Chapter 56: Ranking of the First Trial Round

It was noon, and Chi Jiuyu was lying on her bed scrolling through the Spirit Net.

As the only person besides her aunt who knew the truth of this trial (in her own opinion).

She watched the absurd and ridiculous guesses on the Spirit Net and launched a barrage of mockery.

Especially that "quietly cultivating Xiao Zhao"—she even created a new account just to roast him.

After that, Chi Jiuyu posted several more messages herself; since 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!"

Just imagining those asking people scratching their heads, desperate to know the truth but unable to find it, she rolled 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 have her way.

Xu Xing's eyes shimmered with shifting light and shadow; at this point, only a few contestants remained in the first trial round, but their performances were unremarkable and negligible.

The rankings were nearly finalized.

Soon, names were listed in order according to each contestant's performance in the trial.

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

Lin Qiu Xian! As one of the top sword disciples of the Xiang Jianzong, he mastered countless sword techniques and possessed abundant combat experience.

Against a same-level body cultivator, 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 Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect.

Last was Li Fengping.

Though unlucky, the three sword sect disciples sent here were still quite strong.

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 Jin Dan realm.

The list continued downward.

Sixth was Jiang Jing, a disciple of the Sword Enforcement Hall encountered during the previous mission; the other sword cultivators 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 Silutang.

Ninth was Zhang Yunlu.

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

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

Tenth was a disciple of the Ling Yin Fang.

Eleventh was a disciple of the Jishi Valley.

Twelfth was a disciple of the Shenji Lianbao Pavilion.

Just like the ranking during the Xian Sect's grand competition.

Then it continued downward until thirty-third, where came Jiang Yujiu of the Huanhuan 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, most were local Xuanjian City Jin Dan and Yuan Ying cultivators, along with disciples and officials from the Xiang Jianzong's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and the Silutang.

Among Xian Sect disciples, only one person's ranking failed to enter the top three thousand.

He was a pill alchemist from Jishi Valley.

To be fair, 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 spell cultivator.

Against the two sword cultivators, he fought them to a mutual ruin.

But he finally won against the spell cultivator; unfortunately, according to overall performance, he still couldn't rank within the top three thousand.

Xiao Fan, backed by Huo, ranked around one thousandth—neither high nor low, average and unremarkable.

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

…………

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

Ding! Ding! The gleaming blade clashed with a pair of withered, grotesque hands—nails sharp, blood-red, like the claws of a vengeful ghost—sparking tiny flames.

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 energy.

Lin Qiu Xian's expression remained unchanged; each time, he waited until the claws were about to strike before calmly countering with his sword.

Blood cultivator! A type of demonic cultivator.

In this era, they are rarely seen, and the few remaining ones are almost all on the Starry Battlefield—there's virtually no chance to fight them normally.

【First Trial Round Ended】

The sudden appearance of golden text made Lin Qiu Xian pause; the blood cultivator seized the opening, claws slicing through a faint stench of blood toward his neck.

Lin Qiu Xian sidestepped slightly, then swept his sword horizontally—the blade sheathed in thin spiritual light, tracing a graceful arc—as a spray of blood flew out.

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

Lin Qiu Xian sheathed his sword and stood still, eyes fixed on the slowly forming golden text.

【Name: Lin Qiu Xian】

【Realm: Yuan Ying Mid-stage (suppressed to Qi Condensation Level 9)】

【Current Ranking: 1】

Number One!

A surge of uncontrollable joy exploded in his heart; the only sound in his ears was the thudding of his own heartbeat.

He fiercely suppressed the urge to let out a long, triumphant roar, staring at the golden characters, confirming them again and again, afraid he had misread.

【The second round of trials will open in two days; those ranked within the top five hundred may advance to the third round.】

"Three thousand down to five hundred?"

Lin Qiu Xian forced himself to calm down.

Yet, because his realm was suppressed, the effects of the cultivation technique upon him had also lessened, making it far easier to settle his mind than outside.

Soon, his drumming heartbeat gradually slowed.

Huh~ Lin Qiu Xian exhaled a long breath.

【Given two days, they must be testing how much we can progress within this space during this time.】

After the trials end, anyone who passes may remain, and may even choose different cultivators as opponents to hone themselves.

Moreover, this trial space is utterly real—the flow of spiritual energy, the feedback during combat—indistinguishable from reality.

「Set: Enlightenment Sword Cultivator! 」

The Creation Foundation requires Enlightenment—a state too elusive to grasp; every cultivator with a Creation Foundation experiences Enlightenment differently.

Some achieve it after narrowly escaping death; others in the midst of life-or-death combat; some attain it while on the brink of death—and then die.

The only commonality is that this process demands an extreme circumstance, and only humans can attain it.

Lin Qiu Xian had once wasted years on this, even attempting to ascend the Starfield Battlefield in his Qi Condensation stage, living alone for months on a planet surrounded by alien creatures, narrowly escaping death multiple times—yet still failed to attain Enlightenment.

In the end, he had no choice but to select a lesser-grade Foundation for his establishment.

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

【Enemy: Qi Condensation Stage 8 Sword Cultivator (Enlightenment)】

Aside from the simple suffix "Enlightenment," nothing else was shown.

"Qi Condensation Stage 8…"

Only by defeating a Qi Condensation Stage 8 Enlightenment Sword Cultivator could he challenge a higher level.

Lin Qiu Xian did not dare to underestimate; he braced himself, his mind racing to determine the optimal way to strike his first sword.

The sword cultivator's phantom had already reached his front.

Still unable to make out the face, the figure appeared slightly petite, even more "slender" than the previous cultivator phantoms.

He raised his hand and curled his finger.

Huh? Still taunting?

Lin Qiu Xian's expression grew even more serious.

But as the figure remained motionless, it seemed to grow impatient.

Tschi! A blade of light flared before his eyes.

So fast!

Too fast—he had no time to raise his sword to block; all his training felt meaningless in this instant. Could this truly be the speed of a Qi Condensation cultivator?

He felt the world spin; a headless figure came into view.

The sword cultivator's phantom stood behind the headless figure, its blurred face turning toward him, swirling its sword in a flourish.

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