the sky.
Led by the academy head Perfected Xuanji, dozens of elders whose auras were as deep and unfathomable as the sea stepped slowly out of the main hall.
The Dao rhythm emanating from each elder was enough to send jolts of awe through every young prodigy present.
Perfected Xuanji's gaze was gentle yet piercing, sweeping slowly over every single prodigy below, pausing for a moment on the dozen or so at the very front. The look of satisfaction and expectation in his eyes grew stronger with every passing second.
He did not speak immediately, but that silent, sweeping gaze made the already solemn atmosphere in the square even more dignified.
Everyone present knew that a brand new era was about to officially kick off the moment Perfected Xuanji opened his mouth.
Perfected Xuanji's gaze swept across the entire crowd, and his hoary, calm voice clearly reached every person's ears. It was not overly dramatic, yet carried an undeniable weight of authority:
"Starting today, for the next three years, all of you will be disciples of the Daozang Academy. Within the academy grounds, fighting and killing between fellow disciples is strictly prohibited. Other than that, you may rely on your own abilities, and compete for every opportunity and fortune as you see fit."
"The path of cultivation cannot be walked behind closed doors. Exchanging insights and sparring with one another is the proper way forward.
Two days from now, the academy will open the Dao Nurturing Pond. It is an ancient legacy of fortune, brimming with dense Dao rhythm that can temper one's Dao foundation and purify one's soul. Whether you can seize that opportunity depends entirely on yourselves."
After Perfected Xuanji finished his announcement, he and the rest of the elders departed together.
The time that followed was left to the new disciples to arrange as they wished. Guided by the academy stewards, the new disciples made their way to their assigned cave dwellings to settle in.
The cave dwelling district was built on several of the most spiritually rich ley line nodes across Daoyuan Mountain.
The higher one's ranking on the heavenly ladder, the better the location of their cave dwelling, and the denser the surrounding spiritual energy. The highest ranking dwellings even came with small built-in spirit gathering formations, quiet cultivation mats, and other basic cultivation amenities.
Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, Ling Xi, and their two companions unsurprisingly got three side-by-side, top-tier Tianzi Class A cave dwellings located at the highest point of the district.
Shortly after everyone had settled in, a sound transmission talisman turned into a streak of light and flew right into Xiao Ruobai's cave dwelling.
Xiao Ruobai received it, swept it with his divine sense, and a gentle, clear young man's voice came from within:
"To all the new junior and fellow disciples who have just entered the academy, I am Lu Chenzhou, a senior disciple of the academy. I have long admired how extraordinary and talented all of you are.
At noon tomorrow, there will be a simple feast hosted at Cloud Sea Flat. It is meant first to welcome you all and help you settle in, and second to provide a quiet space for fellow cultivators to gather and exchange insights on the Dao.
If you have the time, I hope you will grace us with your presence. Many other senior disciples of the academy will also be in attendance."
At the exact same time, every other newly admitted true disciple received an identical message.
"Now this is interesting."
Xiao Ruobai set down the Sound Transmission Talisman, a glint of amused curiosity flashing across his eyes.
"Are they just trying to test our abilities, or do they truly intend to strike up an acquaintance?"
"Let's just go take a look and find out."
Fang Hanyu replied in his usual cool, clear tone, his gaze drifting through the window of their cave abode toward the distant mountains swathed in swirling mist.
"It will be the perfect chance to see just what caliber of disciples the Daozang Academy has raised on their own."
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
