Alaric Ye had encountered many Foundation Establishment cultivators, but this was his first time seeing a Golden Elixir cultivator. Fairy Cyan Jade's formidable strength and peerless grace left an indelible impression on him.

"To think there's such a perfect woman in this world. No wonder no one questions her title as the number one fairy in the Dragon-seeking Mountain Range's cultivation world."

"If only... if only I could marry such a beautiful fairy as my Dao Companion and live a long life together. Even if it's someone slightly less perfect, that would be fine too," Alaric muttered to himself.

Alaric was almost fourteen years old now. Since joining the Top Xuan Sect, he had been well-fed and nourished, and having reached the first level of Qi Refining, he looked like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. Both his mind and body had entered adolescence.

In the past, he had never considered matters like Dao Companions or wives, but after seeing Fairy Cyan Jade, he was certain that having such a perfect fairy by his side would bring him endless joy.

His cultivation journey now had a small goal.

The big goal was to achieve eternal life with Little White and Little Strong. The small goal was to marry a Dao Companion as beautiful as Fairy Cyan Jade.

However, unlike others who seemed to lose their souls upon seeing Fairy Cyan Jade, becoming completely infatuated with her peerless beauty and willing to go through hell and high water just to be her simp, Alaric merely set a small goal. Shortly after Fairy Cyan Jade left, his attention shifted back to Steward Zhang, who was in charge of the assessment.

Other miscellaneous disciples, especially the male ones, were still blushing, their hearts pounding as if about to burst from their chests, their expressions filled with uncontrollable excitement. Even with Steward Zhang present, they couldn't suppress their emotions.

"I... I actually saw Fairy Cyan Jade in person. My cultivation journey now has no regrets!"

"After seeing the fairy, everything else that I once thought beautiful pales in comparison. I must pass this assessment and live on Spirit Beast Peak to be closer to her!"

...

At this moment, the middle-aged woman, Steward Zhang, with a frosty expression, coldly snorted, "Silence!"

"I've observed all of you. Those who couldn't pull themselves together within ten breaths after the Peak Master left have poor self-control and a frivolous nature, making them unsuitable for joining our Spirit Beast Peak. From this moment, you are disqualified from continuing the assessment!"

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

At this, everyone's expressions changed, snapping back to reality from their dreamlike fantasies.

One disciple, emboldened by the crowd, loudly questioned, "Steward Zhang, you haven't even announced the start of the assessment, yet you're disqualifying us. This is unfair!"

"Please, Steward Zhang, show mercy and give us another chance. It's well known that even many Foundation Establishment cultivators can't pull themselves together in front of Fairy Cyan Jade. How can we, who have just entered the cultivation world, compare to your self-control..."

Steward Zhang coldly snorted, and a powerful aura burst forth, making all the noisy cultivators look extremely uncomfortable.

Steward Zhang said sternly, "The assessment starts at the hour of Si. It's clearly written. Any further troublemakers will be dealt with according to sect rules!"

"Announce the names of those who passed the first round of the assessment."

With that, the inner disciple beside her began reading the list.

"Those whose names are called, step forward and prepare for the next round of the assessment. Donna Li , Karen Wang, Linda Zhang, Alaric Ye..."

As expected, the list was dominated by female cultivators, while most of the male cultivators were eliminated. Alaric's name was prominently listed, indicating that he had quickly shaken off Fairy Cyan Jade's influence.

When Alaric's name was called, Steward Zhang's gaze fell on him, and she nodded slightly, acknowledging his performance.

If Steward Zhang knew Alaric's bold inner thoughts—wanting to have a fairy like Fairy Cyan Jade or someone as beautiful as her as his wife—who knows if she would still praise him.

As for how these inner disciples could accurately identify each candidate at first sight, Alaric believed they must have received portraits and basic information from the Miscellaneous Hall beforehand.

For cultivators, having a photographic memory was a basic skill.

After passing the unexpected first round of the assessment, Alaric secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This Steward Zhang was indeed very strict. Such unexpected events could also be part of the assessment. Fortunately, Alaric had never been particularly interested in peerless beauties.

"If Elijah were here, he'd probably be the first to be eliminated..." Alaric suddenly thought.

Soon after, the list was fully read.

Originally, there were five to six hundred miscellaneous disciples participating in the assessment. After the first round of elimination, only a little over two hundred remained. Even many female cultivators were eliminated, showing the unparalleled charm of Fairy Cyan Jade.

"Those not on the list, please leave," Steward Zhang said sternly.

Upon hearing this, hundreds of people flew away on their swords, sighing and lamenting, their excitement and joy from seeing Fairy Cyan Jade completely gone.

The plaza suddenly became much emptier.

Steward Zhang continued, "Next is the endurance test!"

"Spirit beasts and spirit insects need to eat, drink, sleep, and defecate. The unbearable stench is something every disciple on Spirit Beast Peak must face. Those who can endure the stench of the smelly fart worm for twenty breaths will pass this assessment!"

Upon hearing the name "smelly fart worm," the cultivators' expressions changed again.

The smelly fart worm, despite its somewhat comical and cute name, was actually a type of stink bug spirit insect, commonly known as the fart bug. Its farts were unbearably smelly and could even be used to create toxic gas that could knock out powerful cultivators.

Steward Zhang patted a large embroidered pouch at her waist, and a swarm of palm-sized blue-green smelly fart worms flew out, buzzing their wings. Under her control, they evenly distributed themselves among the candidates.

Puff, puff, puff, puff...

Clouds of blue-green smoke were emitted from the smelly fart worms' behinds.

Some instinctively wanted to hold their breath, but at that moment, an inner disciple shouted, "Anyone holding their breath will be disqualified. Please try to maintain normal breathing."

Alaric instantly smelled a foul odor, a mix of ten-year-old rotten eggs, riverbed sludge, and decaying corpses...

But he was a servant of the Lin Residence, having cleaned countless drains. He merely furrowed his brows slightly, his breathing rhythm unchanged, letting the smelly fart worm's stench invade his nostrils.

When it came to endurance, Alaric considered himself second to none among the candidates. He had just endured days and nights of practicing the Five Elements Vajra Technique, a process that felt like being flayed alive, yet he had persevered.

He even wanted to tell the smelly fart worms, "Is that all you've got? Bring it on, so we can eliminate more competitors."