Forced Descent

Descent itself was simple. He only needed to communicate with the Primordial Gate through a Descent Array. The Lin family had a private Descent Array he could use, so he did not need to queue at the public Descent Array in Shanyang City with the other ordinary Descenders.

His luck was pretty good, too. There was still some energy left in the energy crystal embedded in the array—enough to activate it one more time. If this descent yielded nothing, he would not even have enough money to buy the energy crystals needed to activate the array.

After checking that the Descent Array was in working order, Lin Xiao stood at its center, which resembled the Temple of Heaven, and activated it according to the method his father had taught him. Wisps of energy flowed from the crystal, rapidly spreading along the array patterns toward the center. Streaks of light wrapped around the jade pillars engraved with exquisite patterns and extended upward. Soon, they transformed into nine massive pillars of light that shot into the sky, outlining a gigantic array of light in midair and covering the entire Descent Array.

At the same time, as the spiritual light covered the entire array, streaks of radiance converged around Lin Xiao, forming an even larger pillar of light that shot straight into the clouds.

"Crack!"

The firmament suddenly shuddered and collapsed, transforming into a gigantic vortex that rapidly contracted. Lin Xiao only felt a tremendous force envelop him and hurl him skyward into the vortex.

In a daze, he felt himself falling into a radiant gate that reached the heavens. Beneath him, endless divine radiance slowly revolved into a dazzling vortex resembling a galaxy nebula. He was like an ant falling into it, utterly insignificant.

Lin Xiao realized that this was the Primordial Gate. Once he passed through this vast vortex of unknown size, his descent would begin.

However, the instant he fell into that radiant vortex resembling the heart of a galaxy, in the unseen reality, the Primordial Gate—which had stood motionless in the void like an archaic demon god for who knew how many years—suddenly jolted to a halt, as though it had jammed. In the next moment, the boundless energy spewing from the Primordial Gate rapidly contracted inward and condensed into a single point. With a flash, the vast tide of energy surged forth once more.

At that instant, a startled voice rang out in the void. Immediately afterward, several terrifying wills, imperceptible even to ordinary immortals and devils, descended above the Primordial Gate and swept back and forth. Yet they discovered nothing.

Lin Xiao was even less likely to notice. He had already lost consciousness when the Primordial Gate underwent its change and had not sensed that he himself was the center of the boundless energy's contraction. Only a faint image flashed through his consciousness—the mysterious light that had caused him to transmigrate in his previous life.

"You lot number two hundred and seventy in total. You're either orphans or commoners, with lives as cheap as dirt. If our gang were unwilling to take you in, your future would be either starving to death by the roadside, becoming lonely ghosts, or being enslaved by the powerful. Your lives are no more than blades of grass. Even if you died, no one would bury you."

A man's voice, sounding as though he were delivering a reprimand, appeared out of nowhere in Lin Xiao's ears. Having heard his deceased elder brother describe his own descent, Lin Xiao knew that he had successfully descended into a certain world.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a large schoolyard of yellow earth polished bright by countless feet. It was filled with teenagers around his age. A tall, dark-skinned, middle-aged brute stood beneath the sun, loudly lecturing them.

The brute's arms were exceptionally thick, the muscles beneath his sleeves knotted like ropes. His temples bulged high, and his palms were as large as cattails, covered in a thick layer of calluses. At a glance, it was obvious that he was highly skilled in martial arts. Merely standing there, he exuded a tremendous oppressive force.

In front of the brute, rows of teenagers dressed in coarse hemp clothing stood in orderly formation, staring straight at him with solemn expressions. Lin Xiao was among them.

The tall, burly brute swept his imposing gaze over the teenagers and said in a deep voice:

"However, don't celebrate too soon. You're still far from being official disciples of my Great River Gang. You don't even count as peripheral members yet. If you want to join the gang, stand here for two hours first."

After tossing out those words, the tall, burly brute clasped his hands behind his back and sauntered away.

Then more than a dozen brutes gathered around the edge of the schoolyard, eyeing them menacingly with savage gazes like tigers sizing up sheep.

One hour meant two hours, and standing still for four hours was exhausting enough. Standing beneath the blazing sun for four hours made it even worse. For the teenagers in the schoolyard, it was a severe trial. Most of them could not hold out, and Lin Xiao was no exception.

That was because this descent had taken the form of a projection. The power of the Primordial Gate had separated a strand of his soul and projected it into some random world in the void. Then, using that strand of soul as a foundation, the Primordial Gate's power had rebuilt a body to replace a native of that world. Thus, his identity would not be rejected by the world's will. However, this also meant he had arrived empty-handed. None of Lin Xiao's cultivation had come with him.

That was right. His true body actually possessed cultivation as well. Although he had been too afraid of death to descend, the Lin family had once been a prestigious clan, and the household possessed all kinds of cultivation techniques. As someone who had transmigrated from Earth, he had long yearned for all sorts of peerless martial arts manuals. He not only cultivated exceptionally diligently but had also spent a huge sum to enroll in the renowned Shanyang Martial Academy of the Qingze Domain. He was currently a student there.

It was just that the Lin family had gone bankrupt, and he could not afford the tuition for the next term. He estimated that he would be expelled.

However, Lin Xiao soon had no mood to think about those chaotic matters. This reconstructed body seemed rather weak—in fact, it was somewhat frail. He had not even stood for ten minutes before he felt cold sweat beading on his forehead. His entire body was weak and powerless, as though he had gone hungry for a long time.

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

As an adult, he was not as ignorant and bewildered as the others in the schoolyard. He knew very well that this was probably the first trial. Anyone who could not endure four hours would be eliminated outright.

Once he was eliminated, he...

"Hmm, let me take a look at my identity, background, and wish."

Lin Xiao silently muttered in his heart, then began recalling the thing he was currently most obsessed with.

A projection descent took place by replacing a native. In other words, he possessed a legitimate, reasonable identity, as well as the final wish of the native he had replaced. This was related to how much the Descender could bring back upon their eventual return.

As the saying went, the greater the harvest one wanted, the greater the risks one had to take. Projection descent could be said to carry almost no risk if it failed, which clearly did not accord with the principle of equivalent exchange. Thus, there was the so-called wish. Every time a projection descent took place, the natives replaced by the Descenders would have a wish—though no one knew whether it was reliable.

The Descenders had to fulfill this wish, which was essentially a dying wish, before they could take everything away after returning alive, including all the cultivation and power they had gained through the projection.

If the wish was not fulfilled, then even if one became the martial-world alliance leader and the greatest expert beneath heaven in that world, the peerless martial arts one had cultivated would have nothing to do with one. Not even a hair of it could be carried out of that world.