Chapter 1710: Stepping onto the Stage
Four months later, when Li Yan opened his eyes, the temporary token on the ground was flashing with yellow light. With a wave of his hand, the token flew into his grip. As his Divine Sense entered, an emotionless voice spoke in his mind.
“Everyone, assemble in the air outside the caves!”
The moment the voice spoke, the token shattered into dust and vanished. It was only valid until today; if he failed the inner valley exam and didn’t make the outer valley cut, he would have to leave. Li Yan stood up and walked forward. As he did, several streaks of light flew into his sleeve—the flags of his two arrays. Stepping out of the cave, he found the sunlight bright. Streaks of light were rising from all sides. A month ago, he had sensed people moving in and out of the other caves. He didn’t investigate, but knew the examinees were arriving. He flew upward toward the gathering lights.
Below him, over two hundred figures with weak or no spiritual energy appeared. They stood on the ground, gazes filled with envy as they looked at the lights in the sky. Five white-robed cultivators stood above the mountain peak. A small golden gourd was embroidered over a cloud on their chests—the sect uniform of Huangqi Valley. Of the five, one was at the Void Refining stage, one at Spirit Transformation, and three at Nascent Soul. They stood in a line, watching the arriving cultivators coldly. Everyone had been notified at once, so they emerged around the same time.
“From left to right, form groups according to cultivation—from Foundation Establishment to Void Refining!” The Void Refining cultivator spoke, his voice booming like thunder.
Li Yan shifted his path and flew toward the white-robed Spirit Transformation cultivator on the right. As he did, he tilted his body slightly. Four streaks of light whistled past him. If he hadn’t moved, at least two would have collided with him.
“Kid, quite discerning! Hahaha…” A mocking voice rang in his ear.
Four people turned back to look at him—three men and one woman, seemingly in their twenties and thirties. The leader was a burly man with disheveled hair and bulging muscles, looking like a fierce tiger. Beside him was a man like a spear, lips thin and tight, dressed in a tight black suit; those two had almost hit him. They looked back with mockery—one arrogant, one disdainful. Behind them was a man in his thirties wearing a golden robe, his face cold, and a woman dressed very provocatively, her short top barely covering her chest and her bottom consisting of a short piece of animal hide. Her limbs were bare like white jade, looking seductive. They all looked back with mockery. The voice came from the burly man. Li Yan’s expression remained unchanged. He paused briefly before continuing upward. The five white-robed examiners glanced at the interaction but said nothing; some were indifferent, others amused.
“The purpose of your presence here needs no further explanation. My Alchemy lineage is ancient and profound; in terms of cultivation techniques alone, it is a top-tier sect on par with the Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian paths in the Immortal Spirit Realm. To enter my sect, you must possess extraordinary talent. Those who pass today’s examination can officially enter the inner valley as true disciples of Huangqi Valley. Even those who do not pass will have a selection of outstanding disciples chosen to become outer valley disciples. In the future, every year, outer valley disciples have a chance to try for the inner valley again. Therefore, just do your best and don’t worry about extraneous things.”
“The examination for those awaiting entry and the Qi Condensation stage is at the foot of the mountain. Foundation Establishment to Void Refining is at the summit. Each realm has its own content. Successful Void Refining cultivators will become deacons of the outer valley, which I assume you know. You will still receive good resources and have chances to enter the inner valley in the future…” The white-robed Void Refining cultivator spoke, his voice reaching everyone, even those at the mountain’s base.
Li Yan listened to the rules, which matched his expectations. He saw four white-robed Golden Core cultivators at the mountain base. Facing them were people in varied clothing, some with no spiritual energy, others at the Qi Condensation stage. Those at the summit were divided by realm, with numbers decreasing as the level rose. Foundation Establishment examinees were the most numerous, making up forty percent. Then came the Golden Core cultivators. There were only a dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators. Li Yan’s Spirit Transformation group had only seven people. There were only three Void Refining examinees to his right. This wasn’t surprising; higher-level cultivators generally didn’t want to be tied down. Most who came at Li Yan’s level were rogues who had hit a bottleneck and sought resources or experience. Some were there to hide from enemies.
Li Yan glanced at the mountain summit. ‘Huangqi Valley is efficient. This mountain is the exam site—summit and base for exams, caves in the middle for lodging…’ He then looked at his own group. Besides the arrogant four, two more Spirit Transformation cultivators arrived—twin sisters. They looked identical, and Li Yan couldn’t tell them apart at a glance, only by their auras—one at the mid-stage and one at the initial-stage. They were stunningly beautiful, seemingly in their early twenties. He felt their looks were on par with Donglin Tingyue. Because they looked the same and acted in unison, they drew extra attention. They both wore yellow dresses and identical hairstyles. Their appearance was elegant and refined, and even though they weren’t provocatively dressed, their curves were round and full.
The arrogant group of four looked back with varied expressions—some with desire, others with jealousy. They knew the local powers and realized these two weren’t from them. Since most high-level examinees were rogues, they didn’t hide their thoughts. The white-robed Void Refining cultivator finished speaking and began to fly toward the mountain peak. The other examiners followed.
“Follow!” the Void Refining cultivator called out.
The examiners valued the lower-level disciples more, as they could be trained from the ground up and would have a stronger sense of belonging. But Huangqi Valley had enemies, so they needed mid-level cultivators like Li Yan’s group to use as resources—Void Refining was best, followed by Spirit Transformation. Despite this being known, it was hard for Nascent Soul and above cultivators to join. Huangqi Valley would normally check a person’s history thoroughly. Li Yan had skip-passed the screening because of the Grandmaster’s guarantee. If Li Yan caused trouble, she would bear the consequences. Thus, she would surely observe him for a long time. This arrangement meant that regardless of his exam result, he would at least be kept in the outer valley and wouldn’t be allowed to leave. Later, she would find a reason to move him to the inner valley.
Li Yan followed. He was currently displaying an initial-stage Spirit Transformation cultivation. With the Guardian Wing, he was even more daring. He believed his Second Martial Uncle’s word that only a Grand Ascension cultivator might see through it. There might be such monsters in Huangqi Valley, but even a Body Integration cultivator would be rare to meet. He had used the artifact when meeting the Grandmaster previously, and she hadn’t noticed.
In his Spirit Transformation group, the weakest of the four arrogant ones were the provocative woman and the gold-robed man, both at the mid-stage. The man seemed to have reached it recently. The burly man and the black-clothed man were at the late-stage. Li Yan could kill them in one move each if he wanted. But he never underestimated anyone; he always remained vigilant. He felt these four were likely rogues who lacked resources and came here for opportunities. They seemed like a well-coordinated hunting team. They didn’t seem to be hiding from enemies. At the mountain peak was a massive platform paved with green stone, clean and dust-free. It had been covered by a formation previously. As everyone landed, they saw a row of arrays arranged horizontally, shimmering with colorful lights.