Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates

Xiao Ye stood amidst the crowd, listening quietly, and had a sudden epiphany.

This examination at the Main Hall was, in essence, similar to the Earth Hall examinations he had taken part in before.

The first round was a test of willpower, as well as the essence of Martial Arts Heart.

In this square, there was a kind of stone platform called the Bright Jade, which was incredibly mystical, capable of reflecting one's Martial Arts Heart.

If one's Martial Arts Heart was not strong enough, they would immediately suffer intense torment. Only disciples with extremely strong Martial Arts Hearts could persist and thus pass this round.

The time limit for this round was the duration of one incense stick. Only those who withstand it atop the Bright Jade Stone Platform for the time it took the incense stick to burn would be considered as having passed.

The significance of the Martial Arts Heart to martial artists is self-evident.

A genius with outstanding cultivation talent but a weak Martial Arts Heart would not achieve much in the end.

Conversely, a martial artist of mediocre cultivation talent with a very strong Martial Arts Heart could achieve unprecedented success if they persistently cultivate without becoming discouraged or giving up.

Thus, to become a true strong person, both a strong Martial Arts Heart and cultivation talent are indispensable.

Every disciple who could enter the Heavenly Hall definitely had decent cultivation talent, which is why the Martial Arts Heart test was a key stage.

"The examination of the Main Hall will certainly not be simple. Just this first round will probably eliminate many people," Xiao Ye thought to himself.

The requirements of this first round seemed straightforward, but as it was an examination of the Main Hall, the difficulty would be extremely high.

However, Xiao Ye was very confident in his own Martial Arts Heart; he believed he could certainly pass.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it from a place with declining martial arts like the Yulan Domain, all the way to the True Spirit Continent, and even became a disciple of the Taiyi Palace in Central State.

In terms of Martial Arts Heart, Xiao Ye had never been afraid of anyone.

"Alright, now that everyone has heard the rules for the first round, let's begin," the Great Elder of the Main Hall Law Enforcement spoke, while pointing towards the ten huge blue stone platforms in the square.

"Those are the Bright Jade Stone Platforms. There are 38,000 Heavenly Palace Disciples participating in the examination this time and enough stone platforms to accommodate you all. I, along with the other Elders and the Palace Master, will serve as witnesses to this examination."

"You will only qualify for the next round by demonstrating your powerful Martial Arts Heart in the first round, and I wish you good luck," the Law Enforcement Great Elder of the Main Hall said.

"Yes!"

The participating Heavenly Palace Disciples responded excitedly.

The examination had finally begun!

Their years of arduous cultivation were for this day; upon joining the Holy Palace, becoming part of the Main Hall became the ultimate goal for every disciple.

"Let's begin then. You may take your seats at any Bright Jade Stone Platform at will, and I will activate them when the time comes," the General Hall Law Enforcement Elders said aloud.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Right after his words ended, the disciples from the Heavenly Hall charged towards the Bright Jade Stone Platforms all at once.

When all 34,000 persons moved together, the scene was incredibly spectacular, each disciple filled with excitement.

They might not surpass the outstanding disciples of the Heavenly Hall in cultivation, but in terms of Martial Arts Heart, they were confident they would not be weaker than anyone else.

Whoosh!

Xiao Ye also followed the crowd, casually choosing the third stone platform, then sat cross-legged together with everyone else, awaiting the beginning of the first round of the examination.

Each Bright Jade Stone Platform accommodated over 3,000 people.

Once all the disciples from the Heavenly Hall had taken their seats, the arena suddenly fell silent. The disciples from the Sub-Halls who had come to spectate each held their breath and focused, preparing to watch the first round of the examination.

An Elder also brought out a timing device, and began to prepare.

"Then let's begin."

Seeing the disciples of the Heavenly Hall ready, the Grand Elder of the Main Hall, with an intentional or unintentional glance at Xiao Ye, formed a spell with both hands and waved them continuously.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Suddenly, a green light rose from between his hands, sweeping out in all directions like a tide.

At the same time, ten huge Bright Jade Stone Platforms in the square also lit up with light, and an invisible gust of wind suddenly swept across the area.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, all ten Bright Jade Stone Platforms erupted with pillars of light that shot straight into the sky, the emerald green light columns visible even from miles away.

"Hmm?"

Xiao Ye, sitting on one of the Bright Jade Stone Platforms along with many other disciples, suddenly furrowed his brows, only to feel a terrifying pressure squeezing from all sides, as if the whole Heaven and Earth were bearing down on him.

Boom!

The next moment, this terrifying pressure suddenly formed into a Spiritual Shock Wave, blasting towards his mind.

The mind of a Martial Artist controls the Seven Emotions and Six Desires of a person.

It can be said that all sensations of a Martial Artist originate from the mind and then spread throughout the body.

At this point, Xiao Ye only felt the Spiritual Shock Wave taking control of his mind, governing his entire body, as an intense bone-deep pain suddenly enveloped him, spreading through his body.

Endless hallucinations appeared before Xiao Ye's eyes, feeling as if countless sharp longswords and daggers were slicing through his flesh, a series of axes chopping his bones, with flesh and blood flying and fresh blood spilling all over the ground, nearly forming small streams.

The severe pain emanated from Xiao Ye's mind like an ocean, wave after wave sweeping over him, causing his vision to start darkening.

As for the disciples around Xiao Ye, they fared even worse.

Many disciples let out screams of agony, beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down their foreheads, and then they fell off the Bright Jade Stone Platforms.

Like a chain reaction, with the first disciple falling off the platform, more and more disciples followed, all being ejected by some invisible force.

These disciples fell to the ground and regained consciousness, then displayed faces filled with despair and residual fright.

The Bright Jade Stone Platform was too terrifying; the spiritual assault controlled their brains directly, even causing bodily sensations of pain.

The many observing disciples took in a sharp breath of cold air.

This seemingly simple first round of assessment was actually so terrifying.

It had just begun, yet at least a thousand people had been directly eliminated; truly worthy of the Main Hall's assessment.

One couldn't help but wonder, in the end, how many people would be able to pass this first round of assessment.

"Ah!!!!"

Screams rose and fell in succession, weaving a chilling symphony throughout the scene.

And it wasn't over yet; still, a large number of disciples were being ejected continuously.

"Eliminated!"

"Eliminated!"

"The Martial Arts Heart is too weak!"

The Law Enforcement Great Elder of the Main Hall announced the results coldly and ruthlessly.