28 Illusory Nine-fold Palace

Chapter 27: Illusory Nine-fold Palace

Van walked towards the reception desk and asked the female attendant about the Promotions test.

"You must have been brought here by Peter! Please insert your Qi here sir."

The female attendant handed Van a sheet of paper with writing on it. Van quickly skimmed the text. It was a waiver that exempted the Missions Division from any responsibility for any severe injuries incurred from the test. They would still try to treat the injuries to the best of their ability of course.

After reading it a few more times to ensure that there weren't any faults with the contract, Van inserted his Qi into a spiritual mark at the bottom. The spiritual mark glowed for a second before turning back into normal. Van handed the paper back to the female attendant. She checked the Qi and compared it to the records before nodding.

She smiled resplendently and placed down the paper before leading Van towards a door. After she left, the spiritual mark turned into a symbol of a crown emitting a domineering aura. The aura shocked many attendants before withdrawing itself and the mark turning back to normal.

"Did you feel that aura?"

The small fragment of the bloodline power in Van's Qi had surprisingly caused the oppressive and domineering aura to leak out past the magical formations to the start of the testing area. About 6 others were there with Van, hoping for a promotion to the Iron rank.

Everyone besides Van shuddered when the aura touched upon them. The closest ones to the door felt it very hard to breathe and fell to their knees. Van could feel the domineering aura, but it seemed to have ignored him.

"I wonder which powerful expert decided to release their aura this time."

The other participants smiled wryly. A few arrogant cultivators would show off their power every so often by releasing a fragment of their aura. Van was rather oblivious to everything for the aura hadn't affected him much.

I wonder why they were so worked up over that aura? Was it really that domineering? Van thought to himself.

A few moments later, everything finally settled down. That was when a buff male cultivator walked in. He was on the rather older side of middle-aged and had a rather nice tan. His hair was combed and he looked like he had been preparing for a very important event. He was clearly trying to impress a girl or some girls.

Van felt rather sick. Most of the girls here had more than a 30-year difference between the man and he was still interested in them. Despite the fact that cultivation would extend one's life span. Those at the Stages of Dantian Formation would only live for up to 150 years. Those at the stages of Inner Discovery would live up to 300 years. Kings would live up to 1000 years. Emperors were rumored to live for tens of thousands and Saints were rumored to live for hundreds of thousands.

Van had heard there might be a stage above Saint that allowed one to live forever as long as they weren't killed by another cultivator.

A light of excitement could be seen in Van's eyes. He couldn't wait to reach the peak of cultivation and show everyone his power. He would be able to create a safe place for all of his friends and family to live. They wouldn't have to put their lives at risk daily. Instead, they would just rely on Van's cultivation and influence to live their lives to the fullest.

Van snapped out of his daydream and snapped to attention. He was not going to critique the examiner's choice of uniform. That would just be seeking to fail.

"Welcome to the Missions Division's Promotion Test. Depending on the score you receive, you will acquire the corresponding rank. I am not your examiner. I am just announcing the rules for the test."

"Where is our examiner then?"

An insufferably arrogant voice cried out from a participant. The participant turned out to be a pretty young lady in a blue gown. She was extremely stunning and drew the eyes of all the participants in the room, male and female alike. The announcer's expression turned from one of anger to one of respect.

"I didn't know that you were participating today."

The young lady ignored what the announcer said and stood there, head high, waiting for an answer.

"Your examiner shall be Inner Sect Elder Feng Hua."

A voluptuous woman and two maids emerged from seemingly nowhere and stood behind the announcer. Van was used to his aunt's presence so he awoke out of a stupor rather quickly. The others took a little longer.

The female participants were extremely jealous of the woman's body and were trying best to keep their feelings at bay. They could notice the stares of all the male cultivators.

Van felt a little guilty. He thought that the announcer was trying to attract the young female participants. Instead, the announcer was obviously trying to attract the very appealing mature woman in front of him.

"Auntie, what a pleasant surprise."

The arrogant young woman had on a calm mask.

"My dearest niece, I didn't know that you had stooped so low. The Feng clan would be ashamed of you. Who knows what your mother would say."

The atmosphere was so thick that Van could have cut it with a knife. The announcer stood in between the two women and tried to diffuse the situation.

"It's the Missions Division's Promotion test right now. I think we can solve this problem afterward over a nice cup of tea."

"As the mature elder and the examiner of this Promotion test, I don't have time to squabble with such an immature child."

The Inner Sect Elder walked off with her two maids and the announcer in tow. The arrogant young woman was fuming but calmed herself down.

The Qi started to fluctuate, causing all the participants to panic.

"What's going on?!"

"We're all going to die!"

Some were rather fearful. One of the participants started to cry in the corner and call for their mother. Was another sect invading? What could cause this sudden fluctuation. A mental transmission was sent to the minds of all the participants.

"Calm down. It's just the teleportation formation activating."

They all breathed out a sigh of relief. A cultivator crying in the corner stood up and wiped away his tears, pretending that nothing had happened. Everyone looked at him disappointed.

"Good luck examinees!"

All of the cultivators vanished out of thin air. The only traces of them being a few dead skin cells that were shed during the few moments that they had stayed in the room.

The participants all appeared in a large circular room. There were many doors that lead to many different rooms. One room contained a seemingly tranquil pond while another contained one that seemed to have a war occurring between two mortal armies.

"So what are the rules?"

Everyone had just realized that the argument had left them all clueless to what was supposed to happen. One of the participants was just about to say that there probably weren't any when another mental transmission was sent to all of the participants.

"Welcome to the Flowing River Sect Missions Division's Illusory Nine-fold Palace. As it is an illusion, if you die in here, you will not die in real life. Each of you will pick a door, the farther you go the more points you will obtain. Fighting the dangers in each room and finding treasures will give you more points. If you find a treasure, you may keep it. You may not interfere with others' rooms. There are enough doors for all of you. Watch out for the disguised treasures and good luck!"

The brains of all the participants besides were ringing with the words that the voluptuous elder had just said. Their cultivation couldn't handle the pressure from rather long mental transmission. Besides, the elder didn't have much control and was purposefully getting some petty revenge on her niece.

While everyone else was rolling on the floor clutching their heads in pain, Van stood there calmly, watching all of the doors. He was looking for the one that would train him the best.

"What an interesting kid."

The examiner and her two maids were currently in a nice room filled with extremely luxurious furniture, even for cultivators. The announcer was flattering the examiner and looking at her with lovestruck eyes.

The examiner, of course, had no eyes for the announcer and was currently inspecting the Illusory Nine-fold Palace. She was currently watching Van inspect the doorway while his fellow participants rolled about on the ground. She made the mental transmission aggressive so that she would have a good laugh, watching her niece roll around in pain, but found something that was more interesting instead.

"As a nice present, I'll increase the difficulty on the doorway he chooses. He seems like a diligent cultivator."

The announcer took the moment to strike.

"Your eminence is very wise."

The announcer's eyes were filled with adoration for the Elder and her beauty.

Van sat down and meditated, trying to clear his mind.