Chapter 3

"Up ahead, there is light, really."

After enduring the heart-pounding darkness and the long, panic-filled corridor, when a ray of light appeared, the young boys cheered and leaped with joy, their tired legs moving as if they were wild dogs dashing toward the light.

For many of the boys, this might have been the first time they truly experienced darkness.

The boys exerted all their strength to escape the darkness, running onto the open ground bathed in bright light, taking deep breaths of the sunlight and the scent of freedom, hoping the sunlight would dispel the lingering negative emotions in their bodies.

"Ah," someone shouted, "I only realized today how wonderful sunlight is."

"I hate the darkness, I hate the corridor."

Many now even hated the color black.

Tan Weiran stood among them, a slight smile on his lips. He remembered someone saying, "You eat tree bark, I eat rice. You walk, I ride. When the enemy dies, you live. All of these are happiness. Only through comparison do we know what is good."

This is happiness, this is beauty, Tan Weiran thought.

Before the Netherworld War, as long as you were willing, you could always find happiness and beauty.

Few noticed that among the hundreds of boys, about twenty of them removed their earplugs after exiting the corridor. These few looked tense, as if they were on guard, knowing what was to come.

Song Shenxing noticed, frowned slightly, and murmured, "Tell the four peaks, the sect has rules, don't go too far."

Even if he avoided human affairs, he couldn't avoid human interactions. If someone sincerely wanted to become a disciple, the Xing Tian Sect couldn't always reject them, as that would not be the way to treat people.

When leaking questions became commonplace, he couldn't blame them.

No one noticed that the people from the five peaks of the Xing Tian Sect were mostly gathered here, observing the boys from the periphery.

"Begin the fourth test."

Song Shenxing instructed, "Pay attention to the boys who perform well." He paused and looked at one of the boys, "Like him."

An examiner led the group forward, where a bright corridor awaited. The boys, full of confidence, didn't take it seriously.

Tan Weiran looked around calmly, knowing what the fourth test was. He noticed the traces of the illusion and thought, "In my past life, I didn't understand, but now it seems the sect's illusion level is quite limited."

The seemingly sunny open field was actually an illusion, and the boys were still in the corridor.

After all the boys entered the corridor, the examiner ordered the illusion to change.

Suddenly, countless blood-soaked demons and monsters appeared, fiercely and brutally attacking the boys.

In an instant, the light disappeared, leaving only deep, terrifying darkness. The demons and monsters, unseen in the darkness, roared and pounced, their cries of slaughter echoing through the corridor.

The timid fainted on the spot. The brave, though, were only able to scream and shout in the pitch-black darkness before being overwhelmed by the demons and the darkness.

This was a necessary test for the Xing Tian Sect, and their performance would be the most important reference for selection.

If there was any dangerous part of the entrance test, it was this. Occasionally, three or five timid individuals would be scared to death in this fourth test.

"How is Tan Weiran performing?"

The Xing Tian Sect's regular entrance test was limited to those under eighteen. Tan Weiran's earlier performance was so astonishing, which is why he drew special attention.

It's no wonder Song Shenxing paid extra attention, and the other four peaks had their own thoughts and judgments, naturally placing Tan Weiran on their list of closely watched candidates.

The answers they received made Song Shenxing and the four peaks look extremely strange.

"He seems to be, well, dozing off."

Tang Xinyun gritted her teeth, "He actually dared to sleep during the test." As she said this, she couldn't help but laugh.

He might be the only person in the history of the Xing Tian Sect to sleep during the entrance test.

Sun Chengxian and others looked odd, and Zhou Dapeng felt a sense of foreboding, "With such a junior brother, I doubt I'll feel like a senior brother."

Tang Xinyun was puzzled, "Is he pretending to sleep?"

...

"Who wakes from the great dream first, I know my life well."

Tan Weiran yawned and stretched, passing the fourth test along with the other boys, who looked pale and green, as if they had just returned from the underworld.

The fifth test began.

The examiner was about to call out names when someone hurried over and whispered a few words. The examiner was surprised and looked at the boys, "Who is Tan Weiran? Come forward, you're first."

Tan Weiran touched his face, feeling a bit nervous but outwardly indifferent, and entered a room alone with a group of boys.

The examiner inside was curious and eager, "Place your hand on this. Have you practiced? If so, that's great, input a little bit of energy."

Tan Weiran placed his hand on a small, gray crystal and input a bit of true qi. The gray crystal soon emitted a faint five-colored light, which was quite balanced.

This light indicated the most common five-element body, nothing special. For bone structure, it would be better if one element stood out, which would be more in line with expectations.

"Continue," the examiner was slightly disappointed. With Tan Weiran's previous performance, if his bone structure stood out, he would be highly sought after, "This object contains a bit of true qi. Absorb the true qi and strike the stone pillar with your palm."

"Remember, use your full strength. Also, don't use your own true qi."

Tan Weiran smiled, the first part was to check his innate bone structure, and the second part was to check his body's meridians' capacity to accommodate true qi, another aspect of bone structure.

Life is the same, yet different. Some are naturally talented, making cultivation easier; others have a hard time opening their dantian and have blocked meridians, making cultivation much harder.

Absorbing true qi and striking the stone pillar would produce light. The scale on the stone pillar ranged from one to one hundred, and the higher the light scale, the better the innate meridians.

If the meridians were naturally larger and less blocked, they could accommodate more true qi, making cultivation easier. Tan Weiran was one of these.

Tan Weiran followed the instructions and struck the stone pillar.

The light shot up from the bottom, reaching forty in a blink. The examiner showed a hint of satisfaction; forty was the standard.

It's important to note that no one is born with completely unblocked meridians. Even with cultivation, it's extremely difficult to achieve this. People eat various foods, which can cause blockages in the body.

The light continued to rise, slowly reaching fifty. The examiner's face showed surprise; this was an outstanding score.

The light reached over fifty and continued upward. The examiner's eyes were filled with great anticipation.

The light slowly reached sixty. The examiner held his breath, watching the light rise.

Sixty-one, sixty-two... it finally reached sixty-six, struggling to go any higher.

Tan Weiran was surprised. He clearly remembered that in his past life, the test result was sixty-four, the best among the disciples of the Jianxing Peak, surpassing his third senior brother Liu Chengfeng. He wouldn't forget this.

The examiner looked at him, unable to contain his surprise and joy.

Human meridians are always somewhat blocked. Therefore, forty is the entry standard, fifty is noteworthy, and sixty is worth cultivating, comparable to innate bone structure.

If one could reach seventy, they would be among the top disciples in any sect, worthy of meticulous cultivation.

Given the size of the Xing Tian Sect and the number of disciples, those who could reach seventy were few. Tan Weiran's sixty-six was rare and worth the four peaks competing for him.

Take sixty-six and sixty-four, for example. The difference of two points might seem small, but the former's cultivation effect is slightly better, and in battle, the former is slightly stronger. Over time, this can make a significant difference.

It's important to note that broader and more unblocked meridians offer various natural advantages in cultivation.

The examiner, with a kind and sincere expression, said, "Good, very good. Our sect has five peaks and five meridians. I am a disciple under the chief of Jiande Peak. If you join our Jiande Peak, you will definitely..."

Tan Weiran interrupted, "What's the next test?"

The examiner was slightly taken aback, "Follow me."

They went to the back room, pushed open the back door, and behind it was a bottomless cliff, shrouded in mist, making it terrifying and causing legs to tremble.

The examiner looked at him expressionlessly, "This is the final test. You must jump down."

He expected the handsome boy to be pale with fear, but before he finished speaking, the examiner saw the boy dive forward and leap over the cliff, even managing to smile back before falling.

The examiner couldn't read the boy's smile but was certain this was the most decisive and straightforward person he had ever known.

"Perhaps, he will be a very unique boy," the examiner muttered to himself, recalling the earlier smile.

Very unique, very independent. Perhaps, like a wolf entering a sheep pen.

Falling from the clouds, Tan Weiran's thoughts seemed to span time and space. Endless blood, countless corpses, formed the Netherworld War.

The future is a great era, a fallen era.

Just like Tan Weiran at this moment, countless people and sects fell from the clouds into the mud.

The Xing Tian Sect was destroyed, the Jianxing Peak defeated. The lineage vanished in a moment.

I come. I change.

The final test, asking about life and death.

The rapidly falling boy smiled faintly, "I come from the Netherworld, I go to the Ten Directions."

Who dares ask about the path of life and death!

{Piaotian Literature}