330: Chapter 330: Protagonist Template

Of course, the Immortal Sects and Demonic Sects could not just recruit high-level Cultivators indiscriminately.

Most such people already have backers and would not easily defect to other Sects.

Therefore, the main focus of recruitment is Geniuses.

The kind of Geniuses with no age restrictions.

That is why the Immortal Ascension Assembly is truly what shakes the Cultivation World.

Because it gives many Cultivators without status or background a chance.

A chance to rise to the top.

At this moment.

In the most remote corner of the Northern Territory, there is a small town called Withered Wood Town.

The town is not large, consisting of a few hundred households, living off the mountains and waters.

Most people in the town have little cultivation; those at the Foundation Establishment stage are considered experts, and one at the Golden Core Stage could even be a local tycoon.

Zhou Han lives here, in a dilapidated house on the far east side of the town.

The roof leaks, the walls let in the wind, and it is as cold as an ice cellar in winter and as hot as a steamer in summer.

Zhou Han is sixteen this year and is an orphan.

His mother died in childbirth, and his father was a drunkard who, when Zhou Han was fourteen, got drunk, fell off a cliff, and was smashed so badly that not even his bones could be found.

Since then, he has lived alone.

Relying on half a broken Cultivation Technique left by his father, he managed to Cultivate until he felt a trace of Qi.

Without resources, he had to rely entirely on his own exploration.

However, this situation changed completely with the arrival of an Opportunity.

From then on, Zhou Han was no longer alone.

On the ring finger of his left hand, he wears a dark red ring. The style of the ring is very ancient, with fine, dense patterns carved on it.

If one looks closely, one would discover that those patterns are actually a type of extremely ancient rune.

Inside the ring lives the remnant soul of an old man.

The old man calls himself Elder Qingyang and is said to be a powerful figure at the Peak Integration Stage.

He perished ten thousand years ago due to failing at Undergoing Tribulation, and his remnant soul has resided in this ring, sleeping for thousands of years.

Elder Qingyang speaks very slowly and lazily, as if he had been lying in a coffin for too long and had not yet recovered.

"Kid, you are slacking off again."

Elder Qingyang's voice echoed in Zhou Han's mind, carrying a hint of laziness, as if he had just woken up.

"Have you done today's lessons?"

Zhou Han was squatting in the courtyard chopping wood, the axe striking the stump stroke by stroke, causing wood chips to fly.

"I'm done. I practiced sword techniques for an hour in the morning, meditated and regulated my breath for an hour at noon, and I still have to go up the mountain to pick herbs in the afternoon."

Elder Qingyang was silent for a moment: "Picking herbs? Are you short on Spirit Stones?"

Zhou Han: "I am. The shop in town that buys medicinal herbs drives prices down too hard, but there is nowhere else to sell them. I'll just make do."

Elder Qingyang sighed.

"Kid, this won't do."

"You have already embarked on the path to Cultivate. If you keep hiding in this broken place, your life will just be like this forever. You need to go out and travel."

Zhou Han stopped the axe in his hand: "Go out? Where to?"

Elder Qingyang: "Anywhere is fine. Go to the big cities in the Northern Territory, go to the Sects, go to places where you can learn things."

"Your Aptitude is not bad; what you lack is experience and resources."

Zhou Han was silent for a moment: "I have no money."

Elder Qingyang: "You have me."

Zhou Han: "You can't turn into Spirit Stones."

Elder Qingyang: "I can turn into Cultivation Techniques. I have lived for over ten thousand years; my mind contains more Cultivation Techniques than the people in your town have ever seen."

"As long as you go out and find the right Opportunity, I can make you advance by leaps and bounds."

Zhou Han looked down at the axe in his hand and was silent for a long time.

He knew that Elder Qingyang was right.

If he stayed in this small town, he would never amount to anything.

But he was also afraid.

Afraid of going out, afraid of the outside world, afraid of encountering things he could not handle.

Just then, a commotion came from the entrance of the town.

Zhou Han put down the axe, walked out of the courtyard, and saw that the townspeople were all gathered under the old locust tree at the town entrance, pointing and gesturing at a notice.

Zhou Han squeezed in and saw a few lines of text written on the notice.

"The Righteous Path Immortal Ascension Assembly: All heroes of the Northern Territory, regardless of status or background, may attend at the Supreme Dao Palace."

"Three rounds of trials, the best will be selected for entry."

"The top ranker will receive a Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique and a Heaven Rank Magic Treasure; the top ten will each receive generous rewards."

Zhou Han's heart skipped a beat.

Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique? Heaven Rank Magic Treasure? Supreme Dao Palace?

Elder Qingyang's voice echoed in his mind: "Kid, the Opportunity has arrived. The Supreme Dao Palace, a Holy Land of the Righteous Path, is ten thousand times better than this broken town of yours."

Zhou Han clenched his fists: "But... the Supreme Dao Palace is so far away. If I go and get eliminated, what then?"

Elder Qingyang: "If you're eliminated, you're eliminated."

"If you go, there is still a chance; if you don't go, you have nothing. You are only sixteen; why fear failure?"

Zhou Han took a deep breath: "Alright, I'll go."

He turned around, ran back to the dilapidated house, packed a few changes of clothes, took the half-broken Jade Slip of the Cultivation Technique, and the ring where Elder Qingyang resided.

He locked the door, stood in the courtyard, took one last look at the place he had lived for sixteen years, and then turned and walked towards the south with long strides.

"Kid," Elder Qingyang's voice echoed in his mind. "You have finally taken this step. I have waited for this day for a very long time."

Zhou Han: "Senior, what ranking do you think I can get at the conference?"

Elder Qingyang: "The ranking is not important."

"What is important is that you can see a larger world. Once you see a larger world, you will know what you truly want."

Zhou Han did not answer, only quickened his pace.

The setting sun cast a long shadow behind him, reflecting his thin, small figure onto the desolate land.

He did not know what lay ahead, but he knew he would not turn back.

...

In another place.

Falling Snow City, a medium-sized city in the central part of the Northern Territory.

Three years ago, Falling Snow City was not this desolate.

At that time, the Lin family was the largest aristocratic family in the city; their mansion occupied half a street in the east of the city, and the entrance was bustling with endless traffic.

The head of the Lin family, Lin Yuanshan, was at the Peak Nascent Soul stage and his word was law in the city.

The Lin family's daughter, Lin Xue, eighteen years old and at the Early Stage Foundation Establishment, was a famous beauty in the city and was about to marry the son of the City Lord.

On the eve of the wedding, the entire Falling Snow City was decorated with lanterns and festoons, and red silk hung all over the streets.

Then, overnight, everything changed.

That night, the sky was blood red.

A group of people in black descended from the sky, surrounding the Lin family mansion completely.

They killed everyone they saw, regardless of gender or age, not even sparing the dogs.

Lin Xue had gone out for something, so she escaped the disaster.

When she rushed back home, all she saw were corpses all over the ground and the mansion burned to ruins.

The entire clan of three hundred and seventy-four people was wiped out, with no survivors.

She knelt in front of the ruins and cried all night.

Since then, Lin Xue changed.

She no longer smiled, no longer spoke, and no longer trusted anyone.

She changed her name to her current name and completely buried that naive Young Miss of the Lin family.

She began to investigate the truth behind the massacre.

But Lin Xue discovered that the Cultivation Techniques used by those people in black were neither from the Demonic Path nor the Righteous Path.

They came from a more secretive power—an organization whose name she had never heard of.

The leader of those people in black was last seen near the Supreme Dao Palace.

She did not know who that person was, but she knew that person must be within either the Righteous or Demonic Paths.

Therefore, she headed to the Immortal Ascension Assembly.