Blue Star, Huxin City, Celestial Power Building.
In the splendid reception hall, a middle-aged man with completely white hair was continuously tapping his fingers on the desk, faster and faster, causing several Elders sitting in the hall to feel a bit uneasy.
These three characters were once a household name in Pilgrimage, a name born from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Back then, even though Chu Qingtian was already 47 years old, he was quite a master in the virtual gaming world.
In the virtual gaming world, although virtual games can overlook players’ physical issues, as players age, their focus and energy can’t compare to when they were young, and even their neural response diminishes.
Yet Chu Qingtian still fought on the front line, single-handedly battling four Saint-level beings. Those three Saint-level beings were in their prime, with peak focus and neural responses, but still lost to Chu Qingtian.
After that, Chu Qingtian wiped out a city with a single shot, defeating the Lieyang Guild that could challenge major guilds at the time, thus making the name Chu Kuangren famous throughout Pilgrimage.
However, the name Chu Kuangren reaching its peak fame was due to another matter.
It was an internal conflict in Celestial Might, where Chu Qingtian had a clash of ideology with another unnamed founder of Celestial Might. Everyone in Pilgrimage thought Chu Qingtian would compromise, given that the unnamed founder was accompanied by five Saint-level masters.
But Chu Qingtian broke ties with that unnamed founder.
That incident almost caused Celestial Might to drop to a first-rate guild, but fortunately, Chu Qingtian resisted attacks from several first-rate guilds, barely maintaining Celestial Might’s status in Pilgrimage.
Now, even though Chu Qingtian is nearly fifty, his temperament has mellowed considerably, and he treats people more kindly. However, Chu Qingtian’s face was somewhat grim, so much so that the backs of the Elders present felt chilled.
"Has Secretary Zhang not arrived yet?" Chu Qingtian checked the time on his watch, his brow furrowing tighter, directly asking the few Elders next to him, "Didn’t you say Secretary Zhang was already on his way?"
"President, Secretary Zhang is on his way, but that was five minutes ago. It might take another one or two minutes to get from Secretary Zhang’s residence to the guild." An Elder with white whiskers cautiously explained.
"That Secretary Zhang is becoming more and more unruly." Chu Qingtian said coldly, "Let us wait here, fine, but doesn’t she know that Su Wuming is here today? We’ve had Su Wuming waiting for over an hour, one might think we’re trying to snub Su Wuming."
"Today is Su Wuming’s entry test; it’s about our Celestial Might’s reputation. If the young talents like Su Wuming think nothing of Celestial Might, they might demand sky-high prices!"
Several Elders present deeply agreed, their expressions becoming more serious.
Although Celestial Might is one of the five major guilds in Pilgrimage, it appears impressive to outsiders, but insiders know their affairs—Celestial Might has already spent a lot of manpower and resources to develop new replacement games in the declining Pilgrimage.
Celestial Might currently doesn’t have much money. If Su Wuming passes the entry test easily, the proof of such ability would naturally be priceless, whereas if the entry test proves difficult for Su Wuming, they could adjust the price a bit lower.
Because this entry test is so important, everyone decided to entrust it to Zhang Qingwei, the guild’s chief steward and head of personnel. Many of the guild’s Saint-level presences were tested by Zhang Qingwei, and the negotiated prices were ideal.
"By the way, where is Zhao Hu? Didn’t he say he wanted to meet Su Wuming today?" Chu Qingtian scanned the venue and found Zhao Hu, who had always insisted on meeting Su Wuming, was not there.
It’s well-known Zhao Hu has always wanted Saint-level presences to develop new games, but the current Saint-level presences in Celestial Might have their own missions or are uninterested in developing new games, aiming only to improve their skills in Pilgrimage.
Su Wuming as a potential new Elder is definitely whom Zhao Hu wants to pull in with full force.
"I contacted Elder Zhao Hu, and Elder Zhao Hu said he has no time." The Elder with white whiskers explained.
"No time? What is he doing?" Chu Qingtian was puzzled, "Developing Celestial Dragon Dynasty is Zhao Hu’s top priority, what could be more important than recruiting a Saint-level presence to help?"
"It seems he’s taking part in a game test assessment." The Elder with white whiskers shook his head, "Elder Zhao Hu said he must pass the test assessment, otherwise he’d be embarrassed to return to the guild, and I couldn’t persuade him."
"Alright, that’s just how he is." Chu Qingtian no longer bothered, checked the time again, "Still not here yet?"
Just as Chu Qingtian was about to take out his phone to directly contact Zhang Qingwei, Zhang Qingwei walked in leisurely, still with a face full of helplessness.
"President, my apologies for keeping you waiting." Zhang Qingwei took a deep breath, adjusted his mindset, and said, "I’m already prepared for Blade Saint Su Wuming’s entry test. I promise Celestial Might will uphold its dignity."
"Let’s hope so." Chu Qingtian glanced at Zhang Qingwei, initially wanting to scold him, but considering Zhang Qingwei’s mental issues that require more rest, he refrained, "Let’s head to the testing room now."
Celestial Power Building, 81st floor.
The whole floor the size of a small playground has been completely remodeled into the guild’s entry testing room, specifically for new recruits’ daily testing. Additionally, member promotion assessments are conducted on this floor.
Originally bustling, the 81st floor was emptied today for Blade Saint Su Wuming’s entry test.
"Brother Su, sorry to keep you waiting. This is our head of personnel, who wasted considerable time adjusting for the test." Chu Qingtian looked at the short-haired, burly young man lying in the Virtual Game Pod, explaining with a smile.
Su Wuming is not very old, only twenty-five, and is one of the Saint-level presences who has risen swiftly over the past year in Pilgrimage.
Su Wuming, as a freelance player, defeated several Blade Saints in just a year and ranks among the top ten Blade Saints. He’s a highly promising young talent; if Celestial Might weren’t sincere enough, it would be difficult to recruit such a genius.
"It’s fine, since it’s all just playing games, I can play wherever." Su Wuming exited Pilgrimage, looked with curiosity at Zhang Qingwei, the personnel department head, as for Chu Qingtian’s words, he didn’t believe a word, "So can we start now?"
Su Wuming had heard plenty about guilds trying to haggle down prices, let alone waiting for an hour—some small guilds would bide their time, making newcomers wait until late at night without coffee to refresh, barring bathroom breaks—using every trick in the book.
Waiting an hour now was a small matter, unlikely to affect his performance.
Zhang Qingwei stepped forward, intending to let Su Wuming enter a combat game she had previously chosen but suddenly recalled Descent of High Martial’s potential, knowing Luo Wushang needed skilled players, ideally snatching talent away.
She then swiped her finger, clicked open Descent of High Martial in the Virtual Game Pod, and gently said, "Elder Su, the entry test game today is this; you just need to pass this test assessment."
"Great! Today, I finally get to see the legendary Celestial Might’s entry test." Su Wuming, seeing Zhang Qingwei randomly chosen a new game test as the entry assessment, laughed, clicked to enter Descent of High Martial’s test.
Choosing a new game test as the entry assessment, Su Wuming felt Celestial Might was underestimating him. Given his skill, any game should be a breeze, let alone a test from a new game—how hard could it be?
Su Wuming exited Descent of High Martial’s test assessment, then took a deep breath, paid 198 for revival, and entered the test again.
Three seconds later, Su Wuming woke up again, silently paying another 198.
Repeatedly trying dozens of times, Su Wuming’s longest awakening lasted only eleven seconds, finally taking a deep breath and rising.
"I’m sorry, I was a bother."
This scene left Chu Qingtian and the others dumbfounded, not understanding what had occurred.
Then, Su Wuming took a deep look at the gray High Martial Descent icon in the Virtual Game Pod, glanced at Chu Qingtian and others present, eyes filled with speechlessness.
This was the entry test?
No! It was outright rejection!
If you didn’t want him to join, you should’ve said so, why use a new game test to mislead him.
Seven shadows with one shot!
Is this a game humans can play?