Cold water pouring

Blood rained from the sky like red fireworks scattering, emitting an eerie glow under the sunlight, creating a bloody mist that drifted away with the wind.

A Genius at the Late Stage of the Blood Condensation Realm had died just like that, leaving no corpse behind. Although the blood mist had vanished, a faint scent of blood filled everyone's nostrils, simultaneously shocking their hearts.

Who could have imagined that these seemingly plain-looking Senior Brothers would be so ruthless, taking a life the moment they struck?

Long Chen was also startled. What shocked him was not the death of that person, but the Senior Brother who had made the move.

His attack was too bizarre; he had pushed his Spiritual Qi to the extreme, releasing it outside his body to kill from a distance. What surprised Long Chen the most was that this was not a battle skill, but a manifestation of his ability to control Spiritual Qi with ease.

One must know that manipulating Spiritual Qi with ease within the body is already extremely difficult, but to maintain absolute control even after releasing it outside the body was truly astonishing.

Without revealing his cultivation base or showing any hint of aggression, he had killed a Genius. Such strength was truly chilling.

Following that person's death, there was an uproar, and panic spread through the crowd. Suddenly, three figures rushed out of the crowd and fled at high speed.

Everyone was stunned at first, but then realized that these three people likely had issues as well; seeing the situation turn bad, they were fleeing for their lives.

The man standing at the front of the crowd curled his lips in mockery and let out a cold snort. He pointed a finger, and an invisible force shot out like a sharp sword.

"Puff, puff, puff."

The man pointed three times in succession. The three people hundreds of feet away were pierced through simultaneously and died instantly. The entire scene fell into dead silence.

A moment ago, there were still people who looked down on these "cannon fodder," but now everyone was terrified. In particular, the person who had mocked them earlier turned deathly pale, and sweat began to drip down.

"Alright, continue checking the registration slips."

The man who called himself the instructor ordered everyone to continue checking the registration slips, verifying them one by one with great care.

Even those as powerful as Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin honestly handed over their registration slips. Although they were arrogant, they were not fools.

After all, they were Senior Brothers. Even the weakest among them had undergone three years of training at the Xuantian Branch, which was not something they could currently match.

While feeling awe, their hearts were also filled with anticipation. If even "cannon fodder" level characters could grow to such a degree, the strength of the Xuantian Branch was truly terrifying.

When that instructor made his move, Long Chen had been carefully sensing him. He was shocked to discover that the man's cultivation was only at the Tendon Transformation Realm.

In other words, it was similar to the white-clad man from before, but the combat power of the two was like heaven and earth—the gap was incredibly vast.

The attack he unleashed was a battle skill, but it didn't seem like a particularly profound one; it should have been below the Earth Rank.

Yet, even an ordinary battle skill, when unleashed by him, had the effect of turning the mundane into the miraculous.

Most importantly, when he attacked, his internal energy remained unchanged, and there was no obvious interval between the three attacks, as if it were done in one continuous breath.

Usually, after each attack, one needs to slightly adjust their breath before making the next one.

It is like jumping rope; after one jump, you fall, and you need to touch your toes to the ground to leverage power before you can jump again.

Some people can unleash three attacks in a row, but the frequency would inevitably be like a storm. It is like someone jumping once but turning the rope three times to complete three jumps; although extremely difficult, some Geniuses can barely manage it.

However, the frequency of the man's attacks was not fast; he struck with composure, without a hint of haste. Clearly, this was related to his cultivation method.

"I've come to the right place this time. This Xuantian Branch is simply a huge Treasure Trove," Long Chen thought with wild joy.

Just then, a man walked up to Long Chen and checked his registration slip.

"Hmm?"

After seeing Long Chen's registration slip, the man's expression changed slightly. He looked at it carefully again before looking at Long Chen with a puzzled expression.

The man's actions startled Guo Ran, who was standing to the side; he almost cried out. Could there be a problem with Boss's registration slip?

The man's actions immediately attracted the attention of many people. Because Long Chen was in the last row and those in front had basically finished being checked, everyone was looking this way.

Seeing that man looking coldly at Long Chen, Tang Waner's heart couldn't help but race. This bastard, he wouldn't be here to fish in troubled waters, would he?

Thinking of Long Chen's fearless, rascal personality, it seemed he really could do something like that. For a moment, her heart was in a turmoil, wondering if Long Chen would be killed.

Only Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin watched this side indifferently. Qi Xin even had a smile on his face; he wished that the man would slap Long Chen to death with one palm.

"Senior Brother Wan, please take a look at this registration slip." With a flick of his hand, the man sent Long Chen's registration slip flying directly toward the instructor.

Senior Brother Wan took the registration slip and was also slightly stunned. He looked up at Long Chen and said, "You are Long Chen?"

Long Chen nodded, while also feeling a bit puzzled. Old man Tu Fang had no grudge against him, so he shouldn't be trying to harm him, right?

What he didn't know was that the registration slip in his hand had an extremely special pattern, and outsiders did not know what that pattern was.

In fact, every registration slip had a pattern. They looked basically the same, but in reality, there were differences in the details.

In certain parts of the pattern, the length and thickness of the strokes were different; that was where the registrant's fundamental information was recorded.

This was an internal secret of the Xuantian Branch, unknown to outsiders. So when some people foolishly obtained a registration slip and thought they could muddle through, they met the fate seen earlier.

When that person checked Long Chen's registration slip, it was because he saw information that he couldn't believe, which made him suspicious and uncertain, so he left the problem for the Senior Brother to solve.

"Hmm, what is it? Is there a problem?" Long Chen nodded lightly.

Senior Brother Wan shook his head and said, "No problem. You are quite good."

Hearing Senior Brother Wan say this, Long Chen's tense mood relaxed quite a bit. He nodded and said, "As expected, great minds think alike. I also think I am quite good."

Senior Brother Wan looked at Long Chen with a strange expression, as if he were very unaccustomed to Long Chen's way of speaking. Tang Waner in the crowd couldn't help but cover her mouth and smile; this guy was so thick-skinned, climbing up as soon as someone gave him a pole.

In fact, they didn't know the true meaning of the "You are quite good" from Senior Brother Wan's mouth. It was because Senior Brother Wan saw information on Long Chen's registration slip that he couldn't believe.

Spiritual Root: None.

Every registration slip carefully noted more than a dozen pieces of information about the registrant, such as height, appearance, bone age, Spiritual Root, and talent.

Senior Brother Wan had been in the branch for three years and was exceptionally familiar with the branch's rules; he could recite them by heart. This was the first time he had heard that someone without a Spiritual Root could obtain a registration slip.

When he saw the signature at the bottom of the registration slip, he suddenly remembered that a few days ago, the Enforcement Elder had told him that he had given a registration slip to a youth and told him not to make a mistake.

At the time, he had found it very strange. You gave the slip, so you gave it; I couldn't possibly not recognize it, so how could there be a mistake?

Today, seeing Long Chen, he finally understood Elder Tu Fang's intention. If it weren't for Elder Tu Fang's prior heads-up, he really might have taken the registration slip to verify it with Elder Tu Fang again.

In the Mortal world, Spiritual Roots are generally divided into High Grade, Medium Grade, and Low Grade, and there are also useless Spiritual Roots. A Spiritual Root is a mass of root Qi within a person's Dantian; it is the Innate root. A person's potential for achievement depends entirely on the quality of their Spiritual Root.

This is like a seed; what it grows into in the future depends on the quality of the seed. A seed of mugwort can never grow into a large tree, so a person's growth limit can basically be judged by their Spiritual Root.

Generally, for those with a Low Grade Spiritual Root, the Blood Condensation Realm is basically their limit. A Medium Grade Spiritual Root basically leads to the Tendon Transformation Realm. Only those with a High Grade Spiritual Root have the opportunity to break through the barrier of the Tendon Transformation Realm and enter the Bone Forging Realm.

The Xuantian Branch's recruitment of Disciples is extremely strict; regardless of whether you have a Low, Medium, or High Grade Spiritual Root, they do not accept them.

The Disciples they recruit must have at least a Bronze Grade Spiritual Root. That is an existence that transcends worldly grades, because in the cultivation world, only those with a Bronze Grade Spiritual Root truly have a chance to rise.

Above the Bronze Grade Spiritual Root, there are Silver Grade, Gold Grade, and the legendary Dark Gold Grade Spiritual Roots. Only those possessing these four grades of Spiritual Roots are qualified to receive the Sect's full cultivation.

Among the registrants present, basically all of them had Bronze Grade Spiritual Roots; only a few had Silver Grade Spiritual Roots.

However, among the Disciples recruited this time, there was a Prodigy who actually possessed a Gold Grade Spiritual Root. Senior Brother Wan had just swept his eyes over that person's registration slip and was shocked.

But now, seeing a Disciple with no Spiritual Root, he was even more surprised than when he saw the Prodigy with a Gold Grade Spiritual Root.

He had been in the Xuantian Branch for a long time and understood the Enforcement Elder too well. That was an incredible powerhouse; apart from the Sect Leader, his strength was the greatest.

Moreover, he was upright and impartial, deeply feared and respected by all Disciples. Such a character would absolutely not give such an important registration slip to just anyone.

At the same time, Senior Brother Wan also secretly sensed Long Chen and found that the aura on his body was hidden completely, just like a Mortal.

One must know that even he, after many years of bitter cultivation, had reached the micro-level of control over Spiritual Qi, yet he still couldn't suppress his aura to the point of having none at all.

Furthermore, even though Long Chen stood there like a Mortal, he was still able to give Senior Brother Wan a faint sense of pressure, indicating that Long Chen was very extraordinary, which was why he had offered that praise.

After returning the registration slip to Long Chen, he counted the number of people again. With a wave of Senior Brother Wan's hand, a large pile of palm-sized jade tablets suddenly appeared on the ground, with words written on them.

"Distribute these jade tablets."

After Senior Brother Wan finished speaking, he ordered people to distribute the jade tablets to everyone. Long Chen took one and looked at it; it was palm-sized, square, and had the character "Heaven" engraved on it.

Looking at Guo Ran beside him, his jade tablet had the character "Yellow" on it, and for a moment, he was a bit confused.

"Boss, this is our proof for the assessment. We are about to enter a cruel elimination. I don't know if I can pass," Guo Ran said with a worried expression.

Long Chen was stunned. Just as he was about to ask for the reason, Senior Brother Wan's voice came:

"Hold onto the jade tablets in your hands; we are about to enter the assessment. However, I need to pour a bucket of cold water on you: at least three-quarters of the people here will be eliminated."