Supreme Taming Authority

Chapter 64: Pass

They all attacked simultaneously.

Xian Tiandi’s eyes flickered, analyzing. Four of the panthers were illusions. Only one was real. His combat experience made the distinction obvious.

He ignored the four illusions and struck directly at the real panther hidden among them. His fist moved with perfect precision, enhanced by his peak Qi Condensation cultivation.

*Crack!*

The blow connected with the panther’s jaw. The beast’s head snapped to the side, and it crashed to the ground hard. The shadow clones dissipated instantly.

The Shadow Panther struggled to rise, dazed and clearly outmatched. It made one final desperate lunge, gathering all its remaining power into a darkness-shrouded strike.

Xian Tiandi met the attack head-on. His hand caught the panther’s paw mid-strike, stopping its momentum completely. Then he twisted, using the beast’s own force against it.

*Crash!

The Shadow Panther slammed into the arena floor with bone-crushing force. The impact created a small crater, and dust billowed into the air.

The beast didn’t rise.

It dissipated into spiritual energy, the formation recognizing its defeat.

Complete silence filled the arena.

Xian Tiandi stood alone in the center, not even breathing hard. His robes were pristine. He hadn’t used a single technique. No martial spirit. No flashy displays of power. Just pure combat skill and perfect technique execution.

Elder Zhang stared for a long moment before speaking. "Winner, Xian Tiandi. Extraordinary performance. You defeated an upper-tier rank two demonic beast using only basic combat fundamentals. This examiner has rarely seen such skill."

The crowd erupted. Applicants shouted in disbelief. Sect disciples watching from the sidelines exchanged shocked glances.

"He didn’t even use his spiritual energy for techniques!"

"That was pure martial combat! Against a Shadow Panther!"

"What kind of monster is this Xian Tiandi?"

Even the other Golden Core examiners looked impressed, leaning toward each other to whisper rapid conversations.

Xian Tiandi bowed respectfully to the examiners and left the arena. As he rejoined Xian Long and Ying Yue, he noticed hundreds of eyes following his movement. The whispers and pointing would continue for some time.

"Big Brother," Xian Long breathed. "That was incredible. You didn’t even use your martial spirit! Or any techniques!"

"The beast was strong but predictable," Xian Tiandi said simply. "Experience and timing matter more than flashy techniques in most fights."

Ying Yue smiled slightly. "Young Master, you continue to exceed expectations. Though perhaps showing a bit less dominance might have drawn less attention."

She felt that her young master might be conspired against. Xian Tiandi had given her a lecture about the ruthlessness of the cultivation world which enlightened her greatly.

"Let them watch," Xian Tiandi replied. "It doesn’t matter."

Everything he did was calculated, so he already had plans in motion.

The remaining combat evaluations concluded quickly after Xian Tiandi’s overwhelming display. A few more applicants showed decent ability, but nothing that could compare to what they’d just witnessed.

As the last match finished and the sun fully set, Elder Zhang returned to the central platform and addressed the assembled applicants.

"The combat phase is complete. All participants have been evaluated. We will now proceed to the final assessment: character judgment."

He gestured toward a different section of the compound. "Follow the attendants to the eastern pavilion. There you will face scenarios designed to reveal your true nature. Remember, the sect seeks not just powerful cultivators, but honorable ones. Your actions in these tests will determine your final worthiness."

The applicants were led to a large pavilion complex. Individual rooms had been prepared for each person, ensuring privacy during the character assessment.

Xian Tiandi, Xian Long, and Ying Yue were separated and directed to different chambers. Inside Xian Tiandi’s room, he found a simple meditation mat and nothing else. He sat cross-legged and waited.

After a few moments, the walls shimmered. An illusion formation activated, creating a hyper-realistic scenario around him.

He found himself standing in a bustling city street. People moved past, going about their daily business. The scene felt completely real, from the sounds of merchant calls to the smell of street food cooking nearby.

A woman stumbled in front of him, dropping a cloth pouch. Coins spilled across the cobblestones, rolling in different directions. She was clearly poor, her clothes worn and patched multiple times.

"Oh no," she cried out in distress. "That’s all the money I have for my daughter’s medicine!"

She scrambled desperately to collect the scattered coins, but several had rolled toward Xian Tiandi’s feet. He could easily pocket them without her noticing. The woman was distracted, and the crowd paid no attention to a few copper coins.

The test was obvious. Would he steal from someone desperate? Take advantage of their misfortune for minor gain?

Xian Tiandi bent down and collected the coins carefully. He walked over and placed them in the woman’s trembling hand, making sure she had them all.

"You dropped these," he said simply.

The woman’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You’re so kind!"

The scene dissolved like morning mist. A new scenario appeared immediately.

This time, Xian Tiandi stood in a forest clearing. A wounded cultivator lay on the ground, bleeding heavily from multiple gashes. Beside the injured man was a spatial ring, clearly visible and unprotected. The cultivator was unconscious, completely defenseless.

The ring likely contained valuable resources. Pills. Spiritual stones. Perhaps even technique scrolls. Taking it would be easy. No one would know.

Again, the test was clear. Would he rob an injured person? Take their belongings while they couldn’t resist?

Xian Tiandi ignored the spatial ring completely. He knelt beside the cultivator and examined the wounds with experienced eyes. He pulled a healing pill from his own spatial ring and carefully fed it to the injured man. Then he used basic medical techniques to stabilize the bleeding, tearing strips from his own robe to create bandages.

The cultivator’s breathing steadied. Color began returning to his pale face.

The scene dissolved again.

Multiple scenarios followed in rapid succession. Each one presented a clear moral choice. Help or harm. Honesty or deception. Sacrifice or selfishness.

A child had fallen down a well. Would he stop to help or continue on his important journey?

He helped immediately, using spiritual energy to lift the child to safety.

One after the other, he did perfectly well.

There was a reason for that also.