Ding Ding Ding, Dong

["What if we get caught..."]

["Brother, if you don't use this trick, could you even make it to the third trial? You're going to fail either way, so you might as well take a gamble. Cheating only results in disqualification; the Holy Land won't do anything else to you."]

Wang Mingbai followed the advice. Although he didn't successfully bribe everyone, it was enough for him to qualify and enter the third trial.

["Congratulations to the twenty outstanding talents for passing the second trial. The final trial will also be the hardest: Slaying Demons and Eradicating Evil!"]

Outside the simulation.

Chen Yi: "What? Slaying what? Say that again?"

[The Xiaoyao Holy Land quite resembles the Shen family from back in the day, essentially handing you a free pass.]

[The test for the third trial requires the twenty of you to divide into ten teams. Together with thirty Holy Land disciples, you will form groups of five and accept the Slaying Demons and Eradicating Evil missions distributed by the Holy Land.]

[These missions are highly varied. They include eradicating local monster infestations, capturing demonic martial artists, quelling wars, healing the wounded, educating the masses, spreading martial arts, and so on.]

[The reason for setting up groups of five, with each group containing three Holy Land disciples, is because the cultivation realms of you twenty candidates vary greatly.]

[Those with higher cultivation will be paired with Holy Land disciples of lower cultivation, and vice versa. This ensures that the overall strength of each team remains relatively balanced.]

[Once again, everyone will carry a shadow-recording stone. The maximum time limit for the missions is three years. If you finish early, you can return to the Holy Land ahead of time to hand in your stone.]

[The Holy Land will score everyone based on their performance as recorded in the shadow-recording stones.]

[The five men and five women with the highest scores will become candidates for this generation's Holy Son and Holy Maiden.]

[Dongfang Shuo made it clear that whether the mission succeeds or fails is not the key to scoring.]

[The Holy Land wants to observe your performance during the mission to evaluate your character, personality, social skills, adaptability, resourcefulness, combat power, and other comprehensive abilities.]

[The missions for the ten teams were announced.]

[You chose the Monster Catching Team without hesitation.]

[Your teammate is Long Yang, the undisputed first-place winner of both the first and second trials.]

["I didn't expect an 'independent trainee' like you to actually make it to the third trial."]

[You gave a faint smile.]

["It's all thanks to my peers making me look good."]

[Long Yang was immediately left speechless.]

[He coughed and addressed the whole team.]

["I'll say the ugly words up front. I have the highest cultivation base in this team! Once we enter the Desolate Sea to hunt monsters, all actions must follow my command! No one is allowed to drag us down, otherwise, don't blame me for kicking them out of the team so they don't burden the rest of us!"]

[When he said this, he deliberately glanced at you a few extra times, clearly implying something.]

[You looked at him with a smile, a smile that made his scalp tingle.]

[Wang Mingbai didn't know which team he should join to perform better, so he came to you for paid advice again.]

[You recommended he join the Rebellion Quelling Team.]

[There are many island nations overseas. Due to a shortage of maritime resources, they constantly wage war against each other, making life unbearable for the common people.]

[The Holy Land frequently dispatches disciples to mediate conflicts and stop these wars.]

["I've been pampered since childhood. I know nothing about war, nor do I understand diplomacy. How am I supposed to quell a rebellion?"]

["You don't need to understand any of that. Just have your family send you money, food, cloth, iron, crystals, and other resources. Whoever is fighting, you give those supplies to their soldiers. If they keep fighting, keep giving it to them until they declare a truce."]

["Is it really that simple?"]

["It's just that simple."]

[The twelfth year, thirty-one years old.]

[You, Long Yang, and the three Holy Land disciples took a boat eastward and arrived at the Desolate Sea.]

[This is the furthest east you have ever been in the Human Realm.]

[According to the Holy Land disciples, this ocean is boundless.]

[In the Xiaoyao Holy Land, there was once a cynical old senior at the Martial King Realm who, having nothing better to do, flew eastward continuously, attempting to cross the Desolate Sea to see what was on the other side.]

[In the end, after flying for over a decade, there was still nothing but ocean beneath his feet, seemingly endless.]

[Afterward, he had to spend another dozen years flying back to the Holy Land to tell everyone about his experience.]

[He died of old age not long after.]

[After that old senior, no one was ever bored enough to try and explore the edge of the Human Realm again.]

[It was a pure waste of life.]

[Your mission location was not far from the archipelago where the Holy Land is situated. It was an isolated island called Octopus Island.]

[The island has several thousand residents who have frequently suffered from sea monster attacks in recent years.]

[They originally relied on the sea for a living, surviving by fishing and hunting.]

[After the sea monsters began causing chaos, their livelihood became difficult to sustain.]

[Sea monsters are a branch of the monster race that lives in the water.]

[The fish monster sealed in your Myriad Soul Banner is also a type of sea monster.]

[The sea monsters in the Human Realm have mediocre bloodlines and average strength; there isn't a single Martial King Realm among them.]

[The orthodox monster races in the Great Wilderness look down on them and generally don't associate with them.]

[When you arrived, you happened to catch over a dozen sea monsters coming ashore to hunt down the island's residents.]

[Long Yang waved his hand grandly.]

["Nobody move! These sea monsters are extremely brutal. Engaging them could be life-threatening! Wait for me to subdue them, and you junior brothers can just handle the aftermath!"]

[Long Yang wanted to show off and steal the spotlight to earn more performance points.]

[You and the three Holy Land disciples were very obedient. You stood still on the boat and watched Long Yang's performance.]

[At first, Long Yang showed quite a bit of strength on shore, beating the sea monsters back step by step.]

[He was already at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Facing this group of sea monsters, whose highest cultivation was only at the Golden Body Realm, was naturally no problem for him.]

[But don't forget, the monster race possesses intelligence.]

[They saw that Long Yang was overly eager for quick success.]

[So, they lured the enemy in deep, drawing him into a shallow water area over a meter deep.]

[Long Yang couldn't fly, and the seawater created a massive hindrance for him.]

[The sea monsters, on the other hand, were in their element in the water.]

[Coupled with their large numbers, they ganged up on him. In no time, Long Yang was beaten black and blue.]

["Senior Brother Long looks like he can't hold on much longer. Shouldn't we help him?"]

[In the Holy Land, seniority is based on cultivation. Whoever has the higher realm is the senior brother.]

[You said with a smile.]

["Senior Brother Long said that all actions must follow his command. He hasn't told us to attack yet, so how can we act rashly?"]

["But Senior Brother Long really looks like he's dying out there."]

["You don't understand, do you? This is Senior Brother Long's tactic of feigning defeat. Look, he hasn't even called for help. Clearly, everything is still under Senior Brother Long's control."]

["Hmm... that makes sense."]

[Long Yang was feeling incredibly stifled at this moment.]

[Besieged by dozens of sea monsters and trapped in the water, he couldn't run away even if he wanted to, but he felt it would be too humiliating to call for help.]

[What was he supposed to do!]

[In the end, his life was more important than his pride.]

["Four junior brothers, quickly come lend me a hand... blub blub blub..."]

[That was him getting his head shoved underwater by a sea monster.]

[Of course, you wouldn't just watch Long Yang die here.]

[Refusing to save him would definitely result in all your points being deducted.]

[So, you charged forward with a righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor.]

["Senior Brother Long, don't panic! I'm coming to save you!"]

[As always, you made your entrance carrying a stereo.]

[Even if he could only exert the strength of the Golden Body Realm, these demons would still be no match for your strict father.]

[Not to mention, he now has "Heartsteel"!]

["Ding, ding, ding!"]

["Clang!!"]

["Ding, ding, ding!"]

["Clang!!"]

[...]