"You can start now."
Elder Zhao gave Li Yun the signal to get started.
Li Yun nodded and began reading the contents of the tattered book.
With his 5x comprehension speed, he quickly learned every movement in the Thunderclap Dragon Slash.
It was then he came to understand why nobody in the sect had managed to master the technique to the 6th layer in the Qi Training Realm.
The difficulty lay in the movements of the sword technique.
Unlike the techniques others practiced before him, where each layer had only 12 movements, the Thunderclap Dragon Slash differed greatly in this regard.
There was a specific reason for that.
In this technique, the 1st layer had 2 movements, the 2nd layer had 4 movements, the 3rd layer had 8 movements, the 4th layer had 16 movements, the 5th layer had 32 movements, and the last layer had 64 movements.
As one progressed, the difficulty of mastering the technique increased exponentially.
The first three layers were easily manageable, but the 4th layer, with its 16 movements, posed a challenge. Geniuses could manage up to this point, but the 5th layer's 32 movements often halted their progress. The 6th layer, with its 64 movements, seemed insurmountable.
According to the bearded elder, nobody had touched the 6th layer in the Qi Training Realm.
'And then there is the essence diagram of each layer...'
If the outer movements of the technique were to get the body in shape for the technique to be used, then the essence diagram would be used to provide enough energy to execute the technique.
Each layer, whether it were a cultivation technique or a martial technique, had a different and unique essence diagram. They were like pathways inside one's body where the Qi needed to flow in a specific order for the techniques to work.
But this essence diagram also increased the difficulty of mastering a technique.
For one to master a layer of a technique, they would have to skillfully synchronize the outer movements of the technique with the inner essence diagram within their body.
For instance, if one wanted to master the 1st layer of a certain technique, they would have to slowly practice the outer movements and the essence diagram of the 1st layer at the same time in a synchronized way.
If even for a second they got distracted and their movements and essence diagram became out of sync, they would have to start over from the 1st movement even if they synced out at the last movement of the layer.
Therefore, martial artists took days, months, and even years to master cultivation and martial techniques.
As Li Yun realized the difficulty of mastering the Thunderclap Dragon Slash, a crazy smile appeared on his face.
'Let's do this.'
Only about ten seconds had passed since he started to read the contents of the book before he took out a sword to shadow practice the movements.
'But before that...'
He stood straight on the platform, holding his sword with a firm grip. At that moment, his right eye flashed with a purple light for an instant before he closed both his eyes, remaining still.
Many disciples, such as Gao Zhu, Wang Min, and others around the platform, were shocked when they witnessed that.
Even Lie Hua's eyes fluttered when she saw that.
Normally, a disciple would take around three-tenths of the incense time they were given to barely remember all the movements in the technique, but Li Yun did that in mere ten seconds. This really surprised the crowd, but most were not convinced by this and thought Li Yun was only acting to draw everyone's attention to him.
"Humph! A person without a bone frame can remember all movements faster than someone with one. This is the biggest joke I have seen."
"You are right. He knew he couldn't pass the assessment and is just drawing everyone's attention on him. What a clown!"
"Just wait for a moment, and we will see how he makes fun of himself."
"A guy has to have thick skin to pull a stunt like that."
Many disciples in the crowd became dissatisfied with Li Yun and mocked him openly for wasting everyone's time. Even some inner disciples watching the assessment sneered at him.
On the platform, the bearded elder caressed his long beard and watched Li Yun with interest, while Elder Zhao just hoped that Li Yun would stop playing around.
"What do you think?" the bearded elder asked Elder Zhao.
"I think he is just playing around." Elder Zhao shook his head in disappointment. He had expected Li Yun to give his all in the assessment, but since he came to the platform, every decision of his seemed like he wasn't taking the assessment seriously at all.
"Haha, I think so too, but there is something about this kid I can't put my finger on." The bearded elder had the same thoughts as Elder Zhao.
"I just hope whatever he is doing, he does it quickly." Elder Zhao sighed and waited.
"Oh, he started shadow practicing. He stood there holding his sword for a full two minutes, and I thought he was done, but it seems he only just started." The bearded elder laughed lightly when he saw that.
Elder Zhao also focused his attention on Li Yun when he noticed that.
'So, that's how it is.' Li Yun opened his eyes and smiled.
He then began his shadow practice.
He executed the first movement perfectly, followed by the second, and finally the third, all while keeping in sync with his essence diagram.
A moment ago, he had been standing on the platform with his eyes closed to understand the essence diagram of each layer in the Thunderclap Dragon Slash.
He realized something when he read the contents of the technique: the essence diagrams of the 4th, 5th, and 6th layers were very complex.
Therefore, he gave them enough time to understand them all.
And now that he had understood the essence diagrams, it wasn't difficult for him to execute the movements one after another.
He shadow practiced each and every movement with impeccable precision and perfection while in sync with his essence diagram of different layers.
Like that, time passed, and he continued practicing his shadow movements.
Though from the other's perspective, one could only see he was just randomly swinging his sword over and over again and also repeating many movements from previous layers.
Many disciples once again mocked him for his shamelessness.
But there was one person whose face was serious since the moment Li Yun started practicing the movements mentioned in the technique, and that person was the bearded elder.
His eyes at the moment were fixated on Li Yun's every movement before he suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air.
'This kid! He wasn't bluffing when he put the book away after 10 seconds. He had truly remembered all the movements to an acute detail.'
The bearded elder was shocked when he realized that, and for a moment he began to think Li Yun might succeed in mastering the Thunderclap Dragon Slash.
'No! Even if he remembers all the movements, it's very difficult to synchronize with those complex essence diagrams.'
He shook his head, but he concentrated entirely on Li Yun, not wanting to miss any details.
As more time passed, the incense stick of time drew closer.
"Stop!"
Sometime later, Elder Zhao's shout came, and Li Yun halted his practice. The incense stick of time had come to an end.