(Updated for the sake of ranking. A new day in a new month. Begging everyone for monthly votes. Go go go!)
In the afternoon, the sun hung high in the sky, spilling heat everywhere.
Chen Zong's group of four once again gathered in the Horizontal Sword Hall. Then, under the leadership of Sect Master Lin Zhonghan, they walked through the hall and into the Sect's interior.
"The Sword Son assessment is divided into two parts. The first to pass within the allotted time will become the Sect's Sword Son, the rest will be eliminated," Lin Zhonghan said, his plain tone containing unquestionable power.
Even if only a trace of the power of a Transcendent Realm master leaked out, it was still very strong. Even someone as arrogant as Long Zhangzhi did not dare to refute, otherwise, he would be directly expelled and lose the qualification to compete for the Sect's Sword Son.
Walking forward, passing through door after door, it was as if they were walking into an endless place.
A few minutes later, Lin Zhonghan stopped and pointed to the four closed doors in front of them, "Everyone choose a door to enter. You will know the assessment method after you enter."
"Go, use all your abilities."
Chen Zong's group of four took a deep breath. Then, Long Zhangzhi's figure flashed, like a stream of light, rushing forward in an overbearing manner, taking the lead to choose a door to enter.
Chen Zong pushed open the door and suddenly felt a fresh air fill the air.
After stepping through the door, the door automatically closed and the originally dark inner room suddenly lit up with a light as bright as day, illuminating the surroundings.
After Chen Zong's eyes swept over, he stared in front of him in a daze.
It was a wall, a very strange looking wall. This kind of wall gave Chen Zong a feeling of deja vu.
The Mechanism Wall!
That day in the Dragon Pavilion's assessment in the Cloud Dragon Dynasty's Royal City, the first stage was to crack the Mechanism Wall.
Cracking the Mechanism Wall was a relatively comprehensive ability, requiring memory, deduction, comprehension, insight, and so on. It just so happened that these were all necessary skills for a cultivator.
Compared to the Mechanism Wall in the Dragon Pavilion's assessment, the Mechanism Wall in front of him was several times more complex and precise.
It was certain that if an ordinary cultivator at the peak of the Ninth Revolution Realm saw such a Mechanism Wall, they would be confused and would even feel dizzy after looking at it a few times.
Speaking of which, the Wall of Mechanisms was a very popular test. However, different Wall of Mechanisms often had different structures. Solving one Wall of Mechanisms did not mean that one could solve the other Wall of Mechanisms.
There was a timer hanging on the wall on the left. The needle was moving slowly, and when it finished one round, it meant that the time was up.
Chen Zong first closed his eyes and took a deep breath to get rid of all the distracting thoughts in his mind. Then, he opened his eyes. His clear eyes reflected the entire mechanism wall.
Chen Zong's pupils constricted to the size of needles as he scanned the wall bit by bit. First, he memorized the overall outline of the mechanism wall, as if it was branded in his mind. From big to small, from outside to inside, every detail was memorized by Chen Zong.
Since Chen Zong obtained the mysterious sword tip, his potential had been continuously developed. With the improvement of his cultivation and the breakthrough of his realm, his potential had also been developed to a greater extent. It was not difficult for him to have a photographic memory.
Even so, this complicated Wall of Mechanisms still took Chen Zong nearly a quarter of an hour to memorize it completely. The needle on the timer had made nearly a quarter of a round.
After memorizing it completely, Chen Zong looked for the operating rules. Only by grasping the rules could he proceed to the next step of deduction. Only then could he hope to solve it.
"Which School of Mechanisms is this?" Long Zhangzhi frowned and looked carefully. Then, a cold smile appeared on his face. "It doesn't matter which school it is. The basic principles of the Wall of Mechanisms are similar. And I have already mastered the basics of the Wall of Mechanisms."
This was where his advantage lay.
There was a big difference between learning the basics of the Wall of Mechanisms and not.
Two people had similar abilities in all aspects. However, if one of them had learned the basics of the Wall of Mechanisms and the other had not, it would be easier for the former to solve the Wall of Mechanisms.
After all, if one had some basic knowledge, he would be able to see and deduce better.
Yan Hua and Xiao Jinpeng had more or less learned the basics of the Wall of Mechanisms. It could be said that among the four of them, only Chen Zong had not learned the basics of the Wall of Mechanisms.
"Zhonghan, do you think these four people have a chance to become the Sword Son of the Sect?" An old man in a green robe with white hair and beard, but his face was as red as a baby's. His voice was like a torrential river.
"Elder Yuan, I can't see it." Lin Zhonghan, the Sect Leader, answered respectfully.
There was only one person in the entire Zhonghan Sect who could make Lin Zhonghan treat him with such respect and address him as Elder Yuan. He was the Elder Yuan of the Sect.
This Elder Yuan was also the previous Sect Leader. After stepping down, he became the Elder Yuan. In terms of status, he was above the Sect Leader. Of course, in terms of power, the Sect Leader had the most power.
"Since Yu Xie and Zuo Shanmei, no one has passed the Sect's Sword Son examination for many years. I hope there will be one this time." The Elder Yuan sighed softly.
Yu Xie was referring to Lin Yuye, who had passed the examination to become the Sect's Sword Son. Now, he was one of the Five Heavenly Sons of Tianjiang Prefecture. Zuo Shanmei had become the Sect's Sword Son a few years later than Lin Yuye. Now, she was ranked in the second-tier group of geniuses in Tianjiang Prefecture. She had a chance to become the first-tier group.
The examination for the Sect's Sword Son was very difficult. Under normal circumstances, external elders only had one chance to be recommended in their lifetime. If they made great contributions to the Sect or used their own contributions to the Sect, they would have a second or even third chance to be recommended.
To put it simply, the first chance was free. The subsequent chances had to be paid.
As for internal elders, they were not restricted by this. Of course, internal elders would not simply recommend because of this.
There was an examination for the Sect's Sword Son almost every year. However, since Zuo Shanmei, no one had passed the examination to become the new Sect's Sword Son.
No one knew if the four people who had passed the examination this time would all be defeated like the previous years. Or if someone would pass the examination and become the new Sword Son after Lin Yuye and Zuo Shanmei.
"Yan Hua and Xiao Jinpeng are both disciples of the Sect. We know them well. The probability of them passing the examination is not high." Lin Zhonghan analyzed. "Chen Zong comes from a small dynasty. His background and inheritance are not as good as Yan Hua and Xiao Jinpeng, but his combat ability is above them. This shows that he is indeed extraordinary. If he had become a disciple of the Sect a few years earlier and received better training, the probability of him passing the examination would be higher. As for Long Changzhi, he has some background. He has a lot of family knowledge since he was young."
"If one of the four can pass the examination, Long Changzhi's chances will be higher." Lin Zhonghan concluded.
Although Lin Zhonghan was not willing to let someone who was related to the imperial family become the Sect's Sword Son, it did not violate the rules passed down by the Sect. Moreover, if Long Changzhi passed the examination, it would be unreasonable to not let him become the Sect's Sword Son. It would cause the imperial family to intervene, which would not be good.
As for his arrogant personality, it was nothing. In the world of geniuses, there were all kinds of personalities. There was nothing strange.
After all, temperament and personality were two different things.
Lin Zhonghan hoped that Yan Hua or Xiao Jinpeng could pass the examination. After all, they had been in the Zhonghan Sword Sect for a long time.
The senior elder did not speak again. The mountain wind was still blowing.
"Start at the middle Arcana Level … go to the lower Arcana Level … go beyond that …" Long Changzhi used his ability and the basic knowledge of the mechanism wall to make a deduction. He muttered, "No, I made a mistake. Let's start again."
Chen Zong did not know anything about middle Arcana Level, lower Arcana Level, and higher Arcana Level because he had never studied it before. However, he had his own deduction method.
Everything in the world had its own rules. As long as one observed carefully and was sharp enough, one could find the rules bit by bit and master it.
However, those who were experienced and knowledgeable would find it easier to make deductions. This was because the rules of everything in the world did not exist independently. Instead, they depended on each other. They were inextricably linked and could verify each other.
Gradually, the needle on the timer turned slowly. It had already gone through half a circle. Chen Zong had also found the rules of the mechanism wall and continued to deduce.
Yan Hua and Xiao Jinpeng stared at the mechanism wall and tried their best to use the basic knowledge of the mechanism wall they had learned to deduce. However, as they continued to deduce, they found that it was as if they had reached a dead end. They gradually deviated.
Fortunately, they came to their senses in time and quickly got out of the state of being at a dead end. After taking a deep breath and adjusting themselves, they began to deduce from the beginning.
After taking a detour, it was much smoother to deduce from the beginning.
In terms of the basic knowledge of the mechanism wall, neither Yan Hua nor Xiao Jinpeng could compare with Long Zhangzhi. It could be said that Long Zhangzhi had truly mastered the basic knowledge of the mechanism wall, while Yan Hua and Xiao Jinpeng were just beginners. As for Chen Zong, he was a complete layman.
"Upper Arcana Level … It's here. Break!" With a low shout, Long Zhangzhi's eyes shone brightly. He took a step forward and casually threw out a palm. His strength was concentrated on his palm and he directly hit a part of the mechanism wall.
Kacha sounds rang out. Immediately after, the entire wall of mechanisms stopped moving. After a moment of silence, the kacha sounds continued, sounding like beans being fried. The wall of mechanisms opened up from the middle, allowing one person to pass through.
At the moment when Long Zhangzhi successfully cracked the mechanism wall, Chen Zong also deduced the operation pattern and found a way to crack it.
Using his finger as a substitute for a sword, the wall of mechanisms stopped operating amidst the kacha sounds. Following which, a series of kacha sounds rang out. Every single mechanism on the wall of mechanisms started to move. The connections between them were severed one after another, and a gap that could allow a person to pass through opened up.
Looking at the timer on the left side of the wall, there was less than half a circle left. There was not much time left. Chen Zong stepped forward and walked into the gap in the mechanism wall.
This was the first test. If they went forward, it would be the second test.
As Long Zhangzhi and Chen Zong cracked the mechanism wall, Yan Hua and Xiao Jinpeng were still working hard.
Seeing that the needle on the timer was about to complete one circle, Yan Hua and Xiao Jinpeng's eyes suddenly lit up. They both made their moves. The cracking sound was heard continuously. The mechanism wall was successfully cracked.
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