Chapter 55: Xuan Jian City in Turmoil

As the sky gradually darkened, more and more people entered the trial space.

But a group had already been eliminated.

Those who failed to last ten minutes across ten consecutive attempts have no place in the final trial.

For them, it all felt like a nightmare.

Many passed the trial, with Lin QiuXian being the fastest.

He cleared it in a single attempt, killing his opponent with only three sword strikes.

Of course, not every disciple of the Immortal Sects fared as smoothly as he did.

【Enemy: Qi Refining Ninth Layer Sword Cultivator, Beginner of the Grand Void Sword Scripture, Minor Mastery of Flowing Cloud Sword Art】

【Objective: Kill】

Jiang Yujiu stared at the approaching sword cultivator’s phantom and fell silent.

Not to mention how disadvantageous it was for a low-rank charm cultivator to face a sword cultivator—this thing didn’t even have a face. Could her charm arts even affect it?

This is unfair!

She was filled with grief and fury.

“My trial design does not include unfairness,” Xu Xing said, his eyes swirling with countless images.

Not only are opponents drawn completely at random, but their mental fortitude and spiritual strength are also at normal levels—based on the standard of Fang Lin.

Thus, these cultivator phantoms can feel pain, can feel fear, and charm arts, illusion arts, and other mental techniques are effective against them.

“Uncle, what are you plotting now?”

Chi JiuYu descended from the second floor; she had just communicated with her Life Sword within the realm, then scrolled through the Spirit Net for hours without finding anything interesting.

Bored, she came downstairs and found Xu Xing motionless on the sofa.

“You want to know?” Xu Xing turned to look at her.

For a moment, their gazes met.

Meeting those eyes swirling with light and shadow, Chi JiuYu felt a flood of chaotic information and images surge into her mind; her head spun, and she nearly stumbled.

What’s going on? Uncle’s up to something again! She shook her head and quickly ran down the stairs.

“Yes yes! I want to know!”

“Very well.”

Xu Xing extended a finger; screens of light rose, automatically shrinking to palm-sized, overlapping and interlacing until they filled the entire living room, each screen showing someone battling a cultivator phantom.

Thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Chi JiuYu stared in shock. Was Uncle really going this big?

“How many people is this?”

“All beneath Soul Transformation enter.”

“So if I go to sleep now, can I also…”

“You’re excluded.”

This is blatant targeting! Sigh~ It’s all my own fault for being too strong.

“Hey? Can these old men participate too?”

Chi JiuYu pointed to a palm-sized screen on the coffee table.

Inside was an elderly man with white hair and blotches of age spots—clearly someone whose foundation had been damaged.

Yet his spear techniques were razor-sharp; a few thrusts shattered the opposing magic cultivator phantom.

“All beneath Soul Transformation may participate.”

…………

The same thing was happening in Xiao Fan’s home.

“Brother Dao’s nature remains as domineering as ever.”

Huo watched Xiao Fan entering the trial and sighed helplessly.

Of course, expecting Brother Dao to show favoritism in such matters was impossible.

Though Xiao Fan now possessed a trace of Cang Clan bloodline, its full effect would take time to manifest, and combined with his lack of combat experience, he might very well be eliminated in the first round.

That would be embarrassing.

Huo watched him, choosing not to interfere.

Helping him restore his Dao path and participate in Brother Dao’s trial could be explained as manipulating the Cang Clan—but further intervention would be excessive. All he could do now was hope he didn’t draw a difficult opponent.

In Brother Dao’s trial, the Cang Clan’s fortune holds no sway.

For the first time, Xiao Fan drew a body cultivator.

Unsurprisingly, he was instantly crushed.

Second time: sword cultivator.

Same result.

Third time: charm cultivator.

Xiao Fan simply ignored the charm cultivator’s techniques and finally won.

Good—he had decent luck; the third draw was the perfect opponent.

Huo nodded slightly, then vanished.

The trial continued. For all cultivators beneath Soul Transformation in Xuan Jian City, this was destined to be an extraordinary night.

…………

The next day, Xuan Jian City erupted.

More precisely, since the late night, discussions about the trial on the Spirit Net had never ceased.

If only one or a few people had been involved, it would’ve been manageable—but the number entering the trial was simply too vast.

In the municipal building’s conference room, all the Soul Transformation cultivators of Xuan Jian City gathered once more.

After a night of investigation, the general situation was now clear.

It was a trial involving every cultivator beneath Soul Transformation; each qualified cultivator was pulled into a gray, misty trial space to battle a randomly drawn cultivator phantom.

The types of these phantoms were incredibly diverse: sword cultivators, body cultivators, magic cultivators, charm cultivators—nearly every cultivator profession was represented.

Ten attempts total; rankings based on final performance, with the top three thousand advancing to the second round.

Upon learning the full details, the mayor went numb. Who the hell was this elder, playing such a massive game?

Worse, the elder seemed to have no intention of hiding it, so they dared not suppress the news—even other cities had already heard.

“What do you all suggest we do about this?”

No one answered.

No one could offer a suitable suggestion; acting rashly might anger the elder—who would take responsibility? Just as the atmosphere grew tense…

“You need not interfere in this matter.”

As the voice sounded, a blade of light appeared from nowhere and landed in the conference room—a young man in the uniform of a Jiangong Elder.

The newcomer was the Void-Return Elder who had accompanied Li Qingyang.

“Greetings, Elder.”

“Greetings, Master.”

Everyone rose to bow; all breathed a sigh of relief.

Someone who could resolve this had finally arrived.

“Is this trial opened by Elder?” the mayor asked urgently.

In his view, only this Elder Li from Jiangong could possibly have such power.

“No, but my Ancestor instructed me to convey this to you,” the Void-Return Elder scanned the room. “Rest easy—this trial is not harmful.”

In truth, Li Qingyang had also gone to observe last night, only to find he couldn’t perceive anything…

Afterward, Li Qingyang patrolled Xuan Jian City and found no deaths; the worst case was merely sudden awakening.

Moreover, no signs of damage to spiritual core, body, or foundation were detected—thus he concluded this sudden trial carried no malice.

If not Elder Li, then who else could orchestrate such a feat?

But even the Jiangong Elder had said so.

The mayor bowed deeply.

“Yes, we humbly obey the Elder’s command.”

As long as no blame falls on us in the end, that’s enough.

Please collect, please follow! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!! (End of Chapter)