"Cultivator Bai Xiao and his partner Feng Xinyi are the first to complete the first main task."
The scene then shifted elsewhere—
A quiet discussion room filled with elders watching multiple screens that showed every participant.
"I didn't expect this group to be the first," one of the elders said.
"I was rooting for Feng Lian to be first. He's not only the strongest but also has the best team," another elder replied.
"This task was based on emotions," an old man said. "It had nothing to do with strength. Only someone who has gone through different emotions could finish it first."
"Indeed," another nodded. "So, what do we know about this Bai Xiao?"
A servant stepped forward. "His real name is Gu Chaun. He arrived at Velora a month ago. From our data, he began cultivating about two months ago. Before that, he was a mortal from another planet, and later went to a beast planet."
"Why a beast planet?" an elder asked.
"He obtained more than twenty 2-star beast cores in just his third day of cultivation," the servant answered. "After that, he left the beast planet searching for a civilization. From what we estimate, he traveled for about twenty-two days before reaching here. We can check which planet he came from if elders wish."
The elders stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue.
"After arriving at Velora with his companion Gu Xue, now known as Li Qingzu, he started training intensely," the servant said and showed Gu Chaun's training schedule.
"He's very determined to grow stronger but also reckless," an elder commented.
The servant then said, "That's not the surprising part. He defeated multiple 3-star beasts with a single attack."
He played a few short clips showing Gu Chaun's battles.
"We were only checking what the girl came here for," one elder muttered, "but who would've thought we'd find another monster."
Another elder leaned forward. "So what do we know about their backgrounds? People like them can't be nobodies."
"We don't know much," the servant said. "But there's a theory—they might be Nascent Soul wanted criminals who reset their cultivation to hide their identity."
Wanted criminals were cultivators who committed crimes across star systems. To hide, they erased their appearance and reset their cultivation.
Resetting was a risky process—if lucky, the Qi would reform and could be reused; if not, the cultivator would lose everything.
It seemed one of them succeeded while the other failed.
When Gu Xue and Gu Chaun entered Velora's atmosphere, their basic information was detected, and Gu Xue's immense Qi caught attention. They even sent a Nascent Soul cultivator to confirm it.
"So what do we do about them?" one elder asked. "They're both Nascent Soul experts, but possibly criminals."
"Nothing," another elder said calmly. "They're both trying to start a new life. From their actions, they don't seem to want to harm any planet. Gu Chaun appears to be trying to rebuild his cultivation and become a protector under the name Bai Xiao. He's not foolish enough to think he could escape from over fifty Nascent Soul cultivators."
"So all we need to do is make sure Gu Chaun becomes a part of Velora, right?" another elder asked.
"Yes, but before that, he needs to win," an elder replied. "Otherwise, all of this will mean nothing."
"True," one more said. "Even though he has a ninety-percent chance of winning, there's still ten percent he could fail."
All of them nodded, focusing back on the screen that showed Gu Chaun.
...
At the same time—
We were teleported to a wide open grassland.
I looked around until a cultivator appeared in front of us.
"This level has no extra tasks," he said. "Only the main task. Reach the finish line to pass. The first twenty cultivators to finish will receive better rewards and information in the next level."
After that, he disappeared.
I stepped forward to look ahead—
And suddenly, the scenery changed.
We were still on the same grassland, but now, a huge mountain stood in front of us.