"It seems like the Immortal's Path challenge is nearing the end. Who will be the first to emerge?" The Elder of Imparting Arts stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes, watching the exit of the Immortal's Path.
Su Yanli was watching keenly as well. "I heard that the last stage tests one's footwork. I guess it will be Qing Mang. Qing Mang's Point is a brilliant set of footwork, and basically a high-grade martial art."
"Ju Huo was born in the wild and grew up with beasts for companions. He might be a contender for first place."
Not only them, but more than 100,000 pairs of eyes were fixed on the Immortal's Path exit!
100,000 servants, and even more true disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Even a few core disciples were present. Throughout the Bipo Mountain Range, there were many mighty disciples, and yet everyone's focus was on this Immortal Promotion Plateau.
"My guess is that Zhao Danlong will triumph. His inherited 13 Swords of Zhao is extremely powerful!"
"Not necessarily. Qing Mang's Yugu Mountain Sword Shadow is a demon slaying technique."
The discussions on who would be the first to emerge ensued throughout.
But Sun Wudao was in no mood.
"Wu Yu, that boy. He really wears one's heart out. Where did he go?" Sun Wudao was casting his gaze about frantically, but he did not see Sun Wudao return. He wanted to go look, but he was worried that Wu Yu would return and not be able to find him.
Just then, the entire crowd roared.
Sun Wudao looked over. A silhouette came charging out of the Immortal's Path!
"Someone's coming."
Instantly, all the quibbles and discussions were silenced when this youth appeared.
Besides the servants, many mighty ones were present. Although they were far away, they could see this person's features clearly.
This person was bigger than they had imagined. Even the 14-year-old Zhao Danlong was not so big. And it was a male, which meant it was not one of the three who had reached the seventh tier of the Body Refining Realm.
"Who is that!?"
More than 100,000 people stared at the silhouette on Immortal Promotion Plateau, silent.
Even the Elder of Imparting Arts Mu Ge was rooted in silence. He squinted and squinted, but it was a youth that he had never seen before. And he did not look young.
Beside him, Su Yanli was probably the first person to see clearly.
"Wu Yu." Her red lips parted and her eyes danced with surprise.
The youth raised his head and also looked at her on the dais. What was more surprising was that his gaze was calm. He was not shaken by the hundred thousand gazes.
He had actually come this far.
He remembered not so long ago, he had only narrowly beat Zhao Chuan.
"He's Wu Yu?" Mu Ge only now understood. Vaguely, he could sense that there was more to this Wu Yu than met the eye. "This Wu Yu has a special quality about him. It’s a pity that he's quite old."
Only a handful of people knew who Wu Yu was and which mountain he belonged to.
Everyone stared at him in shock.
"Sun... Sun Wudao..." From the side, a Yanli Mountain servant walked over to Sun Wudao and pointed a quavering finger at the youth. "Wu... Wu Yu..."
"What?" Sun Wudao's ears were hard of hearing, and his eyesight was not too good either. In truth, he could not see clearly.
"That's Wu Yu."
"Wu Yu?"
Sun Wudao stared. He was just musing that this person really resembled Wu Yu. It really was Wu Yu! This scared him out of his wits. He hurriedly said, "That Wu Yu, he said he was going to relieve himself, but he got lost and is now on Immortal Promotion Plateau. What am I going to do?"
He thought that Wu Yu had blundered his way there.
"Sun Wudao, Wu Yu emerged from the Immortal's Path!" that servant said, shaking.
"Don't fool around..." Sun Wudao rambled.
He stared blankly at Wu Yu, and Wu Yu had also raised his head. He looked at Sun Wudao. He remembered the direction and clearly saw that Sun Wudao was looking at him as well. He had finally accomplished this step. Wu Yu's heart calmed. He waved a hand at Sun Wudao, gesturing that it was him.
"I did it."
Seeing that old man moved beyond belief gave Wu Yu a lot of satisfaction. He could not imagine the joy that Sun Wudao must’ve been feeling at the moment, even crying with happiness. This was what he longed for.
Of course, this was still not the actual promotion examination yet.
"Wu Yu has soared!" a servant disciple said sheepishly from the side.
Sun Wudao clutched his chair with both trembling hands. His eyes were much brighter. Or rather, to him, Wu Yu was now standing in the spot of his dreams.
High in the air.
"Situ Jin......"
The red-clothed girl, Hua Qianyou, almost fell off her Immortal Crane.
"I see it." Situ Jin's expression was darker than ever before.
Wang Yiyang's face was ugly. "That's impossible. Back then, when he got beaten up, I could see that he had no martial cultivation. How could he have entered the entrance examination, and be the first one out to boot?"
Liu Muxue's eyes glinted savagely, saying, "Nobody can reach the sixth tier of the Body Refining Realm from zero in a month. Clearly, he must have been concealing his ability. No wonder you didn't manage to kill him. The fact that he hid it so well means that he must have some secret goal."
Hua Qianyou's face lost color, and she said, "Situ Jin, with the way that you treated him, and the way he is, he will definitely come find you for revenge!"
Situ Jin forced a smile. "Why should you guys be scared? He's just a slave. Besides, even if he's the first out, so what? There are plenty of these opportunistic guys in history, ones who lucked their way to first place."
Liu Muxue said, "I am not afraid, but for such a small fry to put on airs, it's nauseating."
Situ Jin said, "Besides, there's one more stage in the entrance examination. As long as he doesn't become one of the external disciples, then he will forever be lower than us. I have my younger brother to support me. Would I even be afraid of these peasants?"
Indeed.
During the last stage of the Immortal's Path, Wu Yu had taken the chance. In the moment when the three had retreated, he had charged down and used Whale Slaying Sword of the East Seas to break the Ape Demon's leg, quickly using the opportunity created to dodge its attack and rush through to the finish. Although it was not elegant, it was successful. As for the three, they had been blocked by the enraged Ape Demon and were still battling.
"Congratulations, Wu Yu. You are the first to emerge from Immortal's Path. Your name will be carved in the history of the Heavenly Sword Sect."
Mu Ge's voice floated in the sky.
All who were first to emerge from Immortal's Path would be recorded in the lore of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
This was something which could be lauded easily anywhere.
"Wu Yu! Wu Yu!"
Instantly, 100,000 people were cheering Wu Yu's name with a frenzy.
He was the pride and dream of all the servants. From servant to immortal sect disciple. That was the legend in all the servants' hearts. It was what they all aimed for. If they did not succeed by the time they were 15, then they were basically all consigned to Sun Wudao's track.
Every servant had dreams of becoming an immortal!
Seeing Wu Yu so exalted at this moment, Situ Jin was unhappy. To him, Wu Yu standing there was a cruel jest against himself. And he clenched his fist.
On the other side, after confirming the events, Sun Wudao's expression was astounded. His eyes gradually reddened.
"Ecstatic! Truly ecstatic!"
Crowds of Yanli Mountain disciples thronged around Sun Wudao. The covetous and reverent gazes that Sun Wudao had never enjoyed before.
After a time, Qing Mang, Ju Huo, and Zhao Danlong had slain the Ape Demon and emerged from the Immortal's Path.
"Shameless disciple, you actually took advantage of us. See if I don't cut you down!" Zhao Danlong's face was dark, and he hefted his sword, ready to do battle with Wu Yu.
"Halt." Mu Ge's light word evaporated Zhao Danlong's anger. He could only stare balefully at Wu Yu, mouthing the words, "You watch out later on the Immortal Promotion Plateau battles!"
Wu Yu had indeed taken advantage, but he had not broken the rules, and so he did not really mind it. It was too early to celebrate. The key lay in the next Immortal Promotion Plateau battle.
Gradually, 100 servants made their way out, each one covered in fresh blood, standing under the gazes of thousands.
After 100 arrived, the rest could only go back down the mountain. They were not qualified to stand on the Immortal Promotion Plateau.
Some were so close. It was a pity.
The Immortal's Path's exit was closed.
100 young men and women stood under the gazes of 100,000. They were full of fighting spirit and fire. Their young lives were homing in on the Immortal Dao. Their blood boiled as they embarked on the path to becoming an immortal!
The place they were at was Immortal Promotion Plateau. It was 1,000 feet long and there was a trench about 100 feet deep encircling the plateau. For the Immortal Promotion Plateau battles, falling off the plateau meant defeat.
Mu Ge stood up. He was expressionless. His awe-inspiring immortal aura was vast! To see such a mighty immortal again, Wu Yu's heart was moved. After coming to the Heavenly Sword Sect, his worldliness had greatly increased. He was no longer trapped in the small country of Dong Wu.
"100 candidates. Only 30 among them can pass this entrance examination and officially become an immortal.
"From the initial 300, to the final 30. A one in 10 chance. This ensures that only true geniuses can become disciples of the immortal sect!
"The path to immortality is fraught with risk. One has to challenge the heavens, the earth, and demons! Unless one has tremendous potential and perseveres, one cannot embark on the Immortal Dao. Otherwise, all that awaits is injury and death - a waste of life!
"All who can stand here, I believe you understand the difficulties of the immortal path. I will not say more.
"The rules of the Immortal Promotion Plateau are that everyone must ensure they can stand on the Immortal Promotion Plateau. If they are beaten down, or surrender via Fire Talisman, they will be considered eliminated. Remember that you cannot kill somebody. Killers have a wicked nature and cannot become immortals.
"When there are only 30 left on the plateau, the battle will be over. Everyone can team up, or fight individually, and so on."
These were the rules of the Immortal Promotion Plateau.
It seemed simple, but it was actually very risky. A chaotic battle was the true fight of the Immortal Dao. No one had eternal friends or enemies. One must always depend and guard against everybody else.
Those remaining might not be the strongest 30, but those 30 had to be exceptional in some way. Even hiding successfully was also a skill.
"Of course, if only that were the case, then this would be meaningless."
Mu Ge said, laughing himself. This also aroused their curiosity.
"For our entrance examination, we have a tradition, which is to obtain the Immortal's Sphere. Today, we have prepared three huge boons for the disciple who obtains the Immortal's Sphere. Firstly, whoever obtains the Immortal's Sphere immediately joins as an external disciple. If at that time the Immortal Promotion Plateau battle is not over, they can also leave early. Of course, this is immaterial. More importantly are the two treasures. Firstly, a Spirit Concentration Pill."
Hearing this, the crowd gasped. The Spirit Concentration Pill was a genuine dan medicine. It was said that only Jindan Immortals could produce the dan medicine. It was valuable beyond price! Perhaps to the Mortal Body Refining Realm it would be useless, but with this Spirit Concentration Pill, entering the Qi Condensation Realm would see one's efforts rewarded twice as well!
That was something that even Heavenly Immortals like Su Yanli, who were in the Qi Condensation Realm, longed for!
Of course, that was just one of the treasures.
"The second object is a supreme-grade weapon called the Demon Banishing Blade. It has mystical properties and can even compare to a normal immortal treasure."
Immortal treasures could only be used by Heavenly Immortals.
Demon Banishing Blade!
Wu Yu's eyes burned. That was infinitely better than the longsword of refined steel that he currently wielded. It was equal to supreme-grade martial arts, and even better than high-grade martial arts.
Spirit Concentration Pill, Demon Banishing Blade. These two things were coveted by even the external disciples such as Situ Jin and his gang.
The 13-year-old evildoer, Situ Minglang, was the only one who was a match for the Demon Banishing Blade. And with a Spirit Concentration Pill in hand.
"Obtaining the Immortal's Sphere occurs concurrently with the Immortal Promotion Plateau battle. Whoever can take the Immortal's Sphere and hold on to it for 60 breaths of time is deemed the owner of the Immortal's Sphere.
"Once it is snatched away, when taken back, the time begins anew.
"If there are 30 people left and the Immortal Promotion Plateau battle ends with no one in possession of the Immortal's Sphere, then I will keep the Spirit Concentration Pill and the Demon Banishing Blade."
Mu Ge concluded his announcement.
And then the Immortal Promotion Plateau's battle formally began!