Projection of the Heavens: I prove my immortality through slaughter.

The first round of selection, like a great wave sifting through sand, swept away thousands of dream-filled young men and women, leaving fewer than five hundred. In the area where those who passed gathered, the atmosphere noticeably became more tense, an invisible competitive pressure permeating the air. Their gazes met, filled with scrutiny, apprehension, and a hint of barely perceptible hostility.

Lin Xuan stood alone at the edge, still meditating with his eyes closed, seemingly out of place amidst the surrounding commotion. His aura, suppressed to the fourth level of Qi Refining, wasn't particularly outstanding among the group of youths, who were at least at the second level of Qi Refining, but no one dared to underestimate him. A rogue cultivator who could reach the fourth level of Qi Refining at this age either possessed considerable talent or had extraordinary abilities.

Several young men, dressed in obviously more luxurious clothes, gathered together, talking and laughing in hushed tones. When their eyes occasionally swept over Lin Xuan and other simply dressed rogue cultivators, they did so with undisguised contempt.

"I heard the young master of the Wang family is here too, and he's supposedly at the peak of the fourth level of Qi Refining." "More than that, the young lady from the Li family is no slouch either; she's said to be cultivating a Xuan-level technique." "These peasants dare to compete with us? What a joke!"

Lin Xuan ignored their discussions, his mind remaining calm. In his eyes, the sense of superiority of these scions of noble families was childish and laughable.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the middle-aged cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage reappeared on the high platform, his voice resounding throughout the entire area:

"Those who pass the first test, please follow me to the 'Training Grounds' for the second test—a strength test!"

A stir ran through the crowd, but then, guided by the disciples of the Qingyun Sect, they silently and orderly passed through the massive jade archway and officially entered the Qingyun Sect's mountain gate.

The moment he entered, Lin Xuan felt a lightness all over his body, as if he had passed through an invisible membrane. Immediately afterwards, a pure spiritual energy several times richer than the outside world rushed towards him, invigorating his spirit! Looking around, he saw verdant peaks, cascading waterfalls and flowing springs, pavilions and towers nestled among them, cranes soaring in the sky, and monkeys frolicking—a truly magnificent scene of immortals!

The abundant spiritual energy and orderly environment were a world apart from the chaos and desolation of the refugee settlements outside. Many of the young people showed expressions of shock and longing, which further strengthened their determination to stay.

Lin Xuan's heart stirred slightly. This was only the outer sect area, yet the spiritual energy was already so abundant. What would it be like in the inner sect, or even the core area? The sect's foundation was indeed incomparable to that of independent cultivators.

The group was led to a very spacious white marble plaza, which was the training ground. In the center of the plaza, dozens of black stone tablets, each about the height of a person, were neatly arranged. The surface of the tablets was smooth, with runes faintly flowing across them; these were the strength-testing tablets.

"The second test: Strength Test!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator's voice boomed like a bell. "This stele is forged from obsidian mixed with black iron, and it has an array on it, capable of measuring immense force! You must exert all your strength to strike the stele! The stele will display force markings, with one mark representing one hundred jin of force. Those who score below ten marks will be eliminated!"

The rules are simple and straightforward.

Ten units of strength equals a thousand jin (approximately 500 kg)! This is no easy feat for a cultivator in the early stages of Qi Refining. After all, the Qi Refining stage primarily cultivates spiritual energy. Although their physical bodies are nourished by spiritual energy and are stronger than ordinary people, their strength isn't excessively exaggerated unless they specifically train their bodies. An ordinary second-level Qi Refining cultivator, at full power, would only reach around a thousand jin, barely meeting the standard. A third-level Qi Refining cultivator would reach about 1,500 jin. A fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator could reach over 2,000 jin.

Many of the young men, whose cultivation was only at the second or third level of Qi Refining, already showed signs of tension.

As the assessment began, the young men stepped forward one by one, channeling their spiritual energy. With shouts of anger, fists, palms, and legs rained down on the strength-testing monument.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The muffled thuds continued.

The runes on the monument lit up, displaying white markings. "Zhang Shan, eleven marks, qualified!" "Li Si, nine marks, unqualified!" "Wang Wu, fifteen marks, qualified!"

Some were happy, some were sad. Most of the qualified test takers scored between ten and twenty, and very few scored above twenty, which caused a small gasp of surprise.

Soon, it was the turn of several youths whose auras were noticeably stronger. Most of them came from small cultivation families, or had been prepared beforehand.

A boy with a muscular build, as strong as an iron tower, roared and slammed his fist, which was covered in an earthy yellow spiritual light, onto the monument!

A loud "thud!" The runes flickered violently before finally settling. "Barbarian Stone, thirty-five marks! Pass!" The disciple in charge of recording raised his voice slightly.

Thirty-five marks, three thousand five hundred jin! This strength is close to the level of the fifth level of Qi Refining! The young man named Man Shi smiled proudly, looked around, and enjoyed the amazement of others.

Immediately afterward, a young man dressed in fine clothes, with a cold and arrogant expression, pointed his fingers like a sword and stabbed a sharp sword aura into the strength-measuring monument! "Swoosh!" The monument displayed: "Twenty-seven marks!" Although not as good as the barbarian stone, it still attracted everyone's attention.

The assessment continued, and Lin Xuan remained quietly in the middle of the line, completely inconspicuous.

Finally, it was his turn.

In an instant, many eyes turned to him. After all, a fifteen-year-old at the fourth level of Qi Refining was quite conspicuous among this group. Many people wanted to see how many levels this composed young man could achieve.

The disciple in charge of recording glanced at him and said in a formulaic manner, "Name, strike the monument with all your might."

"Lin Xuan."

Lin Xuan gave his name and slowly walked to the strength-testing stele. Unlike the others, he did not immediately assume a stance and gather his spiritual power; he simply stood quietly, examining the dark stone stele.

'Obsidian mixed with black iron, its hardness is acceptable, and there is a simple power-gathering and display array inside...' His powerful divine sense instantly analyzed the structure of the power-testing stele. He secretly assessed how much force he should use if he were to use stellar spiritual power without being too shocking.

"What is he doing? Is he scared out of his wits?" "Playing tricks!" "Hurry up, don't waste time!" Someone behind him urged impatiently.

The young men from prominent families scoffed, "Looks like a silver-plated spearhead, all show and no substance."

On the high platform, the Foundation Establishment cultivator also frowned slightly, feeling that this young man was being far too slow.

Just then, Lin Xuan made a move.

To everyone's astonishment, he didn't circulate any spiritual energy, and there wasn't a trace of spiritual light emanating from his body. He didn't even make any gesture of exerting force. He simply and casually raised his right fist, and then, as if brushing away dust, lightly struck the center of the strength-testing monument.

The movements were slow and even a little lazy.

Compared to those powerful and dazzling attacks before, this punch was simply child's play!

"puff......"

A burst of suppressed laughter erupted behind them. The young masters from the aristocratic families laughed so hard they were doubled over: "Is this good-for-nothing here to be a joke?" Even the disciple in charge of recording shook his head, his face showing impatience, preparing to record an extremely low number and then announce the elimination.

however--

Just as Lin Xuan's fist made contact with the monument!

A sudden change has occurred!

There was no deafening roar, only a very brief, muffled sound, as if something inside had been instantly burst open—

"Buzz... Click!"

The flowing runes on the strength-testing monument suddenly lit up with a blinding white light, far surpassing the brilliance of any previous test! Then, as if unable to withstand some terrifying power, they emitted a series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds!

Immediately following, under countless horrified gazes, the obsidian stele, whose hardness was enough to withstand the full force of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, first developed countless spiderweb-like cracks on its surface. These cracks rapidly spread across the entire stele, and then—

"boom!!!"

The entire force-measuring monument suddenly shattered from the inside! It turned into countless fragments of varying sizes, scattering in all directions!

Smoke and dust filled the air!

The entire training ground fell into a deathly silence!

Everyone stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, like ducks being choked, unable to utter a sound. Their expressions shifted instantly from mockery and impatience to utter shock, bewilderment, and disbelief!

Shattered...shattered? The force-measuring monument...was destroyed?! With...physical strength?! And it looked like such a light punch?!

How is this possible?!

The scions of noble families who had just been sneer now had their smiles frozen on their faces, looking utterly ridiculous. Man Shi stared intently at the pile of rubble, his rugged face filled with horror. The elegantly dressed youth dropped his folding fan to the ground with a "clatter," completely unaware.

The disciple in charge of recording the events didn't even notice the jade slip in his hand fall to the ground with a "thud." He stared wide-eyed at the pile of ruins, then at Lin Xuan, as if he had seen a ghost.

On the high platform, the Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly stood up, his face showing solemnity and horror for the first time! With his keen eyesight, he could clearly see that the young man had not used any spiritual power at all! He relied entirely on the strength of his physical body!

But... just how terrifying physical strength does that require?! It's probably comparable to some Foundation Establishment stage body cultivators who specialize in body training! Is this really something a fifteen-year-old Qi Refining level four rogue cultivator could do?!

Lin Xuan slowly withdrew his fist, as if he had only done something insignificant. He glanced at the pile of rubble on the ground, then looked at the stunned disciple who was recording the events, and spoke calmly, his voice exceptionally clear in the deathly silent square:

"Is this... acceptable?"

The disciple then seemed to snap out of his daze, stammering, "Pass! Of course I pass!"

He hurriedly picked up the jade slip, his hands still trembling slightly, and wrote on it: Lin Xuan, the strength testing monument is damaged, score... score..."

He looked pleadingly at the Foundation Establishment cultivator on the high platform.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator gave Lin Xuan a deep look and said in a deep voice, "Academic achievement: Outstanding!"

These two words struck like a heavy hammer against everyone's heart.

Excellent!

In the hundreds of years since the Qingyun Sect began accepting disciples, no one has ever received an "excellent" rating in the strength test!

At this moment, no one dared to underestimate this seemingly ordinary young man in a blue robe. Everyone's eyes were filled with awe and disbelief.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Xuan calmly walked back to the line of those passing through. Wherever he went, the crowd automatically parted to make way for him, and no one dared to block his path anymore.

He remained standing in the corner, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the astonishing scene that had just unfolded.

But everyone knows that this young man named Lin Xuan is destined to cause a huge uproar in this selection.