I Have A Trillion Protagonist Halos

Chapter 182: The First Round Of Assessment

"Yes, Young Master Ye!"

The deacon nodded quickly, took out a jade slip, opened it, and glanced at it. He smiled, saying, "Perfect timing. The Number One Spirit Rain Pavilion hasn't been occupied yet. It requires a cost of forty-five million spirit stones or forty-five thousand saint stones!"

"Sure, I'll take this one."

Ye Kuang's lips curled upwards, and he cast a disdainful glance at Su Zhan and the others. He didn't seem to want to pay them much attention. He stepped on the carriage and continued up the mountain.

"Someone is willing to spend so many spirit stones just for a few nights' stay?" Su Zhan was somewhat surprised.

Chu Xuanyi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Daoist Su, I heard that the top ten performers in the core disciple assessment at the Holy Land are exempt from all fees, so those who are confident in their talent and strength won't care about these expenses."

"I see! That makes sense. Since it's free anyway, a few million spirit stones don't matter. I thought he was really that generous." Su Zhan suddenly realized.

Ye Kuang, who had not driven far from them, heard this and turned back with annoyance, giving Su Zhan a cold look. "Do you think I, Ye Kuang, need to be stingy for these small benefits?"

"Young Master Ye, there's no need to get angry with people you don't know," a deacon who seemed to be acquainted with Ye Kuang quickly advised.

"Right." Ye Kuang took a deep breath and sneered, "I, Ye Kuang, am a genius with a Star Pointed Physique. How could I possibly have anything in common with these mediocre talents? Besides, most of these people probably won't even pass the assessment to enter the Holy Land. But I am competing for the top spot! The gap is too vast, it's meaningless to interact with them. Let's go! My Star Pointed Physique should be used for cultivation, not wasting time with these miscellaneous people!"

With a disdainful glance at Su Zhan and Chu Xuanyi, the carriage accelerated and headed towards Little Spirit Mountain.

Hearing Ye Kuang's audacious words, Jin Lou hurriedly explained, "Brother Su, Brother Chu, please don't mind. This person is Ye Kuang, a genius from one of the Four Great Families of the Tianxuan Empire, the Ye Clan. He possesses a Star Pointed Physique, and he's been showered with endless favor. He's used to being arrogant and overbearing. You don't need to pay too much attention to him!"

"Speaking of which, even though Brother Su, you keep saying that you have no background or identity, in my opinion, your talent probably isn't much worse than that Ye Kuang's. Since Ye Kuang has come and should easily make it into the top ten, Brother Su, you should also be fine!"

"As Brother Chu said, as long as you make it into the top ten, you won't need to pay any fees. Why not also choose a Spirit Rain Pavilion?

Su Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "That sounds like a good idea. Do the higher Spirit Rain Pavilions have more abundant spiritual energy?"

"No, the configurations of all the Spirit Rain Pavilions are the same. However, the higher ones are more likely to attract the attention of other geniuses."

Jin Lou smiled and continued, "As Brother Su may know, our Holy Land only recruits external fish-dragon realm cultivators to become core disciples once every ten years. Every time, the Spirit Rain Pavilions are fully occupied, with at least tens of thousands of fish-dragon realm cultivators. These cultivators come from all over, representing the genius talents of their respective regions. Otherwise, they wouldn't have the confidence to participate in the assessment."

"These geniuses belong to countless factions and powers within the Tianxuan Empire, spread throughout the world!"

"Choosing a higher Spirit Rain Pavilion would undoubtedly attract the attention, discussions, and admiration of many geniuses. Many people thoroughly enjoy this feeling. Moreover, after many years of development, although it's not explicitly stated, the Spirit Rain Pavilions have become a symbol of status. The higher the pavilion, the more it represents exceptional talent and prestigious status!"

A symbol of status? What good is that?

Su Zhan shook his head and said, "Then give me the most secluded and spacious one! I prefer a larger place!"

"Well"

Jin Lou hesitated for a moment and then said, "The most secluded and spacious one around is probably the Number One Spirit Rain Pavilion. However, it's already occupied, and it's not exactly secluded, as many people visit it every day. Among the remaining Spirit Rain Pavilions, the most secluded and spacious one would be the Twenty-Fifth Spirit Rain Pavilion. It's also the last one."

"Then that one will do! It's best if no one bothers me." Su Zhan smiled.

"Alright, I'll register this one for you, Brother Su." Jin Lou took out a jade slip and infused it with his saint qi, inscribing Su Zhan's name after "Twenty-Fifth Spirit Rain Pavilion."

"And what about you, Brother Chu?"

"Can I stay with Brother Su?" Chu Xuanyi asked.

Su Zhan was slightly surprised and quickly took a step back. "Brother Chu, you mentioned having been betrothed last time. You're not trying to deceive me, are you?"

"Brother Su, you've misunderstood me. I didn't mean it that way!" Chu Xuanyi's face turned a bit dark. "The night before the assessment begins, the Spirit Rain Pavilion experiences a spiritual rain that bathes the cultivators' minds. It's said to be helpful for the assessment on the next day. I just wanted to experience the spiritual rain with you, Brother Su!"

Jin Lou laughed heartily. "If Brother Chu isn't participating in the assessment and is just accompanying Brother Su, then it's naturally fine. Otherwise, it's not allowed."

"Well, forget it. Just give me an ordinary courtyard." Chu Xuanyi sounded somewhat disappointed and chose a courtyard that was relatively close to Su Zhan's Spirit Rain Pavilion.

Afterwards, with the cave mansion tokens provided by Jin Lou, they headed towards Little Spirit Mountain.

At a fork in the path, they parted ways, and Su Zhan arrived at the Twenty-Fifth Spirit Rain Pavilion.

Over the next few days, people came and went around him, visiting the higher-ranked Spirit Rain Pavilions. As for the Twenty-Fifth Pavilion where Su Zhan was, nobody paid any attention.

The reason was quite simple. Those who had enough talent and confidence to make it into the top ten wouldn't choose a place like this at the end. Those with significant backgrounds and identities also wouldn't be concerned about this small sum of money.

In previous years, those who chose the Twenty-Fifth Spirit Rain Pavilion were mostly from smaller factions, lacking insight and not particularly talented. However, they still wished to mingle with the upper echelons of genius cultivators, which led them to select the most "affordable" Spirit Rain Pavilion.

Su Zhan also didn't pay much attention to these matters.

One day later, inscriptions on the top of the Spirit Rain Pavilion suddenly began to shine. Clear droplets of spiritual rain fell from above.

Su Zhan sat cross-legged on the ground, circulating his cultivation technique to absorb the rain.

Unlike the spiritual rain he had experienced at Heavenly Cloud Sword Sect, the rain in the Holy Land not only contained denser spiritual energy but also had a calming and tranquilizing effect. It made cultivators feel clear-minded and refreshed.

On the morning of the second day after the rain had fallen, a sacred aura suddenly descended upon Little Spirit Mountain, alarming nearly ten thousand cultivators.

Just as they were puzzled, anxious, and uneasy, a powerful voice resounded: "All cultivators participating in the Holy Land assessment, you have ten breaths to come out and follow me to Mount Mangdang!"

As soon as the voice fell, cultivators flew out and respectfully saluted the elderly figure radiating boundless sacred aura in the sky. "Greetings"

"No need for these formalities! If ten thousand people each perform a salute, wouldn't it delay us for several days?" The elderly figure snorted coldly, showing impatience.

Upon hearing this, those who were about to bow immediately stopped in their tracks.

Ten breaths later, nearly ten thousand cultivators were suspended in the sky, their imposing presence overwhelming, blotting out the sun.

The elder cast a glance over those Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators, each considered a genius in their respective regions, and spoke solemnly, "The ten breaths have passed! Follow me to Mount Mangdang for the first round of assessments!"