At the entrance to the Shaking Light Sacred Land, the crowd was a sea of people, bustling with excitement.
Countless youths had come from every corner of the Eastern Wasteland, hoping to be chosen by the Shaking Light Sacred Land and join its ranks.
Some came from the youths of dozens of kingdoms under Shaking Light's rule; others had luckily inherited the legacies of their predecessors and become rogue cultivators, hoping to join the Shaking Light Sacred Land and advance further.
The Shaking Light Sacred Land selected Immortal Seeds at regular intervals. On the first day alone, hundreds of thousands of youths had gathered. The selection would last seven days, so one could imagine how many people would come.
As long as one joined the Shaking Light Sacred Land, one could become a cultivator who flew through the skies, burrowed through the earth, and lived forever, the envy of countless people.
Amid the crowd stood a youth who seemed to stand out from the crowd. His face looked as though it had been carved from fine jade, his dark eyes were lively, and his skin was as delicate as mutton-fat jade. He possessed an ethereal, refined aura, radiating the vigor and innocence of youth.
He stood tall among the crowd. Faced with the gazes cast his way, he remained perfectly composed, without the slightest trace of awkwardness.
Before long, an elder appeared from among the countless floating mountains of the Shaking Light Sacred Land, accompanied by seven or eight disciples. The elder swept his gaze over the noisy crowd, his expression turning stern as he shouted, "Silence!"
His voice rang out like a great bell, instantly quieting the scene.
Then, he brought out a purple bronze mirror. Treasure Light shimmered from the mirror; it was a Sacred Lord Weapon. This bronze mirror possessed a wondrous ability: it could peer through a person's Sea of Bitterness and was specially used to test aptitude.
The bronze mirror grew with the wind, instantly becoming about thirty meters tall and standing firmly before the mountain gate. It cast down a sheet of clear light as the Shaking Light Elder announced loudly:
"Divide yourselves into a hundred groups and pass through the clear light beneath the bronze mirror in order. If you leave an image in the mirror, you may proceed to the next stage. If you fail, you will be eliminated. No noise during the test!"
Upon hearing this, everyone obediently formed lines and passed beneath the bronze mirror one after another.
Whenever an Immortal Seed with decent aptitude passed through, the bronze mirror reacted. A purple pillar of light would appear above the Immortal Seed's head, while his image clearly emerged upon the mirror's surface.
Soon, it was Lin Yu's turn to enter the bronze mirror's range of detection. The clear light seeped into his Sea of Bitterness in fine strands.
"Buzz!"
The bronze mirror reacted, immediately blazing with light and humming loudly.
The elder was startled at first, then overjoyed. "A special aptitude has been detected!"
He hurriedly flew to Lin Yu's side and brought him onto the high platform. Then he personally examined Lin Yu's Sea of Bitterness with great care.
Within Lin Yu's Sea of Bitterness, a vast and majestic aura surged. Divine power churned like raging waves, while platinum Radiant light bloomed forth, permeated by a sacred and pure aura like brilliance from the heavenly realm.
"Could it be the Radiant Divine Body?" The elder was beside himself with joy, as though a pie had fallen from the sky.
At that moment, how could he care about anyone else? He grabbed Lin Yu and flew straight into the sacred land, leaving behind only one sentence: "Maintain order. My junior brother will come shortly to lead the Immortal Seeds into the sect."
There was no helping it. A divine body was simply too important. If he moved too slowly, someone might catch wind of it and come to poach him. Perhaps the people trying to steal him were already on their way.
If he let a divine body get snatched away because he had been too slow, his master would beat him to death.
The Shaking Light Elder transformed into a Divine Rainbow and sped onward, soon arriving before the palace of the Grand Elder of their lineage.
This Grand Elder was named Zhang Lingxu. He was the senior brother of the current Yaoguang Holy Lord and possessed the profound cultivation of the Immortal Platform Second Heaven. Liang Jing, the elder who had just tested Lin Yu, was his disciple. Liang Jing was also a Half-step Great Power at the Immortal Platform First Heaven.
Though Zhang Lingxu's hair and beard were all white, he was vigorous and full of spirit. The fluctuations of aura within his body resembled a deep and unfathomable ocean.
After hearing Liang Jing's report, he came before Lin Yu, extended a hand, and gently probed Lin Yu's Sea of Bitterness. He sensed it carefully, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
After a moment, he slowly raised his head and said, "The divine power in his Sea of Bitterness does indeed possess the Radiant attribute. Part of the gates of potential within his body has also opened, matching the characteristics of the Radiant Divine Body described in the ancient records."
The Divine Elephant's Prison Technique Lin Yu cultivated inherently possessed the Radiant attribute. Its creator had even created primordial angels, and Lin Yu also had the Demon God Seal concealing his origin. Thus, pretending to possess the Radiant Divine Body put no pressure on Lin Yu at all.
"Excellent! Our lineage is finally going to produce a dragon!" Liang Jing said excitedly upon receiving the Grand Elder's confirmation.
Their lineage had not produced an outstanding disciple in many years. Their finest current successor was only in the middle ranks among the Candidate Holy Sons.
That was precisely why his master had sent him to select new disciples, hoping he might discover some fine talent. He had never expected to pick up a "great treasure" like Lin Yu.
The Grand Elder could not conceal his delight either. The position of Yaoguang Holy Son was currently vacant. With Lin Yu's Radiant Divine Body, in just a few years, the position of Holy Son would likely be his for the taking.
Then he asked Lin Yu kindly, "Good child, what is your name?" Given his age, it was not inappropriate for him to call Lin Yu a child.
Lin Yu answered calmly, "My name is Yang Xuan. Yang as in poplar tree, Xuan as in mystery."
"Yang Xuan is an excellent name. Mystery upon mystery, the gateway to all wonders. It seems you were born destined for cultivation," Liang Jing could not help praising from the side.
Fine. Since you put it that way, I have no objections, Lin Yu thought to himself.
"Are you willing to join our lineage?" the old man asked earnestly, his gaze gentle.
"Of course. I came here to join the Shaking Light Sacred Land and succeed to the position of Holy Lord in the future!" Lin Yu remained calm and unruffled.
He had come to Shaking Light for only two things: compete for Holy Son and succeed as Holy Lord, leading Shaking Light to the pinnacle of life.
Zhang Lingxu looked at Lin Yu's fearless, calf-like boldness and said slowly, "To succeed as Holy Lord, you must at least cultivate to the Immortal Platform Second Heaven. You should first break through to the Dao Palace Secret Realm and become a Candidate Holy Son."
"Is the Dao Palace Secret Realm very strong? While training in the Northern Region, I wiped out several small sects that committed evil. Their strongest members were only at the Dao Palace Secret Realm."
Lin Yu looked utterly indifferent, as though the Dao Palace Secret Realm was nothing special in his eyes.
Zhang Lingxu shook his head slightly. Dao Palace Secret Realm cultivators from those small sects could not be mentioned in the same breath as disciples of a sacred land.
Still, he did not wish to dampen a young man's enthusiasm, so he turned to Liang Jing and said:
"Take Yang Xuan to live in your palace. After he receives his cultivation technique, guide him in his cultivation."
The meaning was obvious: Liang Jing was to keep a close eye on Lin Yu, this great treasure, and make sure he was not lured away by those flashy temptresses outside. He should also take the opportunity to build a closer relationship with Lin Yu.
Then he said to Lin Yu, "If you have any questions regarding cultivation in the future, you may also come to me."
Liang Jing instantly understood his master's meaning. He then led Lin Yu out of the palace and back to his residence.
Before you continue