Chapter 178: Xuqi Sect Grand Protector
"Everyone, if I may please have your attention."
A powerful voice echoed across the lake, spreading to the far reaches on either side. The volume of this voice was tremendous, immediately drawing the attention of everyone present.
"This is the Xuqi Sect's current generation grand protector? Hmm, this junior is quite decent." The Hukon Clan Ancestor commented casually, eyeing the distant man with a brief glance.
"Xuqi Lian is indeed a good junior, he ascended to the Origin Soul Realm at just 170 years of age, then reached the peak of the realm after another 80 years of cultivation." The Xuqi Sect Immoral Lord replied with a faint smile.
"Oh?" The Hukon Clan Ancestor raised an eyebrow, taking a second look at the man in the distance.
The Xuqi Sect Grand Protector had quite the bearing. He stood tall and proud, seemingly unfazed by the countless gazes of the many powerful cultivators all around him. Even knowing that he was being watched by immortals right now, he showed no signs of anxiety or unease. There were not many people who had the ability to remain this calm in such a situation.
The grand protector's head was bald, but his beard was extremely luscious. He didn't wear typical cultivator robes, but instead donned a martial uniform, which looked quite similar to a mortal general's armour. His bearing was one of dominance and courage, he truly looked like an individual who was suited to leading the Southern Continent.
After examining him for a moment, the Hukon Clan Ancestor turned back to the female immortal and laughed.
"This grand protector is good, but I heard that your Xuqi Dynasty has produced an even more interesting junior recently."
The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord showed a surprised expression.
"You actually heard about this matter? I thought I had managed to keep Laila's existence a secret. I wanted her to surprise everyone in this examination. Sigh…"
"Haha, how could a genius who reached the Origin Soul Realm in under 100 years be kept a secret?" The Hukon Clan Ancestor laughed boisterously, but then he added with a serious tone: "This girl, she probably has a decent chance of reaching the Immortal Step…"
As he listened in on the immortals' conversation, Yaan felt slightly stunned. There was a person in the Xuqi Sect who attained the Origin Soul Realm in under 100 years? Whilst this might sound like a long period of time, it was actually extremely fast progress for a QI refiner! No, calling this 'fast' did not do it justice…this rate of ascending through the realms was basically unheard of in the Southern Continent!
With each subsequent cultivation realm, progress would slow down exponentially. On top of this, orthodox Qi refining cultivation was not something that could be rushed. All Qi refiners would go about their cultivation slowly and methodically, valuing their foundation above their speed of improvement.
But managing to reach the Origin Soul Realm already proved that this person possessed an excellent foundation!
'Xuqi Laila…' Yaan thought to himself. He memorised this name, because he was certain that this person, who seemed to be the disciple of the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord, would shine brightly in the coming examination.
As the immortals chatted casually amongst themselves, seemingly not caring about Yaan overhearing their conversation, the Xuqi Sect Grand Protector's booming voice continued to echo above the lake. Whilst the sound of his voice was enough to send ripples through the air, the water below remained oddly still.
"The Xuqi Sect's 2,947th entrance examination will begin shortly. I am sure that everyone is aware of this by now, but I would like to reiterate that the esteemed immortals of the Xuqi Sect and Fragment Sect are present today, and they will be spectating on this decade's exam…"
The grand protector paused briefly, looking around the silent crowd and finally nodding when he saw their solemn expressions, satisfied to see that everyone understood.
The implication behind his words was obvious...
We're being watched by immortals right now, so conduct yourselves properly!
After getting this reminder out of the way, the grand protector continued speaking.
"Now that everything else is out of the way, the examination will now commence. Everyone, please make your way towards the centre of the lake."
The grand protector stood at the forefront of the Xuqi Dynasty's group as he spoke, whilst multiple Xuqi Sect members stood behind him. Even this simple positioning was a reminder to all the other cultivators here…a reminder that behind the Xuqi Sect stood the Xuqi Dynasty, the true ruler of the Southern Continent!
After hearing that they were to move in towards the centre of the lake, and therefore towards the immortal statue of the Xuqi Sect's founder, many people who had not yet experienced this entrance exam previously showed uncertain expressions. Was it really ok for them to get so close to an immortal monument? Was it-
Rumble!
Their thoughts were cut short as a rumbling sound echoed across the region. Following the rumbling sound, the immortal statue actually started shaking!
Yaan narrowed his eyes, staring forwards without blinking. He watched as the statue of the immortal sunk down into the lake below, then an instant later, a giant tower, three miles in diameter, sprouted out from the lake. The tower rotated as it emerged from the lake, scattering the lake water and finally causing ripples to appear on the previously still water.
The cultivators who had been moving inwards as instructed, all stopped and stared at the tower with a mixture of expressions. Those who had witnessed this scene in previous decades sighed to themselves, marvelling once again at how incredible the Xuqi Sect's foundation must be, to possess such an absurd thing.
Those who were seeing this for the first time mostly just stared with blank looks of shock.
"What do you think of my sect's Tower of Mortal Dao?" The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord laughed charmingly as she spoke to Yaan.
The tower had now full emerged from the water. It was so tall that it actually seemed to touch the seven coloured lights in the sky!
"It's very impressive…but what is it exactly?" Yaan couldn't help but ask. Even with his experience, he still could not tell whether this tower was a treasure or some fort of formation, or perhaps something else entirely!
Shockingly, the female immortal shook her head and sighed, saying:
"This Tower of Mortal Dao was created by the Divine Court, even I do not fully understand its complexities."
'Divine Court!' Yaan thought, narrowing his eyes and becoming alert as he stared at the tower.
This tower which extended up beyond the sky was golden in colour, shimmering with a splendid light. Runes could be seen across the surface, but these runes were not set, they were constantly moving and morphing into various shapes and characters.
No matter how Yaan observed this tower, he couldn't understand the slightest thing about it. In the end, he gave up on trying to analyse this shocking tower, returning his attention to the grand protector, who, with the help of the other Xuqi Sect members, had ushered all of the cultivators closer towards the centre of the lake and around to one side of the tower.
Naturally, they had moved across to the side which was occupied by the three immortals to host the examination, they obviously wouldn't ask the immortals to move.
Everyone needed to be gathered together in order for the examination to progress smoothly. Gradually, the cultivators formed a colossal ring, stationing their groups and individuals around the circumference of this ring, whilst leaving a dozen miles of space in the centre.
Actually, this ring was more like half a ring, with the three immortals, Yaan, and the giant sword, positioned alone opposite this half-ring. Even now that the examination was beginning, nobody dared to encroach upon the immortals' personal space.
As the grand protector flew into the centre of the ring, the surroundings became silent. Everyone watched as multiple renowned members of the Xuqi Sect appeared before their eyes. When they realised that the grand protector was actually accompanied by four other protectors, as well as a dozen elders, everyone felt stunned.
Usually, it was already a big deal if more than one protector hosted the examination, and the grand protector only appeared publicly on rare occasions. Everyone present understood that there were even more Xuqi Sect members blended into the crowds, meaning that this decade's examination was an extremely big deal!
Naturally, all of this was because of the presence of the immortals.
"Now then, for the rules of his decade's entrance exam." The grand protector turned around whilst speaking, making sure to direct his deafening words towards each area of the ring. "As always, there will be two stages to the exam; the test of battle prowess, and the test of dao. The test of battle prowess will be conducted by Late Origin Soul Realm Xuqi Sect Elders. Three elders will participate at any one time, battling against the examinees in a series of one-on-one battles. When the elders tire, they will rotate and switch with others."
The grand protector paused to let everyone process this information, but it really wasn't necessary. The examination was basically held in one of three ways each decade; having the participants battle against one another in one-on-one battles, having the participants battle in an all out melee, and having the participants battle against the Xuqi Sect elders.
"If you are defeated by one of my sect's elders, then you will be given the chance to fight in one more match. If you successfully defeat an elder, you will immediately progress to the next stage, but even if you are defeated, you might still have the chance to reach the next stage depending on your performance."
The grand protector looked around. After seeing a series of understanding nods, he smiled and clapped his hands together. Following this action, three giant marble pillars rose up silently from the lake below, eventually stopping and forming three circular podiums for each of the battles to take place on.
"Well then, with that…let the 2947th Xuqi Sect entrance exam, begin!"
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