Limitless Ascension: Strength Amid Adversity – Chapter 462

After a stick of incense had burned, the spots for entering the Secret Realm were all gone. Countless Cultivators, turned away, stared at the closed entrance, their expressions filled with despair, each one pounding their chests and stomping their feet in regret.

Inside the Supreme Secret Realm.

When the thousand Testers opened their eyes again, they found themselves in a three-dimensional square space, with each panel displaying countdown red numbers.

Beneath their feet were glowing circles of different colors.

It’s worth mentioning that everyone’s bodies appeared quite blurry, as their consciousness had established a connection with the virtual space of the Secret Realm.

In simple terms, from the moment they entered the Secret Realm, everything appearing was unreal!

“What the hell is going on? Can someone explain?” one of the Cultivators asked suspiciously.

“Ladies and gentlemen, according to the legends, we are currently in the preparatory matching mode. If you are the initiator of the team, as long as someone agrees to team up with you, the circle beneath your feet will change to the same color as yours,” said a Middle-aged Man seriously.

“But what if we can’t find a teammate?” another woman asked curiously.

“Don’t worry, once the time is up, the Secret Realm will randomly assign teams, forcibly putting together a team of five,” the Middle-aged Man explained.

After hearing this, everyone understood and began looking around for new teammates.

Although many of them originally had partners, they were basically blocked by the light curtain when they entered, so now they had to find suitable teammates again.

In an instant, the noise erupted, resembling a bustling market.

“Pick me! Pick me! I’m pretty and can cheer for you!”

“Let’s focus on teamwork and stable emotions!”

“Please let the big shot take me along! I’ll be eternally grateful!”

…

Witnessing this, Ye Junlin felt a sense of déjà vu and awkwardly remarked, “Isn’t this just the matching hall before a competition?”

“Senior Ye, why don’t you be the team initiator?” Canglang Jun suggested.

“Right, let’s hurry up and form a team!” Luo Qingwu said.

“Alright!”

Ye Junlin readily agreed and sent out team invitations.

Once Canglang Jun and the others agreed, the circles beneath their feet turned the same color, forming a bright blue light screen around them, marking them as a team, during which no one could interfere.

On another side, the Eternal Ancestor quietly joined a temporary team.

Due to his vague appearance, no one recognized his identity.

If the Cultivators in the team knew he was the ancestor of the Eternal Immortal Sect, they would be utterly shocked!

Not far away, a dashing young man with his hands behind his back was looking around with great interest.

“Interesting, really interesting!”

This person was Tong Wudi.

Interestingly, he hadn’t actually entered the Supreme Secret Realm in person; he was remotely connecting his consciousness using a jade seal.

His real body was still hanging out in the Immortal Court!

“Ahem, anyone wanting to form a team should come to me; I can easily carry you to victory!” Tong Wudi pretended to cough a couple of times and confidently said.

As a result, not a single person paid him any attention.

The main reason was Tong Wudi looked too young, and in this virtual world of consciousness, there were no distinctions based on cultivation level. Everyone found teammates more by charm of speech and looks.

“Eh?”

Tong Wudi’s face was filled with astonishment.

He never expected that not a single person would acknowledge him!

This feeling of being ignored was something he had never experienced before, and the psychological gap was unimaginable.

As the countdown hit the final ten seconds, Tong Wudi felt like he was losing face and shouted loudly:

“With me around, we’ll definitely win! Anyone who believes in me, join me!”

Beep beep beep.

Suddenly, a green bubble appeared above his head, indicating a team invite.

Tong Wudi turned to look, only to see some blurry figures, both male and female, chatting amongst themselves.

“Fairy, are we really going to invite him? He doesn’t seem very reliable!”

“Hehe, do we have any other choice? Since he’s that confident, let’s give him a shot and see how he performs.”

The speaker was none other than Bao Nishuang, who had been humiliated by Luo Qingwu earlier!

Don’t underestimate her; although she wasn’t on the same level as Luo Qingwu, she was considered a proud daughter of heaven among the younger generation, and she was a descendant of the Supreme Elder from the Void Truth View—her background was quite solid.

After being humiliated, Bao Nishuang returned, hoping for some luck and unexpectedly got into the Secret Realm.

Seeing Tong Wudi’s confidence, she thought that if the battle didn’t go well, she could vent her frustrations on him later.

“He’s coming! He’s coming!” Tong Wudi was thrilled and rushed into the same glowing circle.

“Everyone, you’ve made the right choice! Just watch how I show off my skills! I guarantee we’ll win!” Tong Wudi boasted, thumping his chest.

“Small in stature, but big in talk,” Bao Nishuang thought to herself.

With her arms crossed, she gave Tong Wudi a sidelong glance and said, “Remember, you said this!”

Then the countdown ended.

The Secret Realm began to enter the next phase.

—

Swish~

Suddenly, everyone felt darkness enveloping them, as if they had fallen into an endless void.

Then, an authoritative and cold voice echoed in their minds, ringing like a great bell:

“Attention, Testers! The random matching phase is about to begin!”

“Choose the character you wish to use, and once you enter the duel, it cannot be changed!”

“Once a team fails in the duel, all members of that team will be eliminated!”

“The winning team can advance to the next round!”

As soon as the voice fell, a light burst forth in front of them, and an extremely realistic simulation interface appeared before their eyes.

On it were densely packed character icons, each one lifelike and vivid, as if they truly existed, complete with detailed backgrounds and talent descriptions.

Ye Junlin took a quick glance and noted the character types were generally warriors, tanks, archers, mages, and support roles.

In the upper right corner, there were four speaker icons corresponding to the other four teammates, allowing them to communicate during the matching phase.

Tang Yaoyao: “Wow, there are so many characters! I don’t even know which one to choose—maybe I’ll just pick my favorite!”

Canglang Jun: “Speaking of which, shouldn’t we pay attention to the team composition? It would be more reliable!”

Luo Qingwu: “I don’t care, I want to pick the one with the best figure; it’s decided—I’m going for that girl with nine fox tails behind her—so flashy!”

Great Mushroom King: “Then I’ll pick the healing role to help you all recover…”

Among all the characters, Ye Junlin found the one that caught his eye.

“Shen Jianxin, identity as a Sword Cultivator, skilled in powerful sword techniques, high burst damage, with low vitality.”

Ye Junlin chuckled, “A glass cannon, but that’s fine.”

Then he selected that character.

The character customization allowed for facial design and hair color changes.

Out of some kind of absurd impulse, he made that originally handsome face into a cheeky, annoying one and styled the hair into a mess of colors.

In that moment, the dashing Shen Jianxin was gone, replaced by a guy holding a sword, sporting a garish hairstyle with an annoying expression, exuding an aura that drew hatred.

With such a silly makeover, the look was utterly ridiculous!

Just standing still, his mockery level would be off the charts.

After clicking confirm, a line of red text appeared before Ye Junlin: Testers, please input a pseudonym; once entered, it cannot be changed!

“Game name, right? Got it!”

Ye Junlin recalled the third trial in Fallen Immortal Island and skillfully typed a familiar name into the name field.

“Invincible and Lonely!”

Before long, the authoritative voice of the Secret Realm rang out again, “Matching successful, entering the map!”

“The countdown begins, ten, nine, eight, seven, six…”

Swish~

As golden light flashed by.

Ye Junlin felt the scene before him grow blurry, his entire body becoming unusually light, as if he were a mortal transforming into an immortal.

Then, he experienced a strong sensation of weightlessness.

When he sensed himself landing on the ground, Ye Junlin quickly looked up, and the clear scene before him left him stunned!

“This is…”