After Ye Ming and the others disappeared, the remaining ancient martial artists continued with their tests.
Among them, the most conspicuous were the true disciples of the four super forces.
Previously, upon learning the rules for obtaining the opportunities here, they had all relayed the information to their sects. Those disciples who had not come to the Heavenly Sentinel Land earlier had now rushed over.
Of course!
Other forces did the same.
Therefore, in terms of numerical proportion, the ancient martial artists gathered in the core circle were now several times more than before.
Two hours later, as the afterglow of the setting sun slowly descended, this grand feast of opportunities finally concluded.
In the subsequent talent tests, nearly thirty more sect disciples obtained purple inheritance tokens.
The number of white and yellow inheritance tokens combined also reached over two hundred.
From this point alone, the number of geniuses in the entire ancient martial world was quite considerable.
...
On the edge of the core circle.
"Yue Mian! How is this inheritance token?"
A young man asked with a smile behind a tranquil, seated silhouette.
"I've examined the information within. This inheritance token seems to be a symbol of identity!"
Opening her eyes, Du Yue Mian said with some amazement, "It records cultivation techniques and martial arts suitable for the token holders. Moreover, they seem to be… immortal cultivation techniques!"
Immortal cultivation techniques!
Hearing this, Ye Ming was not surprised.
After all, the formations in the core circle were all immortal formations.
Therefore, Ye Ming had already anticipated this outcome.
"You mentioned earlier that it's also a symbol of identity. What's that about?" Ye Ming asked.
Subsequently, Du Yue Mian explained one by one.
Firstly, each inheritance token corresponded to a sect.
The inheritance token for the path of strength was issued by a sect called Dao Sect.
The inheritance token for the path of defense was issued by a sect called Demon Cult.
The inheritance token for the path of speed was issued by a sect called Yin Yang Palace.
The inheritance token for the path of comprehension was issued by a sect called Jue Qing Sect.
Concurrently, the opportunities here were jointly bestowed by these four sects.
Furthermore, different colored inheritance tokens signified different identities.
Taking Du Yue Mian as an example.
She obtained a red inheritance token for the path of strength.
Upon obtaining this token, she was recognized as a candidate for a successor disciple of the Dao Sect.
What is a successor disciple?
Simply put, they are the next in line to inherit the leadership of the sect.
From this, one can see how noble the status of a successor disciple is.
Below the successor disciples are the true disciples.
Holding a black inheritance token, like You Ming previously possessed, could grant this status.
Following that are inner disciples, corresponding to purple inheritance tokens.
Next are outer disciples, corresponding to yellow inheritance tokens.
Finally, ancient martial artists holding white inheritance tokens could only be miscellaneous disciples.
Therefore, without anyone's knowledge, these ancient martial artists holding inheritance tokens had already been selected by the four major sects.
...
"They are quite cunning!"
After listening to Du Yue Mian's account, Ye Ming sneered coldly.
"What's wrong?"
Du Yue Mian also frowned.
"Yue Mian! Have you ever considered a question?" Ye Ming said, "If all the ancient martial artists in the ancient martial world holding inheritance tokens are taken by those sects, what will be left?"
What will be left?
Hearing this, Du Yue Mian's beautiful eyes widened, and she couldn't help but feel a chilling thought.
The ancient martial artists holding inheritance tokens were, without exception, geniuses and prodigies of the ancient martial world. Once they joined those four sects, would the entire ancient martial world still have a… future?
"To put it nicely, this is bestowing opportunities upon them. To put it bluntly, it is undoubtedly undermining us from the roots!"
Ye Ming said coldly, "Those opportunities are clearly irresistible temptations for those ancient martial artists. Moreover, they will be exposed to higher-dimensional martial arts knowledge, and they will not have any resistance. This has been a straightforward scheme from the very beginning."
Thinking of this, Ye Ming suddenly recalled what Xia Baiyi had told him earlier.
Among them, the special nature of the identities of You Li and others was included.
The four of them had each passed the trials set by the four sects. Clearly, from the current situation, these individuals had become the representatives of those sects in this area.
Although the deterrence of ancestral teachings had greatly diminished, they still had some restraining effect.
Now, it was not yet time for them to openly emerge from that secluded realm.
Therefore, they could only lay their groundwork in advance and make full preparations for the future.
"Young Master! There's one point I don't understand!"
At this moment, Du Yue Mian suddenly spoke.
"What is it?" Ye Ming retracted his cold expression.
"As it is now, the actions of those sects should not conflict with our plan! On the contrary, they should even have some promoting effect!" Du Yue Mian looked at him and asked, "But why do you seem unhappy!"
Yes!
Just as Du Yue Mian said, those sects left immortal cultivation techniques in the inheritance tokens, allowing those ancient martial artists to begin learning.
Wasn't this exactly what Ye Ming had been doing?
Logically, if someone helped him spread immortal cultivation knowledge, he should be pleased.
But he didn't seem to feel the joy Du Yue Mian mentioned.
"Yue Mian! You are right, if we only look at the surface, I should indeed be happy! But some things, you have to learn to look at the essence!"
Ye Ming knew that Du Yue Mian was not skilled at understanding human psychology and schemes, so he could only guide her slowly.
"Essence?"
Hearing this, Du Yue Mian calmed herself and began to ponder.
If Fang Junxue or that Madam Li were here, they would have understood Ye Ming's meaning immediately.
A moment later, Du Yue Mian, as if suddenly awakened from a dream, looked up abruptly and said, "Goals! Their goals and our goals are different! Spreading immortal cultivation knowledge is merely a means to achieve their goals."
Hearing this, Ye Ming smiled with relief and said, "Exactly! Spreading immortal cultivation knowledge is just our means. What I truly want to do, and what those sects want to do, are not the same thing!"
It was precisely because of this that Ye Ming saw something deeper behind that obvious scheme.
"What do they want to do?"
Now that she understood this, a hint of worry flashed in Du Yue Mian's beautiful eyes.
"I only have a general guess about their specific objectives, and I cannot be sure yet. However…" At this point, Ye Ming's eyes narrowed, and a sharp, cold light flickered in the depths of his pupils:
"However, behind this series of actions, I see ambition and... desire!"
...
As the last ancient martial artist completed their test, this grand feast of opportunities was officially declared over.
Each ancient martial sect had gained something, more or less.
Among them, the greatest beneficiaries were naturally the four super forces.
Since the opportunities had been obtained, it was natural to return to their respective sects.
However, everyone was unaware.
The final act of the approaching twilight had quietly begun.
"Hehehe! It's finally my turn to perform!"
Among the crowd, a figure shrouded in a black robe revealed a sinister smile.