In this sea of people, even the scions of the top families from Dayuan Prefecture seemed as insignificant as a drop in the ocean.
At that moment, an indescribable and immense power abruptly descended.
Everyone felt a weight on their shoulders, as if the entire vault of heaven was pressing down.
Chu Bai suddenly raised his head, his pupils constricting.
He saw a figure hovering at the unreachable zenith of the Void, gazing down upon them.
The figure’s face was indistinct, their body wreathed in blazing Purple Qi, like a miniature star.
The sheer might of the pressure it emanated was clearly above the Foundation Establishment realm.
"The Celestial Examination begins. All that occurs here must not be spoken of after you leave."
The voice, like the tolling of a great bell, detonated deep within everyone’s Divine Soul, bypassing all defenses.
As the voice faded, seven colossal vortex-like projections materialized in the Void, each radiating a distinct color.
"For this Celestial Examination, seven Secret Realms will be opened. Three will be large-scale, and four will be medium-scale."
The voice of the Perfected One was cold and magnificent, devoid of any emotion, as if declaring the laws of heaven:
"Once you enter, you must act to accumulate Merit. Within the Secret Realms, Evil Demons run rampant and spirit-wraiths teem. Slay the demons you meet; refine the spirits you find. All Merit you acquire will be recorded by a Celestial Dao Judge."
"Only those who attain Merit Perfection can sense the location of the [Celestial Ladder]. To pass, you must ascend the Celestial Ladder."
"The quotas are fixed: each large Secret Realm can pass one hundred people; each medium Secret Realm, fifty."
"The duration is one month. At the end of this period, those who have not accrued sufficient Merit will be automatically removed."
As soon as these words were spoken, a faint stir rippled through the once deathly silent platform in the Void.
Chu Bai’s fingers, hidden in his sleeve, twitched as his mind raced through the calculations:
’Three large Secret Realms at one hundred people each is three hundred. Four medium Secret Realms at fifty people each is two hundred. A total of... five hundred slots.’
Five hundred slots sounded like a lot.
But looking around... there were far more than fifty thousand Cultivators present.
This was no longer a simple matter of survival of the fittest. It was a true one-in-a-hundred crucible!
For those who failed, their only recourse was to try their luck again in five years.
But these were Secret Realms, and the casualty rate was notoriously high.
This wasn’t something you could pass just by outlasting others and retaking the exam; on the contrary, multiple attempts could very well get you killed.
’The difference between large and medium probably isn’t just the number of people, but a world of difference in difficulty.’
A sharp glint flashed in Chu Bai’s eyes. Logically, the Evil Demons in a large Secret Realm would be stronger and the competition more ferocious. But the opportunities and Divine Dao Origin they contained would also be far beyond anything a medium Secret Realm could offer.
With his [General Star Enters Life] Fate Chart, he had no fear of slaughter.
For him, the more chaotic and dangerous the environment, the better it was for unleashing the terrifying potential of his Fate Chart.
’I wonder, though, how the Secret Realms will be assigned...’
On the Void platform, the once-deathly-silent atmosphere was now roiling like boiling water, stirred by tens of thousands of auras of varying strengths.
Chu Bai stood perfectly still with his eyes downcast, but his [Mastery]-level Guardian Scripture had already transformed his Divine Thought into a thousand formless tendrils of awareness, silently sweeping across the surroundings.
This was his last chance to observe before entering the Secret Realms. He had to find out just how many unknown factors were hidden among the Qi Cultivation Perfection cultivators of Great Zhou’s Qingzhou.
Suddenly, Chu Bai’s Divine Thought faltered.
Several dozen yards behind him to the left, a few particularly unusual auras caught his attention.
The auras weren’t balanced and peaceful or sharp as a sword like those of Human Race Cultivators. Instead, they carried a wild, primal, and heavy quality, tinged with the faint pressure of a powerful bloodline.
’Demon Cultivators?’
Startled, Chu Bai subconsciously pushed his Divine Thought to its absolute limit as he glanced over out of the corner of his eye.
He saw several figures in the crowd who were exceptionally burly.
One of them actually had a massive, grayish-white elephant’s head, his skin like cracked rock. Though he was draped in the standard moon-white robe of the Great Zhou Daoist School, it couldn’t conceal his ferocious Demon Qi.
Sensing Chu Bai’s piercing gaze, the Elephant-headed Demon Cultivator tilted his head slightly. His long trunk snorted out a puff of white mist, making the very Void hum.
"Fellow Daoist, why the probing gaze? Though I am of an Alien Species, I too hold the status conferred by a Great Zhou [White Talisman]. I am here today for the Heaven-Scaling Ladder, simply to seek a path for myself."
The Elephant-headed Demon Cultivator spoke, his voice a low rumble like distant thunder. Though laced with displeasure, there was no immediate malice or intent to attack.
A flicker of surprise passed through Chu Bai. He quickly retracted his gaze and gave a slight bow with cupped hands. "It is my first time seeing an Alien Species among those Receiving Talismans. I lost my composure. My apologies, Fellow Daoist."
That Elephant-headed Demon Cultivator let out a cold snort and turned his head away, ignoring him.
Chu Bai appeared calm, but inside, his mind was reeling.
Back in Anping County or Dayuan Prefecture, the Spirit Monsters and Demon Race he had encountered generally had only two fates: either they were malevolent entities that wrought havoc, to be slain by the Evil Suppression Department, or they were like Lord Locust, who received a title from him and became a "Divine Officer" bound by the rules of the Divine Dao.
According to the laws of the Great Zhou, being deified offered a stable position, but it came with the limitations of incense offerings and geographical domain.
But the "Receiving Talisman" the Elephant-headed Demon Cultivator mentioned was a completely different concept.
This meant the Great Zhou Court directly acknowledged their cultivation as legitimate, allowing them to practice Cultivation Techniques, accumulate Merit, and advance in Official Rank, just like Human Race Cultivators.
’Back in Dayuan Prefecture, I never heard of the Demon Race being eligible for Receiving Talismans. It seems my perspective was too limited,’ Chu Bai mused.
Though he had long resided in Anping County, Chu Bai had heard a thing or two about the official circles in Dayuan Prefecture. He had never heard of any department appointing a member of the Demon Race, let alone one coming to test for a Cyan Talisman.
He had assumed that even if Demon Cultivators had their own systems, they were ultimately following a Self-Taught Path. It seemed he had been mistaken.
The Great Zhou Territory was vast, and each of the Thirty-Six Prefectures of Qingzhou had its own unique character.
In some prefectures near the borders or the Barbaric Lands, a precedent for granting talismans to Alien Species might have been set long ago, perhaps to maintain a balance of power.
This gave Chu Bai a deeper appreciation for the brutal nature of this Celestial Examination.
These Demon Cultivators possessed formidable physical bodies. If they also utilized Human Race Talismans and Dharma Artifacts, their combat strength likely far surpassed that of their peers.
At that moment, the will of the Perfected One high in the Void descended once more.
"The double-hour has arrived. Assignment to the Secret Realms depends entirely on Destiny."
BOOM! High above, the seven colossal vortex projections began to spin wildly. In each Cultivator’s hand, their [White Talisman] or [Demon Slaying Officer] token flared with blinding light.
The light coalesced in the air into innumerable transparent slips, which then rained down into the crowd like a meteor shower.
Chu Bai felt a scorching heat in his palm.
A Jade Slip crackling with cyan lightning landed in his palm.
"Cyan Netherworld."
Chu Bai glanced down; it was one of the three large Secret Realms.
The instant he received the slip, the crowd around him began to be forcibly pulled apart by an irresistible Power of Space.
He saw the Elephant-headed Demon Cultivator nearby draw a red slip and fall toward the medium-sized Secret Realm named "Red Fire." He also saw some Cultivators with weak and unstable auras show looks of terror upon drawing a large Secret Realm.
A large Secret Realm offered the greatest opportunities, but it also meant that it would gather the most elite crop of monsters from across the Thirty-Six Prefectures of Qingzhou.
"Let this slip be your guide. Enter the corresponding gate."
The figure of the Perfected One slowly faded, leaving only a final resonant voice that echoed through the Void:
"The immortal path is long; fight for every sliver of a chance. Everyone, enter the realms!"
The seven colossal vortex projections instantly unleashed a terrifying suction force.
Chu Bai felt the [Cyan Netherworld] slip in his hand erupt with a burst of cyan light, enveloping him completely. He became a shooting star, hurtling straight toward one of the three largest vortexes.
’A large Secret Realm—the Cyan Nether Realm?’
In the final moment before being swallowed by the vortex, Chu Bai sensed dozens of other Spiritual Pressures—all just as powerful, some even tinged with brutality—plunging in alongside him.
Those were his competitors, all assigned to the same testing ground.
’One in a hundred... We’ll see, then, who the final victor will be!’
Chu Bai closed his eyes. His Spiritual Power roared to life within him, and his [Microscopic]-level Guiyuan Technique instantly brought his condition to its absolute peak.

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