64: Abandoned child of the demon race, a shadowy demonic body!

Tianqiong Mountain Range, the summit of the main peak.

Before the immortal gates of the Myriad Dao Divine Sect, a grand selection was taking place.

Upon the White Jade Heavenly Ladder, figures flickered like ants clinging to a heavenly pillar.

Some had contorted faces and bulging veins, moving step by step under the crushing pressure on their Divine Souls.

Others looked dazed, muttering to themselves as if trapped in a Heart Demon illusion.

Still others simply rolled their eyes back and tumbled down the steps, only to be carried away by the Qingyun Branch Disciples maintaining order below.

“Tsk tsk, this elimination rate is much stricter than when my Myriad Dao Merchant Guild recruits shop assistants.”

Wang Duojin stood before the mountain gate, stroking his chin and watching with great interest.

His gaze wasn't on the struggling Prodigies, but rather on a fat man who had climbed a few dozen steps, sat down, pulled out a water skin, and was selling it at a high price to those nearby.

“A talent!” Wang Duojin slapped his thigh. “Senior Sister, look at that business sense, that risk management! This lad should join my Myriad Dao Merchant Guild!”

Su Linger ignored him.

Her gaze fell upon a thin, dark-skinned youth named Ergou.

The youth had already climbed over three hundred steps; he was drenched in sweat and his body wobbled, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.

Yet his eyes were like those of a stubborn wolf, fixed intently upward, refusing to retreat even half a step.

“He is very much like Eldest Senior Brother,” Su Linger said softly.

Ye Chenfeng took a swig of wine and remained silent, merely looking at the youth with a flash of approval in his eyes.

“His Heart-Nature is commendable, but unfortunately, his Root Bone is too poor.”

Inner Sect Grand Elder Zhao Lingyue commented in a cold voice.

She could tell at a glance that the youth's Spiritual Veins were blocked, indicating the lowest grade of Aptitude among Mortals.

“A poor Root Bone can be compensated for later,” Transmission Elder Shi Potian stroked his long beard, offering a rare smile. “Such an indomitable heart is the most precious thing for us Cultivators.”

While everyone was critiquing the various behaviors on the heavenly stairs,

a figure appeared at the start of the stairs, silent and ghostly like a phantom.

The person wore faded black clothes, had a thin frame, and a face as pale as if it hadn't seen sunlight in years.

He carried a long weapon wrapped in black cloth, its shape indistinguishable.

Standing there, he seemed completely out of place amidst the bustle, radiating a cold aura that warned others to stay away.

He wasn't high-spirited like Wang Teng, nor heroically determined like Ergou.

He simply looked up at the seemingly endless White Jade Heavenly Ladder, his pitch-black eyes as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

Then, he lifted his foot and stepped onto them.

One step, two steps, three... He wasn't fast, but his pace was terrifyingly steady.

It was as if the horrific pressure capable of crushing the Divine Soul of a Nascent Soul Cultivator didn't exist for him.

Expressionless and silent, he climbed step by step like an emotionless shadow.

“Hmm?”

Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao was the first to notice this outlier.

For the first time, a look of interest appeared on his cynical face.

“This kid is somewhat interesting.”

The gazes of everyone else were also drawn toward him.

They saw the black-clothed youth had already passed the hundredth step.

His pace still hadn't changed in the slightest.

Two hundred steps, three hundred... He passed the fat man still peddling water skins.

He passed by Wang Teng, the Prodigy from Tianshui City who had already fallen unconscious.

He walked past the thin, dark-skinned youth named Ergou without sparing him a glance.

Five hundred steps, eight hundred, a thousand... Among the tens of thousands of climbers, his figure was exceptionally conspicuous.

He just kept walking, as if he weren't climbing a heavenly staircase testing one's Heart-Nature, but rather walking on the road home.

Finally,

under the watchful eyes of everyone,

beneath that bright, full moon,

the thin, black-clothed figure stepped onto the final stair.

He entered the pillar of light connecting the immortal and Mortal realms, arriving before the mountain gate of the Myriad Dao Divine Sect.

The first.

He became the first person to reach the top in this assessment involving tens of thousands.

Before the mountain gate, there was total silence.

Every gaze was focused on him.

There was curiosity, scrutiny, and wariness.

Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao sauntered forward and looked him up and down.

“Kid, you're quite fast.”

“What's your name? Which nook or cranny did you crawl out of?”

The black-clothed youth looked up, his stagnant eyes glancing at Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao.

“Ye Wushang.”

His voice was hoarse and cold, like two stones rubbing together.

“I came here to seek the Dao.”

“Seek the Dao?” Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao laughed. “Quite the bold words.”

He pointed to the hundred-zhang-tall heart-questioning dao stele not far away.

“Go, place your hand on it.”

“Whether you're a dragon or a worm, let it give you the answer.”

Ye Wushang said nothing more. He walked to the massive stele and reached out his pale, slender hand.

His hand was very steady.

The moment his palm touched the cold surface of the stele—

Buzz—

The entire heart-questioning dao stele trembled violently!

A beam of light shot up from the base of the stele!

It was a dark purple so deep it seemed capable of swallowing all light!

Within the purple light, there was also a faint trace of blood-colored Devilish Qi!

“This!”

Transmission Elder Shi Potian's face changed drastically!

“Devilish Qi! This boy is actually a Demonic Cultivator!”

He took a step forward, about to unleash the pressure of the Void Refinement Stage upon Ye Wushang.

“Wait!”

Enforcement Elder Feng Qingyang raised his hand to stop him.

His eyes were fixed sharply on the purple light.

“The Sect Master only said to teach all without discrimination.”

“He never said we wouldn't accept Demonic Cultivators.”

“Elder Shi, what's your hurry?”

“Feng Qingyang! You!” Shi Potian glared. “Demonic Cultivators have always been bloodthirsty and malicious! If we take such a scourge into the Sect, he will surely become a great disaster in the future!”

“A scourge?” Enforcement Elder sneered. “The swords of my Law Enforcement Hall are meant to cut down all scourges.”

“If he behaves, he is a Disciple of our Sect. If he dares to have ulterior motives, I will be the first to cut him down.”

The two Elders were at loggerheads, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Yun Tianqing and Lin Canghai were so frightened they retreated repeatedly, not daring to involve themselves in such a clash of titans.

Right then,

a flat yet supremely majestic voice drifted out from the mist-shrouded Sect Master Hall.

“Let him come here.”

The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly entered everyone's Sea of Consciousness.

Shi Potian's pressure vanished instantly.

Enforcement Elder also reined in his sharp aura.

All Elders bowed in unison toward the hall.

“Yes, Sect Master.”

Outer Sect Grand Elder Li Xiaoyao gestured with his chin toward the still expressionless Ye Wushang.

“Did you hear? The Sect Master has summoned you.”

“Kid, you're in Luck.”

Ye Wushang withdrew his hand, and the soaring purple light faded away.

He didn't look at anyone, simply turning and walking step by step toward that supreme hall which he couldn't see but could sense.

His back looked lonely and desolate.

Like a lone wolf entering the domain of a god... the Sect Master Hall.

Chu Xuanjin leaned back on his throne, watching the black-clothed youth walk in.

Golden light swirled in the depths of his eyes.

[Name: Ye Wushang]

[Race: Demon Race (Outcast)]

[Root Bone: Divine Grade (Umbra Demon Physique, Unactivated)]

[Cultivation: Golden Core Great Perfection]

[Luck: Aspect of a Killing God; Luck is loathed by the Heavenly Dao, dark and uncertain]

[Recent Calamities: Hunted by both the Righteous and Demonic Paths of the Central Continent, barely escaped with his life to the Eastern Wasteland.]

[Evaluation: A natural, peerless blade born for slaughter. His heart is filled with hatred and darkness. Yet, at the end of that darkness, there is a sliver of yearning for light.]

Chu Xuanjin's fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest.

Another Divine Grade.

And a sane one at that.

This Luck is quite good.

He looked at the youth below, who stood silent after coming to a halt.

He could feel that beneath the boy's seemingly calm exterior was a body as tense as a bowstring and a heart ready to fight for its life at any moment.

This was a truly ruthless character who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

“Why have you come?” Chu Xuanjin spoke, his voice echoing directly within Ye Wushang's Sea of Consciousness.

Ye Wushang's body shuddered violently.

He looked up, and for the first time, ripples appeared in his stagnant eyes.

He saw that figure above the sea of clouds, blurred yet seemingly integrated with heaven and earth.

He opened his mouth and spoke hoarsely.

“I seek... a reason to live.”

The Righteous Path does not tolerate him.

The Demonic Path abandoned him.

Though the world is vast, there is no place for him.

The Myriad Dao Divine Sect is his final lifeline.

Hearing this, Chu Xuanjin smiled.

“Living requires no reason.”

“If you want to live, then live.”

Ye Wushang was stunned.

He had imagined countless answers, thought he would be interrogated, tested, or even directly obliterated.

But he never expected such a simple answer, one that was almost like nonsense.

Ye Wushang fell silent.

“There is hatred in your eyes.”

Chu Xuanjin's voice carried a hint of playfulness.

“Where there is hatred, there is resentment. Where there is resentment, there is motivation.”

“My Myriad Dao Divine Sect does not raise trash, nor does it raise Saints.”

“What I need is a blade.”

“A sharp blade that can cut down all troubles for me.”

He looked at Ye Wushang.

“Are you willing to be this blade?”

Ye Wushang's breathing became rapid.

He didn't ask what price he would have to pay to be this blade.

He only knew that this was the only chance he would ever have in his life.

He knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.

The movement was awkward but resolute.

“I am willing.”

Chu Xuanjin nodded, a satisfied look appearing on his face.

However, he did not immediately say the words “I accept you as my Disciple.”

He simply waved his hand.

“Go and wait outside the hall.”

“When everyone else has come up, I will make a decision for all.”

Ye Wushang was taken aback, then understood.

He said no more, simply bowing once again toward the throne.

Then he stood up, turned, and walked out of the hall, standing quietly in a corner outside the mountain gate like a lifeless statue.

Chu Xuanjin watched his departing back, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

His gaze turned once more toward the White Jade Heavenly Ladder, where people were still constantly climbing.

This Sect Opening Ceremony has only just begun.