Hu Liu stared at the young man in front of him who was holding the snow-white sword against his neck with a dazed look in his eyes.
For a moment, the young master of the 'Golden Exchange firm' thought that he was actually living in a nightmare and couldn't wait to wake up from it. And yet, the chilling feeling that was coming from the tip of the sword, as well as the few droplets of blood and the faint pain on his neck both made him realize that this was all real.
Seeing the blue-haired Hu Liu stumble backwards the yellow-robed young man of the Holy sect smiled mockingly, when a cold voice came from the sky and said in a cold tone
''Eliminated!''
As everyone turned their heads towards the sky, they noticed that this voice came from the white-robed old man with long hair, whose cultivation was at the peak of the Dao King realm.
''NO! I didn't lose! I want another chance! I am still standing!''
The moment that the word 'eliminated' entered Hu Liu's ears, it was as if something had suddenly broken inside him, as the young master of the 'Golden Exchange firm' shouted unwillingly at the old man in the sky from the top of his lungs.
His father, the head of the 'Golden Exchange firm' had already told him time and time again during the past few years of how important it was for him to enter the Holy sect.
If he became a disciple of the Holy sect, not only would he be able to help the Night star continent alleviate the pressure that they were feeling from the 'Demon Emperor palace', but his own cultivation and status would also explode.
Even though Hu Liu didn't really care about the Night star continent and its fate, how could he possibly accept being eliminated from the Holy sect's test at this point? The Holy sect was the dream of every young cultivator in the Night star continent, especially those who came from the peak powers of the continent!
This was the ticket that would allow Hu Liu to become a true powerhouse in the future, one that wouldn't be restricted at the peak of the Dao King realm!
And yet, the peak rank 9 Dao King in white robes stared at the raging Hu Liu who was filled with unwillingness, with a calm expression on his face.
Raising his hand, the old man revealed a small white token with mysterious symbols on it.
Before Hu Liu had any time to react, a white ray of light appeared from the token in the white-robed elder's hand and instantly covered his entire body.
''NO! I DIDN'T LOSE!''
The blue-haired young man's scream reverberated throughout the arena as his body started to fade away, turning into countless motes of light that slowly disappeared in front of everyone's eyes.
Silence immediately filled the arena as everyone stared at Hu Liu's disappearing body with different expressions on their faces, before they all turned their attention towards the old man in white robes in the sky.
The peak rank 9 Dao King looked at the disciples in the audience seats with a serious look, almost as if he was taking in everyone's appearance, while stopping on a few select individuals for a few seconds longer than the rest.
Finally, a few moments later, the old man smiled before he said in a nonchalant voice
''Don't worry, that kid isn't dead. I simply sent him to wait along with the rest of those who have failed the third test. If any of you has a good relationship with him, I suppose that you can choose him as your servant later on and allow him to follow you inside the sect.
Hehe, that is of course under the premise that you will actually manage to pass this test first.
The truth is, that the disciples that you will all face here today are actually the 1000 weakest outer disciples of my Holy sect!
And yet, less than 100 out of the 1000 people that participate in the fourth test manage to enter our Holy sect in the end and become official disciples.''
After a brief moment of pause, the old man's smile slightly widened as he then continued
''Of course, I am sure that some of you were shocked when you heard the test's rules and thought that it is unfair.
After all, how can you fight against those who have already become outer disciples of the sect?
Hehehe, however, the truth is, that these disciples in front of you only entered the sect 2 months before you!''
The moment that the white-haired old Dao King finished his words, shocked looks appeared on the faces of the disciples in the audience seats.
Even Shun Long couldn't help feeling stunned for a moment once he heard this.
''These were the one thousand weakest disciples of the sect?
They only entered the sect a month ago?
In that case, how many disciples did the Holy sect actually accept?''
However, aside from these 3 questions, an even more shocking one appeared in Shun Long's mind at the same time
''A random disciple among the one thousand weakest disciples of the Holy sect could actually defeat Hu Liu within 2 or 3 moves?''
Of course, it was natural for Shun Long to feel shocked after realizing this.
After all, no matter how weak Hu Liu may have really been, as the young master of the 'Golden Exchange firm' and as a peak rank 3 Nascent Soul stage cultivator, it should be impossible for him to lose against someone else so quickly.
For the fight to end so quickly, this only proved one thing! That Hu Liu's opponent was so powerful, that he could definitely surmount realms and fight people stronger than him.
At the very least, as a peak rank 3 Nascent Soul expert, the young man in yellow robes was definitely strong enough to fight against early rank 4 Nascent Soul stage cultivators head-on.
And yet, such a person was still ranked within the 1000 weakest disciples of the Holy sect!
The gap of strength between the Holy sect and the peak powers in the Night star continent couldn't even be described if one compared them with the clouds and the mud!
The old Dao King seemed satisfied after seeing the shocked looks on every disciples' faces, before turning his attention towards the yellow-robed disciples behind him, almost as if he was waiting for the next person to step into the arena.
At the same time, the old Dao Emperor who had stayed silent during this time actually raised his eyebrows with a curious expression on his face.
He had originally expected that these new disciples would have been shocked for a good while, and perhaps they would even tremble after realizing the Holy sect's strength that was beyond their expectations.
And yet, there were actually 2 among those disciples who were only startled for a few moments, before they turned their eyes towards the rest of the yellow-robed disciples behind the old man, almost as if the shock from what they had just heard didn't matter too much in the end.
At that moment, Shun Long had the illusion that the Dao Emperor's gaze had landed on his body, before it slowly moved away from him, towards a person clad in black robes not too far away from his location.
A few moments later, the white-robed Dao Emperor closed his eyes, his lips curving up into a smile as he mumbled a single word
''Interesting!''