Top Soldier Pursued by a Beauty

"I'm sorry, you didn't pass. Please leave," the young man said with an indifferent smile.

The middle-aged man was stunned. "No! I'm a third-layer Great Grandmaster! How could I fail to pass this Cultivation Stone?!"

At his words, the surrounding crowd was also bewildered. Among the more than one thousand cultivators present, this man's strength already ranked him among the top experts. Most of them were just ordinary cultivators who had not even reached the Grandmaster realm! If this man couldn't pass, how could any of us?

Zhao Dong was also surprised.

The young man just smiled indifferently, shook his head, and said, "Everyone, you have misunderstood. This Cultivation Stone does not assess your cultivation level. Instead, it tests your talent."

"If I'm not mistaken, you were able to break through to the third layer of the Great Grandmaster realm because you had some incredible stroke of fortune," he continued. "But before that, your cultivation was actually very low. And after obtaining that fortune, your cultivation hasn't advanced an inch, correct?"

The young man's words made the man's face flush red with embarrassment. He laughed awkwardly and quickly departed.

Seeing this, the crowd mocked the man while also breathing a collective sigh of relief. As expected, when the next person, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties with a weak cultivation base, stepped forward, the Cultivation Stone erupted with a faint white light.

"Passed!" the young man from the sect announced loudly.

"I passed! I passed! Hahaha... my talent has been recognized by the Cultivation Stone! I've passed! Hahaha..." the participant shouted excitedly.

Afterward, the crowd began to step forward in sequence. A full hour later, all of the thousand-plus cultivators had been tested. However, out of all of them, only about a hundred had qualified.

The young man looked around and asked, "Is anyone else registering? If not, we will proceed to the next phase."

"Yes!"

The word erupted from two different spots simultaneously. The crowd followed the sound with their eyes, seeing one was Xiao Qitian, who had held back until now, and the other was a stern-faced young man.

When Xiao Qitian and his companions turned and saw who had spoken, a sinister glint flashed in their eyes.

"Zhao Dong! It's you?!"

"And why can't it be me?" Zhao Dong strode to the center of the plaza, his proud gaze stabbing straight at Xiao Qitian. At the same time, he subtly glanced at the nearby Lin Qingyun. Unsurprised by his appearance, she quietly gave him an encouraging gesture.

Zhao Dong nodded slightly, his gaze returning to Xiao Qitian.

"Heh, a stray dog thinks he can attend the Qingyun Sect's Sermon Assembly? Men, throw him out!" Xiao Qitian commanded arrogantly.

However, the young man from the sect replied calmly, "Young Master Xiao, today is the Qingyun Sect's Sermon Assembly. All who come may participate." His expression gradually darkened. "Are you trying to make decisions for my Qingyun Sect?"

Xiao Qitian shuddered and hurriedly bowed. "I wouldn't dare. It's just that this fellow is nothing but trash. Even if he tests himself, he's certain to fail. I just don't want him to waste everyone's time!"

"Whether it's a waste of time is not for you to decide!" the young man snorted, then turned to Zhao Dong with a smile. "Sir, shall we begin the test?"

"Let's begin." With a final, withering look at Xiao Qitian, Zhao Dong turned and walked toward the Cultivation Stone.

Being the last to take the stage naturally made him the center of attention. Especially since Zhao Dong had just challenged Xiao Qitian, the crowd was even more curious about his talent.

The plaza fell into a deathly silence as everyone stared intently at Zhao Dong. Even the young man next to the Cultivation Stone put away his fan, his face filled with anticipation as he watched.

Zhao Dong took a deep breath and slowly placed his palm on the stone.

As his hand made contact, a force as fine as a silk thread surged through his palm, heading straight for his Dantian. But after the energy entered his Dantian, it paused for a moment. Clearly, the energy was baffled by his golden Dantian.

Within that brief hesitation, three seconds passed. To outside observers, the Cultivation Stone merely trembled once before falling still.

The crowd was confused. What the...?!

"That's hilarious! Turns out he's just a talentless piece of trash?"

"Kids these days are so arrogant. A talentless waste of space dares to challenge Young Master Xiao?"

"Get down from there! Stop embarrassing yourself!"

A tidal wave of mockery swept through the crowd. The smug look in Xiao Qitian's eyes became impossible to suppress.

Lin Qingyun's face, however, was filled with disbelief. She had seen Zhao Dong's progress with her own eyes. How could he possibly be trash?

At that moment, the young man from the sect, his face no longer expectant but annoyed, said, "Three seconds are up. You didn't pass the test. Step down."

However, just as his words faded, a faint, almost imperceptible white light suddenly burst from the Cultivation Stone. The glow was so weak that many people had to rub their eyes to be sure they weren't mistaken.

Zhao Dong withdrew his hand and gave an awkward smile. "It lit up. It was a little late, but that should count as a pass, right?"

The young man's face darkened. He had never seen the Cultivation Stone have a delay before. But the white light was undeniable.

His eye twitching, he managed to say, "You... barely passed."

Zhao Dong breathed a sigh of relief. Passing is all that matters. As for the faint white light, he didn't give it much thought. He had sensed something was off with the stone. It seemed capable of detecting only the talent of an ordinary Dantian, but it couldn't accurately assess his golden one. Therefore, he was content that it lit up at all.

Just then, Xiao Qitian strode over and shoved Zhao Dong aside. "Trash is trash! Get out of my way, don't block the path!"

With that, Xiao Qitian slammed his hand onto the Cultivation Stone. He didn't even deign to look at it, instead fixing his mocking gaze on Zhao Dong.

BUZZ!

A deafening tremor erupted from the Cultivation Stone. A brilliant white light shot toward the sky, so intense it made the young man standing nearby flinch and shield his eyes.

The young man was overjoyed. Several high-ranking members of the Qingyun Sect, who were seated in the back, nodded in satisfaction, their eyes filled with admiration.

"This lad is not bad."

"The Xiao Family has produced many geniuses in recent years. Truly remarkable."

"In my opinion, he will likely be the champion of this Sermon Assembly."

"His talent is exceptionally high, and his cultivation is at the peak of this group. It will be difficult for anyone to contend with him."

The young man suppressed his shock and announced loudly, "Passed!"

With that, Xiao Qitian withdrew his hand and strode arrogantly up to Zhao Dong. "Kid, do you see the gap between you and the Xiao Family now? You offended my cousin, but he doesn't even need to lift a finger. I alone am more than enough to crush you!"

"Is that so? For some reason, I feel like you're the one who's going to be crushed," Zhao Dong retorted unflinchingly, his tone playful.

"Crush me? Hahahaha... Kid, you're all talk!" Xiao Qitian roared with laughter. He pointed a finger at Zhao Dong's nose and added arrogantly, "Since you're so eager to die, let's settle this in the arena!"