As they flew closer to the sect, a huge mountainrange suddenly emerged in the distance. The highest mountain had a height of over 50000 meters and it easily pierced the clouds.
As you flew closer, you could see that the entire mountain was covered by simple houses that got more luxurious as you moved towards the top.
At the foot of the mountain was a city that could house at least 30 Million people. Those were different workers that ensured that the sect member's everyday life was possible without distractions.
You could also see a market place in the center of the city that was filled with luxurious, ancient-style pagodas that reached into the sky for several hundred meters.
The destination of Karl and Kael was the part of the city that was located right at the foot of the mountain. There was a huge square that was already filled with about 250.000 people. Of course there would have been many more who were willing to come but one of the requirements was to at least have C-Grade Talent in one aspect and at least D-Grade Cultivation Talent.
Kael and Karl needed to land their eagle a distance away from the square as to not disturb any people. Karl was somewhat disappointed that his entry didn't achieve his intended effect, but luckily he already had the next idea.
‚Let me quickly stand on your head. This way everybody will be able to see me and know that I'm above you instantly.'
Kael of course didn't like the idea but after a few minutes of bickering they settled for Karl to sit on Kael's shoulder.
Kael was honestly just worried that the small raccoon would be trampled in the crowd, after all most people won't see him and the place was already somewhat filled.
After just a minute of walking he once again reached the square they already flew over earlier, this time with Karl on Kael's shoulder.
They stood in front of an imposing gate that was at least 20 meters high and seemed to be made out of solid metal with a high quality.
Kael didn't doubt that it could even withstand attacks of cultivators in the Core Formation realm.
After waiting for another hour, 6 figures suddenly landed on the gate. They were 3 men and 3 women with one women in the lead and the others behind her.
They all carried an aura of power and immortality. This was further increased by the fact that they came here by flying down from the mountain through the clouds.
„My name is Elder Beatrice and I'm an inner sect elder. I will supervise this entrance examination." The female elder in the lead suddenly spoke. At the same time she released her cultivation which meant that all the candidates on the ground were suddenly affected by a pressure that silenced them.
„The examination is divided into 3 parts. The first part will start after the gates open. You will simply need to go to one of the sect disciples behind the gate and register your name, age and talent."
After her words the gate slowly opened and you could see about a thousand people standing before desks behind the gate.
A line formed with about 250 people waiting behind each of the desks. Kael was further towards the back since he was one of the last ones to arrive. After an hour of waiting it was finally his turn.
He arrived at a desk with two crystal balls with runes engraved on them. Behind the desk stood an average looking male disciple that had a bored expression.
„Name?"
„Kael. No last name"
„Okay, please put your hand on the first crystal ball. It's responsible for checking your realm and age."
Kael did as he was told and felt a slight amount of spiritual energy invading his body. After circulating through it one time it returned into the crystal ball.
[Age: 17 years, 1.5 months]
[Realm: 1st Stage Energy Gathering]
On the disciples face a hint of disdain could be seen after the ball showed the results of the test. After all most people with C grade talent would have at least reached the 3rd stage of the Energy Refinement stage as long as they have at least an average background.
„Okay put your hand on the second crystal next!" This time the disciple neither provided an explanation nor was his tone friendly.
But Kael didn't mind something as minor as this. He would probably be the same after testing over 200 people.
In his past life he had to work in a fastfood restaurant and having to deal with entitled customers the entire day cost him his last nerve.
Kael simply laid his hand on the second crystal and a prompt appeared before his eyes.
[Do you want to display your talents?]
‚Yes'
[Show original or manipulated talents?]
‚Please show the manipulated ones.'
Due to his increase in system authority Kael gained the ability to alter his status screen when displaying it to someone with lower authority. Since no one here had a higher authority than him no one could see through his changes.
[Bloodline: None
Constitution: Earthly Space Physique (High Earth Grade)
Soul: None]
[Talents:
Cultivation Talent: S - Grade
Body Refinement: S - Grade
Soul Cultivation: B - Grade
Comprehension: SS-Grade]
Even though Kael didn't want to make every higher up of the human race jealous of him, it didn't mean he would completely hide his talents.
Kael was sure that the peak talents of the human race were about S grade so he showed just that to maximize the amount of resources he could gain.
Even though Kael was careful, it didn't mean he was a coward. He knew just how much he had to show to attract a healthy amount of attention.
As for his made up physique - the chaos part of his physique granted him an affinity with space so he could probably use abilities similar to the physique. The reason why he displayed them was that he had to find an origin for his special spiritual energy.
Space was known to be an extremely destructive element which could explain his void spiritual energy. They had a lot of similarities.
Aside from that the higher ups of sects always looked for special physiques and the one he chose was especially powerful due to its affinity with one of the 12 Great Laws.
After the disciple saw the information before him, a hint of panic and surprise popped up on his face and he directly contacted the inner sect elder.
After he did that he suddenly realized that he might have offended this supremely talented figure before him and hoped that he wouldn't keep a grudge.
After just a few seconds the elder arrived. Kael slightly bowed to her and tried to maintain a calm face when he was confronted by her aura.
„Greetings, elder Beatrice" the disciple said nervously. Upon noticing the greeting Kael repeated the words as well.
„For what reason did you summon me?" Elder Beatrice asked with a gentle look on her face. It seemed like she was a nice person and didn't view the disciple as an ant.
„I-It's because of this man. He has S grade talent in all categories and even a special physique." The disciple answered with a noticeable anxiety in his voice.
As the elder directed her sight towards the crystal to confirm the disciples words her eyes widened in surprise.
She suddenly looked at Kael as if she had found a treasure, which made him somewhat nervous.
„Young man, with your talent you can easily become a core disciple. Even if I would like to let you skip the examination, it is sadly not within my power since I can't just break the sect rules."
„But do give your all. The better you perform, the better your rewards are. I will contact you again after the trials are over."
Afterwards the elder simply flew off without even waiting for an answer from Kael. She seemed to stare intently into the air, probably trying to contact someone through the system.
Kael afterwards turned towards the disciple who simply told him to go towards the waiting area behind the tables where about 200000 people were already waiting.
Once there Kael suddenly spotted some familiar faces. They were Alex and Alexandra, the teammates with whom he had his first hunt.
„Hey Alex, Alexandra, what are you doing here?"
The two youths looked around in confusion until they spotted Kael. Their eyes showed a hint of joy, after all they still remember how strong the guy before them was.
„Hey Kael, long time no see! Where did you go after we parted ways last time?" Alex asked. After adding each other as friends on the system they asked Kael if he wanted to hunt with them a few times but he always said that he was cultivating.
„Well, I was kind of stuck somewhere. I was trapped in an array inside a cave and only managed to get out after a whole year. That's also why my realm increased so little."
When the two siblings focused their attention on Kael's energy they indeed noticed that it was very low. Especially for someone they knew had at least A level talent.
What Kael just told them was a reply he already made up beforehand should someone ask him the reason for his absence over an entire year.
But it seems like he underestimated just how lonely the old Keal actually was.
„Who's that cute little guy on your shoulder? Can I pet him?" Alexandra asked while looking at Karl with scary eyes. At least from Karl's perspective they looked very intimidating.
„Oh he's just Karl. I found him inside the cave and decided to contract him since he's about as talented as me. He also doesn't like being pet."
„By the way, do you know about the next parts of the trial?"
The sibling duo looked at Kael with a dumbfounded expression. Who takes the trial without at least gathering some information about the content beforehand.
But Kael's lack of information didn't stem from his ignorance but instead from his high amount of confidence. With his talent any trial on this planet should be pretty easy.
„Of course we do. Let me tell, you it's not going to be easy."