At the very top of the Test Stone, the color was red, but if one looked closely, one would notice a tiny black dot, no larger than a sesame seed, at the very peak of the red section. Most strangely, at this moment, that tiny dot was actually flickering with black light.
"Could it be that that boy just now activated the legendary portion?"
In that instant, the old man's eyes flashed ceaselessly, his breathing rising and falling rapidly, and even his body, which seemed as though it could fall apart at any moment, began to tremble violently.
The complete Test Stone originally displayed four colors. The very top was not red, but black — however, that black was nothing short of a legend. It was said that across the entire Nine Provinces Continent, no one had ever managed to activate it.
If activating the red section already made one an undisputed cultivation genius, then a person who could activate the black section was a peerless prodigy capable of forging legend itself.
Precisely because no one had ever activated the black portion, people came to believe it was useless — that no one could activate it, or that it was simply a hoax. And so, gradually, only three colors remained on the Test Stone.
"Is this real? Is this truly real?"
Staring at that eerie black dot flickering with strange light, the old man found it impossible to believe. He rubbed his eyes reflexively, but when he opened them again, the glow was still there — though it was slowly fading, eventually returning to its original state.
"Phew~~~"
Once he confirmed that everything he had witnessed was real, the old man couldn't help but close his eyes to steady his surging emotions. It took a long while before he slowly opened them once more, but in those aged eyes, an incomparable excitement had already surfaced.
He looked in the direction Chu Feng and the others had left and murmured, "It seems heaven wills the rise of our Azure Dragon Sect. But this matter is no small thing — I'm afraid it will require careful deliberation."
None of this did Chu Feng and the others know. At that moment, they had already entered the Core Area. Before them stood magnificent palace after palace, flanked by broad stone-paved roads. They finally understood that their new journey would begin here.
"Are these this year's Core Disciples? Why do they all look like they've been beaten black and blue?"
"Something must have happened. But judging by the badges on their chests, they all seem to be members of the Wing Alliance. Did nobody from the World Alliance or the Sword Dao Alliance participate in the examination this year?"
"That little lass is quite pretty. Passing the examination at her age — she's probably another vixen. I just wonder which senior brother will tame her."
Outside the plaza, many Core Disciples had gathered. They all knew today was the day of the Core Disciple Examination and had come early to see what this year's batch looked like.
Chu Feng studied the people around him and discovered that among these Core Disciples, there were indeed hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Although most of the few dozen onlookers were at the Spirit Martial level, many had already stepped into the Yuan Martial realm.
As he understood it, the Azure Dragon Sect's Core Disciples were far fewer in number than the Outer or Inner Sect disciples, but there were still roughly two thousand of them — two thousand young individuals who already possessed extraordinary strength. No wonder they were the Azure Dragon Sect's priority for cultivation.
These two thousand were worth immeasurably more than the hundreds of thousands in the Inner and Outer Sects. Elders, future sect masters — all would be chosen from among these two thousand.
"This aura..."
Suddenly, Chu Feng's brow furrowed slightly as he cast a sharp gaze toward the distant street. He had sensed a powerful aura there, and it was heading in their direction.
Sure enough, from the end of that street, over a dozen figures soon appeared. They were all young — men and women alike — but each carried themselves with commanding presence and extraordinary looks. Not just handsome faces or beautiful features; their bearing was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Though Chu Feng could sense how formidable they were, he couldn't gauge their exact strength — proof that they weren't mere Yuan Martial cultivators, and had very likely already entered the late stages of Yuan Martial.
What caught Chu Feng's attention most, however, was the young man at their head. In terms of appearance alone, he wasn't particularly outstanding compared to those behind him, but the aura he radiated was incomparably superior to any of the others.
"Xuan Martial realm? That Core Disciple is already an expert at the Xuan Martial level?"
Chu Feng marveled inwardly. Though he couldn't be certain, that bottomless feeling was something only a Xuan Martial powerhouse could give off. He believed this man had most likely already entered the Xuan Martial realm.
"Gong Luyun — the Azure Dragon Sect's number one disciple," Su Mei said at that moment.
"So he's Gong Luyun? No wonder..."
Hearing Su Mei's words, Chu Feng was nearly certain this was indeed a Xuan Martial expert. After all, he had heard of Gong Luyun's reputation. It was hardly unreasonable for the top disciple to possess such strength.
"It's not just Gong Luyun. Seniors from our Wing Alliance are among them too. See that woman talking with Gong Luyun? She's a founding member of our Wing Alliance — Han Xue. Ranked eighth on the Green Dragon Ranking, she's one of our Alliance's finest representatives." Su Mei pointed toward a cold, strikingly beautiful woman standing beside Gong Luyun.
"Eighth on the Green Dragon Ranking?" Chu Feng marveled once more. In the Core Area, there was a Green Dragon Ranking with ten spots, and those who occupied those ten positions represented the ten strongest among the Azure Dragon Sect's two thousand Core Disciples.
Learning that Han Xue held the eighth position naturally surprised Chu Feng. After all, she was still quite young — such an achievement spoke volumes about her abilities.
"Haha, it really is Senior Sister Han Xue! Is she here to welcome us?" When Situ Yu and the others spotted Han Xue, they grew equally excited.
They may have been glorious figures in the Inner Sect, but upon entering the Core Area, they were nothing but bottom-dwellers. Every person here had potential equal to or greater than theirs. However, if they could find a backer, it would save them a great deal of trouble in the future — and Han Xue was precisely the kind of patron they were hoping to lean on.
"Senior Sister Han Xue!"
In their excitement, someone actually called out loudly. The shout did attract Han Xue's attention, and even Gong Luyun turned his gaze over.
"Junior Sister Han Xue, do you know those disciples?" Gong Luyang asked.
"Mm. They're members of the Wing Alliance. They just became Core Disciples today," Han Xue replied with a smile.
"Wing Alliance? Didn't you tell them that forming alliances in the Core Area is forbidden?" Upon noticing the badges on Chu Feng and the others' chests, Gong Luyun's eyes narrowed, a flash of displeasure passing through them.