"Sister, you never showed up for the Tianyi Pavilion's disciple recruitment in the past. Are you willing to accompany your little sister to watch this time?" Mo Ningxiang asked with a smile as Li Xuan leaped down the mountain.
Bai Suxin hesitated for a moment, but then nodded slightly and said, "Let's go."
Below Tianfeng, Li Xuan was shocked as he descended to the mountainside.
The vast city stretched as far as the eye could see. Li Xuan could vaguely discern five colossal floating pavilions surrounding Tianyi City.
In the very center of the city, on an extremely expansive plaza, dense crowds filled the space. Not only that, but people were also standing on various platforms suspended in mid-air. The sheer number easily exceeded hundreds of thousands.
Such a multitude of Immortality Realm existences, their concentrated aura surged towards the heavens, churning like a storm in the sky.
"These are all Immortality Realm existences. This Cloud World is truly extraordinary," Li Xuan sighed with emotion. He mused that in the past thousand years, only he had reached the Immortality Realm on the Cloud Spirit Continent and the Eternal Continent.
Yet, in just this Tianyi Domain, there were so many Immortality Realm existences. And above them, there were even more powerful beings. Li Xuan's understanding of the universe deepened once more.
*Dong!*
Half an hour later, Li Xuan, standing in the plaza, was drawn by the sound of a bell. Simultaneously, in the center of the plaza, a high platform slowly emerged.
"Welcome, Golden Light Great Esteemed One!"
As the platform settled, Tianyi Pavilion disciples, who had been standing ready, shouted in unison. The crowd of over a million people bowed towards the platform.
"This Supreme One will preside over the Tianyi Pavilion's disciple recruitment assessment. You are dismissed." A resonant voice echoed, and Li Xuan felt a lightness in his body. He then rose and looked towards the platform.
A middle-aged man, appearing to be around forty years old, stood upon the platform. His golden robe shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.
"So this is the Golden Light Great Esteemed One, one of the Six Great Esteemed Ones. He is so imposing; he must at least be a Cycle Realm existence," Li Xuan thought, quickly averting his gaze.
Just a glance made Li Xuan's soul ache faintly, revealing the Golden Light Great Esteemed One's immense power.
"Welcome, Great Esteemed One's Wife!"
"Welcome, Bai Suxin Great Esteemed One!"
"Welcome, Mulan Xin Great Esteemed One!"
"Welcome, Chen Peng Great Esteemed One!"
"Welcome, Zhang Chao Great Esteemed One!"
At that moment, the Tianyi Pavilion disciples standing on either side of the platform shouted again. The crowd fell silent, holding their breath as they bowed.
"Even the other Great Esteemed Ones have come. It seems only the宸宇 Great Esteemed One is missing," Li Xuan exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at the six figures on the platform.
The powerful aura storm generated by the million people earlier completely dissipated with the appearance of these six.
A mere grand ceremony for recruiting disciples had drawn out the top figures of the Tianyi Domain. This underscored the importance of Tianyi Pavilion to the Tianyi Domain.
"I didn't expect even the White Esteemed One to personally attend. This is somewhat surprising," Golden Light said with a slight bow to Mo Ningxiang, then turned to Bai Suxin with a smile.
"The number of attendees at this disciple recruitment ceremony has exceeded all previous years. Furthermore, as one of the Six Great Esteemed Ones of the Tianyi Domain, I am obligated to fulfill my duties. I believe my presence here to observe is not against the rules."
Bai Suxin's expression remained calm. After speaking, she walked directly to a stone chair beside Mo Ningxiang and sat down.
"Of course, it is permissible. I was merely asking. Esteemed ones, please be seated." Golden Light chuckled, nodding with a wry smile. He was well aware of Bai Suxin's disposition. He then bowed to the other Esteemed Ones.
"Golden Esteemed One, let us begin," Mo Ningxiang said to Golden Light after the six had taken their seats.
Golden Light nodded slightly and turned to the crowd on the plaza, announcing loudly, "The Tianyi Pavilion disciple recruitment ceremony now begins!"
"This assessment will select a thousand disciples from among you. Given the large number of applicants, a preliminary screening will be conducted before the formal assessment. Only those who pass this screening will be eligible for the subsequent trials. You may consider this screening as part of the assessment, where the strong survive."
"Now, all applicants, ascend the Cloud Ladder!"
With a wave of his hand, the Tianfeng, shrouded in mist and its true appearance hidden, became clear.
A giant staircase formed of mist stretched from the foot of Tianfeng upwards. After a few breaths, the top was vaguely visible. Li Xuan's heart grew heavy.
Since it was a screening, it was highly probable that the assessment had already begun. It was very likely that a significant portion of people would be eliminated at this stage, especially since Tianyi Pavilion only needed a thousand disciples.
"Well, as they say, what will be, will be. I am curious to see what this trial entails," Li Xuan's gaze grew firm. He then followed the crowd, his figure moving rapidly towards the Cloud Ladder.
*Hum.*
As his foot touched the Cloud Ladder, a humming sound arose. Li Xuan looked around and saw nothing but the cloud ladder beneath him; no one else was visible.
"An illusion?" Li Xuan frowned slightly, clearly not expecting things to unfold this way. He had initially thought the vast Cloud Ladder would be enough for everyone to climb. But now, it seemed the assessment was not so simple.
"I haven't experienced a shortage of assessments in my life. Since it has begun, let's see how this trial fares," Li Xuan took a deep breath and then stepped forward, ascending.
Several minutes later, having climbed nearly a hundred steps, Li Xuan slowly stopped. Confusion filled his eyes. "Strange, why is there no change? Could it be that this screening is merely to test everyone's stamina?"
Li Xuan shook his head in bewilderment and continued to walk, unable to figure it out. After another hundred steps, Li Xuan's expression began to darken.
He discovered that as he climbed higher, the spiritual energy in his dantian was gradually decreasing. This reduction occurred without any warning. For a spiritual master, the most crucial element was the spiritual energy in their dantian. If that was depleted, they would become an ordinary person.
Faced with this situation, even Li Xuan had to stop.
"At my current pace, I don't know if I can reach the summit. However, giving up now would be truly unwise," Li Xuan mused. After careful consideration, he resumed his halted steps.
Time passed, and sweat began to bead on Li Xuan's forehead. Naturally, it wasn't due to physical exhaustion.
"This level set by the Golden Esteemed One is quite ingenious. Currently, nearly a hundred thousand people have been eliminated," said Mulan Xin Great Esteemed One from the high platform, smiling as she looked at the Cloud Ladder.
"You flatter me, Wood Esteemed One. As the White Esteemed One mentioned earlier, the number of applicants this time truly exceeds previous years. If we were to start the assessment directly, it would consume a considerable amount of time. This setup effectively reduces the overall time," Golden Light Great Esteemed One replied with a slight smile and a nod.
"Esteemed Golden One, how many more levels are there in this assessment? If too many are eliminated, we might lose some talented individuals," Mo Ningxiang agreed, nodding and turning to ask Golden Light Great Esteemed One.
"Great Esteemed One's Wife, based on my projections, the first level will eliminate one-third of the participants. The second level will leave around two hundred thousand. This number is similar to previous years. Those who cannot pass these two levels are not considered good prospects," Golden Light Great Esteemed One explained.
"It appears the Golden Esteemed One is quite confident in his assessment. In that case, we shall wait and see," Mo Ningxiang nodded, glanced at Bai Suxin beside her, and then shifted her gaze back to the Cloud Ladder.
"Damn it! At this rate, my spiritual energy will be completely depleted before I reach the summit." Ten minutes passed, and Li Xuan was already drenched in sweat.
The fear he felt from within made Li Xuan restless. If his spiritual energy were depleted, what difference would he be from an ordinary person?
"No!"
After standing on the Cloud Ladder for several minutes, Li Xuan suddenly raised his head and looked at the cloud steps, the summit of which was now faintly visible.
"The Golden Light Great Esteemed One said this was merely a preliminary screening before the assessment. If that is the case, the inexplicable depletion of spiritual energy must be the work of the Golden Light Great Esteemed One. His objective, naturally, is to test... the overcoming of fear!"
Li Xuan's eyes grew brighter, and the sweat on his body gradually dried. Having deduced the nature of the Cloud Ladder assessment, Li Xuan resumed his movement without any change in expression, even as the spiritual energy in his dantian dwindled further.
"This brat is not bad. He finally figured it out," Mo Ningxiang said via telepathic transmission to Bai Suxin from the high platform, withdrawing her gaze.
Bai Suxin smiled faintly upon hearing this. "After all, he is the one chosen by the scribe."
Time continued to pass. After another twenty minutes, Li Xuan was only ten steps away from the summit of the Cloud Ladder.
At this point, all the spiritual energy in Li Xuan's qi sea had long since dissipated, but Li Xuan paid it no mind. He glanced at the summit of the Cloud Ladder and then took another step upwards.
*Boom!*
As Li Xuan stepped forward for the final ten steps, the surroundings of the Cloud Ladder changed. Numerous points of spiritual light flickered in the air like fireflies. Li Xuan smiled slightly and advanced again.
With each step Li Xuan took, the surrounding spiritual light points became denser and brighter. By the time he reached the last step, the surging spiritual light points rushed towards Li Xuan. In an instant, the spiritual energy that had vanished from Li Xuan's dantian was replenished.
Li Xuan's heart stirred, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face. The spiritual energy in his dantian was even more refined than before. Li Xuan even sensed that the bottleneck in his cultivation seemed to have loosened slightly.
"I didn't expect the methods of the Golden Light Great Esteemed One to be like this. However, this level was certainly worth it." With his spiritual energy restored, Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. After a brief moment of composure, he stepped onto the final platform.
"Congratulations on passing."