“Guest Elder Qin, can we give it a try now?”
The Patriarchs’ eyes shone with anticipation.
Qin Chuan smiled. “Since everyone wants to try, let’s do it!”
Hence, Qin Chuan placed the Heart Refining Rock on the table.
The Patriarchs looked at one another, but none of them went forward.
They were also afraid of failure.
After a moment of silence, a Patriarch shouted, “I’ll go first!”
This person was the Patriarch of the Liu family. He was a seven-foot-tall, burly man with a very big build.
“Guest Elder Qin!” Patriarch Liu clasped his hands and bowed to Qin Chuan.
“Patriarch Liu, this way please!” Qin Chuan smiled as he made an inviting gesture.
“You just need to place your palm on the surface of the Heart Refining Rock. Either of your hands are fine.” Qin Chuan explained.
“Yes!” Patriarch Liu nodded before placing his right hand on the Heart Refining Rock.
At this moment, it was as if he had been electrocuted. His body and mind were stunned, and he froze there.
Then, the surface of the Heart Refining Rock lit up with starlight.
Everyone in the hall stared fixedly at the number of stars lighting up on the surface of the rock.
One, two, three…
The first three lit up very quickly but subsequently slowed down until the seventh star, and there was no longer anymore.
“Sigh! It looks like the Patriarch Liu has failed.” Those Patriarchs sighed and became even more nervous.
In front of the Heart Refining Rock.
Patriarch Liu came back to his senses and looked at the seven stars in front of him. He was a little indignant, but he still accepted this outcome.
“Guest Elder Qin, it seems like I’m not fated for this.” Patriarch Liu spoke with a desolate look in his eyes.
Qin Chuan smiled, “Patriarch Liu, seven stars is pretty good.”
After that, the others began asking Patriarch Liu how it felt to touch the Heart Refining Rock.
It was because it seemed like Patriarch Liu had suddenly shivered at that time. He must have experienced something.
However, Patriarch Liu wasn’t in a good mood and didn’t want to speak.
When Qin Chuan saw this, he said, “When touching the Heart Refining Rock, everyone will experience an illusion. The number of stars is related to your performance in the illusion.”
An Illusion???
All the Patriarchs were astonished.
It was because they discovered that the moment Patriarch Liu touched the Heart Refining Rock, it had lit up.
That was too fast for an illusion!
Everyone was filled with questions.
“In that case, who shall try next?” Qin Chuan asked.
“Me!” Someone immediately stepped out.
“I wish you success.” Qin Chuan smiled.
Like Patriarch Liu, that person responded immediately after placing his hand on the Heart Refining Rock.
One, two, three…
His final result was six stars, even fewer than Patriarch Liu.
When the person learned of the results, he grew sour.
After all, he was inferior to even Patriarch Liu, so it was even more embarrassing for him.
After that, each Patriarch took their turn.
Regretfully, they all failed. The best result was eight stars.
The atmosphere in the hall was exceptionally quiet. All the Patriarchs were extremely dissatisfied.
The main function of the Heart Refining Rock was to test one’s temperament through illusions.
Just as Lu Dewei had said, the people of these martial arts families were too vicious. If one’s temperament wasn’t good, it would bring hidden dangers to cultivation.
Although this kind of situation would be unavoidable in the future, he had to ensure that the cultivators were basically harmless, at least in the early stages.
Qin Chuan took back the Heart Refining Rock.
He was not surprised by the complete failure of these Patriarchs.
To become a Patriarch, one’s temperament has to be ruthless.
Therefore, it made sense that none of them passed.
“Don’t be discouraged, there will still be opportunities in the future.” Qin Chuan spoke.
His final goal was to get everyone to cultivate, so there was naturally nothing wrong with his words.
However, to the various Patriarchs, Qin Chuan was merely consoling them. They probably wouldn’t have another chance in the future.
After which, Qin Chuan announced that he would conduct a test for the family clans after the Martial Arts Conference ended.
They also told the Patriarchs that they still had a chance to take a retest.
With this, the disappointed Patriarchs felt better.
They were very grateful to Qin Chuan for giving them a chance to take the test again.
Not long after, the Patriarchs left.
…
Year 136, December 31st, the highly anticipated Martial Arts Conference began.
Unlike the elimination competition, this competition was completely closed off. There were no cameras, and nothing made public to the outside world.
On this day, the government of Xia Country sent a large number of people to maintain order so as to prevent any unexpected situations.
Presently, the venue of the Martial Arts Conference resounded with gongs, drums, and firecrackers.
There was a large altar in the center of the venue. The Patriarchs of the various families held joss sticks and paid their respects, praying that the Martial Arts Conference could be successfully concluded.
Most importantly, they hoped that their ancestors would bless them and help them defeat the martial artists from the outside world.
An hour later, the altar-related processes ended.
Right now, the audience that stood around the venue was bustling with noise. Everyone was cheering for their families.
In the center of the venue, there was a host.
The host was an elder of a certain clan and was a Connate martial artist.
For warriors of this level, they did not need modern equipment. Their voices were loud enough.
The host said loudly, “All participants of this conference, please come on stage.”
With that, people walked out of the passageways.
The first were the members of the martial arts families.
Just like in the elimination competition, each family clan could only send ten people to participate in the martial arts conference.
The people from the martial arts families came to the center of the field one after another. Behind them were the top 100 teams from the elimination competition.
To those in the audience, they were instinctively hostile towards these outsiders.
When the teams from the outside world walked out, the entire hall was filled with boos.
However, when a group of people wearing white robes and masks walked out, the booing from the crowd immediately stopped.
In the audience, almost everyone’s eyes were focused on that group of people.
“Look! The people from the Immortal Sect are coming out.”
“That’s Immortal Sect! Their aura is even stronger in person.”
“I support my family clan, but I like the Immortal Sect too much. What should I do?”
…
The teams below.
Wang Zhixing’s group looked around as they walked.
“Dad, look, it’s Sect Master!” Wang Jiajun whispered.
At this moment, Qin Chuan was sitting together with the other Patriarchs.
He had no expectations for the outcome of this Martial Arts Conference.
If Wang Zhixing’s group had not gone easy, the championship would have been theirs.
He was focused not on Wang Zhixing and the others but the three people from the Yun Country.
Previously, Wang Zhixing and the team had said that a very mysterious person in this group gave off a particularly unpleasant feeling.
Because of this, Qin Chuan released his divine consciousness and locked onto the trio.
Under cover of his divine consciousness, the black-robed man called Invisible Snake revealed his full appearance.
It was a woman, one that was especially beautiful.
But that wasn’t her true appearance.
