"Class."
"You can forget everything else today, but there's one thing you must carve into your brains."
"Do not choose the Interception Sect."
"Do not choose the Interception Sect."
"Do not choose the Interception Sect!"
Class Seven, senior year, Jiangcheng No. 1 Transcendent High School.
Their homeroom teacher, Chen Qingshan, stood before the podium and repeated it three times in a row.
On the last repetition, he even raised his hand and rapped hard twice on the blackboard behind him.
Thud! Thud!
A ripple of quiet laughter swept through the previously subdued classroom.
"Old Chen's really scared we'll do something stupid."
"No kidding. A few years ago, some stubborn guy at the school next door insisted he could defy heaven and change his fate. He joined the Interception Sect."
"And then?"
"And then the school held his memorial service. Didn't you go?"
"..."
At the back of the classroom, Lin Yuan slowly raised his head.
His gaze was somewhat dazed as he took in surroundings that felt both familiar and strange.
He had transmigrated.
Just five minutes ago, he had been an ordinary corporate drone who stayed up reading novels until three in the morning.
When he opened his eyes again, he was sitting here.
The good news was that supernatural powers existed in this world.
The bad news was that today was the day senior-year students entered the [Primordial Investiture of the Gods Secret Realm].
Once inside, they alone bore responsibility for their lives.
Lin Yuan rubbed his brow.
This opening...
Is a little too exciting.
His predecessor's memories kept flooding in.
Thirty years ago, vast numbers of mysterious teleportation stones had appeared simultaneously across Blue Star.
That was also the day humanity first discovered that the mythical worlds of legend truly existed.
Every young person who reached eighteen received one chance to enter the Primordial Secret Realm.
As long as they came back alive.
Their cultivation, cultivation arts, divine abilities, and magical treasures could all be brought back to reality.
Some entered as ordinary high school students.
A year later, they returned as Immortals who could soar through the sky on flying swords.
Even the nation-protecting powerhouse who now guarded the Dragon Kingdom's southeastern defensive line had once been a student who emerged from the Primordial Secret Realm.
For Blue Star's young people, this opportunity could all but determine the course of their entire lives.
And the most important thing to do before entering the secret realm was-
Choose a faction.
Chen Qingshan surveyed the class, making sure everyone was listening closely before continuing.
"After thirty years of exploration, we've confirmed three available factions in the Primordial Investiture of the Gods Secret Realm."
"The Human Sect."
"The Elucidation Sect."
"The Interception Sect."
"The Human Sect has the fewest disciples and practices tranquility and nonaction. Choosing it gives you the highest survival rate, but it also makes obtaining advanced cultivation arts and truly great opportunities the hardest."
"The Elucidation Sect is different."
At this point, Chen Qingshan's tone grew noticeably more solemn.
"The Elucidation Sect is one of the Great Teachings of the Saints. Its Twelve Golden Immortals are renowned throughout the Primordial World, and it is also one of the eventual victors of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity."
"The danger is indeed considerable."
"The average death rate across previous cohorts approaches forty percent."
"But if you survive, your gains are often far greater than those from the Human Sect."
The atmosphere in the classroom grew noticeably livelier.
A boy in the front row grinned and said, "Mr. Chen, I've already decided. I'm choosing the Elucidation Sect."
His name was Chen Yue.
Class Seven's class president.
He was also widely recognized as the top genius of this year's graduating class at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.
"I'm choosing the Elucidation Sect too."
"Take a gamble, and your bicycle could turn into a motorbike."
"If I'm entering the Primordial World and still thinking only about staying alive, I might as well stay on Blue Star delivering takeout."
"Exactly."
Young people had hot blood running through their veins.
Of the forty-seven students in the class, at least thirty-odd had already settled on the Elucidation Sect.
Chen Qingshan wasn't surprised.
The Elucidation Sect had never been his real concern.
It was the choice that was practically synonymous with death.
"As for the Interception Sect."
The classroom gradually quieted.
Chen Qingshan's expression turned serious as well.
"I know plenty of you enjoy reading material about the Primordial World."
"Ten thousand immortals coming to pay homage."
"Teaching all without distinction."
"Countless disciples under its banner."
"It certainly sounds impressive."
"But let me remind you again."
"This is the Investiture Secret Realm!"
At those words, the students who had still been restless immediately settled down considerably.
Chen Qingshan said coldly:
"In the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, the Interception Sect lost."
"The Execution of Immortals Formation fell."
"The Myriad Immortals Formation fell."
"Vast numbers of disciples died and had their names entered on the investiture roll. Many of the survivors were taken away by other great teachings."
"Over the past thirty years, a total of four thousand three hundred and seventy-two students in the Dragon Kingdom have chosen the Interception Sect."
Chen Qingshan paused.
"The number who ultimately returned safely-"
"Zero."
The classroom fell utterly silent.
Even though they already knew that number, hearing it again still made their scalps prickle.
A one hundred percent death rate.
That could no longer be called taking a risk.
It was simply throwing your life away.
A girl couldn't help asking quietly, "What if someone's really good at lying low? They don't participate in anything and just hide until the Investiture of the Gods ends?"
Chen Qingshan glanced at her.
"Someone tried."
"When the Interception Sect's fortune collapsed completely, the ties to his faction brought death upon that student as well, even though he had already spent tens of thousands of years hiding in the Overseas Realm."
The girl shrank back.
"Not choosing it."
"Not even if you beat me to death."
Another burst of laughter filled the classroom.
Lin Yuan, however, fell silent.
Of course he knew about the Investiture of the Gods.
And he knew far more details than the vast majority of people in this world.
Why had the Interception Sect lost?
Who had died?
And how had they died?
He had at least some recollection of all those things.
Shiji.
The Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island.
The Ten Heavenly Lords.
Zhao Gongming.
The Three Cloud Sisters.
Wen Zhong.
Holy Mother Huo Ling...
One name after another surfaced.
Lin Yuan frowned.
Looking at it that way, the Interception Sect really isn't an option.
No matter how fierce they are early on, they still end up getting wiped out.
I'd be better off joining the Elucidation Sect.
He had just made his decision.
A crisp notification suddenly sounded deep in his mind.
[Ding!] [Host detected preparing to enter the Primordial Investiture of the Gods Secret Realm.] [Fate-Reversal Inheritance activated.]
Lin Yuan froze.
Immediately afterward, an exceedingly simple piece of information appeared in his consciousness.
[Fate-Reversal Inheritance: Change the fate of someone originally destined to die in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, allowing them to truly survive their predestined fatal tribulation, and you will permanently inherit their single strongest ability.]
Lin Yuan stared at those words.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
He suddenly sat bolt upright.
Wait.
Change the fate of someone destined to die?
The stronger the person destined to die, the more I stand to gain, don't I?
The string of names that had just made his scalp prickle surfaced in his mind once more.
Shiji.
The Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island.
The Ten Heavenly Lords.
Zhao Gongming.
The Three Cloud Sisters...
Lin Yuan's breathing gradually quickened.
When others entered the Interception Sect, they saw a death list.
But for him-
Why does it feel like an SSR prize pool?
Especially those at Zhao Gongming's and the Three Cloud Sisters' level.
Every one of them was a top-tier Immortal of the Interception Sect.
If I wrench them out of their predestined fatal tribulations...
What could I inherit?
Abilities related to the Sea-Calming Pearl?
Formation arts?
Daluo Realm combat talent?
The more Lin Yuan thought about it, the more outrageous it seemed.
"Good grief."
"This cheat of yours really is trying to make me jump into a fire pit."
By then, Chen Qingshan had already checked the time from behind the lectern.
"The teleportation array is about to activate."
"Everyone, confirm your faction one last time."
"I'll remind you again: don't act on impulse."
"Especially when it comes to the Interception Sect."
Class monitor Chen Yue was the first to laugh. "Don't worry, sir. What sane person would gamble with their life?"
Someone beside him immediately chimed in.
"Only an idiot would choose the Interception Sect."
"Exactly. Over four thousand predecessors paid with their lives to establish the answer. Anyone who still dares to choose it must have a death wish."
The corner of Lin Yuan's mouth twitched.
Why does it feel like someone's taking a jab at me?
Before long.
The ancient bluestone at the center of the classroom suddenly lit up.
Humm!
Ripples spread through space.
Three faction sigils appeared before every student.
Purple.
Gold.
Blood-red.
"Begin!"
Chen Qingshan gave the command.
Beams of light immediately rose one after another.
Gold was by far the most common.
Over forty beams in all.
They represented the Elucidation Sect.
The few remaining beams were the purple divine light of the Human Sect.
Chen Qingshan carefully scanned the room, and a satisfied smile finally appeared on his face.
Good.
They're all children who listen to advice.
Yet in the very next instant.
Boom!
A blinding beam of blood-red divine light erupted from the back row without warning!
The red glow bathed half the classroom in the color of blood.
The smile froze on Chen Qingshan's face.
Every student in the class turned at once.
Dead silence lasted a full two seconds.
Chen Qingshan's eyes widened abruptly.
"Holy shit!"
"Who the fuck chose the Interception Sect?!"
At the center of the blood-red divine light.
Lin Yuan's figure gradually turned insubstantial.
Before he left, he heard an almost voice-cracking cry of shock from the classmate seated beside him.
"Lin Yuan?!"
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Lin Yuan had no time to answer.
A terrifying spatial force had already swept his consciousness away completely.
He had only one final thought.
I don't know whether I've lost my mind.
But this Interception Sect-
I'm choosing it today, come hell or high water!
Before you continue