Standing in the center of this battlefield, Qin Wentian and the others stared at their surroundings, feeling waves of coldness rus.h.i.+ng their hearts. This should be the harsh reality of the immortal realms. This 100 year immortal banquet organized by the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures was nothing but a gamble where the various geniuses of the thirteen prefectures had to bet their lives on it.
It was extremely cruel and pragmatic. These were all top-level geniuses from the prefectures and they could have been living a comfortable life if they were willing with what they had. However, if they have ambitions and dreams, they had no choice but to accept such a cruel tempering exercise. Gaining new life through the baptism of blood and tears, maturing unceasingly and become a truly strong character akin to those supreme beings like immortal kings who were watching the struggles of these geniuses leisurely outside.
Naturally, those supreme beings also had gambled with their lives many times before having the accomplishments they had today, acc.u.mulating countless experience to mature. On their path up till here, how many bodies of geniuses have they trampled over? The answer to this question was only known by they themselves. In fact, if they still wanted to climb upwards to the peak of the immortal realms, this gambling and acc.u.mulating experience process would still continue until they truly stood at the very peak.
"This ‘magnificent’ disciple selection is built on the blood of countless geniuses." Qin Wentian mumbled. Although he was somewhat fatigued, he still stood straight and tall akin to a thousand-year old pine tree that stood unyielding regardless of how fierce the storm is.
He had his own story, his own dreams as well as a responsibility.
He wanted nothing more than to stand together with that pure maiden who done so much for him silently. He wanted a strength strong enough to stare directly at the heavens with no one casting looks of disdain at him. He wanted to find out about his background as well as the legendary story of his parents.
Hence, he had to straighten his back and continue walking the path tall and proud, no matter how many obstacles stood before him.
"Yeah, the thirteen prefectures. From the preliminaries till now, every test was accompanied by bloodshed and this will last until the top three rankers are identified. But from the start till then, n.o.body knows how many would die." Those beside Qin Wentian sighed. The top three rankers, they knew they weren’t qualified at all. Only demon-level characters like Gusu Tianqi and Qin Wentian would have a chance. They could clearly feel the disparity between them and those true demon-level characters.
There was no way to make up for the gap between them.
"But for those top three rankers, they would definitely soar up to the heavens from then on. Given their innate talents in addition to the heavy nurturing and guidance provided by the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, they would only become more and more outstanding than before and would even have a chance to become the personal disciple of the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor. Brother Qin, among us you have the most hope, you definitely have to grab this opportunity." The partic.i.p.ants in his group looked at Qin Wentian and gave their blessings.
"I will definitely become one of the top three." Qin Wentian mumbled, filled with an intense conviction. However, he only said that he would become one of the top three and nothing more. Even becoming one of the top three rankers, there was no need to take the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor as a master.
"We all believe in you." The partic.i.p.ants nodded heavily. They didn’t know Qin Wentian’s intention, but they were all hoping for him to become one of the top three rankers by becoming a Sage Child character in the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. Only Zi Qingxuan’s eyes flickered with a strange glow because only she knew the true purpose of herself, Qin Wentian and Jun Mengcheng being here.
Becoming one of the top three rankers but not joining the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect!
For this great battle, only Qin Wentian and his group had the time to be idle. The other battles were still raging fiercely.
The group of thirty-plus fifth-level ascendants who were once the same group as Qin Wentian weren’t that fortunate, many of them died or were severely injured. They placed their hopes on Su Feng’s tyrannical strength in hopes of increasing their chances of survival.
But naturally, Su Feng wasn’t willing to go all out for some random strangers. He swiftly defeated a few disciples and headed on his way. After all given his tyrannical strength, it wasn’t difficult for him if he wanted to leave alone. Those disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect also didn’t pursue him when he left, but they continued to encircle and attack the remaining people, leading to the current circ.u.mstances.
The partic.i.p.ants had no choice, they started to flee in different directions, leaving their chances of survival to luck. If they knew this was the case, they would have listened to Qin Wentian and disbanded the group earlier.
At this moment, there were two partic.i.p.ants in that group who were frenziedly fleeing for their lives in a direction. These two were seriously injured and there were six to seven disciples exuding grim killing intent pursuing them with great speed. The distance between the two groups got increasingly shorter and the disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect all had malevolent smiles on their faces as though they were playing a game. "You all won’t be able to escape."
"ARGH!" The two roared in madness and despair, unleas.h.i.+ng the power of their constellations to the limits. They fled with their greatest speed yet they couldn’t shake their pursuers off their tails.
At this moment, they saw a group of people in the distance before them who seemed extremely relaxed. They weren’t in combat at all and they seemed to be doing nothing. When they clearly saw the countenances of these people, the two fleeing partic.i.p.ants felt their hearts convulsing violently. This...how could this be possible? Where were the disciples from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect who had broken off from the main force to pursue these people?
Qin Wentian and the rest also saw these two. And one among them was none other than the one would loudly mocked Qin Wentian before, saying that Qin Wentian and the others are nothing but a bunch of crows, ridiculing their decision to split up.
Numerous pairs of eyes turned to the two partic.i.p.ants. Qin Wentian and his group were indifferent and seemed extraordinarily calm. After such a great battle, many of them had just walked to the gate of death and back. If it wasn’t for Qin Wentian protecting them in such a frenzied manner, every one of them would have already died. And as for these two partic.i.p.ants, since they had chosen to follow Su Feng, it meant that they have already decided their destiny. Since they already made the choice, they should face the consequences themselves.
"RUMBLE~" Numerous attacks arced through the air. Evidently, the disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect had noticed the group of partic.i.p.ants in front and were hastening their pace. Their attacks blasted into the backs of the two fleeing partic.i.p.ants as their bodies trembled violently, coughing out fresh blood. They could only grit their teeth and continue onwards, and when they neared Qin Wentian’s group, one of them couldn’t help but ask, "How did all of you escape?"
Both his eyes were bloodshot and his aura was fluctuating weakly. Yet even so, he still wanted to know how the other group had accomplished this, coming out of that skirmish almost completely intact.
"Qin Wentian used his tyrannical strength and killed the disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect to protect us because we had chosen to follow him." A partic.i.p.ant in Qin Wentian’s group spoke. The two fleeing partic.i.p.ants started as expressions of madness painted their faces. They then laughed manically when they recalled what had happened earlier. Oh yea, these people have chosen to follow Qin Wentian back then. Who would have thought Qin Wentian actually would protect them.
As for them, they selected Su Feng but were abandoned the moment things got hot. Lu Longcloud had also chosen to leave alone.
How cruel. They could only hate themselves for the choices they made.
"BOOM!" A beam of destructive energy descended. The two fleeing partic.i.p.ants could only screamed in despair before being corroded away by the attack.
The group of disciples pursuing those two fleeing partic.i.p.ants couldn’t help but frown when they saw Qin Wentian’s group. Where did their comrades who split from them earlier go to? Was what the partic.i.p.ant said earlier true? All of them had been annihilated by Qin Wentian?
The eyes of the disciples all fixed on Qin Wentian, flickering with trepidation. This man was someone they had wanted to kill but couldn’t do so right from the start. All of them knew of Qin Wentian’s overwhelming combat prowess and regardless of core or elite disciples, many of them were killed by him. In the same level of cultivation, it was as though there was no one who could surpa.s.s him.
"Scram." Qin Wentian spat out a single word. The faces of the disciples all turned incredibly unsightly to behold, but they didn’t dare to act against him. They could only turn and depart this area with complicated expressions on their faces.
As disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, the hegemon of the thirteen prefectures, many of them were actually brutally killed by a single person. Qin Wentian didn’t mask the disdain he had for them, yet they didn’t even have the courage to reply to him. How ridiculous was this? They feared to reply because they were afraid that Qin Wentian might kill all of them in a pique of anger.
Maybe it was also because Qin Wentian had already grown tired of the killing. The him now didn’t choose to kill the disciples, allowing them to go free instead.
Given the amount of geniuses that died here, the selection test should be soon coming to an end by right.
"Everyone stop the battle."
At this moment, a earth-shattering voice rang out through the sky, akin to the sound of explosive thunder, causing those in combat to halt their actions. There were some who even retracted the attack energy they blasted out. After all to characters at their level, they could control their attacks perfectly and since the immortal king characters of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect had already issued a command, n.o.body dared to defy them.
"The 160 remaining partic.i.p.ants, all head to the mini spatial formations and exit the gorge." The imposing voice rang out again, filled with a faint unhappiness.
Xia Hou also stopped battling. Before this he had also partic.i.p.ated and when he heard the voice ringing out through the air, his heart couldn’t help but to tremble violently. He then stood on a mountain peak and gazed about, as though he was searching for something.
Such a chaotic battle, Qin Wentian should have died here, right?
But at this moment as his gaze turned to a certain direction, his countenance turned to shades of white and green. How is this possible, that man isn’t dead yet?!
In addition, his target seemed to have sensed something and directly turned his eyes over, locking gazes with him. That cold gaze of Qin Wentian was like a provocation and challenge, telling him, Xia Hou, that he Qin Wentian was still surviving no matter what he tried and that he was destined to become one of the most dazzling existences in this selection test.
After this battle, Qin Wentian would have considered to pa.s.s the test and will become a core disciple if he so wished to. In fact, even for elite disciples, it was tougher than ascending the heavens compared to killing Qin Wentian. He had already missed the best opportunity… the selection test in this location had come to an end.
Outside the Sage Devil Gorge, numerous figures appeared one after another. Regardless of those who fled from the gorge earlier or those 160 partic.i.p.ants who pa.s.sed, all of them appeared here, standing in three different factions. Those who fled from the Sage Devil Gorge stood in the external disciples group, the current disciples stood in the second group while the 160 partic.i.p.ants stood in the third group.
"Those who can become an external disciple can leave with this man. If you are unwilling to, you can depart this area." An immortal king pointed to a black-robed man by his side. That black-robed man nodded to the would-be external disciples and led them away.
"For current disciples who partic.i.p.ated in the hunt, you all can leave now. All elite disciples are to report to the Immortal Punishment Hall to await orders." That immortal king continued, his words causing the hearts of the elite disciples to shudder. Xia Hou was so frightened that his face turned pale, he could only leave this place with his heart filled with trepidation.
"Congratulations to all of you. You guys all possess the qualifications to become a core disciple of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. Next, you will partic.i.p.ate in the immortal banquet with many supreme characters of the thirteen prefectures." That immortal king nodded his head and smiled at the 160 partic.i.p.ants, no longer as strict as before. Although these people were core disciples as they pa.s.sed the test, in reality since they could survive so many tests to reach this point clearly indicated that many of them had the potential to become elite disciples. The position of being core disciples for these 160 geniuses was merely their starting point - a preferential treatment only for them!