Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

After successfully passing the cloud ladder, the token transmitted a message that Lin Zhao had scored 93 points in the second level, and together with the 91 points in the first level, he had scored a total of 184 points.

A sense of spatial distortion came over Lin Zhao, and he felt the cloud ladder beneath his feet become ethereal, and the surrounding scenery flew by.

When he regained his footing, he found himself in a wondrous scene.

A city suspended in the vast sky.

"Cloud Sea Immortal City"

Beneath our feet lies a sea of ​​clouds that appears almost tangible.

All the buildings are made of a warm and translucent "cloud crystal jade" that radiates a pale golden light when the sun shines on them.

The cloud crystals beneath my feet seemed soft, but they were as solid as a mountain when I stepped on them, with faint array runes flashing by.

Lin Zhao suppressed his shock and arrived at the square on the outskirts of the immortal city.

The square is filled with hundreds of golden pillars, each requiring one person to encircle it. The pillars are engraved with spiritual patterns, which slowly rotate inside.

At this moment, tens of thousands of cultivators who had passed the second stage had gathered in the square, and the tense atmosphere was barely concealed amidst the clamor of voices.

The token in my hand sent another message:

The first stage of the third level: Spiritual Root Test. Five spiritual roots: 10 points; the highest, Heavenly Spiritual Root: 50 points.

Lin Zhao's heart sank suddenly.

What was bound to happen has finally happened.

Spiritual roots are predetermined, forming the foundation of all cultivators, and are virtually unchangeable; at least Lin Zhao had never heard of such a thing.

He took a deep breath and gripped the token tightly.

He belongs to the four spiritual roots...

This means that in this stage, his score will be far behind those of the most outstanding cultivators.

Lin Zhao placed her hand on the cold spirit-testing pillar.

The spirit patterns on the pillar instantly lit up! Without any surprise, Lin Zhao scored 20 points.

With the 184 points accumulated from the first two rounds, the current total score is 204.

He walked towards the city gate. There, a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators with profound auras sat atop a cloud platform one meter above the ground.

Each person's platform is surrounded by spiritual light, presenting different illusory images encompassing all aspects of cultivation.

The token sent another message.

The second stage of the third stage: Talent and Skill Assessment.

Multiple tests are allowed, and the highest five scores will be included in the total score, with each item having a maximum score of ten points.

Cultivation level, spiritual consciousness, and physical body can also be used as assessment criteria.

Lin Zhao began his test:

He is a top-grade talisman master and scored 9 points.

The appearance of the Four Elements Sword Dragon in swordsmanship surprised even the Foundation Establishment instructor, earning him a score of 10.

Cultivation level: Qi Refining Level 9, scored 9 points.

Divine sense, a powerful divine sense that has broken through the divine barrier, scored 10 points.

Body tempering was his weakness; he hadn't practiced it enough and only scored 5 points.

The total score for the second stage is 43 points.

Lin Zhao smiled bitterly to himself. He had focused too much on improving his cultivation and swordsmanship, and had devoted too little time to body tempering.

If I had known, I should have spent more time training my physique.

But there's no going back.

His current total score is 247 points.

This is the final hurdle. The Yunhai Cangming Sect admits a total of 10,000 students, and those ranked higher will be accepted.

The first test assesses one's current abilities, cultivation, and wisdom.

The second test assesses the future, willpower, and character.

The third test assesses one's accumulated experience throughout their life. Cultivation level is undoubtedly the most important factor, but it's not irreplaceable. Other cultivation talents and skills can compensate for lower scores, and even mortal skills can be used.

For example, Pei Yue, the old man who passed the test using talismans, was told by the people of Cloud Sea Immortal City that...

He relied on the skills of using talismans, mental arithmetic, warfare, Go, and debate.

He managed to score 45 points by relying on a few ordinary skills.

As expected of a tutor to three emperors, a figure who led the dynasty to expand its territory, he is truly ruthless. He is still challenging himself with other skills.

I hope to get a higher score to make up for the impact of my previous low cultivation level.

Sects select disciples based on comprehensive abilities; those who excel in any field have the potential to become sect disciples.

About an hour later, Xu Chuan finally appeared in the square, his face slightly pale. His test results came out quickly: a total score of 240, 7 points lower than Lin Zhao's.

The two looked at each other, Xu Chuan wiped his sweat, grinned and said, "That was close, you almost left me far behind."

Half a day later, no one else was teleported over. Of the 500,000 participants, only 100,000 ultimately set foot in the Immortal City.

Some died at the hands of the cloud beasts, while many more were trapped in the Heart-Questioning Cloud Ladder and eliminated.

The five Golden Core cultivators reappeared high in the sky, their imposing aura overwhelming.

The leader, True Man Mingjing, swept his gaze across the crowd and waved his sleeve: "The time has come; the assessment is over!"

One hundred thousand tokens flew up in response and hovered in mid-air, like a galaxy.

Immediately afterwards, ninety percent of the tokens shattered simultaneously without warning, dissipating into the clouds.

Before the cultivators holding these tokens could even show their resentment, they were enveloped by teleportation light and instantly disappeared from the immortal city.

The remaining ten thousand tokens hummed and trembled, receiving the mysterious spiritual light that cascaded down from the center of the immortal city.

The spiritual light, like a waterfall, washed over the token, completely transforming its material into a flawless pure white.

After the transformation was complete, the tokens turned into streams of light and flew back to their respective owners.

"The one who obtains the White Jade Token will become an outer disciple of the Cloud Sea Azure Sea Sect." Master Mingjing's voice resounded throughout the heavens, "Enter the sect!"

The 10,000-strong team was once again enveloped in teleportation light.

The scene before him shifted, and Lin Zhao found himself on a giant bluestone plaza that was even more ancient and magnificent than the Immortal City Plaza.

Around the square, palaces and pavilions are built against the mountain, with flying eaves and brackets.

Ahead, a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators stood solemnly, their auras blending together.

They are members of the sect's Daodao Hall and will also be the instructors for the outer disciples for the next ten years.

The instructors each led away a hundred disciples. Lin Zhao and Xu Chuan followed Instructor He to a separate courtyard for the disciples.

Each villa occupies about a mile in size, with white walls and blue tiles, forming its own world.

Five jade trees with green veins are planted in the courtyard! Their trunks are like jade, their leaves have a greenish sheen, and they exude a stable and pure second-tier aura.

What's even more peculiar is that the spiritual energy emitted by this tree is exceptionally gentle, and can be slowly absorbed into the body with almost no effort required to refine it.

Beyond the walls of the villa, there were fifty towering, three-tiered jade trees with azure patterns, each several tens of feet tall. Their auras were intertwined, subtly connected to the earth's veins.

This formed a massive spirit-gathering and protective array that covered the entire courtyard area. The pressure emanating from each plant was comparable to that of a Core Formation cultivator!

After giving a brief explanation, Instructor He left, having received the sect token containing the details of tomorrow's gathering.

Lin Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to push open the door to his own room when Xu Chuan grabbed him, his eyes shining, his voice low but unable to hide his excitement:

"Lin Zhao! Don't rush to cultivate! Hurry up and come with me to the square!"

"What's wrong?" Lin Zhao asked, startled.

"What a spectacle! Let's go see what the legendary clash between 'Heavenly Spiritual Roots' and 'Other Spiritual Roots' is like! Hurry, hurry, or we won't be able to get in!"

Xu Chuan spoke very quickly and pulled Lin Zhao outside.

Lin Zhao's heart stirred; a Heavenly Spiritual Root! A strong sense of curiosity replaced the fatigue of the assessment.