10: Level 1

Time flew by like a white stallion crossing a gap; in the blink of an eye, the day for Heavenly Origin Palace to recruit new Disciples arrived.

As a top-tier Sect in the Northern Profound Region, Heavenly Origin Palace's requirements for recruiting new Disciples were extremely harsh. Basically, only one or two exceptionally gifted Geniuses from each city were qualified for the precious opportunity to go to Heavenly Origin Palace for the assessment.

Therefore, to become a Disciple of Heavenly Origin Palace, one had to go through layers of strict screening. First, the age must not exceed eighteen.

Second, the cultivation level must not be lower than the ninth layer of the Gathering Origin Realm. These two requirements alone blocked most dreamers from the door.

After all, in the entire Hanyang City, there were only about a dozen Geniuses who could reach the ninth layer of the Gathering Origin Realm before the age of eighteen.

Today's Hanyang City was bustling with crowds and extraordinary excitement. It was because today was the important day for Heavenly Origin Palace to recruit new Disciples in Hanyang City.

At this time, an immensely large Arena had been set up in the plaza of Hanyang City's central area. This Arena was precisely the assessment platform for Heavenly Origin Palace's recruitment today.

The entire central plaza was already a sea of people. Besides the locals of Hanyang City, many talented youths from other cities had also come, drawn by its reputation.

The Four Great Families of Hanyang City placed great importance on this recruitment by Heavenly Origin Palace. This was because entering Heavenly Origin Palace meant achieving a massive leap, like a fish leaping over the Dragon gate.

At this moment, the Four Great Families of Hanyang City each occupied a corner of the plaza.

"Chener, today is the day Heavenly Origin Palace recruits new Disciples. Our Yang Family is counting on you," Yang Daolin said, his eyes filled with expectation.

"Don't worry, Father! One of the spots for Heavenly Origin Palace's new Disciples will definitely be mine." Yang Lingchen's eyes were filled with determination, a gaze so firm it seemed capable of piercing through any obstacle.

After his Transmigration, Yang Lingchen's greatest dream was to pursue the Dao of longevity, and Heavenly Origin Palace would be the first crucial stepping stone on his path to rise.

At the same time, from the directions of the Lin Family and the Xiao Family, two pairs of venomous eyes secretly glanced at Yang Lingchen.

These two venomous gazes came from Lin Beiyang of the Lin Family and Xiao Jiji of the Xiao Family, respectively. Standing beside each of them was a young man with an extraordinary aura.

Yang Lingchen didn't care about their hostility at all. In terms of actual Combat Power, even if these people combined forces, they would never be his match. If they didn't know what was good for them, Yang Lingchen wouldn't mind crippling them all.

Just then, a well-built middle-aged man with sharp eyes stepped steadily onto the Arena.

This person was precisely the City Lord of Hanyang City. He appeared, and the scene immediately fell silent.

"Hello everyone, I am the City Lord of Hanyang City, the host of this Heavenly Origin Palace recruitment. Now, let us welcome the Genius Envoys of Heavenly Origin Palace, Fairy Ling Yanyun and Young Master Dongfang Jie, with warm applause," the City Lord of Hanyang City led the applause with a smile.

Immediately, thunderous applause erupted from the scene.

The moment the applause rang out, an exquisitely beautiful figure descended upon the VIP seats next to the Arena, like a goddess descending to the mortal world.

This was a girl who seemed to have walked out of a fairyland.

She wore a luxurious and elegant white silken dress. Although a thin layer of snow-white veil covered her face, it still couldn't hide her cold and noble temperament. Her soul-capturing beautiful eyes were like a bottomless dark pool; one look would cause a person to fall deep into them, unable to extricate themselves.

This girl was precisely the Genius Envoy of Heavenly Origin Palace, Ling Yanyun.

At the same time, another figure with a terrifying aura appeared—a tall, handsome man with sharp eyes and an extraordinary bearing.

This person was precisely the other Genius Envoy of Heavenly Origin Palace, Dongfang Jie.

Even though he only caught a glimpse from afar, Yang Lingchen could feel that this person's strength was unfathomable, far beyond what the Clan Chiefs of the Four Great Families of Hanyang City could compare to.

To Yang Lingchen's shock, these two appeared to be around the same age as him, yet their strength was much more terrifying than that of the City Lord of Hanyang City.

Dongfang Jie's sharp gaze swept across the surroundings. Then, from his storage ring, he threw out a wooden Puppet with a terrifying aura.

"This is the assessment puppet of my Heavenly Origin Palace. As long as you can defeat it, you will pass the first round. Additionally, participants must not exceed eighteen years of age; violators will face the consequences," Dongfang Jie's voice was exceptionally cold, devoid of any emotion.

Hearing Dongfang Jie's words, the youths who were originally prepared to participate in the assessment all gasped.

This was mainly because the aura emanating from this assessment puppet had already reached the Peak of the ninth layer of the Gathering Origin Realm. Ordinary Cultivators at the ninth layer of the Gathering Origin Realm would certainly be unable to defeat it.

In the entire Hanyang City, there were only a few people who could reach the Bright Profound Realm before the age of eighteen.

"The challenge begins now."

At this moment, the City Lord of Hanyang City stepped forward and began to host the challenge for the first round.

As the challenge began, many youths at the ninth layer of the Gathering Origin Realm walked onto the Arena with confidence.

Bang.

"Aaaaah..."

In less than one round, a youth at the ninth layer of the Gathering Origin Realm was violently sent flying by the Puppet, suffering significant injuries.

"Next," the City Lord of Hanyang City said coldly, his face expressionless.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and to everyone's surprise, not a single person had successfully completed the challenge.

"Junior Sister Ling, the talent of the people in Hanyang City is too poor. If I had known, we wouldn't have come here," Dongfang Jie said, frowning slightly.

"Since we're here, let's give them a chance," Ling Yanyun's voice was calm and pleasant, like a clear spring flowing through the mountains.

Just then, Han Ruoxue walked onto the Arena with a light and graceful posture.

She had a graceful figure, a steady aura, and walked straight toward the assessment puppet with firm steps.

Facing the fierce attacks of the assessment puppet, she also appeared at ease, handling them with composure.

Clearly, Han Ruoxue had successfully broken through to the Bright Profound Realm. After a while, the assessment puppet was successfully forced back by her.

Thus, Han Ruoxue became the first contestant in Hanyang City to pass the first round.

Then, Xiao Jijun of the Xiao Family walked onto the Arena with his head held high.

This person was one of the four great Geniuses of Hanyang City and also the elder brother of Xiao Jiji.

As expected, Xiao Jijun also successfully entered the second round.

At this point, very few people were participating in the assessment because most of the youths knew full well they couldn't defeat this powerful assessment puppet.

Before long, Lin Beiyang and Lin Beichen of the Lin Family also defeated the assessment puppet.

As one of the Four Great Families of Hanyang City, the strength of the Lin Family's younger generation was clearly superior to the other families.

Just as the first round was about to end, Yang Lingchen walked unhurriedly toward the Arena.

With his current strength, dealing with an assessment puppet at the Peak of the Gathering Origin Realm would basically only require one finger.

But to hide his true strength, Yang Lingchen also took two rounds to defeat the assessment puppet.

When Yang Lingchen successfully passed the round, everyone in the Yang Family couldn't suppress the joy in their hearts and revealed excited smiles.

The City Lord of Hanyang City, however, showed an embarrassed expression. If he had known Yang Lingchen possessed such strength, he wouldn't have listened to his daughter and broken the engagement.

"Congratulations to the five of you for successfully entering the second round. Next will be the Ranking Battle. The top two contestants will gain the opportunity to go to Heavenly Origin Palace for the assessment."

Then, Dongfang Jie announced the rules for the second round of assessment.

The rule for the second round was a Ranking Battle, where everyone would fight each of the other four people once. The top two contestants would receive the precious opportunity to go to Heavenly Origin Palace for the assessment.

According to the drawing order, Yang Lingchen drew number one, Xiao Jijun drew number two, Lin Beichen drew number three, Lin Beiyang drew number four, and Han Ruoxue drew number five.

According to the competition rules, Yang Lingchen's first opponent was Xiao Jijun from the Xiao Family.