Chapter 291 - 42: Immortal Ascension Ceremony

Chapter 291: Chapter 42: Immortal Ascension Ceremony

A disciple of Celestial Sword Manor, or... a genius who performed exceptionally well at the Immortal Ascension Ceremony and was granted a personal audience with him.

Chen Ye’s eyes flew open.

’I have to participate in the Immortal Ascension Ceremony!’

The moment the idea appeared, it spread like a wildfire, impossible to contain.

’I’ll enter as a participant, fight my way up step by step, and stand before Jian Wuchen.’

It sounded crazy, even a bit fanciful.

The Immortal Ascension Ceremony only recruited teenage geniuses. At his age, with a Bone Age approaching thirty, how could he possibly blend in?

But Chen Ye quickly recalled what the talkative attendant from the merchant caravan had said, as well as the discussions he had just overheard in the tavern.

Besides recruiting those Immortal Seeds, the Immortal Ascension Ceremony also scouted for powerful Loose Cultivators to serve as Honored Guest Elders or Outer Sect Stewards for the manor.

’This is my chance!’

With his current Cultivation, it shouldn’t be a problem to disguise himself as a fairly strong Loose Cultivator and participate in this selection.

As long as he could make it to the final selection, he would have a chance to stand on that high platform, the center of everyone’s attention.

To stand right in front of Jian Wuchen!

Even though he would still be surrounded by experts, the distance would change from impossibly far to within arm’s reach.

And for a top-tier Swordsman, as long as the distance was short enough, a single strike was all it took to decide life and death!

’What’s more, I have the boon of my Professional Talent, the Talent Tribulation Eye. With the element of surprise, my chances of success are high.’

’That’s the plan. I’ll go check out the registration site first thing tomorrow morning.’

Having made up his mind, Chen Ye lay down in his clothes and began to rest.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Chen Ye was already out the door.

The registration point for the Immortal Ascension Ceremony was set up in a massive plaza in the eastern part of the city. By the time Chen Ye arrived, the place was already a sea of people, a dense black mass of heads.

Dozens of temporary registration booths had been set up in the plaza, and in front of each one snaked a line so long you couldn’t see the end.

Most of those in line were teenage boys and girls. Their faces were a mixture of nervousness and excitement, all of them filled with the dream of soaring to the heavens in a single step.

On the northernmost side of the plaza were a few separate registration points. The lines there were much shorter, and the people looked older. Each one had a formidable aura and sharp eyes; they were clearly Cultivators with established Cultivation.

That was the registration area for Loose Cultivators.

Chen Ye observed for a while longer, taking in the registration process and other details until he had a solid understanding. Only then did he leisurely walk over and get in at the end of a line.

"Hey, brother, you here to try your luck too?"

The person in front of Chen Ye was a tall, slender young man carrying a longsword on his back. Seeing Chen Ye line up behind him, he struck up a conversation.

"Mm, just trying to make a living," Chen Ye replied curtly, his voice deliberately low and raspy.

"Make a living? Haha, you’re an honest one, brother," the young man laughed, speaking with easy familiarity.

"But it’s tough being a Loose Cultivator these days. With no backing, you get bullied everywhere! That’s why, even though Celestial Sword Manor is domineering, they’re a huge and powerful organization. If you can really get in and become an Outer Sect Steward, at least you’ll have some security for the future."

Chen Ye gave a noncommittal grunt.

Seeing that Chen Ye wasn’t one for conversation, the young man turned back around, deciding not to court a rebuff.

The line moved slowly. Chen Ye waited for nearly a full hour before it was finally his turn.

Behind the desk at the registration booth sat a young man in his early twenties, dressed in the uniform of a Celestial Sword Manor Outer Disciple. His face wore a look of undisguised arrogance.

Without looking up, he fiddled with the register on the desk and asked lazily, "Name, age, Cultivation."

Chen Ye said in a deep voice, "Du Dao, twenty-nine, Sea Condensation Realm... Early Stage."

He had deliberately understated his Cultivation.

The Peak of the Sea Condensation Realm was far too shocking for a Loose Cultivator not yet thirty years old; it would inevitably draw unwanted attention.

Sea Condensation Early Stage Realm, however, while still impressive, was within the realm of believability and wouldn’t be as conspicuous.

Hearing the words "Sea Condensation Realm," the previously lazy disciple’s head snapped up, and he sized Chen Ye up properly for the first time.

When he saw Chen Ye’s sallow face and shabby attire, a flicker of surprise and suspicion crossed his eyes.

"Sea Condensation Realm?" he drawled, his tone laced with disbelief. "Put your hand on this."

He pointed to a squarish, cyan jade stone on the desk, about half a foot wide.

Chen Ye did as instructed and placed his palm on it. At the same time, he carefully controlled the True Essence in his Dantian Qi Sea. He mobilized a small amount of power, simulating the feeling of someone who had just broken through to the Sea Condensation Realm—where the True Essence was not yet refined and its circulation was still somewhat clumsy—and slowly channeled it into the Spirit Testing Stone.

HUM!

The Spirit Testing Stone let out a low hum and then lit up with a cyan glow. It wasn’t particularly strong, but it was unmistakably the light of a Sea Condensation Realm Cultivator.

The disciple’s eyes went wide.

’He really is in the Sea Condensation Realm!’

’A guy who looks this destitute is actually a Sea Condensation Realm expert?’

’Are Sea Condensation Realm Cultivators so common these days?’

Despite his shock, the disciple’s attitude did an immediate one-eighty.

The arrogance on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by an enthusiastic smile.

"So it is Fellow Daoist Du! My apologies for the disrespect." He stood up and clasped his hands in a salute toward Chen Ye. "To have achieved such a Cultivation at the age of twenty-nine, you are truly a prodigy with a boundless future!"