Primordial Star Scripture

Although a sense of foreboding had already settled in their hearts, the assessment youths couldn't help but frown when they actually saw the number of times their names had been struck.

It was that bad!

Of the nine hundred and sixty-eight youngsters participating in the selection conference for the direct disciples, over seven hundred had their names struck more than a thousand times, with the highest one being hit by the Purple Lightning Pearl's beam as many as one thousand six hundred and fifty-three times!

The hearts of these seven hundred-plus youths sank, signifying that they would be directly deducted more than a thousand assessment points in the second round of the examination.

In the first round, the most any of them had earned was just a few dozen assessment points, and now they were facing a staggering deduction of over a thousand points, not even having enough points to deduct from.

This was simply too terrible!

Not only were the scores of these seven hundred-plus youths bad, but even among the remaining two hundred or so test-taking youths, although they were not struck more than a thousand times by the beams, the number was still several hundred, and their performance was only slightly better than that of the seven hundred-plus youths.

Only a few dozen individuals had been struck by the light beams less than two hundred times, which was considered the best performance.

All the assessment youths looked up at the top of the colossal light screen, eager to see the scores of the strongest candidates like Ye Chen and Yu Luoxuan.

When they saw Mu Yunlei was struck one hundred and sixty-three times and Yu Luoxuan ninety-six times, the youths were all stunned.

With the second round of assessment being so difficult, how could individuals like Mu Yunlei and Yu Luoxuan still perform so well?

And when they saw the number of times the top-ranked Ye Chen was struck, they were even more agape. Ye Chen was hit only fifteen times!

This youth, an external exception attending the Taixuan Sect's direct disciple selection conference, had once again come in first!

All the youths turned their gaze towards Ye Chen, including Mu Yunlei, Yu Luoxuan, and the others.

If in the first round of assessment Ye Chen excelled in the strength test, one could have claimed that strength was his forte. But since he performed so well again in the second round concerning speed and movement, it undoubtedly demonstrated his overall prowess.

This directly indicated that Ye Chen indeed had the potential to take first place at the selection conference. It was even possible that in the final two rounds of the assessment, Ye Chen would further increase his lead!

Of course, this made the Taixuan Sect disciples take great notice of Ye Chen!

It wasn't until the second round of assessment had completely finished and the Purple Lightning Pearl flew back into Fairy Jia Luo's hands that she spoke slowly to the assessment youths as countless gazes turned towards the giant screen.

"The second round of assessment has ended, as you can see."

"In this round, I used the 'Purple Lightning Pearl' to test you not only to assess your speed and movement skills but to let you understand just how dangerous you would be in a real life-or-death battle."

"My 'Purple Lightning Pearl' emitted four types of striking beams. The first type, a crimson beam, is a mid-level True Qi striking beam. The second type is a green beam, a high-level True Qi striking beam. If you can't even dodge these two types of beams, it means that in a battle within the True Qi Realm, you are likely to be killed by your opponent!"

Fairy Jia Luo's words sent shivers down the spines of countless assessing youths.

Indeed, the "Purple Lightning Pearl" was Fairy Jia Luo's Attack Artifact, which she had merely deactivated the killing power of, but who would turn off their killing power in a real battle?

If a true opponent also had such mid-level or high-level True Qi Killing Power Treasures, they would be dead by now!

"Whether it's sect selection or cultivation, both are relatively calm and safe. However, once you step out of the protection of the sect and into the perilous strife of the martial world, any slight mistake may cost you your life!"

"I used this method in the second round of assessment because I wanted to remind you all of this! You must take advantage of your time in the sect to diligently improve your cultivation and enhance your methods!"

Fairy Jia Luo's gaze swept over all the assessing youths as she spoke solemnly.

All the youths nodded earnestly, Ye Chen included.

Ye Chen agreed wholeheartedly with Fairy Jia Luo's words. He had faced several extremely dangerous situations before, from being hunted by Zhou Hai in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain to the bloody vendetta of Zhou Yuntian later. If his methods weren't sufficient, he would already be dead!

Then there was his family's encounter with the three rogue practitioners from Wan Ya Mountain after entering the Ancestral Land Secret Realm. If it weren't for the substantial increase in his strength inside the Ancient God Tower, not only would he have failed to avenge his family, but he also might have likely fallen victim to those rogue practitioners' subsequent attempts to rob and kill him!

Ye Chen constantly strove to improve his strength and methods because he knew well the dangers of the martial world of the Barbaric Wilderness Continent.

Only the strong, only those with more methods and aces up their sleeves, could handle the sudden threats to life!

Even Yan Ling'er, back on the eighteenth floor of the Ancient God Tower, had mentioned that despite being under the protection of an ancient flame emperor in the minor spirit realm, she had several life-threatening crises.

Having far less to rely on than Yan Ling'er, Ye Chen naturally had to train even harder and enhance his methods.

His previous escapes from deadly perils came from the accumulation of hard work and diligent practice night after night. If he were careless and faced another threat to his life, how would he cope?

Ye Chen was determined to do as Fairy Jia Luo said, to leverage the relative peace of his cultivation within the sect to improve his strength.

His participation in the selection for the direct disciples of the prestigious Taixuan Sect was partially for the sake of Jiang Yao and partly to seize better cultivation opportunities within the foremost sect of the Tian Feng nation's eastern domain.

At that moment, Fairy Jia Luo's gaze particularly focused on Ye Chen, Yu Luoxuan, Mu Yunlei, and several other youths who had shown exceptional performance in the first two rounds.
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"Ye Chen, Luoxuan, you few have done very well."

"But, you should also take seriously what I've just said."

"Currently, your strength is indeed remarkably outstanding within the True Qi Realm, and even Ye Chen's strength is sufficient to contend with Spirit Sea Realm experts!"

"However, what would you do if you faced opponents of the Rotating Pill Realm?"

"What's more, how would you manage if Heavenly Saint Realm powerhouses harbored enmity towards you?"

"While some threats might be inevitable regardless of your efforts, taking the time before they arise to strengthen yourselves is essential!"

Ye Chen, Yu Luoxuan, Mu Yunlei, and other young warriors all nodded solemnly.

Indeed, no one could guarantee that their cultivation would always go smoothly, or that they wouldn't encounter unexpected dangers.

They had all heard of many fallen talents, countless geniuses who excelled in the True Qi Realm but died before even setting foot in the Spirit Sea Realm. There were even tales of absolute prodigies in the Spirit Sea Realm who became collateral damage in battles between Heavenly Saints and perished in the mayhem of their conflicts.

A fallen genius is no longer considered a genius!

That's why even the most unparalleled experts, upon seeing a talented youngster, may only consider nurturing them instead of being certain they will grow to be invincible powers.

This was also why Ye Chen, who had many tactics at his disposal, absolutely would not reveal them unless it was an absolute last resort.

To grow and to strengthen, one must survive first—that is the fundamental principle!

The words of Fairy Jia Luo were not only listened to attentively by the young warriors undergoing the assessment in the square but also deeply remembered by the disciples from Taixuan Sect who were not participating in the selection for the true successor, as well as disciples from other sects.

Even those Rotating Pill Realm powerhouses at the high seats of the Mountain Gate Square and their Spirit Sea Realm disciples behind them nodded repeatedly.

At this moment, Fairy Jia Luo finally changed her earnest demeanor, continuing to speak about the true successor selection proceedings.

"I have said so much just now, partly as a reminder to all of you after the two rounds of assessments, that no matter whether you are chosen as a true successor, you must cultivate earnestly," she said.

"On the other hand, these words are also relevant to the final two rounds of assessment you are about to face!"

"Because, in the next two rounds of assessments, you will face tests that could truly endanger your lives, real combat assessments!"

Real combat assessments?

Potentially life-threatening?

All the young warriors undergoing the assessment felt their hearts pounding, all turning their gazes towards Fairy Jia Luo, eager to hear about how the last two rounds of assessments would be conducted.

"Real combat assessment?"

"Indeed, Taixuan Sect is truly Taixuan Sect, always honing its disciples and fostering their growth! During every Taixuan Sect true successor selection, there is a real combat assessment. Moreover, each time there are disciples who die in this actual combat," someone observed.

"Just wonder how Fairy Jia Luo will arrange this real combat assessment."

Those who knew the history of Taixuan Sect's selection for true successors also looked towards Fairy Jia Luo.

"Real combat assessment."

"Finally, it is time for this combat assessment."

"This time, the assessment we've settled upon could be said to be the most dangerous one in history!"

Several Rotating Pill Realm powerhouses at the high seats of Mountain Gate Square clearly knew the nature of this combat assessment, and their expressions became grave.

The remaining influential figures of the External Sect also showed immense interest in the upcoming real combat assessment of Taixuan Sect.

At this moment, Fairy Jia Luo finally announced the method of the real combat assessment.

"The third and fourth round of assessments will be conducted together, at a secret location of our Taixuan Sect—'Sky Extreme Cliff'!"

Upon hearing the words "Sky Extreme Cliff," the expressions of those Spirit Sea Realm disciples of Taixuan Sect at the high seats of the Mountain Gate Square changed.

Clearly, they were aware of the existence of Sky Extreme Cliff!

However, the Outer Sect disciples seemed puzzled at this moment, as they obviously did not know what or where the Extreme Sky Cliff was, or what it looked like.

"Sky Extreme Cliff?"

Ye Chen frowned as well—he had never heard of the name Sky Extreme Cliff.

Boom!

Just then, Fairy Jia Luo waved a huge hand towards the void, and directly another giant screen appeared in mid-air.

From within the screen, one could see peaks of floating mountains soaring amidst the clouds, with enormous flying beasts flitting through the clouds around the Floating Peaks!

These floating mountains, one higher than the next, had no connecting bridges between them. All one could see were thick vines hanging down from each Floating Peak.

"This within the screen is the location of 'Sky Extreme Cliff'," Fairy Jia Luo said, pointing towards the Floating Peaks in the vision.

"Sky Extreme Cliff consists of ninety-nine domains scattered across ninety-nine floating mountain peaks. To climb these peaks with your True Qi Realm capabilities, you have no choice but to ascend by grasping the 'Sky-Scaling Vines' hanging from above these Floating Peaks."

"Your third round of assessment will be based on the height of the Floating Peaks you manage to climb—the higher the peak, the more assessment points you will earn!"

"However, do not climb recklessly. Suspended within the clouds, these 'Sky-Scaling Vines' are buffeted by countless strong winds in the mountain fog. If you are careless, you could fall into the abyss below. These Floating Peaks are all several thousand zhang high from the ground at their lowest point; a fall would mean there would be nothing left of you!"

"This is a life and death assessment, a real combat assessment, and don't expect us to save you. We will definitely not make a move, so treat this as a real combat challenge!"

"Therefore, without sufficient power, do not blindly attempt to climb the 'Sky-Scaling Vines'!"