I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Time: 12:00 noon on the day of the live-fire exercise]

[Location: Kunlun Main Peak, Inquiry Square, in front of the Trial Tower]

On the north side of the Asking Square, there stands a strange building. It is a nine-story black stone tower. It is entirely made of an unknown type of obsidian, and there are no doors or windows on the tower, only intricate and obscure dark red patterns.

Since the start of the school year, the tower has stood there quietly, like a silent tombstone. Regardless of wind or rain, it exudes a chilling aura.

until today.

Boom— As Gu Qing channeled his spiritual energy into the tower, the long-silent "Trial Tower" emitted its first dull rumble.

The dark red patterns on the tower glowed like blood vessels, and the tightly closed stone door at the bottom slowly slid open to the sides, revealing a deep and dark vortex inside.

Standing atop the clouds, Gu Qing looked down at the more than two thousand disciples arrayed below, his voice indifferent: "First team, two hundred people, enter the tower."

As the chief disciple, Chu Tian naturally stood at the very front of the first team.

After this period of intense training, coupled with his "destined protagonist" aptitude, his cultivation level has long surpassed that of his peers—he has reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.

This is an almost groundbreaking lead in the current cultivation world on Earth.

"Follow me."

Without wasting any words, Chu Tian gripped his long sword and led the 199 slightly nervous elite disciples behind him into the dark vortex.

……

Location: Trial Tower, First Floor

[Status: First team undergoing trials]

The images were projected onto the square in real time through a giant light screen.

More than two thousand pairs of eyes across the school were glued to the screen, everyone holding their breath, eager to see just how terrifying the legendary "extraterrestrial demon" really was.

However, what happened next stunned everyone.

"roar--"

Five hundred ferocious Void Hounds roared as they charged out of the mist, their presence terrifying.

If it were an ordinary disciple, they would probably be in a panic by now.

But Chu Tian only glanced at it coldly.

"Too slow."

He didn't even draw his sword; he simply took a step forward.

boom!

A terrifying spiritual pressure belonging to the eighth level of Qi Refining erupted like a tsunami.

That's a qualitative difference.

Those originally ferocious demonic hounds, upon being struck by this oppressive force, became like chickens with their necks being choked, their movements instantly stiffening and slowing down.

"Wind Blade Technique, clear the area," Chu Tian ordered calmly.

Then, he pointed his fingers like a sword and casually swung them.

A ten-meter-long cyan wind blade roared out, slicing through the fifty demonic hounds at the front like harvesting wheat!

The battle was already half over before the remaining 199 disciples even had a chance to finish their hand seals.

"What are you standing there for? Finish him off." Chu Tian turned around and frowned.

"Ah...yes! Yes!"

The disciples then realized what was happening and began casting spells.

Under Chu Tian's absolute control, these five hundred monsters were easily eliminated, like stationary targets.

Total time: three minutes.

Casualties: 0.

When the first group of disciples walked out of the Trial Tower unharmed and chatting happily, a deafening cheer erupted in the square.

"Holy crap! Senior Brother is so handsome!"

"That's it? It didn't seem that difficult!"

"Those monsters looked scary, but how come they shattered as soon as you touched them?"

"Hey, that's a projection. I guess the school lowered the difficulty level. It's just a formality to let us test our courage."

A feeling of "contempt" spread rapidly among the people.

Seeing the first team win so easily, the tense and tense atmosphere vanished completely. Everyone began to think that this was just a "live-action CS" game with holographic effects.

……

The second team enters.

"Our turn! Brothers, let's charge! Let's get an S-rank!"

The leader of the second team was a young sports student at the fourth level of Qi Refining named Liu Yu. Watching Chu Tian's performance just now, he felt that although he was not as good as Chu Tian, ​​those monsters were so fragile that he could easily handle them.

"Hurry up! Don't let those beasts get away!"

"Zhang San, stop setting up defensive formations, let's all attack! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can eat!"

Two hundred people rushed into the trial tower, laughing and joking.

Even the most cautious person in the team relaxed their guard at this moment—after all, the first team hadn't even gotten their clothes dirty.

……

Location: Trial Tower, First Floor

Liu Yu led his team into the Gobi Desert.

"They're here! Five hundred of them!"

Seeing the beast horde surging towards them, Liu Yu shouted excitedly, "Fireball Barrage! Blast them to smithereens!"

Boom boom boom!

A barrage of fireballs indeed killed a large number of people.

"Haha! Just as I thought, weak!" Liu Yu, carried away by his pride, brandished his heavy sword. "Charge with me! Let's finish them off in close combat!"

The formation has broken down.

In order to grab "kills" and to impress the dean, these students abandoned the safest defensive formation and charged into the beast horde like a group of thugs in a brawl.

However, they forgot the most crucial point:

They are not Chu Tian.

They lacked the imposing aura of an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator to intimidate the monster.

Once the oppressive aura was gone, the Void Hounds revealed their true speed and fangs.

"what!"

The boy at the very front slashed at the skull of a demonic hound with his sword.

It didn't sever in two as expected. The longsword got stuck in the hard bone crevice.

Before he could draw his sword, the demonic hound suddenly turned its head and bit his wrist.

Snap! The wrist broke.

"Damn! How can this monster be so strong?!" the boy cried out, still unaware of the gravity of the situation. "Liu Yu! Help me!"

But he didn't receive any rescue.

Because the other three demonic hounds pounced on him and knocked him to the ground.

"Help!!"

The boy screamed in terror.

But he wasn't truly desperate, because he subconsciously thought: This is a school exam, the teacher must be watching, and if my life is in danger, someone will definitely come to my rescue.

Not only him, but his classmates thought the same way.

"Oh no, Wang Xu has been tackled. Looks like he's going to be eliminated."

"This is bad, we're probably going to get points deducted."

No one realized that death had arrived.

until--

scoff!

The demonic dog suddenly yanked.

Wang Xu's throat was ripped open with a huge gash, exposing his trachea and blood vessels to the air.

Blood gushed out like a high-pressure water gun, splattering onto the faces of the classmates who were still laughing nearby.

Wang Xu clutched his neck, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at the sky.

He was waiting for the golden light that would save him.

He was waiting for the dean's large hand.

He's waiting...

The golden light did not appear until the light in his eyes completely faded.

died.

This scene was clearly transmitted to the square through the light screen.

The square, which had been buzzing with discussion, suddenly seemed to be muted.

A deathly silence.

"Wang...Wang Xu?"

The student whose face was splattered with blood froze, dazedly touching the warmth on his face.

"Is...it really dead?"

At this moment, the balance within the Trial Tower was broken.

The smell of blood enraged the pack of demon dogs, making them even more frenzied.

Humans, on the other hand, were completely stunned by this sudden death.

"Dean! Elder! Help!!"

"Wang Xu is dead! He's really dead!"

"Why not pause it?! This is just an exam!"

In the square, the students rushed towards the platform where Gu Qing was, crying, shouting and roaring.

They couldn't accept that their classmate, who was lively and energetic just a second ago, had become a mutilated corpse the next.

High in the sky.

Gu Qing stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes still cold and indifferent.

The system's red alert flashed before his eyes, asking whether he should intervene.

Looking at the terrified, angry, and confused faces below, Gu Qing felt only a steely resolve in her heart.

"Don't stop."

His voice echoed throughout the venue.

"What do you think this is? A holographic game? Playing house?"

Gu Qing pointed to the boy lying in a pool of blood on the screen:

"He died because of his underestimation of his enemy, and because of your arrogance."

"Are you waiting for me to make a move? Waiting for the elders to make a move?"

Gu Qing sneered, her voice as piercing and chilling as the wind and snow of a freezing winter:

"On the real battlefield, there are no referees, no teachers, and no pause button."

"Dead is dead."

These words shattered everyone's illusions.

Inside the Trial Tower, the survivors of the second team finally awoke from their illusion of "waiting for rescue."

Instead, there was boundless fear.

"Aaaaaah! I don't want to die!"

"Run!"

The formation completely collapsed.

The consequence of turning your back to wild beasts is slaughter.

Three more people were tackled while fleeing, their screams heart-wrenching before abruptly ending.

"Turn around and fight if you don't want to die!!"

Finally, Liu Yu, overcome with extreme fear, snapped. He knew that Gu Qing and the others truly wouldn't intervene.

"Form ranks! Form ranks now! Otherwise we'll all die here!"

The remaining students huddled together, crying and trembling, their hands holding swords shaking.

But this time, they finally began to fight to the death like true monks, desperately trying to survive.

……

This day will be an unforgettable one for all the students of Kunlun University.

After the second team, no one in the subsequent teams dared to let their guard down.

Even when facing a lone demon hound, they would be completely focused, and might even accidentally injure their teammates due to excessive tension.

Even so, casualties continue to occur.

Some people were so terrified that their legs went weak and they were unable to dodge the attack.

Some people suffered a mental breakdown after witnessing their teammates die, and rushed out of formation to their deaths.

Some people were a beat slower because they had exhausted their spiritual energy.

When the setting sun dyed the snow-capped peaks of Kunlun Mountain red.

Forty-four corpses were neatly arranged in the square.

It may be incomplete or completely unrecognizable.

This included the cost of the second team underestimating their opponents, as well as the mistakes made by subsequent teams under extreme pressure.

More than two thousand students stood in the square, looking at the corpses.

No one spoke, only low sobs could be heard.

The previous arrogance, excitement, and romantic fantasies about cultivating immortality were shattered by these forty-four corpses at this moment.

Gu Qing fell from the clouds.

He didn't try to comfort the weeping students, but instead walked straight to the corpse, ignoring everything.

"Remember this day."

Gu Qing's gaze swept across the entire room.

This time, no one dared to meet his gaze. The weight contained in that gaze was too heavy.

"Am I cold-blooded?" Gu Qing asked.

No one answered. Everyone harbored resentment and fear.

"I know you hate me and think I'm heartless."

Gu Qing's voice was low and deep, "But if I don't let you witness death today, then when the void rift truly opens..."

He pointed to the group of students behind him:

"The number of corpses displayed here is not forty-four."

"But three thousand, thirty thousand, three hundred million."

"Cultivating immortality is gambling with your life for tomorrow."

"The forty-four people today, with their lives, have taught you all a lesson: never place your hopes on others, even if they are your comrades."

Gu Qing waved his hand, and the forty-four corpses turned into spiritual light and flew towards the Hall of Heroes on the back mountain.

"A lavish burial will ensure the family's continued wealth and prosperity for a hundred years."

After saying that, Gu Qing turned and left, leaving everyone with only a resolute back view.

In the square, Chu Tian gripped his sword tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Zhao Feng closed his eyes, two lines of tears streaming down his face, but when he opened them again, only steely resolve remained in his eyes.

That night, Kunlun was destined to be sleepless.

That night, the group of children who once only knew how to study and train died.

A group of cultivators who dared to wield their swords even in the face of death were born from that bloody lesson.

Of course, some people choose to be content with an ordinary life...