I, Chen Dong, Personal Trainee

"Today marks the commencement of the Holy Son Ceremony of our Xiaoyao Holy Land! We welcome young talents from all over the human realm to join this grand event!"

Yunshu Island, the primary island of the Xiaoyao Holy Land archipelago, was where the main gate of the Holy Land was located.

On the island stood a massive peak, also named Yunshu.

At the summit of the peak, the Grand Priest of the Xiaoyao Holy Land, named Dongfang Shuo, stood suspended in mid-air, presiding over the ceremony's proceedings.

Young heroes from all over, along with their family elders, gathered around this peak.

A sea of people was surrounded by rosy clouds and mist, looking like a gathering of descended immortals.

You bought a small boat on another minor island and sailed alone to Yunshu Island.

You had already used the "Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger" technique to adjust your cultivation aura to the Soul Tempering Realm.

Considering your bone aptitude and age, you felt the Soul Tempering Realm was a fitting disguise.

"Fellow outstanding talents, there is only one threshold to participate in this ceremony: you must not be over thirty years old!"

The threshold seemed very low.

In reality, not many people actually participated.

Those who came were all heavily nurtured genius descendants from various martial arts families across the human realm.

Those with poor aptitude had already been eliminated at the family selection stage.

You even saw people from the Shen family.

Judging by their attire, they should be from the Star branch.

The Shen family had three branches: Sun, Moon, and Star. Though called a family, it was actually a massively populated nation.

The Star branch received limited resources, so they probably came to try their luck.

"Next, please step forward one by one to present yourselves, register your names, and participate in the selection!"

"I'll go first!!"

Before Dongfang Shuo even finished speaking, a person at the foot of the mountain let out a loud shout, stepped on auspicious clouds, and ascended to the summit.

"I am Long Yang! From the Long family of the Shanhai Holy Land. Heaven-tier bone aptitude, Heavenly Dipper Spirit Body, twenty-six years old, Eighth Stage of the Spirit Sea Realm!!"

The man was handsome and suave, with long flowing hair and cyan robes fluttering in the wind, drawing a round of cheers from the crowd.

"Good heavens, the first one up is already this strong?"

"When I was twenty-six, I was still worrying about how to break through to the Soul Tempering Realm, and he's already at the Eighth Stage of the Spirit Sea Realm! What a monster!"

"The Long family is absolutely determined to win the position of the next Holy Son of the Xiaoyao Holy Land this time!"

"Setting the bar so high right from the start, if the male disciples who follow aren't as good as him, they probably won't even need to show their faces."

The three great Holy Lands all had a Holy Son system. Though called Holy Son, there were actually two positions: a male Holy Son and a female Holy Maiden.

The Holy Son and Holy Maiden held exalted status in the Holy Land and enjoyed immense authority.

But in truth, they were not chosen to be the next generation's successors of the Holy Land—though, of course, they could participate in the competition for it.

The true significance of the Holy Son and Holy Maiden lay in facilitating communication and cooperation between the Holy Land and the martial arts families.

Much like royal relatives by marriage.

As the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens were replaced generation after generation, the relationships between the various martial arts factions and the Holy Land would become increasingly tight and intricately intertwined, forming a community of shared interests.

"Screech—"

An eagle's cry echoed throughout the venue as a young man arrived riding an eagle, ascending to the summit and standing beside Long Yang.

"Listen up, everyone! My name is Baili Su! From the Baili family of the Central Plains of the Five Regions. Heaven-tier bone aptitude, Life Spring Tyrant Body, seventeen years old, Twelfth Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm! Hmph, if the family elders hadn't forced me to solidify my foundation and open my eight extraordinary meridians, I would have reached the Golden Body Realm long ago! By the time I'm twenty-six, I'll definitely be a hundred times stronger than this Long Yang!"

The young man was exceedingly arrogant.

However, this did not draw any mockery; instead, it only elicited admiration and envy.

A genius ought to have the temper of a genius!

Even Long Yang, who had been openly provoked to his face, just maintained the friendly expression of an older brother, as if seeing his past self.

Geniuses from all sides took the stage one by one.

Each of them had their own unique method to ascend directly from the foot of the mountain to the summit, truly like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their own divine prowess.

Not everyone who followed had Heaven-tier bone aptitude or special physiques.

But even the worst bone aptitude among them was at the Earth-tier.

In fact, their personal aptitude was secondary.

The key was the martial arts families backing them, each possessing extraordinary foundations.

Taking the Five Regions as an example, the overall strength and scale of a first-rate martial arts family could not compare to a first-rate sect.

However, considering the difference in their sizes.

A family had far fewer people to nurture compared to a sect.

Thus, martial arts families could concentrate their resources on their genius descendants, allowing these individuals to receive even more resources within their families than they would in a sect.

"The Xiaoyao Holy Land's Holy Son Ceremony is really bustling this time. It feels like every family has sent over their hidden trump-card geniuses."

"It truly is an era of great contention. The Shen family directly sent over three geniuses!"

"It really proves the saying: the world never lacks geniuses!"

The crowd waited for a long time, realizing that the next contestant to present themselves had not appeared.

Dongfang Shuo stood at the summit and called out loudly toward the foot of the mountain.

"Currently, ninety-nine outstanding talents have presented themselves. Are there any more brilliant youths wishing to participate in the ceremony?"

"Yes!!"

A vigorous shout rang out from halfway up the mountain.

The crowd turned their gazes over.

They discovered you slowly climbing up, step by step, along the mountain's stone stairs.

"No way? Is he going to walk up?"

"Haha! This is hilarious! Didn't all the previous ones show off their divine abilities and leap up in one go? He's actually going to walk up?"

"The Holy Land asks us to use our own abilities to reach the summit from the foot of the mountain, symbolizing a meteoric rise. Him walking up like this is truly an ugly sight."

The surrounding discussions reached your ears.

You remained calm and unhurried, ascending the steps, even taking out a gourd to start drinking water.

Fly?

How could you fly?

You were currently a Soul Tempering Realm martial artist.

You couldn't expose your pile of treasures.

And you had no family elders to lift you up.

What else could you do but walk up?

The entire crowd waited for you for a full half-hour.

Many people grew impatient, telling you to roll back home and stop embarrassing yourself here.

Fortunately, the Xiaoyao Holy Land was very decent and did not speak out to drive you away, only stating that they hoped everyone would give you a little time.

The final stretch of the path to the summit was almost at a ninety-degree vertical angle, and you forcefully climbed your way up.

Compared to the elegant postures of the other contestants, your appearance was indeed somewhat pathetic.

"Smack..."

One of your hands grabbed onto the cliff edge, and with a forceful pull, you hoisted yourself up and finally reached the summit.

Dongfang Shuo gestured with his hand for you to stand in line with the other contestants and introduce yourself.

"I am Chen Dong! High-tier bone aptitude, no special physique, twenty-seven years old, Third Tempering of the Soul Tempering Realm, an independent trainee!"

The entire venue fell silent.

Then, it erupted into uproarious laughter.

"Hahaha! Independent trainee? Isn't that just a rogue cultivator? Why call yourself an independent trainee!"

"The Xiaoyao Holy Land has really lost face this time. Even a rogue cultivator came to participate in their ceremony. This is showing zero respect for the Xiaoyao Holy Land."

"What kind of garbage is a High-tier bone aptitude? Does he even deserve to stand in the same line as us geniuses?"

["The Grand Ceremony may not have a set threshold, but that does not mean there truly isn't one. This threshold is called 'knowing your own limits'!"]