Chapter 2803 — The Rules of the Trial

Wei Zhao remembered that when he had taken part in the Frozen Palace's trial, Qing Yi, a Heaven-rank expert, had also come—but she was only of the mid Heaven rank, and their palace master was the one at the peak of the late Heaven rank. Here at the Xuandan Sect, the very man shouting the announcement was at the peak of the late Heaven rank. They were truly not to be underestimated!

Though the Xuandan Sect's envoy had allowed only ten minutes, which of these disciples who had come for the trial would dare to dawdle?

In less than three minutes, almost every disciple had filed out of the inn and gathered in the square before its doors. Wei Zhao came downstairs as well, and he and Zhao Qitan, Feng Shipian, Li Ciba, Ge Xian, and Yang Qiqi found a relatively clean spot and sat down cross-legged on the ground. The other disciples who came after them followed Wei Zhao's example, each finding a place of their own to sit.

The Xuandan Sect's envoy, meanwhile, stood expressionless upon a raised platform in the square before the inn, making not the slightest effort to conceal his power—the peak of the late Heaven rank, laid bare in full!

Beside him stood a young man in a gray robe, perhaps around twenty years of age. One glance was all it took for Wei Zhao's heart to fill with shock—Kang Zhaoming! This creature had actually come on behalf of the Xuandan Sect to receive the disciples taking part in the trial?

Wei Zhao's heart tightened. Now that this creature had seen him, would he not find some way to take revenge?

Kang Zhaoming seemed to be searching for something too. When his gaze fell upon Wei Zhao, a strange gleam suddenly flashed through his eyes...

The Xuandan Sect's trial was a great affair on the ancient plane. Kang Zhaoming was merely one elder of the sect; even if he were the young sect master, he could never play any tricks during the trial to target a single cultivator. If such a thing were ever exposed, the loss would be the Xuandan Sect's reputation—and who would dare take part in their trials after that?

Yet while he could not move against Wei Zhao openly, he could work mischief in the dark. Zhang Naipao of the Mingri Fuming Sect was a pawn Kang Zhaoming had made use of. Kang Zhaoming had long since investigated the enmity between Zhang Naipao and Wei Zhao, and so, by his maneuvering, Zhang Naipao too had obtained a map for the trial. When the time came...

Kang Zhaoming would not need to lift a finger. He could borrow a knife to kill—let Zhang Naipao deal with Wei Zhao! Once Wei Zhao was finished, every problem would unravel of its own accord.

Soon all the disciples who had come for the trial were present, every one of them seated cross-legged, waiting for the Xuandan Sect's envoy to speak again.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the man who had made the announcement gave a calm nod, then said, "Since everyone is here, let us begin! First, a word of introduction: I am Tianjisuan, the elder of the Xuandan Sect in charge of this trial. And this is Elder Kang Zhaoming, who assists me in the affairs of the trial."

Though the speaker was only an elder of the Xuandan Sect, and though some among those who had come for the trial were core disciples of their own sects, this elder of the Xuandan Sect was plainly no ordinary elder—a fact plain enough from his very name!

The current sect master of the Xuandan Sect was called Tianjixing. That this man was called Tianjisuan meant that even if he were not Tianjixing's own brother, he was at least Tianjixing's cousin. No one dared to underestimate him! And most important of all, Tianjisuan's strength seemed to be true strength, not the hollow sort possessed by alchemists—here was a genuine martial cultivator.

"Most of you come from ancient clans and sects, and you should be well acquainted with the rules of the Xuandan Sect's trial. I trust that even the loose cultivators among you have made inquiries into the regulations of our trials in past years." Here Tianjisuan paused, his gaze sweeping over the assembled disciples, then continued: "This time, however, there are certain changes from the rules of previous trials! First, our former rule was that only cultivators of the Mystic rank and above but below the Earth rank might take part. This time the limit is relaxed: all cultivators of the Mystic rank and above are permitted to enter. In exchange, the trial deposit has been raised—it was one hundred million before, and this time it shall rise to two hundred million!"

At Tianjisuan's words, the cultivators below exchanged glances. How was it that this trial had gone up in price? And not by a little—from one hundred million to two hundred million. This was fleecing them outright!

Then again, the Xuandan Sect had changed its rules this time and relaxed the conditions for entry, which was why so many more people had come than in previous years. Could it be for the sake of gathering wealth? Considering that raised deposit, everyone felt it very likely!

Watching the expressions of the cultivators below, Tianjisuan was well pleased. This year's Xuandan Sect trial was unlike those of the past; should trouble arise later, the sect feared that the other ancient sects might detect something amiss and bear a grudge, coming to make trouble—and so they had deliberately raised the amount of the deposit, letting outsiders mistakenly believe that the Xuandan Sect had relaxed the conditions for entry this time merely because they lacked money!

Otherwise, when a great many Earth-rank and even Heaven-rank disciples died, such a matter would easily arouse suspicion. As it stood, even if some grew suspicious, they could only conclude that the Xuandan Sect's trial was simply too dangerous—for the matter of the changed strength limits had already been reasonably explained away by the question of gathering wealth.

"Good. Since there are no objections, I shall next speak of the trial's rules. This trial shall last half a month, give or take five days. The site of the trial is the Wildlands of the Five Baleful Ice behind the Xuandan Sect's mountain. During the trial, you must gather a certain medicinal herb within the Wildlands of the Five Baleful Ice. Once you have that herb in hand, you may leave the Wildlands and complete the trial. Of course, if you have not found it, you may withdraw along the way—but that shall be deemed a voluntary forfeiture, and the trial deposit shall not be refunded!" Tianjisuan continued.

None of what Tianjisuan described differed from the trials of the past, so no one present showed any particular expression—only Wei Zhao listened closely, for he had not been especially familiar with such matters before.

"However, the rewards granted to those who successfully pass this trial also differ from before! In past Xuandan Sect trials, those who successfully gathered the herb received only a single third-grade pill already in the Xuandan Sect's possession, or a natural treasure!"

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