Dashing Student

Yuantian Peak, like a giant sword reaching for the sky, pierces straight into the clouds!

At the foot of the mountain lies a vast expanse of bluestone square, now teeming with a mass of people!

No less than ten thousand cultivators have gathered here, the noise and discussions rising and falling, forming a cacophony of heat waves.

Most of these cultivators are dressed in various attire, evidently from all corners of the Kunlun Mountain Small World in the Yan State, including some disciples from small sects wearing their sect's Daoist robes in groups of three or five, with expressions of nervousness and anticipation on their faces.

Chen Nan, in a sky-blue Daoist robe, blends into the crowd, rather unremarkable.

He calmly surveys the surroundings, noticing several cultivators in the corners, their auras restrained, contrasting sharply with the excitement and restlessness of others, observing the crowd without drawing attention.

"Looks like they're spies sent by other Immortal Gates to gather information," Chen Nan thought.

At that moment!

A figure gracefully lands on the high platform at the front of the square!

The person is dressed in a pale yellow Inner Sect Disciple's Daoist robe, with an ordinary appearance, but his eyes, when they open and close, flash with brilliance, clearly indicating a strong cultivation!

His very presence immediately quiets much of the noise in the square!

The disciple in the pale yellow Daoist robe says nothing, flicking his wrist to reveal a palm-sized Bronze Token in his hand!

He snaps his fingers!

"Buzz!"

The Bronze Token emits a clear hum, suddenly rising into the air, hovering there!

The next moment, the token erupts in dazzling golden light!

The golden light gathers in front of the token, projecting onto a large stone wall that had long been prepared, displaying lines of clear, ancient characters!

"Qinglan Trial, First Gate, Body Refining!"

"Rules: Enter the Xuantie Cold Pond. Those who persist for the duration of one incense stick are qualified!"

The brief rules stir the crowd again!

"Xuantie Cold Pond! It's the Xuantie Cold Pond!"

"Hiss! I've heard that the pond's water is bone-chilling, able to crack gold and stone!"

"One incense stick! That's too difficult!"

Amidst the discussions, the disciple in the pale yellow Daoist robe points to the side of the square, expressionless.

Following his gesture, everyone sees a pond of tens of feet in diameter, which had appeared sometime without notice.

The water is a bizarre dark black, and the surface is even covered with a layer of fine ice crystals!

Just being close to it, a piercing cold rushes towards them, causing many cultivators with slightly weaker cultivation to shiver and feel their True Qi halt in their bodies!

"The Body Refining Gate, begin!" The disciple's voice is not loud, yet it reaches everyone's ears clearly.

The moment his words fall, several cultivators, proud of their strong bodies, can't hold back, shouting as they charge towards the Xuantie Cold Pond!

"Splash!"

"Splash!"

Several people consecutively leap into the pond!

"Ah—!"

The piercing screams erupt almost immediately as they hit the water!

As soon as those cultivators make contact with the dark water, their bodies shake violently, the color draining from their faces, turning blue and purple!

Their meridians seem frozen instantly, True Qi stagnating, leaving them no strength to struggle!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A few figures, like broken sacks, are flung from the pond by an invisible force, landing heavily on the ground, covered in frost, their teeth chattering, utterly incapable of movement!

Within moments, they are defeated!

The terrifying sight makes the eager cultivators inhale sharply, excitement turning to heaviness!

Chen Nan watches this scene, silently reciting the Scripture of the Hidden Talisman.

He walks towards the Xuantie Cold Pond, neither hurried nor slow.

"Another one with a death wish!"

"Look at how young he is, and with no sect markings on his robe, probably just a loose cultivator!"

"Humph, a loose cultivator dares to attempt the Yuantian Sect's trial? Overestimating himself!"

Low discussions and sneers arise around him.

Chen Nan ignores them, arriving at the pond's edge.

Without the slightest hesitation, he steps in!

Cold! Piercing!

At the moment the pond water touches his skin, a horrific chill rushes into his body, trying to freeze his meridians and tear his flesh apart!

However!

The instant this chill invades, the True Qi within Chen Nan spontaneously operates at high speed!

An even purer, more chilling Powerful Energy emerges from the depths of his Dantian, instantaneously forming a barely discernible shield around his body!

The external Xuantie chill and his Scripture of the Hidden Talisman energy, both belonging to the cold attribute, surprisingly generate a strange resonance at this moment!

Instead of bringing the expected pain, it feels like encountering a kindred force, starting to be slowly absorbed and refined by the true Qi of the Scripture of the Hidden Talisman!

Chen Nan feels an indescribable comfort spreading through his entire body!

The chill invading his body, transformed by the Scripture of the Hidden Talisman, not only doesn't cause damage, but feels like countless invisible small hammers, continuously tempering and refining his meridians and body, making them tougher and more condensed!

He walks straight to the center of the Cold Pond, sits cross-legged, closes his eyes, and begins actively operating the Scripture of the Hidden Talisman to guide the continuous influx of Xuantie chill to refine himself!

This scene leaves the surrounding cultivators dumbfounded!

"How...how is this possible?!"

"He...he's perfectly fine?!"

Not far from Chen Nan, a burly man with a cultivation level already at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, is gritting his teeth, struggling to hold on!

His muscles are knotted, veins bulging like small snakes under his skin, a thick layer of frost coating his body, trembling violently!

Beads of sweat, large as beans, freeze into beads and fall from his forehead!

"Pugh!"

Having lasted only half an incense stick, the burly cultivator spurts a mouthful of fresh blood, which freezes into dark red ice crystals in the air!

His body can no longer endure, aggressively thrown out by the pond's force, collapsing by the shore, unconscious!

Yet Chen Nan remains as steady as Mount Tai!

He's sitting with eyes closed, meditating peacefully, allowing the violent Xuantie chill to wash over his body.

Gradually, on the skin all over his body, fine, faint golden patterns start to emerge!

These patterns flow slowly, like living creatures, emitting an indestructible aura!

On the high platform, for the first time, the originally indifferent expression on the inner sect disciple in the pale yellow Daoist robe shows a hint of emotion!

He fixates on Chen Nan in the Cold Pond, his eyes sparking fiercely!

As time slowly passes.

Finally, the incense stick inserted in the incense burner burns to its end!

"Time's up!" the disciple in the pale yellow Daoist robe announces loudly.

Among the sitting cultivators in the Cold Pond, only a few remain, all in sorry states, except for Chen Nan, who seems unfazed.

The inner sect disciple gazes intently at Chen Nan and suddenly exclaims!

"Huh? This boy... can actually draw upon the Mystic Iron Essence from the depths of the Cold Pond to refine his body?!"

"His muscles and bones... have already started forming the prototype of a Magic Artifact!!"

These words cause an uproar in the entire square!!!

"What?! Draw upon the Mystic Iron Essence?!"

"The body as a prototype of a Magic Artifact?! What a joke!"

"What kind of monster is this kid?!"

Countless shocked, astonished, and incredulous gazes fix on Chen Nan!

Even at the peak of Yuantian Peak, within the misty Sect Holy Land, several immensely powerful Soul Powers sweep over instantly, scrutinizing Chen Nan with curiosity and amazement!