Chapter Sixty-Three: Passing the Review

“Don’t go, I’m scared... Will you stay with me?”
Li Qianqian slowly raised her head in Ke Bei’s embrace. Her bright eyes shimmered with tears, gazing at him with such pitiful fragility.
“Will you stay with me?”
“Will you stay with me?”
Just as Ke Bei was about to leave, his whole body suddenly trembled. Li Qianqian’s gentle, soft voice struck the deepest part of his heart, echoing in his mind. His body stiffened; it felt as if a great mountain had just crashed against his soul.
“Qianqian... I...”
Ke Bei’s mind was filled with the graceful image of Li Qianqian. As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice choked.
“I’m sorry...”
In that instant, countless words surged within him—he wanted to express his guilt toward her, his regret. But the moment he tried to speak, all the words clogged in his chest, finally dissolving into that helpless apology.
“I’m leaving.”
Ke Bei closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed Li Qianqian out of his embrace. He clenched his jaw, fists tightening until his sharp nails dug into his flesh, but pain did not register—his heartache was a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times more intense than anything physical.
He dared not open his eyes, dared not think of Li Qianqian. Gritting his teeth, hardening his heart, eyes shut tight, he walked step by step toward the door.
“Qianqian will be waiting for you to come home...”
Just as Ke Bei was about to step out, Li Qianqian’s soft whisper behind him shattered his defenses in an instant. He seemed to hear the sound of his own heart breaking into pieces. He bit down so hard that blood seeped from between his teeth; two lines of tears streamed down his cheeks, falling to the corners of his lips, leaving a bitter, astringent taste that made his broken heart ache all the more.
“All right...”
With lips tightly pressed together, Ke Bei’s throat moved with difficulty as he forced out a single word. The Nine Yang Divine Skill surged wildly within him; his Lingbo Microsteps reached their limit. He dared not linger another moment.
He was afraid—afraid he would not have the heart to leave, afraid that even knowing it was a dream, he would still want to stay.
With a burst of speed, he rushed out of the Mingye Community, only stopping when he clutched his chest, the pain there stabbing again and again. His lips parted in a grimace as a trickle of blood slid down from his mouth.
In the space of a few moments, his heart had been savagely wounded twice. Though there were no visible wounds, his body felt weak, his complexion as pale as paper.
“Heh, just an illusion. It’s all just an illusion, Ke Bei, why do you take it so seriously?” With a faint, self-mocking smile, he took a step forward.
Boom!

With a single stride, the scene changed abruptly—the green stone bridge returned, and so did the shrouding white mist.
A chill breeze brushed his cheek, drying his tears. Ke Bei stood there in a daze for a long time. Suddenly, he closed his eyes, clearing his mind of all distractions. Then, with a sudden flare, he opened his eyes and let out a wild, sky-shaking roar!
His cry echoed between the mist-veiled Golden Mist Mountain, reverberating again and again. Even with his Nine Yang Divine Skill as protection, Ke Bei almost couldn’t bear it. His chest rose and fell, and only when he felt almost breathless did he finally stop.
Glancing at the mist-covered stone bridge, Ke Bei lifted his foot and walked step by step toward the other side.
Now he finally understood what this so-called assessment was. Generally, only a War God-level expert could recommend someone to the Genius Training Camp each year. If someone caught such an expert’s eye, their talent and strength were beyond doubt. What mattered most was their state of mind. Thus, at the Jiujiang Base, as long as you were recommended by a War God-level expert, your combat ability was rarely scrutinized—the real test lay in overcoming illusions, which revealed both your heart and a measure of your strength.
Ke Bei’s figure soon vanished upon the misty Azure Dragon Bridge. Just as he stepped out of the illusion, the old man who had been sitting serenely in the pavilion slowly set down his wine jug, a faint immortal-like smile on his refined face.
“Strength: Average. Character: Average. Just about passable.”
The old man took a casual sip of wine, muttered indistinctly, then reached out his withered hand from his wide robe and inscribed a line on the dark-gold token with his fingertip.
“Strength: Average. Character: Average.”
After finishing, he tossed the token aside, reclined comfortably, and sipped his wine while gazing at the mist-shrouded Golden Mist Mountain.
……
“Haha, Ke Bei, I knew you’d make it!”
As Ke Bei’s figure slowly emerged from the mist, Xiao Jiu ran up excitedly, punching him on the chest.
“I managed,” Ke Bei replied, his face showing only a faint smile without much joy.
“Come on, let me show you to my place first. After you choose your instructor, you’ll get your own quarters.”
Xiao Jiu, not noticing Ke Bei’s emotional turmoil, eagerly explained the rules of Golden Mist Mountain.
“See that area over there? That’s our dormitory.”
He pointed to a cluster of villas at the foot of the mountain, beside Azure Dragon Lake, his voice tinged with excitement.
“But those upscale lakeside villas with the best views aren’t for us. Only the monsters on the Azure Dragon List can live there.”
Xiao Jiu leaned close to Ke Bei’s ear and whispered, a hint of grievance in his tone.
“Sigh, I don’t know when I’ll ever break through to the Transcendent Realm…”

Xiao Jiu scratched his head in frustration. Generally, the stronger a Chosen One’s innate ability, the harder it was to break through to the Transcendent Realm. Xiao Jiu’s Diamond Body ability was particularly freakish, so breaking through was even tougher for him.
“These things can’t be rushed. Who knows, maybe you’ll break through one day soon. Once you do, you should be able to make it onto the Azure Dragon List, right?”
Ke Bei glanced at the somewhat dejected Xiao Jiu, offering comfort. Unexpectedly, his attempt at consolation only made Xiao Jiu look more glum.
“Nonsense. You can’t just break through and waltz onto the Azure Dragon List,” Xiao Jiu grumbled.
“My talent is only above average at best. Compared to those monsters on the list, I’ve got no real advantage—unless I reach the upper ranks of the Transcendent Realm. Then maybe I could break into the top twenty, but the top ten? No hope for that in this lifetime.”
He sighed, rolling his eyes at Ke Bei.
“As far as I know, in the past hundred years, only three people have made it onto the Azure Dragon List while still in the lower ranks of the Transcendent Realm. One of them is Boss Han!”
Mentioning Han Lingyue instantly revived Xiao Jiu’s spirits, his earlier melancholy vanishing.
“Boss Han is a monster among monsters. When he first broke through, not only did he make the Azure Dragon List, but he entered the top ten! Second-most monstrous genius in a century!”
Ke Bei was stunned; he hadn’t expected Han Lingyue to be so extraordinary.
“All right, enough about that. It’s too far out of our reach…”
Seeing Ke Bei’s dumbfounded expression, Xiao Jiu shook his head with a smile. He pointed to the mountainside, veiled in white mist.
“Look there. Anyone above War God level lives halfway up the mountain—our instructors live there. Once you pick your instructor, you’ll train at the War God Palace on the mountainside.”
“Of course, you have to return to your own dorm at night.”
Xiao Jiu watched Ke Bei stare blankly up at the cloud-wreathed War God Palace and laughed.
“There’s no rush to pick an instructor. Wait until Boss Han comes back; let him recommend someone to you. Or if he’s already passed the assessment, you could just choose him as your instructor.”
“Choose Boss Han?”
Ke Bei raised his brows slightly, rubbing his chin in thought.

ps: A recommendation for a friend’s book: “Back to 2005”