After passing the second round of testing and being praised by the examiner for his iron will, Zhou Bai suddenly became the object of admiration and attention among many candidates.
Supported by Jing Xiu, Zhou Bai walked towards the third round examination hall, shouting to Christina in his mind, "Hey, you dumb cat, did you know something when the test started?"
"I'm just a little kitty." Christina retorted, "What do I know about cultivation?"
"Then why were you laughing at that time?" Zhou Bai said, "And didn't you say this place felt familiar?"
"It does feel familiar," Christina murmured, "I feel like I've lived here before. Take a right turn up ahead; there should be a canteen there. The food seems quite good."
Turning right, Zhou Bai looked at the garbage dump in front of him. Christina said awkwardly, "No, that's not right. Did I remember wrong?"
Zhou Bai curled his lips, thinking this silly cat was unreliable, as always, and decided to take her words with a grain of salt.
Jing Xiu curiously asked, "Brother Zhou, are you looking for something?"
"No, no, let's hurry; we shouldn't be late."
The location of the third round of testing was a massive indoor classroom with exactly 1,200 seats neatly arranged.
At the very front of the 1,200 seats, five examiners sat cross-legged, floating in mid-air. One young man among them was Lv Chongyang, the examiner from their previous round.
An elder in the center stroked his beard, looked at the 1,200 candidates before him, and smiled, "Everyone, I'm pleased to see you here. I am Zhao Shouyi, the vice principal of Dao School, and one of the five judges for this third exam."
Zhao Shouyi looked kindly at the 1,200 candidates. In his eyes, these individuals were the future of humanity and the core strength in decades to come.
Then, he waved his hand, and a painting slowly unfolded in the void.
In the instant the 1,200 candidates saw the content of the painting, they all lost their senses.
At this moment, they felt like they saw something from the painting, yet it seemed like they saw nothing at all.
An indescribable, mystical feeling exploded in their hearts, making their scalps tingle. Yet, it seemed like countless inspirations were surging forth.
At the same time, Zhao Shouyi said aloud, "In the last round of testing, we reviewed the three major laws of cultivation. The first rule is not to look directly at Heavenly Dao. Does anyone know why?"
A bald young man said, "One hundred and twenty years ago, Heavenly Dao twisted, and the spiritual energy became polluted.
Originally, the Heavenly Dao could not be summarized or described in words and could only be indirectly alluded to. It began to release a lot of information that could be directly read and understood.
The Heavenly Dao was no longer so elusive but became abundant knowledge that could be described word by word."
"But among this knowledge, there is a lot of twisted, evil, and degenerate information. Reading it alone can drive mortals mad."
"Even cultivators are at great risk when reading it directly. Thus, all the major sects united to establish Dao Schools and sealed all the information gushing from the Heavenly Dao, compiling it into texts that ordinary people can safely understand and read.
Then, the Pure Taoist proposed the three major laws of cultivation, the first of which is not to look directly at Heavenly Dao."
Hearing what the bald man said, Zhou Bai looked thoughtful.
On the stage, Zhao Shouyi nodded and said, "Well said. Because of the dangers of directly facing Heavenly Dao, various sects have created different methods to preserve and interpret the information. This Dao Theft Chart I possess records the interpretations of the twisted Heavenly Dao by our ancestors over the generations."
Zhao Shouyi smiled, "But for you, it is still too dangerous. So, I will not let you see the content directly. What you will see is the inscrutable, indescribable, and difficult-to-understand state of the original Heavenly Dao."
Zhou Bai looked at the Dao Theft Chart and felt he seemed to have comprehended something. It was as if something flashed across his mind but was hard to express in words or describe.
If he had to say, it was mysterious and beyond description.
Zhao Shouyi pointed at the Dao Theft Chart and said, "The third round tests your cultivation insight. So, you will each find a seat and look at this Dao Theft Chart, then write down what you see on your answer sheet. We five teachers will personally evaluate and score your answers."
As Zhao Shouyi spoke, a large screen lit up behind him, displaying the names of numerous candidates and their relevant data constantly changing.
"In addition to this score, your performance in the previous two rounds will also be scored, including your primordial spirit value, running distance, speed, and acceleration-deceleration changes. All will be converted into different scores according to a certain rule.
The combined scores of these three rounds will be your final result. The top 600 students will pass the entrance test and become the new students of our Dao School."
"So... start."
The candidates sat down separately. Jing Xiu, looking relaxed, glanced at Zhou Bai beside her and said, "Brother Zhou, don't worry. With your performance in the first two rounds, even if you don't do well in this round, you're sure to be admitted."
Zhou Bai, looking vexed at the Dao Theft Chart above, turned to look around and saw that some candidates were writing furiously, some looked thoughtful, while he was the only one with a constipated expression.
Christina laughed loudly, "Others have cultivated their primordial spirit through diligent learning and training, gaining some understanding of Heavenly Dao during their cultivation process.
This Dao Theft Chart encompasses everything; they can make out something more or less. Each person will see different information, perhaps the Breathing Technique, physical training methods, martial arts, the principles of purity and turbidity, or the differentiation of yin and yang...
But you just increased your points directly. What can you understand? Thirty-six ways to lie on a couch? Hahahahaha..."
Hearing Christina's taunts, Zhou Bai frowned, "Shut up, you're disturbing my Dao comprehension."
"Dao comprehension?" Christina laughed even more smugly, "What Dao can you comprehend? Want me to tell you something? I've gained some insights looking at this Dao Theft Chart. If you beg me, I'll tell you."
"Beg you?" Zhou Bai's eyes lit up and suddenly said, "Watch closely; I'll show you what the Great Dao is."
Zhou Bai thought that with his excellent scores in the first two rounds, even if he wrote randomly in this round, where 600 out of 1,200 would be eliminated, he shouldn't be unlucky enough to be among the eliminated 600.
And since anything could be comprehended, didn't it mean writing something random should earn a basic score at least?
Thinking this, Zhou Bai gritted his teeth and started writing.
Christina watched Zhou Bai write but was shocked the next moment.
"Delicious?"
Zhou Bai proudly said, "All human society cannot escape the Law of Deliciousness. It encompasses the ultimate law of human development history. These two words alone thoroughly describe the human Dao. How about it? Can I get first place?"
Christina angrily said, "You idiot! What nonsense did you write! Change it quickly! It's so embarrassing!"
"Hmph." Zhou Bai shook his head, "Stupid cat. Let's try another."