Chapter 243 - 240: Displeased
Over half a month ago,
Wu Tianhao had paid a visit.
It was to take Xiaoyu away.
At that time, he had extended an invitation to Shen Changchuan,
inviting him to join the Dragon Cloud Sect.
Shen Changchuan, who already had an agreement with the Shen Family Ancestor, naturally didn’t refuse. He readily accepted the invitation, promising to go on the day the Dragon Cloud Sect opened its Mountain Gate to recruit new disciples.
After Wu Tianhao left with Xiaoyu,
Shen Changchuan began to process the spoils from his battle with Xu Ziming.
Shortly thereafter, he started absorbing and performing the Refinement of the Middle Grade Spirit Stone he possessed to advance his Cultivation.
Perhaps it was due to the transformation and improvement of his temperament,
or perhaps his prior accumulation had been sufficient.
Regardless, in the ten-odd days of Cultivation that followed,
Shen Changchuan’s Cultivation advanced as naturally as water flowing into a channel. He swiftly broke through a small bottleneck, reaching the Ninth Layer Peak!
After the Ninth Layer Peak,
the next step was Soul Emergence!
With his long-cherished dream on the verge of becoming reality, he knew that a single step forward would open up a boundless future.
It made Shen Changchuan wish he could use his connection to the Shen Family Ancestor to get a Soul Emergence Pill and break through to the Soul Emergence Realm right now!
However, the Jade Slip from Shen Chong had mentioned the connection between the Foundation Establishment Spirit Body and one’s future prospects of reaching the Profound Pill Realm.
This was enough to make him suppress the impulse.
’Although the Profound Pill is still a long way off...’
’If anyone found out that someone like me, who’s only in the Qi Introduction Realm, is already thinking about advancing to the Profound Pill Realm, they’d laugh their heads off.’
’But a man has to have dreams.’
’I’d rather slow down now,’
’than completely forfeit my future.’
So, he temporarily halted his Cultivation.
It was only a few days until the Dragon Cloud Sect began its large-scale recruitment of disciples,
so Shen Changchuan prepared to set out.
However, he hadn’t expected,
that right at that moment,
the Ancestor would send him a message.
It said that some problems had arisen with his mother. Thankfully, his timely return had ensured everything was fine for now...
But despite that,
Shen Changchuan had no choice but to conceal his face and make a temporary trip back to Tian Nan City...
As a result,
even with Xiaofeng’s help,
he was still delayed and ended up arriving two days late.
"Don’t worry about it. Even Cultivators have personal emergencies, and you sent word ahead of time."
"Besides, while the Mountain Gate opened for recruitment two days ago, not just anyone can get into our Dragon Cloud Sect. You have to pass the assessments to join..."
"You’ve come at a perfect time. The trials have already reached the final round. You’ll enter the Heart Inquiry Gate with the others, and once you pass, you’ll be an official disciple."
Wu Tianhao offered Shen Changchuan a friendly explanation,
then led the way,
guiding him into the area enveloped by the Mountain Protection Array.
Along the way,
through their casual conversation,
Shen Changchuan learned the Dragon Cloud Sect’s requirements for recruiting disciples.
First, applicants had to be at least at the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer.
Second, they couldn’t be over fifty years old.
Those who met the conditions could participate in the assessment.
The assessment,
was essentially a screening process for entry.
The first trial was mountain climbing.
Mountain climbing should have been incredibly simple for a Cultivator, especially one in the Late Stage of the Qi Introduction Realm.
After all, Cultivators who possessed Magical Power were immeasurably stronger than mortals. Those highly proficient in Magic could cast a few spells and fly to the top of a mountain thousands of meters high in an instant.
But as an assessment for the Dragon Cloud Sect, it naturally wouldn’t be as simple as it looked on the surface.
When a Cultivator set foot on the mountain path, their Magical Power would be sealed by an invisible force. Simultaneously, a pressure corresponding to their Cultivation level would weigh down on their shoulders, forcing them to climb the ten-thousand-meter-high mountain as if they were mortals.
Although the willpower and Physique of Cultivators far surpassed those of mortals,
the long journey of over ten thousand meters was undoubtedly a huge test for a Cultivator’s body and mind.
According to Wu Tianhao, the first trial alone eliminated more than half of the participants.
The second and third trials that followed were much the same.
They basically revolved around aspects like willpower, character, and strength.
The extreme difficulty of the assessments,
meant they had lasted for over two full days.
And by the time they reached the end,
only two or three hundred people remained,
a mere two to three percent of the total number of participants.
This couldn’t help but make Shen Changchuan feel a sense of admiration.
’Although the Dragon Cloud Sect is new,’
’it’s no amateur outfit.’
’Disciples chosen from thousands, even tens of thousands, of candidates like this must be first-rate in talent, aptitude, willpower, and character.’
’At this rate, I’m sure it won’t be long before the newly founded Dragon Cloud Sect becomes the greatest of the Immortal Cultivation Forces in the entire Tian Nan Domain!’
As these thoughts flashed through his mind,
Shen Changchuan followed Wu Tianhao’s lead, moving swiftly,
and directly bypassing the successive trials.
As someone who could fight and defeat a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm while still in the Qi Introduction Realm—and as someone practically hand-picked by Master Wandering Dragon—
he didn’t have to suffer through the grueling trials one by one like the others.
He only needed to pass the final Heart Inquiry Gate to join the Dragon Cloud Sect.
Before long,
under Wu Tianhao’s lead,
Shen Changchuan arrived at a large square.
Over three hundred people were gathered in the square, all of them Cultivators who had passed all the assessments in the past two days and made it to the end.
And at the far end of the square,
was a white vortex that seemed to twist space itself.
The Cultivators in the square were lining up and entering it one by one.
"The Heart Inquiry Gate is nothing special, really. It’s just a passage... Its main purpose is to screen out any potential hidden agents of the Demon Dao or spies sent by rival Sect Influences, to avoid recruiting those with malicious intent."
"Passing through that passage leads to the Sect’s true Mountain Gate... It’s an Ancient Grotto Heaven Ruins that my master has modified. It serves quite well as our true Sect headquarters."
As he spoke, Wu Tianhao led Shen Changchuan directly toward the passage where the Heart Inquiry Gate was located.
Following behind, Shen Changchuan hesitated for a moment.
’There are still so many people here... Wouldn’t it be rude of me to cut in line?’
But at that moment,
upon seeing Wu Tianhao’s arrival,
the Cultivators who had been gathered at the vortex’s entrance voluntarily parted ways.
A large open space quickly formed in front of the Heart Inquiry Gate’s entrance.
’Alright then,’
’The ethics I learned on Earth don’t apply in this world...’
"Go on in. Once you pass this Heart Inquiry Gate, you just might become my junior brother."
Wu Tianhao said to Shen Changchuan, pointing at the spatial vortex before them.
In an instant,
dozens of gazes fell upon Shen Changchuan.
Indifference, curiosity, amusement... a whole range of expressions.
Shen Changchuan’s expression remained unchanged.
He took a step, about to enter.
But just then,
"We have never seen this person in any of the previous trials, yet he gets to directly enter this final, simplest Heart Inquiry Gate... This recruitment is a momentous event for the Dragon Cloud Sect. Senior, by engaging in such favoritism, aren’t you afraid of turning the Sect’s entry assessment into a joke?!"
From among the Cultivators at the back,
a displeased voice rang out.