The Modern Martial Immortal

"So poor," Yaoguang remarked.

Yaoguang and Xu Nianhua spent several days clearing the bodies of the Black Dragon Pirates from the flying vessel and tallying all the spoils.

Even though they had effectively wiped out the Black Dragon Pirates’ lair, they obtained just over ten thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills. Even counting the assets that still needed to be sold off, the total barely reached thirty thousand.

For a force with an Azure Golden Core cultivator and several Blazing White Golden Core cultivators, this was absurdly poor.

But after thinking about it, it made sense.

Many pirates understood their own situation. They lived without knowing whether they would see tomorrow.

Once they obtained resources, they would immediately use or squander them.

Whether they were spent on pleasure or exchanged for resources to strengthen themselves, who would keep them stored away?

"This doomsday ark was a complete unexpected gain. Under normal circumstances, these pirates would never have possessed such a treasure. And once this flying vessel is excluded, the final profit from wiping out the Black Dragon Pirates..." Yaoguang did a quick calculation, then shook his head repeatedly. "I finally understand why those Void-Piercing Realm cultivators aren’t very interested in pirate hunting. Unless the bounty is extremely high, venturing deep into the Chaotic Sea to hunt pirates simply isn’t worthwhile."

After finishing the tally of all resources, Yaoguang wasted no more time.

The two of them set off again.

The rest of the journey finally became somewhat calmer.

It was not that the Chaotic Sea had suddenly become peaceful, but rather that no one else dared to target a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator.

Under these circumstances, the two traveled swiftly. Two months later, they finally crossed the Chaotic Sea and arrived on the opposite continent.

For tens of millions of kilometers along this side of the Chaotic Sea, the land was all the territory of the Heavenly Dao Sect. The cities built across this land were all under the Heavenly Dao Sect’s jurisdiction, with disciples assigned to oversee local taxation and resource extraction.

Yaoguang and Xu Nianhua deliberately avoided densely populated areas and quickly approached the Heavenly Dao Sect.

Even so, it took them another month to successfully reach the area where the Heavenly Dao Sect’s headquarters was located.

When they were still tens of thousands of kilometers from the headquarters, Yaoguang and Xu Nianhua could already see mountain peaks floating in the sky on the horizon.

The peaks were connected to one another, forming a great array that stretched for thousands of kilometers. Countless immortal lights, as well as the radiance of countless treasures, shone from those mountains.

Some peaks even had immortal light shooting straight into the clouds, illuminating the surrounding ten thousand kilometers.

Anyone who saw such a scene would sincerely praise it as a blessed, immortal land.

"One of the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects, the Heavenly Dao Sect." Yaoguang sighed emotionally.

Compared to the Nine Heavens Sect, which occupied the Cloud Sword Sect, this grandeur was more than just one level higher.

"Perfected Master, what do we do next?"

"The assessment only begins in three months. We’ll stay temporarily in one of the cities outside the Heavenly Dao Sect and sell what needs to be sold," Yaoguang replied.

As for claiming the bounty, Yaoguang felt it would not be too late to do that after obtaining the status of a true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

A bounty involving three to four hundred thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills was no small matter. Who knew what tricks the Great Shang Immortal Dynasty might try?

"Understood," Xu Nianhua replied.

The two soon arrived at the large city cluster outside the Heavenly Dao Sect.

This city truly deserved to be called a super city cluster.

Its area was so vast that it likely stretched over five thousand kilometers from end to end.

Within those five thousand kilometers, dense courtyards, pavilions, and palaces filled the land.

Mountains, forests, plains, lakes, and rivers were no exception.

In addition, commercial streets ran around these courtyards, pavilions, and palaces, selling all kinds of cultivation resources.

On the ground and in the sky, large numbers of cultivators followed designated flight paths, moving back and forth in endless streams.

At first glance, it seemed somewhat chaotic, but on closer inspection, everyone had their own place.

Cultivators of different cultivation levels naturally flew at different heights.

On one hand, the Heavenly Dao Sect had rules. On the other hand... If a low-level cultivator tried to fly side by side with a high-level cultivator, and the high-level cultivator saw it as provocation, they could be slapped to death on the spot.

For the sake of their own lives, low-level cultivators obeyed these rules with extreme care.

The two spent several days selling off the goods they had obtained for over twenty thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills.

After preparing enough pills, they waited for the Heavenly Dao Sect’s assessment.

Yaoguang was relatively calm, but Xu Nianhua, who intended to take the outer sect disciple assessment, appeared extremely nervous.

***

Time passed.

Compared to the Chaotic Sea, the entrance to the Heavenly Dao Sect’s headquarters was undoubtedly far more orderly.

Although there were still cases of high-tier cultivators killing people on the spot, they did not kill without reason.

Besides, if a high-tier cultivator killed someone in the city, regardless of the reason, they would be fined.

The fine started at a thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills. The greater the disturbance, the higher the fine.

As a result, many low-tier cultivators could even preserve their lives by threatening to self-detonate, since that would cause a massive disturbance.

High-tier cultivators often felt that the lives of many low-tier cultivators were not worth even a thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills. Because of that, they stopped killing low-tier cultivators over minor offenses, which effectively reduced the number of killing incidents in this super city cluster.

Their lives were so cheap that it had actually become a path to survival for low-tier cultivators. It was, in a way, deeply absurd.

In this relatively safe atmosphere, Yaoguang and Xu Nianhua passed three uneventful months.

***

On this day, from the super city cluster below, tens of thousands of sword lights rose into the sky, flying toward one of the peaks of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

That mountain peak had been divided into three levels.

The highest level was for the inner sect disciple assessment. The middle level was for the outer sect disciple assessment. The lowest level was for the menial disciple assessment.

Yaoguang and Xu Nianhua were among those rising into the air.

When they reached the middle level of the mountain, Yaoguang gave Xu Nianhua an encouraging look, then continued upward alone and landed on the highest level.

Several hundred people had already gathered on the mountaintop.

And among these hundreds, without exception, every one of them was an expert who had reached the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm, and every single one looked exceptionally young, brimming with vigorous vitality.

Yaoguang had not arrived particularly early.

Less than half an hour after he landed, over a dozen streaks of light tore through the sky. Leading them was a Void-Piercing Realm expert.

However, this Void-Piercing Realm perfected lord was clearly only here to oversee this entrance assessment. He did not land on the upper level of the mountain, but instead released the aura of his cultivation realm as a deterrent.

Under that pressure, the mountaintop, which had been noisy with constant discussion, quickly fell silent.

Only then did a middle-aged man at the Blazing White Golden Core Realm step forward and speak in a deep voice, "Alright. Today is once again the Heavenly Dao Sect’s five-year recruitment day for inner sect disciples. I am high-level officer Xiang Yunlong, and I will be presiding over this year's inner sect disciple assessment!"

Everyone present immediately composed themselves when the middle-aged man appeared.

"The Heavenly Dao Sect has always embraced all and taught without discrimination. Anyone under one hundred years old who has reached the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm may come and take our assessment. Our sect upholds the principles of fairness and justice. As long as your cultivation is genuine, the Heavenly Dao Sect will certainly devote great effort into nurturing you. Whether it's top-tier cultivation arts, supreme divine abilities, or personal guidance from Void-Piercing Realm masters, the Heavenly Dao Sect is never stingy with true talent..." Xiang Yunlong rambled on with empty talk for several minutes before finally getting to the point. "To avoid people failing to grasp the seriousness of this matter, and because each assessment requires tremendous manpower and resources, the fee for the inner sect assessment is ten thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills per person!"

With a wave of his hand, more than ten officers behind him, who were all at the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm, began collecting fees.

Yaoguang counted. There were a total of 460 participants. In other words, an immediate income of 4,600,000 Pure Yang Grand Pills!

And that was not all!

"In order to select even more elites, our sect has established three levels of assessment difficulty. If you believe your talent is extraordinary, you may choose the heavenly-favored pathway. Those who enter the heavenly-favored pathway may still receive leniency from the elders, even if their assessment performance is slightly lacking. The genius pathway is similar as well... However, because the elders put far more thought into arranging the heavenly favored and genius pathways, an additional fee of respectively twenty thousand and forty thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills is required. You may choose according to your circumstances," Xiang Yunlong said.

Hearing this, Yaoguang was speechless.

Before arriving, he had already heard rumors that the Heavenly Dao Sect held disciple recruitment every five years, with an assessment fee as high as ten thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills, and that they were secretly selling disciple slots.

Who would have thought that the rumors had been far too modest?

What secret selling? This was an outright public auction!

The moment Xiang Yunlong finished speaking, five people immediately stepped forward, paid the fee, and entered the heavenly favored pathway.

With psychic thought nearly comparable to a true spirit, Yaoguang could tell at a glance that two of them were clearly too old.

Another two had plainly relied on pills to forcibly push their cultivation to the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm.

As for the last one, he did not even seem to really be at the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm, but had temporarily boosted himself there using some special pill.

Yaoguang saw it. Xiang Yunlong saw it as well, and Yaoguang thought that the man seemed about to reject him...

Then he realized that it wasn't the case! He wasn't about to reject him! He simply wanted more money!

That candidate was tactful enough. He immediately produced another storage treasure. Xiang Yunlong swept it with his psychic thought, then nodded in satisfaction and allowed him to enter the nearly "assessment-free" heavenly favored pathway.

The entire process was almost completely open, with no attempt at concealment.

As for the Void-Piercing Realm expert presiding over the scene from the sky and supposedly maintaining fairness and justice in the sect's assessment... At this moment, he seemed blind, as though he had not noticed the transaction taking place directly beneath his eyes.

"Is there anyone else joining the heavenly favored assessment? Or do you all lack confidence? There are already too many inner sect disciples in the sect, and orders have come down from above to increase the difficulty of this year's assessment. So if you think you're a genius or that you're favored by the heavens, seize this opportunity. For true talent, our Heavenly Dao Sect will naturally offer enough preferential treatment," Xiang Yunlong urged them.

Out of 460 participants, only five had bought these "assessment-free" slots, and sixteen had bought "reduced difficulty" slots. Getting only so little extra income made him deeply dissatisfied.

However, whether because they were confident in their strength, or because they genuinely could not produce another twenty thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills, no one else stepped forward to apply for the heavenly-favored or genius pathways.

Seeing this, Xiang Yunlong's face darkened.

"Damn it. I spent a full hundred thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills bribing Administration Peak just to snatch the job of hosting inner sect recruitment, and I ended up with a bunch of beggars. They don't have any resources, yet they still want to join the Heavenly Dao Sect? Do they think this place is a garbage dump? In a moment, I’ll have the elders crank the difficulty to the highest level and make you all fail," he cursed under his breath.

Though he was extremely displeased, the disciple assessment still had to continue.

He quickly rose into the air and spoke to the Void-Piercing Realm elder overseeing the proceedings.

After listening, the elder swept his gaze over the four hundred-plus candidates below, seeming equally dissatisfied.

With a cold snort from him, ten arrays rose from the high platform atop the mountain.

Inside each array, a demonic creature appeared. And the aura emanating from those demonic creatures was unmistakably comparable to that of a human Azure Golden Core cultivator.

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