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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 6: [Battle for the True Inheritance]
Chapter 1 (542): [The Ranking of New Recruits]
(1st of Volume 6)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Spirit Mountain (Mount Ling) soared thousands of feet into the sky, its peak appearing as if cleaved by a single sword strike, forming a vast rocky plateau.
Upon this summit, towering pavilions and solemn black halls stood amidst ancient Spiritual Wood forests, exuding their historical depth undeniable.
Thirteen ancient pagodas hung suspended in the clouds, their forms flickering in and out of view, merging seamlessly with the Heaven-Earth Spring.
It remained unclear whether these were spiritual artifacts or the dwelling of some mysterious, powerful figure.
On the Azure Jade Formation-stone paved plaza, newly enlisted lower-rank Sentinels patrolled and stood guard.
They all bowed respectfully upon seeing Elder Qin.
Among the Sentinels on duty, Li Weiyi recognized a familiar face: Tuoba Butuo, the Silver Pure Immortal Physique.
Tuoba Butuo's face lit up with joy as he waved from afar, shouting, "Brother Weiyi! Wonderful! You're here too? I heard you became the Grand Palace Master's disciple?"
Li Weiyi wasn't particularly surprised to see Tuoba.
After all, the veteran Sentinel Spirit Tuoba Tao was one of the Tuoba clan's Founding Ancestors.
How could he not nurture his outstanding descendants?
While the Sentinel Spirit Army's duties were dangerous, they were funded by various factions.
With genuine talent, one could acquire cultivation resources unavailable elsewhere.
The rigorous training further stimulated potential, allowing rapid advancement through competition.
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Weiyi said, "I'm going to pay my respects to the Deputy Watchtower Sentinel Lord first. You stay here and keep watch. Don't get caught slacking."
The Sentinel Spirit Army's discipline was strict.
No sooner had Li Weiyi finished speaking than a stern voice, seemingly emanating from nowhere, echoed above Tuoba Butuo's head: "Chatting while on duty. Three days' Merit Points deducted."
Tuoba Butuo wore a look of tearful resignation, daring not to utter another word.
As they walked across the plaza, Li Weiyi murmured, "The Sentinel Spirit Army is too strict, isn't it? We were just catching up."
"If we're not strict with new recruits, the entire Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp would descend into chaos. Anyone could break the rules with impunity. What difference would it be from a marketplace?" Elder Qin replied, sounding stern and righteous.
Hearing these words from the old man's mouth, Li Weiyi couldn't help but feel a strange sense of incongruity.
Vice Hall Master Liu Tianchen, hailing from the Liu Clan - the foremost of the eight clans of the Rainforest Living Realm - had lived for 2,800 years. He presided over the Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp's main hall through a willow wood clone.
Legend held that Liu Tianchen had cultivated five clones, having mastered the fifth stage of the "Eight Clans Techniques" . Each clone possessed unfathomable combat prowess, earning him the title "Six Lives Transcendent" in southern Yingzhou.
He appeared to be around fifty years old, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and sharp eyes.
Clad in dark armor, he sat at a bronze table, reviewing scrolls.
Every day, a massive influx of intelligence poured in from watchtower camps across the Life Realms and Nether Realms.
After being processed by the Spirit Pivot Group, these reports were delivered to him in batches.
"Enter!"
Hearing the summons from within, Li Weiyi followed Elder Qin into the camp hall, maintaining a respectful posture.
The deep black hall stretched thirty zhang in length and housed a small teleportation formation used solely for urgent intelligence transmissions.
Sixteen figures sat on either side of the hall, all experts from the Spirit Pivot Group, their desks piled high with scrolls.
"Greetings, Deputy Sentinel Lord," the two men bowed in unison.
Li Weiyi was unaware that the Deputy Sentinel Lord before him was merely a clone, sensing only the man's immense presence and overwhelming life force.
As they drew closer, it felt like entering another world, where the sound of flowing water and birdsong filled the air, and the fragrant scent of vegetation permeated the surroundings.
This was a self-contained domain!
Behind Liu Tianchen, a panoramic map of the East Sea hung on the wall, marking the territories of the Dead Spirit Fiends along the coastal regions.
Clearly, the East Sea and its surrounding areas were currently the Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp's primary focus for surveillance.
Liu Tianchen set down the communication talisman, his gaze deep as he turned to Elder Qin.
"The Space Teleportation Formation in the Forbidden Palace Mountains has been destroyed. Traveling to Cave Ruins (Dongxu) Ghost City will now require an eighty-thousand-mile detour."
"Mo Qin, investigate who's responsible. Be cautious. Recent events - the Mist Celestial's return and the Immortal Dao Dragon Vein's resurgence - have stirred up the Nether Realm of the Dead, making it unusually active."
The southern region of the Hundred Realms of the Living falls under the Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp's surveillance.
"The Taiyin Sect has arrived too!"
Elder Qin handed over the Whistle and summoned the battle corpse.
Li Weiyi noticed a white mist rising around them, obscuring the sixteen Spirit Pivot Group members within the camp hall.
"Xie Wumian and Luo Pingdan are the Taiyin Sect's most promising young talents. Now that they've entered Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp territory, we can't let them leave."
Liu Tianchen fell into thought, then picked up a brush and began drafting a mission targeting the Taiyin Sect on a leather scroll.
Elder Qin added, "Capturing them alive would reveal many truths. The Twelve Tai Yin Envoys are still young, but I fear older members of the sect may have also come to the East Sea."
"Since Luo Pingdan can command armies of fierce souls and Corpse Spirits, Chu Yutian must have already visited the Dead Spirit Transcendent here. Even without the Taiyin Sect's elders, this matter is exceedingly troublesome."
...
After their discussion concluded, Liu Tianchen's gaze finally settled on Li Weiyi.
"Since the Sentinel Lord himself has approved it, take him to complete the enlistment procedures first."
An hour later, Li Weiyi received a large quantity of supplies:
Sentinel Whistle, Sentinel Sword, Blood Crystals, armor, Waist Token, Talisman Seal, Blood Valley Pills...
The Sentinel Sword was a slender, foot-long blade, a Ninth-Grade Hundred-Inscriptions Artifact, as thin as a needle and lacking a hilt.
Every Martial-Mystic Cultivator had their preferred weapon, and Sentinels weren't forced to use the Sentinel Sword.
It was only required during Combined Sword Formation training, as the blade was inscribed with formation glyphs essential for unleashing the formation's full power.
He received three Blood Valley Pills, each capable of providing ten days' worth of high-quality Blood Qi nourishment for a Sentinel Spirit.
Outside the Merit Hall, a three-zhang-tall Jade Wall was covered in densely packed bamboo plaques.
As the wind rustled through them, they produced a pleasant, rattling sound.
Curious, Li Weiyi approached the wall.
The plaques displayed names and rankings:
"Yuan Zhen Guard, Valiant Guard: Yuan Zhen."
"Jade Sword Guard, Valiant Guard: Chang Yujian."
"Lu Qing Guard, Valiant Guard: Lu Qing."
"Yan Xue Guard, Valiant Guard: Tong Yanxue."
...
Elder Qin walked up behind Li Weiyi, his hands clasped behind his back, and grinned.
"This year's recruits! Five Mid-level Sentinel Guards and five Low-level Sentinel Guards, each guard with about a hundred men."
"The top five recruits in the Sentinel Assessment Trials can name their guards after themselves, and that name will remain until the end of their three-year probationary (recruit) period."
"For the next three years, all learning, training, trials, assessments, quarterly exams, and annual exams will be conducted by guards."
Li Weiyi asked, "So many recruits? Didn't you say you only recruit a dozen or so from the Lingxiao Realm?"
Elder Qin replied, "The Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp recruits Sentinels proportionally to the population of each Life Realm. The Lingxiao Realm has suffered decades of war, followed by the Demon Calamity and the Corpse-Sowing Rice disaster, causing its population to plummet. Some prefectures are now nine-tenths deserted. As a result, we only recruited ten Sentinels and two Sentinel Spirits... no, wait, there was one who came uninvited, making it three."
"Actually, we rarely recruit many Sentinel Spirits in previous years! But we lost a batch of them in the East Sea and urgently need replacements. Otherwise, we'll have no one available. That's why we're recruiting so heavily this time."
"You should know that Sentinels in the Dao Seed Realm focus primarily on training and learning. Only after reaching the Immortal Realm and becoming Sentinel Spirits are they deployed to the Nether Realm of the Dead for dangerous missions."
Li Weiyi scanned the rankings for the mid-tier Sentinel Assessment.
"Chang Yujian" was prominently listed in second place.
In the East Sea, he had been a helper invited by the Calamity Crossing Temple, not a disciple of the temple.
The Chang Clan's domain, the Chang Lake Habitat, was a mid-sized Life Realm with a population of two to three hundred million.
Like Azure Earth, it was a vassal state of the Demon Kingdom.
Elder Qin said, "Chang Yujian is no ordinary man. It's said that a Demon Kingdom Transcendent from the Calamity Crossing Temple helped him obtain Immortal Herb. He's been in seclusion recently, cultivating the Immortal Body."
"Why didn't he seize this opportunity to join the Calamity Crossing Temple instead of coming to such a dangerous place like the Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp?" Li Weiyi asked, surprised.
He knew the Chang Clan was an extremely powerful Ancient Clan, their influence extending far beyond the Chang Lake Habitat, reaching even the Demon Kingdom's highest echelons of power.
Elder Qin explained, "First, to be selected by the Sentinel Spirit Army, his character must have been impeccable for the past few decades. Second, Ancient Clans always hedge their bets to ensure their lineage survives. They would never concentrate all their talented descendants in one place. Since Chang Yuqing is already at the Calamity Crossing Temple, Chang Yujian naturally sought another path."
Li Weiyi asked, "Is the Demon Kingdom also one of the twenty Life Realms surrounding Cave Ruins (Dongxu) Ghost City? Their population is said to exceed ten billion, not counting vassal states like Chang Lake Habitat and Azure Earth. How many Sentinels must they recruit?"
Elder Qin replied, "The Demon Kingdom is the largest Life Realm in the southern Hundred Realms of the Living. How could the Cave Void (Dongxu) Camp escape its influence? The more powerful a Life Realm, the more resources it sends to the Sentinel Spirit Army."
"Don't worry too much! Although there are many Sentinels from the Demon Kingdom, they've all been screened, and we have ways to keep them from forming factions."
"Besides, the Demon Kingdom itself is divided into warring factions, constantly fighting each other."
Li Weiyi secretly marveled at the Demon Kingdom's terrifying scale - it was truly a colossal power.
No wonder a mere crown prince could nearly overthrow the Lingxiao Realm.
Elder Qin stared at the bamboo tokens on the Jade Wall.
"Yuan Zhen, Lu Qing, Tong Yanxue, Yu Zheng... these are no ordinary individuals. Each possesses extraordinary talent."
"Yuan Zhen is a Transcendent Child from the Calamity Crossing Realm - a female Transcendent. Her physical body is exceptionally robust, her bones, tendons, and skin imbued with innate Transcendent Scriptures. Her strength surpasses even Chang Yujian's."
"It remains to be seen whether Chang Yujian can cultivate the Immortal Body."
"Lu Qing is the foremost expert in the Crimson Bright Realm below the Immortal Realm. Of course, this title changes every few years. At his current level, he'll soon break through to Immortal Realm."
"Yu Zheng is a member of the Demon Kingdom's Imperial Clan, the great-grandson of the Heavenly Emperor."
"Ranks sixth through tenth are all Deputy Valiant Guards."
Li Weiyi couldn't find Tang Zhan or Liu Ye's names.
They likely reached the Immortal Realm before the trials and participated in the Sentinel Spirit Assessment instead.
Moreover, Liu Ye wasn't a new recruit; she seemed more like someone with connections.
"The five mid-tier Sentinel Guards have already been assigned. What about me?" Li Weiyi asked.
"Just join any guard," Old Daoist Qin said casually.
Li Weiyi asked, "Wouldn't that mean I'd have to take orders from the Valiant Guard and Deputy Valiant Guard?"
"Who told you to arrive late? Or you could join the Spiritual Master Guard. They have plenty of beautiful women there, and rumor has it that one of them is particularly stunning - the most beautiful woman of this generation in the Life Realm. Besides, everyone thinks your Martial-Mystic Dao path is broken anyway. This is the perfect opportunity to cultivate your Psychic Power to the Holy Spiritual Master Realm. I tried to join back in my day, but unfortunately, I didn't make the cut," Elder Qin sighed wistfully.
"Can I become a Valiant Guard?"
"No."
Li Weiyi sighed softly.
Having grown accustomed to being a Divine Hidden One, he found it difficult to take orders from Martial-Mystic Cultivators of his own generation.
He asked, "What do the numbers after the top ten in the new recruits' list mean?"
Elder Qin pulled Li Weiyi around to the other side of the Jade Wall.
"The New Recruits' Merit List! The top ten recruits in the Sentinel Spirit Assessment receive Merit Points ranging from one hundred to five hundred."
"Merit Points are hard to earn for new recruits. You only get one point for a full day of training without making any mistakes."
"You need to be in the top hundred to even get your name on the Merit List."
Li Weiyi noticed that Yuan Zhen, ranked first, had 506 Merit Points, while many of those ranked lower had single-digit scores.
He couldn't help but ask, "Are Merit Points only for getting your name on a list? Are there no tangible benefits? Like, can you directly become a Valiant Guard?"
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END OF CHAPTER
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