Magic Stage: The One Who Does Not Move.

The moment Shikong Tianzun called out, "The exam begins!"

The sect leaders brought out their books. Hei Xing then took out his One-Star Book from inside his robe, and right then, one of the male participants saw his tattered book.

"H-Hey, look at that guy!" said that man, pointing his finger. "Hahahaha! What the hell is that ugly book?"

Immediately, people turned toward Hei Xing, their faces full of condescension, with sneers and disgusting expressions.

"A One-Star Book? Is there really a Cultivator with talent that bad?"

"Even the star on his book is unclear hahahaha!"

"You'd better just go home, rather than embarrass yourself!"

Xiao Rou, who stood beside him, just stayed silent. She slowly, quietly edged away from Hei Xing without him noticing. Feng Yun, hovering in the air, watched the movements of that brown-haired girl from afar, her expression furrowing more and more.

But for the man who was always insulted every time he met anyone, such things were just his daily meal—Hei Xing was already full.

"Just watch who will laugh in the end," he thought.

Then he planted himself in a half-squat stance with his fists clenched at his sides.

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE ALL ANNOYING!" Full of spirit, he raised both middle fingers at everyone mocking him. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"You're the noisy one, damn it! We can't even feel any Qi from you!"

The commotion focused on Hei Xing.

Hundreds of people cursed, but he responded with a sticking-out tongue and flaring nostrils.

"JUST WATCH, I'M GOING TO BE THE NEXT CULTIVATION EMPEROR! WELEEE!"

Feng Yun smiled faintly. She had expected this would happen, and she knew how Hei Xing would respond.

"He really is good at making those who underestimate him annoyed," she thought.

"WAHAHAHA." The Cultivation Emperor, seeing the absurdity in the arena, laughed out loud. "This will be interesting."

Meanwhile, the leaders of the Nine Great Sects merely acted indifferent—but not Mo Jianxiu. Her expression, which bore a wicked smile, made Xuanzhi Yuze shake her head.

Yan Bai, sitting at the very end of the altar, formed a seal with both palms meeting, two fingers raised on her right hand. Her Five-Star Book floated, emitting a waft of pink mist.

"Spring Magic: Plum Blossom Fragrance!"

A magic circle was created above the participants' heads. All eyes stopped in their actions, tension crept in—but not for Hei Xing. He was instead captivated by the beauty of the Qi glow in the sky.

Droplets of particles as thin as dust drifted down from the magic circle. As those particles showered their heads, Hei Xing looked around at the crowd. All the participants suddenly wore intoxicating expressions, as if they were lost in a romance etched into Yan Bai's beautiful face.

"Lady Yan Bai! Please marry me!"

"W-Why is Lady Yan Bai so beautiful?"

"It's impossible that an angel descended to earth."

Almost all participants with Five-Star Books were entranced, but those with Four-Star Books were strong enough to merely endure. A different story for the holders of Three-Star Books who began to drop one by one, they suddenly fainted due to Yan Bai's beauty.

Hei Xing, puzzled, wondered what was wrong with them. The Qi particles that fell simply vanished upon touching his skin without leaving a trace; it felt only like a drizzle that didn't wet the body.

The leaders standing in front of their respective chairs paid no attention to Hei Xing. But Mo Jianxiu increasingly displayed a smile of interest.

"La-Lady... your face is terrifying," said Xuanzhi Yuze nervously.

"Shut up, Yuze!" replied Mo Jianxiu, still glancing at Hei Xing.

Up there, Feng Yun was still hovering steadily. Her Qi wings flapped softly; the pink particles that approached her evaporated instantly before touching her skin. The Nine-Star Book floating alongside her glowed brightly, rejecting the magic entirely.

Xiao Rou staggered, nearly succumbing. Her Three-Star Book was gripped tighter and tighter.

"I-I've tried so hard to reach mid-level Qi Forging," she thought quietly. "I will not fail."

Several minutes passed. Zhu Longwei created a small fireball on the palm of his hand, then threw it toward Yan Bai's magic circle.

After that ball reached...

The five fingers of his right hand were placed in front of his face.

"Fire Magic: Sun Ball!" he incanted, immediately clenching his fist. His floating Five-Star Book emitted a red light.

That small ball then suddenly enlarged, as if forming itself into a second sun, extremely close to the exam participants.

"H-Hot!"

"H-Help us, Lady Yan Bai!"

"Argh!"

The candidates panicked; their bodies felt as if they were being roasted alive. Including Hei Xing, he braced his body to remain standing, sweat pouring down.

That blazing sun ball dropped small fireballs that shot down like meteors falling from the ceiling. People scattered, dodging the attacks. Some were blown away; some used other bodies as living shields. There were even those who struck the incoming balls with their Qi magic.

Hei Xing saw Xiao Rou growing weaker. Taking initiative, he walked in front of the girl's body, his back facing her, using his body as a sheltering umbrella.

"H-Hei Xing!" Xiao Rou's eyes widened.

"Just stay quiet. You want to pass too, don't you?" That man turned his head.

"W-Why are you still holding on?"

"I don't understand either."

Xiao Rou grew more confused. What she understood was that every star on a book indicated the ease with which someone could cultivate. To her, it was impossible for Hei Xing to be above her realm.

BAM!

Hei Xing punched a small fireball speeding toward the two of them.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

He punched every fireball that came.

That magic... vanished... leaving smoke marks on his fist.

The leaders of the Nine Sects scrutinized Hei Xing.

"Just a fist?" They all thought simultaneously, without knowing each other's inner thoughts. They believed a Cultivator without Qi was no Cultivator at all, deeming Hei Xing unworthy of being a candidate for their sects.

"That kid... not bad," thought Mo Jianxiu. Only she was paying attention.

Feng Yun, floating in the air, drew closer to Hei Xing. Her beautiful face grew more and more sour—not angry, just annoyed because Hei Xing always helped others indiscriminately. And in her opinion, the brown-haired girl behind that man's body was not worthy of being protected.

"Feng Yun?" said Hei Xing, wondering why she was coming toward him while the exam was still going on.

"Hei Xing, you fool!" cursed Feng Yun. "That girl didn't even defend you when you were insulted!"

"Ehh? Why are you suddenly angry?"

"Hmph!"

Feng Yun left, abandoning Hei Xing, returning to her original position in the sky.

"Ehh?" Hei Xing rounded his eyes with his mouth open. "What the heck? Sometimes I can't figure her out."

Xiao Rou, behind him, heard Feng Yun's voice before that blue-haired girl left without glancing at her figure at all.

"S-So it's true, Hei Xing is friends with that woman," she thought in shock. "Who exactly is this man standing before me right now?"

On the altar, the blue-haired man stretched both his hands forward. His Six-Star Book lit up like the color of the sea.

"Rose Magic: Petal Slashes." Lanhua Xue created a magic circle, then hundreds of blue rose petals shot from the circle.

Those flowers spun wildly in the air, speeding with unpredictable trajectories, unknown where they would fall.

ZRAKK! ZRAKK! ZRAKK!

Hundreds of bodies were slashed by rose petals as sharp as the cuts of a cold dagger. Blood spurted; everyone in the arena became more and more chaotic.

Hei Xing, seeing that...

"WOOOOO!"

He tightened all his muscles. When that attack came from in front of him and passed right through his body just like that, those speeding petals only left scratch marks that didn't penetrate his sturdy flesh.

The sun ball created by Zhu Longwei stopped firing its attacks, and its physical form vanished along with the effect of Yan Bai's Qi. Meanwhile, Lanhua Xue's rose petals continued scattering from his magic circle.

Mengluo Xian, standing beside Lanhua Xue, opened the cloth covering his eyes. His pupils were purplish with a beautiful sparkling star pattern.

"Star Eye Magic: Night Sky Illusion," he said without forming any seal. But the Six-Star Book beneath his robe pulsed softly.

Yan Bai's magic circle vanished, replaced by Mengluo Xian's, slowly expanding and slowly contracting again. Every pair of feet planted on the teak floor trembled.

In an instant...

Mengluo Xian's magic circle...

Immediately summoned a single eye that filled the bright expanse of the sky, covering the sun into thick darkness.

Hundreds of heads that saw that gigantic single eye, at least those who owned books below six stars, froze with blank expressions.

"What the hell is that?" asked Hei Xing, widening his eyes. "A Demon Eye?"

While tensing his muscles, he protected Xiao Rou without even realizing it. That girl was not under the influence of the magic because she was shielded by Hei Xing's body.

Lanhua Xue's magic was still firing slashing petals. Huangjin Chen, who was at Shikong Tianzun's side, extended her hand toward the arena.

"Dawn Magic: Divine Healing!"

From the teak floor, a magic circle surged up between the frozen feet and those trembling because they were still resisting the effects of Mengluo Xian's magic.

Golden light exploded from beneath the participants' feet. That magic circle did not attack, but healed the candidates for sect membership. Huangjin Chen did not want to endanger anyone's life. Her Seven-Star Book shone brightly, circling her slender body.

"W-Warm..."

"I-Is this Lady Huangjin Chen's magic?"

Hei Xing felt that warmth, but the Qi from the leader of the Golden Dawn Sect was absorbed into his body. His wounds healed, even though he was actually not seriously injured.

Seeing the exam participants increasingly helpless...

The Cultivation Emperor raised his hand toward the sky.

"Enough," he said calmly with a small smile. "These results have proven enough. It remains for you leaders to choose your members."

Even though there were still four leaders who had not demonstrated their power, Shikong Tianzun was satisfied with the current exam results.

"Better than last year's exam. From what I heard, the exam participants could only withstand three sect leaders. But this year, five leaders," he thought.

Zhandao Kuang, Zixuan Feng, Hualing Zi, and Mo Jianxiu agreed. The exam should stop without the involvement of the four of them.

"True, Mengluo Xian's cultivation realm is indeed the highest among the nine of us, even though he only possesses a Six-Star Book," said the fatty Zixuan Feng.

Hearing that, Mengluo Xian tied his irises again with the cloth, in tandem with the disappearance of the single eye in the arena's sky.

The leaders of the Nine Great Sects were stunned. Out of hundreds of people, there was one girl who hadn't flinched at all.

It was Feng Yun, who flew through every obstacle.

"Wait, Emperor Shikong Tianzun," interrupted Mo Jianxiu. "Last year, you were not present at the exam."

Mo Jianxiu glanced toward Hei Xing—only for an instant, but enough for Xuanzhi Yuze to notice it and let out a long sigh.

"Y-Yes, th-that's true," said Hualing Zi, the fifteen-year-old sect leader. "The exam will proceed to the next stage for those who endured: one-on-one combat."

TANG! TANG! TANG!

"That is correct." Zhandao Kuang clashed his two sharp metals together. "It's no fun if it's just like this."

The Cultivation Emperor held his chin.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Emperor," answered Huangjin Chen, turning toward Feng Yun. "We must see their abilities."

The Cultivation Emperor thought for a moment.

"The purpose of this sect exam is indeed to see their ability to survive the death that might await every step of a Cultivator's path. But they have a point—if you can't fight, you can't survive," he thought.

All the participants who endured smiled, while those already collapsed were carried away by members of the Nine Great Sects standing at the side of the arena, at a distance that didn't disturb the ongoing exam.

On the teak floor, Huangjin Chen's magic circle vanished. For her, it was enough to heal them.

"All of you." Shikong Tianzun spread his arms. "Rest first. You will enter the one-on-one combat stage and choose your opponents. For any member who does not get an opponent, they will be tested by a candidate not chosen by any sect."

The meaning was simple: if the number of remaining candidates was odd, one person would have to face a special examiner—someone already here before the exam began, waiting behind the shadows.

Hei Xing clenched his fists beneath his robe. One-on-one combat. Finally, something that didn't depend on Qi, but on who could hit hardest and who could withstand being hit the most. His heartbeat raced with impatience.

Behind him, Xiao Rou slowly straightened her body. Sweat soaked her temples, but the Three-Star Book in her grip was still glowing, a sign that she still didn't want to give up. Her eyes gazed at Hei Xing's back. That man was still standing in front of her, blocking the remnants of rose petals that hadn't fully disappeared.

Feng Yun was still hovering. Her face was cold again, like ice that had frozen back after melting for a moment. One-on-one combat? For her, it was merely a formality. The only person she truly wanted to face... was down there. Standing in front of a girl who didn't even dare to defend him.

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