Forced Descent

Bringing it down was simple enough; one could communicate with the Primordial Gate through a descent array. The Lin Family had a private descent array they could use, so there was no need to queue up with other ordinary descendents at the public descent array in Shanyang City.

Moreover, his luck wasn't bad. There was still a little energy left in the energy crystals embedded in the array, enough for him to activate it one more time. If he didn't gain anything from this descent, he wouldn't even have enough money to buy energy crystals to activate the array again.

After checking that the descent array was in order, Lin Xiao stood in the center of the array, which resembled an altar. He activated it according to the method his father had taught him. Strands of energy flowed from the crystals and quickly spread along the array patterns towards the center. Beams of light coiled around the jade pillars, which were etched with exquisite patterns, and shot upwards, quickly forming nine thick pillars of light that soared into the sky. In mid-air, they outlined a massive light array that covered the entire descent array.

At the same time, as the spiritual light enveloped the entire array, streams of light converged with Lin Xiao at the center, forming an even larger pillar of light that pierced the heavens.

"Crack!"

The sky suddenly trembled and collapsed, transforming into a massive vortex that rapidly contracted. Lin Xiao felt a powerful force envelop him, pulling him upwards into the vortex.

In a daze, he felt himself falling into a sky-high gate of light. Below him, endless divine light slowly rotated, forming a luminous vortex that resembled a galactic nebula. He was like an ant falling into it, utterly insignificant.

Lin Xiao understood. This was the Primordial Gate. Passing through this vast vortex, whose extent was unknown, would begin his descent.

However, the moment he fell into that luminous vortex, which resembled the center of a galaxy, in reality, which he could not see, the Primordial Gate, which had stood in the void like an ancient demon god for countless years, suddenly paused, as if it had gotten stuck. In the next second, the infinite energy spewing from the Primordial Gate rapidly retracted inwards, condensing into a single point. With a flash, a vast tide of energy surged out once more.

At this instant, a surprised voice echoed through the void. Immediately after, several terrifying wills, undetectable even by immortal or demonic beings, descended above the Primordial Gate and swept back and forth, but found nothing.

As for Lin Xiao, it was even more impossible for him to notice. He had lost consciousness the moment the Primordial Gate underwent its anomaly. He had no idea that the center of the condensing infinite energy was himself. Only a faint image flashed in his consciousness – the mysterious light that had caused his transmigration in his previous life.

"This batch of people totals two hundred and seventy. You are either orphans or commoners, with lives as cheap as dirt. If our gang were not willing to take you in, your future would be either starving to death by the roadside, becoming wandering ghosts, or being enslaved by the powerful. Your lives are as insignificant as weeds, and no one would even bury you when you die."

A man's voice, sounding like a lecture, suddenly appeared in Lin Xiao's ears. Having heard his deceased brother recount his own descent experience, Lin Xiao knew he had successfully descended into some world.

He opened his eyes and saw a large, well-trodden yellow earth training ground filled with teenagers in their early teens. A tall, dark-skinned, middle-aged strongman stood under the sun, loudly lecturing them.

This strongman had exceptionally thick arms, with bulging muscles beneath his sleeves and high, prominent temples. His palms were as large as fans and covered in thick calluses, indicating he was skilled in martial arts. Just standing there exuded a powerful pressure.

In front of the strongman, rows of youths dressed in coarse linen robes stood in neat formation, their gazes fixed on the strongman, their expressions solemn. Lin Xiao was among them.

The strong, imposing man's gaze swept over the youths present and he said in a deep voice:

"However, don't get happy too soon. You are still far from being official disciples of our Great River Gang, not even peripheral members. If you want to join the gang, stand here for two hours first."

With that, the strongman turned and left leisurely, hands behind his back.

Then, over a dozen burly men from the edge of the training ground surrounded them, their fierce gazes like tigers sizing up sheep, staring at them menacingly.

One hour was two hours. Standing still for four hours was already tiring, especially under the scorching sun. This was a severe test for the teenagers on the training ground, and most of them couldn't endure it, even Lin Xiao.

This was because his descent this time was in the form of a projection. It meant that the power of the Primordial Gate had stripped a strand of his soul and projected it into a random world in the void. Using the power of the Primordial Gate, a new body was recast based on this wisp of soul, replacing a native of that world. Therefore, his identity would not be rejected by the world's will. However, it also meant he was starting from nothing, and Lin Xiao had not brought any of his original cultivation with him.

Yes, his true body did have cultivation. Although he was afraid of death and didn't dare to descend, the Lin Family had once been a prominent family. His home had various cultivation techniques. As someone who had transmigrated from Earth, he had long yearned for divine martial arts and secret manuals. He not only cultivated diligently but also spent a large sum of money to enroll in the renowned Shanyang Martial Academy in Qingze Domain, where he was currently a student.

However, now that the Lin Family was bankrupt, he couldn't afford the tuition for the next semester and expected to be expelled.

But Lin Xiao quickly lost the mood to dwell on such trivial matters. This recast body didn't seem very strong; it was rather weak. He felt a slight sweat on his forehead after less than ten minutes, and his whole body felt weak and powerless, as if he hadn't eaten for a long time.

"Damn it, can't even last ten minutes. How am I supposed to endure four hours?"

As an adult, he wasn't as clueless as the others on the training ground. He knew this was likely the first test. If he couldn't endure four hours, he would be eliminated directly.

If he were eliminated, he...

"Hmm, let me check my background and my wish."

Lin Xiao silently chanted in his heart, recalling what he currently held the deepest obsession with.

Projection descent involved replacing a native. This meant he had a legitimate identity and the dying wish of the native he replaced. This was related to how much harvest the descender could bring back upon their final return.

As the saying goes, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Failure in projection descent carried almost no risk, which clearly violated the principle of equivalent exchange. Thus, there was the so-called wish. Every time a descender replaced a native through projection, that native would have a wish, the reliability of which was unknown.

Descenders had to fulfill this wish, which was akin to a dying wish, to take everything with them upon returning alive, including all the cultivation they had gained in this projected body.

If the wish was not completed, even if they became the martial arts alliance leader and the greatest under heaven in this world, they would have no connection whatsoever to this peerless divine skill and couldn't take any of it away from this world.