"Disciple selection grounds? Heavenly Immortal? What is this place?" Thought Lin Tian.

 

Lin Tian could only lay there as his vision slowly started to fade back in. As he laid on the ground he looked around the place that he was in. He was in a small circular cave that was roughly ten meters across. The walls were flawless as if the chamber was carved out in a single scoop. The room was brightly lit by a single white stone mounted in the middle of the ceiling. To his right, there was a corridor leading off to an unknown place. Above where he fell, there was a thin crack showing the azure sky and rolling clouds.

 

Lin Tian heaved a sigh of relief as he didn't see the Silver-maned Wolf through the crack. After waiting a while he could probably try to climb out and head back home. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he found the energy to sit up only to scream in pain. A jolt of pain shot through his right arm when he used it to support himself. He must have broken it when he fell down the hole. Lin Tian opened his sack of supplies looking for anything to help him. Inside there was only a trowel, a map of the mountain, the five Ghost Mushrooms, and a sheepskin of water.

 

There was nothing that he could use to make a splint, so he would just have to be a bit more careful with his arm. The real problem was that he wouldn't be able to climb out the way he came without the use if his right arm. Lin Tian set his eyes on the corridor and thought back to what that voice said earlier. This must be a place created by a cultivator. He only jumped out of the frying pan to land in the fire, there was no way that this place was safe for him.

 

A trace of panic started to set in as he took in his situation. He was in an unknown place in the forbidden region of the mountain, had limited supplies, and no expectation of anyone finding him even if they cared to look. There was only one thing he could think of.

 

"Esteemed Senior, this little one is only a regular mortal. I have no place being here. If you could help me leave, then I will forever remember senior's kindness." Reverently spoke Lin Tian to the voice. Several breaths of time quickly passed. Just as Lin Tian gave up the thought that the voice would answer back it said.

 

"Welcome trial goer to the final disciple selection ground of Heavenly Immortal Alldao."  Reverberated a deep voice. "When you are ready, head through the corridor to the first test."

 

Lin Tian's heart sunk at that moment. It appeared that this senior had no intention of helping him. "Esteemed Senior, please. I really don't have the qualifications for this. I'm only a mortal that can't cultivate." Panickily spoke Lin Tian.

 

"That matters not. This test only looks for qualifications, not the lack of. On the matter of cultivation talent, even less so." Said the voice after some time. "Proceed to the first test."

 

This gave Lin Tian a small glimmer of hope. If cultivation talent didn't matter, then there shouldn't be anything life-threatening for him here. He quickly weighed his options, stay here and starve or try his luck.

 

"Very well. I'll take the test." Said Lin Tian. The voice didn't answer him back as if waiting for him to proceed. He walked up to the corridor and peered down it. It was the same smooth walls lit by small white stones that seemed to stretch on forever. Taking one step after another he walked down the only path left to him.

 

After roughly an hour of walking, the path started to slant downwards further into the ground. As he walked, the light given off by the white stones started to dim down the further he went. With the fading of the light was also a drop-in temperature. The once slightly chilly air now turned cold. Lin Tian huddled up in his threadbare clothes as he continued to walk forward and his breath turned icy. It was only when the lighting turned so dim that he could barely see the hand in front of his face that the path finally evened out and he arrived at a new stone chamber.

 

"Trial goer, this is the location of the first test. The contents are simple, in the center of the room there are bowls of nuts and pine needles. All you have to do is stay in this room and thread the nuts with the pine needles, that is it." Said the voice.

 

"That's it? How many do I have to do? For how long?" asked Lin Tian with his arms hugging his chest. However, the voice chose not to answer him no matter the question he asked. This left Lin Tian alone to complete the task. He carefully made his way to the middle of the dark room and found the bowls that the voice told him about on a low stone table.

 

He sat down and took a nut and pine needle to begin the test. He remembered seeing them made one time when he was younger in the kitchens. There was a small hole at the tip of the nut that you could thread a pine needle into.

 

Lin Tian found the task to be quite challenging after trying for a while. His right arm was all but useless and it caused him pain to just hold the nut with it. The room was also so dim that he had problems seeing anything. He held the nut only centimeters in front of his face as he tried to thread the nuts. The frigid air was also starting to get to him as he huddled down looking for warmth. His hands kept shaking from the cold which made the once simple job several folds harder.

 

After two long hours, Lin Tian was starting to get frustrated with the task. He couldn't even string together one nut in this cold and dark environment. The voice was also not helpful as it didn't even tell him how long the test would be or even what he needed to do to pass. After failing for the hundredth time he finally stood up and threw them down in disgust.

 

"What kind of test is this? I thought this was the disciple test of a cultivator, not a cook. How am I even supposed to do this when I can't see anything and it's so cold that I can't hold my hands still?" Complained Lin Tian. "That's it, I'm done. Senior, I've tried and failed. I no longer wish to participate in this test. All I ask is that you send me out of these grounds and I will never set foot here again."

 

These words fell on deaf ears as Lin Tian waited for a reply. The fatigue from earlier today was finally catching up to him. He was beaten up just the day before, trained throughout the morning, and ran from a pack of Silver-maned Wolves. It was amazing that he was even able to focus on the task for as long as he did.

 

He turned back to the corridor that he came from only to notice that the passage disappeared. There were only solid walls surrounding him that left him trapped.

 

"Esteemed senior, I'm sorry if I was rude earlier. Please let me leave!" Shouted Lin Tian. He yelled for mercy for a while longer before realizing that it wasn't going to work. With his hopes dashed he settled into a corner of the room to sleep, completely forgetting about the test. The frigid cold and the pain from his broken arm made it hard to fall asleep. He rolled up tightly into a ball and slept fitfully. He tossed and turned for what seemed like an eternity before deeply falling asleep.

 

He awoke after a lengthy period of time. Lin Tian felt much better after a long rest despite the pain in his arm. The room was also warm enough that he didn't feel cold.

 

Warm?

 

Lin Tian looked around and found out that he was no longer in that dark cave, but a brightly lit room. The walls of the room were stuffed completely full of bookshelves and scrolls. In the center of the room was another stone table that had two cups sitting on it.

 

"Senior, where am I? Didn't I fail the first test?" Yelled out Lin Tian.

 

"Trial goer, like I said in the past, these tests only look for qualifications, not the lack of. This test can be said to be simpler than the last. All you need to do is drink one of the cups before you." Said the voice.

 

"Drink one of the cups? That's it?" Asked Lin Tian as he walked over to the cups. They appeared to both be filled with the same clear liquid.

 

Just as he was about to drink one of the cups the voice called out, "Be careful of your choice though, one of the cups contains poison."

 

Lin Tian immediately sat the cup back down on the table and stepped back. He angrily glared up at the ceiling as the voice started to laugh.

 

"Damn it, some things you should say earlier."

 

"That's what you deserve brat for talking rudely to me before, but that truly is the test. This room is filled with books. Take as much or as little time as you need to make your choice." Said the voice as it faded.

 

Once again Lin Tian was left on his own to take the test. He stared listlessly at the mountains of books before him. The voice may have said that this task was easier, but to Lin Tian it was impossible.

 

"Senior, I've already made my choice." Yelled out Lin Tian.

 

"What? Surely there have been some in the past that left it up to fate, but they at least had the decency to pretend to look for the answer. Are you sure that you wish to blindly guess?" Questioned the voice.

 

"No, it's just that I can't read. I'd rather not throw my life away to a simple gamble, so I'd rather choose neither cup." Calmly stated Lin Tian.

 

He was left in silence for a while before the voice shrieked out, "You can't read! That old master of mine would probably die out of embarrassment if he knew that an illiterate person like you was taking his test. Fine, we will move on to the last test if this is your choice."

 

"Last test? Fine, let's finish this. Take me to the last test."

 

After feeling a slight pull in his chest Lin Tian's sight changed as he found himself in an entirely different area. He appeared to be in some sort of coliseum across from a skinny Silver-maned wolf in a cage.

 

"The final test is simple, kill that Silver-maned wolf." Nonchalantly said the voice. With that the cage door burst open as the Silver-maned wolf freed itself. Its teeth shined with saliva as it found a tasty treat and it was starving. It gave out a loud howl into the air before it started running towards Lin Tian.

 

Fuck! It just had to be a Silver-maned wolf.

 

"Senior, Please! I'm just a mortal, you know I can't kill a Vicious Beast. You said that cultivation talent doesn't matter. I give up!" pleaded Lin Tian as he started to run away.

 

"It truly doesn't matter. Even an early Houtian stage cultivator or equivalent could kill this wolf. This is the final test, kill it or die." Emotionlessly said the voice.

 

It only took Lin Tian several breaths of time before he made it to the edge of the Coliseum and the wolf made it in only several more. It stopped several meters before Lin Tian as it lowered its head while growling. There was a certain cruelty in its eyes as if it knew that this prey couldn't do anything. It swatted its giant paw at Lin Tian to watch him dodge these potentially fatal strikes.

 

Lin Tian's heart was beating rapidly as he looked into the giant crimson eye of the wolf. This was it, he spent his entire life just to die pitifully like this. He was ostracized by his clan, left to the mercy of others, and couldn't do anything about it. Now was he expected to roll over and become the food of this overgrown wolf. No!

 

Lin Tian stood up straighter as he balled his fist and ran towards the wolf.  He ran towards the left of the wolf and punched out with his broken right arm. The wolf caught his arm in its mouth and bit down hard. Lin Tian felt a splitting pain as his vision started to black out. After this, his arm would almost certainly be crippled if he wasn't eaten here.

 

"If my right arm is yours, then I'll take your right eye." Gritted Lin Tian through the pain. He swung his left fist straight into the eye that mocked him earlier. Though he wasn't a cultivator, the strength of a regular mortal shouldn't be looked down upon.  Even a mortal could kill a god if the right conditions were met.

 

The soft eye of the wolf ruptured as the fist went through it. The wolf let go of his arm in surprise as it reeled back. His arm was just a mess of flesh and blood at this point. The wolf retreated a couple of paces as it angrily looked at the ant that took its eye. No, it wasn't looking at an ant anymore, but a true threat. The wolf rushed towards Lin Tian as it wasn't going to play around with him anymore.

 

It raised its head up high and opened its jaws wide to eat him whole. Lin Tian stubbornly looked at the incoming danger through his fading vision to meet the wolf head one.

 

“Just one more eye, and I'll make you feel the pain of becoming a true cripple.” Thought Lin Tian as he readied himself.

 

 Just as the wolf and Lin Tian were about to clash his vision went dark. The wolf disappeared from his sight as a giant green snake took its place.

 

"Congratulations! You are the first person in the history of these grounds to fail all three tests." Sarcastically said the giant green snake.