Unrivaled Martial Emperor

While Chen Fan and the others were baffled, the outside world watched as the sky seemingly turned into a giant mirror; every move they made was projected for all to see.

Spectators saw the examinees' locations and were equally confused.

The second test of the Immortal Draft Assembly... was farming? Nearly four thousand cultivation elites plowing fields?

"What... they're really being made to farm?"

"I'm just as lost!"

"Only an immortal sect would think of something like this. Farming? Seriously?"

"But look at that. Seeing those high and mighty talents looking so baffled is quite funny, no?

"Hahahaha, same! I'm dying."

"Just imagine it. Manifestation and Legendary realm cultivators, sleeves rolled up, working the land. Just thinking of this scene makes me want to laugh."

As the sky screen showed Chen Fan and the others standing in the fields, the crowd stared in disbelief. Then the laughter started. Quiet at first, it grew louder as confusion gave way to amusement.

They had passed the brutal first test, so every one of them undoubtedly had strong willpower. But now, that resolve looked like it was crumbling.

......

Seeing the farmland in front of him, Chen Fan was nonplussed.

"This is the second test? Seriously? Are we supposed to farm and see whose crops taste better?"

He gave a stiff, half-smile, caught between confusion and helplessness.

All around him, others echoed the same thought.

"This is the second test? What the hell?"

"Are we supposed to farm? How ridiculous. We're martial artists. Working the land and farming is simply laughable."

"Can someone come out to clarify?"

Everyone was sent into an uproar.

At this time, an immortal voice descended from the sky, "When Heaven assigns great responsibility to someone, it first makes their mind endure suffering. It tests their sinews and bones through toil, starves them, burdens them with poverty, and breaks down all they build. This is the second test: the Valley of Hardship. You will now farm the land and harvest the fruits of your labor."

Everyone was taken aback.

They really were being made to farm the fields.

The three thousand and six hundred examinees now stood before roughly sixteen and a half acres of farmland each, with a small hut at the edge.

After learning that the second test was to farm the land, everyone began to act.

Chen Fan was no exception.

As soon as he set foot out of the valley, he felt his strength rapidly escape him.

His connection to the dantian was cut off completely. He could no longer draw on even a trace of primeval energy. Weakness crashed over him.

For martial artists, their dantian was the source of their strength.

With it sealed, they had fallen from untouchable cultivators to mere mortals, sending them into panic and unease.

Many people turned pale.

Originally, they didn't think much of it after finding out that the second test was farming.

At first, no one had taken the test seriously. Sixteen acres of land? Even ten times that wouldn't have mattered.

However, the prerequisite would be that they could use their powers.

Evidently, they had underestimated the test.

The Valley of Hardship had sealed their powers. They were ordinary now, with nothing but their physical strength and endurance to till the land and survive.

"Hmph, I can complete the task even without my powers."

Some people didn't believe in the difficulty and strode forward. The more they walked, they discovered the heavier they felt. After walking a few steps, they felt like they were filled with lead.

"I'm about to curse out loud. Sealing my true primeval was bad enough, but now they've also increased the gravity? Are they trying to tire us to death?"

"They're really treating us like oxen!"

Many began to cry out in frustration.

They had underestimated the Valley of Hardship.

Not only was their cultivation sealed, but gravity had been enhanced. It was pure torture.

Chen Fan walked into the hut and found a plow at the entrance.

Inside or out, there wasn't a single ox in sight.

"So we're expected to plow all sixteen and a half acres... by hand?"

The corners of Chen Fan's eyes twitched, feeling helpless. Yet, he had no choice but to pick up the plow and walk toward the field.

"Although my true primeval strength is sealed, my physique is strong. Plowing the farm shouldn't be a problem... right?"

He was wrong.

Even those with naturally strong physiques, like Chen Fan, had been weakened. The Valley of Hardship had suppressed not just cultivation but physical strength too.

Chen Fan looked at the sixteen and a half acres of farmland in front of him, looked up at the blazing sun, and his brows inadvertently furrowed.

The sun shone directly above him. It felt like someone had set him on fire right after he had taken a nice bath with oil.

Chen Fan took a deep breath. After only a dozen steps with the plow, he was already panting. Sweat poured from him in streams; his clothes clung to his chest and back like wet rags. Every few steps, he had to tug at them just to catch his breath.

Bang!

He slammed the plow down at the edge of the field. Then, he adjusted the direction and made the lower end of the plow dig into the earth and started pushing it.

The moment Chen Fan pushed the plow, he felt tremendous resistance; immediately, his strength felt insufficient.

Frustration welled up.

He was someone with Legendary-level combat strength. He could move mountains and overturn seas, quite literally. What was plowing—no, destroying several acres of land to him? Nothing.

Yet now, here he was powerless against the soil, feeling like he was being bullied by the land.

But it made sense. Plowing was never meant for one man alone. That was what farm animals were for. At worst, it took a team. One guiding in front, another helping at the back. Plowing a field single-handedly? Practically unheard of.

However, if he didn't plow the farm, the crops wouldn't grow well. Digging holes one by one and planting the seeds would consume more time and effort.

So Chen Fan gritted his teeth and pressed on, muscles straining as he pushed the plow. Soil turned slowly to either side.

But this wasn't just about brute force. Plowing required precision. One had to keep the line straight and manage the pressure.

Too shallow, and seeds wouldn't take. Too deep, and he'd waste strength. Deviate from the path, and planting would become uneven.

After an incense stick's worth of time, Chen Fan's arms felt sore. But he stayed silent, pushing forward.

So this is what it means to make one's sinews and bones experience toil. I can endure it!Chen Fan said to himself.

"My god, it really is farming. We're martial artists. Isn't this wasting talent?" someone shouted.

"Stop whining," came a sharp reply. "Move your ass. If you're scared of hardship, just quit now."

All around, the others began to move as well.

Although the second test seemed very strange, they did not have a choice.

Either they quit or get to work in the field.

The crowd complained about it for a while as they rolled up their sleeves and began plowing the earth.

In this vast world, all things seemed to have come to a stop. Only the three thousand six hundred figures were toiling away slowly in the fields.