A Surviving Remnant of the Ye Lineage

The final trial was a battle royale.

Tens of thousands of people were divided into dozens of groups, with a thousand in each group.

Each group would undergo the trial inside a small secret realm.

Only the last fifty remaining would pass.

Only a holy land could possess so many small secret realms.

Ordinary sects did not even have a single secret realm.

Everyone marveled at this.

But when they thought of how only fifty people from each group would advance, the fate of the other nine hundred and more went without saying.

This was truly too cruel.

Many of the disciples taking the trial began to panic.

The first two trials had already brought them within a hair's breadth of death, and they had barely managed to make it through.

Yet they had never expected the final trial to be even more brutal.

Out of over a thousand people, only fifty would survive.

This trial was a gigantic meat grinder!

Many began to consider retreating and wanted to leave.

But when they thought of how hard they had fought to reach the final trial, giving up just like this would be far too much of a shame.

More importantly, some were rogue cultivators without cultivation resources. If they missed this opportunity, they might spend the rest of their lives wallowing in the mud, and that was not what they wanted.

Others were disciples of small lineages or small sects, each carrying the hopes of their clansmen and sects. No matter what, they had to fight for a chance.

There were also scions of great lineages, but they thought highly of themselves. If they shrank back even before this bunch of mud-legged peasants, would they not become everyone's laughingstock?

Such were the myriad faces of life. Everyone carried something on their shoulders, driving them toward that enormous meat grinder.

Only a small minority truly feared death enough to withdraw.

Soon, the secret realms opened, and countless people rushed inside, yearning for the holy land and looking forward to their futures.

"The final step. They won't lose!"

Ye Tian's eyes blazed as he followed the crowd into a secret realm.

Inside the secret realms, the moment everyone entered, they split into smaller groups and began slaughtering one another.

At once, the entire secret realm filled with battle cries, screams, and the sounds of flesh and blood splattering.

Within the forbidden grounds in the holy land's rear mountains, Elder Wan found it somewhat unbearable.

"Little brother, we're recruiting disciples. Why make it so bloody?"

Tian Yuanzi glanced at Elder Wan, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. "Big brother, cultivation has always been this way. Even geniuses must seek that slender thread of survival amid certain death!"

Elder Wan nodded at his words, though his expression looked rather grim.

For some reason, he kept feeling that something was off about Tian Yuanzi today.

Moreover, the entire Heavenly Origin Holy Land seemed abnormal.

Compared with the sea of people outside, the entire holy land seemed far too quiet.

Most importantly, only a single outer sect elder was presiding over this trial.

This was very wrong!

At that thought, a trace of wariness inevitably arose in his heart.

Yet Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged, without a single ripple in his deep eyes.

After investigating what was happening in the secret realms, he had already known that the Heavenly Origin Holy Land was collecting the flesh and blood of these disciples taking the trial.

Coupled with the bloody smell he had noticed earlier, it was not difficult to guess that the Heavenly Origin Holy Land was practicing some demonic art.

Still, he was not worried. They were merely clay chickens and pottery dogs, incapable of stirring up much of a storm.

Now, he only had to wait for them to reveal their true colors.

In the blink of an eye, half a day passed.

The trial also drew to a close.

Only fifty people now remained in each secret realm.

All the disciples who passed were teleported back to the outer sect plaza, excited smiles spreading across their faces.

Ye Tian was no exception.

After enduring trial after trial, he had stood until the very end.

Ten figures with astonishing presences appeared on the raised platform.

Each figure was shrouded in mysterious light, incomparably enigmatic.

"The ten people on the platform are the inner sect elders of our Heavenly Origin Holy Land!"

"Next, the inner sect elders will select some of the disciples among you who performed outstandingly!"

The outer sect elder presiding over the trial introduced them.

Everyone was deeply shaken by his words.

The inner sect elders of the Heavenly Origin Holy Land were all mighty King Realm cultivators.

Never before had ten inner sect elders appeared together to select disciples.

The hearts of those who had taken the trial pounded wildly as they stared fixedly at the ten figures on the platform.

They did not even dare blink, afraid that a single blink would cost them this heaven-sent opportunity.

Ye Tian, too, was filled with longing.

Those were mighty King Realm cultivators. If he truly was chosen, he would ascend to heaven in a single step.

Taking revenge would be no trouble at all.

Under everyone's burning gazes, the ten figures on the platform began selecting disciples.

Before long, over a dozen people had been chosen.

Ye Tian was so nervous that his heart skipped a beat.

But just then, a resounding voice rang out.

"Ye Tian, are you willing to become my disciple?"

At that instant, Ye Tian felt as though an electric current had passed through him, leaving his whole body tingling.

Then, overjoyed, he hurriedly knelt and bowed in gratitude. "This disciple is willing!"

"Very good. Come over here!"

Hearing this, Ye Tian hurriedly flew toward that figure.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably with excitement.

Yet just as he was about to reach the figure, the disciple selection ended, and the ten figures dispelled their mysterious light, revealing their true forms.

Looking at the master he had just bowed to in gratitude, Ye Tian stopped in a daze.

He hung in the air, his eyes vacant.

What had he seen?

He had seen that his master, an elder of the Heavenly Origin Holy Land, looked exactly like the person who had slaughtered his parents and everyone in his village that day.

He would never forget it, even in death.

That day, rain had poured down. The person before him had struck with a single palm, and in an instant, the entire village had been slaughtered.

Only he had escaped that calamity by hiding in the mountains.

He had witnessed everything with his own eyes, and that person's appearance had long since been carved deep into his mind.

There was no way he could be mistaken.

Unable to believe what he was seeing, he gradually grew crazed and shook his head frantically. "Impossible, impossible!"

"Why? Why..."

"Ah..."

At that moment, he felt as though someone had seized his heart in a crushing grip, leaving him in such agony that he wished he were dead.

Everyone watched, baffled.

The inner sect elder was also rather bewildered. "Disciple, what's wrong?"

At those words, Ye Tian abruptly stopped shaking his head. Bone-deep hatred appeared on his face, and a surge of killing intent shot into the sky. "You old bastard! You're the one who killed my whole family and everyone in my village that day!"

He ground his teeth, his voice sounding as though it had been squeezed from his throat.

His eyes were bloodshot, looking exceptionally terrifying.

The inner sect elder was bewildered, anger appearing on his face as well. "Boy, what do you mean by this?"

He vaguely knew that Ye Tian had an expert backing him, so he forcibly restrained the urge to strike.

Ye Tian stared fixedly at him, veins bulging on his face. "A year and a half ago. Yellow Ox Town. Ye Lineage Village!"

As those words fell, he lowered his head in thought for a moment, but an instant later, he raised it again, his eyes widening.

"You... you're from Ye Lineage Village?"

"Ye... Ye!"

Realization dawned on him. "You're a surviving remnant of the Ye Lineage!"