Chief Elder Baishen's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "He did it! He forged the first star! Damn it! Why did he get distracted at the last moment?! I want to see him use it!" She sent a telepathic message to Elder Tang. "Restart the fight!"
Chief Elder Luoming took over. "Sister, sister, calm down! There will be other occasions to see it. Remember the last part of the test." He cleared his voice and got back to Elder Tang. "Sorry about that, Tang Wu. Go on, go on."
With a frustrated look, Chief Elder Baishen let it go. She would indeed have other occasions to see it. But she would see it! Forging the first star was the easiest part but it required two to three weeks to the average martial artist. Moreover, Cao Yun did look like his weapon of choice was the sword not the spear. With such talent, Chief Elder Baishen could not repress her desires to see more of his growth.
-
Unbeknownst to all, Elder Tang got a headache with these chief elders screaming in his mind.
"Chen Guo. 63 moves. Perfect!"
All the candidates were in uproar, especially the commoners.
"Brother Chen! You were amazing! I could almost see the dragon leaping from your spear!" Of course, Ren Chao was the first one to praise him, and very loudly.
"Brother Chen! You're awesome!"
"Brother Chen! Would you spar with me after the exam?" A young boy brandished his spear proudly while asking Cao Yun.
"Why would Brother Chen waste his time with you?! Spar with me, Brother Chen!"
...
Cao Yun did not know how to answer to all these people. Luckily for him, he was saved by Elder Tang.
"Silence, silence! It is time to announce the results of this trial! Four candidates have failed. Jiu Lin. Wang Ran. Lishang Huo. Gui Nuo."
The four candidates already knew they had failed even if one or two still clung to hope. Still, they were young and could try again next year. After all they had come all the way to the second trial of the second test. The next time they took the examination, they would have better results yet.
The other elders began announcing the points of all the other candidates.
Once again, Elder Tang was the last one to speak to give the ranks of the top ten. The names had not changed but their rankings did a little.
"Li Gui - 123 points
Zhi Wang - 125 points
Ren Chao - 126 points
Xin Chen - 131 points
Xin Xiong - 133 points
Tian Lan - 143 points
Mei Hua - 145 points
Zhao Qing - 151 points
Sun Liao - 190 points
Chen Guo - 219 points"
Ren Chao's face turned sour when he heard his name so soon. He had been taken over by his own enthusiasm during the trial. Almost starting to cry again, he saw the dark face of Elder Tang and decided not to push it.
Mei Hua surprised many people. She had no great achievement in the Eight Directions Engulfing array, in an actual battle. However, her comprehension was very good. She probably lacked the experience to apply it in battle against demonic beasts. Mastering a technique and using it in an actual fight were two different things. Similarly, facing beasts and humans were two different things as well.
Despite her advancement, she was not pleased at all. Her face stayed cold as she was thinking. Fighting was not her main preoccupation, but maybe she would need to give it some more time.
When it came to Sun Liao, the boy had lost any hope of beating his rival. There were almost 30 points of difference between them. How could he beat him in the next trial with such a margin?
Finally, the candidates broke out in cheers when Cao Yun's results were announced. Hearing his fake name being used to praise him, Cao Yun felt a little strange, but he did not recoil from enjoying it. It had been a long time since he received such ovations. Ironically, these compliments made Cao Yun think about his most painful memories. He remembered his family back then. His parents, brother and sister, they all praised him for his achievements. The entire family thought of him as a genius. And now, they were gone. He thought he would always be alone but he had found Feng Yingyue.
Thinking back to all of this, Cao Yun realized that life was not so bad. Even without his family, he could find some pleasure here and there. That's when he remembered his father's last message "Do not throw away your life. Live!" His resolve reaffirmed itself. He would find the culprits and make them pay. But he would also build a life for himself and when the time came, he would rebuild the Cao family. The whole world would remember the Cao name. His relatives would be immortal thanks to him.
Elder Tang let the youths appreciate their victory. He knew that the last trial was going to be difficult for them.
-
"So, Sister, what do you think about the next trial?"
"I don't care. Let's just skip to the fights!"
"Ah, ah... Sister, please, be patient!" Chief Elder Luoming turned toward Xiao Xuefeng. "What is your opinion, Miss Xiao?"
"Mei Hua seems to be the most suited for the next trial. The little rascal Sun Liao has also a good disposition but I fear that his character might be lacking." Hearing it, Chief Elder Suxian's face darkened a little and he kept looking down. "But, I'm more interested in seeing the results of Chen Guo. I believe he has a strong resolve, but I did not test it yet."
"Oh? I think Miss Xiao's opinion is very on point. So, let's see if this little guy gives us another surprise."
-
Elder Tang took the candidates to yet another location. This time, they climbed down some stairs and went underground. It almost looked like they were in a prison. There were heavy metallic doors on all the walls and no sound could be heard.
Some candidates became worried.
They finally arrived before a huge empty arena that was dug in the ground of the room. Inside, many complicated and intricate circles were drawn. A huge circle encompassed the entire arena as some ones popped up everywhere, linked to this one.
The elders went toward a small platform.
"The next and final trial of this test is the Yin-Yang Torture Illusion array formation."
Hearing the word 'torture', many candidates became livid.
"This array formation will test out your will and your character. It will make you feel, see and hear many things, none of which will be real. The only way to fend off these illusions is with your will. No amount of Qi or strength will help you here. As soon as it is too much for you, you need only stand and leave the array formation. To pass this trial, you need to stay inside of it for at least an incense stick. Of course, the longer you stay, the better your results. The current record is eight hours and thirty-seven minutes. This array formation is really tough on your mind but it's also a great way to temper your will. Most cultivators fail to train their mental strength before they reach Spirit Warrior, that's why we have so few of them in our Hongchen Kingdom. The sooner you train your mind, the better results you'll have later, remember. So, I say this as an advice. Try to stay as long as you can, it will only give you benefits."
This time, Mei Hua's face seemed to almost lit up and she stopped being so serious with a little smile. In this trial, she was confident in getting the lead.
It also gave hope back to Sun Liao. Not knowing how the points would be given, he could not be sure, but finally there was a way to fill the gap with Cao Yun. Fires once again burned in his eyes.
Cao Yun was more interested in what Elder Tang had said in the end. This array formation could be used to temper the will. Incidentally, he had recently begun to train Zhi the Water Will. The Zhi character was already formed in his sea of consciousness but he had had little time to train it. His last week was spent solely focusing on his martial arts. With Yi the Earth Intent, he had been able to train almost every waking moment but none of it had been spent on his mind cultivation.
Cao Yun was not really afraid of the Drop of Wrath taking over now that his intent had achieved Perfection. But he had realized how beneficial training the mind was. Mastering the 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars' before would have taken him at least two to three weeks. With 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks', he could achieve twice the result for half the effort.
Following the elders' instructions, the candidates went down in this array formation. Each one took a seat within the center of all the smaller circles. Once they were all positioned, Elder Tang spoke again.
"You will have one hour to calm your mind. And I can tell you that you'll need it. Prepare yourselves well. Then, we'll activate the array formation."
Every candidate tried to calm their mind and strengthen their will. If they were given an entire hour to prepare and that the passing time was around five minutes, it could only mean that the trial was really harsh.
At last, Cao Yun had enough time to get into his sea of consciousness. None of the other candidates should be able to do so yet. In this trial, he had a huge advantage but he wasn't going to be complacent.
There had been some changes in his sea of consciousness. The first thing he saw was the small star in the pure sky. It seemed to be really distant but Cao Yun could easily focus on it. It looked exactly like the main star of the first mansion described in the 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars' manual. When he put his mind on it, he could imagine the moves from the first mansion. Just by studying this star, Cao Yun was able to improve his understanding of the martial art. Of course, it was still essential to test out this understanding in real battles, but that was still a great gift. Most martial artists who would train in the 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars' would do so solely based on the star chart on the first page. Naturally, being able to see the actual stars was way more useful.
But he had no time to give to it as of now.
The second change he saw was within the Zhi character. It seemed to be a little more substantial than last time. And although its color was black, it seemed to have gain a bit of yellow here an there. Looking back to the Yi character, its color had gone from bright yellow like a sun to pure gold. Without his realizing, both characters seemed to have influenced each other.
Finally, he saw that the Drop of Wrath had stabilized between both characters and there was a very small and faint reflection of the Zhi character in it.
Cao Yun was amazed by all these transformations. Many things had happened without him knowing. But he could all trace it back to his training. It opened new doors for him to explore. But now was not the time! He circulated his Yi the Earth Intent. This allowed him to get a firm grip on his mind, eliminating all the noise. He was purely focused on the now.
-
An hour had finally passed by and Elder Tang's voice erupted.
"The trial has begun."
A sect disciple ignited an incense stick. As its smell began to envelop the arena, other sect disciples put blue stones in different pedestals.
A blue light followed carvings in the stone and flowed down toward the array formation. As soon as it entered the main circle, it turned into an ominous red. Every small circle lit up at once.
All of a sudden, the faces of all the candidates changed. An intense pain took over their entire body.
One moment they were preparing their mind and eliminating wandering thoughts, the next, they were in hell. Their bodies were burning in the middle of a volcano. The pain was so intense, some of them almost immediately stood up. Luckily for them, they remembered that this was just an illusion. Nothing was happening to their physical bodies. But standing this heat for five whole minutes was terrible.
Mei Hua was the only one who had no change whatsoever on her face. Even Sun Liao and Cao Yun let out small traces of pain, albeit very subtle. She was suffering the same pain as the other, but she was able to let it slip away effortlessly.
Cao Yun decided not to use the Zhi character right away. If he was correct, the character had been tempered before without him using it. Most likely, it had reacted to his firm will during the Eight Directions Engulfing array formation trial. And he was right, as long as he exerted his will, it would also cultivate the Zhi character. The progress was very slow, yet steady. It was hard to know for sure, but Cao Yun estimated that he could draw the character fifteen to twenty times now.
Ren Chao was also able to bear the heat. As a blacksmith, he was used to extreme heats. He had obviously never been burned himself to such a degree, but he was more resistant to it than others.
It turned out that all the candidates were able to bear the first incense stick. Some of them who were on the verge of collapse were even using the aroma of this stick to focus. They were trying to shift their attention from the pain to the fragrance of the incense.
As soon as the fragrance was becoming fainter, four of them stood up and literally ran out. As they left the array formation, the pain disappeared instantly and they heaved a sigh of relief.
Elder Tang was smiling and stroking his small beard. This year, all fifty-seven candidates in the trial had succeeded.
Fifty-seven was still pretty low, but it was in the acceptable range. The previous years, they had between a hundred and sixty candidates who made it to the end. Sadly, the number of candidates taking the exam was decreasing, and the ratio of those who passed seemed to get lower as well. Yes, quality was good, but number was also important. They really needed to attract more candidates, and especially more geniuses.
Thankfully, their name still had a huge renown. And this year's batch was top-notch. Sun Liao and Mei Hua were expected, but Cao Yun was such a great surprise, it gave more hope to the elders.