Chapter 180 : Final Trial — Contention
Chapter 180: Final Trial — Contention
Immortal Alliance Year 24523, July 12th, 8:00 a.m.
Today was the day the final trial of the Immortal Exams officially began.
Outside the blessed land of the Bixiao Immortal Sect, at the fifth testing ground.
Chen Beiwu looked around and discovered that the number of candidates participating in the final trial was clearly far fewer than in the re-exam.
“Buzz!”
The large screen of the testing ground lit up, and the figure of True Monarch Jiang Chuan appeared, beginning to announce the rules of the Immortal Exam.
“This year’s final trial will be contention!”
“Next, you will enter the Contention Realm, where you will randomly challenge the projected phantoms of all Immortal Alliance cultivators recorded in history.”
“Those who can successfully defeat a phantom of a cultivator and pass one stage will receive a Grade B evaluation, and obtain the qualification to enter the Seven-Nine Upper Sects.”
“Those who pass two stages in succession will receive a Grade A evaluation, and obtain the qualification to enter the Immortal Sects.”
“Those who pass three stages in succession will receive a Grade A+ evaluation, and obtain the qualification to enter the Upper Three Immortal Sects, becoming future Nascent Soul True Monarchs renowned throughout the Immortal Alliance.”
Upon hearing this, more than a dozen Golden Core True Persons in charge of invigilation frowned slightly, though a few remained calm.
Although this year’s final trial rules sounded displeasing, they could not deny that among the Thirteen Immortal Sects, the Upper Three Immortal Sects were indeed in a league of their own.
Chen Beiwu narrowed his eyes, keenly sensing something was off.
What was this?
In the words of True Monarch Jiang Chuan, it seemed as if joining the Upper Three Immortal Sects and becoming a Nascent Soul True Monarch was a foregone conclusion.
Could it be that he had chosen his preferences wrongly?
Compared to merely matching his Spiritual Root Attributes, perhaps the Upper Three Immortal Sects, which had always held the top three ranks among the Immortal Sects, were the better destination!
At that thought, Chen Beiwu frowned.
“Those who pass four stages in succession will receive a Double-A evaluation, gain the qualification to apply for the Immortal Alliance Immortal Exam, and be admitted into the Five Great Grotto-Heavens.”
Saying this, True Monarch Jiang Chuan paused slightly: “To ensure fairness, the phantoms of cultivators within the Contention Realm will be at the same cultivation realm as you.”
Hearing this, fervor lit up in the eyes of all present candidates.
In the eyes of Immortal Alliance cultivators, the Five Great Grotto-Heavens were the most supreme of holy lands.
If they could pass four stages in succession and receive a Double-A evaluation, would that not bring glory to their ancestors and carve their names into the history of the Immortal Alliance?
‘A bunch of fools.’ Shen Qiong curled his lips and muttered inwardly.
Passing four stages of the Contention Realm was not so simple!
The Contention Realm did not only record the phantoms of candidates who took the Immortal Exam every year, but also the phantoms of peerless prodigies from the Five Great Grotto-Heavens.
Such peerless prodigies could leap realms as easily as drinking water, nearly invincible within the same realm.
In the fourth stage of the Contention Realm, the appearance of a phantom from the Five Great Grotto-Heavens had a ten-in-ten chance. That was simply not someone he could even dream of challenging.
A man should know his limits. Shen Qiong’s goal was simple: to pass two stages, earn a Grade A evaluation, and successfully enter the Bixiao Immortal Sect.
At this moment, True Monarch Jiang Chuan continued to explain the rules on the screen.
“Candidates may bring spiritual artifacts, talismans, formation disks, and other external items into the Contention Realm, with no restrictions on quantity.”
At these words, countless expressions swept across the students’ faces—some showed delight, others indignation.
“This isn’t fair!” a plainly dressed candidate suddenly shouted.
“That’s right! If one can pass the trial merely by relying on external items, then this Immortal Alliance final trial is just a game for cultivation aristocratic clans, with no meaning whatsoever!”
Chen Beiwu also found this unexpected.
If the Immortal Alliance final trial’s rules were so crude, then he could already foresee that this year, the ones who would enter the Thirteen Immortal Sects would all be descendants of cultivation aristocratic clans, while the path of ascension for commoner cultivators would be completely sealed.
‘Strange. Could this be a barrier set up by the Immortal Alliance’s upper echelons specifically to block off commoner children?’ Chen Beiwu’s thoughts turned rapidly.
Do not be fooled by the Immortal Alliance’s high degree of modernization—on the Ten Thousand Spirits app, even Golden Core True Persons streamed live classes.
But the knowledge they taught was never the top-tier secret methods for breaking through bottlenecks, only some ordinary breakthrough techniques well known to cultivation families.
It was not only the Immortal Alliance; even in his previous life, there had been countless invisible barriers, especially in the realm of knowledge.
It was not that the wealthy could predict the future, but rather that, being in high positions, they could seize opportunities through information and intelligence from all directions, profiting immensely.
By the time ordinary people realized and tried to follow suit, they often entered at the peak, only to become lambs to be slaughtered.
Could this final trial also be the same?
The clan-born heirs, who had obtained information in advance, had already prepared suitable spiritual artifacts and talismans, while commoner cultivators only learned of this on the very day of the exam.
Fortunately, Chen Beiwu had been cautious, having purchased spiritual artifacts suited to himself half a year before the exam began—though he had no channels to acquire more powerful second-tier talismans.
“Immortal Alliance exams are fair and just.”
As if aware of the candidates’ dissatisfaction, True Monarch Jiang Chuan said in a deep voice: “The Contention Realm is different from the God-Void Realm. Bringing too many spiritual artifacts and talismans into the Contention Realm is not necessarily a good thing.”
“The more spiritual artifacts and talismans candidates use, the more the phantoms within the Contention Realm will employ, greatly increasing the difficulty of passing.”
“If you want good results, it is best to use a systematic combination of spiritual artifacts and talismans.
Otherwise, relying solely on external objects will only cause you to fall at the very first stage.”
At these words, the candidates who already knew the rules of the trial remained calm.
Instead, those who had been indignant became the focus of the crowd.
Some candidates even looked upon them with disdain.
It was not the first time the Immortal Alliance had opened the Contention Realm. To not even know this much, and yet dare to question the decisions of the Immortal Alliance’s upper echelon—such ignorance was laughable.
But they did not know that candidates from commoner backgrounds simply had no access to such detailed information.
All they knew was that the last time the Immortal Alliance had opened the Contention Realm was fifty years ago, and the rule then was that candidates were not allowed to bring in external items.
Chen Beiwu let out a breath of relief.
Fortunately, his guess had been wrong.
As the saying went, “where one sits determines how one thinks.”
Chen Beiwu was from a declining household. If he wished to cultivate immortality, he could only rely on his own efforts.
If the Immortal Alliance could not even maintain the surface-level fairness of exam rules, then even if he successfully entered the Thirteen Immortal Sects, he would likely not receive the treatment due to a true genius.
“This contention allows only advancement, no retreat. Only true prodigies can reach the end!”
“I hereby declare the unified final trial of the ordinary higher cultivation schools officially begun.”
As True Monarch Jiang Chuan’s voice fell, the welcoming light of the Contention Realm flared, and the world before Chen Beiwu’s eyes abruptly changed.
…
Chen Beiwu looked around and found himself standing upon a lapis-blue arena. From the void above hung seventy-two chains, sealing the entire platform completely.
Beyond the arena, a jade stele covered in dark red patches gradually displayed words.
【Challenger】: Chen Beiwu
【Cultivation】: Qi Refining Limit
【Contention Realm Opponent】: Immortal Alliance Year 24013 Candidate, Li Yuanba (Cultivation Realm: Qi Refining Limit)
‘Li Yuanba?’ Chen Beiwu frowned slightly.
This Contention Realm truly was random—at random, it had assigned him an opponent from more than five hundred years ago.
But the name sounded somewhat familiar.
If he remembered correctly, there had been a rather famous Golden Core True Person of the Li Clan in Qianshan of Fallen Dragon Manor, whose name was also Li Yuanba, hailed by Fallen Dragon cultivators as True Person of Thunder-Shaking.
At that thought, Chen Beiwu’s gaze turned toward the figure gradually taking form on the arena.
Whether the name was coincidence or not, there was only one thing he needed to do now.
That was to cooperate with Gold Egg, and utterly crush the phantom of this cultivator named Li Yuanba before him!