As Ian Song departed, all five great arrays swiftly activated. Inside the grand array holding the ten thousand Human Immortals, everyone was instantly transported to a vast, seemingly endless grassland.
All around was nothing but green wild grass—no other features in sight.
"Did His Majesty Ian say there were supposed to be tens of thousands of Immortal beasts in this array? So where are they?"
A mid-stage Human Immortal asked in confusion.
"I have a bad feeling—this place isn't safe. We should leave, fast!"
Rachel Xuan, a female Human Immortal, spoke up.
"It's not that serious. I bet those Immortal beasts are outside this grassland," another male Human Immortal replied, unconcerned.
But just then—
A flash of light, and suddenly, countless Immortal beasts appeared all around. Each beast's eyes glinted with a murderous light. In the next instant, they roared and charged straight at the crowd.
"Run!"
A panicked shout rang out, and immediately, the Human Immortals scattered in all directions, desperately trying to escape.
"Don't panic! We're completely surrounded by tens of thousands of Immortal beasts—no one can break through alone. We have to stick together!" Rachel Xuan, who had sensed the danger, shouted urgently.
Her warning came a little too late. Dozens of Human Immortals, rushing about like headless flies, were instantly torn to shreds by the swarming Immortal beasts.
The deaths of dozens of companions snapped the rest to their senses—they realized that running blindly meant certain death.
"Everyone, fall back! If we join forces, maybe we can fight our way out!"
Rachel Xuan called out again.
Some people are just born leaders. Rachel Xuan was one of them. Under her command, the Human Immortals finally managed to carve a bloody path through the beasts.
But the cost was steep. Aside from the first dozen or so torn apart by the beasts, over five hundred more died during the breakout.
Most of the survivors were wounded to varying degrees, but as the commander, Rachel Xuan emerged completely unscathed.
Breaking out of the encirclement didn't mean they were safe yet.
Under Rachel Xuan’s command, more than nine thousand survivors formed a rough battle formation. Fighting as they retreated, it took them three whole days to finally withdraw from the grassland.
“We’re finally safe.” Some people just collapsed limply to the ground.
“Everyone, get up! Don’t let your guard down. Did you forget how those Immortal beasts appeared?”
Rachel Xuan called out again.
Her words made everyone tense up.
A late-stage Human Immortal asked, "You mean those beasts could show up again? By the way, what’s your name?"
"It’s very likely. My name is Rachel Xuan."
Rachel Xuan replied.
"So what do we do?" someone asked.
Rachel Xuan said, "We’ll split into three groups—one rests and recovers, the other two stay on guard!"
Everyone accepted Rachel Xuan’s proposal and quickly split into three squads, rotating between resting and standing guard.
Just after two squads finished recovering, a flash of light—tens of thousands more Immortal beasts appeared all around.
Her guess was right.
Everyone’s faces turned grim.
"The squad that hasn’t recovered, get to the center of the battle formation! We break out again!"
After another bitter fight, they managed to break through once more.
But they still lost several hundred more people.
In the days that followed, waves of Immortal beasts kept appearing.
For the first five attacks, hundreds died each time. But starting from the sixth, Rachel Xuan adjusted the battle formation, making it stronger—after breaking through, they only lost a few dozen.
As the battles went on, Rachel Xuan improved rapidly, and the other Human Immortals grew too—their combat experience soared.
But as their numbers dropped to five thousand, their fighting strength far surpassed what it was at ten thousand. They even started counterattacking the Immortal beasts.
A whole year passed.
While battling the Immortal beasts, the Human Immortal squad suddenly realized all the roaring beasts around them had vanished.
"Huh? What’s going on?"
A ragged Human Immortal asked, looking confused.
"The year is up!"
Rachel Xuan replied in a low voice, but her eyes shone with joy. Even while fighting, she’d kept track of the time.
“Haha, it’s finally over! No more Immortal beasts!” someone cried, collapsing to the ground with laughter.
They were exhausted—really exhausted. For most of the year, they’d been fighting Immortal beasts almost nonstop, with barely any rest.
If not for Rachel Xuan’s leadership, many believed that even among the five thousand survivors, plenty more would have died.
As they celebrated, some felt sad for their fallen comrades. Through constant battle, these Human Immortal geniuses from all over the Immortal World had forged deep bonds.
A flicker of movement—Ian Song, now at eleventh-layer Ancestral Immortal, appeared above the planet.
Seeing him, the thousands outside the array immediately bowed.
These thousands had already died inside the array, but they weren’t truly dead.
"No need to be so formal. Get up, all of you!"
Ian Song nodded.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After giving thanks, everyone rose to their feet.
Ian Song continued, "You’ve been eliminated. I’ll send you out of here now!"
"Your Majesty, I have a request—can I see my fellow warriors?"
A Human Immortal who’d just been sent out bowed his head and pleaded.
"Their trial isn’t finished yet, so you can’t meet them. But once you’re out, you can join the Great Qin Immortal Academy I’m founding. When they finish their assessment, you’ll get to see them again!"
These Human Immortals were rare cultivation geniuses. Since Ian Song had gathered them, he wasn’t about to let them go.
Though they couldn’t follow him into the Immortal Kingdom War, they could serve the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom once they matured.
With a wave of his hand—
Ian Song sent those thousands out of the Divine Temple, where officials were waiting to receive them.
After sending them away, Ian Song brought out the thousands who had passed the trial.
Under Rachel Xuan’s command, they’d slain over two hundred thousand Immortal beasts—everyone had completed the task.
How did Ian Song know? Because Old Spirit, the Divine Temple’s artifact spirit, oversaw all five planets’ assessments and had already reported the details to him.
Out of ten thousand Human Immortals, nearly half were eliminated.
Among Earth Immortals, one-third were eliminated.
Among Golden Immortals, one-fifth were eliminated.
Among Ancestral Immortals, only three failed.
"I promised you rewards for passing the trial—here they are!"
With a wave, Ian Song sent thousands of bottles of pills and thousands of manuals flying to the Human Immortals.
The pills strengthen their immortal souls, and each manual is a god-grade cultivation method.
"You have three years to cultivate. Remember—don’t break through past Human Immortal, or you’ll be eliminated!"
After giving instructions, Ian Song left for the other planets to do the same.
Assessment. Cultivation.
Inside the Divine Temple, the trainees fell into endless cycles—until they could barely remember how many years had passed.
Finally, Ian Song appeared, telling them it was over—they could leave the Divine Temple now.
Inside the Divine Temple, the trainees fell into endless cycles—until they could barely remember how many years had passed.
At last, Ian Song appeared and told them, "It’s over. You can leave now."