[Ding, Simulation start. Talents are being drawn...]
[The host may choose one of the following talents.]
[Descendant of Taotie (Purple): Possess a faint trace of Taotie bloodline, allowing you to devour a portion of another's Cultivation or Law.]
[Note: This talent has no side effects such as gluttony, bodily distortion, or loss of control.]
[Wind Charge (Blue): Without consuming spiritual energy, you can levitate in the air for an extended period.]
When Lin Chen saw Wind Charge again, he didn't even hesitate. He directly chose—Descendant of Taotie.
---
[Simulation begins.]
[On the first day, you resolved to join the Holy-Sword Sect in this simulation, determined not to waver from your path. No distractions, no detours—only the sect.]
[Eight months later, you arrived at Tianhua City. Without wasting time, you purchased passage through the teleportation array leading to Sword City.]
[The Holy-Sword Sect is one of the Eastern Wilderness's greatest powers. Their teleportation formations are tightly controlled and only available through first-rate sects. You had no choice but to follow this route.]
[After a month of travel, you reached Sword City under the Ling Jian Sect, then transferred through another teleportation array bound for the Holy-Sword City.]
[Three months later, you finally stepped foot into the Holy-Sword City—a sacred ground for sword cultivators. Without delay, you began investigating.]
[After three days of inquiries, you learned the sect would hold its recruitment trials in the coming year.]
[Curious about the assessments, you dug deeper into the details. The recruitment trial comprised four stages:
1. Bone age under thirty.
2. Proof of strong talent in swordsmanship.
3. Combat trial.
4. Character trial.]
[The first three posed no difficulty for you. As for the fourth, Character Testing—you were confident. In your eyes, this trial was nothing more than 'easy.']
[With a clear plan, you focused on stabilizing your cultivation. Drawing upon countless accumulated experiences from past simulations, you successfully broke through to the Foundation-Building realm within a month—achieving a Supreme Foundation.]
[Deciding to stop at the peak of Foundation-Building for the time being, you diligently polished your cultivation.]
[One year later, aided by your Tenfold Aptitude talent, you reached the peak of Foundation-Building without consuming a single external resource.]
[On the day of recruitment, you joined the sea of hopefuls. The crowd dwarfed even what you had witnessed at the Cang Jian Sect. You knew this comparison because you had observed the Cang Jian Sect's trials earlier in this very simulation.]
---
[First day of assessment: Bone age testing. You easily passed, recorded as eighteen years old.]
[Second day: Sword Testing Stele. Unlike the Cang Jian Sect's stele with nine sword patterns, this one bore fourteen. Three were required to enter. You lit up nine once again. This result was not dazzling within the Holy Land, yet it still caught the eyes of many elders. Even so, they refrained from immediately taking action, clearly waiting for the character trial.]
[Third day: Combat testing. More than one hundred platforms were arranged. Each participant faced opponents of equal cultivation level. To pass, one merely had to last half an hour.]
[But you—Supreme Foundation Builder—finished your opponent in a single move. His resentment burned in his eyes, but you dismissed him as beneath notice. Anyone you defeated once would never again be an opponent. And as for potential backers—once you passed all four assessments, countless elders would shield you. Who would dare touch you then?]
[Your decisive strike alarmed many elders, but still they waited.]
[Fourth day: Character trial. Before you stood the Truth-Seeking Mirror, a fragment of an immortal weapon. Each candidate would be cast into an illusion, which had to be broken within an hour or else fail. Up to ten could be tested at once.]
["Lin Chen." The steward called your name with unmistakable admiration.]
[You stepped forward confidently. The moment you faced the mirror, your consciousness was dragged into an illusion. Unlike past illusions of killing or greed, this one tested something different—Love.]
[For a brief instant, your heart wavered. Then, with a sharp breath, you cleaved through the illusion in two seconds.]
[The crowd was shaken. In the sect's billion-year history, only two had ever broken the illusion this quickly. You became the third. Even the Holy Lord of the sect was alarmed and resolved to accept you as his personal disciple.]
[But before he could speak, another voice rang across the square.
"Holy Lord, this child—I will accept him as my disciple."]
[You turned and saw a middle-aged man radiating an aura of invincibility, his very posture declaring: No one beneath the heavens can match my sword.]
[Gasps spread. "Wang Sheng! You wish to take him as your disciple? Have you forgotten Hidden Sword Peak's rule—only one disciple per generation?"]
[Another elder interjected, "And your peak only accepts those who light at least twelve sword patterns! This child awakened only nine. Are you certain?"]
[The discussion revealed the man's identity—Peak Master Wang Sheng of Hidden Sword Peak, a figure who himself must have lit no fewer than twelve sword patterns.]
[Unmoved, Wang Sheng replied, "Have you all forgotten the ancestor's decree? The third one to pass the character trial with ease—just like the first two—must become a disciple of Hidden Sword Peak. Or are you set on defying the ancestor's words?"]
[The assembly fell silent. That decree had been upheld for billions of years. None dared oppose it.]
[Thus, you were formally accepted as disciple of Hidden Sword Peak. The Holy-Sword Sect's Holy Land boiled with rumors—another peerless temperament had appeared, and the solitary Hidden Sword Peak finally accepted a new heir.]
[While the sect struggled to suppress the news, you followed your master, Wang Sheng, up the secluded mountain. Hidden Sword Peak was barren, holding only two thatched cottages. He arranged one for you.]
[Just as you turned to leave, his calm voice struck your heart.
"So, you are a Supreme Foundation Builder."]
[You froze in shock. You hadn't expected anyone in the lower realms to recognize such a thing.]