Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 771 - The Beginning of the Recruitment Test

Fiery had a crimson fruit in its paws, given by Ji Lu'an before leaving. After all, Ji Lu'an would've died without Fiery, and the fruit was a token of gratitude.

"Grandfather, father, let's get going!" Liu Wuxie said, his expression calm and unreadable, betraying no trace of the turmoil within.

"Are you alright?" Liu Xiucheng asked, worried that his grandson might get into trouble.

"It's nothing. It's just a misunderstanding, and it has been resolved now," Liu Wuxie replied. He didn't want his family to worry about him, and he fabricated a reason to brush it off.

Liu Xiucheng and Liu Dashan exchanged a knowing look. They could sense Liu Wuxie wasn’t sharing the full truth, but they chose not to press him. Respecting his choice, they resumed their journey with the rest of the clan.

In the evening, the group finally reached their destination. The darkness unhindered their sight, thanks to the starlight shining down from the heavens. The light was enough to illuminate the surroundings, though it wasn't as bright as the day.

The surroundings were filled with a multitude of people.

"So many people!" exclaimed one of the disciples with excitement. They had already forgotten the experience back in the woods. They could barely contain their excitement at the thought of joining the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy,

Only Liu Wuxie stayed calm and composed, scanning the surroundings without expression. To him, the Liu Clan or the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy were merely stepping stones in his cultivation.

"We're a little late. Let's find a place to rest quickly," Liu Xiucheng said after scanning the area. The surroundings were densely packed with people, and they could only find a secluded corner to let the disciples rest. After all, their exhaustion from the long journey had weighed on them.

They searched for roughly fifteen minutes before they found a suitable place to set up their camp. Liu Xiucheng also planned to explain the rules of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's recruitment test to everyone.

Liu Wuxie had retreated to his tent, isolated from the outside world as he meditated. As for Fiery, it lay beside him, gnawing on the fire-attribute fruit, and grew slightly larger.

Late into the night, more people arrived, filling this smooth platform with hundreds of thousands of people, a scale that left everyone in awe.

However, despite the massive turnout, only 5,000 quotas were available for the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's recruitment test out of hundreds of thousands. This meant that few people could be chosen.

Not to mention the harsh requirement that dictated the participant to be no older than twenty-five and possess the cultivation of at least in the Nascent Transformation Realm, this meant Liu Wuxie stood out as an anomaly out of everyone present.

When Liu Wuxie emerged from his tent at dawn, he noticed that the surroundings were packed with people.

"Everyone, gather around! The test will begin tomorrow, and I'll explain the details of the recruitment test," Liu Xiucheng hollered. All the disciples gathered around, awaiting the patriarch's speed. They sat in an orderly row as the elders formed a protective circle around them to prevent anyone from causing trouble.

"The Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's recruitment test consists of four stages, and I believe most of you are already familiar with the details," Liu Xiucheng said. He looked around and captured everyone's expressions in his eyes.

No one spoke as they listened intently to Liu Xiucheng, despite already knowing some details. While they had a rough idea of the recruitment test, the patriarch's deeper understanding was invaluable.

"The first stage is the most critical—Questioning the Heaven. You must cross the Bridge of Heaven, which will test your dao heart," Liu Xiucheng explained.

Liu Wuxie absorbed the information carefully. Even the Liu Clan's Book Collection Pavilion lacked specifics on the recruitment test; the knowledge was primarily passed down through word of mouth. Based on history, the first stage alone would eliminate nearly one-third of the participants.

"The second stage—questioning the heart!" Liu Xiucheng continued his explanation. The first stage was to test one's harmony with the heavens, as some individuals were favored and blessed by the heavens.

The next test wasn't just to probe the dao heart but the heart itself. Those who didn't have a firm will or had flaws in their hearts would be eliminated. Only those who made it through the Gate of Heart could proceed to the third stage, and there would also be a batch of people eliminated in the second stage. The first two stages alone would eliminate more than half of the participants.

"The third stage evaluates your innate talent. But I believe those who made it through the first two stages can easily make it through the third stage," Liu Xiucheng said as he glanced at the disciples. They were all elite among elites, brimming with potential and not lacking in talent.

Despite the intense competition, some disciples could become the top thousandth with their talent.

"The fourth stage is the most brutal one. It will test your overall strength, and you will be eliminated if you fail this round, even if you made it through the first three stages," Liu Xiucheng continued.

After hearing Liu Xiucheng's words, everyone was filled with worry and excitement. The first few stages weren't an issue for those disciples blessed with talent and firm will; they just had to focus on getting a good ranking.

To those with weak wills, they would be eliminated during the first stage despite their talent. The rules were fair and left no room for shortcuts and trickery.

"Now that you've all understood the process, I'll explain the inner structure of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy," Liu Xiucheng said, his voice calm yet authoritative. He patiently shared his knowledge, though he himself had never been a disciple.

Most participants around Liu Wuxie’s age were between twenty-three and twenty-four years old. For them, this was their last chance to join the academy before they aged out of eligibility for the next recruitment test. Liu Wuxie, on the other hand, still had time on his side, being barely twenty. Even if he were eliminated this time, he could try again in the future.

"The Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy is divided into one cavern, three courts, five institutions, and seven peaks," Liu Xiucheng explained. Though his explanation wasn't detailed enough, it gave a rough understanding of the academy's structure.

His knowledge was limited, as more detailed information was concealed from the outside world. Only the academy members knew about the origin of those names.

"Patriarch, if we become disciples of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, will we be able to choose which peak to join?" asked a disciple. @@novelbin@@

The question piqued everyone's curiosity, as the cavern was likely the pinnacle that housed the academy's most prominent prodigies. Next were the three courts, five institutions, and the seven peaks.

All the participants could be considered prodigies in the outside world, but after entering the academy, they would realize that even the most talented genius among them would seem mediocre. As a result, most prodigies would become mediocre once they joined the academy. Only a selected few could distinguish themselves from their peers.

"At the end of the test, only those who obtained the highest score will receive special treatment and might even be selected by the elders as disciples. But the majority were assigned rather than chosen," Liu Xiucheng said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. Until today, the Liu Clan's disciples were all assigned, and an elder had chosen none.

The other participants in the surroundings also had their elders explaining the rules and what to watch out for.

"If there are no further questions, you may move about freely, but remember not to wander far. The recruitment test will take place tomorrow, so stay alert and focused," Liu Xiucheng said as he dispersed everyone.

It was mainly to let the disciples adjust to the environment to prepare themselves for the next day’s recruitment test. The test would be held for ten days. The first three stages would take one day each, and the final stage would take seven days.

Some disciples wandered around the platform while others retreated to their tents, focused on cultivating in hopes of last-minute progress.

As for Liu Wuxie, he walked to the edge of the platform. There was only one narrow path leading to this platform, as cliffs surrounded the other sides. A biting cold wind swept over him when he stood at the edge, ruffling his hair as he gazed out.

"I heard this year's competition will be fiercer than ever," murmured someone nearby. They were likely the disciples of a sect, judging from how identical their clothes were.

"That's right. I heard the Flying Snow Sect's Ma Tianming has reached the True Profound Realm at twenty and is now at the third level of the True Profound Realm," said the man on the right, his tone a mix of awe and envy.

They were about the same age, but some had far surpassed them. Most of them might be in the pinnacle of the Nascent Transformation Realm, but there was a drastic difference between them and those in the True Profound Realm. Most people would spend their entire lives stuck in the Nascent Transformation Realm, unable to progress further.

"That's nothing. I heard the Blazing Sun Sect's Liu Jianshu has already reached the fourth level of the True Profound Realm!" Their chatter continued, and Liu Wuxie silently memorized the names—they would all be his competitors in the test.

When discussing the prodigies among the younger generation, he also heard some information on the Four Great Clans. But the Wang and Yuan Clans were frequently mentioned while they only skimmed through the Liu Clan. They all felt that the Liu Clan was no longer qualified as one of the Four Great Clans.

Liu Wuxie turned around and returned to the camp. He entered his tent to await dawn, ready for the recruitment test.

No one dared to fight here, as those caught would be expelled from the recruitment test, which was why the entire platform was peaceful.

When the day of the recruitment test finally came, everyone packed their tents and looked at the sky, waiting for the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's envoys to arrive.

When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, Liu Wuxie saw ten figures soaring from a distance. Before they even approached, they already gave off a powerful aura in the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Realm that swept across the entire platform.

There were also experts in the Earth Profound Realm from various clans and sects present, but they couldn't compete with the ten individuals.

When the ten stood in a row, the space around them began to collapse, which was the power of the Earth Profound Realm.

When Liu Wuxie scanned the ten from left to right, there were seven men and three women. When his gaze fell on the last person, he narrowed his eyes.

"Miao Hanxuan!" Liu Wuxie nearly exclaimed. He hadn’t expected Miao Hanxuan to be part of the examiners, which would be troublesome for him now.

After all, Ji Lu'an had told him that Miao Hanxuan was vengeful and would try anything to kill them. He hadn’t expected to encounter him so soon.

The entire platform fell silent when the ten examiners swept their gaze around.

"My name is Qu Su, your chief examiner. As in the past years, prepare yourselves—the test will now begin!" Qu Su announced, his tone sharp and direct. There was no room for pleasantries in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy.

For the examiners, most of the participants—nearly ninety percent—would fail to gain admission. Thus, there was no need to expend extra effort or words on them. Only those who succeeded would receive proper guidance and teachings after becoming disciples of the academy.

"Go on. Believe in yourselves!" Liu Xiucheng encouraged.