Chapter 862: Low Profile Monk
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The architecture of the inner city was very different from that of the outer city. Many of the buildings here had special functions. For example, Mo Wen had faintly sensed a mysterious power fluctuating in the square at the very center of the inner city where the goddess statue stood.
His first impression of the inner city was that it was very dangerous. A slight mistake and he would probably end up being buried here. However, he was not flustered. Since the Huatian Palace had chosen to organize the Martial Arts Circle Convention in the inner city, they would certainly guarantee the safety of all.
Today was the registration day for the Three List Tournament. The first step was to audition.
The auditions were held to select those who were qualified to participate in the Three List Tournament. The three lists were the Heaven List, Earth List, and Man List respectively.
Different lists had different requirements. Those who registered could only choose one list to participate in. They could not choose two or more.
The age of those who registered for the Man List could not be more than twenty. Those of the Earth List could not be older than thirty and the people who registered for the Heaven List could not be over fifty.
Such a ruling was naturally to ensure that no matter which list it was, the people who could feature on the list were all the most outstanding people of a similar age.
Mo Wen was less than twenty years of age, so he fulfilled the requirements for registering for the Man List. However, he naturally did not choose the Man List and instead directly challenged for the Heaven List.
The Heaven List was the most prominent list!
The inner city had an ancient fighting arena. It covered a rather large area of land and could accommodate tens of thousands of people at the same time. The auditions were held in this arena.
It was dawn, and the fighting arena was already overcrowded with people. The number of people that could register was not that high. After all, in the entire world, there weren’t that many that could fulfill the requirements of the Three Lists. However, many people had come to spectate. Such a major event would draw many people.
Mo Wen found the Heaven List’s registration area. After paying the registration fee, he successfully entered the area that only those who had registered could enter. His surrounding area had also finally opened up.
Clearly, not many people had registered for the Heaven List. After all, not everyone had the confidence to compete in this tournament. Compared with the fierceness of the other two lists, the Heaven List’s registration area was much calmer. There were seven people before Mo Wen, and they all appeared youthful. At a glance, he discovered that the person with the lowest cultivation was almost at the later stage of the Golden Elixir Realm.
With this cultivation and age, these people would be considered pinnacle genius strong practitioners in the smaller Inner worlds.
However, what caught Mo Wen’s attention was a bald monk wearing coarse clothing. The monk had a pair of sharp eyes that released a peerless sense of intelligence. From his body, Mo Wen could sense a threatening presence.
There were not many ancient martial art practitioners that could make even Mo Wen feel threatened. Moreover, this monk was still so young.
Mo Wen was somewhat shocked. Such strong practitioners had actually appeared in the Heaven List Tournament. He also noticed something strange. The other people in his surroundings also seemed not to recognize this monk. With this monk being so powerful, the people around him would most likely not ignore him as though he was thin air if they actually knew him.
On the other hand, some people whose cultivation could only be considered average had been noticed by many people who were discussing which Inner world they were from and how much cultivation they had. If a person with some slight fame appeared, it would cause a commotion.
But this monk was not noticed by anyone. From this, Mo Wen could tell that this monk was not famous in the ancient martial art world. Very few people knew of him.
He had such strong and powerful cultivation but was not well known. Who exactly was he?
Mo Wen was somewhat astonished. It clearly went against all common sense. Usually, the more powerful a person was, the more famous they would be. Even Mo Wen had some fame now. At least, some people looked at him with somewhat strange gazes. They clearly knew who he was. That was not the case for this monk.
The auditions were the basic requirement of the assessment. In a short while, it was Mo Wen’s turn.
“Name?” The examiner in charge of the assessment said as he looked at Mo Wen who had walked up to him. He held a piece of paper in his hand and prepared to record Mo Wen’s name.
After he finished filling in the information, this examiner pointed in one direction and said, “Head over there to test your bone age.” He then passed a data sheet to Mo Wen.
Mo Wen took the data sheet and walked towards the area to test his bone age.
The lifespan of ancient martial art practitioners was different from that of ordinary people, especially those with high cultivation. Some could live for more than a hundred years and even more than two hundred years. It was very difficult to determine the age of this sort of person just from their appearance. For example, a person who looked like a youth might already be more than fifty years old. His high cultivation would allow him to slow down his own aging to a certain extent.
Therefore, in order to determine the age of the participants, the Huatian Palace had a specialized magical treasure to test for bone age. That was impossible to fake.
“Shan Dingnian. Bone age: 38 years old. You fulfill the requirements.”
A person who looked like an elder held a disk in his hands. The disk emitted a light that shone on the monk’s body. A number immediately appeared on the disk in the elder’s hand.
After passing through the assessment, the elder applied a seal onto the data sheet and then handed it back to the monk.
“Only 38 years old.”
Mo Wen narrowed his eyes slightly. The monk was only 38 years old and he already had such capabilities. In the future, he would most likely be an extraordinary person of his generation. If Mo Wen did not have Deified Soul Power, he most likely would not have recognized the monk’s ability.
Suddenly, the monk called Shan Dingnian turned and looked at Mo Wen. A meaningful look flashed in his eyes. Clearly, Mo Wen’s constant observation of him had also drawn his attention. However, he merely glanced over and then turned and left.
“Such sharp senses!” Mo Wen secretly exclaimed. The monk could actually sense that Mo Wen was observing him. As expected, the monk was not as simple as he appeared.
“Mo Wen. Bone age: 18 years old.”
When the bone age examination elder saw the number on the disk, he could not help but be stunned for a moment. He thought he had misread that.
18 years old! Someone was actually so young!
He even suspected that Mo Wen had come to the wrong place. This was the Heaven List’s registration area. 18 years of age was young enough to participate in the Man List Tournament. This youth had actually come to participate in the Heaven List. The leap was too great.
This was the examiner’s first time encountering an 18-year-old youth participating in the Heaven List Tournament.
The others appeared youthful, but their actual ages weren’t that young. The people who registered for the Heaven List did not do so because they were powerful, but because they were not qualified to register for the Earth List and the Man List. Hence, they could only try their luck in the Heaven List.
In the Heaven List’s registration area, most of the people there were above forty years of age. Even those who were in their thirties were rare. There were even those who were past fifty that tried to sneak their way in. In the end, they were all caught and had wasted their money paying an expensive registration fee.
“This is the Heaven List’s registration area,” the elder in charge of the examination subconsciously reminded Mo Wen. He hoped to see a dumbfounded look on Mo Wen’s face and then hear him hurriedly say that he had come to the wrong place.
However, the examiner was disappointed. Mo Wen just smiled as he nodded his head. Then, he took the data sheet back from the examiner and walked towards the area for the next assessment.
The examination elder looked at Mo Wen’s silhouette. Only after a long while, did he say, “The ambitions of youths nowadays are sky-high. It is just that his age…”
The elder shook his head. The Heaven List Tournament was far fiercer than the rumors made it sound. This time around, it would definitely be fiercer than one could imagine. However, this youth dared to compete in the Heaven List. His courage was commendable.
The second stage of registration was a test of strength. One might meet the age requirement, but their cultivation realm might not. Only if both their age and cultivation realm met the requirements could the person participate in the Three List Tournament. Mo Wen was battling in the Heaven List. That meant that his cultivation needed to be at the Golden Elixir Realm at the very least.
Their method for testing cultivation no longer required using an immortal cultivator magical treasure. Instead, they directly tested their power.
There was a stone monument in the examination area. The stone monument was a special magical treasure manufactured by an immortal cultivator. By attacking it, they could roughly estimate the power range of an ancient martial art practitioner.
The participant would send out their attack towards the stone monument. If the power that impacted the stone monument was up to standard, they would pass the assessment.
A participant wearing green clothes walked up to the stone monument. He took a deep breath and brewed his energy twice before furiously sending his most powerful attack crashing towards it.
The participant could not use any magical treasures or other tools. They could only rely on their own abilities. Of course, secret martial arts techniques were considered one’s own power.
A surge of power crashed onto the stone monument. The stone monument suddenly flashed brightly and a huge number appeared: four.
The youth heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this. As long as the number that appeared on the stone monument was greater than three, they would pass the assessment.
According to the level of power, the stone monument would show a number between one and ten. One represented the lowest level of power whereas ten represented the highest.
There were quite a few people before Mo Wen. Suddenly, he noticed a familiar face.
Gu Jingman!
Mo Wen rolled his eyes uncontrollably. Why had Gu Jingman come all the way here? Could it be that she also wanted to participate in the Heaven List Tournament?
He felt somewhat helpless. He knew Gu Jingman well, but why had he come here out of the blue?
At the same time, Gu Jingman simply reached out her hand and struck the stone monument with her palm. The stone monument shone brightly and a number appeared: six!
Huh?
Mo Wen’s eyebrows leaped up as he looked at Gu Jingman in surprise. Before her, the person who was being tested had intermediate stage Golden Elixir Realm cultivation. Attacking with all his might, he had barely managed to get a four to appear. The power of a simple palm strike from Gu Jingman had actually reached six?
Mo Wen could tell that Gu Jingman had just simply used a palm strike. She did not even gather up her strength at all.
Since when had her power reached this level? Mo Wen was surprised.
“Mo Wen, where have you been all this while? I’ve been looking all over for you.”
There were only a few people in the Heaven List’s assessment area. When Mo Wen noticed Gu Jingman, at the same time, Gu Jingman also noticed him. Her eyebrows immediately shot up and she strode over.
Because of the matter in the Crimson Star Sect, she had specifically headed over to the Dafang Sect, but in the end, she had not managed to meet Mo Wen. Later, because of the Martial Arts Circle Convention, she thought that Mo Wen would at least return to the Dafang Sect to make arrangements, so she had stayed in the Dafang Sect.
Who knew that Mo Wen would directly relinquish all his responsibilities to Wang Yinru, leaving it to her to settle all matters? In contrast, he had spent this entire time living an easy life and moving around and about with wizardly elusiveness.
Gu Jingman placed her hands on her hips, and her eyes had an evil look in them. She looked as though she really wanted to kick Mo Wen.