"Damn? All of them are villains??"

Could it be that the Shen Family's opportunity is actually a trap?

No wonder in the third simulation, after Shen Qingshan was taken to the Shen Family, he never returned.

As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world!

Fortunately, this is just a simulation, so I'll just treat it as testing a mistake.

If the trait system judges even the lowest-level clansmen of the Shen Family as bad people, then the higher-ups go without saying—how good could they possibly be?

Even though I can't see what bad things they're doing.

But the "bad people" determined by the trait system refer to those who are unfavorable to me, not necessarily that they'll commit murder or arson or the like.

[You sense something is wrong.]

[You immediately start thinking about how to escape.]

["Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Da Chun, we might have to fight a tough battle."]

[Ten Thousand Souls Banner: "Ooh—fighting! Awesome!! Hiss hah hiss hah!"]

[Da Chun: "Don't be afraid, Brother Yi, I'll smash them to death."]

[Before leaving, you loot all the valuable, spiritual items from the mansion.]

[A thief never leaves empty-handed!]

[After working so hard to come to the Starry Domains, I can't possibly return empty-handed, right?]

[You sneak out of the mansion and come to an unmanned corner.]

[Just as you're about to summon the Nine Provinces Cauldron and use the Flying Cauldron Technique to leave the Starry Domains.]

[Shen Linfeng's voice sounds above your head.]

["Shen Yi! Come with me quickly, you've waited a long time this year, right? Now that everyone has arrived, this opportunity prepared for you all can finally begin!"]

[You look around, feeling somewhat guilty.]

["Um, Elder Shen, actually, I'm homesick. My horse is still at the inn, I don't know if they're taking good care of it. I spent a lot of silver when I bought it..."]

["Hahaha! Don't joke around. By participating in this upcoming competition, Earth-Grade cultivation techniques will be given directly, Heaven-Grade techniques go to the top performers, and in the end, there's even a chance to wield a Great Dao Immortal Artifact! Isn't that better than your horse?"]

["Elder, lead the way quickly!"]

[It's just a simulation, what's there to fear!]

[The greater the storm, the more valuable the fish!]

[What if there really are Heaven-Grade techniques and a Great Dao Immortal Artifact?]

[Wouldn't I be missing out on a fortune?!]

[Shen Linfeng leads you through the Starry Domains to a relatively desolate star. No one lives on it, but today, quite a few people are standing on it.]

[You see Shen clansmen carrying various Spirit Artifacts and wearing light armor. Their expressions are serious, forming a circle around the perimeter.]

[Standing inside this human wall, including you, are exactly 101 people.]

[There are men and women. Judging by their appearance, their ages are basically under 50 and over 20.]

[The gazes of these hundred people look rather confused.]

[Because these people, like you, are descendants of the Dust Lineage brought up from the surface world by the Shen Family.]

[The Shen Family's bloodlines are divided into four categories.] 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

[Sun Lineage, Moon Lineage, Star Lineage, and Dust Lineage.]

[The lineage where the clan leader belongs is the Sun Lineage.]

[The lineage where the elders belong is the Moon Lineage.]

[The other clansmen living in the Starry Domains are the Star Lineage.]

[Those scattered in the Five Regions and the Great Wastes are the Dust Lineage.]

[It seems the protagonists today are these 101 Dust Lineage descendants.]

[The Shen clan's leader, Shen Yue, has also come here.]

[His appearance is that of a middle-aged man, with a beard, long hair, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, imposing even without anger.]

["All Dust Lineage descendants, I am the Shen clan leader, Shen Yue. Presumably, what you most want to know right now is why the Shen Family brought you up from the surface..."]

[Shen Yue doesn't waste words and gets straight to the point.]

[A bronze mirror broken in half appears in his hand.]

["Do you all recognize this object?"]

[Everyone present shakes their heads in confusion.]

[The voice of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner sounds in your mind.]

["The Qiankun Mirror!"]

[Da Chun also mutters.]

["It's Brother Qiankun, how did he end up with only half left?"]

[This Shen Family really doesn't hide their good stuff, directly taking out a Great Dao Immortal Artifact!]

[The Qiankun Mirror, with only half its surface remaining, quietly floats above Shen Yue's palm, rising and sinking slightly as a faint halo of light circulates.]

["Our Shen Family has inherited a mission since ancient times, which is to wield the Qiankun Mirror!

Becoming the Mirror Wielder requires extremely strong character and willpower; it's not a job just anyone can handle.

However, as you can see in the current Starry Domains, the descendants of the Shen clan have long fallen into luxury and enjoyment, having lost all the fighting spirit of our ancestors.

If we were forced to choose a Mirror Wielder from among the Star Lineage, it would be picking the best of a bad lot, not what the Shen Family desires, and it wouldn't gain the Qiankun Mirror's approval either.

Our Shen Family realized this phenomenon a long time ago.

So we left our bloodline in various places throughout the Five Regions and the Great Wastes. These descendants are the Dust Lineage.

Dust Lineage descendants don't rely on the Shen Family's support; they train in the mortal world. You might not even know you are descendants of the Shen Family of the Starry Domains.

Today, those who could be brought up from the surface are not from well-off Dust Lineage backgrounds, nor are they immature youths.

I believe you all understand that relying solely on your own cultivation in this lifetime, your future path is dim.

But if you participate in this upcoming Mirror Wielder Candidate Competition, even if you don't win, you will all gain tremendous rewards during the process.

If you win, the next Shen Family Mirror Wielder will be you!"]

[Shen Linfeng didn't lie to you, there really is a Great Dao Immortal Artifact!]

[However, you have to compete with 100 people for this one spot!]

[You see a flash of desire to seize this opportunity appear on everyone's face here.]

[Everyone understands that wielding the Qiankun Mirror isn't the main point; the key is the identity of being the Shen clan's Mirror Wielder!]

[With that identity comes power, and with power comes everything!]

[Thinking of this, the looks everyone gives each other become wary again.]

[Although they share the blood of the same Founding Ancestor, there are simply too many Shen family members; they can't really be considered relatives to each other, let alone the Dust Lineage descendants.]

[You're even less related to them; you're purely an infiltrator.]

["How does the competition work? Do we fight in an arena? That doesn't seem very fair..."]

[When the Shen Family selects people, they only look at whether the person has a good background—good ones are not wanted, only the poor ones, and those too old are also not wanted.]

[They also don't look at aptitude or cultivation realm.]

[Shen Yue then announces the rules for competing for the Mirror Wielder position.]

[You hear it and immediately become delighted.]

["The Mirror Wielder Competition is divided into three stages. In each stage, we will distribute one Earth-Grade cultivation technique. Those who master it first will advance to the next stage.

This competition method is absolutely fair because you were all brought up from the surface and couldn't have possibly come into contact with our Shen Family's techniques beforehand.

As a reward, for each stage passed, we will gift a Heaven-Grade Martial Arts technique to the qualifiers!

During your technique cultivation period, the Shen Family will provide you with a large amount of auxiliary cultivation resources to help accelerate your cultivation progress, cleanse your meridians and marrow to improve your physique, enhance your comprehension, and so on.

We hope you all work hard and live up to this opportunity!"]

Compete in what?

Chen Yi couldn't help but read the simulation text again.

Compete to see who learns the technique first?

Chen Yi couldn't help but look at his "Proficiency" trait.

"You... this is a freebie question, isn't it! This is so embarrassing!"

While happy, Chen Yi also didn't forget the situation of the Shen Family being "all villains."

"This competition probably isn't that simple, but learning the techniques is a gain regardless, so I definitely won't lose out!"