Dawn broke over the Celestial Dawn Sect with the kind of perfect clarity that seemed to mock the darkness of human schemes.
Lin Feng stood before his small mirror, examining his reflection. The face that looked back at him was the same one that had endured fourteen years of humiliation—but also different. His eyes held knowledge that no servant should possess. His posture spoke of confidence earned through power, not circumstance.
Today, everything changes. One way or another.
The Outer Disciple examination was scheduled to begin at the Hour of the Dragon—midmorning, when spiritual energy was most active. Candidates would gather at the Grand Testing Grounds, a massive complex on the sect's southern slope where disciples had proven themselves for a thousand years.
Lin Feng dressed carefully. The Robe of Thousand Stars had shifted to match the formal attire required for examinees—simple white robes with a red sash marking him as a candidate. The artifact continued its primary function, masking his Divine Domain cultivation and presenting only Mortal Awakening Level 3 to casual observation.
But beneath the concealment, power coiled like a serpent ready to strike.
A knock at his door. Xiao Ling entered without waiting for permission, her face pale with worry.
"Everyone's talking about what happened last night. They say the Patriarch himself sponsored you, that you performed techniques that should be impossible for your cultivation level." She grabbed his hands. "Lin Feng, some people are saying you're a hidden genius. Others are saying you're using forbidden techniques that will kill you. And the Azure Sky Family—"
"I know." Lin Feng squeezed her hands gently. "Li Xian wants me dead."
"Then don't go! Just—just run away! Leave the sect! I'll come with you, we can—"
"Xiao Ling." His voice was gentle but firm. "I'm not running anymore. For fourteen years, I ran from confrontation, hid from conflict, accepted humiliation because I had no other choice. But I have a choice now."
"The choice to die?"
"The choice to stand." He released her hands and turned to face her fully. "Do you remember what you told me after I returned from the back mountains? That one day I'd show them all?"
"I didn't mean by getting yourself killed!"
"I'm not going to die today." Lin Feng's voice held absolute certainty. "Trust me. I've survived worse than anything they can throw at me."
I've survived a Divine Rebirth transformation that would kill most cultivators. I've survived becoming the heir to an Immortal Emperor murdered by Demi-Gods. I can survive a rigged examination.
Xiao Ling stared at him, and something in his expression must have convinced her. Her shoulders slumped. "Promise me you'll come back."
"I promise."
She hugged him fiercely, then left before he could see her crying. Lin Feng stood alone in his small room for a moment, feeling the weight of what was to come.
Through the Dao Thread, he sensed Yun Qingxue's presence—already awake, her emotions a complex mixture of anxiety and determination. She would be in the viewing pavilions with the sect leadership and Azure Sky delegation, forced to watch as her secretly fated companion walked into danger she couldn't prevent.
Stay strong. This isn't just for me—it's for both of us.
Lin Feng left the servants' quarters and made his way toward the Grand Testing Grounds. The sect was already buzzing with activity—disciples, servants, even some elders were streaming toward the examination site. The Outer Disciple examination was a major event, held only four times a year, and this one had drawn unusual attention.
Everyone wanted to see if the mysterious servant with perfect meridians was truly special or just lucky.
The Grand Testing Grounds came into view as Lin Feng crested the final hill. The complex was enormous—multiple arenas for different tests, obstacle courses that stretched for miles, formations that could simulate various dangerous scenarios. Viewing pavilions ringed the grounds, already filling with spectators.
At the entrance, an administrator checked names against a jade tablet.
"Lin Feng, Candidate 47. Report to Assembly Area Three." The administrator handed him a token inscribed with his candidate number. "Keep this on you at all times. Losing it means disqualification."
Lin Feng accepted the token and moved into the grounds. Assembly Area Three held about thirty other candidates—mostly servants and outer disciples hoping to advance. They eyed each other with varying degrees of competitiveness and anxiety.
He recognized a few faces. Wu Feng—one of Zhao Kun's cronies who had threatened him before. Several servants he'd worked alongside over the years. And there, standing apart from the others with an air of superiority, was someone unexpected.
Chen Hong. Li Xian's personal attendant.
What's he doing here? He's already at Nascent Soul level—he has no need to take an Outer Disciple examination.
Chen Hong caught Lin Feng's gaze and smiled—a cold, knowing smile that promised pain.
He's here as a ringer. Someone to ensure I fail—or die—during the trials.
"Candidates, attention!" A voice boomed across the assembly areas. Elder Shan stood on an elevated platform, his massive form commanding immediate silence. "Welcome to the Outer Disciple examination. Today, you will face four trials designed to test your worthiness to advance within the Celestial Dawn Sect."
He gestured, and massive illusion arrays activated above the grounds, displaying images of what he described.
"Trial One: The Spiritual Maze. You will navigate a formation-constructed labyrinth designed to test your spiritual sense and problem-solving abilities. The first fifty candidates to reach the center advance to Trial Two."
Fifty out of roughly two hundred candidates. Elimination starts immediately.
"Trial Two: The Beast Gauntlet. You will face spirit beasts appropriate to your cultivation level in single combat. Defeat your opponent to advance. Surrender if you wish to live—there is no shame in knowing your limits."
Appropriate to cultivation level. Unless the formations are tampered with to make mine stronger.
"Trial Three: The Crucible of Elements. You will endure environmental extremes while maintaining cultivation focus. Fire, ice, lightning, and void—each candidate will face their weakest element. Success requires both power and willpower."
Void. They don't know I've mastered the void itself. That trial might actually be the easiest for me.
"Trial Four: The Final Confrontation. For those who reach this stage, you will face a true challenge—combat against an inner disciple of the sect. Victory is not required, only that you demonstrate skill, courage, and the sect's values."
Elder Shan's gaze swept over the assembled candidates. "These trials are dangerous. Every year, candidates are injured. Some are crippled. A few die. If you are not prepared to risk everything for advancement, leave now. No one will think less of you."
No one moved. Leaving would be admitting weakness—something pride wouldn't allow.
"Then let the examination begin!" Elder Shan raised his hand, and the ground beneath the candidates' feet lit up with formation arrays. "Trial One commences now!"
The world shifted.
Lin Feng found himself standing at the entrance to a massive maze constructed entirely from spiritual energy. The walls shimmered like heat haze, solid to the touch but translucent enough to see vague shapes moving beyond them. Other candidates were scattered throughout the maze—he could sense them through his enhanced spiritual perception.
The objective was simple: reach the center. The execution would be anything but.
Lin Feng extended his spiritual sense carefully, mapping the maze. His Divine Domain perception could see through the illusion walls easily—the entire structure was visible to him like a diagram. But using that level of perception would reveal his true cultivation.
I need to navigate this using only what a Mortal Awakening cultivator with perfect meridians could manage.
He started moving, choosing paths that seemed random but were actually calculated. The maze shifted constantly—walls appearing and disappearing, paths that seemed direct suddenly turning into dead ends. It was designed to frustrate reliance on memorization, forcing candidates to adapt constantly.
Ten minutes in, Lin Feng encountered his first obstacle.
A section of the maze ahead was filled with dense spiritual fog that interfered with perception. Normal spiritual sense would be useless here—candidates would have to navigate blind or find another route.
Lin Feng smiled slightly. The Void Emperor's memories included techniques for perception that didn't rely on spiritual sense—reading air currents, detecting subtle energy disturbances, even using sound to map spaces.
He entered the fog and moved confidently through it, his enhanced hearing picking up the echo patterns that revealed the walls' positions. Within minutes, he'd crossed the section that was making other candidates stumble and curse.
Behind him, he heard someone following. Chen Hong emerged from the fog, his expression calculating.
"Impressive, Candidate 47. You navigated the Mist Section faster than most Core Condensation cultivators manage." The attendant's voice was pleasant, but his eyes were cold. "One might wonder how a Mortal Awakening servant developed such skills."
"Careful observation, Candidate..." Lin Feng glanced at Chen Hong's token. "Candidate 13. The fog follows predictable flow patterns. Anyone patient enough to study them could navigate successfully."
"Patient. Yes, you would need patience, wouldn't you? Fourteen years of it." Chen Hong moved to block the path. "Tell me, do you truly believe you have a chance at becoming an Outer Disciple? Or are you simply going through the motions, knowing you'll fail?"
"I believe I'll do my best."
"Your best." Chen Hong laughed. "Young Master Li asked me to observe you during the trials. To see if you're truly worthy of the Patriarch's sponsorship or just a fraud who got lucky." His spiritual pressure suddenly spiked—Nascent Soul level, pressing down like a physical weight. "So far, I'm not impressed."
The pressure was designed to intimidate, to make Lin Feng stumble or reveal his true cultivation in response. Most Mortal Awakening cultivators would have been driven to their knees.
Lin Feng stood firm, but allowed himself to appear strained. He'd learned over fourteen years how to look weak while enduring—it was practically muscle memory.
"Is Candidate 13 threatening me?" Lin Feng kept his voice respectful but firm. "The examination rules prohibit interference between candidates."
"Interference? I'm simply testing your resolve." Chen Hong released the pressure and smiled. "After all, if you can't handle a little spiritual pressure from a fellow candidate, how will you handle the real trials ahead?"
He walked past Lin Feng, deliberately shouldering him aside. "Good luck, Candidate 47. You'll need it."
Lin Feng watched him go, his mind analyzing. Chen Hong was here to observe and intimidate, but probably not to directly attack—not yet. The real danger would come in later trials where his actions could be disguised as accidents.
Stay alert. The maze is the least of my problems.
He continued forward, navigating obstacles with careful competence. Not too fast—that would draw attention. Not too slow—that would risk elimination. Perfectly average for someone with exceptional meridians but limited cultivation.
Twenty minutes into the trial, Lin Feng reached a junction where three paths diverged. His spiritual sense detected other candidates down two of the paths—he could hear their progress, feel their spiritual energy signatures.
The third path was silent. Empty.
Too empty.
Lin Feng examined the path more carefully. The spiritual energy there felt wrong—denser than it should be, with subtle fluctuations that suggested tampering. This was one of the trapped sections Yun Qingxue had warned about.
He could easily avoid it by choosing another path. But doing so might seem suspicious—someone with only basic spiritual sense wouldn't necessarily detect the trap.
What would a confident but inexperienced candidate do? They'd probably choose based on instinct rather than careful analysis.
Lin Feng took the trapped path.
The moment he stepped into the corridor, formations activated. The walls on either side began closing in, slowly but inexorably. At the same time, the spiritual energy grew thick enough to resist movement—like walking through water.
A crushing trap. Designed to force candidates to either break through with raw power or escape before the walls meet.
For someone at Mortal Awakening, it would be genuinely dangerous. Lin Feng could feel the formations' intent—they were set to crush with enough force to severely injure even Golden Transformation cultivators.
This is one of the tampered sections. They've increased the danger beyond what's appropriate for the candidates' levels.
He had several options. Use void techniques to simply teleport past the trap—but that would reveal too much. Use raw power to force the walls apart—also too revealing. Or use technique and intelligence to escape in a believable manner.
Lin Feng chose the third option.
He analyzed the formation arrays powering the trap, using the Void Emperor's formation knowledge. Every array had a control node—a critical point where the formation's power focused. Disrupt that node, and the entire formation would destabilize.
The control nodes were hidden in the walls, protected by sub-formations. But Lin Feng could see them with his enhanced perception—glowing points of concentrated energy.
He formed a basic attack technique—the kind any Mortal Awakening cultivator with good meridians could manage—and struck at the nearest control node with precise timing.
The wall shuddered. The formation flickered.
He struck again, harder, pouring just enough energy to seem like he was giving everything he had.
The control node shattered.
The entire trap formation collapsed, the walls freezing in place just three feet apart—close enough to be frightening, far enough to allow passage.
Lin Feng squeezed through, allowing himself to appear shaken and exhausted. To any observer, it would look like a desperate gamble that barely succeeded.
First trap survived. How many more have they prepared?
He emerged into a wider section of the maze and found three other candidates already there, catching their breath. They looked at him with surprise.
"You made it through the Crushing Corridor?" One of them—a young woman with Foundation Establishment cultivation—seemed genuinely impressed. "We heard someone enter it and assumed they'd be eliminated."
"I got lucky," Lin Feng said, maintaining his cover. "Found a weak point in the formation."
"Lucky indeed. That section wasn't supposed to be that dangerous." Her expression turned suspicious. "Some people are saying the formations have been tampered with. That someone wants certain candidates to fail—or worse."
"Who would do that?"
"Who indeed?" She glanced at the other candidates, lowering her voice. "Just... be careful. Something feels wrong about this examination."
Before Lin Feng could respond, a scream echoed through the maze—high-pitched, agonized, cut short.
The candidates froze, looking at each other with dawning horror.
"Someone just died," one of them whispered.
A moment later, Elder Shan's voice boomed across the entire maze: "Candidate 73 has been eliminated due to cultivation deviation. Medical disciples are responding. All other candidates, continue."
Cultivation deviation. The official explanation for when someone dies mysteriously during trials.
Through his enhanced senses, Lin Feng detected the truth. The death had occurred in a trapped section similar to his—but the candidate hadn't been skilled or lucky enough to escape. The formation had crushed them.
They're willing to kill to make this look like a legitimately dangerous examination. How many death traps have they set?
"We should move," the young woman said, her face pale. "The faster we reach the center, the less chance we have of encountering something fatal."
The candidates scattered, each choosing different paths. Lin Feng continued alone, his senses on high alert.
Over the next fifteen minutes, he encountered two more tampered traps—one involving illusory pitfalls that led to actual pits with poison gas, another with energy lances that shot from walls at lethal speed. He navigated both using technique and careful observation, always making it appear difficult but not impossible.
Other candidates weren't as fortunate. He heard two more announcements of "elimination due to cultivation deviation." Three deaths so far, and the first trial wasn't even complete.
Li Xian isn't being subtle. He's willing to kill multiple candidates to ensure I'm among the casualties.
Finally, after thirty minutes of navigation, Lin Feng's spiritual sense detected the maze's center—a circular arena where successful candidates were gathering. He was among the first twenty to arrive.
Elder Shan stood at the center, his expression grim. "Forty-seven candidates have reached this point. We will wait five more minutes for any remaining successful navigators."
Lin Feng looked around at the survivors. Most showed signs of exhaustion and fear. Several were injured—burns, cuts, obvious strain from overexertion. The trials had been harder than expected.
Chen Hong arrived three minutes later, looking completely fresh and unharmed. He caught Lin Feng's eye and smirked.
He knew where all the traps were. Probably had a map of safe paths provided by Li Xian's contacts among the examiners.
When the five minutes elapsed, Elder Shan's expression grew darker. "Fifty candidates entered the maze. Forty-nine have reached the center or been confirmed eliminated. One is missing."
A moment of silence, then Elder Shan raised his hand. The maze dissolved, revealing its full structure and—trapped in a corner, surrounded by fire formations—a young male candidate desperately trying to shield himself.
Medical disciples rushed in, deactivating the formation and extracting the burned cultivator. He was alive but badly injured.
"The first trial is concluded," Elder Shan announced. "Forty-nine candidates advance to Trial Two: The Beast Gauntlet."
Forty-nine survivors from two hundred. And we're only one trial in.
The successful candidates were led to a different section of the grounds—a series of individual arenas, each one warded with powerful formations. Spirit beasts were already visible within some arenas—wolves, bears, serpents, and more exotic creatures.
"Trial Two will proceed as follows," Elder Shan explained. "Each candidate will face a spirit beast matched to their cultivation level and fighting style. Defeat the beast to advance. Surrender by crushing your candidate token, and you will be immediately extracted. Death is possible—the beasts are real and dangerous. Choose wisely."
Matched to cultivation level. Unless the matching is deliberately wrong.
Candidates were called up one by one, entering their assigned arenas. Lin Feng watched several matches while waiting for his turn. Most were legitimate—Mortal Awakening candidates facing Mortal Awakening beasts, Foundation Establishment against Foundation Establishment.
But then Candidate 23—a Foundation Establishment cultivator—faced what was clearly a Core Condensation level serpent. The mismatch was obvious. The candidate lasted less than a minute before crushing their token and being extracted, bloodied but alive.
"Candidate 47. Lin Feng. Report to Arena 12."
Lin Feng walked to his assigned arena, feeling hundreds of eyes on him. The viewing pavilions were packed—he could sense Yun Qingxue's presence among the sect leadership, feel her anxiety through the Dao Thread.
The arena was fifty feet across, with walls of pure spiritual energy that would prevent escape. In the center, waiting for him, was his opponent.
A Shadow Panther.
Lin Feng's blood ran cold. Shadow Panthers were stealth predators that operated at Core Condensation level minimum. This one radiated power consistent with Core Condensation Level 5—a full three ranks above his supposed cultivation, five levels above his current level.
They're not even being subtle anymore.
In the viewing pavilion, he heard gasps of surprise. Even from this distance, Lin Feng's enhanced hearing caught fragments of conversation:
"That's a Core Condensation beast against a Mortal Awakening candidate!"
"Someone must have made a mistake—"
"That's no mistake. Look at who's sitting with the Azure Sky delegation—"
Elder Shan's voice cut through the murmurs: "Candidate 47, do you accept this match?"
It was phrased as a choice, but declining would mean elimination. And elimination would mean failure, disgrace, and the end of any chance to change his circumstances.
Through the Dao Thread, Lin Feng felt Yun Qingxue's desperate plea: Surrender. Please. It's not worth your life.
But Lin Feng looked up at the viewing pavilion, found where Li Xian sat with his father and entourage, and saw the confident smirk on the young master's face.
He thinks he's won. Thinks I'll either surrender in shame or die trying to fight.
Time to surprise everyone.
Lin Feng turned to Elder Shan and projected his voice clearly: "I accept."
The crowd's murmurs grew louder. In the viewing pavilion, Patriarch Cloud leaned forward with interest. Li Xian's smirk widened.
And the Shadow Panther growled, its eyes glowing red with predatory hunger.
The formation barrier sealed, trapping Lin Feng inside with a beast that could kill him in seconds.
The second trial had truly begun.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 8: THE OUTER DISCIPLE EXAMINATION - PART 2