Chapter 83

One day later, within a radius of several thousand miles, the candidates from various small tribes arrived at the Tao Clan one after another.

After another night of rest, today, the grand selection of the Divine Kingdom officially began!

The location of the selection was a flat wilderness outside the Tao Clan's city.

This wilderness was very large, with the ground covered in black iron rocks, as if they were specially laid tiles.

More than a thousand candidates, organized by their tribes, were neatly lined up on the wilderness.

In the center were, of course, the young elites of the Tao Clan, numbering about six or seven hundred, more than the combined total of the candidates from the other dozens of small tribes!

Not only were they numerous, but their quality was also top-notch. Even those who were just there to make up the numbers were stronger than the reserve warriors of the Lian Clan.

Yi Yun saw the third young master of the Tao Clan, Tao Yunxiao, standing at the front of the line.

As for the first and second young masters, they did not appear. According to the rules of this grand selection of the Divine Kingdom, the first round was just a preliminary selection to eliminate those without strength. However, anyone who had reached the Purple Blood Realm did not need to participate in the preliminary selection; they could directly enter the final selection.

In fact, reaching the Purple Blood Realm was almost equivalent to being guaranteed a place in the Jinlong Guard. The final selection was just a formality. Purple Blood warriors under the age of twenty-eight, even if they were just at the initial stage of Purple Blood, had proven their talent and were qualified to become members of the Jinlong Guard.

In the entire Tao Clan, apart from the first and second young masters, there were seven other Purple Blood warriors under the age of twenty-eight. These nine people directly secured nine spots in the grand selection of the Divine Kingdom.

The remaining thousand people would compete for the other eleven spots!

At this moment, a cavalry unit rode in, led by Zhang Tan, the commander of the Jinlong Guard.

He was also the host of this grand selection of the Tao Clan.

Zhang Tan gently pulled the reins, dismounted, and said, "Now, I will announce the rules of the first preliminary selection!"

Zhang Tan did not waste words, not even introducing himself, and went straight to the point, "The first selection will mainly test your courage and resolve!"

"Courage and resolve?"

The candidates were taken aback. They had thought the preliminary selection would test their strength, which would be the easiest and simplest. But testing courage and resolve? What was that? How would it be tested?

"Courage and resolve are the momentum you carry and the decisiveness in your actions! People with strong courage and resolve are decisive and efficient, with extraordinary courage. They do not retreat in the face of any difficulties and remain resolute in the face of any temptations, moving forward bravely!"

"The path of martial arts is fraught with dangers! Many secret realms can be fatal once entered. Without courage and resolve, one would not dare to enter."

"Moreover, fighting powerful wild beasts and defending human cities also requires courage and resolve. Strength alone is not enough. Otherwise, when facing those ancient wild beasts, one might be intimidated before the battle even begins, and their full strength would not be utilized, making it impossible to fight!"

"Breaking through in martial arts sometimes requires defeating one's inner demons, which demands the momentum and will to break through everything. To become a supreme strongman, one will face countless temptations in the world. Many forces will try to win you over, offering you wealth, treasures, and beauty, attempting to corrupt you and make you serve them! If you become immersed in these temptations and cannot remain resolute, your path in martial arts will come to an end!"

"Therefore, whether a martial artist has a future depends not only on their talent but also on their courage and resolve!"

Zhang Tan's words resonated with Yi Yun. Strong courage and resolve were essential qualities for achieving great things.

Ancient Chinese heroes, once they set a goal, would forge ahead through thorns and brambles, undeterred by difficulties or temptations!

This kind of courage and resolve was called "Qi" in ancient China!

Those who understood the art of "Qi" could see a person's head glowing with a purple light, which was called the aura of an emperor, or in novels, the aura of a king.

What is the aura of an emperor? In short, it is the ability to achieve great things!

Zhang Tan continued, "Whether you have courage and resolve is a comprehensive quality. A simple test is hard to cover everything. Now, form a large circle around me. The closest person should be at least fifty steps away from me!"

With these words, the crowd began to move. With over a thousand people present and no unified command, plus the vague instructions from Zhang Tan, the scene inevitably became chaotic.

Seeing this, a few people, including Tao Yunxiao and Lian Chengyu, immediately began to display their leadership qualities.

"Tao Clan members, listen to my command! We will hold hands and form a circle, centered around Commander Zhang, and spread out on the spot!"

The Tao Clan had the most people, and forming a circle by holding hands would prevent chaos.

Other tribes followed suit.

"Yi Yun, what are you standing there for? Go to the opposite side, can't you see how few people are there!" Lian Chengyu shouted at Yi Yun. He believed that maintaining order in the chaos was also a way to demonstrate courage and resolve, and performing well could attract the attention of the Jinlong Guard's higher-ups.

This was an opportunity for him.

Yi Yun was, after all, a member of the Lian Clan. If Yi Yun did not follow orders and ran around, it would embarrass him and make him look incompetent.

Yi Yun gave Lian Chengyu a cold look and said, "Just take care of your few lackeys."

Yi Yun's words made Lian Chengyu's eyes turn cold. "Let's see how long you can be so arrogant. You do have martial talent, but this first test is about courage and resolve. You, a mud-footed peasant whose family has been poor and beggars for nine generations, have the fate of a slave. Do you think you have courage and resolve?"

Courage and resolve were the abilities to achieve great things, qualities that only leaders could possess. In the Lian Clan, who was the leader? It was obvious!

"We'll see." Yi Yun shrugged. "By the way, Young Master Lian, is your injury healed? I hope it won't affect your performance in the courage and resolve test."

Yi Yun was good at hitting where it hurt.

When Lian Chengyu broke through to the Purple Blood Realm, he failed and spat blood out of anger, a shameful and tragic memory.

Mentioned by Yi Yun, Lian Chengyu's face darkened.

"You little brat, let's see how long you can be so arrogant! You will eventually fall into my hands, and I will make you wish you were dead!"

Lian Chengyu lowered his voice, said these words, and turned to walk in another direction.

Yi Yun smiled lightly, not taking it seriously. He moved slowly with the crowd, occasionally glancing at Zhang Tan. He saw Zhang Tan touch the spatial ring on his hand and take out a black box over three feet tall.

This black box was made entirely of black iron, covered in patterns, looking ancient and mysterious.

When everyone had formed a circle around Zhang Tan, he looked around and said coldly, "The preliminary selection is about to begin. I advise you, do not be overconfident. If you feel your resolve is not strong enough, stand further back to avoid getting hurt."

No one moved when Zhang Tan said this. Instead, Tao Yunxiao, Lian Chengyu, and others even stepped forward, standing closer to Zhang Tan to demonstrate their resolve.

Zhang Tan smiled and opened the box. He took out a three-foot-long black object, which was a curved, pointed spike with spiral patterns, resembling a curved blade.

Yi Yun realized that this black object was likely a horn left by a giant beast!

After Zhang Tan took out the beast horn, it slowly floated in the air, defying gravity.

Was this the thing to test resolve?

For a moment, everyone was confused, not knowing how the test would proceed. However, strangely, they all felt a vague unease when facing the beast horn.

This unease was inexplicable, as if a seed had been planted in their hearts...

"I will say this again. If you lack confidence, it's better to step back. Otherwise, this test might shatter your confidence, making it difficult for you to advance in martial arts in the future."

As Zhang Tan spoke, he also showed a serious expression. The members of the Jinlong Guard around him stepped back, leaving Zhang Tan alone. He lightly tapped his fingers, and each tap caused runes to flash around the beast horn!