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Road of the Immortal Tao
Chapter 14. Ongoing trials and news of one's competition

Chapter 14. Ongoing trials and news of one's competition

Upon thinking about the words used by his trusted subordinates and knowing him as a clever and tactful person, Profound Immortal Clear Lake realized that there might be something going on. It didn't take long for his subordinate to recount the happenings so far. 

The voice of a person that has been scared stupid was heard from the other end of the transmission.

[You mean to say that there are over 800.000 people with Medium Spiritual Roots and another 400.000 with Advanced ones? Not only that there are over 150.000 with Superior Spiritual Roots? *Gulp!* No wonder the ones at the 250th step withdrew voluntarily. It would be too embarrassing to stand shoulder to shoulder with those monsters.](Clear Lake)

[Indeed, master! That's my take on the situation as well.](Jing)

[Hmm... this is a tough nut to crack. Even if 500.000 of them passes through more than one reverberation of the Warring Drums, it will be difficult to find sects under our jurisdiction to assign them to...](Clear Lake)

[Uhm... old master... the standard the snot-nosed brat from the Ling clan set up was 7 reverberations...](Jing)

[Audacious! Does that brat doesn't want to live anymore!? Seven reverberations? Would there even be people to pass that many while being mortals still!? Do I need to come over and slap him awake!?](Clear Lake)

[Old master, appease yourself! That's not the problem... rather... we still have over one million people that already passed the 10th reverberation...](Jing)

After finishing his words, old man Jing listened closely, prepared for his master's fury. Maybe he would even be scolded for taking a joke too far, or maybe he would be punished for not handling his assignment seriously. 

Who knew that before he could even start explaining the sound of violent coughs could be heard from the other side of the sound transmission.

[Father! Father! What's going on!? Are you alright?](?)

[Ling'er... *Cough!* *Cough!* I'm fine, I'm fine. I just choked on some wine...](Clear Lake)

[...](Jing)

Hearing his young mistress Ling'er so concerned about her father, he knew that his old master probably had a mini heart-attack once he heard how many people passed the 10th reverberation. The words of an Immortal are not given lightly, however once given, they must be upheld without a shred of doubt. 

[Little Jing, I have known you for a long time and I doubt you to be joking about such a serious matter. However, I will still ask: you are not joking about it, are you?](Clear Lake)

[I am not, old master, currently 1.036.832 participants went over 10 reverberations. Some stopped there, while others... others are already at the 19th one...](Jing)

Another bout of violent coughs was heard from the other side, proof that the undying old fart has once again almost choked to death with wine. His young daughter was even scolding him to put it away if his body cannot withstand the alcohol anymore. As his trusted servant, old man Jing was already picturing the crying face of his old master, explaining to his daughter that a Profound Immortal doesn't have problems with alcohol and that instead was just shocked by his subordinate's words.

[Haaah... Little Jing, if this was any other day, I would've laughed my head off of my shoulders and flew straight to that Luo fool to mock him. But over one million such geniuses... how the hell are we going to provide resources for such a numerous bunch. After all, if we take them in and don't nurture them, it would be akin to throwing diamonds in cow dung...](Clear Lake)

[I have been thinking about it as well master... why don't we split them with our allies instead?](Jing)

[Hmm!? You mean... I see! Yes, yes! That would work! Not only would sending such geniuses to the heads of our faction strengthen our position and make them grateful to us, but we could also make sure that they receive proper nourishment and achieve their maximum potential. We'll earn the goodwill of both parties and gain the most benefit out of it. Hahahahahaha! Ahahahhaha! Good, good, good! Excellent work little Jing! After you return with them back to the Immortal World, I will personally help you break up to Half-Immortal. Such a contribution will boost our faction to a higher level and I won't stand by and not compensate you properly for it!](Clear Lake)

[Your subordinate thanks you for your magnanimity!](Jing)

[Hahaha! Spare the formalities! I will personally go visit the heads of our faction and let them know right now, to prepare. After the trial ends tell them that only the following day would we bring them over. That would give us a full year to prepare, due to the time difference. Okay, I will make a move first!](Clear Lake) 

[Understood, master!](Jing)

Looking at the five knuckleheads that were too scared by the talents this world showed to say anything, he couldn't help but shake his head and comment in a low voice. Fate truly makes fools out of people... They came here to mock a small primordial world and ended up being making fools of themselves. Who knows how badly their Tao hearts were shaken as well...

Looking back at the people who were still punching the crap out of the drums in a frenzy, he was taken aback while suddenly realizing something: with such monsters, won't the Immortal World be suddenly turned on its head!?

[What's their current status? Have you counted how many passed how many reverberations?](Jing)

[Eh!? Why would we need to do that?](random lackey)

[*Sigh* Because, no matter the reason you came here for, you came to act as a judge to the trials. If you don't keep track of their progression, what's the point of even being here?](Jing)

Old man Jing facepalmed when he heard the question being thrown back at him. Were these idiots surprised into being even dumber than they usually are? They are already in the Nascent Soul realm... it would take just a sweep of their perception to determine how many people passed, how many failed and the number of reverberations they endured. Especially since there are numbers listed on the small drums, show clearly one's accomplishments. 

Nodding at young master Ling, the latter began his count, growing paler by the second. Seeing such a development, the others followed in his footsteps to, at least, confirm the numbers their young master came up with.

[I counted 467.325 people that stopped between 10-15 reverberations.](Ling)

[I counted the same...](lackey)

[So did I.](Purple Snake)

[That's indeed the number. What's even more ridiculous is that there are even more people that passed 15 reverberations...](Jing)

Another counting process began and the faces of the six cultivators turned even stranger to behold. To think there were this many monsters in such a small world... their futures would be terrifying to behold.

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[I have 253.132 people that stopped between 15-20 reverberations.](Ling)

[I have more... wait, we don't count the ones that passed the 20th reverberation right?](Purple Snake)

[No. Without them. I also have the same number.](Jing)

[So do we.](lackeys)

Based on the cleansing their blood and bones received, the first batch improved their potential by a minimum of 15%. The ones in the second batch already exceeded 25%. That's akin to saying that a person who's potential was limited and could've reached at best peak Nihility in his entire life, after undergoing the baptism of the drums as a mortal, he was elevated to be able to reach peak Ascension realm. That's not something to joke about... if suddenly there would be another 250.000 people to reach peak Ascension realm in the next 100 years, wouldn't their faction easily wreck the others, without as much as lifting a finger?

[If I were to report back to my clan's patriarch that there is going to be a potential rise of over 250.000 cultivators that could reach Ascension realm pinnacle in just one faction, a hydra casually passing by would laugh most of its heads off...](Ling)

Hearing his comment, old man Jing looked strangely at him and rebutted him saying in his mind that he wouldn't want to be anywhere near close to a location where a hydra would casually pass by. Still, he could understand where the young master was coming from. It's pretty hard to explain to someone in words, what they just experienced. 

Luckily, they were required to use a recording talisman for the whole trial's procession, so they at least had the means to explain themselves in front of their superiors.

[Ahem! Okay, let's proceed. What about the ones... between 20 and 25 reverberations?](Jing)

[I counted 189.664.](Purple Snake)

[Same.](Ling)

[Yes, we also have the same number.](lackeys)

[That means that we have over 125.000 people that passed 25 reverberations!? This is... truly monstrous...](Jing)

With the time difference between the Immortal World and this small planet, a couple of days already passed since his old master found out about this situation and made preparations. Maybe he and the other faction heads wouldn't be that surprised about such a huge number of elites joining their ranks. Judging from their Superior Spiritual Roots and the fact that they each underwent at least 25 reverberations, therefore improving their potential by 50%, there would be over 125.000 future Half-Immortal cultivators in their faction in the next hundred years or so. That's considering the shortest path these geniuses could walk. It was clear that there would be many that would reach the Profound Immortal realm and maybe even higher...

[For the rest there is no need to count right now, as they are still undergoing the reverberations and the ones that stopped are few. We should patiently wait for the next batch of people between 25-30 reverberations to stop.](Jing)

[Elder Jing... Is it true that those that go beyond 25 reverberations as mortals increase their potential by another fold?](lackey)

[It's both true and false. A person that undergoes 30 reverberations it's said to improve their constitution and potential at the same time by 65% at the bare minimum. For 35 reverberations it would be 80% and at 40 reverberations one would reach a full 100% increase. Young master Ling should be aware of these facts as well.](Jing)

[I am, indeed. However, it's not every day that such results are achieved, even in our clan. Honestly, it could be said that having a person every ten years that goes over 20 reverberations it's a major event in our clan. Those that go over 25 reverberations are already hailed as heaven-defying geniuses that don't appear in a timeframe earlier than 50 years. If one reaches 30 reverberations or higher, they receive the direct attention and grooming of our ancestor... so you can imagine how rare such people are.](Ling)

[If I am not wrong, the reason for this oddity has likely to do with the environment of this small planet and its gene accumulation.](Jing)

[Elder's meaning is?](Ling)

[It's the same thing as when comparing a pure breed wolf and one that has mixed blood. The pure breed one is more susceptible to certain diseases and its body constitution is strong only to a certain point due to its pure bloodline. A mixed-blood though, not only has fewer vulnerabilities than its counterparts which he hails from, the bloodlines coursing through its veins make it even stronger than the pure-blooded one.](Jing)

A look of understanding flashed through everyone's eyes. When compared to even elites of the Immortal World which bodies have been cleansed by Primordial Qi ever since they were in their mother's womb and the bodies of these mortals that didn't even meet Qi until six months ago, but had to fight with their lives on the line against many plagues, disasters and only the heaven knows how many wars, while their pedigree couldn't be called to be five stars, their innate constitution was absurd. Not only that but as a species that didn't have any Qi, all their efforts went into science and the progression of technology, therefore putting their innate Perception leaps and bounds above that of people that experienced the laws of nature, laws above the ones of nature and even heavenly ones.

[It makes sense if you think about it. When comparing two people with the exact starting points, when you have one study five different subjects at once, while the other focuses only on one, then on the day of the exam, the subject they are tested for is the one the second person researched, whose results do you think will be better given the same amount of time available to them?](Purple Snake)

[So you are saying that their lack of knowledge of the cultivation world, actually boosted their results in such a manner?](Ling)

[Indeed. Didn't young master guide a world that was a subsidiary of your clan? Even after all the resources poured into them and the knowledge they were fed about the cultivation path, their results were good but still average. How about the examiner's Fang? Do you all remember his results?](Purple Snake)

[How can one not remember such a ridiculous world. Even this one wouldn't compare to it. It's said that the examiner's Fang standing in his clan and sect have soared tremendously due to this contribution. He was able to bring to his faction over 500.000 people, more than half of which had Superior Spiritual Roots.](Jing)

[That's right, however that wasn't all. I did an inquiry into that world's background and history. It still gives me the creeps each time I think about it...](Purple Snake)

[Oh!? Brother Snake, I didn't hear about it either. Please enlighten us.](Ling)

[The name of their world was changed millennia ago to the Blood World. As for the reason... for a world of their size, there should've been hundreds of billions of people. Do you know how many people examiner Fang counted upon his arrival there?](Purple Snake)

[*Gulp* How many?](lackeys)

[Four billion! Even less than this small world.](Purple Snake)

[That... how is that possible? Did their world ran out of resources or something?](Ling)

[That's wrong, young master. Their world is flourishing with them! It's something that has to do with their nature. They are a highly aggressive and warring species. The death count in each one of that world's wars is so high, that it makes even the Immortal World pale in comparison. They are also cruel to their enemies, razing entire cities to the ground, killing the males and enslaving the females. A census made about four thousand years ago in their world counted up to 230 billion people. Not even four hundred years later, the same number dropped to less than one hundred.](Fang)

Hearing such statistics, it was almost incomprehensible to the other five presents. It was difficult to imagine a war of such proportion. If their technology was also advanced, wouldn't that mean that their world would be on the verge of destruction?

[I know what everyone is thinking, but they are not technologically advanced. Rather, the continuous wars gave their race many setbacks. The only thing that continuously improved because of its need, were the weapons. Even then, the weapons used are still cold weapons...](Purple Snake)

[Does that mean that when they fight, they do so with swords, sabers, spears and the like!?](Ling)

[Indeed. The Fang patriarch gave his evaluation of them as a race that was created for pure and unadulterated war and chaos. They are the perfect beings to start cultivating. According to his estimations, even the weakest among the 500.000 would easily reach the Profound Immortal realm and... *Shivers* the Godly Force realm in body cultivation within 5000 years.](Purple Snake)

[WHAT!?](all other five)

Everyone knew that body cultivation was much harder than spiritual cultivation. While one had the potential to reach the Golden Immortal realm, it didn't mean that they could even touch the Golden Body realm in body refinement. One needed extravagant amounts of resources to do that and the latent potential of one's own body to assist in the process. Not only that, but a cultivator required the providence of the heavens as well, hoping to encounter certain herbs, pills, or cultivation techniques that would temper their body further.

Even a beggar on the streets knew that, so it was impossible for the Fang patriarch not to know of it as well. Where did his confidence come from to say that even the worst from the lot could reach a Godly Force realm!? Not even his clan's entire resources multiplied times 10 would be enough to nurture ten thousand cultivators to the Golden Body realm, much less a bigger number than that.  

[This... how is that even possible? It doesn't make any sense. The resources needed...](Jing)

[And not only the resources, can their bodies withstand such treacherous tempering within only 5000 years?](Ling)

[Apparently, they can. It's something innate to their race. Due to continuous wars, their physiques are comparable to a mid-level Soul Forming body cultivator. And that is in the absence of Qi. Once they ascend to the Immortal World, they would become a force to be reckoned with.](Purple Snake)

[Luckily, our continent managed to find this small world, otherwise, we might find ourselves drowned in our blood before we knew it...](Jing)

[I am not too sure about that. To withstand the reverberations of the Warring Drums as a mortal, one needs to have a powerful physique. While these people are indeed amazing geniuses, I am certain that every single one of examiner Fang's recruits would easily pass between 30-40 reverberations...](Purple Snake)

There was nobody that spoke against that statement since they all found it to be right. To exaggerate the matters even further, it was agreed upon that the Blood World was only in the third place. There were still two other worlds that had even more exaggerated results. 

There was no doubt on their minds that Earth would certainly rank in the top five after this mass recruitment ends.