by Feng Yise
"The first time you enter the Illusionary Spirit Tower, you can take part in multiple rank advancement tests; all the way until you get killed, or voluntarily withdraw. After passing a test, you will automatically be sent to the next test. There, you can make a decision if you want to undergo the next test or not. At that point, the Illusionary Spirit Tower will record the rank advancement test you are killed at. The next time you enter the Illusionary Spirit Tower, you will start anew from that rank. Alright, now enter the Illusionary Spirit Tower!" Clearly, Huyan Yong's last few sentences were meant for Ye Yuan.
Huyan Yong then walked in front of the Illusionary Spirit Tower's gate and gestured his hand up in a half arc in front of him. Faint black essence energy was shot into the Illusionary Spirit Tower.
Following that, the Illusionary Spirit Tower's gate slowly opened.
The students participating in the test entered in an orderly manner. The moment they entered the gate, they vanished. It was clear that they were sent away by the Illusionary Spirit Tower.
When it was Lin Tiancheng's turn to go in, he shot a fierce glare at Ye Yuan. "If you can't advance to the Earth Rank, you will forever be trash! You are considered lucky today with Teacher Huyan helping you. In the future, don't let me see you in the academy; otherwise, you are dead!"
After threating Ye Yuan, Lin Tiancheng stepped forward and vanished instantly.
Ye Yuan gave a laugh and did not take Lin Tiancheng's warning to heart. He turned to Lu-er and said, "Lu-er, let's go in too." Prof: Urgh. So complicated.
Chapter 41 - Gray Dream Tapir
Ye Yuan felt his vision went blurry, and then he realized he was transported to a dazzling multi-colored dream world.
This was evidently an independent space.
It looks like every layer of this Illusionary Spirit Tower was split into many independent spaces. Each student was in a different space.
However, this sort of method did not count as mystical in the Divine Realm. But it was already very impressive for a tiny sect in the Lower Realms to be able to use this sort of method to groom students.
Ye Yuan was at a lost. There was nothing in this empty space. So how could the test take place?
At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded out.
"Welcome to the Illusionary Spirit Tower. This is your first time coming to the Illusionary Spirit Tower. You will undergo the Entry Advancement test shortly. I am your guide during this test."
Ye Yuan did not make a fuss over it as he knew that it was definitely the Illusionary Spirit Tower's artifact spirit.
However, what made Ye Yuan surprised was that he was actually sent to the Entry Advancement test.
It looks like the Illusionary Spirit Tower will automatically send first-time students to the Entry Advancement test. As a result, Ye Yuan and Lu-er were now standing on the same starting line.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Ye Yuan asked.
The artifact spirit seemed to hesitate for a moment, being somewhat surprised at Ye Yuan's composure.
As the artifact spirit was in charge of the advancement test, it had directed countless of students before. This was its first time meeting a student as composed as Ye Yuan.
"Right now, just sit down and meditate. I will bring you to the test. Later, don't attempt to resist whatever that happens. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself," said the artifact spirit.
Ye Yuan did not say a word, and he just sat down and meditated right away.
He was a little curious, however, at just how the artifact spirit would conduct the test.
A moment later, Ye Yuan felt his body starting to feel light. Falling into a trance, he entered an empty training room.
Seeing this situation, the corner of Ye Yuan's mouth curled into a smile.
So that's how it is. This Illusionary Spirit Tower's artifact spirit is actually a Dream Tapir. The Tranquil Cloud Sect indeed have some impressive methods. A 32 restrictions Spirit Artifact . . . It looks like it should be the lowest ranking Gray Dream Tapir. Conducting tests in a dream world were both safe and fair. It seemed the person who created the Illusionary Spirit Tower was quite brilliant.
Dream tapirs were bizarre lifeforms which were intricately tied with dream worlds. They have their own consciousness, yet they do not have a fixed shape. They could silently enter the dream world of humans and even demonic beasts, strengthening themselves within the dream.
Ye Yuan knew that the highest ranking White Dream Tapir existed in the Divine Realm. It possessed incredibly powerful abilities and could even compete with Divine Kings. Their abilities all had to do with dream worlds, making it impossible to guard against.
This artifact spirit that Ye Yuan met was most likely the lowest ranking Gray Dream Tapir.
They were willing to become the Illusionary Spirit Tower's artifact spirit, most likely because they wanted to borrow the students' dream worlds to strengthen themselves.
Otherwise, even the lowest ranking Gray Dream Tapir was not something that a tiny sect like the Tranquil Cloud Sect could capture.
One has to know that the State of Qin was not the only country with the Dan Wu Academy. There were similarly also Dan Wu Academies in other countries under the jurisdiction of the Tranquil Cloud Sect. Their assessment of students was definitely also through the support of the Illusionary Spirit Tower.
Such a large-scale capturing of Gray Dream Tapirs would inevitably incur the vengeance of the Dream Tapir tribe. Unless these Gray Dream Tapirs willingly became artifact spirits.
Ye Yuan knew that right now, he was already in the dream world.
Most likely, that independent space just now was meant as the medium whereby the Dream Tapir would cast its Nightmare Skill, bringing students into the dream world.
While Ye Yuan was expressing his surprise at this methods, he also checked out his strength at the same time.
To perfectly project my strength in reality inside this dream world . . . The Dream Tapir tribe's abilities are truly great! This way, there would be no possibility of any trickery. Ye Yuan sighed in admiration.
Suddenly, a middle-aged brawny-looking man appeared in front of Ye Yuan. He knew that this brawny-looking man was an illusion created by the Gray Dream Tapir. Within the dream world, Dream Tapirs could take the form of anything.
"Now, I am responsible for your advancement test. The test is about to begin. You can choose your weapon now," the Dream Tapir said.
"Choose a weapon? Uh . . . Then I choose a sword." Ye Yuan gave an indifferent look. Clearly, he was not even the slightest bit worried about the Entry Advancement test.
The Dream Tapir felt that Ye Yuan's attitude was highly unusual. When the other students entered the dream world, they would often ask questions non-stop and did not know what was going on.
When Ye Yuan entered, the Dream Tapir noticed that he was not surprised at all. That expression on his face clearly showed that he knew that he was in the dream world.
Ye Yuan knew about Dream Tapirs, but this did not mean that others knew about Dream Tapirs too. In reality, Dream Tapirs were part of an extremely mysterious tribe, because they did not possess a fixed shape.
Even when in a dream, it was impossible to discover its existence unless the Dream Tapir let you discover it. That was because it could very well be a little mouse in your dream world or maybe even a stalk of grass.
The Dream Tapir naturally would not tell the students its identity. It would only inform them that it was the Illusionary Spirit Tower's guide for the test.
But this Ye Yuan was not curious about anything at all . . .
The Dream Tapir waved his hand, and a completely ordinary-looking sword appeared out of thin air in Ye Yuan's hand.
"Isn't this too shabby?" Ye Yuan forced a smile.
The Dream Tapir said emotionlessly, "In order to ensure the fairness of the test, the academy requested for us to treat each student equally. No matter what weapon you choose, I will only provide you with the most ordinary one."
Ye Yuan drew his sword, and a sword light flashed. He said helplessly, "Alright then, I will make do with this."
This was the first time the Dream Tapir met somebody who did not care at all. However, it did not think too much about it. A mere Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm rookie was not worth too much of its attention.
To the Dream Tapir, whom he was focused on were the few students taking the Earth Rank Advancement test.
"Now, tell me your name and birthplace. I will record down your test results." The Dream Tapir remained emotionless.
"The capital, the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion, Ye Yuan," Ye Yuan reported his name and birthplace.
The Dream Tapir nodded and said, "The test will start now. They are your opponents."
The Dream Tapir made a gesture, and five black-clothed martial artists appeared out of nowhere. Impressively, they were also at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm. Following this, the middle-aged brawny-looking man which the Dream Tapir transformed into had vanished. It was clear that it left Ye Yuan to fend for himself.
The Entry Advancement test was not worth paying too much attention to it.
Ye Yuan swept his glance at the five black-clothed Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm martial artists and could not help but smirked. These five black-clothed Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm martial artists were the most ordinary kind of Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm.
When the Dan Wu Academy recruited students, the minimum requirement was for them to break through to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm before 16 and to be able to defeat five of the most ordinary type of Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm working together.
To the average person, this was an incredibly difficult challenge. In the dream world, weapons, equipment, and medicinal pills could not be brought inside. One could only rely on the abilities they possessed to defeat the opponents.
It was virtually impossible to successfully defeat five opponents who were the same cultivation realm as you unless you were a genius.
However . . . this was a piece of cake for Ye Yuan.
After the Dream Tapir vanished, the five black-clothed martial artists moved at the same time, attacking Ye Yuan from five different angles.
Ye Yuan stood straight up and put his sword away before lightly striking out his palm.
Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave!
The ripple of essence energy spread out, and the five black-clothed martial artists flew backward. . .
It was evident that the five black-clothed martial artists no longer had any combat power left as they vanished the instant they hit the ground. The next moment, the middle-aged brawny-looking man appeared once again, and he showed a stunned expression.
Ye Yuan looked at the Dream Tapir, and gave a faint smile and said, "My apologies. I forgot to tell you that I'm here to take the Yellow Rank Advancement test."
Chapter 42 - Another Instant Kill!
Every time the advancement test took place, it would always attract a large number of students to watch. That was because the results of the test might affect their position within the ranking.
A light screen displayed everyone's test progress outside the Illusionary Spirit Tower.
"Eh? Did someone pass the test so quickly? It's Ye Yuan!" seeing a change in the light screen happened so quickly, someone exclaimed in surprise.
"It's that Ye Yuan who killed Fei Qingping during the deathmatch? That fellow is sick!"
"But this doesn't mean much either. This should be his first time taking the advancement test, so right now, it should be the Entry Advancement test."
"But that is monstrous enough! Calculating the time, he should have just started the test. Even though it's only the Entry Advancement test, he has to face five Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm fighters. Ye Yuan is just at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm. Could it be that he instantly killed five people at the same level?"
"Uh. That's really a possibility! Just how great is that fellow's combat prowess? Back then, when I participated in the Entry Advancement test, I spent the time it took for an entire incense to burn before I managed to finish them off! I'm afraid that even Fei Qingping who broke through also can't instantly kill five Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, right?"
"Hehe. Looks like I was right for coming today. This Ye Yuan really soared to the skies in one move. I'm really looking forward to just how far he can go during this test!"
No matter what, Ye Yuan instantly killing five martial artists of the same level caused the students to burst into an uproar.
All of these students had gone through the Entry Advancement test. But not one of them dared to say that they could instantly kill five opponents at the same level when they were at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm.
Ye Yuan could kill Fei Qingping who was two minor realms higher than him when he was at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. Now that he was already at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, just how strong is Ye Yuan's combat strength after advancing a minor stage? 1
Everyone was curious.
Most of them came to see who could advance to Heaven Rank, but now, their attention turned to Ye Yuan.
Huyan Yong watched the light screen silently. He, unlike the rest of the surrounding students, was most concerned with Ye Yuan's test.
When Ye Yuan passed the Entry Advancement test just now, the shock he felt was no less than the other students.
When he was at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, he could easily defeat five martial artists of the same level. But to talk about instantly killing them . . . that was something impossible for him.
This Ye Yuan was truly full of surprises.
"Look! Wan Yuan and Liu Ruoshui came as well. Most likely they came to scout out information to see just where the limits of Ye Yuan's strength laid."
"Hehe. I wonder what were they thinking when they saw Ye Yuan passing the Entry Advancement test instantly."
Presently, someone noticed that there were two more people in the crowd. They were precisely Wan Yuan and Liu Ruoshui.
Wan Yuan and Ye Yuan's conflict was no longer a secret in the academy. Now that he showed up here, it was obviously because of Ye Yuan.
As Wan Yuan looked at Ye Yuan's progress on the light screen, his face sunk.
He happened to see the scene of Ye Yuan advancing just as he entered the Illusionary Spirit Tower. Even though it was only the Entry Advancement test, wasn't this speed too fast?
Wan Yuan still was not aware that Ye Yuan was already at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm. If he knew, who knows what he would think . . .
. . . . . .
Within the Illusionary Spirit Tower, the Dream Tapir was stunned as he looked at Ye Yuan.
He 2 had tested countless student over the years. Each of them possessed the power that outclassed those at the same level. Some exceptional students could easily defeat these five martial artists. However, this was his first time encountering someone like Ye Yuan who could instantly kill five opponents at the same level.
One would have to cross another minor stage, possessing the strength of a Seventh Level Essence Qi Realm, before they could instantly kill five Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm martial artists.
It was not difficult to jump ranks to do battle for genius students. However, it was extremely challenging to cross over an entire minor stage.
When Ye Yuan was at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, he could not handle Fei Qingping even when he mastered the Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave. One could see just how difficult it was to jump ranks to battle.
Yet now, Ye Yuan could use his strength as a Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm to instantly kill five opponents at the same rank. Just how powerful did he have to be to do that!
"My apologies. I forgot to tell you that I'm here to take the Yellow Rank Advancement test," Ye Yuan said and smiled lightly.
The Dream Tapir was a little unpleased with Ye Yuan's attitude. He frowned slightly and said, "Alright. The Yellow Rank Advancement test will begin now. This is your opponent."
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br /> The Dream Tapir waved, and another five black-clothed martial artists appeared. The five black-clothed martial artists that appeared this time were shockingly all at the Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm.
"Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm eh? The difficulty didn't seem to have increased much," Ye Yuan muttered to himself.
Just as Ye Yuan said, the difficulty of the Yellow Rank Advancement test did not increase too much from the Entry Advancement test. Even though Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm was strong, without crossing a minor stage, it was not exactly insurmountable for students.
As students' cultivation realm rose with the acc.u.mulation of time, it would not be difficult to deal with five Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm fighters.
The truly difficult ones were the Black Rank Advancement test and the Earth Rank Advancement test!
The opponents faced in the Black Rank Advancement test would rise to another level; five Eighth Level Essence Qi Realm martial artists. And the opponents in the Earth Rank Advancement test were five First Level Spirit Condensation Realm fighters!
Under normal circ.u.mstances, students would have to increase their cultivation realm in order to pass the test. Otherwise, it would be far too challenging.
One cultivation realm, one layer of heaven. Apart from geniuses like Long Tang, the average person would not be able to jump ranks to battle five martial artists of a higher realm.
One would first have to reach Spirit Condensation Realm in order to pass through the Earth Rank Advancement test to become a Heaven Rank student.
Therefore, for Wan Yuan to break through and become an Earth rank student with his Seventh Level Essence Qi Realm cultivation, this result was hard to come by. Naturally, the academy would heavily groom him.
Five Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm opponents; they were much stronger than Fei Qingping.
However, back when Ye Yuan was at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, he could already easily kill Fei Qingping. Now that he was at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, these five Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm fighters were nothing difficult.