Galactic Martial Saint

"Ah, Junior Brother Wang, stop teasing Senior Brother."

Ren Wencai put down his teacup and shook his head, his tone full of helplessness.

"This year... it's the same as always. As for rankings and such, I've long since come to terms with it. Whatever happens, happens. Whatever happens, happens."

As he spoke, he also shook his head in agreement, putting on an act of "no successors, a bleak old age."

Seeing this, the Elders on the high platform all offered words of comfort.

"Senior Brother Ren, there's no need to be so pessimistic. Who can say for sure about fate?"

"Yes, yes, perhaps you'll recruit some good seedlings next year."

"It's the participation that counts, the participation that counts."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone turned their attention back to their own disciples.

Only Zhao Wuji sat there in silence.

He had contended with Ren Wencai for most of his life and knew this old fellow's character inside and out.

This old man was best at playing the pig to eat the tiger.

When they were young and went out for trials together, this old fellow would always hide at the back, shielding everyone.

Then, when it came time to snatch opportunities, this old fellow would strike harder than anyone and run faster than anyone.

This current pathetic act had a familiar ring to it, no matter how you looked at it.

--Something's not right.

Zhao Wuji muttered to himself.

If he truly had no trump cards, he wouldn't have come to this high platform to be subjected to indignity today.

However, Huiyuan Gate had no record of any new genius disciples in the past two years; he had checked this.

The few new disciples they did have were all of mediocre talent. Only one named Jiang Lu had decent cultivation progress, but that was all. He couldn't possibly stir up any major trouble.

Thinking this, he picked up his teacup, using the action of drinking tea to conceal his gaze as he subtly swept his eyes over the queue of Huiyuan Gate disciples below.

There were only a sparse few dozen people there, looking particularly shabby among the disciples of the various major gates.

After carefully identifying them, he found no disciples with particularly outstanding realms.

Could he have been overthinking it?

On the plaza below the high platform, Gu Chengming was listlessly listening to Jiang Lu babble on about gossip.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had sensed something and subconsciously looked up at the high platform.

The distance was too great to see the faces of the Elders clearly; he could only see a row of blurred figures.

"What's wrong, Senior Brother?" Jiang Lu asked when he noticed Gu Chengming's strange expression.

"Nothing."

Gu Chengming withdrew his gaze and shook his head.

Just then, a melodious bell chime echoed throughout the entire Sword Seeking Platform.

"Dong--"

The crowd, which had been whispering, instantly fell silent.

The assessment had begun.

PS: This chapter is three thousand characters, with at least five thousand more characters to be updated.

Chapter 52: Chapter 49 - Wait, why did you get in?

When it came to the Disciple Assessment, the one who cared the most wasn't Gu Chengming, but Hundred Bones Ming.

[Hundred Bones felt incredibly excited, thinking, "The Disciple Assessment, it's finally here!"]

[Next, will it be killing enemies across realms, astonishing everyone with a single move, being taken in as a disciple by a powerful figure, and finally competing for the position of Sect Holy Son?]

--Speechless. I told you not to think like this. That's typical protagonist thinking from Qidian.

Gu Chengming grumbled silently in his heart.

This Wenjian Sect didn't have any Holy Son position. The closest thing was the Dao Seed of Daoning Gate... he wasn't going to become a female cultivator, was he?

While lost in thought.

"Senior Brother Gu, it's starting!"

Jiang Lu beside him suddenly whispered a reminder.

Gu Chengming snapped back to attention and looked up.

He saw a middle-aged deacon in charge of the proceedings in the center of the plaza loudly announce, "First test: Dao Heart!"

In past Disciple Assessments, they mostly directly competed in cultivation realms or engaged in practical combat. He had never heard of testing one's Dao Heart.

This thing is ethereal and unpredictable, most prone to mishaps.

On the viewing platform, several Elders watched the restless disciples below with varied expressions.

"It seems these youngsters are a bit caught off guard," Zhao Wuji said with a half-smile, taking a sip of tea.

A white-haired old man seated in the main position spoke slowly.

"The path of cultivation is perilous. If one's Dao Heart is unstable, they will ultimately end up as naught but dust."

Listening to the Elders' discussion, Ren Wencai felt quite at ease.

After all, he was an eyewitness to Gu Chengming leaving a sword mark on the Sword Seeking Stone, and he knew very well that this first test was nothing for Gu Chengming.

As the Elders conversed, the formation in the plaza had already been activated.

A hazy azure light shot up into the sky, instantly enveloping the thousands of disciples in the plaza.

This formation was named Great Dream Floating Life. As the name suggested, those who entered it would experience a dreamlike state.

Those who could break through the illusion on their own within half an hour were considered top-tier. Those who took an hour were upper-tier, and two hours were mid-tier. If one remained unconscious until the formation closed, it could only be said that their Dao Heart was clouded, and they were unlikely to achieve greatness.

As the formation opened, the previously noisy plaza instantly fell silent.

Meanwhile.

Gu Chengming felt a blur before his eyes, and the surrounding scenery changed dramatically.

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer within the Wenjian Sect.

Beneath his feet were jade steps shrouded in mist, and above him were golden palaces and celestial towers bathed in radiant light.

Countless celestial maidens in flowing robes held delicacies and fine wine, standing respectfully on either side.

At the end of the steps, a dragon throne symbolizing supreme power awaited his ascension.

Below, countless cultivators knelt, including many Elders he had seen before.

They all shouted in unison, "Welcome back, Immortal Venerable! May the Immortal Venerable reign for ten thousand years and unite the immortal realm!"

Gu Chengming stood on the steps, looking down at it all.

"Is that it?"

He sighed inwardly. Was this illusion a bit too perfunctory?

As if sensing his thoughts, the scene shifted.

The celestial palace vanished, replaced by a boudoir filled with warmth and soft red curtains.

Several peerless beauties surrounded him, each with her own charm and allure.

But honestly, it was boring without character sprites.

In the following time, the illusion, as if to prove itself, showed him various peak life experiences in different ways.

Achieving great deeds, becoming a marquis and a minister, being invincible in the world, cleaving open the gates of heaven;

It even made him a savior, rescuing all living beings from dire straits...

Can't this illusion fast-forward?

Gu Chengming was getting impatient.

In games like this, I usually just hold down Ctrl and skip the cutscenes.

The moment this thought arose, the surrounding scene suddenly began to distort and accelerate.

The voices of the beauties who had been chattering and urging him to drink became sharp and hurried, their movements jerky.

Sun rose and set, seasons changed. A life that should have taken a long time to experience now seemed to be playing at dozens of times the normal speed.

Those so-called glories, powers, and beauties flashed by his eyes, becoming a blur of light and shadow.

"Holy crap? It can actually fast-forward?"

Gu Chengming was stunned.

In just a few breaths, this long life was "fast-forwarded" to its end.

The scene froze at the moment he was about to ascend to immortality.

The heavenly gate opened wide, and celestial music played.

Just then, that familiar sense of dizziness struck again.

[Insightful Eyes activated.]

Gu Chengming's eyes lit up. The three familiar semi-transparent option boxes appeared directly over the image of his impending ascension.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

Good heavens, you can even play Galgames in this illusion?

He focused his gaze on the three options:

[Option 1: That's it? Don't you have any more interesting plot points?]

[Option 2: Replay. I think that part where the fairy danced earlier is worth savoring again.]

[Option 3: Illusion, break for me! I'm not playing this boring game anymore.]

Gu Chengming chose the third option without any hesitation.

The magnificent immortal palace surrounding him, the celestial beings and Buddhas filling the sky, the heavenly gate about to open...

Like a mirror shattered by a pebble, it instantly filled with cracks.

"Crack—"

A crisp shattering sound echoed.

All the scenery collapsed in an instant, dissipating into countless points of light.

He broke through the illusion with extreme ease.

To the outside world, however, only a single breath had passed.

The spiritual light on the Sword Seeking Platform was still faintly flickering, but Gu Chengming had already opened his eyes.

His gaze was clear, without the slightest hint of the confusion that comes from escaping an illusion.

Beside him, hundreds and thousands of disciples still had their eyes tightly shut. Some wore pained expressions, while others were covered in cold sweat, clearly trapped and struggling fiercely within the illusions of their Inner Demons.

This scene was so abrupt that the Elders on the high platform, who had been chatting and laughing moments before, all froze. They even forgot to put down the teacups in their hands.

"This..."

An Elder in charge of array maintenance frowned, looking at the array patterns beneath Gu Chengming's feet with surprise and uncertainty. He quickly calculated in his sleeve, but couldn't reconcile the numbers:

"Breaking the array in one breath? This is absolutely impossible. Could it be that the array node there is old and in disrepair, and something went wrong, preventing this disciple from being pulled into the illusion?"

As soon as he said this, several surrounding Elders nodded in agreement.