The moment the news came out, the drill grounds burst into an uproar. Everyone present already knew that this black rock was not an ordinary rock. It was not simple; it was several times harder than ordinary rocks.
Their hearts were already beating like drums. When they heard that they were not allowed to use Martial Techniques, they found it unbelievable. Not only did the inner disciples find it unbelievable, even the two vice examiners beside the chief examiner had shocked expressions on their faces.
They were very clear on the origins of the black rock. Even the two of them would have to use a quarter of their strength to chop it in half.
The chief examiner's face turned black as he said sullenly, "Silence, continue the test. If you continue to make a ruckus, I will use my own method to silence you."
Although there were still people who were dissatisfied, under the might of the chief examiner, no one dared to say anything. Candidate number two walked out with a grave expression.
This person was rather smart. After he walked around the black rock, he asked the chief examiner, "May I touch this rock?"
The chief examiner nodded, "Yes, but you cannot use your Essence to cheat. Do not take too long either."
This person quickly touched the surface of the rock. He was clearly very cautious. After a while, he withdrew his hand and slowly drew his saber.
"Dang!"
Without any hesitation, he decisively gathered his Qi and made his move in one breath. There was no hesitation at all. With a 'shua' sound, the saber broke through the top of the rock and sliced downwards continuously.
A joyful expression appeared on this person's face. He could not help but increase the force in his hand. "Ka ka!" When the saber was a quarter of the way to the bottom of the rock, it suddenly got stuck.
No matter how much force this person used, the saber could not move forward nor could it be pulled out. It was completely stuck.
"Bang!"
The chief examiner sent out another palm strike. The palm strike flew through the air, creating a sonic boom in the air. The black boulder that was as tall as a person suddenly shattered into pieces.
The saber in that person's hand loosened. He could not withstand the inertia and was forced back a few steps before he could stabilize himself.
"Candidate number two, you do not pass. Candidate number three, continue!" the chief examiner said unhurriedly while that person had an expression of dissatisfaction on his face.
It was indeed a pity that he was so close to splitting the black boulder in half. Unfortunately, he was so close that he did not succeed in the end.
Xiao Chen watched the examinee number 2 leave dejectedly. His expression turned grave as well. Why is this test so strict? That person is a middle stage Superior Grade Martial Grand Master.
If they were unable to use their Martial Skills, most of the people present would probably face the same fate, being eliminated in the first round.
Xiao Chen turned his gaze to the high platform. There was an old man sitting in the middle of the platform. He looked senile, but his blood and Qi were soaring. Even from a distance, one could feel his strong and long life aura.
This person was the First Elder of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion's Main Hall's Elders' Assembly, Jiang Chi. He held the highest position in the entire Heavenly Saber Pavilion. He was the one who threw the dart earlier. Xiao Chen had a suspicious look in his eyes. What is this old man thinking?
The first stage is already so difficult. Are you trying to eliminate all of us?
"What is the First Elder thinking? Why did he suddenly increase the difficulty by so much?" the Wanren Peak's Peak Master asked suspiciously from the other side of the high platform.
"If this goes on, I'm afraid it will be a problem if we can even select ten core disciples."
"What exactly happened? Senior Brother Leng, you have the best relationship with the First Elder. Do you know any inside information?"
The core disciple exam this time was indeed strange. Even the Peak Masters did not know such a change would occur.
Leng Tianyue frowned slightly and glanced at the First Elder Jiang Chi. He muttered to himself, "Could it be because of that? Looks like I have to make some preparations after the exam ends."
When the Jade Maiden Peak's Peak Master, Chu Xiangyun, saw Leng Tianyue muttering to himself, she said, "Senior Brother Leng, do you really know any inside information? Tell us about it. "
Leng Tianyue smiled embarrassedly and shook his head, "Don't overthink it. What inside information could I possibly know? Let's just continue watching."
Clearly, the crowd did not believe his words. However, since Leng Tianyue did not want to say it, they could not force him. Everyone was of the same status, they could not force him.
Liu Ruyue's pretty face was filled with doubt. She was not sure what had happened. She looked into the distance and saw Xiao Chen on the drill grounds. She muttered to herself, I hope nothing bad happened.
The blazing sun hung high in the sky. Occasionally, there would be dispirited sounds coming from the drill grounds. The first stage of the exam had already been going on for a while. However, only ten people had passed.
Furthermore, these ten people were peak Superior Grade Martial Grand Masters. Their foundations were very solid. They were able to split the black rock in half in one breath.
"Number 100, Tianyue Peak's Zhang Lie!" the chief examiner read out loudly.
"It's Zhang Lie, Zhang Lie is coming out. I have long heard of this person's name. Recently, he has been rising very quickly in Tianyue Peak."
"I heard he is the son of the Clan Head of the top clan in Yunyang City, the Zhang Clan. He has a good family background and high talent. As long as such a person is willing to work hard, he will definitely become strong."
"He is already a strong person. Tianyue Peak holds a competition every month. Among the ordinary inner disciples, no one in Tianyue Peak is a match for him."
"To be able to obtain the first rank among the inner disciples of the strongest faction in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, he is basically guaranteed to be the first rank in this exam."
"Ha ha, it is too early to say this. Let's wait for him to pass this stage first. If he cannot even pass this stage, he will not even be able to obtain the qualifications to be a core disciple."
The moment Zhang Lie appeared, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. The ordinary inner disciples in the spectator stands all started discussing him.
In a distant spectator stand, a group of Heavenly Saber Pavilion disciples with three golden lines on their sleeves also paid attention and looked at the drill grounds.
These core disciples were the last fifty core disciples. After Zhang Lie and the others completed the three stages, they would have to choose their opponents and fight to determine their core disciple status.
"Zhang Lie … I hope I do not meet with this person later," a Beichen Peak core disciple said worriedly as he looked at Zhang Lie.
Another core disciple added, "It would be great if he could not pass the foundational stage. That way, we would be completely at ease."
The fifty core disciples all had some uneasiness on their faces. After all, after enjoying the superior treatment of a core disciple, if they were to return to being an ordinary inner disciple, they would not be able to accept such a huge difference in their hearts.
Only one person had a calm expression, resting with his eyes closed. He held a saber in his hands and hugged it in front of his chest.
He did not pay any attention to the sounds around him. It was as though everything had nothing to do with him; he was incomparably indifferent.
Zhang Lie slowly walked to a black rock. He withdrew his aura and did not release it. His gaze was incomparably calm. After a while, his aura suddenly became sharp.
A bright light flashed in his eyes; it was like a sharp saber being unsheathed, showing off its sharpness.
"Ka ca!"
A black boulder standing in front of Zhang Lie suddenly shattered, turning into countless stone fragments that flew everywhere in the air.
Zhang Lie waved his hand and sent out a palm wind. An intense Qi whirlwind appeared in front of him. The stone shards flying at him fell to the ground and scattered.
"What's going on? Why did the rock shatter? " The surrounding examinees all thought in astonishment. They did not even see when Zhang Lie made his move.
Xiao Chen's eyes were filled with astonishment as well. What's going on? He was a hundred percent sure that Zhang Lie did not draw his saber, but the hard rock shattered just like that.
Saber intent!
These two words suddenly appeared in Xiao Chen's mind. This was definitely a state of the saber. Furthermore, Zhang Lie had comprehended this saber intent to Small Perfection.
"Congratulations Senior Brother Leng, you have accepted another good disciple. He actually managed to comprehend his own saber intent at such a young age. His future is limitless!"
"Tianyue Peak is really full of talents. How enviable. Small Perfection saber intent. It seems like the Heavenly Saber Pavilion has not had such a genius in the past few hundred years."
Leng Tianyue smiled faintly as he replied to the other Peak Masters. However, he was very surprised in his heart. He knew that Zhang Lie had comprehended saber intent.
Originally, Leng Tianyue thought that Zhang Lie would use it as a trump card. He did not expect Zhang Lie to use it right from the start. Why? Given Zhang Lie's character, he would not be so ostentatious.
On the drill grounds, Zhang Lie suddenly turned his head back. A bright light shone in his eyes. He had finally caught the sharp gaze from earlier. What he saw was an extremely ordinary squarish face.
Mu Heng revealed a slightly astonished expression. After a while, he smiled at Zhang Lie in relief. Then, he withdrew his gaze and turned back into an unremarkable passerby.
Zhang Lie imprinted Mu Heng's appearance in his heart. He thought to himself, I finally found you. I did not expose my trump card in vain. You put pressure on me; I can do the same to you.
Chopping the hard black rock in half without using a Martial Technique was not difficult for Zhang Lie. However, before he went up, he remembered the sharp gaze that tore through the air.
Although he told himself to forget about this gaze, no matter how much he tried to comfort himself, this gaze had already left a mark in his heart. If he didn't resolve it perfectly, he would never be able to.
If he did not deal with it perfectly, he might leave behind a heart demon during a fight. Thus, Zhang Lie chose to reveal his trump card. He calculated that the other party's gaze would leak out unintentionally.
The development of the matter was exactly as Zhang Lie expected.
"Number 2, Zhang Lie, pass the test. Next!"
The test continued and the number of people who failed increased. The number of people who failed in the first stage far surpassed the previous ones. This was something that everyone did not expect.
By the time number 200 was reported, there were actually 60 people who successfully chopped the rock in half. The high elimination rate caused everyone to be flabbergasted.
"Number 220, Beichen Peak's Mu Heng!" the chief examiner continued to read.
Mu Heng passed through the crowd and slowly walked out. He was like an unremarkable little blade of grass. Initially, no one noticed him. Now that he walked forward, everyone's gazes were focused on him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
