As everyone, about 500 who passed out of the 5000 applicants, shuffled into the next building for the test, they were allotted different rooms based on their token numbers. Luo and Xun found their room and started walking into it. Cao Mingzhu , Zhong Bai and Gui and Hao Qi were also in the same room as them.
The test began after the instructors explained the rules and gave out written tests with questions that checked their approaches to different problems. Cao and Luo at once began to tear into it and started answering their questions.
Xun looked at all the questions and she didn't recognize half of them. The other half were as master Fu Lin had made her practise. The Zhong brothers started meditating and listening to the tempo of the brush strokes of Luo and Cao who were answering the questions vigorously.
They found the rhythm in it and started using their own brushes to replicate that rhythm and answers started flowing from their hands as well.
Hao Qi was unperturbed and looked through all the questions first, then slept for a few minutes to formulate the answers in her mind. Then she woke up and started calmly answering all the questions.
In another room Hua Geming was scratching his head as he was not able to get appropriate answers for even one of the questions. He started scribbling the contents of some sword technique manual that he had memorized as the answer to all the questions, even though it was completely irrelevant.
After this round of test, their scores were calculated by the instructors and distributed to them. Hua Geming failed this round but since it was not a final decisive round, he would still be able to go into the further rounds. Luo and Cai did very well on their tests and got very high scores. Zhong brothers, since they copied from Luo and Cai, also got pretty high scores.
Xun got half score and sulked after looking at the rest of them. Hao Qi, surprisingly, was the only one who got a perfect score. Luo and the others walked up to her and congratulated her, and she blushed and turned away. Cai looked at Luo's score and thought "Maybe, he isn't as dumb as I thought he is"
Xiao Wu also got a perfect score and he boasted smugly to his friends about it."All of the questions were the ones that father got me. So good that he bribed the examiner to get the questions earlier."
The old master called out for the next part of the test and started distributing a soul defense technique called "36 walls of soul" which was a middle grade Immortal(Xian) level technique. " I will now distribute copies of this high level technique to everyone. All of you will be given the time of 10 incense sticks (5hrs) to comprehend the technique after which the copies will burn into ashes themselves. This is a preparation for the 3rd round of tests.
You will be exposed to the pressure that I will exert. And just so you know, I am at 5th Layer Core formation. And my name is Gu Ryu. By the end of the 3rd test, most of you will come to either hate me or be in awe of me. HAHAHAHA".
Saying this, the old master Gu Ryu , while stroking his mustache, signaled for the cultivation copies to be distributed.
Hua Geming looked smug as he was given his copy "Yesss, Nothing will stop me in this round. Look at how fast I learn this technique you plebs! HAHAHAHAHA." He then immediately went into a zone and started comprehending the technique.
Luo and the others started to do that as well.
Master Yin's voice floated in Luo's mind "Kid, this is a pretty good technique. Most techniques keep on becoming redundant , but this technique will keep growing until a certain level. With this technique you should have no problem even until you reach the Lower stages of the Core formation realm. I suggest you comprehend as much of it as you can now. It is a good opportunity."
''Yes Master." Luo scanned through the content in the manual and saw that each page taught about one more layer or one more Soul wall, until there were 36 layers.
"There is no way I will be able to comprehend all the 36 layers at once and this copy will be destroyed after the given time is over….Hmmmmm", he muttered to himself
Unlike the others who started to immediately comprehend the technique , Luo looked at each page for a few moments and then closed his eyes. He repeated this for each page until he finished all the 36 pages. Gu Ryu noticed Luo doing this and a curious look appeared on his face and he stroked his long white beard gently and smiled as he understood what Luo was trying to do.
After a tie of 2 incense sticks , Luo put aside the book and went into a trance. He had memorized all the 36 pages without trying to comprehend them during this time and had begun comprehending the first layer of the Soul wall now.
The others had made quite the progress during this time. Hua Geming's Qi started flowing vigorously. He was breaking through to the Qi condensation realm. In a couple of incense sticks' time, he had stabilized the cultivation after breaking through and resumed with the comprehension of the technique.
"All right, ten incense sticks have passed now" Gu Ryu waved his hand and all the copies of the 36 walls of Soul, burned away leaving not even ash.
Luo slowly opened his eyes and smiled. Master Yin thought 'I certainly did not expect that he would go about it doing it like this. Memorizing the entire manual so that he can review it later whenever he wants to. HAHAHAHA, he sure thinks differently'