Chapter 77: Very Devoted

The meaning of "few in purple" is this—two people, one of whom is Zhou Qianyuan.

"This year's immortal-grade mirror assessment is stricter than usual: dual spiritual roots start at white; single spiritual roots or dual spiritual roots combined with a Dao Body start at green; single spiritual roots combined with a Dao Body start at purple."

Seeing the purple halo beneath Zhou Qianyuan's feet, Sun Daoyu explained to the others with no small amount of pride.

Zhou Qianyuan was indeed worth his pride—over a thousand participants joined this Immortal-Grade Assembly, half had already been assessed by the Immortal-Grade Mirror, and only two had started at purple; by this ratio, a purple-start was one in a hundred.

And this was under the condition that every major family had sent their most talented children to attend the Immortal-Grade Assembly.

In the scene, Seventh Young Master and Zheng Fa walked past the Immortal-Grade Mirror, one after the other.

The halo beneath Seventh Young Master's feet was white.

As for Zheng Fa, his halo was white but carried a faint trace of green, though it was barely noticeable.

"Has this junior brother actually cultivated a Dao-Entry Martial Art?" Sun Daoyu, as a Nascent Soul disciple, was well-traveled and knowledgeable: "Yet the gap between a Dao-Entry Martial Art and a Dao Body is immeasurable; this junior brother's purple-start can only be regarded as white."

"What does 'start grade' mean?"

Zheng Fa's younger sister, Zheng Shan, couldn't help but ask.

"The start grade is your cultivation talent. Those with a purple start can enter the Immortal Gate directly, without needing the next round of assessments. They are the true geniuses the Baixian Alliance needs; they will inevitably become the pillars of the Baixian Alliance in the future. As for disciples with green or white starts, they can only enter the Baixian Alliance through various artisan crafts." A smile of both pride and headache appeared on Sun Daoyu's face: "However, my junior brother... he aims for our Shijie Zhang."

He turned to look at Shijie Zhang: "Shijie Zhang, our bet has begun."

Zheng Fa looked at the white halo beneath his feet, unsurprised.

What surprised him was Zhou Qianyuan's choice.

After everyone had passed the Immortal-Grade Mirror, a voice that did not sound human echoed in the hall:

"Those with purple grade may enter the Immortal Gate directly; those below green grade must choose one door to enter for the next round of assessment."

Zheng Fa and the others looked into the hall and discovered five small doors standing behind the Immortal-Grade Mirror, each bearing one of the five large characters:

"Talisman," "Pill," "Artifact," "Array," and "Miscellaneous."

Zhou Qianyuan, who was vaguely regarded as the leader and stood before everyone, actually walked directly toward the door marked with the character "Talisman."

"Aren't you purple grade?"

Someone behind him asked.

"I am not just purple grade."

Without turning his head, he walked inside the door.

Zheng Fa and Seventh Young Master exchanged a glance, feeling this person was truly arrogant.

Seventh Young Master muttered softly:

"I've never met someone more deserving of a beating than me..."

The two followed the crowd into the door marked "Talisman."

After a short passage, they arrived at nine interconnected palaces—one of the five structures behind that great hall.

A man in white robes waited for them there.

Seeing the purple halo beneath Zhou Qianyuan's feet, he was also startled, but asked no further questions; he merely nodded to the crowd, said nothing, turned, and bowed toward the palace, where a talisman paper in his hand ignited without wind.

"Respectfully inviting the Nine Mountains Ancestor!"

The Nine Mountains Ancestor?

Zheng Fa watched with his own eyes as the nine palaces before him suddenly rose from the ground, their roof ridges growing into mountain peaks, and their palace walls turning into cliff faces.

In a blink, nine towering, majestic mountains stretching upward stood before the crowd.

Before each person appeared a continuous silver ribbon, winding around the nine mountain peaks upward, all the way to the summit of the highest, ninth peak—these were transparent plank roads.

"This Talisman Dao assessment is posed by our Jiushan Sect; the requirement is to climb the Nine Mountains—each mountain has nine hundred and ninety-nine steps of plank road; the one who travels the farthest steps wins."

"To enter our Jiushan Sect, one must rank in the top twenty by step count!"

"Compared to those with a white start, those with a green start receive an additional nine hundred and ninety-nine steps at the end; those with a purple start..."

The man looked at Zhou Qianyuan, seemingly unsure how to arrange it.

"I shall tread all nine mountains."

Zheng Fa understood his meaning—this master wants a perfect score, needing no extra bonus points.

After Zhou Qianyuan finished speaking, he stepped directly onto the first plank. A basic Yang Yuanfu suddenly appeared on the transparent plank beneath his feet, while various talisman diagrams began flashing rapidly on the next plank ahead.

Zheng Fa somewhat understood the intent of this assessment—they must step onto the next plank at the right moment when the talisman diagram displayed there corresponds to the basic Yang Yuanfu beneath their feet.

"Ah..."

Zheng Fa watched helplessly as an unlucky fellow beside him stepped onto the next plank; the talisman diagram above was incorrect, and the transparent plank instantly shattered into powder. The person fell from mid-air, their falling trajectory passing through colorful clouds and disappearing from everyone's sight; no one knew whether they lived or died.

Some jumped onto the first plank but dared not step forward for a long time; as a result, the basic Yang Yuanfu on the transparent plank beneath their feet flickered a few times, and then both the Yang Yuanfu and the plank vanished entirely.

This person, caught off guard, fell in a posture even more disheveled than the previous one.

... So waiting there indefinitely doesn't work either; this thing has a time limit!

You must step within a certain time, and ensure that when you step, the talisman diagram on the next step corresponds to the Yang Yuanfu beneath your feet.

With a time limit and requiring deep understanding of the Talisman Dao, this assessment does not look simple.

While he was observing, he suddenly felt the silence beside him was excessive; turning his head, he found Seventh Young Master was three steps away, his face pale as he stared at the plank road before him.

Zheng Fa then remembered a piece of obscure knowledge only he knew—Seventh Young Master was afraid of heights.

These transparent plank roads were practically stabbing directly at Seventh Young Master's weakness to the point of death.

Seeing Zheng Fa looking at him, Seventh Young Master smiled stiffly:

"This master suddenly realized the Immortal Gate isn't all that great."

"Wanting to give up?"

"What do you mean 'give up'? Don't you remember what my courtyard is called? Not Envying Immortals! This master doesn't care about going to the Immortal Gate!"

"... If you go back like this, your mother will scold you."

The Seventh Young Master hesitated, then dismissed it:

"My mother? I've been used to it for years!"

"Your sister will beat you."

The Seventh Young Master's face twisted in conflict, but finally he gritted his teeth:

"My sister… my sister probably won't kill me."

"Hmm… really decided to go back?"

"Mm!" The Seventh Young Master nodded firmly.

"Then good—Gao Yuan has always wanted to be Gao Er'er. Now he'll get his wish."

"Huh? What's 'Er'er'?"

"Don't you know Gao Yuan? He loves to compete."

The Seventh Young Master nodded.

Zheng Fa said coolly: "Of the three of us, he couldn't match me when I entered the Immortal Sect, but compared to you, he reads well and trains in martial arts—truly accomplished in both literature and martial arts. He's always believed he should be Er'er."

"Before, your fu-art surpassed his, and you entered the Immortal Sect—he dared not be too arrogant."

"But now that you're returning like this…"

Zheng Fa didn't finish his sentence—the Seventh Young Master had already risen in anger.

"He has such wolfish ambition?"

"Think about what kind of man he is!"

"So I'll come back and become San'er?"

"I think that's exactly how he sees it."

"He thinks I'm worse than Gao Yuan?"

"He won't say it, but he'll think it."

The Seventh Young Master clenched his teeth and walked toward the transparent plank path ahead.

Zheng Fa smiled behind him.

You might endure your parents screaming "wretched son" ten thousand times, but you'll never accept a friend calling you trash—especially a friend who used to be worse than you.

A nearby boy, having overheard their conversation, sighed to Zheng Fa: "That Gao Yuan—does he have a deep bond with this brother?"

"Huh?"

The boy said: "You told him about your mother's scolding, your elder sister's beatings—he didn't react at all. But when you mentioned Gao Yuan, he suddenly had this fire in him."

Watching the Seventh Young Master tremble in both legs, scrambling upward with hands and feet, teeth clenched.

Zheng Fa also nodded: "Mm. Deeply bonded."