Xiantian Golden Pillar

Outside the assessment site, the crowd erupted when Qin Shaofeng passed the eighth stage.

He was the third person at this assessment site to pass the eighth stage.

More importantly, Qin Shaofeng was only a Houtian Eighth Layer martial artist!

He was probably the lowest-cultivated person to pass the eighth stage at any assessment site so far today.

But that wasn't all. When the ninth ring on the assessment site's gate lit up, the crowd went wild.

A Houtian Eighth Layer martial artist had actually made it through the ninth stage?

That was astounding!

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, few would have believed it.

After the ninth stage, Qin Shaofeng still didn't come out. As the crowd discussed it, they began to wonder whether he could make it through the final stage.

"He still hasn't come out. Is he trying to take on the tenth stage?"

"Ha, you're joking, friend. Passing the ninth stage already makes him a once-in-a-thousand-years genius. The tenth stage? That's far too difficult!"

"Exactly. Even though he's only at the Houtian Eighth Layer, I reckon the Assessment Puppet he faces in the tenth stage will already have Xiantian Realm cultivation. If he can hold out for three breaths against a Xiantian First Layer opponent, that'll be impressive enough!"

"Mm, I think so too. Though I'd say he could hold out for ten breaths..."

Boom!

As everyone discussed, the assessment site's gate suddenly shuddered as if a giant bell had been struck, unleashing a booming clang.

Rumble!

After the deafening crash, the tenth ring at the very top of the assessment site's gate gave a soft hum and lit up!

Golden light flashed, blindingly bright!

And the instant the tenth ring lit up, the nine rings below it also brightened.

Then all ten rings burst into brilliant golden light, forming a golden pillar that shot straight into the sky!

At that moment, all of Lianyang Academy was shaken.

"What's that?"

At the place where the group of powerful instructors had gathered, everyone was stunned when the golden pillar appeared. An old man's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in a trembling voice, "It's a Xiantian Golden Pillar!"

The Xiantian Golden Pillar was the most mysterious phenomenon produced during Lianyang Academy's assessments. It had been set up personally by the founder of Lianyang Academy, who was also the founding monarch of Lianyang Kingdom, Great Emperor Lianyang.

Naturally, triggering the Xiantian Golden Pillar wasn't easy.

That was because passing the tenth stage of the assessment site wasn't enough to trigger it.

Although the Xiantian Golden Pillar had "Xiantian" in its name, it had nothing to do with the Xiantian Realm. To trigger it, a martial artist had to be below the Xiantian Realm. Once someone reached the Xiantian Realm, even passing the tenth stage wouldn't trigger it.

That was only the most basic requirement for triggering the Xiantian Golden Pillar. There were other conditions too: the Assessment Puppet had to be defeated within the time it took an incense stick to burn—ten minutes.

If that time limit was exceeded, then even defeating the Assessment Puppet in the end wouldn't trigger the Xiantian Golden Pillar.

Of course, the Xiantian Golden Pillar's appearance also depended on how quickly the Assessment Puppet was defeated and the examinee's cultivation. Most noticeably, its size and height varied.

The lower the cultivation and the less time it took, the larger the Xiantian Golden Pillar that appeared.

And this Xiantian Golden Pillar was three meters thick and over a hundred meters tall—large enough for all of Lianyang Academy to see.

"Such a huge Xiantian Golden Pillar. This..."

The elderly instructor was so worked up that he could barely speak.

This instructor was no ordinary man. He had encountered Xiantian Golden Pillars before, but in all the history of Lianyang Academy, there had probably been no more than three that could rival the one before him!

In fact, according to the records, even the current dean of Lianyang Academy hadn't triggered one this huge back in the day!

If the old instructor had known that Qin Shaofeng was only at the Houtian Eighth Layer and had defeated the Assessment Puppet with a single move, he might have understood a little better.

As it happened, Qin Shaofeng had taken a bit of a shortcut.

First, he had spotted the Assessment Puppet's weakness. Then he had Little Li Flying Dagger, a skill with devastating offensive power. All these factors combined had created the spectacle before them.

If they had fought head-on and Qin Shaofeng couldn't rely on Little Li Flying Dagger, he would probably have had to depend on his abundant Inner Qi and fight a war of attrition against the Xiantian First Layer Assessment Puppet.

Even so, the odds of winning would probably have been fifty-fifty.

Qin Shaofeng knew nothing about all this. At that moment, he was utterly baffled.

After using Little Li Flying Dagger to defeat the Assessment Puppet, he had heard the old voice announce that he had passed the tenth stage. Then the voice spoke again.

This time, however, the old voice appeared directly inside Qin Shaofeng's mind.

"Xiantian Golden Pillar triggered. Houtian Eighth Layer cultivation meets the inheritance requirements. You may enter the Hall of Inheritance and undergo the trial!"

The voice had suddenly spoken right inside his mind, giving Qin Shaofeng quite a scare.

Xiantian Golden Pillar?

Hall of Inheritance?

Qin Shaofeng didn't understand, but the last sentence left him dumbfounded.

"Undergo a trial? Does that mean the assessment isn't over yet?"

Qin Shaofeng cried out inwardly, his face darkening.

That last Little Li Flying Dagger had drained all his Inner Qi Points, and he only had a few Qi Replenishing Pills left. If the assessment wasn't over, he could only give up.

"You damn Academy, I just wanted to get first place and win a chance at a draw. Did Lianyang Academy really have to mess with me like this?"

Cursing inwardly, Qin Shaofeng prepared to call out and give up on any further challenges.

There was no helping it. He had used up all his Inner Qi Points. If he fought again, he'd just be asking for a beating.

Besides, even if his Inner Qi Points were full, Qin Shaofeng wouldn't have wanted to continue. He knew his limits and understood that there had been a great deal of luck involved in defeating that Xiantian First Layer Assessment Puppet.

If he continued, he'd be the one in trouble for sure!

But just as Qin Shaofeng was about to speak, the assessment site's gate opened on its own.

Huh? What was this?

Qin Shaofeng pondered it for a moment.

The assessment site's gate had opened. That should mean he'd passed, right?

Besides, he'd never heard that there were any more tests after the tenth stage!

Thinking it over, Qin Shaofeng stopped hesitating and strode out.

But when Qin Shaofeng stepped through the gate, the sight before him gave him quite a shock.

Where had this golden pillar come from?

The hundred-meter golden pillar left Qin Shaofeng's mind full of questions.

Before he could get a better look, his vision went black as a huge figure wrapped its arms around him.

"Hahaha, Brother Feng, you really are awesome! You actually passed the tenth stage!"

Just then, the examiner who had been recording the results walked over and smiled warmly at Qin Shaofeng. "You're Qin Shaofeng, right? Since you triggered the Xiantian Golden Pillar, tell me a little about yourself. I need to learn some basic information."

The examiner was also an instructor at Lianyang Academy. Since he'd been assigned to serve as an examiner, he naturally knew a little about the Xiantian Golden Pillar.

He also understood that someone who could trigger the Xiantian Golden Pillar was a special presence at Lianyang Academy. As the examiner recording Qin Shaofeng's results, he naturally needed to learn some basic information about him.

And from the examiner, Qin Shaofeng learned a little about the so-called Xiantian Golden Pillar.

Only then did Qin Shaofeng realize just how big a commotion he'd caused.

After Qin Shaofeng came out, the instructors in the distance didn't rush over to ask him to become their disciple.

Someone who could trigger the Xiantian Golden Pillar was a special presence at Lianyang Academy. They weren't qualified to take someone like that as an apprentice.

But that only made the instructors sigh with regret all over again.

Ah, another promising young talent they couldn't take as a disciple!

What a pity!

Meanwhile, over where Lin Zhihao and the others stood, they too were stunned.

A newcomer in this year's intake had actually triggered the Xiantian Golden Pillar?

Lin Zhihao and the other two exchanged glances, their expressions turning grave.

As members of the three major factions, they naturally knew what this meant.

But that was exactly why the appearance of the Xiantian Golden Pillar meant that someone's spot in that place might be lost.

The interests of certain people and certain factions were about to be affected!

But then again!

If they could recruit this person into their own faction, they could secure their faction's interests in that place completely.

If they succeeded, they'd earn great merit!

Lin Zhihao and Wu Lang immediately began turning the matter over in their minds. A moment later, they exchanged a glance and left at the same time.

With such a major event unfolding, their first priority was to notify the important figures in their respective factions.

As for the woman from Nine Phoenix Garden, her expression had also turned grave.

The other person wasn't a woman, but he had triggered the Xiantian Golden Pillar. If they mishandled this, it could affect Nine Phoenix Garden's interests too.

In particular, the Garden Master's junior sister needed one of the spots in that place as well.

There were already very few spots available there. Now two more people had become eligible to enter, which would be a serious problem. The impact was too great.

After all, entry to that place couldn't be secured through status alone.

"No, I need to notify the Garden Masters right away. If we don't prepare in advance, Nine Phoenix Garden will be at a disadvantage!"

After murmuring that, the woman turned to leave.

But the next moment, her eyes went wide!

Boom!

Another tremor shook the air. A flash of golden light appeared in the direction of Lianyang Academy's south gate, and another golden pillar shot up!

"How could this be? Someone else has triggered a Xiantian Golden Pillar?"

The woman cried out, her face filled with disbelief.

On the same day, less than fifteen minutes apart, another person had triggered a Xiantian Golden Pillar.

What on earth was going on?

It took the woman quite a while to recover. Then her expression changed, and she immediately vanished from sight.

Another one!

Now there were three spots! This had become a major affair!