Once upon a time, there were three children who ate, drank, and fooled around together. It was a period of pure innocence, one that left a rich aftertaste whenever one recalled it.

Among them was a boy, a playful and naughty boy with a carefree temperament. At times, he enjoyed hiding in the library reading all sorts of books, looking incomparably refined. Another one of them was a boy as well. He was akin to being the first boy's little attendant, constantly issuing commands on behalf of the first boy. He was his trusted aide. He would always work hard on cultivation during his free time and rarely neglected anything related to cultivation. The third child was a girl. She was smart and had grown up alongside them. The first boy, a self-proclaimed boy king, had also proclaimed her his queen.

Time passed, and the three children grew up. The boy king still spent all his time fooling around, and he was as weak as a scholar. The second boy had become an outstanding cultivator who would always remain by the boy king's side, helping him resolve all his troubles. As for the girl, she transformed into a woman, and her thoughts were no longer as simple as before. She came to a realization that although the boy king had an extraordinary status, he had a bleak future. On the contrary, the second boy was so outstanding he seemed perfect, causing her to have a change of heart.

One day, a massive change occurred. The boy king became a prince of misfortune, being chased in humiliation. As for the boy and the girl who were the closest ones to the boy king, they betrayed him, becoming the enemies he detested most. Now adults, the three met again. Things did not devolve into violence the moment they met, and they had instead clashed through words.

After taking a deep breath, Xiang Shaoyun calmed down completely. In the past, he deeply hated them. But now, his hatred for them had lessened considerably. It was not that he had forgiven them. Rather, after spending all this time tempering himself, he was no longer in the same mental state. When he met them once again, his thoughts of them also changed as a result.

He hated them less because he now knew he was also one of the culprits for his misfortune. If he had not wasted all his time fooling around back then and had instead focused on cultivation, things would be completely different now. As for the girl, she would have stayed by his side until the end of her life.

Alas, he had been too useless. He was arrogant and conceited, resulting in him losing everything his father had built. He hated himself, he lamented what the boy had done, and he pitied the girl.

"Yes, it has been a while. So you two have indeed gotten together. Congratulations!" said Xiang Shaoyun, an indifferent smile on his face. His smile was akin to the brightest sun, causing the halo around the remarkable youth before him to dim. As for the young woman before him, her heartbeat accelerated.

Di Lin had not expected that Xiang Shaoyun would show such an attitude when facing them. He had assumed that Xiang Shaoyun would fly into a rage out of humiliation. Inwardly, he thought, He is definitely feigning his indifference!

"Yes. Yunxi has been good to me. You know it, she has always been gentle and considerate since young," said Di Lin with a smile. He then lowered his voice, "By the way, she's exceedingly intoxicating on the bed. Many times, I can't even stop even when I want to!"

A trace of anger surfaced in Xia Yunxi's eyes, but it quickly faded.

"Hehe, as long as you like it. It's not like she's related to me anyway," said Xiang Shaoyun. Even so, he still felt some pain in his heart upon hearing that. Without a doubt, he used to love the woman before him dearly. However, they could no longer return to how they were in the past.

"True. Looks like you have really forgotten about the past. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to let go of your feelings for Yunxi!" said Di Lin, a look of pride on his face.

"Whether you're here to show off or mock me, remember this: Di Lin, your life will always be mine," said Xiang Shaoyun, suddenly turning serious.

Your life will always be mine!

Like a sharp edge, that sentence stabbed right into Di Lin's heart, giving him intense displeasure. Once upon a time, the boy king had possessed numerous guards. As for the other boy, although he also had a considerably high status, he was completely incomparable to the boy king. One time, the boy encountered an accident and nearly died. The boy king was the one who ordered the guards to save the boy's life.

At that time, the boy king said one sentence: "Your life will always be mine!"

The boy thought of that as a joke, but to hear the same words after so many years, it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Haha, you are still as conceited as ever. We will know soon whose life is whose," said Di Lin with a hearty laugh. He then looked at Huo Xudong, "Big Brother Huo, are you not going to say anything to your old friend?"

Huo Xudong rubbed his bald head and smiled, "Brother Xiang, it has been a while!"

"Rats enjoy digging because they love living in darkness. Now that a rat has actually come under the sunlight, it seems like the rat is starting to look down on the might of humans. Don't forget to slaughter the rat when given the chance. Don't let the rat get too cocky," said Xiang Shaoyun, completely ignoring Huo Xudong.

His words might seem completely random, but Huo Xudong was still angered. A sinister look surfaced on his face. Just as he was about to say something, Liu Xutian told them it was their turn to take their assessments, interrupting their conversation.

After Di Lin, Xia Yunxi and Huo Xudong left, Shou Xie praised, "Young Master Xiang is not only mighty when it comes to fighting, but you're also mighty when it comes to bickering! You have my respects!"

Xiang Shaoyun ignored the remark. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a gloomy look. Although he had come to accept the fact of his past incompetence, some grudges couldn't be forgotten just like that. The only way of resolving this grudge of his was through blood.

When the special-recruits started their assessment, numerous additional elders appeared. Unsurprisingly, the first special-recruit disciple was an eight-star physique holder. The second special-recruit disciple was the holder of a seven-star physique and also a unique physique.

He did not have a lot of stars, but his unique physique made up for that. In fact, the unique physique gave him an even better talent than those with more stars. The special-recruit disciples stepped forth one after another, revealing one freakish physique after another. The regular disciples were completely dumbstruck.

Only now were they convinced that these special-recruit disciples were indeed freaks that they couldn't compete with. Only when they saw about one dozen special-recruits with unique talents such as Shou Xie did they feel somewhat comforted. These people merely had unique talents, but their physiques were nothing special.

It was a pity that after more than half the special-recruit disciples took their assessment, a nine-star physique holder had yet to appear. In fact, not even a high-grade eight-star physique holder had appeared.

Finally, it was Xia Yunxi's turn to take the assessment.