Chapter 958: Being Young Isn't Necessarily a Good Thing Either

This should be Sacred Realm.

After landing on the mountaintop, everyone once again looked around. Two characters were carved into the stele at the mountain gate:

Shouque.

The summit was crowded with tiered buildings. Structures stretched one after another, with covered bridges weaving between them. It was plainly a residence used by Misty Pavilion personnel.

Their clothing alone made that obvious. Niu Youdao guessed that the people stationed here were responsible for guarding Sacred Realm's exit.

This was probably part of the agreement among the nine supreme experts beneath Heaven. Sacred Realm had only one entrance and exit. It would be inappropriate for any single faction to control it alone. Whenever common interests were involved, the matter was handled by Misty Pavilion personnel jointly dispatched by all nine supreme experts.

This mountain was called Shouque Mountain, and the compound here was also known as Shouque Villa. It was precisely where the Misty Pavilion personnel responsible for guarding Sacred Realm's exit were stationed. Together with their counterparts on Sacred Island outside, they guarded the passage from within and without. Random outsiders had no way to come and go freely without being discovered.

The group was not allowed to linger outside the mountain gate for long. Once everyone had arrived, they were herded into the villa like sheep.

They truly did feel like lambs waiting for slaughter. Every one of them meekly obeyed. No one dared resist.

They were driven into a broad, empty hall. Inside stood row after row of low desks suitable for sitting on the floor and working, eighty-four in total, corresponding exactly to the number of people who had come.

Among the states and the cultivation powers inside and outside the realm, there were thirty recognized seats in Misty Pavilion's ranking structure. Two of those were separately established Merit Seats, positions awarded to powers commended by Misty Pavilion. That left twenty-eight regular seats: twenty-one belonging to the seven states, three belonging to Ling Sect, Tianxing Sect, and Myriad Beasts Sect, and four belonging to the Four Seas.

In other words, there were twenty-eight participating powers. Each sent three people, making a total of eighty-four participants in the Sacred Realm tempering.

A complete set of clothing had been placed on every low desk. The garments were crimson red, with everything provided from inner layers to outer robes.

What happened next was somewhat awkward.

Misty Pavilion ordered everyone to choose a desk and change into the clothing laid upon it. More precisely, they were required to strip completely naked on the spot, put on the new clothes, and discard every garment they had worn in from outside. All of it would be collected and destroyed under Misty Pavilion's supervision.

Put plainly, this was Sacred Realm, where the nine supreme experts beneath Heaven resided. They did not want outsiders bringing in anything that should not be brought inside and causing trouble that Misty Pavilion would then be unable to explain to the nine.

Stripping naked in full view of everyone was certainly embarrassing, but at least no one man was doing it alone. If all the men had to strip, then there was little to be embarrassed about.

"Quickly! Stop dawdling!" a Misty Pavilion member barked.

No one dared hesitate. Clothing rustled everywhere as people immediately began undoing belts and robes. Niu Youdao was no exception.

For a group of men, it was one thing. But for the handful of female disciples participating in the tempering, the situation was far more awkward.

Take Fuhua, the Elder under the Western Sea Demon King and Niu Youdao's sworn elder sister. She was beautiful and had a graceful figure. How could she possibly strip naked in front of all these people?

How were these women supposed to bare themselves in front of a crowd of men? Yet they did not dare bear the consequences of refusing. They hesitated desperately. One woman's face flushed scarlet as she looked left and right, unsure what to do, yet none dared casually argue with Misty Pavilion.

Niu Youdao, who had been secretly observing the surroundings with great care, took the entire scene in. At the same time, he inwardly marveled at just how overwhelming Sacred Realm's authority truly was.

Fortunately, Misty Pavilion was not entirely unreasonable. There was still some humanity to the place. Before the women had to speak, female Misty Pavilion personnel had already arrived, called them out, and arranged another location where they could change clothes privately.

The men had no such concern. Even so, stripping naked in public was hardly glorious. Niu Youdao had no desire to remain exposed any longer than necessary. His hands moved quickly. The instant he had stripped bare, he hurriedly changed into the matching crimson underclothes and outer garments before finally relaxing.

The others were much the same. The moment anyone had stripped completely, his movements became remarkably fast.

Even so, the scene was rather spectacular. The Misty Pavilion personnel supervising them wore strange expressions. This was probably not something they often saw either. After all, this was also the first time they themselves had experienced an event like the Sacred Realm tempering.

A Misty Pavilion member supervising the hall suddenly called loudly, "Replace your hairpins too! Gentlemen, let me say the ugly words first: if anyone dares conceal so much as one item brought in from outside, once discovered, you will be killed without exception!"

The participants' hearts tightened. No one dared defy the order. Niu Youdao included, everyone removed the hairpins they had been wearing and replaced them.

Demon cultivators like Fuhua, whose bodies possessed devouring and transformative abilities, had already been made to spit out blades, swords, and similar objects hidden inside their bodies when they passed the checkpoint outside.

Afterward, Misty Pavilion personnel brought in large baskets, collected every discarded article of clothing, and carried everything away.

At this point, apart from their own bodies, none of the participants had so much as a single object on them that had been brought in from outside. Whatever happened afterward, everyone would begin from the same starting line. In that sense, at least, the arrangement was fair.

After changing clothes, the group waited for a while. Soon, the few women who had gone elsewhere to change returned. Only then did everyone discover that there was no distinction between men's and women's clothing. Every person had been given men's clothes, and the women were all wearing the same loose crimson garments as the men.

The clothing sizes were all on the large side. Niu Youdao was hardly short, yet even he found the garments somewhat loose. On the women, they looked looser still.

Misty Pavilion's personnel clearly did not care. One of the guards barked, "Each of you find a seat and sit down. Silence! No talking!"

Most of the participants had not wandered around much to begin with and had remained with the people from their own sects. They simply sat down cross-legged where they were.

The other two Zijin Cave disciples were named Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie. They had remained close to Niu Youdao, observing the surroundings. Yuan Gang's intensive training had not been wasted. From the start, the two men had seized advantageous positions. The moment the order came, they sat down while continuing to guard the surroundings.

One sat behind Niu Youdao, preventing anyone from attacking him from the rear while also watching the right flank.

The other sat to Niu Youdao's left, guarding against any danger that might emerge from that side.

As for the space directly in front of Niu Youdao, he was already facing forward. He could spot any danger there in time and defend himself.

This was the result of Yuan Gang's intensive training. Wherever they went, the two treated Niu Youdao's safety as their first priority, remaining constantly alert to the surroundings and watching for any abnormality.

Naturally, Yuan Gang's instructions alone would not have been enough. Zijin Cave had repeatedly stressed Niu Youdao's safety to the two men as well. If something happened to him because of their negligence, they would have no way to answer for it when they returned.

Zijin Cave had ordered the two to cooperate fully with Niu Youdao in defending the sect's interests. Of course, if Niu Youdao attempted anything that would harm Zijin Cave's interests, they were also ordered to stop him with everything they had.

Noticing their reactions, Niu Youdao turned and looked at the two men. The pattern was so familiar that one glance told him it was Yuan Gang's work.

He thought the pair were reacting somewhat excessively. Who would dare cause trouble here? Still, he said nothing.

Once everyone had seated themselves, they waited. People kept glancing around. Those who knew one another exchanged looks, but no one knew what exactly they were waiting for.

Niu Youdao was a little speechless. He noticed Chao Jing of Myriad Beasts Sect and Shen Yidu, an Elder of Xiaoyue Pavilion, repeatedly looking in his direction and sending him meaningful glances, as though hoping for some hint from him. They seemed to want advance warning of what would happen next so they could prepare themselves mentally and respond early.

Niu Youdao could understand why Shen Yidu thought that way. Yucang had warned him beforehand. As for Chao Jing, Niu Youdao both failed to understand and understood perfectly well. Chao Jing probably had the same mistaken idea as Yucang. After all, when Niu Youdao had first begun preparing for danger, he had also sent Chao Jing a warning to make preparations.

What hint could Niu Youdao possibly give them? He could give nothing. He did not know what would happen next either. All he could do was pretend not to notice.

Then, when he shifted his gaze left and right, he discovered Fuhua, Duan Wuchang, Lang Jingkong, and Hong Gaitian frantically signaling him with their eyes as well.

Niu Youdao raised his gaze to the roof and began studying the structure of the rafters.

Shen Yidu and the others were somewhat helpless. They had wasted all those expressions for nothing.

Chao Jing, Fuhua, and the others, meanwhile, grew anxious. Each resolved inwardly that once an opportunity arose, they absolutely had to find some way to approach that bastard and get the situation out of him.

They waited for roughly half an hour before footsteps sounded outside the hall.

A quiet, scholarly-looking man entered. He was refined in appearance as well, with a restrained bearing. He walked to the central seat facing everyone and sat down. As he studied the rows of participants below, the corner of his mouth seemed unable to suppress a hint of amusement, perhaps because the sight of everyone dressed in identical crimson robes struck him as funny.

Some people present had seen him before. The moment they recognized the refined man, their hearts tightened. They knew he was Ding Wei, disciple of Yuan Se, one of the nine supreme experts beneath Heaven. Ding Wei was also the person currently presiding over Misty Pavilion.

Seated above them, Ding Wei studied the group for a while before speaking. "There have been many rumors outside concerning this Sacred Realm tempering. I've heard some of them. They are all false, all misunderstandings of the Sacred Venerables' intentions. There is no need for everyone to be nervous. Things are not as you imagine. Tempering means exactly that: genuine tempering. Those fortunate enough to participate may even receive tremendous benefits. This is an opportunity the nine Sacred Venerables have given you, an opportunity that under ordinary circumstances none of you could obtain even if you begged for it. You should feel fortunate."

The people below quietly exchanged looks with those around them. Plainly, they were skeptical. What did Sacred Realm and Misty Pavilion ordinarily do? How could there possibly be some wonderful benefit waiting for them?

"I recognize a few faces here. You should know me as well. I assume you're Elders from the various sects." Ding Wei smiled and raised a hand. "Would the Elders of each faction please stand for a moment, so I can get to know you too."

Once he spoke, none of the Elders dared refuse. One after another, they rose from among the crowd.

Seeing how far back the Elders had chosen to sit, Ding Wei frowned slightly. "Why are all the Elders sitting in the rear? That makes conversation inconvenient. Change places. Elders from every faction, move to the front."

The Elders were all somewhat embarrassed. In truth, they had felt that sitting in front was unsafe. If anything happened, they would be the first to bear the brunt of it, so they had all retreated toward the back. Now that Ding Wei had said this, however, they could no longer hide there.

The hall became disorderly for a moment as people shifted seats. The Elders of the various factions, Niu Youdao included, were all moved to the front row.

With a single sentence, Ding Wei had rendered useless the carefully selected protective positions of the two Zijin Cave disciples.

Among the Elders now seated in front, Niu Youdao stood out like a crane among chickens. He was simply too young for an Elder. It was difficult not to notice him.

As Ding Wei's gaze swept across the row, Niu Youdao's conspicuous presence naturally drew his attention. Ding Wei stared at him and studied him for a while.

Niu Youdao muttered inwardly about his rotten luck. He had once thought it was wonderful to be young. Now he discovered that being young was not necessarily a good thing either.

Sure enough, Ding Wei smiled and asked, "You should be Niu Youdao, Elder of Zijin Cave, correct?"

Niu Youdao cupped his hands. "Correct."

Ding Wei nodded. "I've read the files concerning you from the Tiandu Secret Realm expedition. Truly remarkable. You really are young and accomplished. Speaking of which, the fact that all these Elders were fortunate enough to participate in this tempering is largely thanks to you."

"Me?" Niu Youdao could not stop himself from blurting out in astonishment. Suspicion rose in his heart. What nonsense is this? What the hell does it have to do with me?

[End of Chapter 958]