99: The ancient realm opens, heroes gather.

The day of the trial had finally arrived.

At dawn, the square in front of the Lin Family's ancestral grounds was already a sea of people.

A total of fifty-seven disciples participated in this Ancient Domain trial, all of whom were elites at the Seventh Level of Body Tempering or above. Among them were eighteen core disciples and thirty-nine ordinary disciples. They were divided into several small teams, each gathering together, creating a somber atmosphere.

In the center of the square, an ancient bronze gate ten meters tall stood majestically. Intricate star patterns were carved onto the doorframe, and inside the gate was a swirling silver light curtain, emitting ancient and mysterious spatial fluctuations.

This was the "Star Gate" leading to the Meteor Star Ancient Domain.

On both sides of the Star Gate, all members of the Eight Extremes Hall were present. Clan Leader stood at the very front, with the seven Elders lined up on either side, each with a serious expression.

Today, they would open the Star Gate together.

"The time has come," Clan Leader said loudly, his voice spreading across the square. "All trial disciples, fall in!"

The fifty-seven people quickly formed a neat square formation.

Lin Fan stood in the center of the first row. Today, he wore a black martial outfit, with the unyielding sword on his back and the sumeru ring hanging from his waist. His expression was calm, yet his eyes were as sharp as blades.

To his left was Clear Snow. Today, the young woman had changed into a cyan martial uniform suitable for movement, her long hair tied into a ponytail, looking heroic and spirited. Seeing Lin Fan look over, she nodded slightly, her eyes full of encouragement.

To his right were Lin Hao, Lin Waner, and other disciples close to him. They also cast supportive glances toward Lin Fan.

On the other side of the formation, Lin Feng, Lin Yun, and others were gathered together. Lin Feng was still in his white robes, his expression indifferent as if everything before him had nothing to do with him. But Lin Fan could feel the cold killing intent hidden beneath that indifference.

Lin Yun, on the other hand, made no effort to hide the resentment in his eyes, staring fixedly at Lin Fan.

Besides these two factions, there were many neutral disciples whose expressions were uneasy, clearly both expectant and fearful of this trial.

"The Meteor Star Ancient Domain is an ancient Secret Realm discovered and controlled by our Lin Family ancestors," Clan Leader's voice boomed as he gave the final instructions to all the disciples. "There are countless opportunities within, but also countless dangers. After you enter, you should help each other, overcome difficulties together, and uphold the prestige of our Lin Family!"

"We follow the Clan Leader's command!" everyone responded in unison.

"The Ancient Domain trial will last for one month. After one month, the Star Gate will open again for three days. If you do not return by then, you will have to wait ten years for the next opening." Clan Leader's gaze swept over everyone. "Now, open the Star Gate!" As his voice fell, the eight of them acted simultaneously.

Eight streaks of spiritual power, different in color but equally vast, gushed from their hands and poured into the ancient bronze gate.

*Buzz.* The ancient gate vibrated, and the silver light curtain inside swirled violently, gradually stabilizing into an elliptical passage. Deep within the passage, one could vaguely see stars twinkling and mountains rising and falling.

"Enter!" Following Clan Leader's command, the trial disciples walked toward the Star Gate in order.

Lin Feng's team was the first to step in. Before entering, Lin Feng looked back at Lin Fan, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc before he disappeared into the light curtain.

Then came the other teams.

When it was Lin Fan's team's turn, Clear Snow suddenly whispered, "Brother Lin Fan, let's try to meet up once we're inside."

"Alright," Lin Fan nodded.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the light curtain.

A dizzying sensation followed. It felt like passing through a long tunnel of time and space, with starlight flashing past. After about three breaths, his feet hit solid ground, and Lin Fan was standing on an unfamiliar land.

Looking around, he found himself standing on a small hill.

The sky was a deep dark blue, with no sun, but countless stars twinkling and emitting a cool radiance. In the distance were continuous mountain ranges, and nearby were sparse woods. The air was filled with a faint Power of the Stars; he could feel his cultivation slowly increasing with every breath.

"This is the Meteor Star Ancient Domain?" Lin Fan felt the surrounding environment, his heart shaken.

The concentration of the Power of the Stars here far exceeded the outside world. If he cultivated the Circulating Heaven Star Formula here, the efficiency would be at least five times that of the outside! But he didn't start cultivating immediately; instead, he quickly observed the terrain to ensure his safety.

There was no immediate danger around the small hill, nor were there any other disciples in sight. Clearly, the Star Gate's teleportation was random, and everyone's landing point was different.

Lin Fan took out the map Jade Slip given by the Second Elder and sent his Divine Sense into it.

The Jade Slip showed the general terrain of the Ancient Domain, marking several key areas. His current location should be the "Starfall Hills" on the outskirts of the Ancient Domain.

"The nearest gathering point is fifty miles to the southeast, a place called 'Starlight Lake,' which is marked as a relatively safe area on the map." Lin Fan determined his direction and prepared to set off. But just then, a sudden warning sign flared in his heart!

Without any hesitation, Lin Fan instantly shifted ten meters to the left!

*Swoosh!* A pitch-black arrow grazed his shoulder and thudded into a tree trunk behind him. Wherever the arrow passed, the vegetation quickly withered and rotted, emitting a pungent, foul stench.

A poison arrow! Lin Fan's eyes turned cold as he looked in the direction the arrow had come from.

On an ancient tree a hundred meters away, a dark figure quietly emerged. It was a person completely shrouded in a black robe, revealing only a pair of cold eyes, holding a pitch-black shortbow.

Shadow Clan! Lin Fan instantly recognized the other party's identity. That aura of hiding in the shadows and that cold killing intent were exactly as the Fifth Elder had described.

"Quick reactions," the black-robed person said in a raspy voice, like metal scraping. "Unfortunately, you still have to die." As soon as he finished speaking, his figure blurred, and he actually turned into three afterimages, pouncing toward Lin Fan from three different directions simultaneously!

Each afterimage was lifelike, with identical auras, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.

But Lin Fan had Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils.

In his eyes, among the three afterimages, the aura of the one on the left fluctuated slightly—it was the true body!

He didn't dodge; instead, he charged toward the true body!

The unyielding sword was unsheathed!

First style, Unyielding!

The sword light was like lightning, piercing straight toward the shadow's throat!

The black-robed person clearly hadn't expected Lin Fan to see through his illusion instantly and hurriedly raised his bow to block.

*Clang!* Sword and bow collided, sparks flying everywhere.

The black-robed person was knocked back three steps, shock flashing in his eyes. "The Ninth Level of Body Tempering, how can you have such power?"

Lin Fan didn't answer; the second sword strike had already arrived!

Second style, Unbending! This strike was no longer forceful but instead turned into countless sword shadows, like entangling vines, sealing off all of the black-robed person's paths of retreat.

The black-robed person let out a sharp cry, and his body actually dispersed like smoke, re-forming ten meters away. This was the Shadow Clan's innate ability—Shadow Transformation!

"Interesting," the black-robed person sneered. "But it's not enough."

He formed hand seals, and shadows surged around him, actually condensing into dozens of black spikes that shot toward Lin Fan like a rainstorm!

Lin Fan's expression remained unchanged as he circulated the Star Dragon Indestructible Force. A faint golden light and phantom dragon scales appeared on his body's surface.

*Ding ding ding ding.* The black spikes hit his body, actually producing the sound of metal clashing, and all were bounced away! Only a few pierced his skin, but the wounds healed instantly, without even a drop of blood flowing.

The Eternal Indestructible Body was truly terrifying!

"What?!" The black-robed person's pupils shrank.

Taking advantage of his shock, Lin Fan moved.

This time, he didn't use the Unyielding Sword Art, but instead used a rudimentary sword move he had created himself.

Star Dragon Indestructible Sword! As the sword struck, gold, red, and silver lights intertwined, turning into a ribbon-like Sword Qi that tore through the air and slashed in front of the black-robed person in an instant!

This strike was too fast and too fierce! The black-robed person wanted to use Shadow Transformation to dodge, but found that the surrounding air seemed to have solidified; his Shadow Transformation ability was actually suppressed by some force!

"No!" The Sword Qi passed through his body.

The black-robed person froze in place, his eyes filled with disbelief. The next moment, his body split down the middle, blood gushed out, and he fell to the ground dead.

Lin Fan sheathed his sword, panting slightly. This strike had consumed nearly thirty percent of his Star Dragon Indestructible Force. Although powerful, it couldn't be used frequently.

He walked to the black-robed person's corpse to search for loot.

Besides that black shortbow and several quivers of poison arrows, Lin Fan also found a black token. The front of the token was engraved with a crescent moon, while the back had the character for "Shadow."

"It really is the Shadow Clan." Lin Fan's eyes were cold. "Grand Elder, you actually colluded with our mortal enemies."

He put away the token; it was evidence.

After dealing with the corpse, Lin Fan didn't stay and quickly left the area. The commotion from the battle just now was not small and might attract other enemies or Yao Beasts.

Running swiftly toward the southeast, Lin Fan maintained a high level of vigilance.

Within the Ancient Domain, danger was everywhere. Besides Shadow Clan assassins and Lin Feng's faction, there were various powerful Yao Beasts and dangerous locations.

After traveling about twenty miles, the sound of fighting suddenly came from ahead.

Lin Fan suppressed his aura and quietly approached.

In a clearing in the woods, three Lin Family disciples were surrounding and attacking a Yao Beast the size of an ox, covered in star-like spots.

"Star-spotted Leopard!" Lin Fan recognized this Yao Beast.

The Star-spotted Leopard was a Rank One Yao Beast unique to the Ancient Domain. Its strength was equivalent to the Ninth Level of Body Tempering, but it was extremely fast, had sharp claws and teeth, and could spit starfire, making it quite troublesome.

Those three disciples were all at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering. Their coordination was decent, but they were still in constant danger facing the Star-spotted Leopard.

One of them had already had his arm slashed by the leopard's claws, dripping with blood.

After a brief thought, Lin Fan decided to act. He recognized these three disciples; they were from the neutral faction and had nothing to do with the Grand Elder's line.

His figure flashed as he joined the fray.

The unyielding sword was unsheathed, and he stabbed toward the Star-spotted Leopard's flank!

The Star-spotted Leopard sensed danger and roared, turning to swipe its claws at Lin Fan. This claw strike was powerful enough to shatter stone.

But Lin Fan didn't dodge or avoid it, raising his sword to meet it.

*Clang!* The leopard's claws collided with the sword's edge, sparks flying.

The Star-spotted Leopard roared in pain; a deep gash had actually been cut into its paw! Meanwhile, the unyielding sword was completely undamaged.

The three disciples were overjoyed at the sight and took the Opportunity to attack fiercely.

With Lin Fan keeping it occupied, the Star-spotted Leopard was quickly killed.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lin Fan!" the injured disciple said gratefully.

"No need for thanks," Lin Fan waved his hand. "Do you know the direction to Starlight Lake?"

"We do." Another disciple pointed southeast. "Go in this direction for about another thirty miles and you'll arrive. We were just heading there to gather."

"Let's go together," Lin Fan said.

The four of them traveled together. From their conversation, he learned that these three were named Lin Shan, Lin He, and Lin Hai. They were three brothers from a branch of the Family and usually didn't participate in factional struggles.

"Senior Brother Lin Fan, I heard that Senior Brother Lin Feng entered the Ancient Domain ten days early. You must be careful," Lin Shan warned in a low voice.

"I know," Lin Fan nodded.

They walked the thirty miles for nearly an hour. During that time, they encountered several more waves of Yao Beast attacks, but under Lin Fan's leadership, all were resolved without any danger.

Finally, a lake appeared ahead.

The lake water was crystal clear, reflecting the stars in the sky as if the entire starry sky had fallen into the lake. More than twenty disciples had already gathered by the lakeshore, taking a rest.

Seeing Lin Fan's arrival, many people cast their gazes over with varying expressions.

Lin Fan scanned the area and saw Clear Snow, Lin Hao, and the others, as well as Lin Yun and the other disciples from the Grand Elder's faction.

But Lin Feng wasn't there.

He must have already gone deeper into the Ancient Domain.

Clear Snow walked over quickly, her eyes full of joy. "Brother Lin Fan, it's good that you're alright."

"Yeah," Lin Fan nodded. "How long have you been here?"

"Half an hour," Clear Snow lowered her voice. "Lin Yun and the others arrived before us. They've been observing us in secret, and I don't know what they're plotting."

Lin Fan looked toward Lin Yun's side. Lin Yun was talking in low tones with several people. Seeing Lin Fan look over, he gave a cold smile and made a throat-slitting gesture.

The provocation was blatant.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze, his expression calm.

"Rest first. Tomorrow morning, we'll set off for Blood Wolf Valley."

Blood Wolf Valley was the first target he had marked on the map.

There might be star marrow there.

It was also a place where Lin Feng might be lying in wait.

Night fell, and campfires dotted the shores of Starlight Lake.

The first night in the Ancient Domain had begun.