After Su Rou and the others left, the grand hall fell silent.
A long time passed before the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. A disciple sprinted in at full speed.
It was Duan Yuxuan, but the man who burst through the doors was practically unrecognizable compared to the one who had entered the underground palace.
His hair was in disarray, drenched in sweat, gasping for air in great heaving breaths as he charged straight toward the high platform like a madman.
"Haha, first place is mine after all! Yang Tianyu, you little brat, you actually thought you could compete with me?"
"You think I spent six whole years slumming it in the Outer Sect for nothing? I'll tell you right now — I did it all for this damn reward!"
Duan Yuxuan shouted as he ran, euphoric beyond reason, his eyes locked on the high platform so intently that he didn't even notice the Fierce Beast corpses littering the hall.
"Whoosh." He leaped into the air and landed squarely on the platform.
But when he swept his gaze downward with a triumphant grin, it was like a bolt from the blue. His expression froze instantly.
Because on that high platform, there was absolutely nothing — not a single thing.
"What the hell?"
A long moment passed before he snapped out of it, and only then did he notice that the ground beneath the platform was drenched in blood. A full forty Fierce Beast corpses were scattered across the hall.
And every single one of them had died in gruesome, spine-chilling fashion — a scene of utter carnage.
The sight terrified him so badly that his legs gave out and he plopped down right on the platform. When he turned to look back, he discovered that the gate leading out of the trial had not opened.
"What is going on here?" Duan Yuxuan was at a complete loss. His thoughts descended into chaos.
"Thud thud thud…" Just then, Yang Tianyu came running up as well, but the moment he reached the entrance to the hall, he froze.
Taking in the scene inside, then glancing at Duan Yuxuan on the platform, he was struck dumb. "You… you did this?"
Duan Yuxuan let out a hollow laugh, his face bitter. "If I say I didn't, would you believe me?"
"Of course I'd believe it. You're nowhere near strong enough for this." Yang Tianyu shot him a look and walked into the hall to examine the Fierce Beast corpses. "Heavens — there's even a fourth‑rank Fierce Beast among them. Who on earth did this?"
The two of them studied the scene for a long time but could never arrive at an answer. They couldn't fathom who in the Outer Sect possessed such terrifying power.
In the end, they even suspected it was a scheme cooked up by the elders — that the elders had pocketed the first‑place reward themselves.
But when the army of Spirit Martial Third Level disciples finally arrived, a rather comedic scene unfolded.
Everyone assumed that Yang Tianyu and Duan Yuxuan had been the ones to kill all those beasts, and that the first‑place reward had been split between the two of them.
And the funniest part was that, faced with the crowd's worshipful gazes, neither Yang Tianyu nor Duan Yuxuan bothered to deny it. Just like that, they inexplicably became the champions.
The great gate swung open, and cheers erupted along with it. Everyone was thrilled, because as long as they walked through that gate, they would become Inner Disciples — embarking on a brand‑new life.
Yet just as the crowd was celebrating, a young man who emerged from the underground palace caught everyone's attention.
He was stark naked, actually weeping, cursing with a belly full of grievances: "Who the hell did this? Not only did some bastard club me from behind, he even stripped my clothes off! What kind of pervert does that?"
The crowd stared at the spectacle in bewilderment. Chu Feng, on the other hand, simply smiled faintly, glanced down at his own perfectly intact clothes, and quietly slipped away from the group.
The Inner Sect examination had concluded. Over ten thousand had taken part; only two thousand had passed — but that was no small number.
Only upon entering the Inner Sect did one truly become a disciple of the Azure Dragon Sect, and with that came access to far superior treatment.
To welcome the new Inner Sect disciples, the elders had even organized a grand banquet.
High above, a full moon hung in the night sky. Within the Inner Sect, music and song filled the air, amplifying the joyful atmosphere to its peak.
Yet Chu Feng did not attend the banquet. Instead, he remained in his new residence, bare to the waist, studying his wounds.
The injuries were healing — and healing fast. At this rate, a few more days would see them fully recovered. And that extraordinary recuperative ability was the gift of the Divine Thunder.
"What exactly are you? And why did you choose me?"