Distribution I

The so-called No. 1 Stone House was indeed a simple stone house, but in stark contrast, a series of ornately patterned array pillars were erected around it. These array pillars, rising from the ground and over ten meters high, stood around the house, transforming the surroundings into a magnificent hall as if the roof had been removed. Each golden array pillar shimmered with silver-blue patterns, and tiny, dragon-like creatures constantly coiled and wriggled around them.

A simple wooden chair was placed in front of the stone house, and Du Xinlan sat on it, with some fruit plates and tea floating beside her.

Guo Shan stood beside her, whispering something to her.

One by one, individuals stepped forward, some paying their knowledge crystals, others registering, preparing to go to work.

By the time Lin Hui stepped forward, he was already in the fifty-fourth position.

Du Xinlan seemed to be in a good mood. She chatted with Guo Shan about something, and her expression softened, no longer as cold as before.

At this moment, Lin Hui stepped forward and had just stood still when a soft, gentle female voice sounded in his ear.

"Please select according to the instructions: select left for crystal payment, select right for mining registration."

Two floating, semi-transparent white crystal cubes appeared before him.

The text is displayed on the left and right sides respectively.

Lin Hui glanced at Du Xinlan, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and spoke.

"How can I join the Thunder King Sect? I have long admired your sect."

"Join? Sure, first we'll assess your strength, then you'll hand over a wisp of your soul core, and then we'll wait for further instructions," Du Xinlan said casually. "If you're willing to hand over a wisp of your soul, stand in the empty space on the right, next to the second array pillar."

Lin Hui glanced around and saw that there were already more than ten people standing there. There were both men and women, and half of them were non-human races.

He nodded and walked over to wait quietly.

He had anticipated handing over a wisp of his soul core. These sects and forces were not charities; they wouldn't just let anyone in without restraint.

Necessary control measures will inevitably be implemented, and he has correspondingly expended his Existence Force to prepare countermeasures.

Next, we'll see if the methods work.

If all else fails, we'll have to run away, or at worst, resort to summoning, but that's a last resort. In this enclosed space, things might get out of hand and we'd be in trouble ourselves.

"Brother, you're quite young. With such talent, you're willing to surrender your soul and be controlled by others? We have no future."

An old man standing to the side glanced at Lin Hui, seemingly possessing some special ability. Sensing Lin Hui's young age, he couldn't help but transmit his voice, "To be honest, I only hid here because I had no other choice. I was being hunted by enemies outside. Here, although I've surrendered my soul, at least my safety is guaranteed. It's much better than constantly toiling outside and racking my brains for the Crystallization of Knowledge, isn't it?" Lin Hui sized up the old man.

Wearing an apricot-yellow robe with two black and white yin-yang symbols on it, one on the left and one on the right, the person had a kind face and a third golden eye on their forehead, which was now scanning around, giving off an extremely unstable feeling.

"Alas... indeed, it's all out of necessity. Who would willingly make such a decision?" the old man sighed. "If nothing unexpected happens, we should all be selected for the Thunder King Sect. Why don't we get to know each other now, stick together, and look out for each other after we enter?"

"That would be wonderful. May I join in as well?"

A tall woman with an unnaturally pale complexion chimed in.

"I am Xiling Ghost, a member of the Blood Demon clan. I have been cultivating for three thousand years."

"Count you in too." The old man nodded. Among this group, he clearly valued Lin Hui the most. His attitude had completely changed before and after.

"My name is Tao Zheng, a pure human, who has cultivated for 46,000 years. Now... sigh." He paused. "I thought that after ascension, it would be a completely new world, but I never expected that, apart from getting rid of the so-called insect-man title, everything else is... indescribable."

"Me too. Everyone says that ascending to the upper realm and breaking through the world's barrier grants eternal life, but the truth is..." The Xiling Ghost sighed as well. "You all ascended here?" Before Lin Hui could speak, someone else chimed in.

A blonde Beautiful Women, seemingly with two watermelons hanging from her chest, approached gracefully. A hint of doubt flashed in her blood-red eyes.

"I am Dinisha, the progenitor of the vampires. Am I the only one who emerged from a spatial rift?"

"Spatial turbulence? You entered the Wind Disaster Maze by accident, didn't you?" The old man Tao Zheng, clearly knowledgeable, guessed. "The only way to get here from the outside is through the Wind Disaster Maze, which runs through all the major levels. This disaster is caused by spiraling turbulence within the Wind Disaster. The fact that you managed to emerge safely from the Maze suggests you're quite powerful."

"Not bad. I'm invincible in my home world, but I was careless for a moment and ended up being tricked into the storm." The blonde Beautiful Women said calmly, her words revealing an unspeakable arrogance.

At this moment, more than a dozen more lone travelers arrived, and like them, they spontaneously and instinctively began to band together, forming small groups of varying sizes.

"And what about you, young friend?" Tao Zheng asked, turning his gaze to Lin Hui.

"My name is Lin Chengdao... I also ascended to immortality, but I inadvertently offended a powerful force and was forced to flee here." Lin Hui briefly described his origins. "I have now been cultivating for over nine hundred years."

He deliberately mentioned his advanced age. This didn't seem out of place, since reaching a materialized energy level in just over two hundred years was indeed a bit too much.

Putting everything else aside, even if it were nine hundred years, these words caused a slight flicker in the eyes of the group.

They all appeared somewhat awe-inspiring.

After everyone finished introducing themselves, Tao Zheng began to speak with a smile.

"Now that the four of us are gathered together by fate, why don't we all share our general understanding of the Thunder King Sect, summarize the information, and prepare for our entry?"

"Brother Tao, are you so confident that you can definitely master it?" Xiling Ghost asked in return.

"To be honest, as long as you don't mind having your soul taken and join one of the two major forces, the biggest hurdle is actually strength. You must pass the Cloud Thunder Sword Puppet's test. And the Cloud Thunder Sword Puppet is actually a special puppet that drives colorful sword shadows. I'm sure you've all had dealings with it before," Tao Zheng replied gently. Upon hearing this, the group recalled the mysterious man who had attacked them without saying a word when they first arrived. Several of them had been injured by him to varying degrees.

"That makes things simpler." Lin Hui nodded.

"What do you mean 'easy'? It depends on the requirements. If we're asked to defeat that Cloud Thunder Sword Puppet... that's far too difficult," Xiling Ghost frowned. "Is it really that hard?" Dinisha asked casually. "I encountered that thing attacking me as soon as I came out, and I killed it without a second thought. It's just a bit annoying that this thing keeps resurrecting, and that's how I was guided here."

Tao Zheng and Xiling Ghost both fell silent. Compared to each other, they were far inferior. Both of them encountered the Cloud Thunder Sword Puppet, but the puppet killed them with ease, while they were chased and killed in a very sorry state, fleeing everywhere.

Although they are both at the same level of materialized energy, the difference in their strength is truly quite significant.

Lin Hui remained silent as well.

To put it simply, energy level is like a hierarchy or a group; they are all on the same level, but it doesn't mean they have the same strength.

Just like how lions and tigers are all flesh and blood, and mice and squirrels are all flesh and blood creatures, can you say they are the same in strength?

Energy level refers to the level of energy they possess, but there are huge differences in the authenticity, strength of secret techniques, combat experience, and main cultivation methods.

"Looks like you're both pretty weak." Dinisha made no attempt to hide her contempt. She covered her mouth with her veiled hand and yawned. She simply stopped talking, ignoring the two men's unpleasant expressions, and closed her eyes to rest.

"Ignore her. Let's continue." Tao Zheng composed himself and continued, "Let me start by sharing what I know, as a starting point. The Thunder King Sect was actually founded 360,000 years ago by a supreme expert who called himself the Thunder King. His strength level was likely at least beyond our comprehension. I suspect he may have reached the Thought Endures Eternally, which is generally considered to be above the level of spacetime distortion, though this distinction varies from place to place. After arriving here, the Thunder King discovered an extremely large and mysterious corpse, and thus began a continuous mining operation that lasted for hundreds of thousands of years." "Wait, you mean the Primordial Corpse? What kind of corpse is that that has been mined for so many years without disappearing?" Xiling Ghost asked. "I don't know either, but it's rumored that the corpse automatically increases the amount mined away, forever maintaining a stable and fixed state," Tao Zheng explained.

"Isn't this just like a mineral deposit?" Xiling Ghost asked in surprise.

"Yes." Tao Zheng was about to say something when suddenly the other array pillar emitted a soft sound, as if to remind him.

Then, the pillar slowly faded and disappeared.

"Everyone who wants to join the sect, come forward." The envoy, Du Xinlan, stood up, and a blue halo slowly appeared on the ground in front of her. Within the halo, countless white firefly-like points of light rose.

Lin Hui and the others entered the light circle one by one in their respective teams.

Suddenly, a flash of light and shadow appeared.

In a flash, he found himself in a huge, white, disc-shaped space.

Ahead floated a familiar figure wearing a silver mask and holding a folding fan.

hiss.

Colorful light gathered, and the folding fan in the man's hand slowly unfolded.

"Cloud Thunder Sword Puppet?" Lin Hui recognized it instantly.

"Demonstrate your combat capabilities." The female voice rang in my ears again.

Lin Hui pondered for a moment, then slowly drew his sword.

More than ten minutes later, the Cloud Thunder Sword Puppet in front of him exploded completely, with a flash of light.

Lin Hui disappeared from the spot again.

When things became clear again, they were on a huge, white jade disc-shaped Floating Island.

A fierce wind raged all around, and in the distance, one could see other white jade Floating Island, all floating high in the air.

Lin Hui glanced around; the pavilions on the Floating Island were exquisite and magnificent, with densely carved patterns in many details. Besides him, there were more than thirty other people standing there, including Tao Zheng, Xiling Ghost, and Dinisha, all gathered together. Moreover, it seemed that the two of them treated Dinisha with completely different enthusiasm than before.

It's very likely that Dinisha's speed was too fast during the actual combat, fully demonstrating her strength.

Lin Hui walked closer.

He deliberately dragged out the time in order to conceal the special effects of his sword technique.

"Sure enough, I told you there would be no problem." Tao Zheng was the first to burst into laughter upon seeing Lin Hui.

"It seems things are going well for you all," Lin Hui smiled.

"It's alright. After passing the basic test, it's time for assignments. The Thunder King Sect has three departments and eighteen halls: the Heart Gathering Division, the Cloud Thunder Division, and the Upper Splendor Division. The three departments are responsible for the eighteen halls. The Heart Gathering Division is in charge of logistics, the Cloud Thunder Division is in charge of offense and defense, Upper Splendor Division is in charge of personnel. We are mainly assigned by the Upper Splendor Division," Tao Zheng explained.