It turns out that this year is the once-in-a-century grand selection held by the Supreme Xuanyang Sect, and the number of outer sect disciples to be recruited is ten times that of previous years, with the requirements also being much more relaxed.

In the parlance of the cultivation world, this year is a “Year of Immortal Fate,” the time to select talents to enter the sect and greatly expand its ranks.

It may sound somewhat ethereal, but the fact is, throughout history, nearly seventy to eighty percent of the great elders whose names are recorded in the Supreme Xuanyang Sect’s genealogy entered the sect through the “Grand Selection.”

What’s even more remarkable is that the “Grand Selection” admits a total of ten thousand disciples, among whom twelve lucky ones will be chosen during the process to be directly accepted as inner sect disciples by the second-generation Golden Core masters of the Supreme Yuanyang Sect, skipping the outer sect stage entirely—a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

The big, dark-skinned man was called Iron Bull, the son of a hunter. Because there were too many younger siblings to feed at home, and he was born with a huge appetite, he came to work in these mines when he couldn’t get enough to eat. He’s been here for three years now, and during this time, thanks to his innate strength, Iron Bull has mined much more than the average person, never worrying about making money, and his days here have been far better than before.

“Iron Bull, since you’ve earned so much money, why do you want to cultivate immortality?”

Hearing Evan Parker’s question, this burly man’s eyes actually reddened, and his huge fists clenched with a crackling sound as he said, “I want revenge…”

It turned out that around this time last year, Iron Bull used the money he’d earned over the years to exchange for a huge amount of gold and silver to take home, wanting to honor his parents, but to his shock, his home village had become a ruin.

After inquiring, he learned that a certain playboy, said to be a noble scion, had come hunting in the mountains, and upon seeing his younger sister’s beauty, developed evil intentions and committed a beastly crime.

The hunters in the mountains are hot-blooded; all ten or so families in the village banded together to capture the playboy, but instead, they brought disaster upon themselves. The playboy ordered his powerful subordinates to slaughter all the hunters, and even sent people to the village to kill all the old, young, and women who had stayed at home.

“Do you know the name of that noble playboy?”

“I do. That scum’s surname is Duan, and I even found out he’s the eldest grandson of the Emperor of the Sheng Tang Kingdom…”

“It seems that if you want revenge, embarking on the path of cultivation is indeed the only way.”

Evan Parker sighed at Iron Bull’s misfortune, feeling sympathy, and placed his right hand on Iron Bull’s broad shoulder, saying, “Brother Iron Bull, do you trust me?”

Although they had only known each other for less than half an hour, Iron Bull had already developed a great liking for Evan Parker. Having just poured out the troubles he’d kept bottled up for so long, he felt as if he’d found a true confidant.

The big man wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, grinned to reveal a mouthful of big white teeth, slapped Evan Parker on the shoulder, and chuckled, “I do, I trust you.”

“I’ve been on this Xuanyuan Star for almost four years now, and I still don’t have a single friend to talk to. This Iron Bull is straightforward and simple, a friend worth getting close to. Since I’m determined to enter the Supreme Xuanyang Sect this time, it would be good to have a companion I can trust to join the sect with me, so we can look out for each other in the future.”

With this thought, Evan Parker took out five mid-grade earth spirit crystals from his pocket and quietly slipped them into Iron Bull’s hands, saying, “If you don’t make it, don’t worry. Money can work wonders—use these spirit stones to honor the examiners, and maybe you’ll have a better chance.”

The value of mid-grade spirit stones is far above that of low-grade ones, often worth a hundred times more. What’s more, the ones Evan Parker gave Iron Bull were spirit stones with five-element attributes, making them at least twice as valuable.

This “Grand Selection” consists of two parts; passing either one is enough to be admitted. One is to be directly chosen by a visiting Golden Core master; the other is to pass the test administered by special examiners. Upon learning that these examiners were all disciples of the Supreme Xuanyang Sect, Evan Parker had an idea. Since ancient times, money makes the world go round—even cultivators are not immune to worldly ways.

The path of cultivation is built on countless resources, and Evan Parker had come to understand this very deeply.

For example, if someone has outstanding talent, supreme cultivation techniques, and guidance from a famous teacher, they could be considered extremely fortunate. But without sufficient cultivation resources, it all amounts to nothing.

Ordinary people crave gold and silver; cultivators crave spirit stones, refining materials, elixirs, and magical treasures—the essence is the same.

That’s why Evan Parker gave Iron Bull this advice.

Having worked in the mines for over three years, Iron Bull naturally knew the value of these five faintly yellow-glowing spirit stones. His small eyes blinked as he tried to refuse, “Mr. Parker, I can’t accept this.”

Unexpectedly, despite Iron Bull’s innate strength, he couldn’t budge Evan Parker at all. The latter casually placed the five mid-grade five-element spirit crystals in his arms and smiled lightly, “You called me ‘Mr. Parker’, so just take these as a meeting gift. But let me be clear: if you really want to be my brother, you must pass the test. Otherwise, if I enter the Supreme Yuanyang Sect and you don’t, who knows when we’ll meet again.”

Iron Bull may be simple and honest, but he’s not stupid. Hearing Evan Parker’s words, he no longer refused, and nodded seriously, “Mr. Parker, I understand.”

Chapter 9: The Outer Sect Examination