Peerless Empress: One Woman, One Sword, Slaying Through Myriad Realms

Suddenly, ten figures appeared from the distant mountain peaks, descending swiftly onto the plaza. Their auras were overwhelming, their gazes sharp and piercing.

The entire plaza fell silent; the powerful pressure made everyone's breathing quicken.

These ten people were the ten elders of the outer sect. The one in the lead was an elderly man with a refined and otherworldly air, surnamed Wei, who was the Grand Elder of the outer sect and held immense influence within it.

Elder Wei steadied himself, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on the five geniuses. He nodded with slight satisfaction, "You five are the strongest among the new disciples this time. I eagerly await your performance."

The other nine elders also cast admiring glances their way.

The five people nodded slightly, and Elder Wei continued, "I will be presiding over this trial for new disciples. Now, I will briefly explain the rules to you."

Everyone's expression shifted, and they listened intently. Although they had inquired with the senior disciples, hearing it with their own ears was always different.

Elder Wei slowly said, "This trial will last for ten days and will be held in the Luoyang Secret Realm. There are many spiritual herbs and treasures inside, as well as many powerful demonic beasts. What you need to do is to kill demonic beasts and obtain demonic cores. Demonic cores of level two or above will be used for evaluation. A demonic core of level two, level one will be worth one point, level two, level two will be worth two points, and so on. Finally, the ranking will be based on the total score."

"The top fifty participants in this trial will all receive rewards. First place: 1,000 contribution points; second place: 700; third place: 500; fourth to tenth place: 300; eleventh to twentieth place: 200; twenty-first to fiftieth place: 100. Of course, you can use the treasures you obtain yourself or exchange them with the sect."

Everyone's faces lit up with joy. Usually, only the top twenty were rewarded, but this time even the top fifty were getting rewards. Although the contribution points weren't many, something was better than nothing.

Elder Wei paused for a moment to allow everyone to process the information before continuing, "The sect is very cruel; it requires both competition and unity. To become a strong person, one must undergo trials. Therefore, this trial does not prohibit killing. You can plunder others' belongings, but there are also Xuanwu Ninth Level demonic beasts in the secret realm. If you encounter one, joining forces is the best course of action... Do you all understand? Now, if anyone does not wish to participate, they can withdraw."

Everyone in the crowd wore a solemn expression, including Ye Wuxi. It was one thing if she didn't participate in the killing, but the new disciples' cultivation levels were all below the fifth level of the Xuanwu realm, posing no threat to her.

But a demonic beast at the ninth level of the Xuanwu realm is no joke. If she encountered one, she would probably be finished. But as Elder Wei said, how can one become strong without experiencing battle?

The square fell silent for a moment, many disciples wearing conflicted expressions, for this concerned their lives.

However, after a while, no one withdrew. They had all passed the assessment and were mostly sword cultivators, so their temperament was quite resilient.

Elder Wei nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this, then announced loudly, "Very good. Next, we will distribute waist tokens to everyone. These tokens will allow you to sense your location within the secret realm. If you encounter danger in the secret realm, you can crush this jade token to teleport back. However, you will also lose your eligibility for the competition, and any treasures obtained within will need to be handed over."

Having said that, identical waist tokens flew out from the ten elders and landed accurately in the hands of the crowd.

Looking at the waist tokens in their hands, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The sect still didn't want them to die in vain; these tokens were a lifesaver. It was also a test for them.

Elder Wei spoke again with a half-smile, "If you think you can act with impunity just because you have this, you're mistaken. Let me remind you again, after crushing the jade tablet, it takes ten breaths for the message to travel. So, you understand..."

Ye Wuxi couldn't help but click his tongue. Wasn't this just playing with people? For someone with a vastly different strength, ten breaths was enough to kill them.

Seeing the constantly changing expressions on everyone's faces, Elder Wei stroked his beard and continued, "Furthermore, those who wish to pass the test must exit through the exit in ten days. If they fail to do so within ten days, they will have to remain inside for a year, waiting for the secret realm to open again."

Everyone frowned slightly, indicating they had taken note; spending a year inside was no joke.

After the explanation was made clear, the ten elders also rose into the air and simultaneously formed a complex hand seal.

A moment later, a huge gate of light suddenly appeared in the void of the outer plaza. Nothing could be seen inside the gate, only a dazzling white light.

After the portal appeared, Elder Wei's voice rang out again, "Now, everyone can go in. See you in ten days. Good luck!"

The five geniuses took the lead and stepped into the gate of light without the slightest hesitation. The other disciples gritted their teeth and eventually followed suit.

Ye Wuxi, Liu Yu'er, and Duan Hong exchanged a smile, said, "See you in the secret realm," and then stepped into the portal.

As soon as Ye Wuxi stepped into the portal, he felt a dizzying sensation, and then quickly found himself in another space.

Instantly, a surge of spiritual energy, twice as concentrated as that outside, swept in from all directions.

"Cultivating here will definitely be twice as effective with half the effort," Ye Wuxi thought to himself.

However, for some reason, the Heavenly Sword Sect did not open this place for everyone to cultivate, but only allowed entry during trials.

"Perhaps there are potential dangers, or perhaps activating it comes at a price."

After a moment of random thoughts, Ye Wuxi pulled herself out of her reverie.

A monstrous beast suddenly appeared beside her, its mouth agape, seemingly poised to swallow her whole.

"Level two, first level," Ye Wuxi shook his head, not taking it seriously.

With a sudden palm strike, the demonic beast collapsed to the ground before it could react.

Ye Wuxi skillfully extracted the demon core and walked forward. It was said that the Falling Sun Secret Realm would instantly teleport people to the outer perimeter, and it was indeed true.

Ye Wuxi stomped his foot and swiftly flew away into a dense forest. The jade token at his waist remained unresponsive, indicating that there were still no Heavenly Sword Sect disciples nearby.

Along the way, Ye Wuxi killed many demonic beasts, but most of them were at or below the second or third level.

The forest was dense with trees, making it extremely dark. Ye Wuxi walked cautiously through it; if he were to accidentally encounter a high-level demonic beast, it would be no laughing matter.

Suddenly a roar rang out, and a lion, much larger than a human, appeared abruptly in front of Ye Wuxi.

"Level Two, Fifth Level: Earth Lion"

Ye Wuxi's eyes narrowed slightly as she recognized the lion. The Earth Lion was known for its defense; without formidable offensive power, it would be difficult to defeat and one would likely become its prey.

The sound of cracking dry branches on the ground rang out. The earth lion stomped its foot, baring its fangs, and charged straight at Ye Wuxi's neck.