Trial Ends

As Candle Dragon departed, Shangguan Ye and the others arrived at the sixth floor. Unlike the previous levels, the sixth floor was not filled with black flames. It was an Illusion Sea.

"Looks like we need to cultivate here until we reach the Selfless State of Mind they mentioned before we can pass the test," Nie Li said slowly.

"Everyone, find a spot and begin." Shangguan Ye was the first to sit down and cultivate. The others, unwilling to fall behind, also sat down one after another.

Not long after Shangguan Ye sat down, a burst of laughter rang out from within his Sea of Soul.

"Ha ha ha! I have never seen such a powerful body before. Once I take over your body, I will surely surpass my former self!" A soul body rampaged within Shangguan Ye's Sea of Soul, launching attack after attack.

"But why is this fellow's Sea of Soul so strange? It is actually an entire world! Then I must have you all the more!"

Shangguan Ye sighed.

"I was supposed to possess Nie Li. How did you end up in my head..." Shangguan Ye shook his head, his consciousness entering his Sea of Soul.

Shangguan Ye did not reveal himself within the Sea of Soul. Instead, he first controlled the Divine Tree to attack, sending countless vines flying toward the soul body.

"Oh? A demon spirit with great potential for growth. But it is impossible for it to stop me." The soul body split itself into several copies, evading every attack. It then re-formed before the Divine Tree and slammed into it viciously, causing the Divine Tree's trunk to sway violently.

"Hmph, hand over your body obediently!" the soul body snarled.

"Old bastard, you think far too highly of yourself." Shangguan Ye's voice rang out.

At that moment, dark clouds gathered above, covering the entire Sea of Soul. The oppressive atmosphere made the soul body feel a trace of unease.

Does this brat still have another trump card? The soul body looked around but found nothing unusual. Then heat descended from directly above him. The soul body abruptly raised its head and saw an eye dozens of times larger than itself staring fixedly at him.

"What... is this?" The soul body felt weak all over and hurriedly retreated. The Golden Saint Dragon King emerged from the clouds, its colossal body rolling endlessly through them.

"How is this possible? Such a powerful True Dragon Demon Spirit... even I have never seen one before." Feeling the Golden Saint Dragon King's oppressive might, the soul body immediately tried to flee. Yet no matter how it ran, it could not escape Shangguan Ye's Sea of Soul.

"This is bad. I fell for it—I'm trapped here!" The soul body darted wildly through the Sea of Soul like a headless fly.

The Golden Saint Dragon King gathered its strength and let out a furious roar, shaking the soul body until it became extremely unstable. Seeing this, the Divine Tree extended its vines and bound the soul body.

"Let... me go..." The soul body struggled desperately as the Divine Tree began exerting force, continuously absorbing it.

"Ah! To think this old man would be destroyed by the hands of a brat like you!"

As the soul body was gradually absorbed completely, the Divine Tree fed that power back to Shangguan Ye. In an instant, Shangguan Ye's strength surged repeatedly, breaking through all the way to the Heavenly Fate Third Realm.

Three golden Fate Souls appeared within Shangguan Ye's Sea of Soul, burning continuously.

"That old bastard was only a remnant soul, yet he still let me break through so much." Shangguan Ye adjusted his breathing and consolidated his cultivation.

A day passed, and Shangguan Ye successfully cultivated to the Selfless State of Mind.

Several more days passed. The ten days of cultivation finally came to an end, and white light lit up around many people within the Black Flame Tower as they were transported into a courtyard.

"Shangguan!" The moment Xiao Ning'er landed, she saw Shangguan Ye and called out excitedly.

"Ning'er." Shangguan Ye waved to her.

"Looks like everyone passed the test." The others also gathered around.

"Congratulations on passing the final test." A man in black robes slowly stepped forward, followed by several people whose auras were all exceptionally powerful.

"I am the Nether Realm Controller you have spoken of," the black-robed man said.

Everyone was extremely excited upon hearing this, but one person beside the Nether Realm Controller caught Nie Li's attention.

"Xiao Yu, why are you here? I didn't see you take part in the trial."

"The Nether Realm Controller is my adoptive father. He treats me as his own child," Xiao Yu explained.

"No wonder you dared to say something like that."

"Everyone, you are all geniuses we carefully selected. From today onward, you will come to know an entirely new domain. The world we reside in is called the Little Exquisite World, and above the Little Exquisite World lies the Dragon Void Realm. What you call the Legendary rank is merely the beginning of cultivation. Above Legend are realms such as Heavenly Fate, Heavenly Star, Heavenly Rotation, Dragon Dao, Martial Ancestor, and more. There are many powerful sects within the Dragon Void Realm. Any one of them could destroy the strongest experts of the Little Exquisite World. You are about to go to that world." The Nether Realm Controller gave everyone an introduction.

"The passage between the Dragon Void Realm and the Little Exquisite World opens once every five years. Other than that, no one can enter the Little Exquisite World. There are six experts beside me, and you have already been chosen as their disciples. They will take you to their respective sects." The Nether Realm Controller pointed at the six people beside him.

"So the selection of the Nether Realm Controller's disciples was actually a sect recruitment," someone muttered.

"We will give you time to return and say your farewells. When you come back, we will have you sign Soul Law Seals. These seals bind both disciples and Masters."

"Then may I ask, Nether Realm Controller, do we choose our own teachers, or..." Cang Ming asked with cupped hands.

"You have already been chosen," the Nether Realm Controller explained.

"Shangguan... are we going to be separated?" Xiao Ning'er tugged at Shangguan Ye's sleeve, her eyes full of reluctance.

Shangguan Ye took Xiao Ning'er's hand.

"Don't worry. A brief parting is for the sake of a better reunion. Besides, you can enter the World of Mountains and Rivers yourselves. We can still meet there."

"Mhm." Only after hearing this did Xiao Ning'er feel much more at ease.

"Alright, then let us begin." A beautiful middle-aged woman beside the Nether Realm Controller spoke.

"You, you, you. You three, come over here." The beautiful woman pointed at Xiao Ning'er, Ye Ziyun, and Xiao Xue.

"Looks like that should be an all-female sect. It's not bad for them to go there." Nie Li felt relieved.

Du Ze was chosen by a middle-aged man.

The Demon Lord, Duan Jian, and Mu Ye were chosen by an old man.

Zhu Junxiang, Wei Nan, and Zhang Ming were assigned to the same sect.

Shangguan Ye, Nie Li, and Lu Piao were accepted as disciples by the Nether Realm Controller.

"Greetings, Master." The three clasped their hands in salute.

"Brother Nie, Brother Shangguan, please look after me when we reach the Dragon Void Realm." Xiao Yu stepped forward with a smile.

"Young master, it would be more accurate to say that we will need your care," Nie Li shot back.

"This guy is so effeminate." Lu Piao leaned close to Shangguan Ye's ear and said.

"You'll get used to it." Shangguan Ye patted Lu Piao on the shoulder.

"See you in three months."

"See you in three months."

"Hehe, have a safe journey." The Nether Realm Controller waved his hand, and they were transported to the First Death Zone of the Nether Realm.

"Shangguan, are we going back? If we don't, the next time we meet will be five years from now," Xiao Ning'er reminded him.

"Partners, come with me to the desert. Let's see if we can find the Desert Divine Palace," Nie Li said.

Everyone turned to look at Shangguan Ye, seemingly seeking his opinion. Unknowingly, Shangguan Ye had already become the core of the group.

"Let's all go together. With me here, returning to Glory City is only a matter of an instant." Shangguan Ye smiled.