Grand Selection

## Overview

Consists of three selections. The First Selection involve 400,000 ordinary geniuses from the Sixteen Kingdom Alliance, out of which 3,000 would participate along sect disciples of the four major sects (Purple Sun Sect, Precious Tree Sect, Flowing Wind Sect and Myriad Spirit Sect) in the Second Selection who an for 3 years. These three years would not only be the second round, but also a cultivation process. Hidden potential and strength would come to light in this stage, and competition would be fierce, in which 64 people would be selected for the Third Selection to determine the top 16 who would become personal disciples of the forefathers of the four sects.

## Rules

* Participants must surrender their registration token for a participant token, a uniform, and a mask.
* Selection is anonymous in both the first and second round for the ordinary geniuses. This is not the case for sect disciples.
* Participants are not allowed to reveal their real identity to prevent cheating and ensure that the four great sects make their selections fairly. If anyone lets their mask or uniform drop from them during the selection, that will result in automatic disqualification. There is a miniscule spirit glyph embedded within the uniform so examiners will know when it departs from a participant body.

## First Selection

The first selection would choose ten thousand from four hundred thousand participants to advance onwards. The ten thousand would then participate in a second selection with the disciples of similar ages from the four sects.

### Notable Candidates

First Selection

### **First Trial : Trial of the Heart** (283)

**Summary :** The first trial is one of the heart. In the world of martial dao, regardless of what you potential is, you must pass the trial of the heart. If you fail to pass even that, then you are destined for mediocrity in this world. Without a strong heart on the path of dao, you will amount to nothing in the end

* This trial is called the path of rebirth.
* This trial will be testing the strength of their heart.
* Participants will be divided into a hundred different areas and enter the path. Each will absorb three to four thousand people.
* The difficulty is the same for everyone, but different scenes will appear according to the composition of their hearts.
* This trial is the one with the highest failure rate. Two thirds, or even more, of those assembled here may be disqualified.
* The duration of the trial is limited to ten days.
* If you can complete a circuit of the path in ten days, that means you’ve passed. Eight days, that means your strength of the heart is above average. Five days, that means you are absolutely a genius in the matters of the mind. Three days, then you are an unsurpassed genius in this regard.
* Incidentally, if you finish within three days, your scores will be directly sent on towards the forefathers and you’ll receive special attention.
* ou are forever alone on the path of rebirth and you won’t bump into anyone.Therefore, they won’t need to worry about conflict from each other in this trial.
* Once set out on your path, participants can only move forward, not backward. Once they go backwards, the path of rebirth will be thrown into chaos and they’ll be disqualified immediately.
* The stronger the determination within your heart, the greater the tests the path of rebirth would give to you.

**Result :**

There were only seventy thousand left of those who had truly passed through the path of rebirth.

Result of the First Trial

### **Second Trial : Trial of Innate Talents** (287)

**Summary :** You will face many decisions in this trial. You can choose a test of martial dao, a test of pills, or a test of formations. Of course, the best thing to do is to run through all of them once. You will have more opportunities to excavate your own potential this way.

* It's a test of spirit roots. The spirit root is a measure of how much potential there is in your body, what level, and approximately how far you could walk along this path
* The second trial is divided into a hundred testing sites.
* There were tests of martial dao, pills, glyphs, formations, and taming spirit creatures in the trial of talents.
* The second trial would also run for ten days.
* If one were to participate in every test, that still wouldn’t be enough time. Therefore, all participants had to make a decision.$
* The test of martial talent is one that tests your control, affinity, and mastery over the powers of nature. The powers of the five elements are present in nature, and that is exactly what this test is focusing on. There are countless caverns here, and each one embodies the power of one of the elements. These caverns are divided into three difficulty levels, easy, intermediate, and difficult. Participants are to decide upon a level of difficulty and remain within it to perceive the power of nature. The greater the difficulty and the longer you remain within the cavern means the greater your potential in this area.
* If you choose the easy level and remain within for three days, that will be considered a pass and you will be noted as one with lesser spirit potential. If you pass the intermediate difficulty level, you will be noted as one with intermediate spirit potential. If you choose the difficult level and remain within for three days, then you will possess superior spirit potential.

**Result :**

Nearly half of the seventy thousand was gone. Less than forty thousand made it to the third trial.

Result of the Second Trial

### **Third Trial : Trial of Endurance and Potential** (290)

**Summary :** In this trial, you will face the Endless Mountain. There are ten thousand steps in the mountain, divided into ten floors. The level of floors and steps you can take will partition your endurance and potential.

* You must climb the Endless Mountain.
* There are a hundred thousand stairs, and each ten thousand steps is one floor.
* You will have qualified if you make it to the fifth floor. The sixth floor marks you as above average. The seventh floor marks you with excellent potential. The eighth floor indicates that you are worthy of the title of genius. The ninth floor means that you are on par with the geniuses of the four sects. If you reach the e tenth floor, then you have reason to be proud of yourself. Even the premier geniuses of the sects cannot make it to that floor.
* This is a magnetic Endless Mountain. The magnetism of each floor and the difficulty of each floor will double as you pass them. Therefore, you’ll find it easy at the beginning, but you’ll find each successive step more difficult as you go up.
* In order to stimulate your potential and reward your advancement, some unique opportunities will await you starting on each floor after the fifth. If you’re lucky, you’ll receive some unexpected gains from there.
* You can only linger for two hours before you attempt the next floor, so you only have two hours in which to try your luck. Otherwise, if you tarry for longer than two hours, that means you’ve given up on climbing and the mountain will bounce you out, thus concluding your trial.
* The longer one sits down to meditate, the greater the magnetic pull will become on one’s body. To meditate on this mountain is to fall into a pit of their own digging.
* The third trial would also run for ten days.

**Result :**

Less than twenty thousand candidates of the original four hundred thousand remained after the first three trials had ended.

Result of the Third Trial
 Ninth Floor (Public)

### **Fourth Trial : Trial of Practical Combat** (301)

**Summary :** Combat cannot be avoided on the path of martial dao. This will test your skills in actual fighting and your comprehension of martial arts techniques. If the trial of talent was to test your innate skills, then this one is to test your understanding and skill in actual combat.

* The fourth trial tests one’s practical combat capabilities, as well as one’s martial arts techniques.
* The stone marker will display a martial arts technique called the ‘Obscure Seal of Life and Death’ with details of the technique fully displayed on the marker. You will have, at most, three days to both learn and grasp it. The focus is on learning and grasping it. You can only simulate how to use it in your mind, but cannot actually practice it. You will enter the ‘Great Hall of the Netherworld’ to be tested after three days.
* There are countless secret chambers within the Hall, and each chamber in turn holds golems of varying levels. These golems will only use the ‘Obscure Seal of Life and Death’ to spar with you.
* There are ten levels to the secret chambers
* You have three chances to take the challenge.
* Those who rank in the top 8,000 will advance to the next trial. All those who remain will be eliminated.
* According to the rules of ranking, it will be determined by the level of the secret chamber you challenge.
* If two candidates challenge a chamber of the same level then the amount of time used to complete the challenge will be used to determine ranking. The shorter amount of time used in the same level of difficulty, the higher one’s ranking will be. If the amount of time elapsed also happens to be the same, then whoever finished grasping the ‘Obscure Seal of Life and Death’ first will be ranked higher.

**Result :**

The top eight thousand candidates were quickly ranked. Those below the top eight thousand were all sent out of the legacy territory of ancient times.

Result of the Fourth Trial
challenged
 Second
 Third

### **Fifth Trial : Trial of Fortune** (306)

*Summary :* Fortune will be tested in this trial. Fortune appears as something abstract and intangible, but it’s something that cannot be ignored in the world of martial dao. Some have extraordinary potential, others have superb powers of comprehension, but why can they not make it to the peak of martial dao? What are they lacking? That would be fortune.

* The fifth trial tests fortune. Fortune and luck are intangible and mysteriousness. Whether or not you believe it, fortune and luck are present in the path of martial dao. The stronger one is and higher the comprehension, the more one will sense their existence.
* No one will be actively eliminated in this trial, but that doesn’t mean that no one will be eliminated. Remember, the only way you will be eliminated in this trial is by death.
* The duration of the trial is ten days.
* Participants enter a place called the ‘Valley of Destruction’, inside it they will encounter various fortuitous encounters, challenges, and even danger. How your life will be will materialize in this trial. If your luck is strong and fortune steady, then the lucky star may shine upon you and you may pick up a treasure even by bending over. If you lack good fortune, then you may run into disaster every three steps and a calamity every five steps. You make sprain your ankle when you walk and choke when you drink water…
* There are no restrictions in this trial. This meant that the rules allowed candidates to kill and scheme against each other.
* The only thing you must do is to stay alive.
* There are no rankings in this trial. All those who remain alive will make it into the second selection.
* Whatever you obtain and however much you gain, it will belong to you.

**Result :**

Only 3,500 candidates are left. This meant that 4,500 out of the original eight thousand that had entered had fallen into eternal slumber within the valley. This death rate was greater than fifty percent!

Result of the Fifth Trial
 Xiao Fei | Survived

## Second Selection

### Rules & Informations

* **Location :** Eternal Spirit Mountain
* **Number of candidates :** 7,100 candidates.
* **Duration :** 3 years. **/!\** Three years in here is equivalent to thirty years meaning that the concentration of spirit qi within the mountain was ten times that of the outside world.
* **Quadrants & Levels :** The Eternal Spirit Mountain is split into four quadrants of the sky spirit quadrant, earth spirit quadrant, mystic spirit quadrant, yellow spirit quadrant but this is only an overall division and not particularly fine tuned. All candidates will be divided into four levels of first, second, third, and fourth. This meant that the candidates participating had been divided into sixteen levels. First level sky quadrant, second level sky quadrant… all the way to fourth level yellow quadrant. **/!\** Sky = 1st Quadrant, Earth = 2nd Quadrant, Mystic = 3rd Quadrant, Yellow = 4th Quadrant.
* **Initial Repartition :** The premier geniuses in the four sects, and only a hundred of them, have been arranged to occupy the sky spirit quadrant in this selection. The second geniuses in the four sects to the earth spirit quadrant and the weaker sect disciples with lower potentials to the mystic spirit quadrant. As for the ordinary practitioners from the first selection, they have been assigned for the most part to the yellow spirit quadrant. For those who displayed exemplary performance, the top ten will be sent to the mystic spirit quadrant.
* **Quadrants Repartition :** There are a hundred within the sky quadrant, five hundred within the earth quadrant, three thousand in the mystic, and 3,500 in the yellow.
* **Challenges :** These levels aren’t set in stone and you may challenge those in higher quadrants than you. Those in inferior quadrants can also challenge you and take your place. The rules of advancement change every three months, and the basis for the change is based on your talents and strength. To be more precise, it’s a reflection of your battle strength. Every person in each quadrant much complete a hundred challenges a month. The one hundred challenges is to challenge twenty five candidates in each level in the three months. The win rate of these hundred challenges will determine your rankings. The strongest ten will advance one level, and the lowest performing ten will be demoted a level. *How to choose your opponents?* It will be random selection within the levels. In order to ensure the rights of each candidate, the same opponent won’t appear twice! This meant that they would meet a hundred different opponents for each cycle’s challenges. The successive sixteen hours starting from the morning (TN: precise time given is 7am – 9am) of each day were open for challenges. All candidates had to remain within the Arena and could not leave. This was because each candidate was not only a challenger, but also someone to be challenged. This rule did not apply after a candidate had been challenged three times in the same day, and they were allowed to leave first. Their name would then be struck off the list and they would no longer be able to receive more challenges that day.If you don’t complete the hundred chapters , whether due to injury or other reasons, then each challenge you miss will become a loss. If you feel that the opponent challenging you is too strong, you can choose to forfeit to protect yourself from injury. Your opponent will win without having to fight, and each forfeit will also be deducted from the fights you win. Some casualties are inevitable amongst these challenges and each person is responsible for their own life.
* **Fighting Time Limit :** Each fight can only last 30 minutes. If no one has beaten their opponent or neither side has conceded the match during this time, it will be up to the judges to determine who has won. Victory will be awarded according to the development of the battle. The side that is deemed to be the passive one will be denoted the loser. Remember, there are no draws. If you cannot defeat your opponent, at least strive to suppress them in the ring.
* **Cycles :** Three months was the duration of the cycle, and each candidate had to complete a hundred challenges in each cycle, with their ranking determined by their win rate. There were only 10 slots of advancements in each quadrant every three months. With three months being a cycle, there were four in a year and twelve altogether within three years. This meant there were twelve chances of advancement altogether in the trial.
* **Demotion from the Yellow Quadrant :** Forty candidates will be eliminated from the yellow quadrant in three months. 160 of you will be eliminated each year. That will make 500 in three years. Therefore, those of you in the yellow level are in the most precarious position. Those in other quadrants will be demoted at most, but the last 40 of you will be eliminated. These 500 candidats who are eliminated will not be able to join a sect at the end of the selection.
* **Scores :** The scores are calculated from your win rates. If you’re the one receiving the challenge, you can only accept it, but whether it’s a win or loss — that won’t affected your win rate. Therefore, it’s a hundred challenges in name, but there’s no way that you will be fighting only a hundred times. You could be the challenger or the one being challenged. When we calculate the rates, we will pay attention only to the times in which you were the challenger. In this regard, the frequency of battles would be quite high. One had to both complete a hundred challenges and fend off an unknown amount of challenges. On average, each person would likely fight two hundred times.This meant that there would be two battles on average each day.
* **Personal Fighting :** All forms of personal fighting are strictly prohibited during this time. If you’re lucky enough to avoid being caught, we can’t do anything to you. But if you are caught, you will be punished harshly.
* **Residences :** First level disciples will have a residence to themselves. Second level disciples will live two to a residence. Four to a residence for third level, and eight to a residence for fourth level.
* **Qualification for the Third Selection :** The sixty four candidates will all be chosen from the sky quadrant.

### **Mystic Spirit Quadrant (Cycle 1)** (319)

Timeline : Start of the selection.

Notable Battles of the Mystic Spirit Quadrant
Challenger
Challenged

Ranking of the Mystic Spirit Quadrant
 Xiao Fei |  |  | 7th
 Liu Wencai |  |  | 8th

### **Earth Spirit Quadrant (Cycle 2)** (342)

Timeline : 3 months since the start of the selection.

* **External Interference :** The hundred challenges will be different in this cycle. This time, the rings in which matches take place will not be without any external interference. Rings will be divided into the following: ring of gravity, ring of fire, ring of ice, ring of thorns, and ring of soul devouring. Each candidates will spend twenty matches each in the five different types of rings for a total of a hundred challenges.
* **Duration Decrease** : Everyone must complete a hundred challenges, and the time allotted for fighting is one hour. If you do not defeat your opponent within the allotted time, the development of the battle will be used to determine who wins and who losses.
* **Residences :** Everyone have his own residence, no matter if you're from the first level or the fourth level.

Notable Battles of the Earth Spirit Quadrant
Challenger
Challenged

Ranking of the Earth Spirit Quadrant
 Liu Wencai |  |  | Top100
 Lu Yali |  |  | Top200

### **Sky Spirit Quadrant (Cycle 3)** (364)

Timeline : 6 months since the start of the selection.

* **Cumulative Score :** The scores for each cycle are cumulative in the sky quadrant.
* **Promoted :** Every candidate that ascends to the sky quadrant starts off with zero.
* **Demoted :** For those who are demoted their scores are zeroed when they leave the sky quadrant. If they are promoted and came back in the sky quadrant in another cycle, they will start off as a newcomer and start from scratch.
* **Disadvantages :** Those who came to the sky spirit quadrant later are thus disadvantaged since others participants already present had time to cumulate score.
* **Acquisition of points** : The sky quadrant is completely different from the other quadrants. The tests that participants need to undertake here aren’t just limited to matches in the rings. One’s scores was dependent on the acquisition of points in the sky quadrant, and there were two major ways to gain points. There was a foundational way to win points and an advanced way.
* *Foundational way :*The foundational way was the same for everyone. It was divided into four areas (martial dao, strength of heart, pills, and a combination of them all), and each area had five exams for a total of 20 exams. Each exam was worth five points, for a total of 100. An appropriate number of points would be awarded based on the number of foundational exams completed. Points would not be deducted if exams were left unfinished.
* *Advanced way :* There were a lot of ways to win points in the advanced method.
* **Challenges:** In order to challenge other candidates here, you needed to bet 20 points. If you won, you would regain your 20, and the opponent’s 20. Accordingly, the same if your opponent triumphs, your loss would forfeit your 20 point bet to the opponent. The rules stated that every candidate could issue one challenge a day, with their opponents selected at random. The rules set the original bet at 20 points, but if both sides agreed, one could increase that up to 50, 100, or even all the points a candidate currently had. But of course, both sides had to agree to this.
* **Regular Missions:** There were five mission levels. A first level mission would result in 10 points if completed. A second level mission would result in 20 points if completed. A third level mission would result in 40 points if completed. A fourth level mission would result in 100 points if completed. Finally, a fifth level mission would result in 200 points if completed. If the mission wasn’t completed, the value of the mission was deducted from the candidate’s points thus you cannot take a mission if you don't have enough points in reserve. There was only one chance a day to apply for a mission. If one failed, one was barred from applying for a mission within the next five days, and had to wait until the sixth to apply again.
* **Special Missions** : Some special ones were occasionally released as well. The points available from these special ones were exceeding high. However, there was only one such mission a month. The number of points available were extremely high, and points wouldn’t be docked if candidates failed. However, what made these missions special was that there was a degree of danger to them.
* **Cultivating the candidates :** Rules of the sky quadrant were focused on cultivating the candidates, allowing them to fully develop in these three years. Therefore, there were less clashes between the candidates when compared to the other quadrants. This was to avoid the premier geniuses exchanging blows too early and thus leading to the early loss of genius talent. After all, in the end they would select the strongest 64 for the final selection. Then, the candidates would have ample opportunity to display their techniques and determine who was truly the most superior.
* **Examiners :** The main focus of the selection was placed in the sky quadrant. Therefore, there were more examiners than candidates. There were one hundred candidates in this quadrant, but three to four hundred examiners dancing attendance on them.
* **Qualification for the 3rd selection :** The strongest 64 candidates with the most points will be qualified to participate in the third and final selection.

Current Ranking at the end of the Sky Spirit Quadrant's third cycle
points
 Luo Xi | ?
 Shi Yunyun | ?
 Lian Canghai | ?
 Jiang Chen | ?

### **Selection shortened** (386)

Timeline : 8 months since the start of the selection.

* Due to Elder Shun attack on the formation of the Four Sects in the Eternal Spirit Mountain, the time allowed on keeping the mountain opened has been halved and can only able to be maintained for another half year.
* The forefathers thus chose to reduce the time duration of three years to one year. Twelve cycles reduced to four cycles.
* Once these four cycles have ended, the selection of the 64 candidates will be held and then they will compete for the final 16.

### **Sky Spirit Quadrant (Cycle 4)** (387)

Timeline : 9 months since the start of the selection.

* **Promotion :** Liu Wencai, the champion of the Earth Spirit Quadrant (Cycle 3) is promoted to the Sky Spirit Quadrant (Cycle 4).
* The Top64 is qualified for the third selection.

## **Third Selection**

* The 64 candidates with the most points from the Sky Spirit Quadrant are qualified for the third selection.
* Candidates are assigned numbers according to their rankings, and eliminations will occur via matches. First ranked will fight against the sixty fourth, second against sixty third, and so on and so forth.
* The top 32 will be chosen after the first round, and the final 16 after the second round.
* The forefathers will conduct further testing on the final 16 and take them as theirpersonal disciples.
* When the list of the final 16 is announced, another ranking match will be held. The higher the final ranking is, the more value will be placed on the candidate.

* To ensure that the four venerated ones and the heavyweights of the sects could observe all candidates from all aspects only four matches could be held a day. Two in the morning, two in the afternoon.
* Each match was limited to four hours. In this way, the four matches a day would expend 16 hours.
* Eight days would be needed to complete the first round, and only four days for the second round of sixteen matches.
* All candidates had to be present and observe during the matches.

### **[Battle of the Top 32]** (392)

* All candidates were to rest for two days after the first round.
* There were sixteen matches in the second round. With four matches a day, only four days would be needed to go through them all.
* Anyone who won directly advanced to the top 16, becoming someone that the forefathers would focus on training.

### **[Recruitement & Battle of the Top 16]** (396)

**Recruitement**

* Those in the top 16 who originally belonged to a sect would basically still remain in that sect. But if some sect disciple didn’t wish to stay in their own sect, then their original sect couldn’t force them to stay and would have to let them go.
* The exception being Jiang Chen, the secular genius, who wasn't affiliated to any sect.
* Each forefather had three minutes to list their promises and conditions, and the sect that the candidate belonged to had first priority.

#### **Ranking of the Final Sixteen** (399)

* The rules of the ranking battles were the same as the rules from before. Number one would match up against number sixteen, two and fifteen, and so on and so forth. The rankings were the ones previously determined in the selection.

* After the first round, the top eight made it into the upper half, and the lower eight was assigned to the bottom half to continue and fight for a ranking.

Battle of the Top 8 (Quarter Final)

Battle of the Top 4 (Semi Final)

Grand Final