This high-ranking official from the West Mansion Inner Mansion was named Gong Liansheng. He held an incredibly lofty position and was extremely powerful. All the Hall Masters from the various palaces treated Gong Liansheng with considerable respect.
Gong Liansheng stood at the front, the Hall Masters behind him, and began to address the crowd of examinees.
"Greetings to all the examinees here from the various cities of the Western Domain. Welcome to the West Mansion to participate in the House Entrance Examination."
Gong Liansheng’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to everyone present. After the greeting, he continued, "Of course, to be able to stand out in your respective cities and come to the West Mansion for the House Entrance Examination means you are all the finest of your generation. You are all talented prodigies, and I am sincerely pleased to welcome you."
Upon hearing his words, the examinees puffed out their chests and held their heads high, their faces filled with pride, as if Gong Liansheng were speaking about them and them alone.
However, Gong Liansheng’s tone suddenly shifted.
"But... let me be blunt. While your strength is indeed impressive in your own cities, now that you’ve come to the West Mansion, you’ll find people stronger than you everywhere you look. The tens of thousands of examinees here are all your competitors. You absolutely must not get complacent."
"I recently heard that one examinee shot up to second place on the leaderboard. I also heard this examinee is quite mysterious and even wears a mask. Heh. Although I don’t know who he is, I’m very interested in him. I know his strength is considerable, but I still hope he doesn’t disappoint me. After all, the House Entrance Examination is a slaughter, a competition. No one knows what will happen, and being powerful is no guarantee that you will enter the West Mansion!"
"I’m not just saying this to scare you. People die during the House Entrance Examination, and the mortality rate is quite high! So don’t treat it as a game! For you, this is a trial!"
"These words are not just for the examinee who shot up to second place on the leaderboard. They apply to every single one of you. So let me say it again: do not get complacent. This is a competition, a bloodbath. Your future is in your own hands!"
"Alright, I won’t say any more. Now, let’s have Hall Master Murong Liu of Dui Palace explain the contents of this House Entrance Examination."
After admonishing the examinees, Gong Liansheng turned his head and nodded toward Murong Liu.
Having received the signal, Murong Liu stepped forward and said, "Everyone, attention. First, let’s thank Gong Liansheng Envoy for his speech. Now, I will explain the details of this House Entrance Examination. I hope you all listen very, very carefully. If you lose focus, fail to understand the examination’s requirements, and are unable to complete the tasks, then I’m sorry, but that is your own problem. The gates of the West Mansion will surely remain closed to you."
Murong Liu spoke with extreme solemnity, making everyone’s heart tighten. They all pricked up their ears and listened with rapt attention.
Besides Murong Liu’s voice echoing across Shuangyong Square, the plaza was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one else made a sound. The atmosphere was somber and serious.
After all, this moment would decide their fates. There was no room for carelessness.
Murong Liu was a rigorous person, and the atmosphere at the square pleased him greatly. He continued, "This House Entrance Examination will be held in the West Mansion’s Secret Realm, the Little Extreme Sacred Land. In a moment, our Gong Liansheng Envoy will open it for you. And now, I will explain the tasks for your examination. Listen up."
"For this House Entrance Examination, you will have a total of two tasks."
"First, after entering the Little Extreme Sacred Land, you must survive inside for seven days."
"We will also be giving each of you a Help Stone. If you encounter a life-threatening situation, you can crush it. This will teleport you out of the Little Extreme Sacred Land and save your life. Of course, the moment you crush the stone, your House Entrance Examination will be declared a failure."
"Dying within the Little Extreme Sacred Land or failing to survive for the full seven days both count as a failure."
"Second task. The Little Extreme Sacred Land contains an unknown number of Demon Beasts—Level 3, Level 4, and even Level 5 Demon Beasts, which are equivalent in strength to a Battle King. Your job is to kill ten Level 4 Demon Beasts and retrieve the Demon Beast Crystals from inside their bodies. Regardless of the methods you use, as long as you obtain ten Demon Beast Crystals within seven days, the task will be considered complete. If you fail to obtain ten Demon Beast Crystals within that time, you will have failed, even if you emerge alive."
"One additional reminder: the more Demon Beast Crystals you obtain, the better your score on the House Entrance Examination will be. We have extremely generous rewards for the top ten finishers, so do your absolute best."
"Alright, I have now said all that needs to be said. I wish all of you luck in passing the House Entrance Examination and achieving a good result."
When Murong Liu finished speaking, he respectfully nodded to Gong Liansheng at his side.
Gong Liansheng then stepped forward again and announced with great authority, "Since everyone understands the contents of this House Entrance Examination, I now formally declare that the 636th House Entrance Examination officially begins!"
As he spoke, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Gong Liansheng flipped his hand and produced a small Crystal Ball. He tossed the Crystal Ball into the air, and it began to spin rapidly.
Then, Gong Liansheng chanted loudly, "Light of Eternity, Gate of the Extreme Realm, Little Extreme Sacred Land, open!"
HUMMM!
After Gong Liansheng finished chanting, a sound echoed across Shuangyong Square, like a great bell being struck. The tremendous sound entered everyone’s ears, making their eardrums throb with pain.
The Crystal Ball in the sky began to shake erratically, as if it had received some sort of stimulus. It also constantly emitted rings of energy, looking utterly magical.
A few seconds later, the Crystal Ball in the air stabilized and shone a Light Curtain down below.
The Light Curtain landed on an open area of Shuangyong Square, forming the illusory image of a massive gate that looked incredibly mysterious and majestic.
Gong Liansheng pointed to this great Gate of Light and announced to the crowd, "Once you pass through this Gate of Light, you will be in the Little Extreme Sacred Land. Good luck, examinees."
At his words, the Chief Examiners from every district and city began to move, organizing the examinees to enter the Gate of Light in an orderly fashion.
Earlier, when Murong Liu said the House Entrance Examination would take place in the ’Little Extreme Sacred Land,’ everyone had been confused. They didn’t understand why they had to assemble in the square, and they certainly didn’t know where the Little Extreme Sacred Land was or how to get there.
Only now, upon seeing this spectacle, did they understand. The Little Extreme Sacred Land was both as distant as the horizon and as close as their own eyes. It wasn’t in any one place—it was inside that magical Crystal Ball.
Once activated, any place could become the Little Extreme Sacred Land, and it could be entered from anywhere.
It was all so incredibly magical.

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