Chapter 97 - Entrance Test [1]
"What are you called, child?" the man in black asked, stroking his beard.
"Ah, I’m Leon," Cale replied.
"Hoh? Someone from the desolate continent. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone of your kind."
Cale hesitantly asked, "Sir, how may I... address you?"
"Just call me Jiang Yuanjun, while some do call me the Black Sire. Well, stick to whatever you want."
Suddenly, a whale’s sound echoed through the chamber.
Cale’s head snapped to the side.
A whale—or rather a miniature one—emerged from the void. It fumed with red and blue spiritual energy. After coming to a certain point it stopped, and a small hole appeared on its body. The hole enlarged and kept growing until it became a door’s size.
The door opened.
Two men jumped down from it, clearly one looked like the master and the other a guard. Both looked very young—only a few years older than Cale, by their appearance at least.
Black Sire laughed seeing them. "It has indeed been a long time since I’ve seen your face, Liushen!"
Cale shifted toward Chenxi and asked in a low voice, "Senior, who is this?"
Song Chenxi replied quietly, "He is Liushen. He’s the third son of the Blood Emperor. The one with him is likely his guard."
’Blood Emperor? Even I’ve heard of that person. He is not a real vampire, but he has abilities like them. Blood manipulation, which can control blood in enemies’ bodies and make it pierce their own skin. This is his son? What a scary bunch of people.’
If random strong dudes kept popping up like this, how was Cale supposed to survive?
Then another animal sound came.
A... cat? No. Something like that.
A beast landed behind them—black and green fur mixed, with cat-like eyes and sharp huge claws. Towering around ten meters tall, its muscular frame rippled with raw power. Each movement spoke of predatory grace, muscles coiling beneath thick fur like coiled springs ready to unleash devastation. Its tail swept across the platform, leaving faint marks where it passed.
Atop it was another man with sword-like sharp eyebrows and a whip tied to his waist. A beast master likely. He was young-looking, early forties maybe.
Seeing him, all three of the previous ones bowed.
Cale followed and bowed too.
Song Chenxi sent another mental message.
[He’s an elder of Spirit Beast Pavilion. One of the biggest sects of the entire world. Add to that—he’s a prince of the Horned Beast Continent. Don’t try to fight him.]
Cale sighed internally.
’Don’t fight this one, don’t fight that one. How the hell am I supposed to pass this test? But if I want the best inheritance, I had to choose the fourth level.’
Liushen spoke as the new man appeared, "Lord Morton, it’s an honor to meet you again."
Morton nodded. He looked experienced in combat. Even as a prince, he didn’t seem interested in money or status which was quite rare. Else he would be in some top tier armor and tens of guards with him as cannon fodder.
After introductions, Morton asked Cale a few questions.
Cale wanted to lie about his origins, but decided against it. What if he got caught? Mixing truth with fiction was safer in this case.
Cale checked with the system.
Although Morton looked to be in Emperor Realm, the system showed him at Sage Stage. That could only mean one thing, that he was suppressing his cultivation with an artifact. If he ever used his real power, the inheritance would expel him.
’So I at least don’t have to worry about fighting a Sage.’
After Cale answered all his questions, he asked, "Lord, you seem to have entered such inheritances more than once. Can you explain how this works?"
Morton laughed. "So you chose the highest difficulty without understanding what it means. See, normally people keep their cultivation in the caves. But us hell difficulty ones get reset back to mortal stage after the entrance. Do you understand what that means?"
Cale was shocked.
’Wouldn’t I become a target of everyone if I become a mortal?’
Then he realized.
Morton understood that realization.
"Right. Even if we reset, we can enhance our foundations to a better state. Imagine someone who made bad choices while cultivating. This is a golden opportunity for us. You’ll integrate more skills and techniques into your body from the mortal state itself. And to not be too unfair, in the Maleficent Realm’s timeline, we’ll be sent a hundred years before everyone else. Prepare in that time. Though, you might die if any other hell difficulty cultivators find you."
Cale clasped his hands and bowed. "Thank you for helping me."
Morton waved his hand. "First we have to get through this entrance trial. It decides how high we’ll go. Do well here and you might enter as Beginner or Advance Stage rather than mortal. It depends on this."
Cale nodded.
’So that’s how it works. Do good in the entrance exam, skip mortal stage entirely. Advance Stage is likely the highest then. I’ll reach Advance Stage and break through to Grandmaster before the hundred years pass.’
The lights of the platform flared and Golden light erupted everywhere.
Chenxi said, "It’s opening. You have to stand near one of the lights."
Cale did that, just like the others.
Many concentric circles appeared in the air, covering each of their bodies. Pillars of light erupted from each flame. Then a heavenly light descended from the dark sky above, forcing its pressure on everyone.
And then—
Absolute white.
Cale couldn’t see anything. It felt like he was phasing into atoms. He calmed his mind, closed his eyes, and opened them after a few seconds.
What he saw shook him.
He was standing in air—literally suspended tens of thousands of kilometers above land. If there was any land below... he couldn’t say. The world itself looked red and hot. Just like Mars itself.
Looking ahead, hundreds of thousands of small floating rocks stretched in a line like a path.
’I can’t use my wings here?’
His wings wouldn’t respond to his command, so it was likely considered as a cheat.
"Sigh, well. Let’s go."
And so it began.