Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Sharpest Sword Is Forged Through Hardship

Waiting directly at the Chosen’s terminus was certainly effortless, yet this final trial was anything but merciful to those who had managed to arrive. The spiritual energy here was so thin that it barely sustained a cultivator’s basic needs, let alone someone like Wang Li, who devoured spiritual energy in vast quantities. The pitiful amount available was just enough to keep him from starving, so he had no choice but to pause his cultivation and immerse himself in simulated battle scenarios, passing the time by dueling hundreds of phantom opponents.

That said, Wang Li’s battle simulation was indeed formidable. Even within this sealed space, he could sense the progress of others outside. Although he couldn’t know their precise circumstances, their simulated images grew ever stronger. This brought Wang Li a measure of comfort; as long as his disciples suffered no major losses, his duty as the Transmission Steward would be fulfilled.

Yet the brutality of the Chosen’s trial could not be ignored. Over the next month, Wang Li observed eleven simulated images of disciples from Pure Yang Temple vanish, and dozens more stop advancing in strength.

He did not know what this meant.

Old Sheng explained that those whose images disappeared were most likely dead; their deaths had severed the connection to the simulated images. Those whose images ceased to grow had been expelled from the Chosen relic, returning to the Sky Profound World. Two layers of world barriers separated the relic and the world, causing their simulated images to lose contact or lag behind, making it seem as though their strength had frozen.

Of course, it was also possible their cultivation had genuinely stalled for other reasons.

Regardless, any change in the simulated images signaled that the trials outside were growing ever more perilous.

Wang Li agreed with Old Sheng. From the moment unknown experts’ names appeared on the Chosen ranking, he had suspected the next stage would be difficult. He had not expected so many casualties and eliminations in just the first phase—the survival task. Who knew how many would make it to the second stage?

Still, Wang Li’s worries were idle; even knowing his disciples faced hardship, he could do nothing to help. Following Old Sheng’s advice, he honed his combat skills in simulated battle and settled his heart to study.

…

While Wang Li’s days at the Chosen’s terminus were pleasant enough, chaos reigned among the participants inside the relic and throughout the cultivation world of the Sky Profound.

Within the task secret realm, after Wang Li vanished, the search party dispatched by New City also went missing.

A team of over a hundred should have been a formidable force within the secret realm; based on the task levels, it was unlikely anything could threaten them. Even if danger struck, someone should have escaped to seek aid.

Yet nearly two months passed, and not a sign of them was found. It was hard not to suspect they had perished.

New City could accept the loss of personnel; after all, this was the Chosen, danger lurking everywhere, and no one could guarantee survival to the end.

What was hard to accept was that among the missing were Pure Yang Temple disciples like Jiang Yue, Ling Xiao, Zhou Qian, and Hong Luanfeng—figures of position and influence. They played vital roles in New City.

Jiang Yue was the granddaughter and final disciple of Master Liuguang, the sect leader, and a host of the Chosen ranking. Aside from Wang Li, she was the most charismatic—though everyone knew she wasn’t entirely reliable, her status anchored the group. With her present, everyone had someone to rally behind. The Lin brothers, though powerful, held little standing in the sect.

Ling Xiao, Zhou Qian, and Hong Luanfeng had long been Wang Li’s right-hand men, respected among the disciples. With them gone, only the barely-accepted Luo Heng and the unconvincing Nan Qi remained. Not only did Pure Yang Temple disciples resent their leadership, so did those of other sects. Without Wang Li, they were even less inclined to accept Jiang Yu and Jin Lan as his spokespeople.

In short, the nearly ten thousand people of New City were left leaderless, opinions diverged, and after fruitless searches for Wang Li and the missing others, those with influence began acting on their own.

Some undertook tasks, others left without so much as a word.

Luo Heng, Nan Qi, Jin Lan, Jiang Yu and the rest could only try their best to ensure New City retained enough defensive strength; otherwise, they were powerless.

With hearts scattered, the group proved impossible to lead.

The Lin brothers wished to step in, but in the righteous sects, status truly mattered. Facing thousands of Pure Yang Temple disciples, they wisely chose to stand behind Luo Heng and company as firefighters, doing their utmost to prevent trouble that might disrupt New City’s operations.

The result of such disunity was a lack of concentrated strength. Without pooling their forces, they could not breach the secret realm, and casualties mounted swiftly—a scenario Wang Li had feared most.

The situation inside the Chosen relic was chaotic, and the cultivation world of the Sky Profound was no less unsettled.

Once the Chosen began, the young disciples of Pure Yang Temple, both internal and external branches, vanished en masse. The once bustling halls became eerily silent, more desolate than after the great battle between righteous and demonic paths.

The Chosen took away over ten thousand disciples at once. Although it was later realized this was a rare opportunity for Pure Yang Temple, it brought embarrassment: rumors circulated that the temple was finished; anecdotes spread of Golden Core masters serving tea and cleaning.

Pure Yang Temple could ignore the gossip—it was merely a temporary shortage of people. Those in the know understood the temple’s martial virtue remained formidable; no one dared provoke them. Yet another issue proved much more vexing.

…

Wang Li had left behind plenty of phonographs, but only one player, making it impossible to fulfill Master Liuguang’s promises to the other sects.

Giving out phonographs was out of the question; Master Liuguang intended to milk the other sects long-term, not kill the goose for a single egg.

But the leaders of the other sects weren’t pushovers.

If Master Liuguang took their benefits without delivering, how could such a thing stand?

Thus, the seven great pillars of the righteous path and six demon lords of the demonic path crowded the sect leader’s hall of Pure Yang Temple, blocking Master Liuguang for nearly two months. Only Xiaoyao Zi left early on urgent business, but he warned that if Master Liuguang dared deceive him, he would use the Book of Freedom to curse him with a thousand years of misfortune.

Master Liuguang couldn’t very well break his word. After much deliberation, he agreed to help them record their cultivation methods, hoping to stall until Wang Li returned from the Chosen and could address the player issue.

In his eyes, Wang Li was a seasoned monster; surviving the Chosen should be no problem.

The dozen leaders understood Wang Li was the linchpin of their deal. Without him, Master Liuguang truly could not fulfill his promise, so they prepared to return and wait.

But just then, each sect received urgent secret messages: their secretly nurtured young experts had all been swept away!

This was intolerable!

These youthful geniuses were their sects’ true foundation—each destined to become pivotal figures, their value rivaling that of their cultivation methods!

With the method recordings delayed and their precious heirs missing, even these composed leaders lost their patience. They immediately issued the rare “Cultivation World Search Order,” decreeing that no effort be spared in recovering the missing talents.

Thus, the Sky Profound World was thrown into utter turmoil by this search order…