Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 97
The head senior ordered everyone to continue their inspections. They carefully went one by one.
Even those as powerful as Lei Qianshang, Qi Xin, and the others were all extremely obedient now. They might be arrogant, but they weren’t idiots.
After all, these people were their senior apprentice-brothers. Even if they were just existences that padded the bottom rankings, having cultivated in the Xuantian Monastery for the last three years, there was no way they were comparable anymore.
At the same time, as they were filled with respect, they were also filled with anticipation. These people that padded the bottom ranks had already grown to such an extent. Xuantian Monastery’s true power must be absolutely terrifying.
When that man had attacked, Long Chen had done a careful examination and was awed to see that that person’s cultivation base was only in the Tendon Transformation realm.
In other words, it was the same cultivation base as the white-robed man whom he had faced in Phoenix Cry. But in terms of combat strength, one person was in the heavens while one was still stuck on the ground. The distance really was just that great.
He had seen that those last three attacks had been reliant on a Battle Skill. However, it also didn’t seem like a particularly profound Battle Skill. Most likely, it was below the Earth class.
But even such an ordinary Battle Skill had such a shocking effect in that person’s hands.
Most importantly, there hadn’t been any obvious pause between his three attacks. Most people would require at least a moment to adjust their breathing after each attack before attacking again.
It was like jumping rope. After jumping once, you had to wait until you landed and reset before once more jumping again.
It might be possible for people to attack three times in a row, but that would be a torrential storm of blows. With the jump rope analogy, it would be equivalent to a person jumping once and spinning the rope three times. Although it was extremely difficult, some geniuses were capable of managing it.
But that man hadn’t done it like that. He had done it not too quickly and also extremely easily without the slightest haste. It obviously had something to do with his cultivation method.
This time I really did come to the right place. This Xuantian Monastery is just like a treasure house. Long Chen’s heart pounded fervently.
Finally, one of them arrived in front of Long Chen and inspected his registration card.
“Huh?”
That person’s expression changed slightly. Carefully looking over it again, he looked up at Long Chen with confusion.
That person’s movements caused Guo Ran, who was right beside him, to almost leap to Long Chen’s defense. There was nothing wrong with his boss’s registration card!
His movements also attracted the attention of quite a few others. That was because Long Chen was in the last row. The ones ahead of him had already finished being inspected and were now just watching.
Tang Wan-er looked over in shock. Had this scoundrel really stolen his registration card?
Thinking of Long Chen’s attitude which didn’t fear heaven or earth, it really might be possible for him to do such a thing. Would Long Chen be killed now?
Only Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin were completely indifferent as they watched. Qi Xin especially was laughing, hoping this person would kill Long Chen with a single blow like the others.
“Senior apprentice-brother Wan, take a look at this registration card.” That person sent Long Chen’s registration card to that head attendant.
Senior apprentice-brother Wan received it and was also slightly startled. Raising his head to look at Long Chen, he asked, “You’re Long Chen?”
Long Chen could only nod. He was somewhat bewildered. He had no enmity with Elder Tu Fang so he shouldn’t have done anything to harm him.
What he didn’t know was that his registration card had an extremely particular pattern on it. Outsiders didn’t know what that pattern was.
Each registration card would have a particular pattern. They would all look identical, but in truth there were minute differences.
In some places of the pattern, the lines would be longer or shorter, thicker or thinner. Those places recorded the registrant’s basic information.
That was confidential information in the Xuantian Monastery that others wouldn’t know. And so when others foolishly managed to steal away a registration card and thought they could join, the result was always what had just occurred.
That person had seen something he absolutely could not believe on Long Chen’s registration card, causing him to end up calling over senior apprentice-brother Wan for an explanation.
“Yes? Is there a problem?” Long Chen nodded.
Senior apprentice-brother Wan shook his head. “There’s no problem. You aren’t bad.”
Long Chen’s heart relaxed greatly. He nodded, “As expected, heroes really do think alike. I also think I’m really not bad.”
Senior apprentice-brother Wan looked at Long Chen oddly as if he wasn’t used to Long Chen’s style of speaking. Tang Wan-er couldn’t hold back a smile. Long Chen really did have thick skin.
But what none of them understood was the hidden meaning behind senior apprentice-brother Wan’s ‘not bad’. He had said that because Long Chen’s registration card had a certain piece of information that was completely inconceivable.
Spirit Root: None.
Each registration card recorded a registrant’s height, appearance, age, Spirit Root, talent, and a dozen other pieces of information.
Having spent three years in the monastery, senior apprentice-brother Wan’s understanding of the monastery had reached an extremely high level. This was the first time he had ever heard of a person with no Spirit Root obtaining a registration card.
But then he saw that this registration card was Elder Tu Fang’s. Just the other day, he had told him that he had given a certain youth his registration card and not to accidentally expel him.
He had been extremely curious about why he would say such a thing. Why would he expel someone who had managed to obtain the Enforcement Elder’s registration card?
But now when he saw Long Chen, he finally understood what Elder Tu Fang had meant. If it wasn’t for his previous reminder, he really might have to go check with him to see if this registration card was real.
Within the secular world, there were only three Spirit Root grades: low, medium, and high. There were also trash Spirit Roots. The Spirit Root was the core of the Dantian. It was something you were innately born with, and how far you could grow was entirely decided by the quality of your Spirit Root.
It was just like a seed. How far it could grow was dependent on what kind of seed it was. A weed would never be able to grow into a huge tree. And so a person’s limit was largely based on their Spirit Root.
Most people who had low grade Spirit Roots could only ever reach the Blood Condensation realm. As for a middle grade Spirit Root, that meant it was possible for them to reach the Tendon Transformation realm. Only high grade Spirit Roots had a chance of breaking through the Tendon Transformation barrier and entering the Bone Forging realm.
As for the Xuantian Monastery, its selection of disciples was extremely strict. They refused to accept anyone with either low, middle, or high grade Spirit Roots.
The disciples they recruited had to have bronze grade Spirit Roots at the least. That was an existence that had surpassed the secular world’s classifications. That was because in the cultivation world, only those with at least bronze grade Spirit Roots had a chance of truly shining.
Above bronze grade was silver, then gold, and then the legendary dark gold grade Spirit Root. Only geniuses with these four grades of Spirit Roots had the qualifications to be nourished with the full power of a sect.
Essentially every registrant here possessed a bronze grade Spirit Root. Only a few possessed a silver grade Spirit Root.
But amongst the disciples this time, there was a certain monster who possessed a golden Spirit Roo
t. Senior apprentice-brother Wan had just come over from examining that monster’s registration card and was still shaken.
But now looking at this disciple who didn’t even have a Spirit Root, that was even more shocking than when he had seen that monster.
Having been in the Xuantian Monastery for years, he knew who the Enforcement Elder was. He was an extremely high existence, the one with the greatest strength other than the sect leader.
Furthermore, he was also very strict and upright, earning him the respect of the disciples. Such a figure definitely wouldn’t randomly give his registration card away.
Senior apprentice-brother Wan stealthily examined Long Chen. His aura was completely concealed however. Not even the slightest bit of it leaked out, making him seem like nothing more than a secular mortal.
It had to be known that even he, who had bitterly cultivated for so many years and whose control over spiritual qi had reached a pinnacle, was still incapable of suppressing his aura to that point.
Furthermore, even if he did seem like a mortal[1], he was still able to indifferently withstand his pressure. That meant Long Chen was definitely not ordinary, and that was why he had praised him with a ‘not bad’.
Handing back the registration card to Long Chen, he then finished up with several others. Waving his hand, a large pile of palm-sized jade tiles appeared on the ground. These tiles also had some words written on them.
“Hand out these tiles.” The tiles were handed out, one to each person. After receiving one, Long Chen examined this palm-sized, completely square tile. His had the word ‘Tian’ on it.
Glancing over at Guo Ran to his side, he saw his tablet had the word ‘Huang’ on it. He didn’t know what was going on.
“Boss, this is our proof of trial. We’re about to enter a cruel elimination. I don’t know whether we can pass,” Guo Ran worriedly said.
Long Chen was startled and about to ask for a clarification when senior apprentice-brother Wan continued.
“Take care of your jade tiles. The trial is about to commence. But first, I must warn you that amongst those present, at least seventy-five percent of you will be eliminated.”
[1] To be clear, a ‘mortal’ in this case refers to someone who does not cultivate. So mortal=non-cultivator. It doesn’t mean cultivators are immortal. Sometimes when characters reach higher levels they even call cultivators who are at much lower cultivation levels ‘mortals’ because they are so weak they are basically non-cultivators in front of them.
Chapter 135 Divergent
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.”