Joe Di suppressed the urge to ask more questions and followed the crowd of contestants onto the raised platform in the center of the square.
On the platform, there were now 1,200 tables and chairs, none of them numbered. Like the other contestants, Joe Di casually picked a seat. He was somewhat puzzled as to why the True Domain Prodigy Trials required tables and chairs—was it for a written test? In the cultivation world, weren't contests usually direct duels of magical power?
After all the prodigies had taken their seats, the middle-aged man continued, "I am Boyan West, City Lord of Ascension City, and I will be presiding over this True Domain Prodigy Trials. There are a total of 1,200 participants in this year's Trials. Before the first round begins, anyone over two hundred years old must stand up and withdraw from the competition. You have ten breaths to do so."
Joe Di kept his attention on Jake Gu. He was confident his spiritual sense was accurate—Jake Gu should have two souls within his body. One of those souls was definitely older than two hundred years. He was curious to see if Jake Gu would be exposed.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
Boyan West counted down rapidly, reaching one in just a brief moment.
No one stood up to leave. Just as Joe Di wondered if everyone was aware of the rules and that no one was over two hundred years old, he saw two shadows shoot into the sky.
Joe Di's spiritual sense remained vigilant. The two figures were contestants who had been seated. As they dashed dozens of meters away, there was a sudden "boom" in midair—they exploded, leaving not even a trace of blood mist behind.
Joe Di immediately focused his spiritual sense on the chair beneath him, but found nothing unusual. However, he soon realized the truth—the formation wasn't carved into the chair, but into the raised ground beneath their feet.
What surprised Joe Di was that Jake Gu was unharmed. Despite having two souls in his body, one of which must be over two hundred years old, he hadn't been detected.
At the same time, Joe Di also noticed the bearded youth. Somehow, that guy had managed to obtain a qualification token, and during the age check, he too passed without issue.
"Good. The two unqualified imposters have now vanished. Next, I’ll explain the rules and rewards for this Prodigy Trials." Boyan West seemed quite satisfied that only two contestants were found ineligible.
Although Joe Di's spiritual sense hadn’t swept across the entire Ascension Plaza, he could sense that nearly twenty peak experts had arrived—each one exuding the aura of the Domain Stage. Boyan West himself was at the Domain Stage, though compared to those other experts, he seemed to be at the first level.
At this moment, whether it was the cultivators watching from the plaza or the contestants themselves, everyone was silent. They had all heard that the rules for this True Domain Prodigy Trials had changed, and that only four spots to enter the Ascension Array would be granted.
The plaza fell into silence, and Boyan West's voice sounded all the clearer: "In previous True Domain Prodigy Trials, seventeen could ascend to the Immortal Realm. But due to instability in the Ascension Array's void passage, only four cultivators will be allowed through this time. Each of these four will have a mission: to deliver news of the impending closure of the Ascension Array to the Immortal Realm. The four spots will be distributed as follows: first place gets two, second and third each get one."
The competition consists of three rounds, with the first two rounds scored. The first round is the Challenge Round, with a score of one hundred for knowledge. The second round also scores one hundred, but tests magical skill. The top three scorers will temporarily hold the ranked spots. The third round is the Challenge Round—any prodigy ranked in the top twenty may challenge the top three. The rules for the challenge will be announced in the third round. Before the contest begins, all contestants should activate the spiritual sense shielding restriction on their seats."
Even without Boyan West's reminder, the prodigies on the plaza had already activated the shielding restriction.
Boyan West continued, "There are ten questions in the first round. Please write your answers on the formation screen that appears before you, and don't forget to include your name."
After Joe Di activated the restriction, a virtual formation screen appeared on his desk, displaying ten questions. Instinctively, he glanced at the large formation display in the center of the plaza, guessing that once he finished answering, that display would show his score and ranking.
This method of competition eliminated certain possibilities for cheating.
The first question displayed a large diagram of a blue spirit vein, asking the contestants to identify what type of vein it was and where it could be found.
Normally, the first question was a giveaway, but Joe Di knew his own situation—if he hadn’t obtained the Book of Worlds, he wouldn’t be able to answer even an easy question like this. He had once acquired a blue spirit vein and cultivated a large portion of it, leaving the rest for Geng Ji. Later, he learned from the Book of Worlds that it was a thunder spirit vein.
Wherever a thunder spirit vein appeared, there would always be clear thunder laws. Unfortunately, back then, Joe Di was too weak and couldn’t make use of the thunder laws in the Blue Light Cave Mansion.
......
On the far left of the Ascension Plaza, a suspended pavilion housed more than a dozen peak experts. From this vantage point, they could clearly observe every aspect of the competition.
Seated at the farthest left position was a sallow-skinned man. More striking than his complexion were his horse-like face and slanted brows.
Despite his bizarre looks, this man was the strongest cultivator in the True Domain—Barton May. Not only was his cultivation unrivaled, but he was also ruthless. Anyone who opposed him would be utterly eradicated, leaving no chance for future trouble.
Barton May was also the Domain Lord of May One Domain, one of the five major domains in the True Domain. He hailed from the May Family, which had always received fewer resources than the other domain lords. Yet Barton May single-handedly wiped out Kun One Domain, the former strongest domain, and renamed it May One Domain.
Legend had it that when Barton May slaughtered in Kun One Domain, the sky turned a misty red. Regardless of age or gender, anyone from Kun One Domain was killed without exception.
After Barton May renamed Kun One Domain to May One Domain, he became a figure no one in the True Domain dared to provoke. If not for the Ascension Array being established by agreement long ago—and not something Barton May could control alone—he might have seized it for himself.
"Domain Lord May, this time the top spot in the True Domain Prodigy Trials surely belongs to your May One Domain's Jason May," said a tall, slender man—Hugo Bai, Domain Lord of Starshatter Domain and one of the five great domain lords.
"Hahaha!" Barton May laughed heartily, his horse-like face twitching. "Domain Lord Bai, you're too modest. Your Simon Bai from Starshatter Domain has extraordinary talent. Not long ago, he had a stroke of great fortune at Little Central Star. He also has the potential to contend for first place."
Though he said this, everyone could clearly sense that he didn’t disagree with Hugo Bai’s words. In fact, Barton May had long set his sights on first place. His son Jason May was at the seventh layer of the Transforming True Stage. In a competition like this, a two-hundred-year-old at the Tribulation Life Stage was already a top prodigy. If Little Central Star hadn’t opened beforehand, there wouldn’t be more than three at the Transforming True Stage.
Simon Bai was only at the second layer of the Transforming True Stage—just a minor player compared to Jason May.
Everyone speculated that Jason May would take first place, which made Barton May even more pleased. Having reached the ninth layer of the Domain Stage, he had nowhere left to advance in the True Domain. So after this competition, he planned to ascend to the Immortal Realm.
"Lord Goldwin, do you have a different opinion?" Hugo Bai, Domain Lord of Starshatter Domain, had always been at odds with Lord Goldwin of Heavenly Gold Domain. Now that everyone was praising Jason May, and Lord Goldwin remained silent, Hugo Bai seized the opportunity to challenge him.
Even the self-satisfied Barton May turned his gaze to Lord Goldwin. Barton May didn’t take Lord Goldwin seriously—among the five domain lords, Goldwin ranked only fourth. If Lord Goldwin had any objections to May One Domain, Barton May would make sure to deal with him before heading to the Immortal Realm.
Lord Goldwin laughed, "I also think Jason May has a great chance at first place. But there’s one contestant everyone should pay attention to. While he may not match Jason May, he does have a chance at taking first."
"Who is it?" Barton May asked immediately. He didn’t think Lord Goldwin would mention someone just to tease him.
"Joe Di. In the Central Realm, he’s also known as Red Tassel Joe. His weapon is a long blade, which he always carries on his back," Lord Goldwin said gravely.
Previously, Lord Goldwin thought Joe Di didn’t qualify for the True Domain Prodigy Trials. But seeing Joe Di seated at the competition platform, he realized he’d been mistaken. Joe Di wasn’t even two hundred years old—an astonishing fact that continued to shock him.
"Joe Di?" Barton May frowned. He seemed to have never heard that name before.
Lord Goldwin pointed at Hugo Bai and said, "I believe no one here knows Joe Di better than Domain Lord Bai. After all, Joe Di’s friend killed his son on Little Central Star. If it were me, I wouldn’t be as magnanimous as Domain Lord Bai, letting Joe Di join the competition."
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)