The next day!
On Martial Arts Mountain.
With a single arrow, he shot down his opponent, and Lin Chen stepped back to the stairs.
He glanced at his ranking on Martial Arts Mountain.
[Martial Arts Mountain Ranking: 85308]
[Points: 4700]
Since the panel was updated, his ranking on Martial Arts Mountain rose by another two thousand places, reaching a streak of two thousand consecutive victories.
A streak of two thousand victories meant his comprehension of the Martial Path had doubled, and his Divine Soul had also improved by twenty percent.
This kind of growth was extremely noticeable, especially in the aspect of the Divine Soul. When performing the "Thousand Mechanism Refining God Technique," he had gone from being able to split nine strands of Divine Thought after entering the grade to now reaching eleven strands.
He glanced at the moonlight in the starry sky, and Lin Chen decided not to continue cultivating, choosing to return to his room to rest.
A silent night.
In the Martial Arts Arena behind the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Arts Academy.
As the sunrise broke, martial artists from the Nine Kingdoms were already standing in their respective areas in the arena.
The principal of the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Arts Academy, Murong Song, stood at the forefront with Hou Zhantian and other experts from various countries. In front of the arena stood a stone gate.
The stone gate stood tall in the square, with clouds continuously emerging, making it appear faintly visible.
Once the stone gate was completely obscured by the fog, Murong Song spoke: "The first round of the Martial Arts Academy ranking competition, the points race, has now begun. Does anyone have any objections?"
Seeing that Hou Zhantian and others remained silent, Murong Song didn’t hesitate and turned his gaze towards the disciples from various Martial Arts Academies, smiling: "You are all geniuses from the Martial Arts Academies of various countries, so I won’t waste any more words. The first round of the points race is to enter the Thousand Illusion Secret Realm of our Yan Kingdom."
"Although the Thousand Illusion Secret Realm poses no danger, I must advise you not to act recklessly. Once your Divine Soul is injured, the consequences are not something I need to elaborate on."
Upon hearing Murong Song’s words, the atmosphere on site became tense.
Everyone present understood the importance of the Divine Soul to martial artists. Physical injuries can be healed, but injuries to the Divine Soul are hard to recover from.
The Nine Kingdoms are not lacking in martial arts geniuses who, due to damage to their Divine Soul, eventually fell to the rank of ordinary martial artists or even halted their advancement in their realm.
Lin Chen looked at the mist-covered area, a light flashing in his eyes. The booklet provided by Murong Yan contained detailed records of the Thousand Illusion Secret Realm.
"However... the Thousand Illusion Secret Realm cannot accommodate so many people entering. After negotiating with your respective principals, we will first conduct a Divine Soul test. Those who fail will not be allowed entry."
As Murong Song’s words fell, several martial artists appeared in the square carrying a gigantic object covered in a black cloth.
"Unveil it!"
Murong Song commanded softly, and the black cloth was removed, revealing a stele full of black runes.
The stele was three zhang high.
It exuded an ancient and desolate aura. When martial artists gazed at its surface, the runes glowed faintly, producing a captivating wave, as if to draw one’s Divine Soul into it.
Lin Chen was momentarily lost in thought, but with a slight tremor from the little figure in his Dantian, he came to his senses. At that moment, Murong Song’s cough brought many others in attendance back to reality.
Lin Chen glanced at his Senior Brother Li Yuan and others, who regained their senses the moment Murong Song coughed, while Meng Xing and several junior disciples regained their focus only after a moment.
This stele... is not simple.
"Everyone may place their hands on this Soul Testing Stele. Light will appear when your Divine Soul meets the standard. If the light reaches one zhang, you pass; if it is less than one zhang, you fail. Those who pass accumulate ten points."
The rules were simple, and Murong Song didn’t elaborate further, standing silently with his hands behind him as he waited for everyone to start the test.
"This Soul Testing Stele is incredible. Just a moment ago, I felt like I was sinking into endless darkness. If it weren’t for that cough, I might not have awoken yet."
Kong Qing’s face showed signs of lingering fear. Just one glance at the Soul Testing Stele had caused his entire spirit to be drawn into it.
"The assessment for recruiting disciples at the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Arts Academy is based on the Soul Testing Stele, though not at such a high standard. As long as one can gaze at it for ten breaths without fainting, one can enter the academy."
Dang Baixuan, the Senior Brother at Qingyun Martial Arts Academy, turned back to explain to his younger martial brother.
"The entrance exam requires persisting for ten breaths without fainting. Among the Royal Martial Academy’s disciples, the highest record on the Soul Testing Stele is ten zhang." Li Yuan added.
"Ten zhang?" Lin Chen stared at the stele. It seemed that making the stele light up for one zhang wasn’t a simple feat.
"Yes, that’s the highest record announced to the public by the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Arts Academy. Most of the disciples from each batch can merely make the stele glow, unable to reach one zhang."
Lin Chen nodded, surmising that this one zhang would likely eliminate half of the disciples from each Martial Arts Academy present.
While Li Yuan informed Lin Chen and Meng Xing about the Soul Testing Stele, a commotion arose among the crowd as some martial artists began approaching the stele.
"My fellow brothers, since our Royal Martial Arts Academy is hosting, let me, Wan Fei, take the lead as a humble gesture."
Wan Fei approached the Soul Testing Stele, his words seemingly modest, yet his expression was full of pride.
"It seems this one’s Divine Soul is not weak."
"At the very least, one zhang shouldn’t be a problem."
Kong Qing and Zhang Ming exchanged in hushed tones. No one present was a fool. Since Wan Fei dared to step forward first, he must be confident in his performance.
The Royal Martial Academy uses this Soul Testing Stele to assess its disciples, so Wan Fei must have been tested beforehand.
Lin Chen blinked. According to the booklet from Murong Yan, Wan Fei’s Divine Soul was the second strongest among the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Arts Academy disciples.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wan Fei placed his hand on the stele. Without any visible change in aura, the stele erupted with black light. The black light flowed through the runes on the stele and converged at the top, finally bursting out from the pinnacle.

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