The platform fell into complete chaos.
Every elder, every newly accepted disciple, even the Sect Leader himself, stared at Zhuo Huan as if they were looking at some unprecedented disaster.
A pervert.
That single word echoed silently in everyone's mind.
The disciples who had joined the sect felt their worldview crack. Some instinctively took half a step away from Zhuo Huan, fear and disbelief written on their faces. The elders' expressions were stiff, veins twitching on their foreheads.
Even the Fairy Peak disciples were stunned beyond words.
The short height pink-haired girl's face flushed bright red, all the way to her ears. She pointed straight at Zhuo Huan, her entire body trembling with anger and embarrassment.
"Y–you bastard!" she shouted. "We will never take a pervert like you!"
Her voice echoed across the platform.
Beside her, the black-haired girl didn't shout, but her reaction wasn't much better. She turned her head slightly away, lips tightly pressed together, her calm expression cracked by visible embarrassment. Her eyes flickered toward Zhuo Huan for a brief moment before she looked away again, clearly flustered.
At the same time, Luo Hanshen's expression darkened completely.
At first, he had been shocked.
Now, he was furious.
Terrifying pressure erupted from his body as blazing spiritual flames surged around him, distorting the air. The disciples nearest to him felt their legs weaken, barely able to stand.
"You brat," Luo Hanshen said coldly, his voice carrying rage. "Do you think cultivation is a fucking joke?"
His eyes burned as he stared straight at Zhuo Huan.
"Lust only slows cultivation. It ruins focus, ruins willpower. With your talent, you could one day become the Sect Leader. Do you understand what you're throwing away?"
The flames around him intensified, the temperature on the platform rising sharply.
Zhuo Huan stood there calmly, completely unaffected.
He looked straight at Luo Hanshen and replied without hesitation, his tone steady and sincere.
"Sect Leader, you're right," he said. "But every cultivator has a goal. People cultivate to become powerful for something."
He paused briefly, then continued with absolute seriousness.
"My goal… is to stay between girls."
As if that wasn't enough, he deliberately circulated his blood energy upward.
A thin stream of blood flowed out from his nose.
A nosebleed.
A real, shameless nosebleed.
The entire platform froze.
Someone's jaw dropped.
Someone else felt their soul leave their body.
The pink-haired girl nearly exploded on the spot.
The black-haired girl's ears turned red.
Several elders felt their internal energy go unstable.
Luo Hanshen's eyes widened in disbelief. His chest tightened so hard it felt like he was about to cough blood.
"This fucking brat…" he muttered, veins bulging on his forehead.
Zhuo Huan wiped his nose casually, then straightened his posture as if nothing embarrassing had just happened. He turned his head and looked at the disciple with the mole.
That disciple stood frozen, eyes dull, face pale, as if his soul was halfway out of his body.
"Senior," Zhuo Huan asked calmly, "if I pass the third test, I can join any peak I want, right?"
The disciple with the mole twitched.
Then suddenly, as if remembering something crucial, his eyes lit up. His expression instantly changed, and a strange smile spread across his face.
"Yeah," he said cheerfully. "Of course. If you pass the third test, you can join any peak you want."
As he spoke, he turned to look at the elders, the Sect Leader, and the Fairy Peak disciples.
The moment they heard those words, everyone froze.
Then—
As if struck by the same thought at the same time, the elders' expressions changed.
Luo Hanshen stopped raging.
The Fairy Peak disciples stopped shouting.
Slowly, one by one, sinister smiles appeared on their faces.
They all looked at Zhuo Huan.
Evil.
Amused.
Anticipating.
Zhuo Huan, however, remained calm, completely unaware that he had just walked straight into something extremely dangerous.
Inside his mind, he only thought one thing.
"Third test? Fine. As long as I get into Fairy Peak, it's worth it."
The elders thought something very different.
"This brat… is about to regret his fucking life choices."
The Third Test of the Celestial Dignity Sect was known as the most mysterious and difficult trial in the entire cultivation world.
Not because it demanded overwhelming strength, nor because it required monstrous talent.
It was difficult because no one knew what the fuck was inside it.
Throughout countless years, only one person had ever passed this test—and that person had sealed their lips completely, refusing to reveal even a single clue. Worse still, the test was restricted: only those who had not yet begun cultivation were allowed to enter. Any cultivator who tried to step inside would be instantly repelled by the formation.
That was precisely why the elders, the Sect Leader, and even the Fairy Peak disciples were so confident.
Their plan was simple and cruel.
If Zhuo Huan failed the third test, he would be left with only one choices—become a servant of the sect. At that point, all the elders and even Luo Hanshen himself would once again extend their invitations. Zhuo Huan would have no room to act arrogant, no space to chase his ridiculous dreams of Fairy Peak.
He would kneel.
He would choose.
And he would regret.
Near a massive, ancient tree, ten figures stood silently several meters away.
Sect Leader Luo Hanshen.
The five peak elders.
The two Fairy Peak disciples.
The disciple with the mole.
And Zhuo Huan.
The ancient tree towered into the sky, its trunk thicker than several houses combined. Despite its age, its leaves were lush and green, shimmering faintly as immense spiritual energy flowed through them like breath through living lungs.
This tree was not dead.
It was very much alive.
The air around it felt heavy, sacred, and oppressive. Even standing several meters away, one could feel waves of spiritual pressure pulsing outward.
They had come for the Third Test.
Its name was simple, yet ominous.
Recognition of the Old Tree.
From the point where they stood, an invisible formation began—one that barred cultivators from entering and isolated the trial space entirely.
Luo Hanshen stepped forward, his expression calm, even kind, as he looked at Zhuo Huan.
"Disciple," he said, smiling faintly. "This ancient tree has lived since the founding of our sect. It is where our ancestor—the creator of the Celestial Dignity Sect—once rested and cultivated."
Zhuo Huan's gaze remained fixed on the tree.
He could feel it.
The power inside this tree was terrifying—far beyond what it appeared to be on the surface. Strangely, despite his past life and accumulated experiences, he had no memory of this tree at all.
That alone sent a chill through his heart.
Whatever was inside… was not normal.
Luo Hanshen stepped closer and suddenly slapped a hand onto Zhuo Huan's shoulder, his grip firm.
"Your third test begins now," he said. "Go inside. We don't know what you'll face or what you must do. But remember—if you are instantly expelled from the tree, you fail."
With that, Luo Hanshen gave him a light push.
Zhuo Huan staggered forward one step—and crossed the boundary of the formation.
The world shifted.
Yet Zhuo Huan did not panic.
He did not hesitate.
Before fully entering, he turned his head back and glanced at the Fairy Peak disciples. A small, polite smile appeared on his face—the kind a refined gentleman would give.
In his eyes, it was harmless.
In their eyes…
It was fucking disgusting.
The two Fairy Peak disciples stiffened.
Their faces twisted.
Then, without another word, both turned away and started vomiting violently.
Zhuo Huan blinked.
"…Tough crowd," he muttered silently as the formation swallowed him whole.
Behind him, the elders exchanged glances, their earlier smiles growing deeper and far more dangerous.
Inside their hearts, one thought echoed clearly.
"This perverted brat won't last even a moment."