Legendary Beast Cultivator

Next morning, inside one of the guest halls in the outer pavilion, Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes. He sat upright on the wooden bed, stretched his arms, and quietly exhaled.

He stared toward the window. The outer sect was already becoming lively with the muffled sounds of footsteps, and voices.

Lin Yuan calmly stood up and adjusted his blue robes.

A few moments later, Chen Ming rushed out of his room, nearly tripping over the entrance. "Lin Yuan!"

Lin Yuan turned his head. "Hm?"

"Are you ready?" Chen Ming muttered frantically.

"For what?"

"The examination, you idiot!"

Lin Yuan looked at him blankly. "I just woke up."

"How the hell can you be this calm right now?!" Chen Ming’s face twitched in disbelief.

"Being nervous won’t make the examination any easier." Lin Yuan sneered, nodding his head and thinking. ’I have lived in this fucking trial and error situations nearly thousands of times in my previous life.’

Lian Nichang stepped out into the corridor right behind Chen Ming, tying his hair back. "He’s right."

"I hate how absurdly calm you both are." Chen Ming sighed, scratching his head back.

Nearly half an hour later, the main courtyard of the outer pavilion was packed with people.

There were one hundred unfamiliar disciples who had arrived from various regions of the continent.

Some wore expensive silk robes embroidered with clan emblems; some carried simple, worn travel bags; some held their chins high with confidence; while others were pale and shaking in fear. A few stood together in small circles, murmuring about the upcoming test.

The nine disciples from academy stood slightly apart, observing the gathering crowd.

"There are quite a few strong candidates here," Xiao Yanrui quietly observed the newcomers.

Huo Ren glanced around, raising an eyebrow. "Strong? How can you tell?"

"Some of them are already at the Baby Beast Realm Peak Stage," Xiao Yanrui noted smoothly. "Their aura circulation is steady."

Huo Ren immediately straightened his posture, swallowing hard. "Seriously?"

Chen Ming took a look around. "Looks like Red Talon Hall isn’t in the business of accepting weaklings."

Nearby, two unfamiliar candidates were whispering quietly.

One was a tall young man in dark-blue robes. "My name is Zhao Minghe. I came from the western mountain city."

Beside him stood a young woman with short black hair. "I am Su Yao from eastern azure city."

"I’ve heard rumors that Red Talon Hall’s entrance examinations are bizarre," Zhao Minghe looked up toward the peaks above.

Su Yao let out a dry smile. "I heard the specific elder conducting it this year is even more weird."

"Which elder?"

"Luo Jianfeng."

Zhao Minghe’s expression instantly changed. "Oh, the Mad Examiner?"

Su Yao nodded solemnly. "My elder brother failed one of his trials three years ago."

"What happened to him?"

"He still refuses to talk about it to this day."

"Well... let’s just be confident." Zhao Minghe gulped, nodding his head.

After a few moments, Elder Luo Jianfeng slowly strolled toward the center. Behind him there were twenty sect guards, all in the deep crimson robes and armored pauldrons of Red Talon Hall.

The elder’s gray robes fluttered gently in the mountain breeze. His expression was calm, and his gaze darted across the disciples.

He saw the arrogant candidates standing with puffed chests; the nervous ones desperately clutching their robes; the friendly ones trying to form alliances; the ambitious ones analysing and guessing their potential rivals; and the impatient ones.

And his gaze lingered upon Lin Yuan.

He stood quietly with his hands tucked behind his back.

’Interesting,’ Luo Jianfeng thought, a faint smirk appearing on his lips.

"Blindfold yourselves," Luo Jianfeng spoke, stepping forward.

The 109 disciples froze, petrified and yelled at a time. "What?"

Luo Jianfeng repeated again. "Everyone, put them on."

A crimson-robed guard stepped forward, distributing strips of black cloth to the disciples. The disciples exchanged bewildered, frantic glares.

"We’re starting already?!" Chen Ming’s face twisted.

"I have a terrible feeling about this..." Lian Nichang whispered under his breath,

Huo Ren took a black cloth, staring at it in confusion. "What kind of sect examination begins by blindfolding the candidates?"

"Just follow the instructions without complaining," Xiao Yanrui took a black strip and calmly tied it tightly over his eyes.

One by one, all 109 disciples tied the black cloth.

"Follow!!" Luo Jianfeng muttered, turning his back.

The twenty guards instantly surrounded the disciples.

Then a tremendous, suffocating wave of beast essence erupted beside the elder.

A massive phantom materialized, and an earth boar appeared, its massive body covered in dark-brown fur, with two tusks pointing menacingly toward the sky.

Luo Jianfeng calmly leaped onto its back, grabbing its fur. The earth boar began to walk slowly, and the guards immediately guided the 109 blindfolded disciples closely behind it.

****

No one could see a single thing, only the continuous crunch of their footsteps echoed through the silence.

Chen Ming walked beside Lin Yuan, his hands hovering in front of him. "Where the hell are they taking us?"

Lin Yuan didn’t answer.

"I know you’re blindfolded too, Lin Yuan!"

"I am," Lin Yuan replied calmly.

"Then why aren’t you even slightly worried?!"

"Because worrying won’t change anything," Lin Yuan murmured, nodding his head.

"Tsk," Chen Ming groaned, clicking his tongue.

"Do you think they’re leading us into a beast pit or something?" Huo Ren whispered slightly.

"Hahaha... Never!" Xiao Yanrui laughed it off.

Zhao Minghe was nervously walking beside Su Yao. "If this is a test, why blindfold us from the start?"

"They’re likely testing our awareness and senses," Su Yao grunted, her voice low as whisper.

"Then please stop stepping on my boots," Zhao Minghe sneered, moving aside frantically.

"I didn’t step on your boot."

"Oh, sorry. That was a rock."

Some disciples began losing their sense of balance and direction. Others frantically tried counting their steps in their minds.

Lin Yuan simply walked, and inside his aperture, the turtle beast’s voice suddenly echoed. "Where the fuck are we going, kid?"

’I don’t know,’ Lin Yuan replied silently within his mind.

"Wonderful," the turtle snorted. "Truly inspiring leadership."

’You sound disappointed.’

"I was naively hoping you had something memorized."

Lin Yuan smiled faintly.

"Halt!" Luo Jianfeng’s voice echoed from the front.

Every single disciple stopped instantly, and the guards stepped back. For a few quiet breaths, nothing happened.

Then, Luo Jianfeng’s calm voice cut through the stillness. "Remove your blindfolds."

The disciples reached up and took off their black cloth strips, blinking against the light. And immediately, every single person froze in awe.

They were standing in the center of an enormous, circular chamber.

The ceiling was high, and what truly captured everyone’s attention were the doors. There were one hundred doors around the hall. And every single one of them was unique.

A crimson door was carved with a phoenix; a white door with a white tiger; a blue door had aquatic wave patterns rippling across the door; a golden door was covered in shimmering runes.

Another door bore the carving of a serpent, and another had a wind falcon spreading its wings. There were doors in flowers; doors with wooden vines; doors with strange insect carapaces; doors carved from abyssal obsidian; and doors made from normal wood.

Some were breathtakingly magnificent, some were dark and mysterious, some looked so fragile as they might collapse with a touch. And some... were ugly.

A few doors in the hall are very ugly. Their wooden body was crooked, paint looked like dried mud, and their surface was covered with scratches.

"What the hell is that?" Chen Ming stared at it, squinting.

Lian Nichang burst out laughing beside him. "Maybe they are public washrooms."

Huo Ren pointed toward another door. "That one looks like it hasn’t been touched in ten thousand years."

Within seconds, the massive chamber erupted into a frantic murmurs:

"What are the rules?!"

"Are some of these death traps?"

"Which door holds the pass condition?!"

"The golden one! The golden door definitely has an inheritance behind it!"

"Stay away from the beast carvings, they probably lead to combat pits!"

"We need to discuss this as a group!"

"What if picking the wrong door gets us expelled on the spot?!"

Elder Luo Jianfeng stood calmly in the center, his hands tucked inside his gray sleeves, watching the panicked crowd.

"You have exactly one hour," Luo Jianfeng announced, his voice echoing. He pointed a finger toward the hundred doors surrounding them. "Choose one."

"Any door, Elder Jianfeng?" A disciple from the crowd asked, raising his hand nervously.

"Any door!"

"Do we have to enter individually or in groups?"

"Whatever you prefer."

"What lies on the other side of the doors?"

Luo Jianfeng’s lips curled into a mysterious smile. "You will discover that for yourselves once you enter into it!"

The disciples looked at each other frenziedly.

"Choose carefully... The door you step through today may decide the path of your future to Red Talon Hall or not," Luo Jianfeng warned one last time.

Luo Jianfeng raised his right arm high, paused for a second, and then beamed. "YOUR TIME STARTS NOW, BRATS!"

The hall erupted into madness.

"Move! Move! Let’s examine the runes!"

"Don’t rush blindly, look for any hidden traps!"

"Group up! Let’s analyze the doors!"

"Is the black door safe?!"

"Why the hell would the black one be safe?!"

"It looks powerful!"

"That is the stupidest reasoning I have ever heard!"

Dozens of disciples immediately moved across the circular chamber. Some ran up to the doors to touch the surfaces; others knelt to trace the glowing lines; a few stood frozen in panic, arguing over opinions.

The nine disciples from the academy gathered.

"We need to approach this strategically, there has to be a pattern," Chen Ming rubbed his chin with a frown.

"Definitely, randomly picking the doors is suicide," Lian Nichang nodded slightly.

"There are just way too many," Huo Ren looked at the overwhelming options.

As the other disciples lunged into frantic analysis and debates... Lin Yuan remained silent. He slowly turned back, his dark eyes skimming the hundred doors one by one.

He took a slow, deep breath.

"Ahem!" Lin Yuan cleared his throat softly.

Elder Luo Jianfeng, who had been observing the chaotic crowd from the center, glanced over in his direction.

"Elder," Lin Yuan raised his right hand slightly.

Luo Jianfeng raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

Lin Yuan pointed his finger straight across the chamber, aiming at the ugliest door in the hall.

Lin Yuan smiled faintly. "Haha... I’ve made my choice."

The surrounding disciples who heard him instantly turned their heads, staring in utter disbelief.

Lin Yuan calmly stepped out of the crowd, walking toward the crooked wooden door.

"I will walk through the ugly door," Lin Yuan announced, walking toward it.

He stopped right before the handle of the ugly door.

’What?’ Elder Luo Jianfeng’s calm, mocking expression was gone. He stared at the fifteen-year-old boy in complete bewilderment. ’He decided already? In less than two minutes?

No analysis or group discussion?’

Then, a grin slowly appeared on Luo Jianfeng’s face. "Hahaha..."

The elder stroked his gray beard, his eyes filled with curiosity. "A brat has already locked in his choice."

He turned his gaze back to the remaining, frozen disciples. "That leaves... 108 of you remaining."

Lin Yuan reached out his hand and opened the crooked door. The ugly wooden door swung slowly with slight creaking sounds.

The crooked door shut behind him.

"Let’s see..." the elder murmured under his voice. "What other disciples choose!"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!