Time flew by like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, several days had passed inside the Desolate Ancient Dao Pagoda.
The food he had prepared beforehand was completely exhausted, so Ye Lin had no choice but to exit the third floor of the pagoda.
“Once I reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, I can achieve Bigu. Then, I can stay in closed-door cultivation for as long as I want.”
He muttered to himself, adjusted his aura to the First Layer of Qi Condensation, and then lay down on his bed to sleep soundly.
Over the past few days, although his cultivation could not progress any further for the time being, he still practiced the 《Nine Shadows Ultimate Slay》 and 《Nine Suns Heaven-Shaking Fist》 like crazy every day.
After all, although he had reached great perfection in these techniques long ago, it was ultimately only great perfection in terms of mental comprehension.
To put it simply, his brain understood them, but his body still needed a split second to react and keep up.
Thus, he practiced his fist and sword techniques day and night to build muscle memory, ensuring he could easily cast them instantly when facing enemies.
With the hundredfold gains from his 【Diligence Compensates for Clumsiness】 trait, his hard work over the past few days had been highly effective. Both his sword strikes and punches had become much swifter and more decisive.
In addition, he spent all day visualizing the Soaring Fairy Visualization Chart. A fist-sized mass of golden matter had gradually condensed within his divine sense.
This was also the result of the boost from his 【Diligence Compensates for Clumsiness】 trait.
And this golden matter was none other than 'divine sense', something that only Foundation Establishment cultivators could develop a trace of.
With this, not only could he fly with a sword, but he could also use it to kill enemies from afar, and it would even multiply a cultivator's reaction speed several times over.
After all, having divine sense was equivalent to having a pair of eyes with a 360-degree view without any blind spots. Wouldn't that make him much more stable when facing enemies?
The night passed in silence. Early the next morning, since he was unsure when the mysterious Immortal Hall would begin its guidance, Ye Lin managed his time very tightly. First, he went to the Outer Academy's cafeteria to have breakfast, packing some food to go as well.
Then, he originally planned to ask the academy for a few days off before registering at the Demon Suppressing Division. After all, he still had quite a few demon-slaying points in his disciple token.
These were all merits that could be exchanged for cultivation resources, techniques, weapons, and so on.
To his surprise, however, the academy announced that they were giving all new students a three-day break to soothe their emotions.
In reality, pressured from all sides, the academy's upper echelon was completely overwhelmed dealing with yesterday's massive massacre. How could they have any time to worry about the new students?
“This works out too, though I'm not sure if the Immortal Hall's opening will last more than three days.”
Upon hearing about the academy's break, Ye Lin was no longer in a hurry to report to the Demon Suppressing Division. He returned straight to his temporary dormitory, held the sword-shaped bronze token, and quietly awaited the guidance of the Immortal Hall.
Meanwhile, on a barren mountain outside the Tianyuan Dynasty, a bruised and swollen youth in fine clothes was tightly hugging the thigh of a woman in a blue dress with both hands.
“Sister! My dear ancestor! After the Immortal Hall secret realm ends, please let me stay in the Tianyuan Dynasty to cultivate!”
“You know that with my aptitude, going back will only make things difficult for others, and I'd be under a lot of pressure myself. It's better to just let me live here carefree.”
The youth in fine clothes was, of course, the resurrected Qi Changqing.
Ever since he chose the third option on those magical book pages, his 'Indomitable' destiny had upgraded his bones to Earth-grade.
And within that third option, there was another reward: a chance to befriend the future Heavenly Dao. According to the guidance, this opportunity was right here in the Tianyuan Dynasty.
This was the Heavenly Dao! An existence that even the old monsters in his family could only view as a taboo.
Yet, he had a chance to build a relationship with it in advance. How could he possibly miss out on such a monumental opportunity?
But he could not expose his secrets. Thus, he could only hug his sister Qi Feiyan's thigh like this, hoping to awaken whatever little sibling affection she had for him.
“No. I could let you run wild before, but from now on, it's absolutely impossible. If you dare leave my sight, I will make you intimately recall the taste of my slaps.”
Stroking Qi Changqing's head, Qi Feiyan spoke expressionlessly.
No one knew how heartbroken she had been the moment Qi Changqing perished. Now that she had recovered what was lost, she wanted to keep him by her side and protect him well.
“I have a reason why I must stay here. It concerns my future.” Seeing that his sister refused to budge, Qi Changqing gritted his teeth and revealed a tiny bit of his secret.
Hearing this, Qi Feiyan did not immediately refute him as she usually did. Her brother's sudden resurrection made her realize that this kid harbored a massive secret.
Now that he was so stubbornly insistent on staying in a remote place like the Tianyuan Dynasty and claimed it concerned his future, she could reluctantly believe him.
“Fine, but I will send people to protect you in the shadows.” In the end, she nodded and agreed.
“Thank you, Sis! You really are the most gentle, generous, understanding, and beloved sister in the entire world!”
Seeing his sister agree to let him stay in the Tianyuan Dynasty, Qi Changqing was absolutely thrilled.
“Buzz!”
Just then, a bronze token in his hand suddenly flashed with a dazzling golden light.
“The Immortal Hall's guidance has begun, so I'll be off first, Sis!” Sensing that the teleportation light had already enveloped him, Qi Changqing immediately waved with a smile.
“Do not forget my words. Opportunities are secondary; surviving is your priority,” Qi Feiyan instructed with a serious expression.
“Don't worry.” Qi Changqing nodded, and was immediately teleported away by the bronze token in his hand.
On the other side, inside his temporary dormitory at the Cultivation Academy, the sword-shaped bronze token in Ye Lin's hand finally emitted a dazzling white light at this moment.
“It's finally starting.” Watching the portal gradually take shape before him, Ye Lin couldn't help but curl his lips.
He had already been waiting in his dorm for several shichen. If it hadn't opened soon, he really would have fallen asleep.
“Buzz!”
Soon, the portal was fully formed, and without any hesitation, Ye Lin took a step forward and walked right in.
After a bout of world-spinning dizziness, he appeared before a deep, dark cavern.
Appearing almost simultaneously with him were five other figures. He recognized two of them: the young girl in red, Zhao Xiaoyu, and the refined gray-robed youth, Li Xuan.
As for the other three, one was a youth in fine clothes, one was a red-eyed gorilla, and one was a massive black serpent covered in scales with two tiny dragon horns on its head.
Seeing other creatures besides Zhao Xiaoyu and Li Xuan, Ye Lin was also somewhat surprised.
After all, Zhao Xiaoyu and Li Xuan had previously mentioned that only the three of them would likely enter through the Tianyuan Dynasty's entrance.
But it didn't matter. Although the auras of these creatures were much stronger than ordinary Qi Condensation Stage cultivators, they were still nothing more than a single slap's work in front of him.
“Greetings, Dao Brother!”
Seeing Ye Lin appear, Zhao Xiaoyu and Li Xuan immediately walked over with smiles to greet him.
To this, Ye Lin naturally nodded back with a casual expression.
Seeing that Ye Lin's group of three actually knew each other, the other three creatures were all filled with vigilance.
“Dao Brother, those across from us are likely the geniuses of the Vajra Savage Ape Clan and the Blackwater Serpent Clan. These two clans have always been hostile to our human race. We must be careful when we go through the trial later.”
“As for that youth in fine clothes, he should be like us, a genius from some major power in the Sacred Domain.”
After exchanging greetings, the two of them used a secret technique to transmit their voices to Ye Lin, introducing the general situation of the other three.
Hearing this, Ye Lin's expression did not change at all. Regardless of the identities or races of these creatures, he was here to speedrun the Immortal Hall dungeon, so he naturally had no interest in caring about anything else.
【Ding! Congratulations, you are the first player in this game to unlock an Immortal-grade dungeon. You are ahead of billions of Blue Planet players, and you have triggered a special achievement reward. The reward has been automatically distributed to the player panel.】
“Rumble!”
At that very moment, the harsh, oppressive sound of heavy stone doors being pushed open suddenly echoed from the cavern ahead.
Immediately after, an old and indifferent voice resounded in the ears of all the geniuses.
“A thousand years have passed, and the Immortal Hall has reopened. Geniuses of the new generation, welcome to the trial of the Immortal King's Road.”
“Being able to come here indicates that you all possess great fortune. However, whether you can complete the trial and obtain the opportunities within depends entirely on your own abilities.”
“The rule of the trial is that you cannot use any external items that exceed your own cultivation by a major realm. Violators will be expelled, or even obliterated.”
“Therefore, I declare that the trial of the Immortal King's Road has officially begun. For the first stage, please eliminate one of the participants in your area.”
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