Steady Cultivation: Starting With the Perk “Work Hard, Rest Hard”
Chapter 281: Hundreds of Millions of Prodigies Enter the Chaos Pearl
Gu You was currently still at the True Immortal realm, with the Xuan Immortal realm still far beyond his reach.
His cultivation hadn't slowed down, but the length of the cultivation path was enough to make one despair.
Gu You quickly learned about the selection competition.
He looked at the competition requirements - the top 1.5 million True Immortal realm cultivators would qualify, and it was divided by age groups with five total age brackets, each having 300,000 spots.
Three hundred thousand spots seemed quite generous at first glance.
But Gu You felt frustrated.
"Damn, the Seven Stars Sect has over five trillion True Immortal realm disciples. Making it into the top 1.5 million is way too difficult!"
While the Seven Stars Sect wasn't easy to join, any cultivator who reached the True Immortal realm could register with the sect and become a nominal disciple.
The Seven Stars Market spanned the entire Immortal-Demon Realm Sea, and even if only a small portion of the countless True Immortals in the entire realm sea chose to register, that still amounted to an astronomical number of disciples!
Every single True Immortal was a dazzling genius of extraordinary talent - filled with super-powered competitors like those with immortal spirit roots, special physiques, high-level bloodlines, rare treasures, and more. For him to compete for ranking was genuinely extremely difficult.
Gu You eventually registered anyway.
Then, during the preliminary selection stage, he failed outright.
Just as he was feeling utterly dejected.
Gu Qingzhu found him.
"This is the Eternal Token, your credential for entering the secret realm to cultivate. Keep it safe and report to the sect square when the time comes!" Gu Qingzhu said to Gu You.
Gu You exclaimed in shock, "This... is this acceptable? Sect Leader, although I'm your junior, we can't be this blatant about favoritism, can we?"
Gu Qingzhu rolled his eyes at him. "So do you want it or not?"
Just as Gu You was hesitating.
He saw some familiar faces entering, and they also received qualification credentials.
Ye Bufan and Liu Muwan - these fellow disciples from the same generation as the Patriarch - made some sense.
Then Zhang Wei and Zhou Wuyou - these early investors in Su Yuan - were somewhat understandable.
Zhuge Tao, Nangong Huoyu, and Nangong Xianweng - who had once taught Su Yuan - seemed reasonable too.
But damn, even Niu Bin (who originally partnered with Su Yuan to open a shop) actually came.
Even Wang Siming (former Mysterious Extremes Peak Master) came!
And that guy Yinqin who just guarded the library entrance could qualify too?
Even those spirit fish that only had code names and no actual names received qualifications.
Looking at it this way, anyone who had even the slightest connection with the Patriarch had obtained qualifications.
At this point, Gu You stopped panicking.
He even turned to Gu Qingzhu and said, "Sect Leader, my child is exceptionally talented and should also have one..."
Gu Qingzhu kicked Gu You squarely.
Gu You shot through the sky like a meteor, disappearing without a trace.
Though it sounded like many people, there actually weren't that many disciples who knew Su Yuan.
Gu Qingzhu quickly finished distributing the tokens.
He conveniently kept one for himself as well.
One month later.
One hundred million people gathered at the Seven Stars Sect square.
Each disciple carried themselves with extraordinary bearing and transcendent temperament, their eyes filled with confidence.
However, in one corner, a group of people hung their heads in embarrassment, not daring to meet the gazes of the others.
Gu You also kept his eyes downcast, thinking to himself that although he got in through connections, there was no need to keep staring at him like that!
Among the crowd outside the square, Patriarch Li Shan stared enviously at Gu You. He deeply understood the importance of having powerful backing, but he still hadn't managed to secure the truly powerful connections. Seeing that kid Gu You obtain such an opportunity was more painful than killing him!
At a certain moment.
Nine starlights suddenly lit up in the sky, shining upon everyone in the square.
Everyone looked up and saw a mighty figure dozens of light-years tall gazing down at them.
What shocked countless people was that this wasn't some illusion, but an actual physical entity!
Around the colossal figure, countless law lights circulated, worlds rotated, and the nine stars of the Big Dipper adorned the figure's hair like mere accessories!
Gu Qingzhu swallowed hard. He thought he had grown accustomed to Su Yuan's astonishing entrances, but this scene still made his scalp tingle with overwhelming awe.
At this moment, the great being suddenly raised his hand, a pearl hovering above his palm.
The seemingly miniature pearl was actually trillions of miles in size, utterly breathtaking.
Su Yuan calmly looked at the crowd, opened his mouth, and booming sounds echoed through the void, pushing back spatial turbulence to form a vacuum zone, truly terrifying.
"I am Seven Stars, having opened up a chaotic space-time. Within it are countless opportunities and endless inheritances. Inside, time accelerates by one hundred million times. You shall enter to cultivate and experience three reincarnations. Only those who break through and prove the Hunyuan Dao may leave this space-time, otherwise you shall remain trapped within! I look forward to seeing you break free from fate's constraints, escape the prison of space-time, and walk your own path, opening up your own Dao!"
Everyone who heard these words was utterly shocked by the immense information contained within them.
Patriarch Seven Stars had actually opened up a vast space-time, apparently with independent reincarnation cycles. The hundred-million-fold time acceleration was terrifying beyond measure - if they didn't break through realms, only a short time would pass in the outside world while they would die of old age inside!
At the same time, since the Patriarch said one could prove the Hunyuan Dao inside, it meant the opportunities within included Hunyuan-level chances. What an extravagant gesture!
Su Yuan said calmly, "Does anyone wish to back out?"
Everyone remained silent, not a single person retreating at the last moment. Actually, backing out now would require tremendous courage.
Who could possibly speak under Su Yuan's gaze? They couldn't even form words!
"Very well, you may go!"
With a wave of Su Yuan's hand, one hundred million cultivators, including several thousand Great Luo Golden Immortals who came from Primordial Isle, were all swept into the Chaos Pearl's interior.
Inside the Chaos Pearl, a small God Realm Sea had indeed been opened up. This realm sea was rapidly expanding, naturally giving birth to numerous opportunities, and Su Yuan had additionally placed vast resources inside, enough for large numbers of cultivators to cultivate and break through to the Hunyuan realm.
But Hunyuan Great Powers couldn't be mass-produced through opportunities alone - they required temperament, comprehension, willpower, destiny, and many other aspects. Even Su Yuan himself couldn't forcibly nurture a Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal.
Everything depended on their own fortunes.
However, soon after, only one day had passed in the outside world.
When a Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal emerged from the Chaos Pearl.
"Li Yuanpei pays respects to the Patriarch!"
A young man bowed to Su Yuan.
Su Yuan chuckled and said, "You're the Hunyuan Golden Immortal who came from Primordial Isle? Previously stuck at the Law Root Qi stage, I didn't expect you to find a strand of Law Root Qi as soon as you entered the chaotic space-time, breaking through to Hunyuan in one go!"
Li Yuanpei said gratefully, "All thanks to the Patriarch's cultivation!"
Su Yuan waved his hand and said, "Keep working hard. Hunyuan isn't the end, but the beginning. You still have a long road ahead - the true cultivation path has only just started. In that case, return to Primordial Isle once more and go spar with the Calamity Fiends for some practical experience."
Upon hearing this, the smile gradually vanished from Li Yuanpei's face.