Chapter 7
“Dong, dong, dong…”
The sound of the bell echoed throughout the Blood God Sect. Unlike the crisp morning bell, this bell was heavy and muffled.
Zhang Chen knew that this was a notice for the sect assessment.
When Zhang Chen arrived at the square, it was already filled with people. There were roughly 2,000 people.
Even the inner sect disciples he rarely met were present, numbering in the hundreds. Their clothing was distinguishable from the outer disciples, as they wore a light red attire.
There were those who were anxious, excited, and proud, each with their own expression.
“Senior Brother Wang, you’ve broken through!”
“Haha, Junior Brother Liu, didn’t you break through too?”
“Someone help me, someone help me, I don’t want to become a blood slave, I don’t want to become a blood slave.”
Looking at the noisy crowd, Zhang Chen thought to himself,
I wonder how many people will become blood slaves.
Two hours later, the crowd suddenly quieted down as seven blood shadows descended from the sky.
After landing on the ground, the blood shadows twisted and turned, transforming into five men and two women.
One young man, two middle-aged and two elderly people, one teenage girl, and one old woman.
Their expressions were varied, ranging from plain and indifferent, to mocking and playful. Some even licked their lips with a bloodthirsty look on their faces.
The only thing that was the same was that they all wore crimson robes, exuding a strong aura, full of oppression.
They were direct disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage!
Suddenly, the bloody smell in the air became incredibly strong, and a river of blood appeared in the sky.
The blood river surged and the blood boiled. The blood waves surged, covering the sky and blocking the sun, and in the blink of an eye, it appeared above everyone’s heads.
Under the imposing momentum of the blood river, everyone felt incredibly oppressed, and their blood was uncontrollable, wanting to break out of their bodies and join the blood river. Zhang Chen’s face turned pale, trying hard to suppress his blood, and his heart was full of fear.
This fear was like encountering a natural enemy coming from the bottom of his heart, and was completely uncontrollable.
The seven direct disciples cupped their hands and bowed to the blood river respectfully. “Greetings to Blood River Elder!”
“Greetings to Blood River Elder!” Everyone also quickly bowed and saluted towards the blood river.
A vortex appeared out of nowhere in the center of the blood river. In just a few breaths, it absorbed all the blood in the sky, condensing into an old man wearing a red robe.
It was none other than the famous Golden Core Elder of the Blood God Sect, the Blood River Patriarch.
The Blood River Patriarch exuded an aura like an abyss and a mountain, saying emotionlessly, “The sect assessment starts now. Anyone who hasn’t arrived will be demoted to a blood slave.”
“Respect the Elder’s decree. Any disciple who has not yet arrived from both inside and outside the sect will be demoted to a blood slave!” The seven direct disciples used their magical powers to repeat the words of the Golden Core Elder.
With the blessing of their magical powers, their voices thundered like explosions, causing the crowd to ring in their ears.
Some disciples who wanted to hide because their cultivation levels did not meet the requirements turned ashen when they heard this.
“Let the assessment begin,” the Blood River Patriarch announced in a low voice. His voice was not loud, but there was a demonic power that stirred the hearts and minds of the people.
“Respect the Elder’s decree!”
The seven direct disciples first bowed to the Blood River Patriarch, then turned to face the crowd and each spoke in turn.
“Those who have been in the sect for three years, stand in front of me.”
“Those who have been in the sect for six years, stand in front of me.”
“Those who have been in the sect for nine years, stand in front of me.”
…
Each direct disciple corresponded to a length of time in the sect, allowing the disciples of the inner and outer sect to line up on their own.
The Blood God Sect recruited disciples once every three years. Those who had just joined the sect became miscellaneous disciples and did some odd jobs. They were required to successfully absorb spiritual energy within three years and advance to the first level of Qi cultivation to become outer sect disciples.
After six years in the sect, they were required to reach the third level of Qi cultivation. After nine years in the sect, they were required to reach the fifth level of Qi cultivation, and then every three years, they were required to advance one level of cultivation.
In other words, within 21 years, they must reach the ninth level of Qi cultivation, and then they have nine years to strive for the Foundation Establishment stage.
Anyone who failed to meet the standards at any stage would only have one fate—demotion to blood slaves and having their blood drained.
The original owner had been in the sect for nine years, so Zhang Chen stood in front of the direct disciple who represented the nine-year mark.
This direct disciple was a middle-aged man, towering above everyone else, with a look of disdain, and looking down on these outer sect disciples as if they were ants.
Zhang Chen didn’t like this kind of gaze, but he dared not show it. He could only think to himself,
Soon, I will surpass you and become the one you look up to!
With that thought in mind, Zhang Chen glanced at the Blood River Patriarch, who was as powerful as a god or a demon.
I can be like that in the future!
There were 200 disciples in Zhang Chen’s group. The higher up the ladder, the fewer people there were.
Seeing that everyone had lined up, the direct disciples spoke again, “Take out your identity tokens and infuse them with spiritual Qi.”
Upon hearing these words, Zhang Chen obediently took out his identity token and infused it with spiritual power.
As the spiritual energy was injected, the identity token emitted a blood-red light and displayed the holder’s information in mid-air.
[Name: Zhang Chen]
[Entered the sect 320 years ago during the Kuiyuan era]
All of the other identity tokens were the same, except for the name and the year they entered the sect.
Foundation Establishment cultivators had divine sense which could confirm the information and current cultivation level of all disciples with a sweep.
“Six years since entering the sect, and you disguise yourself as three years to stand in front of me?” A direct disciple suddenly sneered, and blood gushed out from his body, wrapping up one person.
The disciple shouted in fear, “Senior Brother, spare me. I just misheard and stood in the wrong place.”
“Hehe.” The direct disciple sneered, and grabbed at the void.
“Ah~”
The disciple let out a miserable scream, and a large amount of blood gushed out of his body, which was instantly drained.
“Pa!” A shriveled corpse fell to the ground.
Immediately after, the other direct disciples also took action.
The blood on their bodies extended like tentacles, entangling the outer sect disciples one by one.
One of the blood tentacles even reached towards Zhang Chen’s direction, causing him to break out in a cold sweat, almost losing control of his blood to resist.
However, the target of the blood tentacle was not Zhang Chen, but the disciple next to him.
Even so, watching a healthy living person beside him being drained of blood still made his heart race.
“Ahhh…”
Instantly, screams rose and fell in the square.
Whether it was at the first level of Qi cultivation or the eighth level, they were all unable to resist and were instantly drained of blood.
With the Blood River Patriarch at the Golden Core stage presiding over everything, they dared not resist even if they wanted to.
In a moment, the ground was littered with hundreds of dried corpses.
All of them were withered and dried up, with gaping mouths and terrifying expressions.
A small number of them were trying to pass off as someone else by using secret techniques to temporarily boost their cultivation level, or by using someone else’s identity token and year of entering the sect. The vast majority, however, simply did not meet the cultivation standard.
Even among the inner sect disciples, more than a dozen people had their blood drained.
The Blood River Patriarch remained expressionless, as if those who fell weren’t humans, but weeds by the roadside.
The faces of the seven direct disciples were flushed red. They looked comfortable and intoxicated as if they had not had enough.
Although he knew how cruel the Demon Sect was, Zhang Chen still felt chills all over his body when he saw this scene.
If he could, he would not want to stay in this demonic sect where danger lurked everywhere, but he had no choice.
And this was only what was visible; there were countless others who risked their lives to break through, just like the original owner of his body.
The seven direct disciples glanced at the remaining people and suppressed their desire to drain them all. They announced, “You guys have passed.”
“Phew~” All the disciples heaved a sigh of relief.