Blue Ruins Star, Tianfeng Shenzhou.

In a small village deep in the mountains, in an antique castle, a 17-year-old boy sat upright on a chair.

Through the head-mounted VR glasses, it is connecting the headquarters of the sect that is separated by an unknown number of thousands of miles.

Today is the day of the triennial interview for the unified examination for the disciples of the Xianmen.

Since the first stargate appeared in Shattered Star Bay in 2025 and the first batch of otherworldly creatures appeared in the Blue Ruins Calendar, the humans on the Blue Ruins Star have experienced the most tragic cataclysm since the birth of human civilization.

More than a hundred years have passed, and humanity has survived and recaptured most of the main city, but many places outside the main city are still entrenched in a large number of otherworldly creatures.

Regard human beings as food, look at the tiger, and wait for the opportunity to move.

The general environment is like this, and the Hidden Immortal Gate, which saved mankind from extinction at a critical moment, has also become an organization that countless human beings want to join all their lives.

With powerful mana and a free world, he can even touch the way of immortality that human beings have been pursuing for tens of thousands of years.

Realistically speaking, if you join the Xianmen, you will be protected by many of the predecessors of the Xianmen, and you don't have to worry about becoming a meal for otherworldly creatures one day.

But if you want to enter the fairy gate, thousands of troops cross the single-plank bridge.

Through the VR glasses, Link has been "immersive" in the interview scene of Xianmen.

Looking up, there were eleven Xianmen monks sitting neatly opposite.

The eyes are sharp, the face is serious, and the sense of oppression is full!

"Hello examiners, I'm candidate No. 7 today."

"Hello candidates, congratulations on passing the written test and qualification review, and successfully entering the interview, the main purpose of this interview is to increase understanding through face-to-face, so candidates don't have to be overly nervous..."

Nervous?

The corners of Link's mouth rose slightly, as a genius monk with a full score in the written test and hexagonal qualifications.

God chases after the son of luck who feeds the food.

Just this little Xianmen interview, what is there to be nervous about.

"With Xiaolin's written test results and qualifications, plus Lao Mei's status in Xianmen, even if you beat the examiner during the interview, the examiner can only pinch your nose and praise you for your ······ both civil and military."

These are the exact words of the blacksmith uncle in the village.

Link is noncommittal!

His Qiling teacher is a senior of the Immortal Sect, and it seems that his status is not low, and he has the qualifications to directly recruit true disciples.

If you are willing, you can honestly bow to the teacher, and you can also directly become a disciple of Xianmen.

"There are four questions in this interview, twenty minutes..."

"Question 1: If you are a disciple of the Xianmen Office in the mortal world, and a disciple of the Xianmen who has entered the world and killed hundreds of mortals because of his madness, and fled back to the office for refuge, causing a fierce reaction from the mortal government and the people, and the relevant departments of the mortal world came to arrest and intent to bring the case to justice, and the Xianmen asked you to protect the disciple with all your might, and there could be no conflict with the mortal world, how should you deal with it?"

"Question 2: It is said that the anger in the immortal cultivation world is getting heavier and heavier today, if you are the leader of the Immortal Sect Alliance, what measures will you take to eliminate the anger?"

"Question 3: Which do you think is more promising and advantageous, scientific and technological civilization or immortal cultivation civilization?"

"Question 4: If the world is about to be destroyed, you can save the world by sacrificing one of you, but no one will know that it is you who saved the world, what will you choose?"

······

Twenty minutes later.

Link took off his VR glasses and walked out of the room with confident steps.

Xianmen Sword Sect Assessment Hall.

"Senior brother, how should this candidate's score be evaluated? It's a good idea! ”

"Senior brother, you are also an examiner, and you have been trained before how to score, so why do you need to ask again..."

The senior brother sitting in the middle was expressionless, his face was full of selflessness, but a tangled look flashed in the depths of his eyes.

The questioning senior brother pursed his lips and looked at the other senior brother on the side, and was about to open his mouth to ask, but saw that this senior brother also shook his head.

"Don't ask me, I don't know how much to score..."

The three senior brothers were all entangled and did not score, and the other four examiners also looked left and right, making eye contact with each other, and did not write for a long time.

Referring to the reference answer given by the sect assessment question team, the answer of candidate No. 7 just now cannot be said to have nothing to do with the reference answer, but can only be irrelevant.

The ideas expressed are even more contrary to the mainstream ideas of Xianmen, and there is even a suspicion of malicious provocation······

But a few of them liked the answer of candidate number seven.

Compared with the formulaic and templated answers of the vast majority of candidates, this No. 7 candidate's whimsical ideas and innovative spirit are definitely rare talents on the road of immortality.

If he is allowed to enter the sect, it should bring a trace of life to the lifeless sect.

But if the water is really released, it will be difficult to explain when the sect reviews it.

The examiner looked up and looked inquiringly at the two supervisors on the side.

"Ahem..."

The two supervisors glanced at each other, thinking that a few assessment disciples knew the background of candidate No. 7, so what were they worried about!

One of them frowned and said slowly, "Elder Mei has been away from the sect for many years, and he has not been without a position in the sect, and with his identity, he will not be embarrassed by you juniors.

Taking a step back, Elder Mei did not use the direct recruitment quota but let the disciples participate in the Immortal Gate Unified Examination, which means that official affairs do not go through the back door, so you don't need to worry about Elder Mei······"

"Let's get to business!"

The overseer's eyes were slightly closed and he stopped talking.

The seven examiners were slightly stunned, savoring the words of the two overseer elders.

Elders, you have misunderstood us!

But that's fine!

After making eye contact with each other, they began to write and score, and then handed it over to the scorekeeper.

Soon, the interview results of candidate No. 7 were released.

"60 points!"

The seven examiners scored 60 points very tacitly!

The two elders in charge of the overseer frowned again, and looked at the seven examiners with a bit of stern and reproachful gaze.

Is this your business-like attitude?

"Uh... Although the answer of candidate No. 7 deviated somewhat from the reference answer, the logic was self-consistent, convincing, and the thinking was quick, the words were accurate, the mind was level-headed, and the demeanor was appropriate·····"

"Combining all the scoring points and deduction points, his score should be between 55~65."

The chief examiner in the middle did not blush, and his heart did not beat, and he explained to the two overseer elders the basis for his own and others' scoring.

Highlight a reasonable, fair and just!

"Humph!"

The two overseers also knew it in their hearts, glared at a few people and stopped talking.

The examiner's face was relieved, he was relieved, and nodded: "Notify the seventh candidate of the interview results, and then invite the next candidate!" ”

Hey hey, lad, we did our best!

The rest is up to you!

······

Outside the Kasbah.

There is a village surrounded by mountains and rivers.

There is a huge old tree in the middle of the village.

Under the tree, a pot of tea, a game of chess, two chess players.

A blacksmith and a priest play against each other.

Seeing Link strolling over, the fiery red-haired blacksmith was the first to raise his head with a warm smile on his face.

"Xiaolin, how's it going?"

"Boy, if I make a move, I will naturally be nine out of ten."

Link smiled confidently.

He sat down at the stove on the side of the chessboard, picked up the tongs and stirred the charcoals, lifted the teapot from the stove, and refilled the teacups of the two of them with hot water.

The priest put down a chess piece on the chessboard, glanced at his disciple, and said, "With your deviant ideas, the disciples of the assessment hall may not dare to give you a high score. ”

"It depends on whether the 'inclusiveness' preached by the sect is written in the sect's manual, or whether it has been engraved into the DNA of the sect's disciples.

A smile tugged at the corner of Link's mouth, recalling his performance at the interview scene just now, thinking that he had embarrassed the teachers and nephews of the sect assessment hall.

"The younger generation may understand you, but the old guys are rigid enough, and now it's the old guys who are in charge of the sect."

"So, that's why you didn't go back to Xianmen, teacher?" Link asked curiously.

“······”

The old priest shook his head slowly, but did not continue to explain, picked up a chess piece, and asked, "Do you still know why you are here?" ”

"Cultivate the path of immortals and seek immortality."

"Immortal Dao? Phoenix? Hehe..."

Mei Zhenren smiled, the black chess he was holding on the chessboard had once again fallen into a desperate situation, and the chess piece he was holding at the moment was the winner of the game.

Turning the tables against the sky!

Or... Lose all the games!

His brows furrowed slightly, and he fell into deep thought...

"Lao Mei, when life and death are at stake, the most taboo thing is to hesitate and hesitate!" The old blacksmith's eyes flashed with a gleam, and his tone seemed to be pointed.

It was the first time Link had seen his teacher playing chess so entangled, and he looked at the chessboard curiously.

Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting are the basic compulsory courses for immortal cultivators.

Especially Go.

'The sky is like a garden, the land is like a chess game, the world is divided into black and white, and they fight for honor and disgrace! ’

'There is a big road between black and white, and there is a mystery in the yin and yang illusions? ’

Many sages and scholars have admired it, and it has naturally become one of the compulsory lessons for monks.

There are even a few monks who are in the second brain and shouting unashamedly, 'Take heaven and earth as a chessboard, and all living beings as chess pieces...'

Link prides himself on being a hexagonal genius monk in the immortal world, and is naturally proficient in chess.

The teacher's black chess is indeed dangerous, and with Link's current chess strength, he can't see the idea of breaking the game for a while.

"What do you know what to do this time when you go down the mountain to join the WTO?"

Mei Zhenren's eyes were still fixed on the chessboard, and the black chess piece was playing between his fingers, and he continued to question Link.

Link didn't hesitate at all, and opened his mouth to come.

"Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a life for the people, and go to..."

"Ahem~"

Both the old blacksmith and Mei Zhenren coughed.

"Okay, slay demons, uphold justice, and maintain world peace... No way? Then another one... Upgrade, fight monsters, hunt for treasures, chase beauty ······"

Mei Zhenren was silent for a while, regretting why she was talking too much.

In this case, what else does he have to hesitate about, Mei Zhenren smiled faintly, and confidently dropped the chess pieces in his hand...

Then, as soon as I raised my hand, I lifted the chessboard directly!

Win or lose, unknowable!

But in terms of momentum, he won!

One last instruction was given to the disciple.

"Go to Fengming Mountain and go down the mountain in three days!"