Applying this couplet now feels entirely apt, fitting the moment perfectly.

A single setting sun burned upon the vast desert, casting a glorious, magnificent sheen over the towers and carved halls of the Tenth Hall of the Five Immortals Alliance. Thin, scorching steam rose from the grains of sand, diffusing across the surrounding sea of grit, resembling a golden ocean, undisturbed by even the slightest breeze that might break the solemn, arid silence.

The destination for this initial trial run was atop a high dune, where quite a few people were already gathered.

Lu Yuan finally reached the crest of the dune and presented himself to the Hall Master, Song Jianjiu. Song Jianjiu nodded once. "You are the one-hundred-eightieth to arrive. I won't remember most of your names; from now on, I'll call you Number One-Eighty." A man's memory is limited; it's impossible to recall two hundred names at once. Song Jianjiu naturally remembered those ranked in the top ten, but the rest were simply impossible to retain, hence the assignment of a codename.

Lu Yuan nodded, unconcerned by the designation.

Lu Yuan’s very nature was one that rarely concerned itself with trifles.

His sword, his wine, his Master, his family, his friends, and tangible material rewards—these were the things he cared about.

Mere empty fame, rankings, and such held little interest for him.

His effort during the Grand Assembly of the Five Peaks was driven by the generous rewards offered, coupled with maintaining the honor of the Five Peaks, nothing more.

Given Lu Yuan’s temperament, summoning his full strength for just any test was genuinely unlikely.

Lu Yuan shrugged and walked toward an open spot. Since he was one-eighty, twenty more people still needed to arrive before this individual assessment concluded. As Lu Yuan settled down, Meng Bai approached him. "Don't worry. I placed seventy-first. We get three shichen of training daily. Whatever I learn, I'll naturally teach you." Lu Yuan shrugged. "Thanks. Want a drink?" He lifted his wine gourd.

Meng Bai quickly took it and drank a mouthful, though it appeared he was merely using the wine to quench his thirst. Judging by how he drank, he wasn't a true connoisseur of fine alcohol.

Indeed, everyone possessed their own attitude toward life; not everyone could enjoy drinking.

Meng Bai remained silent for the moment. Having rushed five hundred li and encountered numerous strange beasts midway, he was utterly exhausted, and his garrulous nature hadn't surfaced yet.

Lu Yuan didn't mind, savoring his own wine. Truthfully, drinking out in the great desert as twilight approached—the sun just about to set, the earth stained crimson—was a first in his life. Then, an ear-splitting voice carried over from the same newcomers' quarters—it was Zhao Han. "Our Eldest Senior Brother... his personal strength has reached the Body Tempering stage, and this time he even deployed the Dharma Treasure, the Feather-Falling Twin Wings, easily seizing first place in the branch hall's novice test..." Zhao Han’s voice was brimming with smugness, as if he had won the top spot. That look of excessive pride—it was the perfect example of the saying, 'A petty man, once successful, becomes arrogant.'

Lu Yuan glanced toward Zhao Qiankun, the foremost true disciple of the Kunlun Immortal Sect.

The Five Great Immortal Sects each possessed their own distinct history and characteristics.

The distinctiveness of the Huashan Immortal Sect lay in its division into three branches, upholding three separate philosophies: the Sword Sect, the Qi Sect, and the Sword-Qi Sect.

The Wudang Immortal Sect specialized in transforming Taoist techniques into swordsmanship; their sword forms were exceedingly peculiar, drastically different from those of Huashan.

Qingcheng Immortal Sect’s sword arts primarily emphasized agility and strangeness.

The South Sea Sword Sect, situated remotely in a corner of the Great Jin Nation, maintained the largest divergence from the other four major sects.

And the Kunlun Immortal Sect was the oldest and longest-established among the Five Great Immortal Sects. While the gap between Kunlun and the other sects wasn't as vast as that separating the South Sea Sect, it was still considerable. This sect practiced very ancient forms of swordsmanship and was a rare sect focused on Dharma Treasures, placing great emphasis on them, often rotating various treasures in combat to overwhelm their opponents. However, due to this excessive focus on external tools over cultivating the self, the Kunlun Immortal Sect consistently held a middling position among the Five Great Sects—not rising, not falling. They had the longest history but were certainly not the most powerful.

Therefore, it was entirely normal for Zhao Qiankun to deploy the Feather-Falling Twin Wings treasure this time.

It would have been abnormal if they didn't use treasures.

Aside from Zhao Qiankun, the other individuals possessing flight capabilities were Ninth Generation Elders.

For Tenth Generation true disciples to reach the Body Tempering stage was monstrously rare; typically, each of the Five Great Sects had only one at that level: Song Nanshan of Huashan and Zhao Qiankun of Kunlun were examples. Of course, a sudden emergence like Lu Yuan achieving Body Tempering was an absolute anomaly.

However, it wasn't surprising for Ninth Generation Elders, aged one or two hundred, to reach the Body Tempering stage.

Renowned Ninth Generation Sword Immortals, such as Chu Fei, had long surpassed Body Tempering and entered the subsequent major realm, the Longevity Stage.

The subsequent training proceeded as Hall Master Song Jianjiu had stipulated: the top ten from the initial assessment stayed with him for virtually twelve continuous shichen; those ranked in the top fifty received six shichen of instruction daily. Those ranked up to one-fifty received three shichen daily, while the final fifty, like Lu Yuan, received instruction for only one shichen.

Yet, Lu Yuan remained indifferent.

What Song Jianjiu taught was primarily combat experience, specifically against the various subterranean demons. Lu Yuan realized he was genuinely ill-suited to Song Jianjiu's style; he preferred to internalize combat experience through actual fighting rather than being taught it. As for cultivation methods and core arts, that was out of the question; the arts of Huashan’s Northern Peak were undoubtedly supreme, and Song Jianjiu dared not teach anything from those.

Thus, Lu Yuan understood that Song Jianjiu’s instruction wasn't particularly suitable for him.

But being unsuitable didn't matter; he could cultivate on his own. The Tenth Hall was established in an area riddled with tunnels extending up from below the earth. Encountering demons wouldn't be difficult at all. Experiencing them firsthand would surely be far better than receiving secondhand instruction. Of course, Song Jianjiu's teaching method, while not fitting Lu Yuan, would undoubtedly suit others.

People are, after all, different.

The Tenth Hall was built in this location, meaning some branch halls were nearby, while others were distant. Not far away was the Ninth Branch Hall. On one chance encounter, Lu Yuan met Senior Sister Ling Yuzhu, who was assigned there. When Ling Yuzhu inquired about Lu Yuan’s ranking, she nearly collapsed laughing upon hearing he was ranked below one-hundred-eighty, gasping for breath and repeatedly patting her chest. That chest rose and fell rhythmically—Do not look upon immodestly, do not look upon immodestly, Lu Yuan chanted internally.

Seeing Lu Yuan lower his head, Ling Yuzhu noticed where her Sixth Junior Brother’s gaze had briefly settled on her chest and blushed instantly, though she quickly regained her composure. Lu Yuan casually asked about her own novice test results. Ling Yuzhu informed him that she ranked exactly fiftieth within the Ninth Branch Hall, marking her as one of the promising newcomers they intended to cultivate diligently.

However, Ling Yuzhu understood that her Junior Brother needed little formal instruction; he had always been the type to achieve success through self-teaching. Among the Six Flying Sword Immortals, Martial Uncle Li was the one who afforded his disciples the most freedom, allowing them to grow naturally.

Under Martial Uncle Li’s laissez-faire approach to nurturing talent, Sixth Junior Brother had already become the foremost figure among Huashan’s Tenth Generation.

This marked the fourth day since entering the Five Immortals Alliance. Lu Yuan was now heading toward the Mission Tower, a facility established within the Tenth Branch Hall. This necessity stemmed from the local geography: the Baiming Province had countless mines, bringing it dangerously close to the subterranean depths where demons frequently emerged. Consequently, the Deputy Hall Master of the Tenth Hall had established the Eleventh Branch Hall specifically to manage and issue missions.

Although called a branch hall, the Eleventh Branch Hall performed only two functions: distributing missions and issuing rewards.

The Eleventh Branch Hall had established Mission Towers adjacent to the first ten branch halls. Missions could be collected at any of these local halls, and completed tasks could be submitted to the Eleventh Branch Hall for remuneration.

Lu Yuan firmly believed that practical combat suited him best. Enhancing his battle experience through real engagements—and perhaps collecting some rewards and spoils along the way—was truly his path to cultivation. Therefore, he intended to visit the Mission Tower.

The Mission Tower was already in sight.

Despite its name, the Mission Tower was hardly grand, merely a somewhat larger room. Entering, the walls were plastered with various mission postings. However, the very first thing anyone saw upon entering was the large lettering spanning the wall: "Two Hundred and Sixty-Six Days Until the Tenth Hall Tournament." This was Hall Master Song Jianjiu's idea.

Song Jianjiu took the Tenth Hall Tournament extremely seriously.

He believed that winning the tournament nine months hence with distinction would elevate his standing within the Tenth Hall, and being a man who detested losing, he was fiercely competitive.

Fearing the newcomers might grow complacent, he had inscribed this message in numerous locations: "Days Remaining Until the Tenth Hall Tournament," updating it daily. This constant reminder of the approaching deadline instilled a sense of urgency, making the atmosphere within the Tenth Hall exceedingly tense and driving everyone to work hard.

Lu Yuan examined the missions hanging on the walls closely. They ranged from easy to extremely difficult.

The easy ones were quite straightforward, perhaps involving killing Sand Scorpions or Sand Worms, or gathering materials—dealing with the desert’s surface beasts was simple.

The difficult ones were considerably harder, often requiring descent into the earth tunnels to confront subterranean demons, even minuscule or small-scale demon sects. Indeed, the Moon Demon Sect of years past had been a micro-sect; small sects were far trickier opponents than the Moon Demon Sect had been, and venturing into the underground world was fraught with peril.

Lu Yuan surveyed the missions. Harder tasks commanded higher rewards, and easier tasks paid less—which was only natural.

Which mission should he choose?

His eyes swept across the listings, seeking a task suitable for immediate undertaking.

(We are about to enter a new story arc; how does everyone feel about it? I personally feel this new trajectory is opening up well. There's one more update tonight, so please see how productive I can be today.)