Novel Full Chapter 91: Four Peaks of Martial Ascension Gate
Chapter 91: Four Peaks of Martial Ascension Gate
“To reach the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm at such a young age shows that your aptitude is quite impressive.”
Lan Mu opened his eyes and gave Li Yun an approving glance. “Anyone who reaches the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm is considered to have passed this assessment.”
With that, he casually tossed Li Yun a token. “This serves as proof that you passed. If you successfully become a disciple of the Martial Ascension Gate, this will also be your disciple identity token. Drip a drop of your blood onto it to bind it.”
“Yes,” Li Yun replied respectfully.
The token in his hand was white and shaped like an ascension symbol. Li Yun pricked his fingertip and let a drop of fresh blood fall onto its surface.
Whoosh.
The token absorbed the blood instantly, as if it were soaked into it. A gentle light flowed across its surface, then slowly faded. When the glow disappeared, words had appeared where the surface had once been smooth.
Martial Ascension Gate
Li Yun
One Contribution Point
“Contribution Points?” Li Yun frowned slightly as he examined the token, then looked up at Lan Mu. He almost addressed him as senior brother, but quickly remembered that he was not yet a disciple and corrected himself. “Deacon, what are these Contribution Points?”
Lan Mu chuckled softly. “Outside the Martial Ascension Gate, they are worthless, but within the sect, they are extremely valuable. As for the details, you will naturally learn them once you officially become a disciple.”
“Thank you for the explanation, Deacon,” Li Yun said, clasping his hands in gratitude. He then asked, “When will the next assessment begin?”
Lan Mu smiled in a way that revealed nothing. “That is not something I can tell you now. You will know when the time comes. For the moment, go and rest, then quietly await the start of the next round.”
“Yes,” Li Yun replied with a nod.
Two young men dressed like Martial Ascension Gate disciples soon approached and led Li Yun toward the designated resting area.
The resting area lay in the eastern part of the city.
Rows of modest wooden buildings stood there, each seven or eight meters tall, with several rooms arranged on every floor. Li Yun casually selected one nearby and settled in.
After days of nonstop travel, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. Once he washed up, he planned to get some proper rest and patiently wait for the next round of the assessment to begin.
At first, very few people had passed the registration, so the wooden building remained quiet and peaceful, which made it ideal for rest. As time went on, however, more candidates cleared the initial stage, and the once calm building gradually grew noisy.
Li Yun found himself thoroughly irritated.
He had no idea who lived above him, but their voices rang out like bells, loud enough to pierce the ears. At the same time, rhythmic creaking echoed from the floor below, accompanied by unmistakable sounds of beds shaking and shameless female moans.
“Damn it,” Li Yun muttered under his breath.
With such chaos surrounding him, sleep was impossible. He could hardly storm out and start beating everyone who made noise. Left with no other option, he forced a bitter smile, cursed softly, then sat down cross-legged and entered a secluded cultivation state instead.
Minutes slipped by, and night gradually fell. Eventually, Martial Ascension City quieted down, shedding its daytime clamor and sinking into rare tranquility.
“Finally, I can get some proper rest,” Li Yun murmured.
He opened his eyes and glanced out the window toward the sky. Dawn was not far off, but there was still enough time for him to rest and restore his spirit.
Just as he was about to lie down, a faint, aged voice suddenly echoed beside his ear.
“It is me again. I am informing you that the second round of the assessment has begun. Gather immediately at the registration area. You have ten minutes. Latecomers will not be waited for. Anyone who causes a major disturbance will be expelled from the assessment on the spot.”
The stern tone made Li Yun’s heart tighten, and he instinctively felt no urge to disobey.
The voice itself was extremely faint. Anyone sleeping deeply would never have heard it. Only those who remained awake, or whose rest was light, were able to catch it at all.
“Starting the second round of the assessment in the middle of the night, what kind of scheme is this?”
Li Yun muttered softly, confusion flickering across his face. Then realization struck, and his eyes lit up. “I see now. This must be the second part of the first round of assessment.”
Only those who heard that faint voice were qualified to participate in this stage. Anyone who had fallen into deep sleep and failed to hear it had already missed their chance and would be eliminated without exception.
This was a test of vigilance.
To become a true powerhouse, aptitude alone was not enough. Heart-nature mattered just as much, and vigilance was an essential part of it.
A martial artist who could sleep too deeply in an unfamiliar environment clearly lacked alertness. Even if such a person managed to grow strong, surviving long in this dangerous world would be unlikely. Since their future was limited, there was no reason for the Martial Ascension Gate to waste resources nurturing them.
So they were eliminated outright.
With that understanding, Li Yun pushed open the window and slipped quietly out of the wooden building.
He had no intention of waking those who were still sound asleep.
First, the voice had already issued a clear warning, and Li Yun had no desire to challenge the authority of a deacon from the Martial Ascension Gate. Second, waking others would only increase the number of competitors standing in his way.
Li Yun had no intention of doing something so foolish.
He had never claimed to be a good person.
Sharp sounds tore through the air as streaks of light shot past.
Li Yun was clearly not the only one who had heard the announcement. As he left the building, he saw many figures racing toward the registration area from earlier in the day, each moving with urgency and speed.
He withdrew his gaze and accelerated, rushing in the same direction.
How many people had been eliminated during the daytime registration and this midnight test?
Li Yun did not know.
What he did know was that when he arrived at the registration area, the crowd, though still dense across both ground and sky, numbered only around three million people.
That meant an astonishing seven million participants had already been eliminated.
“This is only the first round of the assessment, yet nearly seventy percent of the candidates have already been eliminated. There is still another round to come, so how many more will fall before this is over?”
Watching the scene before him, Li Yun’s expression grew noticeably solemn.
He then lifted his gaze toward the sky and saw several figures standing high above the ground, nearly a hundred meters in the air. The aura radiating from them was many times stronger than that of Lan Mu, whom he had seen earlier in the day. These people were unmistakably super experts of the Qi Sea Realm.
Judging by their presence alone, they were at least elders of the Martial Ascension Gate.
At that moment, one of them stepped forward. He was a middle-aged man in yellow robes, his expression faintly gloomy. He swept his gaze across the crowd and spoke in an indifferent tone. “I am Mo Xuanyu, first seat of Earth Pillar Peak. Tonight, together with the First Seats of Profound Mystery Peak, Human Origin Peak, and Heaven Mandate Peak, we will conduct the second round of assessment for all of you.”
“It is actually a First Seat level figure!”
Shock rippled through the crowd.
Many people present knew that the Martial Ascension Gate was internally divided into five major factions. At the top stood Grand Ascension Peak, controlled by the sect leader himself, followed by the four peaks of Human Origin, Profound Mystery, Earth Pillar, and Heaven Mandate.
They had originally assumed that ordinary elders would preside over the assessment. No one expected the First Seats of the four peaks to appear in person.
Within the Martial Ascension Gate, the status and authority of these four First Seats were second only to the sect leader himself.
The appearance of such influential figures instantly stirred excitement among the crowd. If someone could perform well and catch the attention of these individuals, becoming their disciple, it would truly be a leap to the heavens. Excitement spread as many clenched their fists, brimming with anticipation and eager to display their abilities to earn the favor of the four First Seats.
And as it turned out, their expectations were not unfounded.
How exalted were the identities of the Four First Seats? For figures of their stature to personally preside over the assessment of new disciples was, in truth, an act of deliberate humility. Yet they still chose to do so. Why?
The reason was simple. They wanted to see whether this batch of new disciples contained any truly outstanding talents. If such people appeared, they could be taken in ahead of time.
Although the Four Peaks appeared united on the surface, beneath that harmony lay constant open and hidden rivalry.
How did the Four Peaks compete?
The answer lay in their disciples.
Strong disciples meant a strong peak. A strong peak enjoyed greater authority, resources, and status within the Martial Ascension Gate. Weak disciples meant a weak peak, followed by diminished standing and reduced treatment.
This was not a trivial matter but one that affected the long-term future of each peak. Even the Peak Masters themselves treated it with utmost seriousness.
“That’s strange. If I remember correctly, among the Four Peaks of Heaven Mandate, Earth Pillar, Profound Mystery, and Human Origin, Heaven Mandate Peak used to be the leader. So why was the Earth Pillar Peak First Seat the one who spoke just now? He even deliberately mentioned Heaven Mandate Peak last. What is more surprising is that the First Seat of Heaven Mandate Peak did not respond at all.”
Someone whispered, sensing that something was amiss.
Another person chuckled softly. “Kid, your information is outdated by many years. The current Four Peaks of the Martial Ascension Gate are now led by Earth Pillar Peak. As for Heaven Mandate Peak, it declined long ago and is now even weaker than Human Origin Peak.”
“How is that possible?”
“Heaven Mandate Peak was once extremely powerful. Back then, only the combined strength of Earth Pillar, Profound Mystery, and Human Origin Peaks could contend with it. That was still the case just over ten years ago. How could it fall so far so quickly?”
“I am not completely sure either. It seems to be an internal matter of the Martial Ascension Gate. Perhaps only those who become disciples within the sect are qualified to know the truth.”
—
While the crowd murmured among themselves, the Earth Pillar Peak First Seat, Mo Xuanyu, spoke again.
“Ten minutes have passed. The second round of the assessment begins now. Shall we join forces to open the Eternal Sky Secret Realm and send these youngsters inside?”
“Agreed.”
The First Seats of the other three peaks nodded in unison. Then, together, they softly chanted,
“Eternal Sky Secret Realm, open!”