Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Subduing Demon Hall
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Subduing Demon Hall
The long-awaited day of the Starpoint Sect's mountain entry exam had finally arrived.
The initiate disciples, who had spent the past two years building their foundations as martial artists, began moving under the guidance of the senior brothers, their faces tense with anticipation.
Their destination was the heart of Starpoint Mountain, an area that had been strictly off-limits to initiate disciples until now.
A year ago, during the intruder raid, all the powerful monstrous beings had been hunted down, and with the escorts thoroughly protecting the initiates, not a single spiritual beast dared to approach their vicinity.
About half a shichen later—roughly an hour—they had all gathered and started walking together.
That was when Baek Hyun noticed something strange.
‘Can't pinpoint the location...?’
Before entering secluded training, Baek Hyun had roamed the depths of Starpoint Mountain as if it were his own backyard for several months.
Though he hadn't explored the absolute innermost areas teeming with powerful spiritual beasts, he prided himself on knowing the mountain's geography like the back of his hand.
Yet here he was, lost in Starpoint Mountain.
‘Impossible. Even after a year and a half, me getting lost here!?’
Feeling a surge of suspicion, Baek Hyun activated his upper dantian with the heightened senses honed during his seclusion.
-Gwoooong...!!
Only then could Baek Hyun sense it.
The unidentified energies enveloping them.
Like meticulously programmed code, an alien energy woven with exquisite precision.
"You've noticed? We've arrived at our destination, so don't panic. This is a formation set by the sect leader."
Seeing Baek Hyun's subtly stiffened expression, Hyun-gang realized he had caught on and reassured him.
‘As expected, this is a formation.’
Baek Hyun's eyes gleamed with the sharp gaze of a gamer as he began scrutinizing the energies arrayed around them.
Formations.
A mysterious and advanced technique that produced special effects by arranging natural or artificial objects in specific patterns.
Though effects varied wildly by type and grade, a well-utilized formation could outperform even the finest divine arts.
Prime examples included the Shaolin Temple's One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation, which boasted top-tier power in direct confrontations within the game.
Or the Zhuge Clan's Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, theoretically impenetrable even by dozens of transcendent realm experts.
A deliberately perfected formation held overwhelming value surpassing hundreds of elite experts.
However, few factions specialized in formations, and properly establishing and maintaining them required vast resources, making them rare sights.
They only appeared multiple times in the game's late stages, amid massive events.
Who would have thought he'd witness such a large-scale formation in Starpoint Sect...
As one of the Nine Great Righteous Sects, it wasn't strange for them to have protective formations around the sect grounds, but this was a new addition absent before the remake.
‘It cleverly warps space to prevent access to certain areas. Simple, yet highly effective.’
Without his upper dantian or prior knowledge of the mountain's layout, he never would have detected it.
And even detecting it was worlds apart from breaking it.
This didn't seem like a low-level formation at all, so why had Starpoint Sect gone to such lengths?
‘Probably for that exam site.’
Baek Hyun recalled the secret details So-ya had shared about "that place," a expectant smile crossing his face.
The single greatest change in Starpoint Sect since the remake—the most revered and sacred site within the sect.
The sect's time-honored initiation exam ground...
And the most dangerous place in all of Starpoint Sect.
"The sect's higher-ups are all present, so make sure none of you show anything shameful."
-Thud!
At that moment, Hyun-gang stomped firmly on a specific spot on the ground.
It was the life gate of the formation encircling this area—a secret known only to first-generation disciples and above in Starpoint Sect.
-Shoooo...
The surrounding dense trees vanished like a mirage, revealing a vast clearing before them.
Along with it appeared a dilapidated hall that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
And dozens of warriors radiating extraordinary presences.
Every one of them was a superhuman who had reached the transcendent realm or higher.
Baek Hyun couldn't help but be stunned.
Not by the warriors themselves, but by the formation's performance in completely masking even a hint of their presences despite their numbers.
"First-Generation Disciple Hyun-gang leads the initiate disciples to pay respects to the Sect Leader and Elders!!"
As all the initiate disciples stood entranced by the surreal scene, Hyun-gang and the other Azure Cloud Pavilion instructors assumed proper stances, clasping their fists in salute and bowing deeply.
Only then did the initiates snap to and awkwardly mimic the posture.
In response, one man with an overwhelmingly distinctive aura stepped forward slowly from among the crowd.
His black hair was like shadows cast by sunlight, his eyes hollow like the ashes left from a fire.
His build was somewhat slight for a warrior, but that only made him more intimidating. His battle-honed muscles, stripped of all excess, were taut like a fully drawn bowstring.
There were no footsteps.
Yet with each step he took, it felt as though the extremely compressed fighting spirit sliced thinly through the surrounding air.
All the initiate disciples instinctively held their breath.
No power or killing intent was overtly displayed, yet they were overwhelmed by his unique presence alone.
A sharp aura closer to that of a "warrior" than a "Taoist."
Despite belonging to a generation above the first-generation disciple Hyun-gang, his strikingly youthful appearance hinted that he had achieved Marrow Cleansing Rejuvenation.
The master who had reached the pinnacle of the Shoot the Sun Sword Art.
It took not even a single breath for everyone to recall that he was Starpoint Sect's current Sect Leader.
"You've had it rough, Hyun-gang. Let's begin the mountain entry exam right away."
One of the Ten Great Masters of the world.
Bright Sword Mokheon.
Unlike other renowned sects with their elaborate ceremonies, his straightforward approach to starting the exam seemed to reflect Mokheon's preference for simplicity.
‘So that's Starpoint Sect's Sect Leader. First time seeing him in person.’
Baek Hyun sneaked a glance at Mokheon while keeping his head bowed, lost in thought.
He still remembered how shocked he'd been upon first hearing that Starpoint Sect housed one of the Ten Great Masters.
In the pre-remake Dominating the World, Starpoint Sect was part of the Nine Great Righteous Sects but always lingered near the bottom, teetering on the edge of being supplanted by the Qingcheng Sect—an ambiguous position.
It naturally had no Ten Great Master, and the Sect Leader's realm hadn't even reached the transcendent stage.
But things were different here.
‘So this is what facing a transcendent realm expert in the real world feels like.’
A overwhelming pressure welled up from the depths of Baek Hyun's chest, causing his hand to tremble unconsciously.
Starpoint Sect's new Sect Leader, Mokheon.
That man was a monster.
To the point where gauging his capabilities was impossible right now.
Who could have imagined that perennial underdog Starpoint Sect would gain an expert of that caliber...
‘Our Starpoint Sect has changed.’
Baek Hyun inwardly shed tears of emotion, silently applauding the developers for buffing Starpoint Sect.
How many humiliations had he endured from other veteran players starting in powerhouse factions?
No matter how thoroughly he crushed them in PvP, the moment sects came up, he'd had to slink away in shame—indignities beyond words.
Yes, this was the stature Starpoint Sect rightfully deserved.
The world's foremost swift-sword sect, heirs to Hou Yi's legacy! Holders of a Ten Great Master!! Top-ranked among the Nine Great Righteous Sects, a colossal force dominating the Yun'nan region!!
That was the proud sect he belonged to—Starpoint Sect!!
...Enough of the dramatics. Time for a cool-headed analysis of why Starpoint Sect had changed so drastically.
Numerous factors had elevated its status, but the primary reasons could be narrowed down as follows.
First, me.
No joke or exaggeration.
Even objectively, his existence had clearly influenced Starpoint Sect's massive buff.
What dev team wouldn't notice a sect housing a madman racking up 96% win rates in endgame PvP dominated by veterans?
Even mediocre sneakers look cooler than anything when Michael Jordan wears them.
The developers, originally indifferent to Starpoint Sect, must have started viewing it as stronger after witnessing his overwhelming exploits.
The second reason: reinforcement of monstrous beings content.
In the remake process, Dominating the World's developers had massively expanded and bolstered content related to monstrous beings.
And Starpoint Sect was one of the few sects worldwide that made hunting malevolent spirits its profession.
With more types and numbers of monstrous beings, Starpoint Sect's forces opposing them would naturally swell as well.
Proof of that was this very place.
"We shall now conduct Starpoint Sect's mountain entry exam per the Sect Leader's will.
However, before explaining the rules, I will first tell you what significance this place holds."
At the Sect Leader's instruction, First-Generation Disciple Hyun-gang began his final lecture to the initiate disciples.
"As you all know, our Starpoint Sect has long taken on the role of subjugating malevolent spirits that sow chaos in the world, emulating Hou Yi's spirit.
Yet Hou Yi, who felled nine suns and slew countless malevolent spirits, met a tragic end. This can be seen as karma for excessively defying the natural order, no matter the good intentions.
Mindful of this, we aim not to drop fallen suns but to become new suns ourselves, preserving nature's balance. However, not everyone can become a sun.
Thus, Starpoint Sect chose to seal rather than exterminate malevolent spirits."
-Point.
Hyun-gang pointed to the dilapidated hall at the clearing's center and continued.
An edifice exuding such a sinister aura that it was hard to believe it was a sect's holy site or the venue for initiate exams.
"This hall is called the Subduing Demon Hall. As the name implies, it is where countless demons... malevolent spirits slumber. All the formations around here were erected to conceal this hall.
Within lie immense numbers of malevolent spirits sealed by our ancestors over centuries."
Baek Hyun gazed at the eerie hall, absent in the original version, and felt certain.
The addition of specialized structures and sites solely for dealing with malevolent spirits.
Concrete proof that monstrous beings' existence had directly bolstered Starpoint Sect's status.
"Guarding and managing this hall is one of the sect's most vital duties. Many of the sealed malevolent spirits were deliberately left alive to avoid defying nature's flow...
But there are no small number of ferocious beasts too formidable to slay outright."
Tension rippled across every initiate disciple's face at those words.
They had already learned of monstrous beings even Starpoint Sect's ancestors couldn't exterminate.
Baek Hyun, too, widened his eyes in undisguised shock at Hyun-gang's statement.
He'd half-expected it from how meticulously the dilapidated hall was hidden, but still...
"The Ten Great Ferocious Beasts are sealed here."
And not just one or two.