"Swish!"

Under the leadership of Saint Venerable Mu Yun, Ji Chen and his entourage finally descended.

Looking around, they found themselves at the foot of a mountain outside the Celestial Emperor's Mansion.

There was a vast open space, and as they looked ahead, they could faintly see the outlines of some divine halls among the mountains, appearing and disappearing within the immortal mists.

Before Ji Chen and the others arrived, this place was already gathered with many figures, each standing in several groups, clearly all talents from different Star Domains.

Compared to these groups, the more than a thousand people from the Daoxuan Star Realm seemed a bit sparse.

The number of participants from other Star Domains was around several thousand, with the lowest not below three thousand.

Among them, two Star Domains had as many as ten thousand participants!

"Brother Mu Yun, are these the talents you brought back from Daoxuan?"

At the front of the group, an old man in a black robe approached, scanning Ji Chen and the others behind Mu Yun, "Is this all?"

"Daoxuan is different from other Star Domains, overall strength is quite weak, having a thousand is already pretty good." Mu Yun spoke.

As he spoke, his gaze turned to a certain direction in the distance, "Divine Martial truly lives up to its reputation as the strongest of the Nine Great Star Domains, the young people you've brought back this time have impressive strength."

Ji Chen and the others followed Mu Yun's gaze.

They could see that was the largest group present, numbering over ten thousand, each extraordinary, with astonishing auras, more than half reaching the Void Realm level!

This was undoubtedly a terrifying thing.

It was known that throughout the entire Daoxuan Star Realm, among the younger generation, the number of geniuses who had reached the Void Realm cultivation was definitely not more than a hundred.

Yet from the Divine Martial Star Realm, among the ten thousand participating in the entrance examination, there were at least five thousand Void Realm experts.

It was hard to imagine the terrifying level of overall strength this Star Domain had developed to?

"Are those the young generation of Daoxuan?"

"Truly pitifully weak, such a grand Star Domain, yet can only find a thousand to take the examination, and the highest cultivation seems to be only around the Fifth Layer of Void Realm."

While Ji Chen and the others observed the talents from other Star Domains, others were naturally observing them.

These prideful ones from other Star Domains had their gazes entirely focused on the Daoxuan group, speaking up one after another, their eyes showing disdain.

Evidently, Daoxuan's current situation was hard for them to take seriously.

"The Outer World, indeed vast as the clouds, with so many young masters."

"Compared to them, our Daoxuan is indeed too weak."

Amid the crowd, there were many such discussions, and some were even beginning to sweat profusely.

In the examination, competing with so many talents from various Star Domains for entrance quotas was not a simple task.

But Mu Yun seemed to see through their worries, and smiled, "No need to overthink, there is no upper limit to the number of entrance slots, everyone has a chance to join the Celestial Emperor's Mansion, as long as they can pass the examination."

Hearing these words, everyone felt much more at ease.

If there were limited slots for the entrance examination, the people of Daoxuan would find it hard to secure a placement among so many talented competitors.

But now it seemed, these worries did not exist.

"Swish!"

As time passed, several more beams of light descended from the void.

Those were Saint Venerables of the same rank as Mu Yun from other Star Domains, bringing in people.

Without exception, the number of people in these groups was around several thousand, only Daoxuan had merely around one thousand, comparatively, their numbers felt somewhat pitiful.

"The Nine Great Star Domains, should all have arrived, right?"

In the center of the open space, nine Saint Venerables gathered, seemingly discussing something.

Moments later, the nine simultaneously soared into the air, then formed a Seal Technique, pointing forward.

"Buzz!"

The void trembled slightly, and before the crowd, an ancient ladder suddenly appeared, surrounded by Holy Light, possessing an inexplicable aura, oppressing the entire scene, causing everyone to involuntarily hold their breath.

"This is the 'Heaven-ascending Ancient Ladder', in today's examination, whoever reaches the top will have qualified to join the mansion."

In mid-air, the voice of Saint Venerable Mu Yun clearly resonated downwards.

Everyone looked up to see this ladder extending upwards, reaching a height of a thousand feet, with its end established before the mountain gate entrance of the Celestial Emperor's Mansion.

"Is it that simple?"

Many were taken aback, clearly, this method of examination was much easier than they had anticipated.

"The ancient ladder is a thousand feet high, and it has a pressure, one foot per level, the higher you go, the stronger the pressure you'll feel, do not underestimate it. Not to dampen your spirits, but among everyone present, those who can reach the top are probably not more than one-tenth or one-twelfth of you." A Saint Venerable said.

Once these words were out, everyone was shocked yet skeptical.

Nine Great Star Domains, the number of people participating in this examination was no less than fifty thousand.

But those who could reach the top were less than one-tenth or one-twelfth, that meant the number who could ultimately join the Celestial Emperor's Mansion should be around five thousand to ten thousand.

The remaining over forty thousand people might end up failing, losing their chance to enter the mansion.

"It's just an ancient ladder, even with pressure, how strong can it really be?"

Many were unconvinced, believing this examination was not as difficult as imagined, thinking the thousand-foot ancient ladder was easy for them to conquer.

"Buzz..."

Saint Venerable Mu Yun flicked his finger lightly, and then an illusory gate appeared in front of the ancient ladder.

"This is the Forbidden Gate, also with pressure, equivalent to the ancient ladder's five hundred feet mark, only those who can cross this gate can be deemed as having qualified to participate in the examination." He explained.

Everyone remained silent, gathering around.

Soon, they saw a burly young man step out.

His cultivation was at the First Layer of the Void Realm, and he was a Body Refiner, skilled in close combat, his overall combat power was significantly stronger than an average First Layer Void Realm expert.

"Let me have a try."

With these words, the burly youth boldly walked toward the Forbidden Gate.

"Buzz!"

Without any hesitation, he stepped forward to pass through the Forbidden Gate.

But the next moment, the expression on the burly youth's face suddenly stiffened.

His step did not land, and he felt a tremendous pressure descend upon him, pinning him in place as if he were trapped on the spot.

"Bang!"

The next moment, a dull sound rang out, echoing in everyone's ears, and then they saw the burly youth struck as if by an invisible force, knocked back, his face instantly pale to the extreme, unable to help but cough up blood.

"Such intense pressure!"

His body was knocked back a full eighteen steps before the burly youth steadied himself, his eyes showing fear and apprehension.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he took a deep breath and stepped forward again, ready to attempt a second time.

This time, the burly youth was clearly prepared, his face no longer showing the carelessness of his first attempt.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, as he attempted to step through the Forbidden Gate again, he was once more repelled by the mighty pressure, coughing up blood again, his body flew backward before crashing heavily onto the distant ground.

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