How did a bastard like him become an immortal?

Only seventy candidates remained on the training ground.

The reason is simple: some people are holding several spirit stones.

Lin Xiu'an held ten spirit stones in his hand, a cold smile on his face. This time, over twenty men were ordered by the young marquis to kill that little bastard. Daring to steal a woman from the young marquis, he was courting death.

However, Lin Xiuan felt that this was really making a big fuss. He had investigated Li Muyun's background and found that he was just a lowly bastard of Tiantu Hou. Although he had entered the path of immortality, how much could he have become after only half a year of forced growth?

He saw those few useless people get killed by Li Muyun, and used this opportunity to observe Li Muyun's strength. He was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, but the higher Li Muyun's cultivation level, the more vulnerable Lin Xiu'an felt he was. It was all just a facade of cultivation; combat power was what truly mattered.

Li Muyun slowly raised his head and looked up. Lin Xiuan's provocative gaze made him involuntarily curl his lip. It seemed that Lü Chengyu had indeed made quite a few preparations for him. Or perhaps it was Li Tian'ao's doing.

Not far away, a young man dressed in a simple gray robe, who looked like a beggar, stared at Li Muyun with bright eyes.

Li Muyun felt that clear gaze. When he met the gaze, he realized that the boy was the candidate who had registered after him, and his name seemed to be Zhao Tianming.

The young man was dressed simply, but his eyes gave Li Muyun a sense of returning to simplicity, and for a moment he couldn't see through his depths.

"Dear candidates, the first round of the competition is over. The next round will begin. Now, inject your true essence or true energy into the spirit stones in your hands. The one that displays the same number at the end will be your opponent."

Qin Wuyang cupped his hands in greeting to the four grandmasters, saying, "I'll have to trouble you grandmasters."

As the examinees poured their true energy into themselves, the four grandmasters simultaneously let out a low shout, and their true energy surged into the sky, instantly generating numbers from the examinees' spirit stones.

Li Muyun held up the spirit stone and watched this miraculous scene unfold. The originally smooth spirit stone slowly revealed glittering numbers: "Three".

On the other side, Lin Xiuan seemed to have known all along. Without even glancing at his spirit stones, he waved them at Li Muyun and made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand from a distance.

Sure enough, the spirit stone also had a crystalline mark: 【Three】.

"Stupid."

Li Muyun cursed and couldn't be bothered to look at him anymore. He was just a dog; whoever's dog it was, since it had come biting him, he might as well break its legs.

Although Lin Xiu'an couldn't hear what Li Muyun was saying from a distance, he could clearly see his lip movements. He immediately turned pale with anger and gritted his teeth, saying, "You little bastard, I'll cripple you today!"

After everyone had drawn their lots, Qin Wuyang directed the examinees to rest on the side.

Under the watchful eyes of all the examinees, rows of soldiers clad in iron-blue armor marched into the Tian Ce training ground with resounding steps. Long swords were at their waists, and black spears were in their hands. The tips of the spears gleamed coldly, exuding a chilling killing intent. The examinees could almost feel the bloody scent emanating from the spear tips and blades.

The Ironclad Army of the Great Tang! The personal guard of the current Emperor of the Great Tang!

The Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin also had burning eyes when they saw the famous Tang Ironclad Army. Whoever could gain the support of the Tang Ironclad Army would almost certainly be confirmed as the heir to the throne!

The candidates were so shocked they were speechless. Such a murderous army was now overwhelming even the aura of the four grandmasters.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, in less than a quarter of an hour, thirty-five arenas had been erected, each marked with its own number.

Qin Wuyang deliberately paused for a moment, letting the candidates be shocked for a while longer, before slowly saying, "Each candidate, please step onto your own stage and prepare for the second round of the competition."

Li Muyun suddenly understood why the four great empires, despite having numerous martial artists and immortals, still fought with armies. In the mortal realm, immortal cultivators who had not yet ascended would eventually exhaust their true essence, and martial artists who had not yet attained sainthood would also eventually run out of true energy. Even immortals at the Mahayana realm and martial artists at the Martial Emperor realm would find it difficult to escape death when facing an army of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of martial artists.

As the candidates walked toward their respective arenas, the guardians and deacons of the seven major sects in the stands selected their favorite martial artists from among the candidates. If they found a candidate with good talent or performance, they sent their disciples to recruit him.

Some candidates who failed in the first round were already dejected and ready to leave, but unexpectedly, a sect came to recruit them. They were overjoyed and quickly agreed, afraid of missing the opportunity.

Of course, the Wuji Sect recruits the most disciples among them, because the other major sects are either Buddhist holy sites or Taoist retreats, and they value both talent and opportunity when selecting disciples. Every autumn imperial examination, the Wuji Sect recruits a large number of disciples, which is why the Wuji Sect has become the number one sect in the Tang Dynasty.

This time, the Wuji Sect sent Protector Mo. His missions were twofold: to recruit disciples and to investigate the causes of death of He Qing and Li Tianquan.

He Qing's cultivation was not low, and he also had the background of the Wuji Sect, so most forces would give him some leeway. However, not long ago, he took the son of the Heavenly Slaughter Marquis into the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains and failed to return for a long time, and the soul lamp in the sect also went out. He died in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains.

After Protector Mo went to the Blazing Forest of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains to investigate, he not only discovered traces of a battle with the Fire Phoenix King, but also the aura of a human immortal. Therefore, it is highly likely that He Qing died at the hands of an immortal cultivator.

He Qing's death is not the main issue; the one who died with him was the son of the Heavenly Slaughter Marquis. If the matter isn't thoroughly investigated, the Wuji Sect will have no way to explain itself to Li Rentu. If they are held accountable, the current emperor will not protect them. If the Heavenly Slaughter Marquis is enraged and takes matters into his own hands, the Wuji Sect will be in constant turmoil from now on.

"Sword Maniac, I've discovered that you saw He Qing in Protectorate City. Do you know how he died?" Protector Mo frowned as he asked Sword Maniac. With the Sword Pavilion now weakened and the Boundless Sect powerful, Protector Mo naturally wasn't so polite in his words.

Upon hearing this, Sword Maniac turned his dark eyes to Protector Mo and slowly stepped forward, "Are you talking to me?"

"Of course I'm asking you. You were in Protectorate City at the time, so you're the prime suspect. I..."

Suddenly, Protector Mo's voice stopped abruptly.

The overwhelming energy of the weather rendered Protector Mo unable to move. A black longsword was held against Protector Mo's neck, and the chilling killing intent made him instantly shut his mouth.

He can manipulate the vital energy of the weather, and the Sword Maniac has actually reached the Nascent Soul realm!

"Go on, I'm listening."

Staring fearfully at the dark sword's edge, Protector Mo swallowed hard, forcing a fawning smile as he said in a trembling voice, "Sword Maniac Immortal, I spoke nonsense and offended you. With your cultivation, killing He Qing would be as easy as turning your hand. You have no grudge against him, so naturally you wouldn't kill him. I was wrong, I was wrong."

Not even bothering to glance at Protector Mo again, the black sword hummed as it returned to its sheath. The sword fanatic picked up his gourd, drank the wine in one gulp, and then fixed his gaze on the number three arena in the arena.