Dual Cultivator with a cultivation system
Chapter 356 - 356: Ch-356: End of Exam

In the center of the bed sat a handsome young man in loose robes, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the sect master group chat.

"Tsk, the Yang-Yin Sect sure is lucky. They've managed to recruit such an exceptional disciple... but I must find a way to eliminate him before the competition begins." This young man was the sect leader of the Joyous Harmonious Sect, and at this moment, he was radiating killing intent.

"And to make matters worse, they even opened a non-Dual Cultivation department," he thought with disdain, considering it beneath a Dual Cultivation sect to admit disciples who didn't practice their traditional arts—clearly a move made just to find better disciples for the competition.

---

BOOM!

A massive golden arc struck a group of beasts directly, instantly killing the entire charging stampede. The area was riddled with craters, resembling an apocalyptic scene caused by a meteor shower.

"I guess this is enough," Wang Ming said as he sheathed his sword. He leapt down from the enormous pile of monster corpses that looked like a small mountain.

Ding!

"Hmm?" Wang Ming raised an eyebrow as a few lines of text appeared in front of his retina.

[You have received a message from Sect Master 'Jiang Hong']

"Huh, he can send messages into the virtual world from the real world?" Wang Ming mumbled as he opened the message, curious about what was so urgent that it couldn't wait until he exited the VR pod—especially with the competition ending in just a few minutes.

[Jiang Hong: Disciple Wang Ming, did you ever meet the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect outside during the mission when you left the sect?]

"Hmm… Heavenly Sword Sect…" Wang Ming mumbled as he tried to recall. Suddenly, it clicked. When he was in the secret realm and had been playing around with the princess, he had introduced himself as her friend to the sect master and her personal disciple.

But why is he asking me this all of a sudden? Wang Ming wondered, casting a glance at Tang Nian, who was staring at the destruction he had caused, mouth agape.

[Indeed, I did meet them in a secret realm.]

Wang Ming typed his reply and sent it to the sect master. When no response came, he simply shrugged.

He could guess what had happened. Most likely, the Sect Master and the Peak Masters of the Heavenly Sword Sect had seen his performance through Tang Nian's screen, recognized him, and then informed their Sect Master—who sent the message to confirm his identity. After all, Wang Ming had wanted to keep it hidden.

'Honestly, I'm surprised she recognized me even with this mask,' Wang Ming thought, touching the mask on his face. He was a little shocked that the Sect Master had identified him without even seeing his face.

"Close your mouths," Wang Ming said as he walked over and stood next to the girls, whose jaws were still hanging open in shock. His words seemed to snap both of them out of their daze.

Gulp.

Min Li and Tang Nian swallowed hard as they took in the destruction and carnage caused by him.

"M-Monster…" Tang Nian muttered unconsciously, still gawking at Wang Ming.

"Oh my, thank you for such a lovely compliment," Wang Ming replied with a playful bow, which caused Tang Nian to scowl a bit.

"This is too outrageous…" Min Li said in a shaky voice.

Some might think her reaction was exaggerated or repetitive—after all, she had already seen the fight between Bai Lingxi and Wang Ming—but who could blame her? The scene before her was simply too heaven-defying. Even though she came from one of the top families, she had never witnessed such power. Her clan members, no matter how strong, never fought near the family grounds, and even in training, they held back. Besides, she doubted even they could match Wang Ming's strength.

If her confidence in her own power had been shaken before, it was now completely shattered.

'Tsk, good thing time ran out… Otherwise, wouldn't he have reached the top 3 directly?' Min Li thought, shivering as she glanced at a dejected Tang Nian.

[Ding Dong]

[Outer Court Promotion Examination has ended. Everyone will now be logged out.]

---

The Serpent Building

The room, which had been completely still and quiet except for the soft buzzing of the capsules containing the disciples, began to stir. One by one, the hatches of the capsules opened as disciples stepped out, excitement lighting up their faces.

"This experience was surreal! I didn't expect a man-made world to feel so realistic," said one of the disciples, still reeling from the shock of experiencing the virtual world for the first time.

"Forget about that—did you pass or not?" asked the disciple next to him.

"Hah, of course I passed! What did you think?" he replied arrogantly. Then, pointing toward a group of grim-faced disciples, he added, "But it looks like a lot of others didn't."

Bang!

Everyone's attention snapped toward a group of disciples who had just entered the room, wearing expressions of arrogance and superiority.

"Hey, who among you entered the rankings?" one of them asked impatiently, a mix of dread and malice in his tone.

"C-Core disciples…" someone muttered, recognizing the robes they wore, each marked with the symbol of their respective peaks.

"You trash—didn't you hear my question?" the same disciple barked angrily, releasing a bit of his cultivation aura, which immediately caused several Outer Court disciples to pale.

"Enough!" snapped another voice as a different disciple stepped forward, releasing his own cultivation aura to counteract the pressure. "You guys from that peak are nothing but a bunch of mannerless savages. Is this how you go around questioning others?"

"Tsk," the first disciple clicked his tongue but said nothing, clearly weaker than the newcomer who had intervened.

"Hello," said the more polite disciple, stepping forward. "Could the person who reached the rankings please introduce themselves? We'd like to recommend you to our Peak Master."

The surrounding disciples looked at one another in confusion, surprised by the request. When no one stepped forward, the polite disciple frowned.

"Looks like they're not here," he said with a sigh.

"Well, I'm not surprised. Most likely the Sect Master or one of the Peak Masters already took him—or her—away," another added with a shrug. "We'll find out who it is sooner or later anyway."