Ron initially assumed that all he needed to do was follow the instructions in the manual and he'd be able to use it. But that turned out to be wrong; the complex and intricate movements were very hard to mimic.
He turned around and saw that most of the candidates were struggling, but there were two who were doing fine, and he knew them. One was Dixie, whom he met quite a few times, and the other was the girl who waited along with him at the start of the first test, Ayesha.
To join the Zhang sect, it's extremely important for him to clear this, but from the looks of it, it's not possible for him to comprehend the sword technique within an hour.
Ding!
[Discovered that the host is trying to learn a martial art technique; would you like to spend points to learn it?]
The sudden notification from the system shocked him, but also got him excited! So the system can allow him to directly learn martial techniques by just spending points! Doesn't that mean that as long as he has enough points, he can learn any technique in the blue realm?
Ron grinned and confirmed.
[Low Tier Yellow Grade Martial Arts Technique: Swift Sword: 1,200 points required]
Ron felt like an inflated balloon. It was just yesterday night that he felt like a completely rich guy; now it's asking for 1200 points just for learning such a low-level technique?
Ron felt sad and dried out, but still went ahead and spent the points.
As soon as he did it, a stream of information flowed into his mind. He knew how and why each movement in the manual aligned with each other. Even his body muscles started to change and mold themselves, training his muscle memory as if he had practiced this technique for hundreds of thousands of times.
His sword's attack speed would be increased by the Swift Sword technique. At beginner level, his attack speed will increase by 25 percent; at intermediate level, it will increase by 50 percent; at expert level, it will increase by 75 percent; and finally, at peak level, it will increase by 100 percent.
Huuuu...
Ron breathed out as he slowly stood up and walked towards the elder.
"What? Do you want to change the technique? Kid, believe me, it won't make any difference. I'd suggest you go back and continue with what you have"
The elder felt disappointed, as he felt that Ron came forward to change the cultivation technique because he found it difficult.
"How can they become a strong cultivator if they keep taking steps back?"
"No, elder, I'm here because I have already comprehended the technique."
He said it in a normal tone, but every single candidate heard it, and their ears perked. It hasn't even been 10 minutes since the elder handed over the cultivation techniques; no matter how much of a genius he is, it's not possible!
"Heh, I'm sure he's just trying to grab attention. Just wait and see; he will make a joke of himself."
Most of them were pessimistic and started throwing out sarcastic comments.
"Alright then, demonstrate it for me"
Although the elder was skeptical, he wanted to see what Ron was up to.
Ron nodded and took out his sword, beginning the Swift Sword technique. His moves were smooth, like a dance; he started going faster and faster.
'Intermediate Level! How is that possible? It hasn't even been 10 minutes!'
The elder was shocked and when the others saw him, it left their mouths open.
One hour of time was already difficult enough for them to master the given technique at the beginner level, but mastering it at the intermediate level is impossible! But Ron not only learned it, but he did it in ten minutes!
What they didn't realize was that Ron had already mastered the technique to a high level, but he felt that it was sufficient to demonstrate intermediate-level skills and pass the test.
The Elder's eyes lit up, and he nodded happily.
"Here, take this token and wait over there"
Ron took a token and waited on the side.
Some of them murmured that Ron might already know about the cultivation techniques beforehand and have comprehended them even before arriving at the disciple selection.
Only the elder knew that he chose those techniques at the last moment; no one knew beforehand what techniques he was going to use for the test.
Time ticked by, and it was only after twenty minutes that someone came forward; it was Ayesha. She cleared the test easily. Soon, other people started to slowly come forward with clear demonstrations of beginner-level mastery of the technique they chose.
At the end of one hour, there were still more than forty people who didn't clear the test.
"Elder, please give a few more minutes. I have almost mastered the technique; I just need a few more minutes"
Lots of pleas and cries started to sound out among the crowd, but the elder didn't care about them. A heavy force swept that area, sweeping all the disciples without tokens outside the gateway.
"Congratulations on clearing the second test!"
"You will be given one hour of break, and we will commence the third test after that, right here"
Everyone sat down in the same place and tried to recover their energy. They knew that the third test was going to be about cultivation aptitude, but they had no idea how the test was going to be conducted. So they decided to recover as much energy as possible before the third test.