’This person probably isn’t as simple as he looks.’
Li Yun quietly filed the feeling away, then turned toward Huang Tianze and Bai Yuchen.
"Brother Huang, Brother Bai, I only managed to secure those sixty thousand points because the two of you were standing behind me. If you hadn’t been here, Lei Xuankong and the others might have simply tried to take their treasures back by force. Once all the points come in, I’ll give each of you ten percent."
Huang Tianze and Bai Yuchen exchanged a glance, and then both of them laughed.
"In that case, we won’t refuse Brother Li’s generosity."
Their opinion of him naturally improved even further, because Li Yun clearly understood gratitude. They had supported him, and he had immediately offered them a share of the gains. Someone like that was much easier to deal with than a person who accepted help as though it were owed to him.
Time passed quickly, and another half month slipped by. Then, on one particular day, a powerful voice reached the ears of every member of the Celestial Prodigy Camp.
"All members of the Celestial Prodigy Camp are to gather at Heavenfall Plaza immediately. Anyone who fails to arrive within one hour will be expelled from the camp."
Li Yun’s eyes snapped open, since he recognized the voice as Elder Mu Cang’s. Wasting no time, he rose and left his residence, heading straight for Heavenfall Plaza, and by the time he arrived, nearly half the camp had already assembled.
"Brother Li."
Huang Tianlin, Huang Tianze, and Bai Yuchen spotted him before long and walked over, and the four of them greeted one another and chatted with easy smiles.
Whoosh!
The sound of something tearing through the air echoed above the plaza, and everyone looked up. A colossal ship thousands of feet long had appeared in the sky, its dark silver hull catching the sunlight while streams of spiritual light flowed through the countless formations engraved across its surface.
It was the Voidpiercer Warship, and Elder Mu Cang stood at the bow with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Everyone." His clear voice carried across Heavenfall Plaza. "As of today, exactly half a year has passed since you entered the Celestial Prodigy Camp. Over these six months, you’ve had access to some of the finest cultivation resources in the Northern Territory of the Central Continent. You’ve entered secret realms, challenged trial pagodas, fought one another, and made yourselves stronger. Now it’s time to find out exactly how far you’ve come."
The crowd fell quiet at once.
"You’ll soon take part in a major trial," Elder Mu Cang continued. "Remember this clearly, because the results will have a significant effect on your future. Those who perform exceptionally well will receive large point rewards and better treatment within the camp, while those who fall short of the required standard will be eliminated."
Several people immediately grew tense, and his next words made the atmosphere heavier still.
"The elimination rate will not be low. At least thirty percent of the current members will be removed from the Celestial Prodigy Camp once this trial ends."
The faces of many lower-ranked cultivators changed on the spot, and those below five hundredth place reacted the most strongly. There were more than eight hundred members in the training camp, so thirty percent meant at least two hundred and forty people would be cut.
That number put everyone in the lower rankings under tremendous pressure, and even those sitting around four hundredth or five hundredth could not feel safe.
Rankings did not always reflect true strength, after all. Some people deliberately kept a low profile, while others poured nearly all their effort into cultivation instead of climbing the Ranking Tablet, so there could easily be hidden experts among those currently near the bottom.
If enough of them revealed themselves during the trial, cultivators who had assumed their positions were secure could suddenly find themselves in the elimination zone.
While the lower-ranked members grew anxious, many of the middle-ranked and higher-ranked geniuses looked eager instead. They had heard rumors about this half-year trial long ago, and supposedly it was not merely a test but also an enormous opportunity.
Those who did well might walk away with resources capable of dramatically raising their strength, which meant the trial could be exactly the chance they needed to transform their standing in the Celestial Prodigy Camp.
"Enough." Elder Mu Cang swept his gaze across the gathering. "Board the ship."
One cultivator after another rose into the air and landed on the Voidpiercer Warship, and Li Yun boarded alongside Huang Tianlin and the others. The moment the last person stepped aboard, the formations covering the vessel lit up.
Boom!
The enormous ship surged forward, turning into a streak of silver light within moments before vanishing over the horizon.
Three days later, Elder Mu Cang’s voice rang out through the vessel.
"We’ve arrived."
The Voidpiercer Warship slowed gradually and came to a stop, and Li Yun and the others left the cabins and stepped out onto the deck. The instant they emerged, countless cultivators shivered.
"What terrifying cold."
One of them circulated his essence qi without even thinking about it.
"This temperature..."
Another stared outward in shock.
Every member of the Celestial Prodigy Camp had reached at least the 1st level of Spirit Manifestation Realm, and bodies at that level were far beyond those of ordinary humans, so normal heat and cold barely registered.
Yet simply stepping outside the warship made many of them instinctively draw on their cultivation to resist, and that alone said everything about how extreme this place was.
Then everyone finally looked into the distance, and awe slowly spread across their faces. Endless mountains covered the horizon, every peak buried beneath thick white snow.
Dozens of gigantic snow-covered mountains linked together and stretched so far that no end was visible. Some peaks pierced straight into the clouds, while others were wrapped in violent blizzards.
Ancient glaciers filled enormous valleys, and cold mist drifted endlessly between the summits, as though the entire world had been frozen since ancient times. The view was magnificent, desolate, and terrifying all at once.
"This is where your half-year trial takes place," Elder Mu Cang said from the bow of the warship. "The Frostbound Heavenly Range."
Several cultivators repeated the name quietly.
"The Frostbound Heavenly Range..."
The name suited the place perfectly, since the cold here felt capable of freezing spiritual energy itself, and the vast snow-covered mountains dominated everything in sight.

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