Originally, Zhao Xing only needed to hold his mind steady, but now the Illusion Tree had bypassed that and was directly affecting his body.

"This feels like a Martial Artist’s combat instinct, crisis premonition—sometimes before you even see the enemy, your body has already reacted first."

Zhao Xing’s will immediately began to strengthen his control over his legs, suppressing that sudden "survival instinct."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xia Jing suddenly flickered, both legs springing as he violently leapt backward.

In an instant he jumped past the light gate and appeared in the outside world.

"The hell? How did I come out."

At the same time, at the seventy‑two entrances in the sky, a large number of Cultivators appeared.

"Alas, still couldn’t hold out."

"The impulse was too strong."

"The Spiritual Path overruling the Life Dao? Looks like my Cultivation on Wanxin Island still isn’t enough."

"Only a little over eight hundred thousand left and I still didn’t make it, but with this ranking I can still use it as a calling card when knocking on other powers’ doors."

"Sigh, no next chance for me. By the next time, I won’t meet the age requirement anymore."

A large number of Cultivators sighed long and hard.

At this moment, at the resting place of the Great Zhou contestants, a new batch of eliminated participants arrived as well.

"Your Majesty, of our 312 people, only five remain inside. They are Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhao Xing, Grand Commandant Luo Hou King, Minister of Agriculture Liu Tianning, Minister of Agriculture Chen Shijie, and Eight Ranks Dance Master Ji Mengjun."

On the other side of the Star Realm, Ji Che, dressed in bizarre clothing, couldn’t help but ask curiously: "Still five left, that’s quite good. Lu Ying, how did you get eliminated?"

Lu Ying answered awkwardly:

"Your Majesty, I used ’Condensing Weapons from the Void’ and summoned eight Mechanical Puppets to watch over me, but just now... those eight hundred Mechanical Puppets carried me straight out."

"Obviously, I accidentally gave the wrong command just now."

"Hahahahaha." Ji Che burst out laughing: "I was just wondering whether I could trap myself in there to clear this trial—seems that method doesn’t work either."

In order to clear the trial, the methods used by the contestants could be described as all kinds of bizarre.

However, no matter the method, at the root it was still a human in control.

Without extra Treasure aiding them, a person cannot completely trap themselves to death.

Knocking yourself out doesn’t work either; if you can’t stay conscious, you’ll still be eliminated.

"Lu Ying, don’t be discouraged. What was your elimination rank?"

Lu Ying replied: "The Star Mirror shows I was the 1,360,000th to be eliminated."

"Such a ranking is already quite good. If you can’t get into the Primordial Realm, you can still enter the ’Mystic Palace.’" Ji Che consoled him. "...Alright, Ji Si and I have important matters to attend to. Report to me again when the first‑round Result comes out."

"Yes."

...

October of the third year after the trial began.

Zhao Xing was now only a thousand li away from the Illusion Tree.

"Bang!"

Zhao Xing’s left hand suddenly swung and punched himself in the cheek.

His right foot kicked at his left foot.

"Bang!"

Zhao Xing fell to the ground.

At this time, the Illusion Tree’s attack strength was already terrifyingly high.

Every single one of Zhao Xing’s cells was practically screaming to run.

The Slaughter Thought Blade was driven to the extreme, interfering with the Illusion Tree, to the point that Zhao Xing even wanted to kill himself.

"Ding!"

A three‑dimensional clock appeared in Zhao Xing’s mind.

The hands pointed to midnight.

His killing intent lessened slightly, and his Consciousness regained clarity.

"My name is Zhao Xing. I am taking the first‑round trial of the Primordial Realm. It is now the end of the third year since the trial began."

With his Consciousness corrected, Zhao Xing took a deep breath and rapidly seized control of his body.

He cast a glance at the Stele.

[Remaining participants: 14821]

The number froze, and the Stele turned gray.

"Wom~"

In an instant, all abnormal sensations vanished.

After enduring that final wave of high‑intensity attacks—

The first trial of the Primordial Realm finally ended.

"Congratulations, Zhao Xing of Wuye Constellation, Fengdu Boundary Star. You have passed the first‑round selection of the Primordial Realm."

Inside the crystal ball on the light gate, Chen Jiu’s voice rang out.

At the same time, he sent the pass notification to all 14,821 people.

"Cleared it."

Zhao Xing felt as though a great weight had been lifted.

This last peak‑value attack really made him miserable.

Although it hadn’t truly pushed him to his limit, if it had gone on, he probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

"After the first round ends, you have 97 years to prepare."

"You must reserve the final three years to depart from Beihai Border Star and travel to one of the twenty‑eight top‑tier star systems to participate in the second‑round trial."

"Good luck."

...

After Zhao Xing finished listening, a tremendous force repelled him out.

Whoosh~

The next instant, he appeared above the Beihai Border Star.

"I wonder if Great Zhou managed to pass." Zhao Xing scanned his surroundings.

Because the scope of a top‑tier Boundary Star was enormous, Zhao Xing couldn’t see all 14,821 people who had passed.

Swish~

Zhao Xing flew toward the resting place from three years ago.

...

"The first‑round trial of the Primordial Realm is over." The voice of the Beihai King echoed across the entire Beihai Border Star. "In the Beihai Star System, a total of 14,821 people have passed the first gate."

Roar~ All the powers on the Boundary Star instantly boiled over.

"It’s finally over!"

"Quick, go check the public list, see if there are any Loose Cultivators."

"People of the Mystic Palace, hear my order: immediately seek out the Mechanical Masters who passed and poach them with heavy pay! Whoever can persuade one person gets a reward of 10 billion Red Star Coins."

"I am ’Lan Yue,’ the person in charge of the Green Field Commerce. Gather the list at once and dig for information. For any of these 14,821 who are running businesses, invest in them immediately."

"Hahaha, my son Landis passed! A reward! Grant every citizen one thousand Red Star Coins!"

"..."

With the end of the Primordial Realm’s first trial, those 14,821 people instantly became the focus of everyone’s attention.

To stand out from more than seven hundred billion people—they would absolutely have immense prospects in the future.

Those wanting to invest, those wanting to poach talent—at this moment, they all moved into action.