The First Cultivator - Changing Existence

They quickly arrived at the teleportation hub and left. After two teleportations, they found themselves just outside an arena.

"The test is quite simple. There are four categories. Battle, Techniques, Arts, and Knowledge. Choose one, and when it is called out, head down. The battle portion consists simply of fighting. There will not be many winners, at most three per realm. Unless you are extremely confident in your battle power, do not attempt it. The technique portion consists of choosing a technique from a wide range of choices and comprehending it to a satisfactory level within a given period of time. Any number of beings can win this, but without sufficient talent, there is no hope."

"The art portion consists of many artful or beautiful things. Painting, music, anything that grabs the attention of others in an approved way. There are an infinite amount of ways to participate in this portion. Depending on what you choose, you will be judged by a select group. If your score is satisfactory, you are a citizen. Any number of beings can theoretically pass this. The final section is the knowledge section. It is the most simple. Either compete in a battle of wits against an official scholar or give a piece of information so valuable you can immediately pass." The lizard paused before continuing.

"You will not just be competing with the people here with you, but any being hoping to gain a true citizen status. Simply being born within the Sovereign Tree rarely gives you true citizenship. Luckily for you, that also means you won't be competing with members of powerful clans. Finally, if you become a citizen, feel free to go off on your own. If you do not, please return to this spot when everything is over. Otherwise, you will be found and executed."

The Lizard motioned towards the entrance and left.

All of the beings walked toward the entrance and found themselves in the stands of an arena. The arena was huge, able to easily hold upwards of a trillion beings. Despite that, it was almost full. Luckily, they understood that one had to be a False Immortal at the least to compete, so they didn't have to worry about trillions of beings participating.

The event did not start for a few more hours. By then, it was nearly impossible to find an empty seat.

There were different sections in the arena, with the weakest beings in the general crowd, while those who were Immortals were almost exclusively in private rooms. There were tens of thousands of private rooms, and it was unknown how many were filled. There were also a few rooms even better than those, but they were hard to find or see.

Naturally, the competitors within the Immortal realms were in the general crowd.

The arena quickly quieted down as a large bat holding a microphone appeared in the center of the arena.

"Attention everyone. The first portion, the battle portion, will start shortly. All False Immortals participating in the battle portion please come down now."

Many beings moved towards the arena grounds, totaling around a thousand.

Naturally, the battle portion was split up to avoid an Earth Immortal fighting a False Immortal or an even crazier difference.

The battle soon commenced, and two winners were announced. Usually, there would only be one winner per realm, but in the case that multiple beings of exceptional talent appeared, up to three could win. After that were the Loose Immortals. Then the Earth Immortals. Finally, the Heaven Immortals went.

Neither the first beast nor the first monster made any moves. While both of them were confident in their chances of winning, it was not good to reveal their strength to the enemy. While most beings would have long given up the idea of fighting against the sovereigns after seeing all of this, they were not most beings.

They had grown up in an empty Universe and had been sovereigns themselves of their own Universe. Few throughout the multiverse could relate to this. In a way, they were like Zhou Fan. He did not face any outside obstacles on his way to the top. They did not either, or at least they hadn't until the invaders had come.

The only portion split into sections based on realms was the battle portion. When the next portion was announced, everyone from the first four realms of the Immortal realms headed to the arena ground.

The first monster went as well. He had always been good at comprehending things.

There were only a handful of Heaven Immortals, and as a Peak Heaven Immortal, the first monster did garner a bit of attention.

But the attention wasn't too much.

"This is the technique portion. Everyone will be able to choose from a library of techniques. Let them appear now.

Millions and millions of jade slips appeared. They floated around the arena like fireflies. The first monster looked around. Each of the techniques around him were harder to comprehend than the techniques around a False Immortal, Loose Immortal, or Earth Immortal. After all, he was a Heaven Immortal.

He chose one and looked at it.

It was a technique that required multiple arms to use, something his octopus form could do well.

Up in one of the highest private viewing areas, a powerful being looked at the first monster. It was a penguin, though it did not look nearly as kind as most. That was due to its race, but compared to the looks of other members of his race, he seemed quite approachable.

He looked through the monocle on his eye at the first monster before shrugging. At first, its form seemed to be off. But upon closer examination, there were no visible flaws.

The first monster was lucky he had chosen an octopus, as it was similar to his true form and could be imitated well. In addition, as a monster, he was great at transforming into various forms, human or otherwise.

The technique the first monster had chosen was a lightning based technique, and although he didn't have much experience in that field, he was confident in his chances.