Chapter Seventy-Four: Entering the Ruins

Not only did those familiar to Wang Li progress rapidly, but many others whom he barely knew also made remarkable advances.

Among the thirty disciples of the Divine Weapon Valley led by Jin Lan, twenty-one successfully formed their core, six failed in their tribulations, three perished instantly, and three survived but lost their spiritual foundation, doomed to live as ordinary people for the rest of their days.

In the disciples of the Holy Land of Zhengyang, eighteen achieved core formation. Ling Jianzi encountered some setbacks during his own process but ultimately ascended to the Golden Core stage, resulting in nineteen new Golden Core experts for the Holy Land. Yet, the failure rate was not low: four died on the spot, two were severely injured, and one lost the foundation for cultivation.

Young Lord Mo Qian of the Immortal Suppressing City was quick to follow Ling Xiao, forming his core amid visions accompanied by the roars of tigers and dragons, forging a Dragon-Tiger Golden Core. Zheng Xin and Wu Hao, already Golden Core experts, reached peak mastery, closing in on Wang Li. The deep reserves of Immortal Suppressing City ensured that twenty other disciples entered the Golden Core stage as well. Due to the unique nature of their cultivation methods, though seven failed their tribulations, none died.

Disciples of the Five Elements Pavilion had the fewest successes. Including Jiang Yu and Huang Tao, both early candidates for Saintess, only seven out of thirty managed to form their core. One disciple named Sheng Xiang failed and died under the torment of inner demons, becoming the first cultivator in New Revenge City to perish during tribulation.

The Beast Taming Sect saw a moderate number of advancements; fourteen disciples, including Qing Yu, succeeded. Their path was tougher than most, as both the disciple and their spirit beast needed to ascend together. Yet their combined power was at least double that of ordinary Golden Core cultivators, as their spirit beasts also reached the Golden Core stage. Thus, except for Pure Yang Temple, the Beast Taming Sect now boasted the strongest combat force. Not a single disciple failed their tribulation, for they were cautious and would not attempt unless both they and their spirit beast were ready.

Sixteen disciples of the East Sea Sect formed their core, with leader Hu Xian’er breaking through six minor realms in just two months, now standing firmly as a seventh-tier Golden Core expert. However, their losses were greatest: eleven died and two were wounded. The East Sea Sect lost over a third of its members, making it the highest attrition rate among the eight major sects.

The difficulty for the disciples of Myriad Mountain Prison was only slightly less than that faced by the Beast Taming Sect, as they had to undergo tribulation alongside their own mechanical puppets. Yet, since their puppets lacked sentience and did not enhance the power of the tribulation, their success rate was acceptable. Even if they failed, their puppet could absorb the damage, preserving their life and cultivation foundation.

All fifty-two disciples led by Zhi Xingzi overcame the Golden Core tribulation, but only eleven succeeded in synchronizing their ascension with their puppet. The remaining forty were in a "false core" state, their cultivation barely surpassing the peak of Foundation Establishment, unable to compare to true Golden Core cultivators. They would need to refine new life-bound puppets and attempt the tribulation again, with no telling how long that might take.

Of course, they could try to face the tribulation alone, like disciples of other sects, but having failed even with a puppet to shield them, facing the heavenly tribulation directly was out of the question. They were not fools; safety was paramount.

Looking across the high-level combat power of New Revenge City, it was the disciples of Pure Yang Temple whose strength stood foremost.

Setting aside the anomaly of the Lin brothers and Wang Li, who was merely waiting to accumulate enough cultivation to shatter his core and ascend at will, the sheer number of disciples, bolstered by endless resources, resulted in a staggering two hundred ten successful Golden Core formations—more than the entire inner sect of Pure Yang Temple!

Of course, Pure Yang Temple’s failures were many as well—nearly fifty perished or lost their spiritual foundation. This had little to do with Wang Li’s "Thunderous Justice Chapter," which merely increased the chances of success, not comparable to a true tribulation array.

In truth, without the assistance of "Thunderous Justice Chapter," at least half the cultivators in New Revenge City would have failed the Golden Core tribulation. The tribulation arrays of various sects only raised the success rate to seventy percent; that "Thunderous Justice Chapter" could achieve such results was impressive.

Though there were now over three hundred Golden Core cultivators in New Revenge City, the true backbone was the Foundation Establishment disciples.

Their numbers had reached an astonishing five thousand three hundred, making the once-dominant Qi Refining disciples a minority.

Five thousand three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators—already surpassing the total number among all fourth-generation disciples of the eight righteous sects.

And most of these five thousand three hundred belonged to Pure Yang Temple, a cause for both celebration and apprehension.

The Pure Yang disciples rejoiced.

With over five thousand at Foundation Establishment, even if only a third succeeded in core formation, and again only a third of those broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, it would mean four to five hundred new Nascent Soul experts for Pure Yang Temple over the next millennium.

Though each sect had clouds of experts—Transformation, Tribulation, Grand Ascension, as if abundant, and even many Earth Immortals and True Immortals—top cultivators in any sect were few; the real foundation was the somewhat awkward Nascent Soul stage.

Only upon breaking the core and forming the soul could a cultivator embark on methods beyond the physical body, transcending its limitations and lifespan. The Nascent Soul stage was the period of greatest potential; barring misfortune, with time and resources, half could advance to the Transformation stage.

Two or three hundred Transformation stage cultivators—just thinking about it was exhilarating!

Transformation stage already belonged to the "transcending the mundane" category, where a cultivator’s life began to shed the bonds of flesh. Reaching Earth Immortal depended only on luck, and accidental death was almost unheard of.

Long-lived, powerful, how could a sect not thrive?

Because of this, the disciples of other sects felt a growing unease.

Pure Yang Temple was already formidable, overshadowing Immortal Suppressing City and even Zhengyang Holy Land, birthplace of the righteous path. Since Master Liuguang took charge, the sect had grown overwhelming. Now with more than five thousand Foundation Establishment disciples, in a few centuries, what space would remain for the other sects?

Yet anger was suppressed, and all they could do was envy Pure Yang Temple’s stroke of luck, while resenting fate for its favoritism.

Wang Li was unaware of their thoughts; otherwise, he would have said, "Both the chosen one and his backup are in Pure Yang Temple; whom else would the will of the world favor?"

Another month passed, personal tasks outside completed, and Wang Li saw no need to wait further. He ordered everyone into the "Personal Guard Barracks," and had Luo Heng and the Lin brothers lead the entire group into the ruins.