To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

The city square.

A sea of people had gathered, packing the area to its limits, where children under the age of fifteen made up the majority.

However, it was unusual that so many children and youngsters gathered together without playing or making noise, and even whispers were scarce.

Despite the crowd, the square was eerily quiet.

The tens of thousands present behaved this way for a simple reason.

That was because the ones who would inspect them were Immortal Masters from the Qing Mountain Pavilion.

With Immortals present, who would dare to act rashly?

Even the most mischievous children had been repeatedly warned by their parents before coming not to cause trouble or speak, but to wait quietly.

Otherwise, if they angered an Immortal and brought blame upon themselves, their entire family would be doomed.

Faced with their parents’ unprecedented instructions and the solemn atmosphere on the scene, even the boldest wouldn’t dare to act out of line here.

Instead, everyone had grown up hearing about the deeds of the Immortal Masters, knowing there existed in the world a kind of Immortal who could perform magic, control fire and water, fly through the sky and escape underground, summon clouds and rain, a being with immense power.

Such beings would be selected each year from their midst and taken to Immortal Mountain to learn Immortal Techniques.

They could become Immortals themselves.

And by becoming Immortal, they would possess great strength and lead better lives.

Given this chance to leap from humble origins to greatness, everyone harbored a thirst in their hearts.

Thus,

over twenty thousand youngsters quietly took on a solemn demeanor, unprecedentedly behaving themselves as they stood there.

The only thing betraying their curiosity and longing were the pairs of eyes fixed on the two figures floating in the sky not far ahead, surrounded by radiant light, standing atop clouds.

Being able to fly and accompanied by luminance, were those Immortals?

Amazing!

If only I could do the same.

Witnessing such miraculous sights for the first time filled the young hearts with unparalleled yearning.

Meanwhile, as they entertained these thoughts, two disciples from Qing Mountain Pavilion high in the sky were casually chatting as they looked down upon the mass of prospective candidates.

"Brother Wu, with over twenty thousand people here this time, it seems we will have a bountiful harvest and should exceed the task set by the sect," said one younger disciple with a smile.

Brother Wu shook his head, "It seems like there are many, but few are of use. More than half of these people have been forcefully brought here from the outskirts and nearby villages and towns.

Many of them have gone through the selection before.

If they didn’t pass the last time, what makes them think they can pass now?

Only those children under ten are participating for the first time, and there is a possibility that an Immortal Species will emerge from them.

But there are only five or six thousand of these children.

This number only slightly increases the probability of finding an Immortal Species.

We might be able to pick two or three Immortal Species, but that merely meets the minimum quota set by the sect.

Junior Brother Wang, you’re happy too soon," Brother Wu responded.

Upon hearing this, Junior Brother Wang frowned and said, "Why bring so many useless people and waste our time? What is the City Lord of No Water City thinking?"

As one of the Immortal Sect Cultivators within the Changqing Domain, Junior Brother Wang had become accustomed to a sense of superiority under such a system.

He inherently regarded himself and ordinary mortals as different species.

The only ones he deemed worthy of consideration were those with the qualifications for Cultivation, capable of becoming his peers—the Immortal Species.

Hearing that the City Lord of No Water City failed to understand this, he felt a surge of anger.

Seeing Junior Brother Wang’s reaction, Brother Wu chuckled, "No Water City didn’t produce a single Immortal Species in the last selection. And the Immortal Species they did have in previous ones were our fellow disciples,

who have long since perished in the conflicts with the Feng Lei Bao and Beidou Alliance in recent years.

As a result, No Water City doesn’t have a single Cultivator to protect it anymore; even for rainfall, they need to pay dearly for our services.

Last year, they didn’t reveal an Immortal Species, so the sect punished them with additional taxes.

That’s why their past decade has been quite difficult.

Bringing in so many people this time is probably an act of desperation, hoping to increase the chances of finding Immortal Species," explained Brother Wu, then added softly, "But that City Lord indeed lacks tact. If we manage to find three Immortal Species this time and fulfill our task, we’ll let him off.

If there are less than three, it might be time to replace the City Lord.

If there are none, it means that the land’s fortunes are insufficient and the mortal bloodlines here are too poor to produce Immortal Species.

We should directly report to the sect, eradicate this city, relocate people from elsewhere, and build a new city."

Though Brother Wu’s words were mild, they carried a chilling coldness.

Especially the mention of destroying the city made even the previously irate Junior Brother Wang tremble inside.

He might have been dismissive of mortals, but his anger was only about wanting to dispose of a City Lord.

Yet Brother Wu was contemplating the destruction of an entire city.

That would mean killing hundreds of thousands of people—actions not even Demons would take.

However, seeing his own elder brother’s indifferent gaze, Junior Brother Wang eventually nodded and smiled, "What Brother says is true."