The days went by without anything major happening and the day of the recruitment arrived.

Jin and Ame walked up the stairways towards the palace. As they reached the entrance of the 'Crown', they saw that they were far from the first ones up. There were thousands of people here already. And all of them were cultivators.

Though most of them were weaklings of low cultivation. Well, lower than Jin's. Which told a lot about the abilities of cultivators around these parts. This made Jin reconsider the ability of Ame. For her to have gone beyond the 20th stage in this kind of location... She definitely had some secrets. He did not have any need to pry them though and let the thoughts drift away.

They both went to stand with the group and waited patiently for things to begin.

It took more than an hour before a man wearing a golden armor walked out of the palace. The doors had not opened. He was floating mid-air. Clearly, this man was using some elements related to wind or something similar.

Jin could mimic flight with some techniques and spiritual energy manipulation but it would be lacking compared to the use of elements. He could not help but be slightly envious at the moment.

The man silenced the crowd with a wave of his hands and began his speech amidst the silence: "For those who are here for the Royal Guard's exam, please come with me over the walls"

Ame looked at Jin and grinned. She was obviously teasing him. He remained unfazed and gave her his encouragement: "Good luck"

Ame smirked as she began to ascend into the air. She said 'thanks!' before pushing towards the guard. She was not the only one. Three dozen others flew up and they met mid-air over there. Jin recognized Song Xun. The man he met in the carriage did indeed come here for the exam as he stated.

Since he was here and alive, it meant that Ren Jing did not kill him. Since he was here, Ame will definitely be able to ask him some questions about Ren Jing and confirm their suspicions.

As he thought of it, he wondered where she was.

This woman who he believed might be related to the Cartel would no doubt be around here. The fact that she did not go up there... Did she have something else in mind? Would she hide alongside him as a patrol guard or something similar? It would be quite gutsy. The royal palace had people at the maximum stage of this continent, at the 30th stage.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Then again, for now, she was not a threat to his life.

While he stood there thinking, the group led by the golden-armored man flew beyond the gates.

It was only an hour and some later that another golden-armored man flew out. This one was older and a few wrinkles were visible on his face. Jin guessed that he was at least in his fifties and obviously not yet at the 30th stage.

The man spoke: "I will now be testing whether you have the qualifications to serve the royal family. The doors will open in a few moments. Whoever manages to cross over will be given a chance. Only the first one hundred people will be allowed in"

Someone within a crowd cried unfairness due to some people being further to the back. The flying cultivator snickered and stated: "Then why did you not come here earlier? Motivation is rewarded. Now, everyone, good luck"

After he finished his words, the gates opened and a powerful current of spiritual energy was emitted from it. It encompassed the entire plaza and pushed many cultivators out. Jin remained steady as the current swept past him. The men and women next to him could not say the same. If they fell to their knees, it was already a good outcome.

The current did not end after a single wave though. Many more were sent out erratically. So this was the test...

The power behind the waves was around that of the 8th stage however it came not in a constant flow. As such, anyone who had reached the 8th stage should be able to move forward with relative ease compared to others who were either pushed away or forced to kneel. This would effectively enable the stronger ones to move forward.

Jin looked around and saw twelve others who remained standing like him.

Jin did not bother analyzing things further. He rushed forward. He propelled himself with his spiritual energy while using blocks of solid energy to jump over the contestants.

It did not take him too long to push over the hundreds of meters and reach within the walls.

As he arrived, he saw that there were already thirty people within the gates. And their cultivation stages were all inferior to his. Those people were the few who had enough motivation to get up the earliest and the luck to be on the side of the doors, minimizing the effect of the tide.

Luck.

Will.

Power.

Those were the three criteriums tested.

Regardless, Jin passed the test. And it was only a few seconds later that the gates closed behind him. A hundred people was too few compared to the number of examinees. Then again, he did not care as long as he got in.

He never was a selfless man.

The older man in golden armor ordered for the crowd outside to depart and try their luck next year before flying back within the walls and landing within the hundred successful examinees.

The man smiled as he congratulated them: "Good job making it this far already. We will now register your names and cultivation stages. As of now, you can already be considered as half-members. We will give you a second small test after that so as to assign you to the best position for your abilities. ... Alright, get into a line and let's get you all sorted out!"

Jin smiled.