Modern World's Martial Dao Human Immortal

Chapter 288 Examination

"So poor."

Alkaid and Xu Nianhua spent several days clearing the bodies of the Black Dragon Thieves from the Flying Boat and tallying all the spoils of war.

However, even after effectively raiding the Black Dragon Thieves' lair, the total Pure Yang Great Pills they obtained were barely over ten thousand, and counting those assets that still needed to be sold, it barely reached thirty thousand.

For a power that possessed a Deep Blue Golden Core and several Blazing White Golden Cores, this was ridiculously pitiful.

But on second thought, it made sense.

Many bandits were aware of their precarious situation; they had today but no tomorrow.

As soon as they got resources, they used them up immediately.

Whether for indulgence or for exchanging into resources to strengthen themselves, why would they store or hide them?

"This Doomsday Ark is a completely unexpected gain; under normal circumstances, these bandits would never possess such a treasure... And once you disregard this Flying Boat, the final profit from annihilating the Black Dragon Thieves..."

Alkaid did some quick calculations and then shook his head continuously, "I finally understand why those of the Hollow Void Realm show little interest in 'suppressing bandits', unless the reward offered is very high. Otherwise, delving into the Sea of Turmoil to eliminate bandits barely yields any cost-effectiveness in terms of profit."

After completing the inventory of all materials, Alkaid wasted no more time.

The two of them set off once again on their journey.

...

The rest of the journey turned out to be somewhat smoother.

Not that the Sea of Turmoil had suddenly become peaceful, but there was no one bold enough to target a cultivator with a Blazing White Golden Core.

Under such circumstances, the two moved swiftly and, two months later, finally crossed the Sea of Turmoil to the opposite continent.

The continent on the other side stretched for millions of miles alongside the Sea of Turmoil and was under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Dao Sect. The cities built on this land were managed by the Sect and were supervised by the disciples who were responsible for local taxation and resource extraction.

Alkaid and Xu Nianhua intentionally avoided areas crowded with people and rapidly approached the Heavenly Dao Sect's main gates.

As such, it took another month before they safely arrived at the headquarters of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

When they were still tens of thousands of miles from the Heavenly Dao Sect headquarters, Alkaid and Xu Nianhua could already see a series of peaks floating above the horizon and suspended in the firmament.

The peaks were interconnected, forming a grand formation encompassing thousands of miles, with countless rays of immortal light and treasures emanating from the mountains.

Some peaks had rays of immortal light shooting straight into the sky, illuminating the surrounding tens of thousands of miles.

Anyone who saw this scene would genuinely marvel at the blessed land of immortals.

"The Ten Great Immortal Paths, the Heavenly Dao Sect."

Alkaid sighed deeply.

This grand spectacle far surpassed the Cloudsoar Sword Sect's Nine Heavens Sect by more than just one level.

"True Person, what shall we do next..."

"The assessment doesn't start until three months from now; we'll stay in the city outside the Heavenly Dao Sect in the meantime and sell off some things that should be sold."

Alkaid said.

As for claiming the bounty...

Alkaid felt that there was no rush until he gained the status of a true disciple within the Heavenly Dao Sect.

With a bounty involving three to four hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, who knew what complications Dashang might create.

"Alright."

Xu Nianhua agreed.

The two quickly arrived at the mega-city cluster outside the Heavenly Dao Sect.

This city could indeed be described as a super mega-city cluster.

The vastness of its area spanned tens of thousands of miles.

Within those miles, everything was densely packed with courtyards, pavilions, and palaces.

Whether mountains, forests, plains, lakes, rivers, without exception.

Moreover, there were commercial streets woven between these courtyards, pavilions, and palaces, selling all kinds of cultivation materials.

Both on the ground and above in the sky, numerous cultivators followed various flying paths, bustling and unceasing.

At first glance, it might seem chaotic, but on closer inspection, each had its own role.

Cultivators of different cultivation levels instinctively flew at different altitudes.

On one hand, the Heavenly Dao Sect had regulations.

On the other hand...

If low-level cultivators foolishly flew side by side with high-level cultivators and were perceived as a provocation, they could be instantly swatted to death.

For the sake of their own lives, low-level cultivators strictly adhered to these rules.

In a few days, the two managed to dispose of the goods worth over twenty thousand Pure Yang Great Pills.

After preparing enough Elixirs, they were ready for the Heavenly Dao Sect's assessment.

In this process, Alkaid was fairly composed, but Xu Nianhua, who intended to apply for the Outer Sect disciple position, was extremely nervous.

...

Time passed.

Compared to the Sea of Turmoil, the entrance to the Heavenly Dao Sect was undoubtedly much more orderly.

Although there were still instances of high-rank cultivators killing on the spot,

But...

It wasn't indiscriminate killing.

Furthermore, whenever a high-rank cultivator killed someone in the city, for whatever reason, a fine was imposed.

The fines usually started at a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills.

The bigger the commotion caused, the higher the fine.

So much so that many low-level cultivators could even preserve their lives by using the highly disruptive method of "self-detonation."

In such cases, high-rank cultivators felt that the lives of many low-level cultivators simply weren't worth a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, so for minor offenses, instead of acting against low-level cultivators, they refrained from killing, effectively reducing the occurrences of slaughter in this super mega-city cluster.

Their lives were so undervalued that it ironically became a means of survival for the low-level cultivators, which was quite amusing.

In this relatively "safe" atmosphere, Alkaid and Xu Nianhua spent three uneventful months.

…

That day, in the supercity complex below, tens of thousands of sword lights soared into the sky, heading straight for a mountain peak of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

The mountain was organized into three levels.

The upper level was for the Inner Sect Disciple examination.

The middle level for Outer Sect disciples.

And the lower level for the menial disciple examination.

Alkaid and Xu Nianhua were also within the range of those taking flight.

When they reached the middle level of the mountain, Alkaid gave Xu Nianhua an encouraging look before he continued upward to the upper level of the mountain.

By that time, hundreds of people had already arrived at the mountain peak.

And among these hundreds...

Without exception, each one was an expert with a Sunburst Golden Core and each looked very young, exuding a vigorous vitality.

Alkaid's arrival was not particularly early.

Less than half an hour after he arrived at the site, more than a dozen streaks of light broke through the sky.

The person in the lead was surprisingly a Hollow Void powerhouse.

However, this Hollow Void True Monarch was obviously in charge of overseeing the entrance examination and did not descend to the upper level of the mountain, instead exerting the aura of a Hollow Void realm cultivator as a form of deterrence.

Under this deterrence, the noisy, chattering mountain peak quickly quieted down.

At this time, a middle-aged man with a Blazing White Golden Core came forward and said in a deep voice, "Alright, it's once again time for our Heavenly Dao Sect's quinquennial Inner Sect Disciple recruitment. I am Xiang Yunlong, a Senior Executive, and I will be presiding over this batch of Inner Sect Disciple examinations!"

Upon seeing the middle-aged man make an appearance, everyone in the area refocused their attention.

"The Heavenly Dao Sect has always been open to all rivers, teaching without discrimination. Anyone under a hundred years of age who has accomplished the Sunburst Golden Core may come to our Heavenly Dao Sect for examination. Our sect adheres to the principles of fairness and impartiality, and as long as one's cultivation is verified as genuine, the Heavenly Dao Sect will certainly nurture them with top-notch cultivation techniques, Supreme Divine Powers, and personal transmission from Hollow Void masters. We in the Heavenly Dao Sect are never stingy..."

Xiang Yunlong rambled on with several minutes of nonsense before getting to the point: "To prevent anyone from not understanding the seriousness, and considering that each examination requires the use of a great deal of manpower and resources, the examination fee for the Inner Sect is ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills per person!"

With a wave of his hand, a dozen cultivators at Sunburst Golden Core Level acting as stewards immediately began collecting the fees.

Alkaid counted the participants and saw there were four hundred and sixty people taking the examination, which meant...

That was an income of four million six hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills!?

And that...

Was just the beginning!

"In order to select more elites, our Heavenly Dao Sect has established three examinations of varying difficulty. If you believe your talent is extraordinary, you may choose the Genius's Pathway. Those who enter the Genius's Pathway, even if they score slightly lower, can still receive leniency from the Elders, and it's the same with Prodigy's Pathway... However, the Genius's Pathway and Prodigy's Pathway are set up more meticulously by the Elders, requiring an additional payment of twenty thousand or forty thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, respectively. You may choose as you see fit," Xiang Yunlong spoke again.

Upon hearing this, Alkaid couldn't help but feel somewhat speechless.

He had heard the rumors on his way here that the Heavenly Dao Sect recruited disciples every five years with an examination fee as high as ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, suspecting that they were covertly selling disciple spots.

Turns out...

The rumors were too modest.

Where was this a covert sale?

It was plainly an open sale!

No sooner had Xiang Yunlong finished speaking than five people stepped forward, paid the fees, and approached the Prodigy's Pathway.

With Alkaid's nearly True Spirit level Divine Sense, he could see that two of the five people were clearly older than normal.

Another two had clearly relied on Elixirs to force their way to the Sunburst Golden Core realm.

And one person didn't seem to be at the Sunburst Golden Core level at all, relying on some special Elixirs to temporarily boost their strength to that of the Sunburst Golden Core.

This was something that Alkaid had noticed, and Xiang Yunlong had noticed it too.

He seemed to want to refuse...

No!

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It wasn't a refusal!

There needed to be an extra payment!

The applicant was aware of what was required and immediately took out a Storage Treasure. After Xiang Yunlong had a glance at it with his Divine Sense, he nodded in satisfaction, allowing the individual to enter the almost "exempt" Prodigy's Pathway.

The entire process was virtually out in the open, with no attempt at concealing it at all.

As for the Hollow Void realm powerhouse sitting in the Void maintaining order and ensuring the fairness of the sect's examination...

At this time, it was as if he had turned blind, completely unaware of the transaction unfolding right under his eyelids.

"Is there no one else who wishes to take part in the Prodigy's examination? Are you lacking confidence? Our sect's Inner Sect Disciples have grown numerous, and we've been ordered to increase the difficulty of this batch's examination, so those who believe they're geniuses or prodigies, seize this opportunity. For true talents, our Heavenly Dao Sect will naturally provide adequate favor," Xiang Yunlong urged.

Out of the four hundred and sixty participants, only five bought the "exempt" spots, and sixteen went for "reduced difficulty." This modest additional income made him feel somewhat dissatisfied.

However...

The rest either had confidence in their own strength or really couldn't come up with twenty thousand Pure Yang Great Pills; no one else came forward to apply for the Genius's or Prodigy's examinations.

This scene made Xiang Yunlong's expression sour.

"Tsk, it cost me a hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills just to snag this task of hosting the Inner Sect Disciple recruitment from Government Peak, only to end up dealing with a bunch of paupers. They have no resources and yet want to join the Heavenly Dao Sect? Do they take our sect for a garbage dump? Later on, I'll have the Elders turn the difficulty up to the max, to examine you to death," he muttered under his breath.

Despite his irritation, the disciple examination had to continue.

Before long, he took to the air and conversed with the Hollow Void Elder overseeing the situation.

After listening, the Elder glanced at the more than four hundred exam participants below and seemed dissatisfied as well.

Following a snort, ten Formations rose on the platform atop the mountain.

Within each Formation, a Demon Beast appeared.

And the aura emanating from these creatures...

Was clearly comparable to the Human Race's Deep Blue Golden Core.