Chapter 140: Commencement of the Trial

　　On the day prior to the opening of the Dragon Metamorphosis Mystic Realm, the academy announced the roster for participating disciples.

　　To Qi Ying’s surprise, there were almost two thousand registered participants!

　　For many disciples with mediocre aptitudes, or those who had reached the limits of their potential, the Dragon Metamorphosis Trial was their final hope for further ascension.

　　Qi Ying didn’t really understand. They were risking a death rate of over thirty percent, for essentially an empty promise of power and glory!

　　However, he soon understood the motive behind such a decision.

　　Many people were like him; they were unwilling to settle for what they had, and didn’t want to miss any opportunity that could take them to greater heights.

　　Just the Green Class participants alone numbered in excess of a hundred.

　　There were even more from the Jade and Crimson Classes; the two thousand participating disciples were pretty much split evenly between those two classes.

　　In contrast, there were almost no participants from the Purple and Black Classes. The younger ones among them had great potential, so there was no need for them to take that risk. As for the older ones, the vast majority of them had exceeded the Sixth Spirit Martial Stage, so they wouldn’t be able to enter the Dragon Metamorphosis Mystic Realm anyway.

　　There weren’t any familiar Green Class friends of Qi Ying’s on the roster.

　　Most of the disciples in the Blood God Alliance possessed rather low cultivation bases. They didn’t want to participate in the trial as it was especially dangerous for weaker disciples, and even if they were to participate, they would wait until a year or two later, when they had the ability to keep themselves safe.

　　It was a yearly event anyway, so there was always next time!

　　Young people like them certainly didn’t lack time.

　　In contrast, there were many Bixue Sword Alliance participants. A considerable number of them were Sixth Spirit Martial Stage warriors, who were twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, treading right on the upper limit of the cultivation base restriction.

　　After seeing the roster, Han Shenglong immediately extended words of concern toward Qi Ying, “You should withdraw, third flag leader! I know you made a breakthrough recently, but there are a lot of Bixue Sword Alliance participants, and it’s going to be very dangerous for you. They wouldn’t dare to do anything to you in the academy, but in the Dragon Metamorphosis Mystic Realm, they can hunt you down without any inhibitions!”

　　“Heh, I’ve already made my decision!” Qi Ying shrugged with a smile, “Thank you for your concern, branch leader.” He then lowered his voice and said, “I’ll be sure to look after myself… I’m assuming you’ve already investigated me, so you should be aware of my self-preservation skills, right?”

　　“Sigh… Be safe!”

　　Han Shenglong really wanted to say his piece; the competition in the Dragon Metamorphosis Trial was far more fierce than in a county youth tournament! However, Qi Ying was brimming with confidence, and he didn’t really know how to try and dissuade him anymore. As such, he could only say, “There will be two Fifth Spirit Martial Stage warriors from our Blood God Alliance participating in the trial. Stay with them and the Bixue Sword Alliance shouldn’t be able to do anything to you. Even with their numbers, they would have to be wary of being surrounded and attacked by their enemies, so they won’t invest too many members into hunting you down.”

　　“Alright.”

　　Qi Ying nodded, but he wasn’t very confident in Han Shenglong’s words.

　　The Chu family was determined to kill him than Han Shenlong could imagine!

　　However, he then caught sight of a few names on the roster that captured his interest.

　　‘Qi Shun, Yan Beigui, Zhao Danyang, Qin Mu? Those four are all Black Class disciples…’

　　As Black Class participants, their objective was quite obvious; they were going after the dragon vein!

　　All of them already had superb aptitude, and if they could reinvent themselves through the use of the dragon vein, they would almost be certain to reach the Heaven Martial Stage in the future.

　　Qi Ying had quite a good impression of Qi Shun.

　　However, he was a little disappointed that Qin Susu’s name wasn’t on the roster, which meant that he wouldn’t get an opportunity to see her during the trial.

　　Thinking back, the last time they had spoken with one another was over four months ago. At the time, they were only together for three short days…

　　…

　　One day passed by in a flash!

　　The next morning, Qi Ying and the other Green Class trial participants arrived on the top platform of the Cloud Steps, led by Liancheng Ying, Jiang Yuanping, and a few other instructors.

　　There was already a huge number of disciples gathered there, and Qi Ying estimated that the two thousand people from the Jade and Crimson Classes were already there.

　　He scanned his eyes through the crowd, and discovered two familiar figures in the Crimson Class group.

　　‘Tian Shou? Feng Hemu?’

　　Those two had both been his competitors during the Celestial River County Youth Tournament. Who would have thought that they were going to be competing with one another again, just a month later?

　　Both of them were at twenty-one years of age, and Tian Shou, in particular, had very mediocre aptitude in all five aspects. As such, future progression would be very difficult for him, and it was no surprise to see him taking a risk and entering the Dragon Metamorphosis Trial.

　　Seeing as they were all acquaintances, they could help each other out a bit in the Dragon Metamorphosis Mystic Realm.

　　At that moment, a loud thunderclap erupted. The white cloud and mist overhead turned black, then purple light shimmered amid the claps of thunder.

　　All of the instructors present immediately put on respectful expressions, and joined their hands in a salute or bowed as they said in a unified voice, “We welcome Principal Ji!”

　　Crackle crackle!

　　A figure emerged from the black wind and clouds in the sky, sweeping up gale-force winds that made it difficult for many people to even keep their eyes open.

　　“Purple Sun Eye!”

　　Qi Ying directed his True Energy toward his eyes to observe the powerful being in the sky.

　　He was greeted by the sight of a graceful middle-aged man in a set of grey robes. He appeared to be around forty to fifty years of age, and he gave off an unfathomable aura.

　　All of the disciples immediately knew who he was.

　　He was the principal of the Yun Xiao Academy, Ji Yunxuan! At the same time, he was also one of the most powerful beings in the Yun Xiao Kingdom, one of the extremely rare Heaven Martial Stage warriors!

　　Furthermore, he was also from the imperial family himself. He was the emperor’s cousin, and even the emperor treated him with respect and reverence.

　　‘Just his arrival was enough to trigger heaven and earth phenomena… The Heaven Martial Stage is truly a terrifying stage…’

　　Qi Ying was certain that if Principal Ji wished to do so, he could kill all of the disciples that were gathered without lifting so much as a single finger.

　　Principal Ji began to speak in a faint voice, but it was audible to everyone that was gathered. “Today, all of you shall set foot into the Dragon Metamorphosis Mystic Realm, and fight for opportunities amid countless perils. If you succeed in your metamorphosis, you will rise to become a dragon. But if you fail, you’ll emerge empty-handed or perhaps you won’t return at all. There is no need for me to say anything further. I wish all of you good luck! Dragon Metamorphosis Mystic Realm, open!”

　　Whoosh!

　　He waved a hand, and lightning flashed in the dark clouds above. A terrifying burst of suction force appeared in the air, stirring up the wind and clouds to create a huge black vortex.