Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 849: 848: 850 Shui Family Sisters [Request for Guaranteed Monthly Ticket]

Chapter 849: Chapter 848: 850 Shui Family Sisters [Request for Guaranteed Monthly Ticket]

The Shui Family sisters arranged to meet together today because it is their time to challenge the Trial Arena; such opportunities are rare. For Golden Core cultivators like them, it happens only once a year. Win, and you get to continue; lose, and you’re out, waiting for the next year.

As a Big World with a Cultivation history spanning hundreds of thousands of years, the Three Cave Realm is a very mature Cultivation Realm Domain with a developed cultivation civilization permeating every aspect of life. The number of Golden Core cultivators in the Three Cave Realm exceeds a hundred thousand, so without restrictions, the Trial Arena would soon collapse. So, although it seems like a random challenge, there is in fact a limit to the number of attempts.

This is the same in the other Seven Realms, where everyone treasures this rare once-a-year opportunity.

The Three Cave Realm is a Cultivation Realm Domain where female cultivators thrive, due to its Daoist tradition being more suitable for women. So, in the cultivation pyramid of the Three Cave Realm, at the Foundation Establishment stage, the ratio of men to women is balanced, with each comprising half. But by the Golden Core stage, female cultivators make up sixty percent, while male cultivators only forty percent, starting to widen the gap.

Moving further up, at the Nascent Soul level, female cultivators make up seventy percent, and at the True Monarch level, it can reach as high as eighty or even ninety percent, leaving male cultivators completely edged out, and that’s basically the situation.

While it cannot be said that the realm has declined due to feminine dominance, the fact is, the Three Cave Realm is a Domain where women’s words are authoritative, a distinctive trait within the Anchor Chain Star System.

The three of them were born in the Dongzhen Sect. The three sisters entered the sect together, embarked on the Dao Path together, and reached the Golden Core stage together, making a small legend within the sect.

Their success formula was a combination of talent and effort. But ever since stepping into the Golden Core stage, they have been surrounded by prodigies and geniuses, making the competition increasingly fierce. To gain the sect’s resource inclination and the recognition and appreciation from the elders, extra effort is required.

The eldest sister of the Shui Family gazed towards the Trial Arena Hall, where people were constantly flowing in and out, bustling, and could not help but sigh,

“I wonder what awaits us this time? The trials in recent years have always been unpleasant for me, as I’ve been stuck in the first three stages for three consecutive years.”

The second sister comforted her, “Elder sister, luck changes and power grows with time. Sister, you have just succeeded greatly in the Law, and the True Talisman has become transparent; it might be another spectacle yet again?”

The third sister frowned, “I still say, close the Hell Gate selection; the realm is harsh and difficult to survive in. It’s a once-a-year opportunity; why choose to rush those rankings in the Trial Arena? It only spoils the Heart Realm.”

The three sisters of the Shui Family came from an ordinary background. Their father was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, seeing no hope for himself on the Dao Path and placing his hopes on his three daughters, painstakingly meticulous, and now finds much comfort in them.

His elder daughter was named Shui Zhen Dong for her clarity of Dao Heart intent at birth, a name subtly aligned with the Daoist tradition. Later he had a second daughter, and in his delight, named her Shuangdong, also with intent. Unexpectedly, the heavens blessed him again in his old age with a third daughter, whom he named Lian Dong, all names rich in Imagination.

The names were thoughtfully given, and the cultivation journey has been smooth, with the trio known as the Three Caves, earning envy from friends and family around.

The sisters are fully aware of their father’s deep hopes, but only by being immersed in cultivation themselves can they truly understand its challenges. Progress has been made over the years, certainly, but far from outstanding. In such circumstances, it’s hard to say whether they’ll take the step to Shattering Void. It is a knot in their hearts.

“Hell Gate, those people are fierce and malevolent…”

You can’t blame her for hesitating. There are choices even in challenging the Trial Arena. For instance, as the second sister mentioned, rushing the rankings is a drawback that has formed after the Trial System has been in operation for over a thousand years.

There are simply too many disciples. How does one distinguish them? How to judge their potential? How to test their strength? Since the advent of the Trial Arena, the rankings from mutual challenges have become a significant metric for the sect’s high-level officials to assess disciples’ abilities, something they increasingly value.

It may not represent the entirety, but at least it represents a substantial portion.

Rankings have numerous detailed provisions, intricate and complex. The goal is not to vie for first place but to secure a position within the top one thousand, which provides an opportunity to be appreciated and valued by the sect’s upper echelon.

While the top one thousand may seem unambitious, considering this encompasses the entire universe, including the eight major stars, and many surrounding independent Star Domains, comprising hundreds of thousands of participants, one can understand the weight of those top one thousand positions.

Shui Zhen Dong’s current ranking is beyond ten thousand, second sister beneath her, and the third sister, the strongest, has only just entered the top five thousand. With such results, gaining the sect’s inclination is challenging; they can only continue steadily, but with a lifespan of four to five hundred years for a Golden Core, how much time really is there to bide?

Water Curtain Cave persuaded again, “Elder sister, choosing the Hell Star to battle the Cultivation-committing cultivators yields multiplied rewards. Look at all those ranked in the top ten thousand; who among them hasn’t scored against those cultivators on Hell Star? Only thus can your rank rapidly ascend; there’s no other way.”

Shui Zhen Dong showed some hesitation in her eyes, “Those cultivators are pitiful people; if we lose, it’s fine; if they lose, it might be their life on the line…”

The Trial System, centered on the Anchor Chain Star System, was quite effective when first implemented. As long as everyone did their best, it could accurately reflect a cultivator’s ability. However, any rules have loopholes, and such a vast competitive system inevitably gave rise to manipulations over time.

Gradually, those driven by profit and with ulterior motives began to establish Companion Rankings, forming a network across the Star Domains through commercial exchanges among the eight major stars. By paying a certain fee, you could enjoy the convenience brought by the Companion Network, like an Otherworld cultivator, originally stronger than you, suddenly going easy.

Initially, the Companion Network didn’t show much control over rankings, because they couldn’t recruit every cultivator. There are always those unmoved by fame and profit, and those who refuse to compromise on the Dao, making it hard to encounter fellow Companion Network members, and thus providing little assistance.

But as the Trial Arena’s importance grew over time and more cultivators joined the Companion Network, its influence on rankings became increasingly apparent. Until a thousand years later, it almost controlled half of the universe’s Golden Core cultivators’ rankings. By then, nothing could stop the Companion Network’s frenzied accumulation of wealth.

If a cultivator truly was a gifted prodigy with peerless strength, they certainly wouldn’t need to go through such extensive measures; they could fight themselves. But how many of such chosen ones exist? Most have some strength but aren’t outstanding, making upward progress very challenging, reliant purely on luck.

At this time, the role of the Companion Network becomes apparent. It’s hard to say for more, but moving up a level in ranking isn’t a problem, especially for those ranked around ten thousand like Shui Zhen Dong. Moving into the top three thousand, with the help of the Companion Network, is manageable.

Once within the top three thousand, which counts as the top two hundred or so in the Three Cave Realm, the sect’s high ranking officials will regard them with more favor, partially achieving the aim of securing the sect’s resource inclination.