My classmates chose martial arts and fantasy, but I chose the prehistoric world.

The moment he passed through the spatial barrier, Meng Chuan felt an extremely vast power of law sweep across his body—

That power was profound and ancient, like an invisible mountain pressing down on his soul, yet it quietly dissipated the moment it touched him, as if confirming his qualification.

Without stopping, he continued walking up the mountain path.

The mountain road was much longer than he had imagined.

From the outside, the mountain peak appears to be only a thousand feet high, but once inside, one discovers that the space has been folded countless times—

With each step, the surrounding scenery changes; sometimes it's a dense primeval forest, sometimes a desolate Gobi desert, and sometimes an endless starry sky.

Meng Chuan knew that this was a test path constructed by the power of laws, and each step was testing his control over space and his judgment of direction.

He walked for seven whole days.

Seven days later, he finally saw the mountaintop.

The mountaintop is flat, spanning hundreds of feet in circumference, and the ground is paved with a bluish-gray stone, giving it an ancient and simple appearance.

In the center of the mountaintop, there was a stone table and two stone benches.

A person was sitting on a stone bench.

He was an elderly man with white hair and a gaunt face, wearing a faded gray robe. He looked somewhat similar to Gongyang Que, but his demeanor was completely different.

Gongyang Que gives people a feeling of peace and kindness, while this old man is like an ancient sword hidden in its sheath. Although he does not reveal his sharpness, he does not dare to underestimate him.

He was holding a cup of tea, sipping it slowly, when he saw Meng Chuan come up. He put down the teacup and glanced at him.

"To have walked through the 'seven-fold road' to get here, your mastery of spatial laws is quite impressive."

The old man nodded. "My surname is Sun, and my given name is Bo. I am the third child in Niming Mountain."

Meng Chuan clasped his hands in a respectful greeting: "Greetings, Senior Brother."

Uncle Sun waved his hand: "No need for formalities. Please sit down."

Meng Chuan sat down on the stone bench opposite him.

Uncle Sun poured him a cup of tea. The tea was amber in color and had a strange fragrance. Just by smelling it, Meng Chuan felt the power of the laws within his body stir slightly, as if it were being drawn by something.

"The rules of Mount Niming are very simple."

Sun Bo got straight to the point, "The Mountain Lord is in seclusion year-round, detached from worldly affairs. We disciples each cultivate our own path and walk our own way. Normally, we are scattered throughout the divine realm, traveling and cultivating, and rarely gather together. This time, the Mountain Lord told me that he wanted a newcomer, and since I happened to be in the Holy Land, I was pulled in to be an examiner."

He smiled casually.

Meng Chuan nodded without asking any further questions.

"The assessment content is also very simple."

Uncle Sun held up three fingers. "Three questions. If you answer them to my satisfaction, you'll be the seventh person of Mount Niming. If you don't—"

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Go back to where you came from."

Meng Chuan said calmly, "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother."

Uncle Sun put down his teacup, his gaze becoming profound:

"The first question—what is defying fate?"

Meng Chuan remained silent for a moment.

This question seems simple, but it is actually extremely difficult to answer.

Because there is no standard answer—everyone has a different understanding of "defying fate," and what Sun Bo wants to see is not whether his answer is right or wrong, but whether his answer has depth and whether it conforms to the philosophy of the Mountain of Defying Fate.

He considered his words carefully and then slowly began to speak:

"I come from a place called the Primordial Universe..."

Uncle Sun's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he did not interrupt him.

"..."

"Along the way, I faced countless desperate situations and was told countless times that 'you can't do it,' 'you can't do it,' and 'you should accept your fate.' But I never accepted my fate."

"In my view, defying fate is not about going against heaven, nor is it about overthrowing or destroying anything. Defying fate is about continuing to move forward when everyone tells you, 'You can only go this far.'"

"That's my answer."

The mountaintop was quiet for a moment.

Uncle Sun picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said nothing.

After a long while, he put down his teacup and slowly nodded:

"Second question—why do you cultivate the Tao?"

Meng Chuan did not hesitate this time:

"At first, it was about survival. Later, it was about protecting those I wanted to protect. And then—"

He paused, "It's to see what the end of this road looks like."

A glint flashed in Uncle Sun's eyes: "What if there's nothing at the end of the road?"

"Then let's look at the scenery where there's nothing," Meng Chuan replied. "It's better than stopping halfway and spending your whole life thinking, 'What if there's scenery ahead?'"

Uncle Sun was silent for a moment, then smiled.

That smile was like a wild chrysanthemum blooming in the cold winter, carrying a hint of relief and a hint of nostalgia.

"The third question—" He held up his third finger, "If you join Mountain of Rebellion and find that it's not as good as you imagined, and may even bring you greater danger and trouble, will you regret your decision today?"

Meng Chuan gave the answer almost without hesitation:

"I never regret the choices I've made."

"I only regret the opportunities I missed because of hesitation."

Uncle Sun stared at him for a long time.

Then, he stood up, walked up to Meng Chuan, and extended his hand:

"Congratulations, you passed the test."

"Welcome to the Mountain of Rebellion, Xiao Qi."

"From now on, you can call me Third Senior Brother."

Meng Chuan grasped his hand and stood up.

Although it was only a few simple words, he could sense that his third senior brother's attitude towards him had changed from the initial "routine" to genuine acceptance.

"From today onwards, you are the seventh disciple of the Mountain of Rebellion."

Sun Bo said, "The Mountain Lord is currently in seclusion and will not see you for the time being. Some of your other fellow disciples are traveling, while others are on missions, so you may not be able to see them all in the short term. But it doesn't matter—the people of Niming Mountain have always been about fate. If you are destined to meet, you will meet again."

He took out a token from his pocket and handed it to Meng Chuan.

The token was entirely black, made of neither gold nor jade, and felt cold to the touch. On the front was engraved a lone goose flying against the wind, and on the back was the number seven.

"This is your identity token. After the blood oath is performed, it can help you sense the approximate location of other members of the Rebellious Mountain, and can also send distress signals to other members in times of crisis."

Meng Chuan accepted the token and carefully put it away.

Uncle Sun then pointed to a small thatched hut behind the mountaintop: "That's your residence. Although it's simple, the spiritual energy in the mountain is the most concentrated in the entire Lonely Goose Holy Land, and there are law restrictions personally set up by the mountain lord. Cultivating here will be twice as effective with half the effort."

Meng Chuan glanced at the thatched hut, then looked around—

On this mountain peak, apart from Uncle Sun and himself, there was no trace of a third person.

"Third Senior Brother, is Mount Niming... usually only occupied by you?"