True Martial World - Chapter 472: God Advent Tower's First Level

When they heard Shentu Nantian's orders, two of his lackeys could only move towards the end of the group to crane their necks.

Seeing Yi Yun and Lin Xintong, they felt awkward. The Tian Yuan world was a world where strength was of utmost importance. Previously, they had flaunted themselves in front of Yi Yun, but now, the facts had proven that Yi Yun was much stronger than them. Hence, they did not have the guts to face Yi Yun when they were near him.

At that moment, Yi Yun was focused on studying the drawings on the ten over exotic murals. As for the two lackeys coming over to watch, he did not react in any way other than giving them a glance.

The two lackeys stood behind Yi Yun in an awkward manner. Their gaze passed through Yi Yun onto the murals as they tried to decipher the drawings.

However, no matter how much they stared, they could not decipher anything.

They were ordinary-looking murals and they looked no different to the ones they had seen before. Yet, Yi Yun had been standing here for a long time.

"Big brother Nantian, that kid seems to be pretending to act mysterious. There's nothing special about them at all."

The two lackeys transmitted their voice to Shentu Nantian, but Shentu Nantian frowned and silently cursed "Trash!"

He would rather be wrong than sorry, so he walked towards Yi Yun.

The moment Shentu Nantian moved, he immediately attracted a lot of attention. Quite a lot of people followed Shentu Nantian to join in the bustle.

"Yi Yun… "

Lin Xintong's eyebrows furrowed slightly. These people were as irritating as flies.

Yi Yun did not say anything. Up till now, he could not tell what the secret behind the ten over exotic murals was, so he was not afraid that it had attracted the attention of others.

Shentu Nantian gave a sidewards glance at Yi Yun as he fixed a calm and cool smile. However, this smile was deliberately forced by Shentu Nantian to emphasize that he had not lost to Yi Yun previously.

"You can actually study murals meant for eliminated people for such a long time?"

Shentu Nantian said lightly. However, his gaze was constantly fixed on the ten over exotic murals. For a proud person like Shentu Nantian, even if he had to be forced to follow behind someone's ass, and pick up his leftovers, he would still maintain his superior appearance.

Yi Yun chuckled as he lightly said, "No one will stop you even if you want to see it. Why are you so hypocritical?"

After saying that, Yi Yun began to leave, as if he had lost all interest in the ten over exotic murals.

Shentu Nantian was stunned for a moment. This kid just left like that. Was he playing him for a fool?

"Deliberately acting mysterious!"

Shentu Nantian cursed. Although he suspected Yi Yun was deliberately pretending to have made a discovery to amuse himself through him, Shentu Nantian still looked carefully and seriously at the ten over exotic murals from beginning to end. He even released his perception to research them over and over again.

At that moment, he no longer cared what others thought of him. Obtaining an opportunity was worth more.

However, after staring at them for more than 30 seconds, where he went through the ten over exotic murals a few times, Shentu Nantian was disappointed. There was nothing special about the murals.

This made Shentu Nantian increasingly believe that he was hoodwinked by Yi Yun.

He looked up and saw Yi Yun accompanying Lin Xintong as they were almost at the end of the staircase and were about to enter the first level.

"F**k, that sl*t!" Shentu Nantian cursed angrily. "I was tricked by that kid. Maybe he wants to be the first to enter the tower and obtain the opportunities in the God Advent Tower."

"We need to catch up!"

Shentu Nantian waved his hand as the rest charged up the stairs with him. They were afraid to be left behind. What if there was something awesome in the God Advent Tower?

"Yi Yun… They are coming up as well." Lin Xintong said to Yi Yun.

Yi Yun did not not mind, "There's no need to bother with them."

At that moment, he had already reached the end of the staircase. Here, the door that looked to be the size of a palm finally revealed its true nature. It was extremely large, allowing tens of people standing side-by-side to enter.

Through the large door, there was a bright grand hall. This grand hall did not have the simple, ancient styling of the Great Empress mystic realm. Instead, it looked luxurious and opulent.

There were 12 coiling dragon pillars in the grand hall. They reached high up into the dome. There were many divine stones and relics embedded within the pillars. Those relics were likely to be the sources of energy for the grand hall's array.

"The beam of light from the door must have been emitted by these relics."

Yi Yun said. He was marveling at the Great Empress mystic realm's grandness.

After Yi Yun and Lin Xingtong entered the grand hall, Shentu Nantian and company had also rushed in. hurriedly They were afraid that they would lose out.

Seeing the opulent grand hall, everyone was taken aback.

If they could take the relics away, it would be an unimaginable wealth for the factions of these cultivators.

However, the relics were embedded in the coiling dragon pillars. There was a protective array on the surface of each pillar, so they could only look at the relics.

In the middle of these 12 coiling dragon pillars, there was a purple-gold altar. There were ancient metallic disks arranged on the altar. There were various complicated runic lines engraved on the metallic disks.

They were disk arrays from the ancient Great Empress' era!

Although they had been created a long time ago, there were still colorful streams of array runes flowing around the disk arrays. This meant that they could still be activated at anytime.

People were agitated. It seemed like the opportunities on first level of God Advent Tower were sealed in these disk arrays.

Yi Yun hesitated slightly before reaching out to touch the disk arrays.

"Careful!"

Lin Xintong cautioned from the side.

Yi Yun shook his head, "It's alright."

Yi Yun's fingers gently tapped one of the disk arrays. Instantaneously, Yi Yun felt like he had disturbed a calm water surface. Ripples began to appear in the empty void.

The disk array began to rotate slowly as it projected a immense image.

It was that of a vast sea. This seawater appeared light red in color.

"Untraversable Sea!"

People were alarmed. It was most likely that this sea was the Tian Yuan world-surrounding Untraversable Sea, which had no Heaven Earth Yuan Qi.

The red sea water was endless. Although it was a disk array's projected image, the people present felt like they were floating above the Untraversable Sea as they looked down at the sea.

This visual impact was indescribable.

At that moment, a large number of bubbles appeared on the surface of the seawater. There was no end to the bubbles. The larger ones were the size of houses. It alarmed many.

A huge black figure appeared underneath the water’s surface.

"What is that?"

People could not help but retreat a few steps. Although they knew that whatever they saw was an illusion, the repressive feeling was still extraordinary.

Finally, the black figure broke through the water’s surface. It was a behemoth that resembled a roc. Its body was at least 50 kilometers wide. When it rose out of the water, large amounts of water poured downwards like waterfalls. Seeing this, it was as if a mountain had suddenly appeared on the surface of the water.

True Martial World - Chapter 471: Yi Yun’s Discovery

"The carvings on the steps must be relatively common martial arts in the God Advent Tower."

Yi Yun judged the level of the heritage on the murals. For a large sect, other than the heritage for the core disciples, there were all sorts of martial arts obtained from all over the world.

Cultivating these martial arts might not lead to an illustrious future, but under normal circumstances, it was an accumulation of a sect's wealth. It would then be distributed to the outer sect disciples.

Yi Yun gave a cursory glance. He felt that the martial arts on the murals had a certain value to them. If he could completely understand them, it would definitely help him on his martial path, but it was not worth spending large amounts of energy and time to do so.

The trial in the God Advent Tower was testing one's cultivation speed. Yi Yun was thinking of obtaining a great deal of progress within a limited time so he could receive a higher ranking.

The Great Empress mystic realm was a trial, but it was also a land of opportunities.

These elites who entered the Great Empress mystic realm were here to search for opportunities. And the God Advent Tower they were in was a possible opportunity for all the cultivators present.

Yi Yun's idea was to maximize this opportunity to its fullest extent.

Yi Yun wasn’t the only one thinking like this, many people also had such thoughts. Those who did not obtain the title of "Knight" were pondering on how to gain insight into the murals on the steps, so they could obtain an opportunity to enter the God Advent Tower.

Those who obtained the title of "Knight" were thinking of their chances to reach a higher level in the tower.

People like Shentu Nantian and Gongsun Hong leered at Yi Yun and Lin Xintong. They had already lost to the two of them at the starting line. In order to obtain good results in this trial, they had to rise up to the level of the tower they were at!

"Let's go to the first level!"

Shentu Nantian waved his hand. The few people from the Shentu family clan, who had obtained the title of "Knight", followed Shentu Nantian towards the door of light at the end of the staircase on the first floor.

Gongsun Hong and company also followed closely behind. They also knew to discern. They did not wish to waste too much time on these stairs. It was not worth expending a lot of energy researching core heritage left behind for failures.

Everyone had similar thoughts. Their footsteps became faster and faster. Several "failed to meet the mark" cultivators looked at them with envy as they walked towards the door of light.

Those who had been eliminated were also the proud children of heaven from various factions. They did not give up so easily and they seized every second to begin researching the murals.

"Yi Yun, let's go as well," Lin Xintong said softly. Ever since she met Yi Yun again, the both of them had paired up.

At the beginning, Shentu Nantian was livid about this, because Lin Xintong had almost become his woman. However, after some time, Shentu Nantian felt resigned. He could not afford to be angry or he would die from anger.

Yi Yun nodded as he and Lin Xintong strayed behind the group.

Lin Xintong walked very slowly. This path was just a staircase to a destination for others, but to Lin Xintong, this was a staircase to her life.

If she could not walk to the end, her life would wither and die like a flower at the end of its lifespan.

Yi Yun naturally knew the significance of this expedition to the Great Empress mystic realm for Lin Xintong. He only accompanied her quietly and said no more.

However, as Yi Yun and Lin Xintong walked more than ten steps, an inconspicuous light stream suddenly flashed past the corner of Yi Yun's vision.

This light stream attracted Yi Yun's attention.

"Eh?"

Yi Yun was slightly stunned as he stopped suddenly.

"What's the matter?" Lin Xintong also stopped as she looked at Yi Yun curiously.

Having had the Purple Crystal for such a long time, Yi Yun's sensitivity to energy fluctuations had reached an incredible level. Yi Yun knew that the light stream he saw was light coming from energy.

Yi Yun rubbed his chin as he looked around. His eyes were locked onto about ten joined up murals not far away.

At first glance, the murals he was looking at did not seem to be unusual in any way, but… Yi Yun knew that the way that these murals had been carved was different.

These ten or so murals were most likely carved by a different person compared to the other murals. It was likely carved by a peerless expert personally.

During the process of carving, that peerless expert had left behind nomological marks in his strokes. These laws recorded hidden source of energy origins. This energy remained undissipated despite such a long period of time.

"Is there a problem with the drawings?"

Lin Xintong was surprised. She understood Yi Yun's character. Yi Yun would not make a big fuss of meaningless things. The mural that could make him stop was definitely something unusual.

"Maybe… " Yi Yun was not sure.

The Great Empress mystic realm was too complicated. Yi Yun felt that there were traps everywhere in the Great Empress mystic realm.

In the first trial, people believed it was a test of a cultivator's movement techniques and sense of danger. However, Yi Yun discovered the trial was to test the cultivator’s ability to assess an enemy's weakness.

Next, for the bridge, people like Gongsun Hong, who thought too simply of the ancient desolate beast, ended up suffering.

As for the second trial, with the mental demons test, the test was extremely strange. It was difficult to tell what was real and what was fake. Even a proud daughter of heaven like Lin Xintong had fallen into a dream that she could not wake from, unable to extricate herself.

And when they finally completed the ordeal of the mental demons test, the Great Empress mystic realm told them that the mental demons test was just an evaluation of their strength. The second trial was really a test of everyone's cultivation speed.

Trials that caught people off guard made Yi Yun deeply feel that the ancient Great Empress had used countless methods when designing the Great Empress mystic realm. Hence, it was not strange for her to put an extremely good heritage amongst martial arts of not much value.

People believed that the murals on the staircase in the tower was prepared for the eliminated, so there would be few who would focus on them.

Even Yi Yun and Lin Xintong did not believe that these martial arts were of much value.

With a pearl amidst a pile of sand, to obtain it, not only would one need fated luck and opportunity, one also needed to constantly and carefully observe their surroundings at every moment as well as having judgment that exceeded others!

When Lin Xintong and Yi Yun stopped in their steps, Shentu Nantian who was leading his group also stopped. Although he looked to be in a hurry to enter the tower, his perception was actually constantly locked onto Yi Yun and Lin Xintong. He knew the moment they made any abnormal movements. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Big brother Nantian, what's the matter?"

A few lackeys realized Shentu Nantian had turned back. They also turned back and saw that Yi Yun and Lin Xintong had stopped in their steps, as if they were researching something.

"Those two idiots actually started looking at the murals on the steps for those failures. Haha. They even covet such petty benefits. It's like picking the sesame but losing the watermelon!"

A lackey said with a laugh, but Shentu Nantian's expression turned heavy as he coldly said, "Why is an idiot like you following me? If you were that smart, your ranking would have exceeded the two of them!"

After receiving a good scolding from Shentu Nantian, the lackey choked and did not dare say another word.

"You, go take a look. See what the little bastard is researching on that step!"

Shentu Nantian actually wanted to go himself, but he could not pull his face down to go. Hence, he instructed a lackey to investigate. This way, he could preserve his face, and not lose out either.

True Martial World - Chapter 470: Entry Qualifications

Behind the huge statue, there was a row of wooden bookshelves. The wood was of an unknown species. It had spent countless numbers of years without decaying, resulting in it having a thick ancient aura to it and a feeling similar to metal.

On the bookshelves, there were rows of dusty jade scrolls.

Seeing these jade scrolls, an idea flashed in everyone's minds. Jade scrolls in a mystic realm made it easy to bring to mind cultivation technique manuals.

If they were cultivation technique manuals left behind by the ancient Great Empress, their values would be imaginable.

However, despite everyone eyeing them, no one dared to go forward rashly. They were worried about any possible restrictions. However, nothing changed even when they stood in front of the bookshelves.

Some people gathered their courage and picked a jade scroll up. After they carefully sank their mind into it, they were… greatly disappointed after seeing the content.

The contents of the jade scrolls were historical records about people and events. It had nothing to do with martial arts tradition.

With the passage of times, they could not fully understand many of the ancient words in the jade scrolls. Even so, they could infer something from some of the words.

"So the ancient times were like this… "

Yi Yun was quite enchanted by it. At that moment, the Great Empress mystic realm's cold voice echoed once again, "Now, the cultivating begins!"

The moment the sentence came to an end, the bookshelves in front of them separated. An intense beam of light shot out as people squinted at it. In front of them, there was a space that had been sealed for a long time. Inside this space, there was a long stone staircase leading up into the sky.

This stone staircase winded around like a long snake. At the end of the stone staircase, there was a door the size of a palm. The light beam had shot out of that door.

Many cultivators looked at each other. They were curious as to what was at the end of the stone steps, through that door.

"There isn't only one door of light. There is another door even higher up!"

No one knew who said that. As people focused their vision, they realized that the winding staircase reached a higher spot. There was another door of light there as well.

This door looked to be the size of a thumbnail as it was located very high.

And this door was not the end. The cultivators present had extremely good eyesight. They could see there was another door even higher up, but this door was the size of the eye of a needle.

This staircase seemed to be a gateway to heaven. It did not seem to have an end. At every specific location, there was a shimmering door of light.

Some cultivators could not bear it any further as they gingerly started to walk up the stairs.

These stone stairs were blocks of stone floating midair. They had no support. When walking on it, people could feel the stone steps swaying.

The stone staircase was very long, but when a portion of the cultivators reached a certain height, they felt a resistive force.

This force prevented them from going any further.

Oh? What happened?

They were alarmed. Was this another test? Could they only proceed by overcoming the resistive force?

However, those who felt the resistance was only a portion of the cultivators. People like Yi Yun, Lin Xintong, Shentu Nantian and company could proceed smoothly.

Many of those restricted were confused.

At that moment, the Great Empress mystic realm's cold voice echoed again, "The God Advent Tower has six levels! The higher the level, the more cultivation opportunities there are!"

"If you want to enter the God Advent Tower or reach a higher level, you need to obtain the recognition of the God Advent Tower!"

"This recognition will come from the results of your cultivation. Or, it will come from the evaluation from your mental demon test!"

"Cultivators who obtained the evaluation of "Knight", can enter the first floor of the God Advent Tower! directly"

"Cultivators who obtained the evaluation of "Grandmaster", can enter the second floor."

"Cultivators who obtained the evaluation of "Soul", can directly enter the third floor."

"And so on!"

When the participants heard this, they were dumbfounded. This...

They looked at each other, especially those cultivators who had obtained "Failed to meet the mark". They were at a loss as to what to say.

Although they had passed the mental demons test, they could not even enter the door!?

"There are six levels to the God Advent Tower. The Great Empress mystic realm gives six evaluation titles. Then, 'Canonized God' must correspond to the top level!"

Yi Yun thought to himself. Trying to see the highest point of the staircase, anything past the third level looked a blur no matter how good his eyesight was.

"People with the title of 'Canonized God' can enter the highest level of the God Advent Tower, but those who obtain the recognition of the God Advent Tower and enter its highest level might not have the strength of 'Canonized God'."

Beside Yi Yun, Lin Xintong transmitted this using her Yuan Qi.

Yi Yun nodded. He suspected that people with the title of 'Canonized God' would directly inherit all the heritage and treasures of the Great Empress. They were existences that exceeded their imagination. There was no need to carry on with the trials and tests, nor did they need to obtain the recognition of the God Advent Tower.

Since the God Advent Tower had set up an assessment, as long as one passed, one could reach the next level. As such, Yi Yun believed that Lin Xintong and him would be able to reach higher levels by cultivating.

At that moment, a rumbling noise echoed from behind them. The path out of the tower had been sealed. It was likely that it would only open at the end of the cultivation trial.

They could not guess when that would be.

However, since this trial was testing one's cultivation, it would take at least a few months, or else, how could the effectiveness of cultivating be tested?

It could even be longer...

Suddenly, many of the cultivators who were evaluated as "failed to meet the mark" panicked. If they could not get out, nor enter the first level of the God Advent Tower, were they going to wait foolishly in the confined space for such a long period of time?

"Look, there are pictures on the steps!"

Someone suddenly said. People quickly looked down and under the dim lighting, they could see that there were murals periodically on the steps.

These murals did not seem to be eye-catching. But once they noticed it, it was difficult for them to turn their eyes away from them.

More and more people stood in front of the murals and began to stare at them carefully.

The drawings in the murals were of figures with a variety of actions.

"Are these… cultivation charts?"

A youth said after staring at the murals for a long time.

The figures in the murals were not very clear. They all looked different and they were of both genders.

"Could these people be the Great Empress' disciples?"

Someone suddenly said. Back then, the ancient Great Empress was said to have set up a large sect. As for what happened to the sect, it was not clearly documented in the books.

Since there was a sect, many disciples were definitely recruited. These disciples might not have been personal disciples of the ancient Great Empress, but they might have learned something from the ancient Great Empress.

True Martial World - Chapter 469: Entering the Tower

To be ranked third from the last did sound quite bad.

This made Yi Yun wonder what sort of people could be ranked "Shura" or "Canonized God"?

Lin Xintong's talent was the highest amongst all the people Yi Yun had seen so far. Furthermore, she was determined and dedicated in her pursuit of martial arts. However, she was only a "Soul".

In the history books, there were only descriptions of the ancient Great Empress. They were about how powerful she was, but as for how fearsome she was, there were no records to use as reference.

This was because the ancient Great Empress was indisputably the number one person of her generation. No one could compare to her.

Now, using the God Advent Tower's standards, Yi Yun could tell that the ancient Great Empress was a lot stronger than the most extreme descriptions of her in the history books. Her strength probably far exceeded the understanding of the Tian Yuan world.

After Lin Xintong, there were many people who went up for their evaluation. After a dark horse like Yi Yun’s evaluation and Lin Xintong's exaggerated evaluation, some people still carried a glimmer of hope that they might luckily obtain a high evaluation.

However, they were all disappointed.

After Lin Xintong, the Great Empress mystic realm resumed its harshness.

A large number of people obtained evaluations of: Failed to meet the mark!

Figures like Gongsun Hong, who valued their pride greatly, only went up to the crystal pillar with jittery feelings once a lot of the participants were done with their evaluations.

As an extremely prideful person, it was a great psychological test to complete a test that he did not have much confidence in and in full view of others.

Gongsun Hong took a few deep breaths before cutting his finger to write his name down.

However… there was no miracle...

Gongsun Hong received a 'Knight" evaluation.

Seeing the "Knight" text appear, Gongsun Hong had indescribable feelings.

From Shentu Nantian's situation, he was at most a "Knight" considering how his talent was lacking compared to Shentu Nantian, so the evaluation was reasonable. However, Gongsun Hong found it hard to accept as it was frustrating when compared to Yi Yun who he had despised in the past.

Other than Gongsun Hong, people like Panther Lady and the youth with the large bag on his back, obtained the evaluation of "Knight". However, just as the evaluations were almost done, an incident happened.

Two people obtained "Grandmaster"!?

These two people had gone up together and they were clearly together. They were dressed in gray long robes that were embroidered with a blood-red crescent. However, most people were unsure which faction the logo symbolized. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Another 'Grandmaster', and there are two of them! Where did these two guys come from?"

People were alarmed. There were really all sorts of hidden dragons amongst them. Two people, who they did not know, had obtained the evaluation of "Grandmaster".

"They… "

Lin Xintong's eyebrows ticked up as she glanced at them with an odd look.

From a certain point of view, obtaining the evaluation of "Grandmaster" was not that surprising. If Shentu Nantian had not been screwed over by Yi Yun, he would definitely have obtained the evaluation of "Grandmaster".

However, with two "Grandmaster" evaluations obtained consecutively from two people from the same faction of unknown origins, it was weird.

"Yi Yun, I think something is amiss… " Lin Xintong transmitted her voice. Yi Yun faltered slightly because he had the same feeling.

This opening of the Great Empress mystic realm was like a heavy rock thrown into a pool that had agitated the dragons and snakes that were lurking in the depths of the pool. It was like there was a riotous revelry amongst the dragons and snakes.

Yi Yun could not tell if it was a blessing or a curse with the appearance of these people.

"All the evaluations have been completed. Now, you may enter the God Advent Tower and begin cultivating!"

The cold voice of the Great Empress mystic realm echoed in everybody's ears. At the same time, the crystal pillar also slowly sank into the ground and the black stoned square was restored.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A low dull voice echoed as the entrance to the God Advent Tower slowly opened. Seeing this scene, people held their breaths.

As the stone door opened, it was like opening a door to another world. A vast mysterious aura surged out of the entrance.

It was as if passing through the stone door gave the participants access to all sorts of Great Dao and understandings.

People suspected the God Advent Tower to be a huge treasure left behind by the ancient Great Empress. No one knew what was inside.

Everyone was full of anticipation as they were about to enter the God Advent Tower. After all, this round was cultivation. The Great Empress mystic realm might provide them with cultivation resources.

Since they were cultivation resources left behind by the Great Empress, it was bound to be extraordinary.

If they were free to use it, they would benefit greatly!

"Let's go in!"

Shentu Nantian was the first to walk through the stone door. He did not wish to stand on the black stoned square any longer. He was eager to cultivate in the God Advent Tower and prove himself with cultivation.

After Shentu Nantian, the others also entered the God Advent Tower.

The stone door to the God Advent Tower seemed to have a silver membrane lining it. It quivered gently and was like a layer of moving mercury.

When Yi Yun passed through the silver membrane, he felt a cold sensation assault him. Following that, he entered a dim great hall.

The cultivators who had entered before him were all gathered here.

A hundred foot tall black statue stood in the middle of the great hall.

The statue looked ancient and solemn. It was carved in the form of a woman wearing soft armor. She held a long sword with the sword tip angled towards the ground, exuding an indescribable divine aura, as if she was a god herself.

When people focused on the statue's face, they were surprised that no matter how much they focused, they were unable to see her face clearly. It was as if the face of the statue was blurred in an unknown space-time dimension.

"Mysterious statue… "

"It's just a statue, yet, it contains laws that we find difficult to comprehend."

The cultivators began to discuss the statue. Standing in front of the statue, they felt like the statue was moving upwards in a limitless fashion. It was like a mountain peak that could not be scaled, making them feel tiny.

"Maybe, this is the ancient Great Empress' statue."

Yi Yun transmitted his voice to Lin Xintong. Lin Xintong nodded, "It's her… I can feel it."

"Oh?" Yi Yun was stunned as he looked at Lin Xintong with surprise.

"In the mental demons test, I had felt it… "

Lin Xintong said faintly. As she recalled the experience in the test, she felt mixed emotions. That was not just a test, it was also a journey for her soul.

In that repeated life cycle that seemed real and fake, dream or awake, she had obtained too much inspiration.

These inspirations could be considered a precious gift given to her by the Great Empress mystic realm.

True Martial World - Chapter 468: Grandmaster and Soul

Soul?

"Impossible!"

Shentu Nantian's eyes went red. That word was like a demon that climbed out from Hell. It was deep blood-red in color as it nearly swallowed him.

Others were also stunned. "Soul" was two ranks higher than "Knight". Especially with the Great Empress mystic realm giving such fuzzy evaluations, every increase in rank was something amazing.

Seeing the "Soul" become clearer and clearer as it was about to condense into shape, people held held their breaths.

However, just as it was about to form, it collapsed. The remaining light dots condensed back into "Grandmaster".

This word was already fully formed. The strokes were clear and is was apparent that it had been decided upon.

"Grandmaster"!

This was Yi Yun's final result, however with it nearly changing into "Soul", it made people understand that Yi Yun's talent was nearly enough to reach "Soul". This was no ordinary "Grandmaster".

Seeing this scene, Lin Xintong revealed a look of surprise. She turned her beautiful eyes and looked deeply at Yi Yun. She had guessed that Yi Yun would obtain good results, but she never expected that it would be to such an extent.

"Not Soul, but Grandmaster..." Gongsun Hong wanted to say words like 'thankfully it was like that', but just as the words reached his lips, they got stucked.

Even if it was Grandmaster, it was still the highest evaluation given by the Great Empress mystic realm up to now. Gongsun Hong was in no way confident that he would obtain a better evaluation than Shentu Nantian.

Other people also shut their mouths. Shentu Nantian's lackeys all looked like they had swallowed a pound of arsenic. Previously, they said that with Shentu Nantian being one rank higher than Yi Yun, the evaluation itself had a huge gap.

Now the situation had been reversed. It was Yi Yun who was one rank above Shentu Nantian.

They felt their faces hot and blushing, as if they had been slapped in the face twice.

"Big brother Nantian, that should not be right. You lasted for so long in the test, and you were in it so much longer than Yi Yun. How can your evaluation be lower than his? Could the Great Empress mystic realm have made a mistake..." A lackey said.

However, before he could finished speaking, Shentu Nantian interrupted him through gritted teeth, "Shut up!"

Shentu Nantian was furious just mentioning the length of time he had spent in the mental demons test.

He had lasted very long, but he was not battling, he was being tortured!

In the later half of the test, he had been tortured to the point of having a worse than death experience. Yi Yun had used all kinds of brutal methods on him. These methods were all imagined by Shentu Nantian. He was naturally cruel and was good at tormenting others. He had tasted the methods he had come up with, which nearly broke him with everything he feared coming at him.

Originally, Shentu Nantian thought that regardless of the reason, lasting the longest was a fact. If others could not endure longer than him, then their results would clearly be weaker than his. Now however, from the looks of it, the length of time was just bullsh*t!

Shentu Nantian was not dumb enough to question the Great Empress mystic realm. He was also unsure of how Yi Yun obtained the ranking of "Grandmaster".

"Grandmaster rank..." Yi Yun rubbed his chin. He was a bit surprised himself.

It was likely thanks to his pure Yang body. Upon thinking of this, Yi Yun glanced at Shentu Nantian with a smile suffusing on his lips.

His pure Yang body was all thanks to Shentu Nantian. If Shentu Nantian had not spent such a great cost in obtaining the Great Empress relic, Yi Yun's pure Yang body would not have come so close to perfection.

If Shentu Nantian knew what was on Yi Yun's mind at that moment, he would probably vomit three catties of blood.

At that moment, Lin Xintong had slowly walked over to Yi Yun. She blinked her beautiful pair of eyes and looked deeply at Yi Yun. She whispered, "You always give me surprises. Every time I see you after a long time, it is as if you have changed to another person. It is like you have remoulded yourself."

After parting in the Cloud Wilderness, Lin Xintong believed she understood the strength of Yi Yun. However, two years later, when she met Yi Yun again in the Tian Yuan world, he had transformed into a Desolate Heaven Master, and his talent in the Desolate Heaven technique was even better than hers.

With Yi Yun going into reclusive training for half a year, he had again obtained such dazzling results in the Great Empress mystic realm's tests.

If this went on, it would be unimaginable what Yi Yun could achieve given another 8 or 10 years!

"Miss Lin sees me as if I changed, but when I see Miss Lin, I have never been able to see through you. I have no understanding of Miss Lin's realm."

Yi Yun said in a self-deprecating tone but Lin Xintong shook her head, "If this goes on, you will probably catch up with me in a few years time."

As Lin Xintong spoke, she slowly took out a sword, "Since you say cannot see through me, then let me test it."

With Lin Xintong's remark, everyone's hearts skipped a beat. It was Lin Xintong's turn.

Shentu Nantian's face twitched. His expression was a bit ugly. Gongsun Hong and others were also a bit nervous.

With Lin Xintong's talent, there was no idea what sort of ranking she would obtain!

Lin Xintong slashed her sword across her white fingers, causing blood to flow out. With a flick of her fingers, that blood drop seemed to have a spiritual essence to it as it landed on the crystal pillar, forming Lin Xintong's name.

The delicate, gentle and graceful words were just like her.

After she wrote her name, the light immediately began gathering.

This time, the title formed extremely fast.

Everyone knew that Lin Xintong had great talent, so her title was definitely not something simple. They just did not know what it was.

Yi Yun watched by the side. He saw the beautiful Lin Xintong looking indifferent. It was as if she was not bothered about the evaluation that was about to appear. She did not seem to be sad or rejoicing like others.

Just her temperament was something that few could match, not to mention her talent.

The word rapidly evolved. As Lin Xintong did not have any hidden energy within her body, the word for Lin Xintong did not have any midway changes like Shentu Nantian or Yi Yun. It went straight to the point.

The light beams of the relic slowly condensed into complex patterns, as it became clearer and more obvious.

That is...

People held their breaths as they tried their best to open their eyes widely.

"Soul!"

The word that burned into one's retinas appeared behind the name, Lin Xintong.

"She's actually a 'Soul'! Higher than 'Grandmaster' by one rank!" Throats moved up and down. It was amazing! Yi Yun's result was already crazy enough, but Lin Xintong exceeded Yi Yun!

Why was this happening? This evaluation was too much of an exaggeration!

People could feel a heavy blow on them. Many of them were not even a "Knight". Why was the gap between them so big, despite them being first class geniuses in the Tian Yuan world?

Besides, people knew that Lin Xintong had naturally terminated meridians. If her evaluation was already this terrifying with her naturally terminated meridians, then how far could she go once her naturally terminated meridians were joined up?

There was nothing stopping her from becoming a terrifying existence like the ancient Great Empress!

They were only exploring the Great Empress mystic realm. As they were not strong enough, they could not explore much. However, Lin Xintong might even be able to create a heritage land just like this Great Empress mystic realm in the future.

This gap was indescribable!

When Yi Yun saw this result, he was alarmed and amazed. He said heartfeltly, "Congratulations Miss Lin. Even with the ancient Great Empress's standards, your talent is different in her eyes. I was originally thinking of helping you find the cure to your naturally terminated meridians in the Great Empress mystic realm. However, it now seems that you alone is sufficient."

Lin Xintong shook her head gently, "Yi Yun, you do not know what I experienced in the mental demons test. I might have used a trick to obtain such an evaluation."

"Actually, my current talent is far from enough. You know, this crystal pillar has six ratings. Now, I'm only third from the back. There is still 'Sage', 'Shura' and 'Canonicalized God' above. Those are existences that exceed my imagination. The ancient Great Empress's heritage will probably not be given to someone third from the last, someone with that result will probably not be made a successor..."

True Martial World - Chapter 467: Yi Yun’s Evaluation

Yi Yun's eyes followed Shentu Nantian as he walked back to his position. From the beginning, Yi Yun was focusing on the black energy within Shentu Nantian's body.

Yi Yun suspected that as time went by, this energy would become stronger, and might even slowly evolve until it obtained sentience, thus becoming a real life.

And when it was strong enough, it could in turn swallow Shentu Nantian!

This sounded incredulous, but it was not impossible.

After it swallowed Shentu Nantian, what would it become? Would it keep entering other people's bodies to devour their vital force?

If it kept growing, to what extent would it grow? Could it one day threaten a Great Emperor?

An evil energy contained within an ancient relic eventually growing to the point of becoming a threat to a Great Emperor sounded unbelievable.

However, if the material used to create the ancient relic came from the Great Empress mystic realm, then it would not be surprising.

Something weak would slowly grow. For example, Yi Yun had grown from an ordinary mortal, and could possibly grow to what could exceed a Great Emperor in the future.

Upon thinking of this, Yi Yun interfaced his mind with the Purple Crystal, and delved deep into Shentu Nantian's body with his spiritual energy.

Yi Yun's target was of course the evil energy.

"Si...!"

Suddenly being surrounded by the Purple Crystal's power, the evil energy seemed to receive an electric shock. It suddenly started slamming all around in Shentu Nantian's dantian, before it entered Shentu Nantian's flesh and organs, without any obstruction.

The evil energy was very sensitive to the Purple Crystal's powers. It was on full alert, but it was far from being able to withstand the Purple Crystal's powers.

After a little struggle, the evil energy slowly gave in. It was unable to escape the Purple Crystal after all.

The evil energy's abnormal motions in his body made Shentu Nantian frowned. However, he had only felt his stomach have a slight moment of discomfort, and did not take it to heart. However, it was how Yi Yun was constantly staring at him that made Shentu Nantian annoyed. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

He felt that Yi Yun was mocking him.

"Little bastard! The things you did to me, I will return them to you a hundredfold some day. Not only will I cripple your cultivation, I will also castrate you and smash and throw your balls to feed the dogs."

Shentu Nantian’s illusion was that he was castrated by Yi Yun in the mental demon test. Although it was only an illusion, and his own imagination, the setback from losing his male potency nearly made Shentu Nantian go crazy.

It involved his dignity as a man, so naturally Shentu Nantian blamed this on Yi Yun, hoping to repeat this event on Yi Yun.

Against Shentu Nantian's threat, Yi Yun chuckled. He was no longer bothered by Shentu Nantian as he walked towards the crystal pillar.

Everyone had to write their name at this crystal pillar, so Yi Yun did not mind if he did so sooner or later.

The moment Yi Yun went up, it immediately attracted the attention of many, "It is that kid!"

"Shentu Nantian just received an evaluation of Knight, and now no one dares to go forward. He sure has the guts."

"It is not considered daring. The mystic realm's evaluation is so demanding. Even a failing to meet the mark evaluation is nothing to embarrassed about. I guess that if you or I were to go up, we will also fail to meet the mark..."

In their eyes, Yi Yun's strength was a bit fuzzy.

Yi Yun was a bit similar to the swarthy youth. They were both unpleasing to the eye.

The swarthy youth was unpleasant due to his foolishness, as for Yi Yun, they were enviable to the point of death at him obtaining so many Empyrean Marks.

If it was Lin Xintong who had obtained so many Empyrean Marks, they would not have said anything as she was strong. She had lasted the longest in the mental demons test amongst them. It was fearsome just thinking about it. As for Yi Yun, he had only come this far by tricks using his energy vision!

Of course, after Yi Yun passed the mental demons test, people had to accept the fact that Yi Yun's talent was not that weak.

Cha!

A long sword suddenly appeared in Yi Yun's hand.

When the sword appeared, the blade automatically unsheathed itself as it slashed across Yi Yun's palm with a cold flash.

"Such a good sword?" Many of the others noticed the moment of brilliance. This sword was an excellent item.

Amongst them, Shentu Nantian's eyes had immediately turned red!

It was his sword!

In the mental demons test, Yi Yun had used his sword to battle him. Now, Yi Yun took out this sword in front of everybody, so the amount of provocation Shentu Nantian felt was understandable.

The others present also had their looks turn odd as they turned their heads towards Shentu Nantian. Seeing Shentu Nantian's expression dark, their guesses were confirmed.

"I already said that it looked familiar. It really is Shentu Nantian's companion sword." Gongsun Hong sneered in his heart.

"Shentu Nantian sure is miserable. Not only did he embarrass himself in the Lin family, he even lost his companion sword."

People transmitted their voices in discussion. At that moment, Yi Yun wrote his name on the crystal pillar.

Before Yi Yun tunneled through dimensions, his writing was neither good or bad. It was just average.

However, after tunneling through dimensions, especially after he entered reclusion in the sword and saber tombs, the words Yi Yun wrote looked more divine in nature. He was unable to prevent the sword and saber Dao from entering his strokes. Every stroke contained the feeling of a saber beam or sword shadow. They had an oppressive aura to them.

As the light gathered, it began to emit dots of light behind Yi Yun's name.

Yi Yun watched the light dots and was greatly looking forward to it. He wanted to know what kind of level he was at.

The mystic realm's evaluation was unlikely to include the Purple Crystal's powers as the Great Empress mystic realm was unable to detect the presence of the Purple Crystal.

Then this test would be aimed at Yi Yun's present strength and talent. Of course, a large portion of Yi Yun's current strength came from the Purple Crystal.

At that moment, the light dots were gradually forming a word. Anyone with sharp eyes could tell what the word was.

"That word is... actually "Knight"?

Many of them said in surprise.

They were very surprised as Yi Yun had actually obtained the evaluation of Knight.

"I actually have the same rating as that kid..."

Shentu Nantian was feeling very depressed. The mystic realm's evaluation was too vague. The same level ranged across strong and weak. He himself almost managed to obtain "Grandmaster".

Those who were graded as failed to meet the mark looked at Yi Yun with complex expressions. This kid was stronger than them, and he was just having martial arts as a secondary focus. He had another profession as a Desolate Heaven Master, and apparently his Desolate Heaven technique talent was peerless!

Under these circumstances, what reason did they have for mocking Yi Yun's background?

"Is it Knight..."

Yi Yun was not really disappointed. After all, he knew his situation very well. He had begun cultivating too late, and came from the Cloud Wilderness. Even the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom from later was in no way comparable to the Tian Yuan world.

He started late and had insufficient resources, so even with the Purple Crystal making up for it, he was still not comparable to the real monsters of the Tian Yuan world.

However at that moment, Yi Yun suddenly felt a abnormal movement in his dantian as a blast of uncontaminated and powerful pure Yang energy surged out from his dantian, entering into every corner of Yi Yun's body.

Oh?

Yi Yun was slightly stunned. He even felt that the Aspect Totem that was hidden in his body was triggered, as if it would be summoned out any moment.

"Could it be… the pure Yang energy I absorbed from the Great Empress relic has yet to be fully absorbed?"

Yi Yun checked his body from within and realized that there was a portion of pure Yang energy hidden in his body that had yet to be absorbed.

There was not a lot of this energy, and now it was brought out clearly because of the crystal pillar.

Yi Yun immediately understood that this crystal pillar had the ability to dig into every person's hidden energy.

Previously when Shentu Nantian was standing in front of the crystal pillar, the evil energy within his body had been stimulated by the crystal pillar.

By triggering a cultivator's potential, the crystal pillar could inspect their talent, and together with every person's performance in the mental demons test, it could give an overall rating.

When the pure Yang energy inside Yi Yun's body was stimulated by the crystal pillar, his pure Yang body was also accentuated.

In the Cloud Wilderness, Yi Yun's talent was considered normal, or even bad. However, after evolving his body into a pure Yang body, Yi Yun's talent underwent an earth-shattering change.

Especially after he absorbed the Great Empress relic's pure Yang energy, Yi Yun's pure Yang body was almost at the brink of the large success stage. It was also quite rare to have such a body in the Tian Yuan world.

As Yi Yun's pure Yang body was revealed, the word "Knight" that had almost formed suddenly trembled and dissipated!

"Oh?"

People were shocked. Before Yi Yun, the majestic youth who was first up, had also nearly formed a word before the word collapsed.

Yi Yun's situation was similar to his.

"Haha, what a pity. He's lacking just a bit to be labeled as 'Knight', but he fell short of it." On the Shentu family clan side, a follower of Shentu Nantian laughed.

If Yi Yun's rating was similar to Shentu Nantian, where could they place their Shentu family clan's face?

Shentu Nantian also heaved a sigh of relief. He felt a bit better in his heart.

"There is nothing to be proud of." Shentu Nantian said coldly, "I am just higher than the kid by one rank only. What is there to be proud about. It is a disgrace!"

With Shentu Nantian saying that, a few lackeys immediately said, "Big brother Nantian, the Great Empress mystic realm's appraisal is fuzzy. Although there is a difference of one rank, it itself is a huge gap!"

Just as the lackey finished saying this, he froze. He looked at the crystal pillar behind Shentu Nantian like he had seen a ghost. His mouth was agape and his eyes wide.

Seeing the lackey's expression, Shentu Nantian felt like his heart had been punched mercilessly by someone.

He turned around and saw that, on the crystal pillar, a new word had appeared behind Yi Yun's name. It was...

"'Grandmaster'? How could that be!?"

Shentu Nantian's mind went black. Yi Yun obtained the evaluation of "Grandmaster"?

However, it was yet over. The word "Grandmaster" quickly blurred again. Shentu Nantian was just about to heave another sigh of relief, thinking that it would change back to "Knight" once again.

However, the order of changes in the strokes nearly suffocated Shentu Nantian. The number of strokes increased as it became more and more complicated. It was no longer the simple strokes of "Knight (士)", but in fact looked like… Soul (魂)!

True Martial World - Chapter 466: As I adventure, you be a shield

After his name was written, Shentu Nantian felt uneasy but also felt anticipation.

The light began to gradually form together behind the words 'Shentu Nantian', as it condensed into a blurry word, which looked like...

"Grandmaster"?

Shentu Nantian's eyebrow ticked up. He wasn't overjoyed, nor was he overly disappointed. It could only be considered neutral.

"Grandmaster" was only one level higher than the black-dressed woman from before. It was not considered amazing.

No one knew how much difference "Soul", the title one rank higher that "Grandmaster" was from "Grandmaster". Maybe the difference was huge, resulting in no cultivator present being able to exceed "Grandmaster".

After all there were only six ranks. If each rank spanned a wide range, then even when two people had quite a big difference in talent, they might still be given the same rank.

"If it was not because of that kid...I might have reached 'Soul'..." Shentu Nantian thought hatefully.

At that moment, the "Grandmaster" word was beginning to become clearer. It had already determined Shentu Nantian's talent.

But...at that moment, Shentu Nantian's heart skipped a beat as his body instantly froze. A faint black gas appeared on Shentu Nantian's face.

This black gas seemed like a tiny venomous snake. It appeared and faded away on Shentu Nantian's face very quickly as it hid away beneath Shentu Nantian's skin again.

Shentu Nantian did not discover the sudden appearance of the black little snake. The others did not see it either, as they did not have the ability to see it.

Only Yi Yun could see it clearly.

"It's that evil energy?"

Yi Yun was slightly stunned as he rubbed his chin with an odd expression.

Half a year ago, Yi Yun had noticed the evil energy within the Great Empress relic. He had used the Purple Crystal to control that energy and sent it into Shentu Nantian's body.

Yi Yun also did not know what sort of harm it would bring to humans other than depleting one's lifespan. Anyway the test subject was Shentu Nantian, so Yi Yun was very happy to see the evil energy go loose.

At this Great Empress mystic realm, when Yi Yun saw Shentu Nantian again, he felt an additional violet demonic aura to Shentu Nantian. It was as if he had practiced some demonic powers.

This aura was likely due to Yi Yun's torture on Shentu Nantian, resulting in a great mental change. However, it could also have been caused by the evil energy.

Now, when Shentu Nantian was testing his talent, Yi Yun saw the evil energy appear once again. With him opening his energy vision, he could see the tiny black snake, which no one else could see, swimming within Shentu Nantian's body like a spiritual being.

It penetrated through Shentu Nantian's brain, following down across his spinal cord and into his dantian. As it circled around his dantian, it would take away a portion of Shentu Nantian's vitality in an unnoticeable fashion...

Yi Yun felt that the little black snake had grown a lot stronger compared to half a year ago. However, it had yet to grow sentient. Its consumption of energy and growth was all following its natural instincts.

Under this situation, Yi Yun could still use the Purple Crystal to control it and extract it from Shentu Nantian's body. But of course, Yi Yun would definitely not do that.

As the tiny black snake appeared without anyone noticing, the word on the crystal pillar had an extraordinary change!

What had nearly been formed as "Grandmaster" turned blurry once again. The strokes dispersed like tadpoles.

"Oh?"

Shentu Nantian was stunned as he stared helplessly. The dissipated light gathered once again, but this time, the word was no longer the same!

The word was..."Knight"!?

Shentu Nantian was stunned. He could not believe what he was seeing.

The word became clearer. It was very obvious it was "Knight"!

It went from "Grandmaster" to..."Knight"!

What!?

Shentu Nantian momentarily felt like he had been struck by lightning as he froze completely in front of the crystal pillar.

"Knight!"!

My talent is just the lowest "Knight"!?

Shentu Nantian could not accept this reality. All his blood flowed rapidly, surging towards his face.

How can I only be a "Knight"? There must be a mistake! It clearly formed the word "Grandmaster" in the first place, why did it change!?

Shentu Nantian's blood surged. He even wanted to unsheath his sword and slash at the crystal pillar!

Of course, he did not have the guts to do so.

"Even Shentu Nantian is a 'Knight'!"

"He just missed entering the next rank by a bit. This crystal pillar's standards are too high."

People discussed as they had mixed emotions.

Many amongst them were gloating. If one of the top geniuses in the Tian Yuan world, Shentu Nantian was not that much stronger than them, then they had nothing to be sad about.

"Amazing! Amazing!" At that moment, the swarthy youth suddenly jumped up in the crowd, "This Young Master Nantian sure is different. He nearly reached 'Grandmaster'! Applause! Applause!"

As the swarthy youth spoke, he clapped his hands with joy. However this applause sounded like nothing but ridicule in Shentu Nantian's ears.

"Kid, you are courting death!"

Shentu Nantian's eyes turned red as he glared at the dark-skinned kid who was clapping. If not for the Great Empress mystic realm's rules restricting him, he really wanted to cut off the head of such a fool.

The swarthy youth jumped up in fright and no longer dared to clap. His somewhat silly appearance resulted in many people snickering.

Of course, they were not really laughing at the swarthy youth, but at Shentu Nantian.

"Hmph!"

Shentu Nantian snorted coldly. As he left the crystal pillar, he looked deeply at Yi Yun with cold killing intent. Clearly, Shentu Nantian blamed his failure at the evaluation results on the Seven Noxious Divine Yin Pill fed by Yi Yun.

However, how could the Seven Noxious Divine Yin Pill have such a strong effect?

Yi Yun chuckled. He never expected the evil energy to be so powerful. It made Yi Yun recall some of those mythical novels about demons which would leech onto a person's body like a parasite, sucking up their blood and soul. This tiny black snake was even more terrible than a normal demon. It could consume the host's vitality and Yuan Qi without the host knowing. It had even forcefully reduced Shentu Nantian's talent.

"What was in that Great Empress relic? Could it be that one of the most critical materials used in the relic was obtained inside the Great Empress mystic realm by the Shentu family clan? Otherwise, how could it be so weird?"

From the notes of the Desolate Heaven Master who only wished to cure the Great Empress' terminated meridians, the ancient Great Empress had not consumed the relic. Then from ancient times to now, the only people who consumed the Great Empress relic were Shentu Nantian and Yi Yun.

Of course, Yi Yun had absorbed the essence of the Great Empress relic, while Shentu Nantian had to bear the evil side of it.

Others adventured, while Yi Yun took the loot. When Yi Yun adventured, others would be the shield.

This was Yi Yun's principle.

It was shameless, but very useful. It was an even greater joy when the person used as a shield was not a very good person.