Archaic Chosen?
The title instantly caught the attention of everyone, finding it rather strange that this young man here was given a special appellation. Was this young man special? What did 'Archaic' mean?
While they were all wondering about its meaning, Lin Ming's rising momentum was disturbed, and his left eyelids spasmed slightly. Similarly, the True Element Sect's members were all shaken by the unique title. They were fully aware of its origins. Amongst the various Chosen, Lin Ming was the sole Chosen granted access by archaic standards from long ago, an ancient trial that he passed. It wasn't updated nor heavily regulated, honoring the intentions of the Nine-Elementus Divine King.
After arriving at the sect, there was a lot of push back towards Lin Ming's status from all sides. Initially, few openly objected due to the Guardian of the Elements, Han Yuhei, stating its legitimacy, but as the truth of his succession came to light, the title changed in its meaning, becoming a jeering term of derogatory meaning by those who disliked Lin Ming.
As such, the True Element Sect's members all had strange expressions. Lin Xianxei's expression was overcast, her eyes flickered with indescribable emotion. "It's the Golden Gate Pavilion," she softly whispered to her mother, feeling certain of this.
It could already be seen that the Everlore Association was using Heavenly Seers to glean information from the challengers, and determine truth from lies. After all, just because someone arrived with a specific force, that didn't mean they were a part of that organization. They needed to sift through that.
Shockingly though, the Everlore Association didn't use their Heavenly Seers but the Golden Gate Pavilion's Seers. The relationship between the two wasn't very good, at least to the public. It might be possible that the Golden Gate Pavilion had offered their services. This felt like the only way that made sense, given the Everlore Association's prideful nature.
"It's just a title," Lin Xianxian flatly said. She realized the intricate layers that this detail revealed. Fortunately, she didn't think the Golden Gate Pavilion would act unfairly against Lin Ming despite this little act of theirs. It didn't seem like they had affected the entity level. It felt roughly appropriate given the previous challenges.
That said, she felt that the standards had been lowered by a considerable degree after so many failures, or else Lin Ming might have faced a stronger level.
"I hope so," Lin Xianxei softly said as she gazed at the figure standing on the stage like an upright spear. She hoped it was only that and nothing else.
"..." Within the vast crowd of elites and elders, there was an outlined area meant for vagabond cultivators without a specific organization and bronze-rank forces that vastly overestimated themselves, hoping to experience a growth in their horizons. They got extremely lucky and were rewarded for their gumption.
It was the largest area in the entire area, occupied by the most people, and a sphere of random energies above carrying all nine elemental energies. Huang Xiaolong had occupied a spot here, isolated by himself with his disciple, and a few others as well. They took it upon themselves to make individual imaginary areas of friends and allies, separating from enemies and competitors.
A hooded figure cloaked in grey was meditating silently, their breathing steady yet powerful. Instinctively, everyone gave this figure a wide berth. When Lin Ming's aura seethed, becoming the central focus of this world, the figure lifted its head slightly, revealing a pair of scarlet eyes. There was a feral, savage light within, and it was not that of a human.
Within their jet-black pupils, the image of an inverted Lin Ming solely existed. Then, the figure stood upwards. As he did, those nearby felt waves of goosebumps surge throughout their bodies, as if a predator had set their sights on them.
The figure lifted their feet. Suddenly, a shadowy mist swirled around them, causing the figure to pause slightly. They looked downwards towards the misty shadow that quivered from time to time. After a brief period, the misty shadow faded while the hooded figure's scarlet eyes never left Lin Ming's figure.
Calmly, the grey hooded figure sat down, closed its eyes, and entered a strange, hibernation-like state.
In the Boundless Martial Sect's designated area, there was a woman taller than most looking at Lin Ming, her golden eyes attached to Lin Ming's figure. She remembered him in the War Devil Realm and Grand Spirit Trials. In the end, she shrugged, pouting and muttering softly: "Why can't I just challenge this thing?"
She recalled her master's orders and felt frustrated. She was the valiant type, filled with fighting spirit and a need for a challenge, so having to hold back caused her to itch uncomfortably. However, her master insisted. If she went against her master, she was bound to be brutally crushed beneath those small heels of hers once again. With an aggrieved sigh, she tightly clenched her fists impatiently.
In the area of the Tang Clan, one of the eight Noble Clans, a beautiful figure lifted her bright eyes to see the figure that occupied her dreams. She finally saw him again, and he possessed the same heroic air as that day. A graceful smile surfaced on her face.
Back to the stage, Lin Ming frowned heavily. He didn't know if this was simply a jab at him or an incident due to this nickname becoming extremely popular in the True Element Sect. Regardless, he swore to himself that one day, this title will be regarded with reverence by the entire world.
With refreshed thinking, he didn't let the title bother him, merely considering it a process of walking on his cultivation path. He brought out his signature Origin Spear, the white shaft of it emanated a powerful elemental aura. It had been elevated a level, reaching the peak astral-grade.
"Do you wish to continue?" The voice asked again! However, the tension was entirely different than before. This was the first Chosen of the Aeternal Sky Starfield to act! They had anticipation of a resounding success or a spectacular failure.
"Yes," Lin Ming declared.
When everyone looked to the jet-black obelisk to see the entity that would form, San Luoyang's voice resounded again.
"Archaic Chosen, have you used the Ever-Domain Pill or Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill to form your Domain Seed?"
The crowd was taken aback by the question. Why were they asking Lin Ming this?
When Lin Xianxei heard this, her pupils constricted slightly. This shameful incident implicated a few forces, namely their own, and Bai Yuxi's complexion grew ashen. She had used the Engorging Foundation Evil Method to help Lin Ming find a loophole in the Archaic Trials set by the Nine-Elementus Divine King, costing her, Tang Xingyun, and a maidservant dearly. The last one lost her life.
She had to resort to her grandfather's help to recover the damage to her soul, but she was told her soulspan had been reduced by a fourth, irreparable even with an Earthly Saint. She might encounter various difficulties in her future cultivation efforts, solely due to the drawn out time between recovery and aflliction of injury. If only she had gotten the ninth-grade product from the Elementus Cache, none of this would've happened.
Why were they asking about this?
Even Lin Ming was confused by the question. His expression darkened. "Why does it matter?" He asked instead of answering.
Surprisingly, San Luoyang explained! "Due to the past results, the preliminary discussions have led to another layer added to determine entity-level based on the origins of one's False Worldly Domain." While he didn't go into too much depth, it was clear that both pills had their advantages and disadvantages—availability versus quality. The vast majority of Chosen used Ever-Domain Pills to form their Domain Seed.
It was clear that one of these products was vastly superior!
Lin Xianxian was shocked before she inwardly sneered, "The Everlore Association must be seething." Due to the majority of the Earthly Saints using the Ever-Domain Pill for their Chosen, they might have been forced into adding this layer of differentiating. It was no different than a slap in the face! An open admission of inferiority!
Unfortunately for the Everlore Association, they weren't the sole deciders of the Chosen requirements.
"..." Lin Ming's expression became strange. Shouldn't they uniformly judge everyone by the lowest decided rubric? Why the differentiation? It wasn't just him who thought this, everyone else did too.
"They must be trying to find a middle-ground since the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill isn't freely available, but they didn't want to lower the standards, having one group of people dominate the others without fighting back. It might very well render the entire summit as pointless. This was especially so if the set standards was exceeded by a single pill. Moreover, this pill was one of the core reasons for its existence." Lin Xianxei acutely gleaned. They likely learned that the only four success stories had all taken the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill, yet thus far, not a single Ever-Domain Pill had succeeded!
Moreover, the Saint Cyclic Renewal Summit's reasoning heavily relied on the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill's existence!
"Answer the question." San Luoyang's firm voice resounded, clearly seeking out an answer. To everyone present, it was rather strange that the Earthly Saints couldn't tell how Lin Ming formed his Domain Seed. That confused most.
In the end, Lin Ming could only answer: "I did not use either pill to form my Domain Seed, but a unique cultivation method with the support of others." He didn't go into much detail.
"Oh? He formed his own?" This information instantly caused a commotion! If he formed his own, then what criteria will he be judged by?
After a minute of silence, San Luoyang's voice resounded again. "Due to your unique circumstances, you will be given a choice of your revised assessment. Do you wish to be tested by the Ever-Domain Pill's revised standards or the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill's revised standards?"
"..." Lin Ming was baffled by the choice.
Lin Xianxei's eyes furrowed slightly, and then her heart shook as realization dawned on her. With frightening swiftness, her eyes widened. She began to move!
