Chapter 10: The First Trial

Time flew by, and soon it was the day for the Heavenly Origin Palace to recruit new disciples. As the top sect in the Northern Profound Domain, the Heavenly Origin Palace had extremely stringent requirements for new disciples. Basically, only one or two exceptionally talented individuals from each city could earn the chance to travel to the Heavenly Origin Palace for the assessment. Therefore, becoming a disciple of the Heavenly Origin Palace required passing through multiple layers of selection. First, the age limit was eighteen, and second, one's cultivation could not be below the Ninth Layer of the Yuan Gathering Realm. These two conditions alone blocked most aspirants. In Hanyang City, for instance, only about a dozen geniuses could reach the Ninth Layer of the Yuan Gathering Realm before turning eighteen. Hanyang City was bustling today, alive with activity, for it was the day the Heavenly Origin Palace was recruiting new disciples within its walls. In the city's central plaza, a massive arena had been erected. This arena served as the assessment platform for the Heavenly Origin Palace's recruitment today. The entire central plaza was already packed with people, and many talented youths from other cities had also arrived in Hanyang City. The four great families of Hanyang City placed great importance on this Heavenly Origin Palace recruitment. For entering the Heavenly Origin Palace meant a chance to leap over the dragon's gate, a significant advancement in one's life. At this moment, the four great families of Hanyang City each occupied a corner of the plaza. "Lingchen, today is the day the Heavenly Origin Palace recruits new disciples. Our Yang family is counting on you," Yang Daolin said. "Father, rest assured! A spot among the new disciples of the Heavenly Origin Palace will definitely be mine," Yang Lingchen replied, his eyes filled with determination. After his transmigration, Yang Lingchen's greatest dream was to pursue immortality, and the Heavenly Origin Palace would be his first stepping stone to rise. Meanwhile, from the directions of the Lin family and the Xiao family, two resentful gazes fell upon Yang Lingchen. These two gazes belonged to Lin Beiyang of the Lin family and Xiao Jijie of the Xiao family. Beside both of them stood a young man of extraordinary demeanor. Yang Lingchen paid no mind to the hostility of these individuals. In terms of actual combat strength, even if they banded together, they would be no match for him. If they didn't know what was good for them, Yang Lingchen wouldn't mind crippling them. Just then, a powerfully built, sharp-eyed middle-aged man stepped onto the arena. This man was Han Tianling, the City Lord of Hanyang City. His appearance immediately brought silence to the scene. "Greetings, everyone. I am Han Tianling, and I will be hosting this Heavenly Origin Palace new disciple recruitment. Now, let us give a warm round of applause to the Heavenly Origin Palace's talented envoys, Fairy Ling Yanyun and Young Master Dongfang Jie!" Han Tianling led the applause. Immediately, a wave of enthusiastic applause erupted throughout the plaza. As the applause began, a graceful figure descended, landing in the VIP seating area beside the arena. She was like a girl who had stepped out of a celestial realm. Dressed in an elegant white robe, a thin veil of snow-white silk covered her face, yet it could not conceal her cold and noble aura. Her captivating eyes drew anyone who looked into them into their depths. This young woman was none other than Ling Yanyun, one of the Heavenly Origin Palace's talented envoys for this event. At the same time, another figure with a terrifying aura appeared. This was a tall, imposing, handsome man with sharp eyes and an extraordinary bearing. This man was Dongfang Jie, the other talented envoy from the Heavenly Origin Palace. Though only glimpsing them from afar, Yang Lingchen could sense that Dongfang Jie's strength was unfathomable, far surpassing that of the Hanyang City Lord or the heads of the four great families. What shocked Yang Lingchen was that these two seemed to be around his age, yet their power was far more terrifying than even the Hanyang City Lord. Dongfang Jie's piercing gaze swept across the surroundings. Then, from his storage ring, he tossed out a wooden puppet radiating a terrifying aura. "This is our Heavenly Origin Palace's assessment puppet. Anyone who can defeat it will pass the first trial. Additionally, participants must not be over eighteen years of age. Those who violate this rule will bear the consequences," Dongfang Jie's voice was exceptionally cold. Hearing Dongfang Jie's words, the youths who had been preparing to participate in the assessment gasped. The aura emanating from the assessment puppet was at the peak of the Ninth Layer of the Yuan Gathering Realm. Ordinary cultivators at the Ninth Layer of the Yuan Gathering Realm would certainly be unable to defeat it. And in all of Hanyang City, only a handful of people had reached the Profound Illumination Realm before turning eighteen. "The challenge begins now." At this point, Han Tianling stepped forward and began to preside over the first trial. As the challenge commenced, many youths at the Ninth Layer of the Yuan Gathering Realm stepped onto the arena. "Bang!" "Ahhh..." In less than a single exchange, a youth at the Ninth Layer of the Yuan Gathering Realm was sent flying by the puppet, suffering significant injuries. "Next," Han Tianling said expressionlessly. Half an hour passed in a flash, and surprisingly, not a single person had successfully passed the challenge. "Junior Sister Ling, the talent of these people in Hanyang City is truly lacking. We shouldn't have come here," Dongfang Jie remarked. "Since we're here, let's give them a chance," Ling Yanyun's voice was calm and melodious. Just then, Han Ruoxue stepped onto the arena. Her figure was graceful, and her aura was steady as she walked directly towards the assessment puppet. When facing the puppet's attacks, she moved with ease. Clearly, Han Ruoxue had already broken through to the Profound Illumination Realm. Before long, she successfully repelled the assessment puppet. With this, Han Ruoxue became the first contestant from Hanyang City to pass the first trial. Then, Xiao Jijun of the Xiao family stepped onto the arena. This person was one of Hanyang City's four great geniuses, and also Xiao Jijie's elder brother. As expected, Xiao Jijun also successfully advanced to the second round. By this time, few people were left to participate in the assessment, as most of the youths could not defeat the assessment puppet. Not long after, Lin Beiyang and Lin Beichen of the Lin family also defeated the assessment puppet. As one of Hanyang City's four great families, the younger generation of the Lin family was clearly stronger than those of the other families. Just as the first round was about to conclude, Yang Lingchen walked towards the arena. With his current strength, dealing with an assessment puppet at the peak of the Yuan Gathering Realm would basically only require a single finger. However, to conserve his strength, Yang Lingchen used two exchanges to defeat the assessment puppet. When Yang Lingchen successfully passed, the Yang family members all showed excited smiles. Han Tianling, however, wore an awkward expression. If he had known earlier that Yang Lingchen possessed such strength, he would not have listened to his daughter and broken off the engagement. "Congratulations to the five of you for successfully entering the second round. Next will be the ranking battle. The top two contestants will earn the opportunity to participate in the Heavenly Origin Palace's assessment." Dongfang Jie then announced the rules for the second round. The rule for the second round was a ranking battle. Each person would fight against the other four, and the top two ranked contestants would earn the opportunity to participate in the Heavenly Origin Palace's assessment. According to the drawing order, Yang Lingchen drew number one, Xiao Jijun number two, Lin Beichen number three, Lin Beiyang number four, and Han Ruoxue drew number five. According to the competition rules, Yang Lingchen's first opponent would be Xiao Jijun from the Xiao family.