Chapter 56: Rankings of the First Trial

By noon, Chi Jiuyu was lying on his bed scrolling through the Spirit Web.

As the only person besides his uncle who knew the truth behind this trial (in her own estimation).

She scrolled through the absurd and ridiculous speculations on the Spirit Web and launched into a barrage of mockery.

Especially that “quietly cultivating Xiao Zhao”—she even created a new account just to troll him.

After that, Chi Jiuyu posted several more threads herself; because she knew the real reason, her posts seemed far more credible than the others.

This drew many people to ask questions, but she refused to clarify anything.

“Hehe!”

The thought of those seekers clawing at their hearts, desperate for the truth but unable to get it, made her roll around on her bed in delight.

In the living room, Xu Xing sighed softly.

He had told her to do as she pleased, but she seemed to be running wild.

Whatever. Let her be.

Xu Xing’s eyes shimmered with shifting light and shadow; at this moment, the first trial had only a few candidates left, and none of them performed well enough to matter.

The rankings were nearly settled.

Soon, names were listed in order according to each participant’s performance in the trial.

The one ranked first was not Zhang Yunlu, nor Xiao Fan, but…

Lin Qiuxian! As one of the top sword disciples of the Sword Sect, he mastered countless sword techniques and possessed abundant combat experience.

Against fellow Foundation Establishment body cultivators, he killed with three strikes—no one in the trial was faster.

Second was the wind-named sword cultivator who had been detained with him.

Third was a body cultivator from the Dragon-Elephant Soaring Heaven Sect.

Fourth was Li Fengping.

Though unlucky, the three sword disciples from the Sword Sect were still impressive.

Fifth was Yu Ming, the headmaster of the Third Middle School of Xuanjian City—the old man Chi Jiuyu had pointed out.

Because his foundation was damaged, he had never truly entered Soul Transformation; under Xu Xing’s criteria, he still fell within the Nascent Soul realm.

The list continued downward.

Sixth was Jiang Jing, a disciple of the Sword Enforcement Hall, whom he had met during the previous mission; the other sword cultivators he had seen that day had already left Xuanjian City and did not participate in the trial.

Seventh and eighth were a teacher from the First Middle School of Xuanjian City and an official from the Law Enforcement Hall.

Ninth was Zhang Yunlu.

She was undoubtedly the most experienced among all participants, but her luck was average—she drew a body cultivator.

Body cultivators had thick skin and heavy defenses; she had no experience dealing with them, so it took her time to wear him down.

Tenth was a disciple of Lingyin Workshop.

Eleventh was a disciple of Jisheng Valley.

Twelfth was a disciple of Shenji Artisan Hall.

Just like the rankings at the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.

The list continued downward until thirty-third, where came Jiang Yujiu of the Joyful Sect.

And the Taishang Dao Sect…

Though none of their techniques were weak, each held back, so they hovered around the eightieth position.

Further down were mostly local Xuanjian City Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators, along with disciples and officials from the Sword Sect’s Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and Law Enforcement Hall.

Among the Immortal Sect disciples, only one person failed to enter the top three thousand.

He was a pill alchemist from Jisheng Valley.

He was quite unlucky—he drew a body cultivator seven times in a row.

His poison arts were severely disadvantaged against body cultivators with thick skin and maximum resistance.

In the next three draws, he got two sword cultivators and one magic cultivator.

Against the two sword cultivators, he managed only a mutually destructive stalemate.

But he finally won against the magic cultivator—unfortunately, his overall performance was too poor to rank within the top three thousand.

Xiao Fan, backed by Huo, ranked just over a thousandth—neither high nor low, perfectly average.

After the rankings were finalized, the shifting light and shadow in Xu Xing’s eyes vanished instantly.

…………

In the gray, hazy trial space, Lin Qiuxian swung his sword, stirring faint wisps of gray mist.

Ding! Ding! The gleaming blade clashed with a pair of withered, monstrous hands—blood-red, claw-tipped, like the claws of a vengeful ghost—sparking tiny embers.

Each time the withered figure swung its claws, it released an overwhelming stench of blood—this blood was a deadly poison that corroded the six viscera and corrupted spiritual power.

Lin Qiuxian’s expression remained unchanged; he waited until the sharp claws were about to strike before calmly raising his sword to counter.

Blood Cultivator! A type of demonic cultivator.

Such practitioners were rare in this era, and the few remaining ones mostly dwelled on the Starfield Battlefield—there was almost no chance to fight them normally.

【First Trial Ended】

The sudden appearance of golden text startled Lin Qiuxian; the Blood Cultivator seized the opening, claws slicing through the air toward his throat.

Lin Qiuxian sidestepped slightly, then swept his sword horizontally—the blade sheathed in thin spiritual light, tracing a graceful arc—as blood sprayed forth.

Thud! The head fell, dissolving into a puff of gray mist.

Lin Qiuxian sheathed his sword and stood firm, eyes locked on the slowly forming golden text.

【Name: Lin Qiuxian】

【Realm: Nascent Soul Mid-stage (suppressed to Qi Refining Level 9)】

【Current Rank: One】

First!

A surge of uncontrollable joy exploded in his heart; the only sound in his ears seemed to be his pounding heartbeat.

He fiercely suppressed the urge to roar to the heavens, staring at the golden text, verifying it again and again, afraid he had misread.

【Second Trial will open in two days; the top five hundred will advance to the Third Trial】

“Three thousand down to five hundred?”

Lin Qiuxian forced himself to calm down.

But perhaps because his realm was suppressed, the effects of his cultivation method had lessened—he found it much easier to settle his mind than outside.

Soon, the drumming heartbeat gradually slowed.

Huh~ Lin Qiuxian exhaled a long breath.

“They gave us two days—probably to see how much we can improve within this space.”

After the trial ended, all who passed could remain and choose different cultivators as sparring partners to hone themselves.

Moreover, this trial space was incredibly realistic—the flow of spiritual power, the feedback during combat—indistinguishable from reality.

“Set: Wu Li Sword Cultivator!”

The Creation Foundation requires Wu Li—a state impossible to grasp; every cultivator with a Creation foundation experiences Wu Li differently.

Some achieve it after near-death escapes, others in life-or-death battles, and some grasp it while dying—and then die.

The only commonality: this process demands extreme conditions, and only humans can achieve it.

Lin Qiuxian had once wasted years on this—he even tried ascending the Starfield Battlefield in his Qi Refining body, living alone for months on a planet surrounded by alien creatures, barely escaping death multiple times, yet still failed to attain Wu Li.

In the end, he had no choice but to settle for a secondary foundation for his Foundation Establishment.

As his thoughts shifted, a figure emerged from the gray mist—holding a plain, ordinary longsword, walking slowly toward him.

【Enemy: Qi Refining Level 8 Sword Cultivator (Wu Li)】

Aside from the simple suffix “Wu Li,” nothing else was shown.

“Qi Refining Level 8…”

Only by defeating a Qi Refining Level 8 Wu Li sword cultivator could he challenge a higher level.

Lin Qiuxian remained alert, prepared, mentally calculating the optimal way to strike first.

The sword cultivator’s shadow had already reached him.

Still unable to see his face, the figure appeared petite, even more “slender” than previous cultivator shadows.

The figure raised a hand and curled a finger.

Huh? Taunting me?

Lin Qiuxian’s expression grew even more serious.

Seeing he still didn’t move, the shadow seemed impatient.

Chi! A flash of swordlight erupted before his eyes.

So fast!

Too fast—he couldn’t even raise his sword to block; all his training felt meaningless in this moment—could this really be the speed of a Qi Refining cultivator?

The world spun; a headless figure came into view.

The sword cultivator’s shadow stood behind it, its blurred face turning toward him, swirling its blade in a flourish.

Please collect, please follow!! (End of Chapter)