Iron Bull was quite shrewd. Upon hearing that passing this round meant passing the assessment, his small eyes blinked a few times. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he moved with an agility completely at odds with his massive frame and slipped five mid-grade Five Elements spirit stones into the arms of Examiner Number Six.

It was obvious that this Examiner Number Six was no stranger to accepting bribes. As he felt the spirit stones in his robe, a faint look of delight appeared on his face. He thought to himself, “This guy is really generous—five mid-grade Five Elements spirit stones! That’s a whole month’s sect stipend for me. Who would have thought I could make such a profit in a backwater place like this…”

“You may go in. Don’t worry, I can see you’re naturally strong and quite talented. Passing this round shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”

Hearing this, Iron Bull felt even more confident. Without another word, he lifted his foot and strode into the glowing circle.

At the same time, Examiner Number Six raised his hand and conjured a small flame, lighting the incense stick on the table beside him. What no one noticed was that this flame did more than just light the incense—it instantly burned away a third of it, greatly reducing the difficulty for Iron Bull to pass the assessment.

“Take someone’s money, help them avert disaster. I’ve done all I can. Kid, whether you have a destiny with immortality is up to you now.”

Time ticked by, second by second. Suddenly, a thunderous crash erupted from within the white circle, and Iron Bull’s massive body was hurled out. Almost at the same moment, the last ember of the incense stick went out.

Did he succeed? Or fail?

Examiner Number Six reached out to help the sprawled Iron Bull to his feet. The latter’s face was bruised and swollen, looking as if he’d been thoroughly beaten, but his bones and tendons were unharmed. Examiner Number Six put on a stern face and said seriously, “Very good. You are the first to pass the entrance selection this time. This year, you will have a spot among the outer disciples of the Supreme Xuanyang Sect.”

As he spoke, Examiner Number Six took out a jade token engraved with a nine-star pattern and handed it to Iron Bull, saying, “Go wait over there. You’ve passed the assessment. When today’s entrance selection is over, someone will come to guide you with this Jiuyang Jade Slip.”

※※※

Back when Iron Bull was called away, Evan Parker was also summoned to the high platform by Examiner Number One. With Evan Parker’s cultivation at the early Innate Realm, he could have easily revealed some of his strength and been exempted from the assessment altogether. After all, a cultivator who has entered the Innate Realm is already far beyond ordinary people, and these basic tests would be a breeze.

But Evan Parker didn’t do that. It wasn’t that he was deliberately trying to keep a low profile, but rather that he simply didn’t want anyone to know he had already reached the Innate Realm. The reason was simple: up to this point, Evan Parker had not seen the five rumored Golden Core masters who were supposed to arrive today.

The test was exactly the same as Iron Bull’s, and for Evan Parker, it was naturally no challenge. Although, because he had cultivated the “Divine Slaughtering Heaven Art,” other cultivators of the same realm couldn’t discern the depth of his cultivation, if he revealed too much, it would arouse suspicion. Doing just enough was exactly the result Evan Parker wanted.

But after entering the white circle, something unexpected happened to Evan Parker.

The moment he stepped into the white circle, Evan Parker sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him suddenly stagnate. Clearly, this circle was some kind of spatial restriction spell, cutting off contact with the outside world. Inside the circle stood a monstrous creature, about five meters tall, with the head of a tiger and the body of a man, looking ferocious.

“Roar!”

The tiger-headed man suddenly let out a furious roar and charged at Evan Parker with astonishing speed. Its sharp claws sliced through the air, as if even the air itself would be torn apart. Its attack was so powerful that Evan Parker almost thought he was facing an Innate Realm cultivator.

Fortunately, Evan Parker had been on guard from the start. With his divine energy circulating, he spun and dodged like a top, narrowly avoiding the sudden strike.

“This is ridiculous. If this test is only meant for ordinary people, how could such a powerful creature appear? Just this monster alone would require my full strength to handle. Doesn’t that mean my new little brother Iron Bull would have no chance of advancing?”

In fact, what Evan Parker didn’t know was that this white circle was a special magical artifact crafted by the Supreme Xuanyang Sect for the “Grand Selection,” called the “Beast Soldier Talisman.”

Each “Beast Soldier Talisman” contained a demon beast with a century’s worth of cultivation. Depending on the strength of the person entering the rune circle, the beast inside would display different levels of power—the minimum being ten times the strength and speed of an ordinary person, and the maximum equivalent to a cultivator at the ninth level of the Innate Realm.

Of course, since the beast’s intelligence had been wiped and it attacked purely on instinct, with a strict order not to kill, its power was somewhat reduced. Even at full strength, it couldn’t match a true ninth-level Innate Realm cultivator.

The tiger demon didn’t care how shocked Evan Parker was. Its innate strength and speed were on full display as it darted about—pouncing, ramming, biting, sweeping—its attacks relentless, nearly blasting Evan Parker out of the restricted circle.

Forced into such a sorry state, Evan Parker, who had intended to pass the assessment quietly, couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.