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Ink Continent.

Chess Player City.

Chess Player City is the capital of the Ink Kingdom. Located in a remote and desolate area, it shouldn't logically be a capital, but who could argue when the headquarters of the Black and White Divine Palace is located here?

In the world today, immortals rule over mortals.

Countries are merely tools for immortals to govern the common folk. Because of this, the nations of the Nine Continents have no real armies, only bailiffs. If a war were to break out, it would be the immortals who step forward to resolve it.

For a mortal, obtaining the qualifications to cultivate immortality is the greatest opportunity in life.

Every spring, the Black and White Divine Palace holds a disciple selection in Chess Player City. They only accept between one hundred and five hundred disciples each year, yet the number of participants reaches into the hundreds of thousands.

It was the time of the new year's enrollment. When Ning Ye arrived, he saw Chess Player City packed with people, shoulder to shoulder. Everywhere were young people who had come to participate in the selection, their eyes filled with hope. After all, as long as one could enter the Black and White Divine Palace, they could soar to the heavens in a single bound.

Because so many people had arrived, all the inns in Chess Player City were full. Fortunately, many locals had opened up their homes; the mortals of Chess Player City relied on this to make a small fortune every year.

As a former cultivator, Ning Ye wasn't exactly short on money, but his ugly face, covered in pits and mottled red and white spots, truly frightened quite a few people. It took offering thirty percent more than the asking price for Ning Ye to find a relatively quiet private residence.

It had been three months since he parted ways with Qing Lin and Xin Xiaoye in the Apricot Forest.

He wondered how his senior brother and senior sister were doing now, and if they had managed to enter the Haotian Sect or the Taiyin Sect.

Looking at his ugly reflection in the mirror, Ning Ye sighed. He lay on the bed, his mind stirring. While his body remained in the room, his consciousness appeared before a vast, grand hall.

This was the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

He had obtained this object by accident back in the day. At that time, he was just an ordinary intelligence analyst. During a field trip, he saw something descend from beyond the sky. Thinking it was a meteorite, he chased after it, only to see a magnificent hall descend from the heavens. He was then brought to this world, and the hall had followed him.

Or perhaps, this was its original home, and after wandering through thousands of worlds, it had returned to its place of origin, bringing an extra person along for the ride.

With his consciousness anchored in the Thousand Mechanism Hall, Ning Ye waved his hand. The profound radiance of the Ancient Kunlun Mirror rose from within the hall, and countless wondrous runes shimmered in the air, refracting a bizarre and surreal scene.

Although his cultivation was gone, the Heaven Asking Art emphasized mystery over technique. What he had lost was his cultivation, not his understanding of the Heaven Asking Art, so Ning Ye could still barely manage to use it.

Of course, without a foundation of cultivation, it was impossible to calculate anything of great importance.

Fortunately, while the future is hard to predict, the past is knowable!

The ideas Ning Ye once had could finally be realized.

Ning Ye activated the Kunlun Mirror, initiating the divination.

Soon, a row of characters appeared on the Kunlun Mirror, detailing the exact method of the Black and White Divine Palace's disciple examination. This was not a core secret, so with the help of the Kunlun Mirror, it was easy to discover.

"So that's how it is?" Looking at the examination method, Ning Ye fell into deep thought.

The selection method of the Black and White Divine Palace was generally normal. At least for Ning Ye, passing wouldn't be a problem—he already possessed sufficient aptitude, and having practiced for three years, even though his cultivation was completely wasted, his experience remained. His body had even grown accustomed to the nourishment of spiritual energy, making it much easier to start over.

The problem was that there was a personal selection round at the very end.

This meant that even if one passed all the tests, the Black and White Divine Palace would still send someone to personally make a selection. Those chosen would have a master, while those not chosen would simply be ordinary outer sect disciples.

This was a serious problem.

Ning Ye knew well that his biggest issue right now was that he was too ugly.

He had destroyed his own appearance, his face covered in sores, and he hadn't even spared his body. Immortals seek the Heavenly Dao and follow the human heart; they pursue beauty in all things. Even their spells are often colorful and magnificent—this is what is meant by "immortal style and dao bones."

If you present an "immortal style and dao bones" look with a face full of pockmarks, it truly damages the image!

If his talent were peerless, it might not matter, but the problem was that Ning Ye's aptitude was only average.

Aptitude is something that can be seen. This meant that even if Ning Ye performed better than anyone else in the selection and took first place, it would only prove his performance was good; his average aptitude would remain average and could not be faked.

In this way, being ugly and having average aptitude made it extremely difficult to gain the favor of an immortal master.

Should he just settle for being an ordinary outer sect disciple and climb his way up step by step?

He could, but Ning Ye could not accept that.

It wasn't about how important having a master was; rather, Ning Ye knew how difficult the path he had to walk in the future would be, destined to be filled with countless hardships and dangers. If he were to shrink back at this first hurdle, what would he do when he encountered even greater trouble later?

Retreating is a habit.

Giving up once can lead to giving up every time.

Thinking of this, a strong fighting spirit rose in Ning Ye's heart.

As his first small goal, this matter must succeed; failure is not an option!

Three days later.

Below Nine Palaces Mountain, the area was packed with Immortal Seekers from all directions.

One hundred thousand people gathered here, a truly spectacular sight.

When the sun was at its zenith, the light suddenly dimmed. The sky turned into black and white, the firmament grew dark, the earth turned pale, and even the scorching sun in the sky lost its brilliance.

An immortal from the Black and White Divine Palace flew out, holding a horsetail whisk. He had a long face and a pair of conspicuous, protruding ears, and he flew through the air while standing on a jade chessboard.

Those familiar with him whispered:

"It's Xifengzi."

"Who is Xifengzi?"

"You don't even know that? Immortal Master Xifengzi is one of the Twelve Heavenly Stars of the Divine Palace, the Master of the White Hall. His status is second only to the Sect Master, the three Elders, and the Hand of the Chess Player Yue Xinchans. He is a powerhouse at the peak of the Immaculate Realm, equal in fame to the Master of the Black Hall."

As the crowd buzzed with discussion, Xifengzi finally spoke.

Without any visible exertion, his voice boomed across the four directions: "The recruitment of disciples this time is very simple. All candidates are to enter the valley ahead and remain there until sunset. The Divine Palace will then make its judgment based on your performance."

With a flick of his whisk, Xifengzi vanished, and the world returned to normal.

Only, a mist-shrouded valley had appeared before everyone.

It's that simple?

Everyone looked at each other, suddenly let out a shout, and charged into the valley together.

Sigh, don't you all know that sometimes the simpler things are, the more complex they actually become? Watching them act so impatient and flustered, Ning Ye was in no hurry, following along leisurely until he was the last one to step into the valley.