Accidentally invincible!-Chapter 68 - 00: The Assessment Begins

A few days later.

Dawn City.

"Holy crap! Damn, it’s huge!"

Lin Fan sat on his horse, staring at the towering city before him, utterly shaken.

Forgive him for using such crude words—Dawn City’s sheer magnificence left him without better vocabulary.

He really had no idea how else to describe it.

This must be what people mean by "you regret not reading more books when the time comes to use them." That’s exactly how Lin Fan felt right now.

"Brother, what eloquence. Dawn City is the Immortal Sect’s exam city, also known as Sky Ascending City. When commoners see it, they often say it’s like a celestial palace descended from heaven. But to hear such an unique description from you? Truly unprecedented. I must say, today’s encounter is extraordinary indeed."

A discordant voice came from behind.

Lin Fan turned around to look. Behind him were a group of well-dressed young men and women on horseback. Judging from their attire, it was clear they were noble family young masters and mistresses, a far cry from his lowly constable status.

The men and women all wore faint smirks, with some even laughing openly without restraint.

The way they looked at Lin Fan was as if they were staring at an illiterate bumpkin.

In the eyes of these noble family disciples, someone uneducated was no better than trash.

"Holy crap! Why does this feel so familiar?"

It felt just like walking out of the beginner’s village only to run into a bunch of arrogant showoffs. And, unable to hold back, he’d swing out and smack them down one by one.

Thus beginning the epic saga of beating up the young, then tackling the old, and farming endless experience points along the way.

Lin Fan glanced at them a few more times, committing their faces to memory. Fine, let me get into the Immortal Sect first. After that, I’ll come back and properly teach you all a lesson.

Not bothering with them any further, he headed straight into the city.

Dawn City lived up to being a massive city, incomparable to Jiangdu City. The gap between the two was like heaven and earth.

Jiangdu City may have been bustling with commoners, but here the crowds were filled with many people like Lin Fan.

Not long after entering, he noticed a crowd gathered around a bulletin board. Curious, he went over to take a look. It turned out to be information regarding the Immortal Sect’s exam.

"Judging by the dates here, it should be tomorrow. I wonder if Li Zhiyong and the others are also in Dawn City."

Lin Fan mused to himself.

He wasn’t very familiar with the outside world.

But those thoughts didn’t matter much now.

The priority was finding a place to stay for the night and preparing for tomorrow’s Immortal Sect exam.

He was feeling a little anxious.

How could he not be? Up to now, he only had Spirit Root Fragments that he couldn’t even use. To put it bluntly, he essentially had no Spirit Root at all.

It’s not like he didn’t want a Spirit Root.

It’s just that after so much effort, the drop rate for Spirit Roots was absurdly low.

Oh well.

No point dwelling on it too much.

Someone as outstanding as me—the discerning eyes of the Immortal Sect disciples are bound to notice the brilliance in someone like me.

Perhaps due to the Immortal Sect exam, the inns in the city were outrageously expensive. A day’s cost here could let someone stay an entire month in Jiangdu City.

The kicker was, business was booming regardless.

After stashing his belongings, he headed to a teahouse to eavesdrop on some rumors.

When he arrived, he found it far more crowded than he had imagined. Every seat was already taken. But this didn’t stop him from gleaning intel at the teahouse. No seats? Fine, whatever.

Standing off to the side and munching on sunflower seeds worked just as well.

Leaning against a pillar, Lin Fan listened to the varied chatter around him, picking out any useful information.

"I heard this year’s Immortal Sect exam is going to be particularly strict. In the past, even Mixed Spiritual Roots could become servant disciples. But now, you need at least a First-Grade Spirit Root just for that."

"No way. Who told you that? That kind of requirement would disqualify so many people."

"It’s what I heard from my seventh aunt’s eighth cousin’s son’s friend’s uncle’s son, who’s an Immortal Sect disciple. He mentioned it when he last visited home."

The speaker’s face radiated smugness, as if the disciple was his own son.

Of course, the truth of it remained questionable. But hey, one can brag, and the other really dares to buy it—utterly impressive.

To Lin Fan, this was a major letdown.

Forget a First-Grade Spirit Root. He wasn’t even a Mixed Spiritual Root!

If this guy was telling the truth, then joining the Immortal Sect was looking to be rather challenging.

Out of all the people Lin Fan had encountered so far, only a very few had Spirit Roots to begin with.

That alone proved how low the odds were for ordinary folks to manifest Spirit Roots.

He kept listening.

"Hey, ever since some guy with Ninth-Grade Spirit Roots emerged from Dawn City ten years ago, this place has been dedicated to Immortal Sect examinations. Not only does it attract a lot of attention, but many people have seized the opportunity to make a fortune."

"I’m from out of town. Tell me more about this Ninth-Grade Spirit Root business."

"How should I know what exactly a Ninth-Grade Spirit Root is? It’s just really high-level, that’s all. Think about it—if Mixed Spiritual Roots used to qualify as a servant disciple, how insanely rare must Ninth-Grade Spirit Roots be? When it happened, even the examiners were completely dumbfounded. The whole exam got postponed because of that one disciple."

"Let me tell you, the guy with the Ninth-Grade Spirit Root came from an ordinary, poverty-stricken family here in our city. He and his mother depended on each other to survive, struggling even to eat. But who could’ve thought that with a Ninth-Grade Spirit Root, he’d soar to the heavens in one leap? Even his mother was taken to the Immortal Sect to enjoy a life of luxury. Jealous, aren’t you?"

The surrounding listeners gasped in astonishment, clearly shaken by the news.

Who could’ve imagined that a dragon could rise from such humble origins? It was beyond belief.

Lin Fan wasn’t sure if their story was true or not, but he managed to piece together some useful details.

The Spirit Root rankings were quite extensive.

They started with Spirit Root Fragments, followed by Mixed Spiritual Roots, then First-Grade, Second-Grade, all the way up to Ninth-Grade.

He counted them off on his fingers.

Suddenly.

His heart sank into an icy pit.

This had to be a bad joke.

Feeling melancholy, he left the teahouse.

The next day!

At the Immortal Sect exam plaza.

The place was already packed with people, many craning their necks and looking toward the empty high platform in the distance, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Immortal Sect disciples.

Amidst the crowd, Lin Fan stood inconspicuously, so ordinary that no one paid him any attention.

Perhaps this was the plight of mortals.

No matter how remarkable a mortal is, when faced with an Immortal’s radiance, it becomes nearly impossible to stand out.

In the Heavenly Vault above.

An Immortal Boat floated in the skies, its hull radiating dazzling streams of light. Many people stood atop the boat.

One of them, a middle-aged man in long robes, gazed deeply at the ant-sized Dawn City below, stroking his beard as he said, "I wonder if this year’s exam will uncover another genius."

"Senior Brother, it’s rare enough to produce a prodigy once a century. It’s only been ten years—how could another one appear? If it really does happen, then this city might truly be a treasure trove of the Immortals, a place capable of nurturing such exceptional talent." The man carrying a longsword replied.

Recalling the past events, it was indeed extraordinary.

"True, I was merely speaking casually. It’s about time to begin the exam. Let us hope this year doesn’t disappoint," the middle-aged man said.

With that.

The sword-bearing man took a step forward. Behind him, his longsword emitted a sharp sound as it flew beneath his feet, carrying him downward toward the city.

In an instant.

A thunderous boom resonated throughout heaven and earth.

"The Immortal Sect exam begins! Everyone shall remain silent!"