Many anxious eyes turned to the golden gate, which now glowed black, signaling the end of the first stage of trials in the secret realm of the Cosmic Void Sect.

With this stage’s conclusion, the sect would begin preparations for the second. That could take a month or ten years.

The interval varied wildly because the secret realm was self-regulating, and the preparation time was completely random.

Of those who survived, roughly eighty out of a hundred, almost all had already returned.

The exceptions were Xue Hua and Rou’er.

Fortunately, the crowd’s anxiety didn’t last much longer.

With a loud crack, the portal shook, and three figures emerged.

Long Qingyi, as always, dressed in long black robes adorned with golden dragons, his eyes steady yet gentle.

To his left, Rou’er clutched his hand tightly, her face full of excitement, practically bouncing on her heels.

To his right stood Xue Hua, whose arms were intertwined with his in a way that wasn’t exactly appropriate for a man and a woman who weren’t married or at least engaged.

Her face was flushed, and as soon as she noticed the stares upon her, she took a step away from Qingyi, averting her eyes.

Her fingers lingered against his sleeve for a moment before falling to her side.

If Qingyi hadn’t taken a bath before leaving the realm of the mind, many there would have noticed more than just the intimacy between them, especially the many marks of black lipstick and bites that Xue Hua had left on him just a few hours earlier.

Naturally, the sect’s grand elder, Xue Hua’s father, noticed his daughter’s flushed face and the intimacy with which she interacted with Qingyi before stepping away.

His jaw tightened and his gaze lingered on the young man for a moment.

Truly, being a father was difficult.

Well, at least Guo Longwei had been killed by the son of the leader of the Myriad Beasts Sect.

That made his life easier, since he wouldn’t have to endure the embarrassment of canceling the marriage agreement.

The tiger himself, Bai Hu Lie, had also left the sect that same day. Not even some elders funded by the Guo family itself managed to stop him.

After all, the Myriad Beasts Sect wasn’t exactly a sect worth picking a fight with.

They killed without hesitation and weren’t afraid of war. Quite the opposite.

They might not attack without cause, but when one was given, they pounced with glee.

That was their nature. Savage and violent.

The current leader himself, upon ascending to leadership, disbanded the diplomatic team created by his father simply because he deemed them useless.

In a war, there would be no diplomacy. Only the death of their enemies.

This savagery ensured the Myriad Beasts Sect was both feared and respected.

Dragons, tigers, lions, giant serpents.

Every kind of beast existed in that sect, and their own guardian was, in reality, a powerful Bloodhorn Bear said to have once killed ten Stellar Sovereigns with a single slap and even counted to infinity. Twice.

Obviously, the last part was just a joke among the sect’s young talents trying to glorify their ancestral guardian.

A being who had lived for over three million years and who, with his own hands, had forged what was now the oldest and most powerful sect in the northern celestial sky.

Still, despite the comical exaggeration, few would dare doubt that celestial emperors with exceptionally powerful minds were capable of at least visualizing infinity.

Great readers of destiny and the master known as the Divine Calculator often played freely with these concepts.

Unfortunately, since the Dao was the path of all great experts, few devoted themselves to mathematics or physics, even though even the most ignorant celestial emperor possessed a level of physical and mathematical knowledge that would make all the geniuses of Earth combined seem ignorant.

Shortly after the three arrived, the sect’s elders mobilized with determined and excited expressions.

At the center of it all, a pillar had been erected to calculate each cultivator’s soul gains. Lines of energy ran across its surface, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.

There were nine levels in total, but only the sixth was generally attained. The ninth level was nothing more than a legend.

Many of the Star Sovereigns could already sense the suppressed soul force radiating from Xue Hua.

How many forbidden fortunes had she obtained?

Three? Four?

Could the Ice Phoenix, the sect’s most dangerous forbidden fortune, be among them?

If they knew the truth, they would likely be in shock.

All seventy-three forbidden fortunes.

In one month, Qingyi had obtained them all for Xue Hua.

Fortunes that had been born over thousands of years, plucked in a single month by a single person.

"Now, four of you, the disciples with the greatest gains and the highest potential, will be chosen based on your results. The top four will advance to the second stage, a stage that has even given birth to Stellar Sovereigns!" an elder declared, his voice cutting through the murmuring crowd.

Since they already considered Rou’er to take one of the spots, this time they offered only four spots to the remaining disciples.

It was a pity, but this was a demand from the leader himself. An order that could not be denied, not even if all the elders went against it.

Rou’er had to enter the second stage of the secret realm at any cost.

Shaking his head, the elder touched the pillar.

"This pillar will calculate your fortunes from the first stage of the secret realm. Only those with fortunes above level four will be considered. If there are more than four people with level six fortunes, an exception will be made and the number of spots will be expanded."

"When you touch the pillar, the number of lights that turn on will indicate your results. Any questions?"

No one questioned, so the elder smiled and took a step back.

It was finally time for what he loved most about his job: putting the sect’s young talents to the test.