A Chaotic World

Early in the morning, every member of the Nine Suns Sect had gathered at a certain corner of the sect grounds.

Just like all previous years, the Nine Suns Trial would be held at the Grand Mirror Courtyard. This was an area that was out of bounds to all sect members during other times of the year. Thus, it was Lu Tianzi's first time going there.

Lu Tianzi's eyes opened wide in amazement when he arrived.

The Grand Mirror Courtyard was essentially a huge clearing that could easily hold the thousands of sect members and still had room to spare.

But what amazed him was another thing altogether.

In this courtyard was a towering mirror with the height of at least ten men and spanned across almost fifty metres in length.

This was the Grand Mirror of the Nine Suns Sect, an ancient treasure that had been passed down through the ages. It had a bronze frame that was carved with intricate ancient symbols. Even after being exposed to the weathers, the Grand Mirror's surface looked to be without a blemish, as though it had just been freshly polished.

It was a majestic sight that greeted every member of the Nine Suns Sect as they arrived.

The sect members in the courtyard naturally formed up into two different groups when they arrived, one far smaller than the other.

This smaller group comprised the Inner Sect members. These elites of the Nine Suns Sect stood proudly as they took their positions closer to the Grand Mirror.

As for Lu Tianzi who was only a junior even among the Outer Sect members, he was relegated to the far edges of the Grand Mirror Courtyard.

Right behind the Grand Mirror were elevated seats where the upper echelons of the Nine Suns Sect settled in comfortably.

In the centre seats sat two men who gave off an imposing aura with just their presence alone, while the other Elders of the sect sat to their sides.

These two men were naturally the City Lord and the Sect Master respectively.

Comparing the two of them, the City Lord looked far younger than the Sect Master.

The City Lord looked to be in his forties, with his black hair neatly combed to the back. His physique was extremely toned, and his countenance was extraordinary. Every movement of his would reflect his noble disposition, and just by sitting there he was able to exude a mature charm.

On the other hand, the Sect Master looked to be in his seventies, with a head of long white hair that he let down freely. Still, the wrinkles on his face were not able to hide the vibrant vitality that was evident from the sharp look in his eyes.

When a martial artist broke into the Origin Core realm, they would be able to live for around two thousand years. Even though the City Lord looked to be in his forties, Lu Tianzi believed that he should be far older than that.

As for the Sect Master, he might even be approaching the last couple hundred years of his lifespan.

Of course, that was purely Lu Tianzi's conjecture.

It could also be that the Sect Master preferred to appear in this form so as to exude a more solemn atmosphere. With Lu Tianzi's current level of perception, he was still unable to learn much about each of these Origin Core realm martial artists.

At this moment, despite every member of the Nine Suns Sect being gathered at the Grand Mirror Courtyard, there was actually not the slightest bit of sound. All of them were just standing there silently, waiting patiently for the cue to start.

Finally, the Sect Master stood up to address the sect.

"As all of you already know, the Nine Suns Trial is the cornerstone of our Nine Suns Sect. I naturally hope that for today's trial, all of you will try your very best to obtain the best results possible. As always, our Nine Suns Sect will definitely greatly reward those who manage to perform well. But this year, on top of that, we have with us the Lord of Bluenight City," the Sect Master smiled as he turned to the City Lord. "City Lord Nanlan, do you wish to say a few words?"

"If I may," the City Lord nodded before standing up as well.

"This will be the first time that I am meeting most of you here. I am Nanlan Baisha, Lord of Bluenight City!" the City Lord announced with vigour.

Lu Tianzi was surprised upon hearing those words.

Nanlan?

Could it be that the City Lord was related to Nanlan Qianxue?

Lu Tianzi turned to glance at Nanqing Haowen who was standing far in front. Still, Nanqing Haowen instantly sensed Lu Tianzi's gaze falling upon him.

"You guessed it right. Nanlan Qianxue is the daughter of the Lord of Bluenight City," Nanqing Haowen told Lu Tianzi with a voice conveyance.

Lu Tianzi let out a deep breath before turning to look at Nanlan Qianxue, only to see that she was just looking emotionlessly at the City Lord as though looking at a stranger.

"As the City Lord, I have always been a friend of the Nine Suns Sect, and am honoured to meet all of you talented members of the sect. Since I am here, I naturally cannot come empty handed," City Lord Nanlan continued with a laugh. "I have brought along with me the beast core of an adult Thunder Vulture. This shall be my present to the top ranker of the Nine Suns Trial!"

Gasps could be heard from the members of the Nine Suns Sect immediately.

An adult Thunder Vulture was a beast with strength at the Origin Core realm!

The beast core of the Thunder Vulture would no longer be considered as a low ranked beast core, but a mid ranked one instead. There was no doubt that it would possess a huge reservoir of energy that was much purer than ordinary low ranked beast cores.

Being able to absorb the primordial Slaughter Essence from a mid ranked beast core would definitely increase their speed of cultivation. If used correctly, it could even provide the impetus to break through a bottleneck and reach the next boundary!

On top of that, it might even possess some remnant laws that the Thunder Vulture possessed. If so, then that could even bring one closer to touching upon the world laws!

However, there was only one mid ranked beast core, and it would only be granted to the top ranker of the Nine Suns Trial.

This caused the majority of the sect members to sigh in regret.

Most of them were aware of their own capabilities, and they were simply not destined to possess this mid ranked beast core.

Only the leading members with the Inner Sect started feeling greed in their hearts.

They definitely had to obtain the mid ranked beast core!

Seeing the reactions of the sect members, City Lord Nanlan smiled in satisfaction as he took his seat once more.

"Without further ado, let us start with the Nine Suns Trial!" the Sect Master's voice bellowed across the Grand Mirror Courtyard.

On his command, four Elders of the Nine Suns Sect immediately flew out from their seats, landing beside the Grand Mirror.

Upon reaching the Origin Core realm, martial artists would gain the ability of flight, something that others could only dream of having.

This was also one of the easiest tell tale signs that a martial artist had broken past the Essence Condensation realm.

The four Elders each placed a palm on the Grand Mirror, driving their Slaughter Essence to the limit as they channelled their Essence energy into it.

Weng-!

With a loud buzzing sound, the bronze frame of Grand Mirror started to emit a warm glow.

At the same time, a ripple spread out from the centre of the Grand Mirror, as though the surface of the mirror was in a purely liquid state. This ripple moved slowly, and when it finally came into contact with the bronze frame at the corners of the mirror, the warm glow of the frame grew in brighter in intensity.

The Grand Mirror had been successfully activated!

Seeing this, the four Elders finally simultaneously retracted their palms.

"Inner Sect members step up!" Elder Wanglei shouted out from beside the Grand Mirror.

Lu Tianzi recognised him immediately. He was the same Elder who had accompanied Nanlan Qianxue on the recent Beast Hunt.

"Yes, Elder Wanglei!" the Inner Sect members answered in unison as they made their way towards the Grand Mirror.

Due to the sheer amount of sect members, not everyone will be undergoing the trial at the same time.

The Inner Sect members would be given priority to undergo the trial first. Only after they were done would it be the Outer Sect members' turn.

Lu Tianzi kept his eyes peeled, not wanting to miss a single detail about the process of the Nine Suns Trial.

He was a complete newbie to the Nine Suns Trial, and thus was also at a slight disadvantage as compared to the others. Thus Lu Tianzi was hoping to learn a little from how others clear the trial.

But what happened next caused his eyes to open wide in shock.

One by one, the Inner Sect members approached the Grand Mirror. The next time he knew, these Inner Sect members were all stepping right through the surface of the Grand Mirror!

It was as though the surface of the Grand Mirror really was nothing but clear water, allowing each person to pass through easily, entering a separate world within!

The Nine Suns Trial tested an individual's talent, and was able to adjust the difficulty of the trial according to each individual's age. As each sect member entered, a number corresponding to their age would appear at the top of the mirror surface.

26!

28!

17!

As Nanlan Qianxue stepped through the surface of the Grand Mirror, her age was also revealed for all to see. Among the Inner Sect members, Nanlan Qianxue was by far the youngest.

But compared to Lu Tianzi who was sixteen years old, Nanlan Qianxue was still a year older.

As for Nanqing Haowen, he was actually a whole six years older than Nanlan Qianxue, being at the age of twenty three.

Ignoring rare geniuses like Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue, Nanqing Haowen being able to enter the Essence Condensation realm at the age of twenty three could already be considered quite an achievement as well.

"The famous Inscription Master Nanlu Tianzi is already surprised by just this much?" a familiar voice snapped Lu Tianzi out of his daze.

Lu Tianzi turned to look towards the source of the voice, only to see Nancheng Wei smiling at him.

At this moment, Nancheng Wei had his arms crossed and wore a smug look on his face.

"What do you want?" Lu Tianzi asked.

"Hahaha! Don't be in such a foul mood! You never know, it might even affect your performance in the trial later!" Nancheng Wei laughed. "Though I guess it would be difficult for you not to be in a foul mood after being penalised by the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower!"

"That's none of your business!" Lu Tianzi snapped as he turned his attention back towards the Grand Mirror.

His priority right now was to perform well at the Nine Suns Trial. Squabbling with Nancheng Wei was completely meaningless.

"Hahaha! I hope you won't disappoint the Elders with a poor result later, especially after all the special treatment you have been given!" Nancheng Wei believed that he had rendered Lu Tianzi speechless, and was thrilled about it.

He had hope that the earlier incident would have caused Lu Tianzi to be distracted during the Nine Suns Trial, preventing him from achieving the best possible results.

But just in case, he had specially come over just to further instill the thought in Lu Tianzi's mind!

"I think you should worry about yourself. No matter what result I get later, it would definitely be better than yours!" Lu Tianzi answered defiantly.

Hearing that, Nancheng Wei's good mood immediately plummeted.

"You arrogant bastard! If you were in your peak condition, then I admit that I will probably be inferior. But as you are right now, you might not even be able to pass the Trial of the Heart!" Nancheng Wei harrumphed before stomping off.