Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

Sure enough, Zhang Ze felt his hand grab something soft, but it slipped away smoothly, leaving him unsure of what it was.

At that moment, something in the abyss moved. Zhang Ze's peripheral vision caught sight of the bottom of the abyss, and thanks to the golden light he cast down earlier, he finally saw the full appearance of the creature.

He had seen this thing before.

The system called it a Mountain-worshiping Taisui.

But while Zhang Ze understood this, what he didn't understand was why the creature below had such a large behind.

The enormous Mountain-worshiping Taisui opened its single eye, targeting Zhang Ze with a suction force that held him firmly. Before he could react, Zhang Ze was sucked into the eye.

At the moment of entry, Zhang Ze didn't think about whether this was karma.

Nor did he ponder what this gigantic behind had to do with the Spirit Realm.

Instead, he was thinking about how long such a huge Mountain-worshiping Taisui would last if he brought it back for Li to eat...

...

Tightly enclosed, then empty and vast.

When Zhang Ze opened his eyes again, the scenery before him seemed somewhat familiar.

"Home already?"

In the distance, the Immortal Mountain was shrouded in mist and clouds, and the towering Sword Sect gate stood prominently.

This was Anlan City, below the Main Pavilion Mountain of the Sword Sect.

However, it should be called the Original Imperial City, because at this time, Old Ascender hadn't been born yet. This appeared to be the era of Old Old Old Ascender.

Dongqi.

Zhang Ze looked at the luxurious palanquin at the end of the square. Below it sat a person who was obviously a eunuch, with a giant banner behind him bearing the word "Qi".

Though making a grand entrance, the crowd wasn't actually there for the eunuch; they were all looking toward the Sword Sect, where a sword was coming from the east.

Then many swords followed.

It's unclear who it was, but it should have been one of the Elders at the time, with several disciples standing behind him holding swords.

The eunuch didn't say anything; he was probably there to supervise.

Zhang Ze stood in the crowd, stretching his neck to look, but nobody explained the rules. Only a disciple stepped forward from behind the Elder and announced in a voice like a bell,

"The entrance test officially begins!"

Then... they just left.

Zhang Ze watched, utterly baffled. Although he knew the Sword Sect recruited carelessly, he didn't expect it to be this casual initially.

Zhang Ze recalled that when he joined, at least they tested the roots, checked the character, talked about ideals, and discussed life.

He came in with a perfect score.

Even though his master always looked regretful every time this was mentioned.

Back in the day, when recruiting disciples, at least some explanation was given, right?

But nobody paid him any attention. After hearing the announcement, half of the people in the crowd vanished instantly.

Many among them, apparently, had already started cultivating and carried some Magical Artifacts with them.

Zhang Ze directly grabbed the person next to him, "Hey, buddy, mind telling me what's going on?"

The person he grabbed was a kid, looking bewildered, "What weird things are you talking about?"

With that, he tried to break free from Zhang Ze's grip but couldn't shake him off.

Even though his cultivation was gone again, Zhang Ze still had his skills and strength. Bullying a kid was no problem.

After two more unsuccessful attempts, seeing the square was getting emptier, the kid hastily said, "Let go! The Sword Sect entrance test has always been climbing the mountain! If you don't want to join the Sword Sect, don't mess up my chances!"

Zhang Ze was stunned for a moment, released his grip, and the kid disappeared, seemingly off to climb the mountain.

"No creativity, what's the point of climbing? Why not talk about ideals?"

With that, Zhang Ze turned and walked away.

He wanted to see if this place was real.

However, when he reached the end of the square, although the street was bustling, he couldn't take a step further.

Alright, it's all fake; it must have hit an air wall.

This wasn't going back to the past; it must be the 'Spirit Realm'.

Upon inspecting his body again, Zhang Ze found that while his appearance hadn't changed, his tattered Hundred Treasures Bag was gone, the connection to Bai Tao was completely severed, and his entire Golden Core was nowhere to be found.

All he had was a jade token, probably for the entrance test, and not even a Copper Coin.

Surprisingly, the system was still there.

A true lifelong brother, a friendship unbreakable.

Moreover, the system sent a task fitting the occasion.

[Entrance·Climbing]

Though perfunctory, it's still a good brother.

"Is this the Spirit Realm? No wonder the Ghost Horse Helm people said they seriously damaged the Sword Sect and mentioned mountain climbing."

"But what's so hard about climbing a mountain?"

To be honest, Zhang Ze was puzzled. Apart from being damp, the Main Pavilion Mountain wasn't difficult to climb.

During his time living at the Sword Sect Main Pavilion, he often ventured into the grove with his Junior Sister and was chased by Aunt Mo from the top to the bottom of the mountain, twice back and forth.

Zhang Ze was confident that in terms of familiarity with the road, no one in the square could match him.

However... starting from Anlan City, isn't this trip a bit too far?

As Zhang Ze pondered whether to follow the climb or go tease the eunuch, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey buddy, why aren't you climbing?"

Zhang Ze turned around and saw a young man, who always seemed to be smiling when speaking.

"You're not climbing either?"

Zhang Ze retorted.

"It's just climbing, no rush. Come on, let me take you for a bite to eat."

With that, the young man waved for Zhang Ze to follow him.

Though unsure what this Spirit Realm was, he guessed it was like playing a game.

This young man was obviously an important NPC, generally no harm in following him.

Following the young man, Zhang Ze once again approached the edge of the square. As the young man took a step, the invisible barrier silently dissolved.

Ha, lousy game, without receiving a task, the air wall wouldn't dissolve.