Lu Sheng extended his right hand toward the refined young man. His fingers spread wide. A pure white light blossomed from the palm of his hand. At first, the refined young man wielding the red battle blade paid it no mind.
But in the blink of an eye, each one of the millions of pores on his body contracted and trembled. An expression of sheer terror involuntarily spread across his handsome face.
He had witnessed the most dazzling auroras in the starry sky. He had also witnessed the simultaneous explosion of a hundred supernovae. Yet no light had ever made him feel the way he did now, facing this single beam of white light.
It wasn't particularly dazzling, but it was overwhelming. Nothing could stand in its way.
The refined youth instinctively raised the battle blade in his hand, and a dazzling light of Laws surged from his body. It formed a sky-sweeping crimson tide in the void, then swiftly coalesced into a crystalline form. It was like an exquisitely crafted, incredibly hard composite shield, enveloping him layer by layer.
Alas, just as this defense—a veritable work of art—was about to be completed, it was mercilessly shattered. The pure white light was like a meteor, or a sharp arrow. It brutally shattered the crimson crystals, advancing forward with the force of a whirlwind.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
A dense, crisp series of shattering sounds. The refined young man watched helplessly as the pure white light rapidly grew larger before his eyes. He gripped his battleaxe tightly with both hands and raised it to his face.
"Clang—"
Accompanied by a tremulous clang that seemed to resonate deep within his soul, the crimson and white lights before the young man vanished without a trace. A fair, flawless palm, as if fashioned by the heavens themselves, hovered quietly before his eyes. Then it slowly withdrew.
The refined youth looked dazed as he tilted his head slightly upward, gazing at Sheng—tall and majestic, like a deity looking down from on high, calmly surveying him. He looked again at the red battleaxe in his hand. To his astonishment, a spiderweb-like pattern of cracks, visible to the naked eye, had begun to form at the tip of the blade. Upon seeing these cracks, the refined youth's eyes widened as if pricked by a needle, and his pupils contracted sharply.
"This…"
He fell into a brief silence, his face betraying profound shock.
Sheng, however, did not give him much time to process his shock. He spoke calmly, "Does this mean I've passed this stage?"
"Yes… of course you have…"
The superviser named Chi answered instinctively, his expression still tinged with disbelief. But he quickly regained his composure and said to Sheng with a serious expression, "Continue forward. The second stage is just ahead."
"Alright."
Lu Sheng nodded, then couldn't help but ask, "So, how many trials must one pass to be admitted to the academy?"
"One." Chi replied with a wry smile. "As long as you gain the approval of us senior students and pass this first trial, you're officially accepted. Actually, you could withdraw from the selection process right now. However, the more stages you pass, the greater the rewards you'll receive upon admission. I suggest you keep going until you're completely exhausted. After all, for most people, this entrance selection is practically their only chance."
His words revealed a great deal to Sheng, who picked up on one term... "Senior students? Are the gatekeepers for this Celestial Throne selection all upperclassmen from the academy?"
Chi thought for a moment before replying, "Not entirely."
He paused, then continued, "I can't reveal too much to you; you'll see for yourself later. Just remember one thing: when facing a gatekeeper, do your utmost to defeat or kill them."
Sheng looked pensive, as if he'd grasped something. He didn't ask any further questions, gave Chi a slight nod, and then continued moving deeper into this boundless expanse. Just as he was about to leave the area, the refined young man behind him, Chi, seemed to remember something and suddenly called out to him.
"Wait!"
Lu Sheng stopped in his tracks and turned his head slightly.
"Hm?"
Chi took a light breath and spoke solemnly, "So, you are Dilius?"
Lu Sheng tugged at the corner of his mouth and shook his head slightly.
"No."
With that, his figure swiftly turned into a black speck and vanished into the distance.
"Uh…"
Chi froze for a moment, seemingly taken aback and surprised by Sheng's answer.
He stared in the direction Sheng had vanished, confusion flitting across his face; for a moment, he was completely lost in thought. After walking a short distance, Sheng was surprised to spot a blue speck of light in his field of vision. As he drew closer, the blue speck rapidly grew larger.
Soon, a blue portal over ten meters tall appeared before him. The center of the portal swirled like a vortex; it was impossible to discern what lay beyond, but he knew. This was likely what Chi had referred to as the entrance to the second round of the selection process.
Lu Sheng had no reason to hesitate; he took a step and walked straight into the light gate. For a split second, he felt disoriented, followed by a faint sense of danger.
"Roar—!"
The moment he stepped out of the light gate, a bizarre and terrifying roar rang in his ears. He saw that the space before him was filled with an almost endless, thick aura of decay, withering, and death—so dense it seemed to solidify into a tangible substance. It formed a sludge-like black mist. The black mist churned, and a massive, twisted, terrifying figure lunged toward him in an instant.
"Boom!"
In an instant, the terrifying tide of black mist engulfed the figure standing before the light gate. The dreadful aura of the Dark Side universe nearly corroded the void into a ragged, perforated net. The blue light gate shook violently, as if it might collapse and shatter at any moment under the onslaught of the black mist.
The massive, twisted shadow's body blocked the entire blue light gate. On its indescribable face, hundreds of eyes—varying in size and color—darted wildly in all directions. They constantly revealed expressions of madness, ferocity, cruelty, tyranny, and cunningness.
As a servant of the great and noble "Lord of Shadows", it had been suddenly captured and imprisoned in this space while resting, its mind consumed by fear, panic, and rage. Now, only a pure desire for destruction and slaughter remained. It craved a target above all else—one upon which it could vent the emotions raging within.
Now, that target has finally arrived. Countless tentacle-like tongues extended from the twisted shadow's mouthparts, licking its lips. Its eyes were fixed on the spot where the intruder had been sent flying after its ambush; every single eye across its body glowed with a mix of cruelty and glee.
"*￥%" A murmur characteristic of beasts from the Dark Side universe escaped its mouth. Its twisted form began to stretch out gradually, extending countless spiked, hideous tentacles toward the spot where the black mist was swirling. By the glory of the "Lord of Shadows", it swore it would make this "unlucky" intruder die in agony and screams.
Countless tentacles wove a massive black net in the void. Piercing through layer upon layer of the surging black mist, they "fished" toward the "falling" miscreant within the darkness. And just as the massive black net was about to seize the falling intruder... Suddenly, the churning black mist abruptly and eerily fell still.
The twisted shadow paused for a moment, before it could even process what was happening. In the next instant, its hundreds of murky, malevolent eyes witnessed the calm black mist suddenly and rapidly expand. Just like a gigantic black bubble, it was rapidly inflated, growing larger and larger… Then...
"BOOM!"
Terrifying energy ripples exploded outward, and the invisible shockwaves plowed right through the entire space.
White.
Pure white.
Endless white.
All of the twisted black shadow's eyes widened simultaneously in that single instant. All the blackness within its field of vision was completely wiped out in an instant. Only a blindingly bright, pure white light remained.
Under this white light, its body could no longer withstand the pressure and began to melt away. The tentacles extending from its body snapped one by one under the white light, dissolving and vanishing. A piercing, agonized scream involuntarily erupted from its mouth. In sheer terror, it retreated rapidly backward.
In that instant, it sensed an aura from the white light before it—one as vast and terrifying as that of the great "Lord of Shadows." Every cell in its body trembled. It even tried to squeeze through the blue light gate behind it… And just as the twisted shadow curled up desperately, like a pile of trash forced into a corner, a figure finally materialized from within the white light.
"So, the second stage of the selection is actually an Alien Beast." A voice murmured calmly.
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Translation notes by dhoo
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the refined young man, the refined youth
儒雅青年: 儒 scholar, 雅 elegant, 青年 youth (green year)
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millions of pores
actually, "more than two million eight hundred thousand pores" in the original text