When the group reached the counter, Wu Shiqin had already made her decision and followed along.
Su Junyu glanced at her sideways. "So, you've decided?"
Wu Shiqin nodded. "This is a challenge to me."
A challenge, it's also another kind of fun!
Su Junyu could tell what Wu Shiqin was thinking, but unlike the typical scene in city legends where the elder shows a satisfied expression, he subtly shook his head.
Wang Qi secretly tugged at Su Junyu's sleeve. "Senior Brother Su, enough with the show. You should've said 'Glad you figured it out,' this would make your likeability go up like crazy!"
Su Junyu gave him a faint glance but didn't respond. Instead, he handed the light sphere in his hand to the cultivator handling the transaction at the counter, saying, "Immortal Academy trial."
Wang Qi rolled his eyes inwardly, thinking, "I don't know what kind of person you are, but you're still acting high and mighty in front of me."
However, it was clear that the other three Immortal Academy disciples were impressed by Su Junyu's demeanor. Mao Zhimiao, with a face full of admiration, said to Wang Qi, "I didn't expect your friend to be so different from you, meow!"
Pfft! I'm nothing like this guy who's been holed up in the warehouse so long he's almost grown mushrooms!
Su Junyu's tone towards the Immortal Alliance staff wasn't exactly polite, which seemed a bit out of character. But the staff didn't mind and accepted the light sphere, then sent out a mysterious glow with both hands, absorbing the light sphere. Afterward, the staff responded in a mechanical tone, "Immortal Academy trial, initiated. Please provide the list of participants."
Su Junyu handed over a jade pendant that was hanging from his waist. "Team leader and assistant, Wan Fa Sect, Su Junyu. Participants: Wang Qi from Xinyue Immortal Academy, Mao Zhimiao, Wu Shiqin, and Wu Fan."
The staff member stood still for a moment before saying, "The list of participants is confirmed. Please have the four new disciples reveal their magical power."
Su Junyu pointed to a seal on the counter. "One by one, pour your magical power into this, in the order I just said. Wang Qi, you go first."
Wang Qi did as instructed and poured his magical power into the seal. Meanwhile, he curiously kept staring at the staff member handling the transaction. The staff's tone was too strange, which reminded Wang Qi of Earth's science fiction works.
Su Junyu patted Wang Qi on the back. "Stop staring, this is part of the illusion. It only switches to real human control when necessary."
NPCs are here...
Although Wang Qi had already suspected, after reading "Theory of Calculating Devices and Divine Souls" which was very similar to Earth's "Computers and Human Brains," that Shenzhou's Immortal Dao might be able to achieve things Earth could, actually witnessing it still left him with a sense of absurdity. "I really am not the only transmigrator after all."
After Wang Qi finished infusing his magical power, the NPC staff member took out a wristband and a jade waist pendant. "Please return the wristband after the trial ends."
Wang Qi put on the wristband and looked at the jade pendant. The pendant was about half the size of a palm, plain in appearance, much like Su Junyu's, but the only difference was that Wang Qi's was empty, unlike Su Junyu's, which had many intricate patterns. Wang Qi asked, "What's this for?"
"It contains a magical aura. Place it in front of any artifact that connects to the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm, and it will activate your 'Illusion Realm Immortal Record.' Many of the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm's functions require this Immortal Record to use."
An ID card… and they're actually enforcing a real-name system... Heh... I suppose no one would broadcast inappropriate content in the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm, right...
Thinking about this, Wang Qi suddenly felt a bit down. Su Junyu noticed, "Why do I feel like you're disappointed?"
"Just feel like the fun in the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm is kind of reduced..."
Su Junyu thought this was just one of Wang Qi's usual moods and didn't delve deeper. He then had Mao Zhimiao, Wu Shiqin, and Wu Fan complete the same procedure. Both Wu Fan and Mao Zhimiao seemed to have received "Immortal Record Jade Pendants," while the illusionary cultivator only gave a wristband to Wang Qi.
Su Junyu explained, "If you don't earn or use this, then the Immortal Record Jade Pendant doesn't really serve any purpose. So, most cultivators only receive it the first time they accept a task. However, the Five Extremes Sect is an exception. They are the backbone of the Immortal Alliance, so any disciple who joins, even without completing trials, is issued one right away. As for the wristband, it records your progress in the trial tasks. After it's returned, it connects to the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm, where it will be used to calculate your merit points."
After completing the registration, Su Junyu led Wang Qi and the others out of the building but instead of heading down the southern slope, he turned towards the northern slope.
At the top of the northern slope was a platform, which, according to legend, had been carved out by a sword qi from a senior cultivator. This platform acted like a training ground, divided by formations into many small areas, each of which had cultivators fighting magical battles, most of which involved low-level cultivators battling low-level demonic beasts.
Wang Qi soon realized that this was the area where combat-oriented trials were held.
Wu Shiqin's eyes lit up as soon as she saw it, and she almost couldn't move forward. Wang Qi and Mao Zhimiao had to drag her out of the area.
The northern slope of Xin Mountain was much steeper than the southern slope, basically being "no flat ground for three feet." Ordinary people couldn't build houses here, and large shops couldn't be set up either. However, as the saying goes, "the best scenery is on the dangerous peak," and the view from the northern slope was much better than the southern slope. Many cultivators built their homes here. Because of this, the northern slope of Xin Mountain had become the largest gathering place for loose cultivators in the area.
After walking for a while, Su Junyu turned to Wang Qi and the others. "The rules on the northern slope and southern slope are different. Here, we can use the Flying Escape technique."
Wang Qi thought that Su Junyu would be like Xiang Qi and use a flying sword to transport everyone as light. But to his surprise, Su Junyu simply tapped his storage bag, and a silver glow shot out, quickly expanding into a flying boat.
"Let's go." Su Junyu jumped lightly onto the boat and, in a tone resembling a driver calling out to passengers, said, "This boat is much smaller than the one Yan He Yi from Ji Yin Valley used, only three zhang long and about one zhang wide. But the one Yan He Yi had was a public vehicle, provided by the Immortal Alliance, while this one... this is my private vehicle."
After everyone boarded the flying boat, Su Junyu made a hand seal. The boat trembled gently and began flying northward with the group.