The next day, early in the morning.
The Outer Sea Palace was bustling with activity, especially around the periphery of the Tenth Direction Palace. Many Sea Palace disciples had arrived.
The location of the test was in the center of the ten Sea Palaces of the Tenth Direction Palace. It was a lone island floating in the deep sea, and on the island was an arena that was ten thousand meters wide.
Around the arena, there were four thousand-meter-tall stone pillars. Every stone pillar was engraved with different patterns of dragons and phoenixes. One was a coiling green dragon with five sharp claws and a dragon in its mouth. Its scales emitted a faint green glow. Another was a phoenix that was reborn in flames. It was filled with endless vitality, like a bird burning with flames. Another was a white tiger that was lying dormant, incomparably ferocious. The last one was a tortoise with a snake's head and a tortoise's body intertwined with a snake's head, a Black Tortoise.
"The Four Beasts Formation?"
When he saw the four stone pillars, Qin Shi recognized the formation within. Jade In The Book had used this formation in the past, but it had not been as strong as the four stone pillars. Unless one was at the World Realm, it would be difficult to damage the Four Beasts Formation.
The arena, protected by the Four Beasts Formation, was the location of the test. Around the arena were spectator seats in a staircase. In the north, facing south, there was a high platform. The high platform was divided into two sides. On one side, there were ten dragon chairs, and on the other side, there were several chairs that were even more prestigious than the dragon chairs.
As the many people from the Sea Palace gradually arrived, the spectator stands began to sparsely fill their seats. Every single one of them was undoubtedly a well-known existence in the outer Sea Palace. The participants were led to the front of the Four Beasts Formation, where they quietly waited for the boundary to open before entering the arena within the Four Beasts Formation for the test. There were over ten thousand participants in a majestic manner. The ones gathered here were all the elites of the outer Sea Palace's younger generation.
Among the nearly ten thousand young disciples, the lowest cultivation level was at least at the Domain Realm. In the Human Realm, these tens of thousands of disciples would at least be elders of the Eight Domains. But here, they were merely participating disciples of the outer Sea Palace. Thinking of this, one could see the gap between the Human Realm and the 7,000 Sea Palace.
Qin Shi looked around and asked curiously, "Why don't I see any disciples of the Tenth Direction Palace?"
Chen Yan snorted disdainfully, "Will the disciples of the Ten Direction Palace participate in this test?
Their spots have already been decided internally. In truth, there are a total of fifty outer sea palace disciples participating in the Deep Sea Genesis reservoir, but we're only competing for thirty spots, while the remaining twenty have been divided up by the Tenth Hall. Two spots per hall has been an unspoken rule for nearly a thousand years. "
"Internally decided?"
Qin Shi nodded. He was no exception to this. In this world, it was always like this. The strong enjoyed the oxygen of the upper echelons while the weak struggled at the bottom. As the Ten Direction Palace was the Ten Direction Palace, it was normal for it to be superior to the other outer sea palaces.
At this moment, Qin Shi clearly felt several unfriendly gazes, including Mu Li from the Mu Clan Sea Palace, Qiu Ming, Qiu Chuhe, and Qiu Chuer from the Twin Palace, and Luo Ye from the Mad King Palace. Qin Shi only smiled faintly at them. They were no longer on the same level as Qin Shi. If not for the fact that he wanted to enter the inner 3,000, Qin Shi would never have participated in such a boring test.
"Qiu Ming didn't need to participate, but the Twin Palace wanted an extra spot, so his spot was temporarily given to another disciple," said Chen Yan.
Qin Shi nodded. This was the same situation as him.
At this moment, several sea palace masters on the viewing platform began to discuss, "Hehe, the lineup for the Deep Sea Genesis reservoir selection test is quite astonishing. In previous years, there were practically no palace masters participating, but this time, three palace masters have appeared at the same time. Moreover, the two remaining Curse Domain stage Demon Talisman Masters are also present. Hehe, it's going to be interesting this time."
"Yes, Qin Shi, Chen Yan, and Mu Li are three palace masters. The Twin Palace's Qiu Ming is also very strong, even stronger than Chen Yan and Mu Li. Coupled with Qiu Chuer's soul power, this battle will definitely be very exciting."
"Including Luo Ye, they should all be able to obtain a spot."
"Not necessarily. The grudges between them are very deep, and this battle will most likely turn into an internal struggle between them."
"But no matter what, the participants from the outer 3,000 will definitely give the outer 3,000 a fright. It can be said that they have gained face for us outer 3,000. I hope that the upper echelons will be able to allocate more resources next year."
Many palace masters and elders discussed. At this moment, the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
On the central platform, there were ten noble dragon thrones. Ten white-haired old men with skin as smooth as a baby's jade slowly descended from the sky. As soon as the ten old men appeared, the atmosphere around the arena immediately became tense. It was as if the drop of a needle could cause a huge wave. Many of the palace masters and elders present were famous figures in the outer sea, but in front of these ten old men, they were all very humble. They all lowered their heads in humility.
"These are the ten old monsters of the Shifo Palace," said Chen Yan.
Qin Shi nodded, evidently also guessing that Craneshadow was ranked third.
"Ten World realm experts?"
Qin Shi puckered his lips as he spoke with shock as he gazed at the ten old men. All of these ten old men were at the World Realm or above, and such strength was sufficient to look down upon the eight Region Lords of the eight regions of the Mortal Dimension.
"Yes, and these ten people are like gods in the outer sea palaces. No sea palace dares to provoke them."
Chen Yan paused for a moment before pointing to the last name. "The last one is the Palace Master of the Tenth Hall. His name is Zhou Yu, but don't underestimate him just because he is ranked last. Actually, he is the strongest among the ten. The next one is First Hall Palace Master Zhang Yang, and the fifth is Shui Jun. These three are collectively known as the Three Minor Yuan Venerates. They are the three Great Venerates of the Tenth Hall and have absolute authority in the Tenth Hall. As for the rest, they are slightly weaker. From the Second Hall Palace to the Fourth Hall Palace, they are Zou Yi, Craneshadow, Sun Xi, and the Ninth Hall's Xiao Hu."
"These ten people are colluding with each other. They have embezzled a lot of cultivation resources from the outer sea palaces over the years," Chen Yan said.
Qin Shi noted down the names of these ten people but did not say anything. Among these ten, besides the Three Minor Yuan Venerates, the rest had only reached the Initial Success Realm. The Three Minor Yuan Venerates were barely at the peak of the Initial Success Realm and had yet to reach the Advanced Success Realm. Therefore, he did not feel much pressure from these ten people, as he had even seen Transcending Realms before. However, given his current strength, he could not intimidate these ten people for the time being.
"He he … Everyone, it must have been tough on you to come all the way here." First Hall Master Zhang Yang chuckled.
"Old Zhang Yang must be joking. We are only able to send our disciples to participate in the Deep Sea Source Reservoir trial because of the honor of the Shifo Palace."
"Ha ha … You are too polite. Are these the candidates for this year's test?"
At that moment, the ten people shifted their gazes to the front of the Four Beast Array and saw the tens of thousands of outer sea disciples nodding in admiration. "Yes, the standard of this year's disciples is much higher than before. This proves that we can't enter the outer sea anymore."
"Eh, there are actually two Hall Masters?" Suddenly, the Leigong God chuckled as his gaze landed on Mu Li and Chen Yan.
Craneshadow chuckled. "He he … It's not just two. There should be three."
"Three?" The Leigong God was taken aback. He looked around curiously but did not see any other familiar figures.
"This is the Qin Palace Master, who has just been established in the outer sea." Craneshadow pointed at Qin Shi.
"Oh?
He is the Qin Palace Master, Qin Shi? "It was not just the Leigong God. The other old monsters also turned to look at Qin Shi.
Even they were paying attention to Qin Shi's killing of two World Realm experts. Of course, they did not care about Qin Shi's cultivation or whether he had really killed World Realm experts. What they were concerned about was Qin Shi's advanced Curse Domain stage Demon Talisman Master status. Curse Domain stage Demon Talisman Masters were highly sought after treasures in the outer sea palaces. Even their Shifo Palace was no exception.
Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes and said, "Hehe, little guy, you are Qin Shi?"
Qin Shi smiled humbly and cupped his fists. "Yes, I am."
"Eh?"
Zhang Yang was taken aback. Just like Craneshadow, he immediately stroked his beard and praised with a smile, "Unfazed by praise and humiliation?
Haha, not bad, little guy. You are very courageous. You are truly a young hero. "
"Senior is overpraising me."
Qin Shi smiled and shook his head. Soon after, his flamboyant gaze paused on Qin Shi's body for a while, but he did not say anything else. After all, the most important thing now was this test. At this moment, a gaze that was like a knife suddenly descended, shining in the area around Qin Shi, causing him to involuntarily frown. Only then did he raise his head, only to see a greedy and disgusting old man's eyes sweeping over Chen Yan's body at this moment. It was as if the old man wanted to use his knife like eyes to tear apart Chen Yan's clothes, revealing the jade like skin beneath. Xiao Hu's lustful appearance was not the slightest bit concealed.
"Hehe, Palace Master Chen Yan, I haven't seen you for so many years. You are still as beautiful as ever," Xiao Hu said.
Chen Yan frowned slightly and snorted in disdain, "Hehe, old man, you too."
"How about it?
Now that you have become the Palace Master, when will you consider coming to this old man's place and let this old man enjoy the happiness of a family? "
Chen Yan coldly said, "Hehe, I'm just afraid that your half-buried body won't make it. Don't die on me and make me a sinner for all eternity."
Xiao Hu didn't seem to be angered by Chen Yan's insult. "Hehe, don't worry. This old man is still healthy. I will let you have a taste of my spear sooner or later!"
Many sea palaces frowned. However, due to Xiao Hu's status, they only dared to be angry but did not dare to say anything.
At this moment, Qin Shi slightly narrowed his eyes and his expression turned cold. Lu Peng said, "Big Brother, you might not know this, but Xiao Hu is a famous pervert in the outer region. Just his harem alone has three thousand concubines, and many young ladies in the outer region have not been able to escape his evil claws. Two years ago, when he saw Chen Yan, it was love at first sight. He even said that if he couldn't sleep with Chen Yan within ten years, he would make the Rashomon Palace disappear from the outer region.