Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Outside the mountain gate of the Profound Heaven Holy Land, young talents from all over the Profound Heaven Realm gathered. The once-in-a-century grand ceremony had started ahead of schedule. For many, this was an unexpected joy and a heaven-defying opportunity not to be missed.
"Are you nervous? Don't be. You are excellent. Today, give the Holy Land a little shock."
Seeing Su Qingyue's delicate body trembling slightly, Qin Hao gently took her hand and encouraged her softly.
Feeling the warmth from Qin Hao's palm, Su Qingyue's heart settled down a lot. She turned her head and revealed a smile at Qin Hao:
"I'm not nervous, I'm excited!"
Hearing this, Qin Hao raised his eyebrows slightly. Excited? Trembling from excitement? You've got something there. It seems you have a sensitive constitution.
Soon, the elder in charge of disciple recruitment flew from the depths of the Holy Land to the front of the participants:
"Everyone, welcome to the disciple recruitment ceremony of our Profound Heaven Holy Land. If you want to enter the Holy Land, you must pass three rounds of tests. The first round is the talent test."
The testing method was very simple. By pressing a hand on the Spirit Appraisal Profound Stone and injecting spiritual energy, the profound stone would burst with different colors of light according to the tester's talent.
White was the worst, followed by green, then blue. Purple was considered good, and the ultimate was gold.
Reaching purple would allow one to pass the first round of the test.
As the test began, the heaven-chosen prodigies who came to participate lined up and stepped forward one by one.
"What!!! I achieved Qi Condensation at three, Foundation Establishment at ten, and Golden Core at twenty. My talent is actually only blue???"
The first tester looked at the blue light bursting from the Spirit Appraisal Profound Stone, his eyes full of disbelief. In his family, he was a once-in-a-ten-thousand-years genius!
"No way, I possess the Sword Dao Spirit Body, and my talent is also blue? This, this Spirit Appraisal Profound Stone must be malfunctioning."
"Eh? Aren't I a genius? Why is it only green?"
The very first round of the test dealt a heavy blow to countless arrogant prodigies. Their talents were indeed outstanding in the outside world, but this was the Profound Heaven Holy Land, where geniuses were the least lacking. The talents they were so proud of didn't even qualify them for entry into the Holy Land.
After testing over a thousand people in a row, not a single one reached purple. This caused the elder in charge of the test to furrow his brows deeply:
"I don't know what the Vice Sect Master was thinking. Why start the disciple recruitment ceremony ahead of schedule? Without a full century, it's impossible to accumulate enough prodigies who meet the requirements!"
Time passed by the minute and second. By the time it was Su Qingyue's turn, tens of thousands of people had already been tested. Out of tens of thousands, only one person's talent had barely reached purple.
One must know that those who dared to come to the Profound Heaven Holy Land for the recruitment ceremony were all one-in-a-million prodigies. Even so, among them, only one person met the qualifications.
Su Qingyue looked back at Qin Hao. Qin Hao nodded at her, signaling her to bravely take the test.
Su Qingyue slowly stepped forward and placed her fair palm on the icy profound stone. With so many people failing the test before her, Su Qingyue didn't dare to hold back. She circulated the True Explanation of the Grand Dao's Origin and injected the purest spiritual energy she could condense into it.
"Buzz—"
The Spirit Appraisal Profound Stone trembled violently, erupting with a pure and dense golden light. At the same time, several profound patterns surfaced on the stone, resembling the revolving trajectories of the Grand Dao.
This scene caused the surrounding crowd to cover their mouths and exclaim in shock:
"Wow, a golden legend!"
The elders of the Profound Heaven Holy Land were even less composed. They shot up from their seats, their eyes filled with shock as they looked at Su Qingyue:
"Self-manifesting Dao charm! Not only has this girl's talent reached gold, but her comprehension has even triggered the Spirit Appraisal Profound Stone to manifest Dao patterns! This is truly rare!"
Seeing the astonished looks of the elders, Qin Hao, who was in the crowd, smugly raised his chin. "Old fogeys, broadened your horizons, haven't you? My Qingyue is a system-certified Daughter of Destiny. A golden talent and peerless comprehension are just standard equipment, alright?"
After testing her talent, Su Qingyue calmly withdrew her hand. After bowing to the elders of the Profound Heaven Holy Land, she silently retreated to Qin Hao's side.
When she realized that everyone's eyes were on her, Su Qingyue hid slightly behind Qin Hao. Obviously, for Su Qingyue, she was still not used to this feeling of being the center of attention.
Three days later, after day and night of non-stop testing, all the prodigies who came to participate in the recruitment ceremony were finally tested. The elimination rate was staggering. Out of nearly a million people, less than ten met the requirements.
Among them, only Su Qingyue achieved gold; the rest were all purple. However, to the elders of the Profound Heaven Holy Land, Su Qingyue's single golden talent was enough to rival a hundred thousand purple-tier prodigies.
Even several Immortal Lord-level mighty figures of the Profound Heaven Holy Land were mobilized upon hearing the news. A golden talent, and a comprehension that self-manifested Dao charm—this girl had the potential of an Immortal Emperor!
Soon, the ten people who passed the first round of the test began the second round. The second round tested the Dao Heart, to see if one's will to cultivate immortality was firm.
The elders of the Profound Heaven Holy Land set up an Asking Heart Formation on the plaza, and then signaled Su Qingyue and the others to enter the formation.
"Once you enter the formation, it will automatically activate. This formation will trigger the deepest obsessions, fears, and desires in your hearts. The time limit is one day. If you cannot walk out of this formation within a day, it means you have no destiny with our Profound Heaven Holy Land."
Without any hesitation, Su Qingyue stepped into the formation.
Su Qingyue found that she had stepped into a world woven from memories and thoughts, a world that belonged only to her and Qin Hao.
She returned to the courtyard of the Su family. Qin Hao arrived treading on the moonlight, his dual pupils shining like stars. He had pulled her out of the mire during her most desperate times.
The scene shifted. Qin Hao led Su Qingyue to an underwater world, holding her hand as they strolled; in an endless sea of flowers, Qin Hao wove a floral blanket and took her soaring; in a bustling mortal kingdom, Qin Hao bought her all sorts of interesting little trinkets.
Every detail was incredibly lifelike, carrying a sweetness even richer than reality.
The way Qin Hao looked at her was so gentle it could drown her soul. She indulged in it, almost unwilling to wake up.
Suddenly—, Su Qingyue snapped her eyes open, the confusion and attachment in her eyes fading away:
"This isn't him! The one I want to chase after is the real Qin Hao, not an illusion! To immerse myself in this fake gentleness would be failing Qin Hao!"
With this, her thoughts became clear and unobstructed, and her Dao Heart became as pure as glazed glass.
"Boom—"
Su Qingyue only felt her entire body lighten. All the pressure and emotions imposed by the illusions vanished completely. At the same time, the incredulous and slightly trembling voice of the elder in charge reached her ears:
"Su... Su Qingyue, passed. Time taken: nine breaths!"
Nine breaths. As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue fell silent.
From stepping into the formation, to experiencing the illusionary interrogation that pointed straight at her true heart, and finally comprehending her true self and breaking out of the formation, she had only used nine breaths of time!
"Breaking the Asking Heart Formation in nine breaths!!! This temperament is simply heaven-defying! A flawless Dao Heart, this girl's future is limitless!!!!"
Qin Hao stood among the crowd, gazing at Su Qingyue's upright back with deep approval in his eyes. To shatter the Heart-Questioning Array in just nine breaths, with such an unwavering state of mind, she would surely succeed in whatever she chose to do in the future.
As if sensing his gaze, Su Qingyue turned to look back. Her eyes cut through the crowd and landed precisely on Qin Hao. The moment their eyes met, a pure and empowering smile bloomed on her face.
"Look, I passed another trial. I am a little bit closer to you now."
Up in the stands, an Immortal Lord elder furrowed his brows upon seeing this scene. "What is the deal with that brat in the Golden Core Realm? He doesn't seem to be participating in the assessment."
"Indeed, he is not. Judging by Su Qingyue's attitude toward him, their relationship seems far from ordinary."
Hearing this, Daoist Lieyang let out a cold sneer. "A proud daughter of heaven like Su Qingyue is not someone he is worthy of coveting. Once Su Qingyue passes the third trial, we will eliminate that Golden Core brat, lest any inappropriate thoughts drag her down."