Chapter 71: Make a Big Profit Off Him!

A flash of white light swept across the teleportation array, and the Core Formation stage woman appeared within the formation, blood trickling from the corner of her lips. Her black identity token fell beside her as well.
Clutching her chest, she caught the token and lifted her gaze toward the Frost Spirit Tower, a glimmer of unwillingness and desolation flickering in her eyes.
At her emergence, part of the crowd hurried forward.
“Fellow cultivator, here’s a Clear Mind Pill. Your divine sense has been injured—please take it quickly!”
“Wait—my Water Essence Pill is more effective than the Clear Mind Pill. Please use mine instead!”
“Fellow cultivator, I have…”
Immediately, numerous cultivators surrounded her, offering their prepared medicines and talismans for restoring divine sense injuries, seeking to show concern and hoping to befriend this promising talent.
The rest, seeing no chance, could only watch enviously and sigh.
“Ah, holding out for nearly half an hour on the fourth floor with seventh-layer Core Formation cultivation—what a genius!”
“I suspect the Frost Sect will let her pass ahead of schedule. Every time the sect recruits, it claims four trials, but the real selection happens in the second round; the rest are just sorting among elders and disciples.”
“To last so long on the fourth floor, her divine sense must be formidable. She’ll surely focus on alchemy or formation arts and achieve greatness!”
“Wait, isn’t there one more person on the fourth floor? He’s Core Formation too. The Frost Sect truly struck gold this time!”
“Yes, but… wait, where did his identity token go?”
…
Drawn in by the female cultivator, they turned back to the fourth floor, only to find the snow-white identity token missing.
They instinctively glanced at the teleportation array, expecting the young man to have failed and been sent out.
“Impossible! That young man actually made it to the fifth floor!”
A voice rang out from somewhere, stunning everyone present.
“What!”
They gasped and looked toward the fifth floor, where the snow-white identity token floated alone, dazzling.
“My heavens! He really reached the fifth floor?”
“What am I seeing? Fellow cultivator, pinch me—am I dreaming?”
“A genius! A true prodigy! He’s the first to reach the fifth floor this year!”

“No, when he comes out, I must make sure to befriend this young man!”
“Bah, who do you think you are? Such a prodigy would never befriend you! If anything, he’ll befriend me!”
…
All the cultivators were shocked and arguing—this was simply too astonishing.
Even those who had been eager to befriend the seventh-layer Core Formation woman now dispersed to join the debate.
Moments ago, she had been treated like a prized treasure; now, she was ignored.
She stared up at the tower, murmuring, “Is this what a true genius looks like? Why have I worked so hard—what is it all for?”
Her brows lowered, and she walked slowly to the registration table to apply for the next trial.
Even the disciples of the Frost Sect were stunned, speechless.
After a while, a male Nascent Soul disciple muttered, “Where’s the elder? Why hasn’t he come?”
“Senior brother, the elder is helping the sect master search for that sixth-grade alchemist. He said cases like this young man have happened before, but they were fleeting, never reaching the fifth floor. He told us just to pay extra attention, nothing more,” a disciple who had reported to the elder replied bitterly.
The Nascent Soul disciple’s expression twitched. Never reach the fifth floor? What was this, if not a blatant slap to the elder’s face?
But he could only sigh and say, “Junior, go again and report what’s happened. Thank you for your trouble.”
“Yes, senior brother.” The disciple nodded and made his way to the Ice Valley.
“Senior brother, I’ve completed this trial. May I proceed to the next?”
A gentle voice sounded.
He looked up to find the seventh-layer Core Formation woman standing before him, holding her shoulder with a pitiful air.
He managed a smile. “Of course. Your name is Bai Lin, isn’t it? With seventh-layer Core Formation cultivation, lasting so long on the fourth floor far exceeds the passing standard. You’re now a disciple of the Frost Sect. I’ll assign someone to take you to the third trial. The next rounds are for inner disciples, core disciples, and direct disciples—strive for the best.”
Though Bai Lin could not match the shock brought by the young man, she was still a rare talent, not to be overlooked. Exceptional gifts were not common, and he would take good care of her.
With that, he summoned a female disciple to escort Bai Lin to the next trial.
On the fifth floor, Chen Xiang had just stepped in when the pressure on his divine sense struck him again, as though a massive stone pressed upon him.
Yet the force was not as intense as before, when he had not practiced the Divine Spirit Technique on the fourth floor.
If, on the fourth floor, he had felt buried in earth, unable to move, now it was as if his feet were trapped in a mire—able to walk, but each step was heavy and difficult.
He could also clearly sense his divine sense had strengthened slightly. The Frost Spirit Tower truly tempered the mind.

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ you are revered by cultivators and have gained one hundred and twenty reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ you are admired by cultivators and have gained one hundred and thirty reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ you are revered by cultivators and have gained one hundred and ten reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ you are admired by cultivators and have gained one hundred and forty reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ you are revered by cultivators and have gained one hundred and twenty reputation points!”
…
A volley of system notifications exploded in his mind, leaving him bewildered.
Over two thousand reputation points accrued in an instant.
“What’s happening? What earth-shattering deed did I accomplish to shock so many cultivators?” Chen Xiang wondered aloud.
The Frost Spirit Tower had windows equipped with soundproof barriers to prevent outside noise from affecting challengers. He walked over, casually broke the barrier, and looked down, finding a large crowd gazing back up at him.
“Look, Young Master Chu has appeared!”
“Ah! It’s really Young Master Chu—look at that unique bedsheet he wears, unmistakable. It’s him, definitely him!”
“Young Master Chu, I am Zeng Fanrong. May I invite you for tea when your trial ends?”
“Zeng Fanrong, get lost! Young Master Chu, I am Lu Benwei. Delighted to meet you.”
…
These cultivators had gone to the registration desk to ascertain Chen Xiang’s alias. Seeing him appear, they all strove to forge a connection.
Chen Xiang’s mere presence at the window caused a commotion. Hearing the remarks outside, he realized how he had earned thousands of reputation points.
Understanding the situation, he withdrew his head and replaced the soundproof barrier.
“Heh, who’d have thought I could earn reputation points just by passing a trial? I’ll conquer this dungeon and make a fortune!” Chen Xiang said merrily.
But as he prepared to head to the sixth floor, his gaze fell upon a corner of the fifth floor, where a strange lump…
“To be continued…”