Kunlun!
It was the intelligent hub of the World Government, safeguarding the security of the entire world.
Most students held their breath, standing tense and still, reverence shining in their eyes.
Many students had never heard of the "Catastrophe."
Some had heard of it but had never been involved in matters related to it.
The proctors were somewhat surprised, but they quickly regained their composure.
"Hey."
There was suddenly a voice from the stands:
"That kid named Shen Ye, is he alive or dead?"
All eyes turned in the direction of the voice to see a strong practitioner from the Human Martial Arts Group, Cang Nanyan.
Qian Rushan sat next to him, his face gloomy, his eyes full of worry.
Again, Kunlun's voice rang out:
"Mr. Cang, you should know that non-Professionals who face the Catastrophe alone almost never survive,"
"—unless he sided with the Catastrophe."
Xiao Mengyu was stunned.
The Scion of the Noble Family in front of her opened his mouth to laugh, but several shouts of "Stop!" rang out around them.
The man felt the world spin before realizing he was already shielded by a proctor.
His neck hurt a bit.
He touched it.
Blood.
... Luckily, it was only a shallow cut.
Could it be just now—
"Do not act rashly, Xiao Mengyu, or I will cancel your exam results," the Azure Proctor said sternly.
Xiao Mengyu sheathed her sword, her eyes lifeless, just about to speak—
Snap.
A flash in the void.
Someone fell down.
This person's clothes were ripped and wet, his body covered in shocking wounds, yet he laughed uproarously, "Hahaha, I finally finished the exam—eh? Have you all finished too?"
—It was indeed Shen Ye!
Xiao Mengyu's eyes widened.
The crowd began to boil over, all eyes on him.
"That's not right! With his strength, how could he escape the clutches of the Catastrophe? He must have sided with it!" the student shouted from behind the proctor.
More and more people started to realize this.
The crowd scattered in all directions, some even with a hint of fleeing.
Everything became chaotic.
"Shen Ye, you are under arrest!"
The Azure Proctor charged forward.
"Who dares!"
Another voice bellowed.
Boom—
The shockwave from the clash sent many flying.
Cang Nanyan!
He stepped in front of Shen Ye, using his hand as a blade, sending the Azure Proctor flying.
"Cang Nanyan!" the Azure Proctor shouted, "You should know how terrifying the Catastrophe is, don't be mistaken!"
"Hmph, none of your business," Cang Nanyan retorted, arms crossed, with an air of indifference.
Qian Rushan hurried to Shen Ye's side, whispering:
"Did you make a pact with the Catastrophe?"
"There was a bet," Shen Ye replied truthfully.
Qian Rushan's expression darkened as he whispered, "And then?"
"I won," Shen Ye said.
"Hmm, after being enslaved, there's not actually much you can do, only—wait, you won?"
"Yeah," Shen Ye replied.
"And the Catastrophe?" Cang Nanyan asked.
"Ran away," Shen Ye spread his hands and said.
Cang Nanyan and Qian Rushan exchanged glances.
"Impossible," another voice rang out from the high platform.
It was the Guixu High School proctor.
"You managed to win in the Catastrophe's gamble? There must be something wrong," he said, staring at Shen Ye.
Shen Ye, furious, reached for his rear, only to touch a bunch of parts.
That's right.
His phone had been smashed by Zhao Yibing.
But as long as the storage unit was intact—
It should be fine.
"I have a video of the scene, but unfortunately, my phone was destroyed," Shen Ye said.
He suddenly remembered something and immediately said, "Quick! There's a bomb at Yunshan Port! You guys need to go check it out right away!"
No one moved.
All the experts just watched him, poised as if facing a great enemy.
"Shen Ye, to gain people's trust now, you must let Kunlun immediately repair your phone and retrieve the video from it," Qian Rushan whispered.
"Retrieve it then—hurry up and deal with the situation at Yunshan Port!" Shen Ye exclaimed angrily.
He emptied all the phone parts onto a silver dish.
The dish instantly took off, rising to the ceiling and disappearing into a channel.
They waited for only a few seconds.
The grand electronic voice rang out once more:
"Given the gravity of the situation, we are retrieving the memory video from Shen Ye's phone end."
"Relevant intelligence found."
"Comprehensive judgment indicates that Shen Ye has not been enslaved by the Catastrophe."
"He won the bet against the Catastrophe."
"Initiating a search for threats at Yunshan Port."
"Threat level has been elevated to red."
The people looked at each other in dismay.
Cang Nanyan burst into laughter, "Hahaha, it seems the newbie from our Human Martial Arts Group is indeed the strongest. Even the Catastrophe couldn't trouble him, good! Truly excellent!"
From the stands, another woman's voice sounded:
"This is impossible, I request that the video be made public, to be submitted to the Arbitration Committee for a thorough examination to determine if there are any tricks at play."
Lady An!
As soon as the word "Arbitration Committee" came out, even Cang Nanyan stopped laughing and furrowed his brows.
"Don't stop me, Cang Nanyan, you know that many times the judgment of the smart brain is problematic, and many of the human race's secret signals and coded language can elude it."
Lady An was righteous and solemn in demeanor.
"I want the Arbitration Committee to thoroughly search for the truth of the matter, every interaction between Shen Ye and the catastrophe should be made public!"
"If he has done nothing wrong, naturally there's no problem, but if he shows any sign of submission to the catastrophe, then he is a heretic!"
Cang Nanyan looked towards Shen Ye.
"Come on, I don't care," Shen Ye shrugged.
That grand and vast electronic voice sounded again:
"The video has been made public as per the Song Family's request; the matter will now be further investigated by the Arbitration Committee."
In the hall, a holographic image quietly appeared.
——The video from Shen Ye's phone! Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
On the screen, Zhao Yibing floated in mid-air, exuding layers of dark fog, lazily saying:
"I particularly admire the evil within you humans."
"Guess—"
"Do you think your video will get out?"
She floated in mid-air, looking down at Shen Ye and said:
"I must honestly say, I was planning to further activate this Dharma Realm."
"But just as I made my move, I realized something."
"——Shen Ye, your human race has already activated the Dharma Realm, specifically setting up such a difficult test for you."
"So you can't blame me."
The spectators' expressions changed as they watched the video.
Shen Ye's voice was heard: "Do you think I would believe that?"
The Skinner shouted, angrily saying, "If His Excellency truly wanted to deal with you, you would be dead by now."
Immediately after, Nangong Sirui and that girl appeared and then quickly departed.
This scene proved Nangong Sirui's statement.
——He had seen the catastrophe with his own eyes, as well as Shen Ye.
The Skinner's voice followed: "It's Yunshan Port—three cargo ships, their holds filled with bombs, a single detonation and the entire port is done for."
"Yunshan Port will sink into the sea; every mortal on the island will perish."
"The examination will also be immediately halted."
"Brother Shen Ye, you won't be eliminated, because once such a massive explosion occurs, everything will have to be redone, including the examination."
"The exam will become more stringent, and no one will be able to slip through the cracks and make things difficult for you in secret."
He looked up, his muddy eyes slowly watching the camera.
Everyone was in uproar.
"Quiet! Kunlun has already dispatched experts to handle this! The examination hall needs to be orderly!" the proctor shouted.
On-screen, the conversation continued.
Shen Ye refused the other party's arrangements, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Yibing began to set up a betting game.
"How about I make a bet with you?"
"What's the bet?" Shen Ye asked.
Zhao Yibing said, "There's still one assessment to come. It is the strongest challenge within this Dharma Realm, and I bet you absolutely cannot pass it."
...
"The bet is set."
"Go on, feel the traps they have prepared for you, deeply experience their malice."
"I hope someday in the future, you will use the power I've given you to kill them all."
"I will personally preside over your fall from grace on the altar of endless wailing spirits."
The faces of many in the audience changed.
The Azure Proctor frowned, as if faced with an annoying issue.
Was it just him?
In the stands, those previously calm and composed dignitaries began to feel uneasy.
The video began to shake.
With a snap, the video ended.
"See clearly? I didn't indulge her, now I've won the bet and I'm free!"
While speaking, Shen Ye gave Xiao Mengyu a wink.
Xiao Mengyu, in trance, said: "Do you... know the significance of this matter?"
"I survived?" Shen Ye asked.
This guy truly is ignorant.
He had no idea whatsoever of the significance of this matter.
"The recognition of the Dharma Realm!"
"Shen Ye, overcoming the catastrophe—no matter on what level, as long as you prevail over them, you can gain the recognition of the Dharma Realm!" Xiao Mengyu hurriedly explained.
The Dharma Realm?
Shen Ye was slightly taken aback.
Based on the previously obtained information, the Dharma Realm should be the source of strength.
What benefits would come from its recognition?
Lady An suddenly spoke up: "But the examination has already ended, Shen Ye, you have exceeded the examination time"
"Enough, don't probe any further on the exam, you indeed have been eliminated—that's the rule from ages past, no one can disregard the rules." The Azure Proctor said.
"However, he did indeed win the bet, and from a realistic perspective, we should grant him a pass-through qualification." The Xirang Proctor said.
"We need to further examine how he won, to see what shortcuts he used to win the bet." The Azure Proctor said.
"No need!" Shen Ye said.
The Azure Proctor suddenly turned his head to stare at him and swiftly said, "This is a necessary process, unless you don't want to attend the Three Major Colleges, otherwise we must know how you managed to win the bet."
Shen Ye said, "I'm not attending the Three Major Colleges."
"You—what? You're not attending?" The Azure Proctor asked in surprise.
Shen Ye smiled, extended his hand to rub a piece of wood, and held it flat in his hand.
"The wooden sculptures from the examination hall are explicitly forbidden to be removed from the exam venue, Shen Ye, this is cheating!" The Azure Proctor exclaimed.
He reached out to grab the piece of wood and said, "Now I suspect you cheated—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a surge of power suddenly knocked him flying.
The crowd erupted into an overwhelming roar of shock.
Even the people on the stands stood up, watching the scene intently.
A dragon head phantom emerged around the piece of wood.
The dragon head slowly took form.
Then followed the dragon body, claws, tail, and auspicious clouds surrounding the Flying Dragon.
The Flying Dragon made its appearance!
It held the piece of wood in its mouth, soaring into the sky, circling the hall, unleashing a long dragon's roar:
"Today, a human descendant Shen Ye has successfully passed the joint assessment of the four great sects and has obtained the status of a True Disciple. He is hereby permitted to join the Chaotic Heaven Gate as a True Disciple!"
"This is a rule of the Ancient Law Realm and cannot be defied."
A sphere of light was spat out by the Flying Dragon, falling in front of Shen Ye, suspended in mid-air.
As the light dissipated.
It was a small Jade Token.
The front of the Jade Token was carved with a gate that connects to heaven, and the back was inscribed with the words "Chaotic Heaven, Shen Ye."