Chapter 365: Lining Up

Outside the enormous blue gates of the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect, more than ten thousand Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators had congregated by now.

Therefore, the moment the gong sounded, thousands of heads turned in the direction of the enormous blue gates as the previous chit-chat began to die out, being replaced with the sounds of nervous breathing.

Creak!

The next second, under the gazes of everyone present, the two gates creaked open, which was accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

Fifty or so figures, each clad in black and red robes, soon walked out of the gates.

They carried with themselves a disposition that couldn’t help but raise a sense of admiration in the eyes of all the spectators present.

Curious, Yi Chen immediately opened the status panel of one of them.

===== STATUS =======

Name: Dao Jin

Age: 72

Strength:

Cultivation: Ninth Qi Absorption Stage

Qi Nature: Ice

Remark: An Elder at the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]

=====================

’...Ice Nature?’

A subtle frown formed on Yi Chen’s face when he noticed this. Although it wasn’t his first time coming to know about this nature, it was still his first time noticing it on an individual’s panel.

’Is it because these special natures are extremely rare?’ he thought in a confused manner while looking at the status panel of several other elders who were walking out of the gates.

Just like the first person, they too were all in the Ninth Qi Absorption Stage, and all held the title of an Elder.

A few minutes later, all the fifty elders were standing shoulder to shoulder as their hawk-like eyes scanned through the sea of cultivators in front of them.

’Each of them is powerful enough to become a Major Clan’s Patriarch by themselves, yet they all are here...’

Yi Chen thought, clearly understanding that the benefits of being an Elder at the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect far outweighed the benefits of forming a Major Clan and becoming its Patriarch.

While Yi Chen and the thousands of other cultivators were lost in their own set of thoughts, one of the Elders took a step forward and, with a voice as loud as a dragon’s roar, addressed the entire sea of cultivators.

"Welcome to the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect!"

His deafening voice caused everyone’s soul to shudder, ensuring that everyone’s attention was drawn towards his direction.

"The First Stage of the Entrance Test, Cultivation Verification, will soon begin. However, before that, I must reemphasise the rules."

The elder paused and continued.

"All the applicants should be under thirty years of age and should be in the Meridian Refinement Stage. Lastly, everyone’s Spirit Root grade should be above five. If these conditions are not met...."

As the elder continued on with his instructions, Yi Chen couldn’t help but develop a frown on his face.

Glancing towards Zhou Mei, who seemed to be pretty bored and the least bit interested in listening to the Elder’s ramblings, he asked, "I don’t understand...why do they care about our Spirit Root grading as well? I was told that the only criteria are for one to be at the Meridian Refinement Stage and be below thirty years in age."

"Ah, that."

The boredom in Zhou Mei’s eyes instantly disappeared when she heard his question, as she answered his doubt with an excited expression the very next moment, "That’s because if a person’s spirit root grade is five or below, then it’s almost impossible for them to be able to reach the Meridian Refinement Stage before the age of 30 years.

So, if one were to cultivate at the Meridian Refinement Stage despite having their Spirit Root grade below six, it would imply only one thing..."

"External help..." Yi Chen said the very next moment, which caused Zhou Mei to nod in an enthusiastic manner.

"Indeed. That’s why, to ensure no one had relied on such pills or other elixirs, the grading of the spirit root is also tested lest the Sect take in disciples who don’t even have the aptitude to make it to the Qi Absorption Stage."

"I see...Thank you." Yi Chen nodded in gratitude after getting his doubt answered.

"You’re welcome~"

Zhou Mei answered delightfully while turning her head towards the elder who was almost finished with his instructions.

"...The Verification Test Begins!"

The moment the Elder declared those words, all the fifty Elders, including him, took out a table from inside their storage rings, placing it right in front of them.

A transparent orb was placed right in the middle of the table as they started gesturing the candidates to line up in front of each table.

Noticing this, Yi Chen, Zhou Mei and the rest soon joined the same line, which was several hundred people long, patiently waiting for their turn.

’...This is going to take quite some time.’ Yi Chen muttered inwardly while noticing the relaxed pace with which the Elders were verifying the requirements of each individual.

"There, Brother Chen..." Zhou Mei said while pointing at the line right next to them, "The line had just been formed, but one candidate has already been verified. Let’s join it instead."

She suggested, naturally not wanting to stand in the queue for a long period.

"Oh?" Yi Chen glanced far ahead of the queue and indeed noticed that the Elder in charge of the queue was doing his task at a much faster pace.

However, he just shook his head the next second and said, "There’s no guarantee that he won’t slow down by the time our turn gets near...It’s better to stay in our own line."

"Oh..." Zhou Mei’s eyes dimmed at those words, making her sigh in disappointment.

However, just then she heard Feng Ning’s words, which supported her suggestion, "Brother Chen, I think Sister Zhou Mei is right; it’s much better to take our chances since that line is much faster, isn’t it?"

Feng Min and Qin Yao also nodded by the side.

"This..." A hesitant expression formed on his face for a second before he shook those thoughts away and said, "Still, I’d prefer to stay in this line. The four of you can go and join that faster line if you want to."

Feng Ning glanced at Feng Min, Qin Yao and Zhou Mei the next second and, thinking of something, made a playful suggestion, "Then how about this..."

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