Chapter 103: The Tower Reaching the Heavens (2)

As Che Wuyou walked, he secretly sized up the youths around him. Just then, amid a gathering of more than a hundred people, he noticed a cold and haughty-looking boy. The boy seemed to be the center of the group, with every movement and gesture tugging at everyone’s attention.

Che Wuyou’s eyes lit up. What an extraordinary youth. Although he appeared to be only eleven or twelve, the presence revealed in his every gesture was clearly worlds apart from that of the other boys around him.

Standing beside the cold and haughty youth were four or five youths dressed in splendid clothes. Though they, too, were composed and carried themselves with uncommon bearing, anyone observant enough could tell that they all regarded the cold youth as their leader.

The youths were engaged in conversation. The cold youth spoke very little, merely nodding from time to time or adding a sentence or two after long intervals. Yet whenever he did speak, the others immediately became solemn and nodded repeatedly.

Che Wuyou paused to watch while listening to the discussions around him. After a long while, he finally pieced together the basic details about the cold youth.

His name was Yang Fengge, the grandson of Yang Quzhi, a Guardian Elder of the Qingchi Sword Sect. Although he had not yet passed the Heaven-Piercing Tower trial, he seemed already to have been designated by the higher-ups of the Qingchi Sword Sect as a core disciple of Qingchi.

It was said that this Heaven-Piercing Tower examination was merely a formality for him. Of course, given Yang Fengge’s talent, the examination could indeed be nothing more than a formality.

Yang Fengge was the overwhelming favorite to win this year’s Heaven-Piercing Tower trials—without a doubt. Supposedly, he had come specifically for first place. Though there were no shortage of youths with exceptional talent among this year’s candidates, those who knew Yang Fengge naturally believed that the championship belonged to him. Even the exceptionally gifted young woman taking part this time was thought to have no chance.

Apart from Yang Fengge, the name Che Wuyou heard most often was Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan came from the Ye family of Ye Prefecture. That family alone represented power and talent. It was said that Ye Xuan was the direct daughter of the Ye family, and that she and Ye Li, the family’s most dazzling figure at present, were cousins. By rights, with her talent and strength, there was no need for her to enter Qingchi. She should have had many better choices. Yet, for some reason, she had chosen to join Qingchi.

Che Wuyou also noticed Ye Xuan. At the heart of another group stood a girl of twelve or thirteen, proud as a heaven-blessed daughter and standing aloof amid the crowd.

From a distance, he gazed at the beautiful girl dressed in black. She resembled an orchid blooming in the darkness, growing silently and unseen.

So she was the girl from the Ye family—the younger sister of Ye Li?

Che Wuyou could not help laughing bitterly at himself. He had nearly forgotten about the Ye family of Ye Prefecture. Yet there was no denying that the place was linked to him by countless ties. Aside from his so-called fiancée, Ye Li, it seemed that his mother had also come from Ye Prefecture...

“Silence, everyone! Silence!”

A solemn, resonant voice suddenly interrupted Che Wuyou’s thoughts and put an end to all conversation. Every youth beneath the Heaven-Piercing Tower, even Yang Fengge and Ye Xuan, seemed drawn by an invisible force. Their gazes turned involuntarily toward the source of the voice—a figure standing high in the air with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Greetings, everyone. I am Yang Guan, an administrator of the Discipline Hall of the Qingchi Sword Sect. I will be fully responsible for your Heaven-Piercing Tower examination.”

Yang Guan’s expression was solemn and severe.

“Throughout the examination, you must obey my commands. If anyone dares disobey me, I will expel that person from the Qingchi Sword Sect immediately. Is that clear?”

“Understood!”

All the youths answered in unison. Perhaps influenced by Yang Guan’s tone, they now appeared much more serious, and some even wore nervous expressions.

“Very good.” Yang Guan swept his gaze across the crowd. “You have all undergone countless rounds of selection and struggled through the Ten Trials of Qingchi before reaching this point. You must therefore cherish this opportunity all the more... I have nothing further to say. There are one thousand of you. This Heaven-Piercing Tower examination will accept only the first hundred. The other nine hundred will fall within this tower...”

“What?”

The youths erupted in an uproar.

“They’re eliminating that many people? In the past, the Heaven-Piercing Tower examination eliminated only a few dozen!”

The youths began whispering among themselves. Even Che Wuyou was startled. Breaking into the top hundred among a thousand candidates would be extraordinarily difficult. These were all exceptionally talented youths from across the Southern Continent; every young cultivator who believed he had some ability had come to participate in Qingchi’s selection.

After countless rounds of screening, the thousand people who remained were unquestionably the cream of the crop. Yet nine hundred of these elites were still going to be eliminated...

“What are you making such a fuss about? Look at yourselves. So what if nine hundred are eliminated? What is there to discuss?” Yang Guan’s face darkened with anger. “If you do not even have the courage to enter the top hundred, how can you become disciples of the Qingchi Sword Sect?”

“Do you know how the Huashan Sword Sect selects its disciples? Let me tell you. The Huashan Sword Sect searches the entire Southern Continent for youths of outstanding talent. Every year, tens of thousands participate in the Huashan selection, yet in the end, only fifty are admitted. The ruthlessness of that process is beyond your imagination...”

“Our Qingchi Sword Sect seeks to give most people an opportunity to enter the sect and cultivate, so our selection is not as severe as Huashan’s. If you break into the top hundred, you can become disciples of the Qingchi Sword Sect, whose reputation is in no way inferior to that of Huashan. What is there for you to argue about? Tell me—what is there to argue about?”

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Yang Guan finally softened his tone.

“The Heaven-Piercing Tower is the treasured possession of our Qingchi Sword Sect, left behind by our ancestors. Do you know how many great powers throughout the Southern Continent covet it? Even renowned experts wish to enter our Heaven-Piercing Tower and try their luck, yet they have no such opportunity.

“You, therefore, are fortunate. Today, you can enter the Heaven-Piercing Tower. Who knows? Your destiny may be waiting for you inside...”

“Very well. Now listen to my command. Hand over every possession you have, including weapons, pills, and even storage pouches. Hand over everything.

“Listen carefully: before entering the Heaven-Piercing Tower, you may bring nothing with you except the clothes on your back. If anyone dares to hide anything, once discovered, I will show no mercy.”

When Yang Guan finished speaking, he flicked his hand and sent out an object resembling a tray. As it descended, it slowly grew larger and larger.

The youths all exclaimed in amazement. Only those who had seen enough of the world remained unmoved.

“Place all your personal belongings in the collection tray.”

At Yang Guan’s command, the tray slowly flew toward the youths.

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