Library of Heaven's Path - Chapter 332: Perfect Solution

"He doesn't know medicine at all?" Guild Leader Mu Hong's body trembled.

To dare to challenge him despite not knowing the slightest thing about medicine at all... When did the position of a guild leader become so cheap?

"What happened? Explain everything to me clearly!"

With a complexion so dark that it seemed as though one could squeeze ink from it, he bellowed.

"It... it's like that..."

The leader of the guards and Ya Rou explained the situation with Liu laoshi in detail to Guild Leader Mu Hong.

After hearing the words of the duo, regardless whether it was Mu Hong, Du Rao, Cheng Feng, or the other physicians, they were all dumbfounded.

How could there be such an eccentric person in the world...

To manage to stumble into the Wall of Dilemma like that, wasn't he lucky!

"Guild Leader, given that he has triggered the Wall of Dilemma, connection with the headquarter must have already been established. What should we do now?"

Physician Cheng Feng asked.

Upon the activation of the Wall of Dilemma, a bell would chime and the Wall of Dilemma would attempt to establish connection with the headquarter. Most likely, a 4-star physician would have already been stationed on the other side, waiting to assess the challenger. If they were to intrude into the test halfway, it was highly probable that they would incur the ire of the headquarters.

"What else can we do? We can only wait here until he's done. Since he doesn't even know the slightest thing about medicine, he would surely be unable to answer any of the questions. Once he fails, we'll teach him a lesson and kick him out!"

Mu Hong's complexion looked awful.

Challenging the Wall of Dilemma didn't just undermine his authority and sully his prestige... More importantly, the headquarter would be alarmed of this farce as well!

To allow such an ignorant oaf to challenge the Wall of Dilemma... Just the thought of what the headquarter would think of them made Mu Hong tempted to kill the other party...

For such a blemish to appear on a Tier 1 Kingdom Physician Guild, could the situation be any more darned...

"Yes!"

Knowing that the guild leader was truly enraged over this matter, the crowd didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

"Can we see the results of the Wall of Dilemma from here?"

While a gloomy atmosphere was looming in this area, there was huge bustle over at the apprentices and patients' side. The apprentices had finally understood what was going on and they immediately put aside their work to observe the abrupt situation out of curiosity.

"Un!" One of the more knowledgeable people in the crowd nodded. "The Wall of Dilemma of the Physician Hall is constructed with a unique material similar to that used in the examination hall of the Master Teacher Pavilion. If the challenger inside were to submit an erroneous answer, the exterior wall of the room will flash red. On the other hand, if a correct answer is submitted, an orange glow will appear. Furthermore... there are different tiers to the answer as well!"

"Tiers?"

"That's right. Different techniques and medicinal herbs used in the treatment of the same illness would yield different effectiveness. As such, treatment methods can be classified as Subpass, Pass, Good, and Excellent. A ray of orange light represents Subpass, two rays represent Pass, three rays represent Good, and four rays represent Excellent! Back then, Guild Leader Mu Hong consecutively solved four illnesses on the Wall of Dilemma, and on top of that, every single treatment method he submitted ended up inducing three rays of orange light, dazzling the entire Physician Hall. It was truly an unforgettable sight for all that was present back then..."

Recalling that incredible scene back then, the faces of a few veterans of the guild reddened in agitation.

Those illnesses were problems that had remained unsolved by the geniuses of the guild throughout the years. Those problems might not be anything much to those 4-star physicians of the headquarter, but to Tianwu Kingdom, they were questions of absurd difficulty!

Guild Leader Mu Hong's feat of solving four questions with three orange rays of light each had left everyone both awestruck then.

"Guild Leader Mu Hong sure is incredible!"

"Indeed!"

"Given how that fellow who just barged in knew nothing at all, a red light will probably appear very soon..."

Discussions could be heard around the room.

Weng!

Suddenly, the wall of the Physician Hall trembled, and an imposing aura emanated from it.

"That fellow has just finished answering a question on the Wall of Dilemma, and the physician on the other side is currently checking it. I think he'll be in for a round of misfortune soon..."

Halfway through his words, that person's eyes suddenly widened. A reverberation echoed in the room, and he suddenly froze.

The wall before him emanated a bright light, but it wasn't red... It was orange!

"How is this possible? Did he answer it correctly? But... how can that be? These questions have remained unsolved over the course of so many years, and innumerable 3-star physicians had attempted them only to end in failure. How could he possibly succeed? Isn't he an ignorant oaf who knows nothing at all...?"

Rubbing his eyes, that person stared at the sight before him in disbelief.

"It seems like not only did he provide a correct answer, it seems to be... above the level of Subpass..." A voice sounded among the crowd.

After which, before the light on the wall could fade completely, another burst of light took its place!

The two rays of light overlapped with one another, filling the room with tremendous brilliance.

Weng!

Before everyone's gaze of disbelief, the wall shook once more and yet another ray of light burst forth. For a moment, it was as if a sun had descended upon the room, blinding everyone's eyes with its radiance.

Three rays!

Four rays!

Five rays!

A total of five rays of orange light had appeared from the wall!

"This is... Perfect! A perfect answer..."

Upon seeing the sight, the mouths of a few veterans in the room twitched. They were rendered completely speechless by the sight.

It was common knowledge that there were only four levels to a treatment method: Subpass, Pass, Good, and Excellent! But in truth, there was another level that few knew about, a level that only existed in the legends. A treatment method of that level was capable of solving an illness completely in the shortest period of time while using the most inexpensive and common medicinal herbs!

It was known as Perfect Treatment Method. Such treatment methods possessed absurd compatibility with the illness that not the slightest side effect would be derived from the treatment. Compared to this, all other treatment methods were no different from dirt.

However, such level of treatment method existed only in the legends. In the several thousand years of history since the establishment of Tianwu Kingdom, no one had ever heard of the existence of a Perfect Treatment Method!

Yet, not only did that ignorant oaf actually managed to come up with such a treatment method... Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

"Five rays of orange light?"

"What in the world is going on?"

"A Perfect Treatment Method?"

The entire room burst into an uproar.

Upon seeing this sight, Guild Leader Mu Hong felt a little light-headed. He immediately turned to Ya Rou and the guard leader and glared at them.

The heck!

Didn't you say that the fellow who went in was an ignorant fellow?

Explain to me what is going on…!

"I..."

Tears streamed down the face of the guard leader.

Brother, I thought you didn't know anything at all?

How in the world did you manage to solve the incurable illnesses of the Wall of Dilemma? Furthermore... for it to induce five rays of orange light, a Perfect Treatment Method?

"He... he... is probably just lucky. Perhaps he will fail at the next question..."

Biting his tongue, the guard leader could only force his way through.

However... before he could finish his words, the wall shook once more.

Weng weng weng weng weng!

Another five rays of orange light burst into the surroundings once more.

"Another Perfect Treatment Method?"

"What the heck is he!"

...

Seeing the second instance of five rays of orange light, another huge uproar exploded in the hall. The guard leader felt a stinging sensation on his face, and he nearly spurted blood and died from frustration.

He had just said that the other party was only lucky when the other party immediately overthrew his words with his actions. Even if you are so eager to slap my face, surely you don't have to do it so quickly...

Weng weng weng weng weng!

However, that wasn't the end of it yet. The light grew brighter and brighter, and the intervals between them grew shorter and shorter. It was as if they had stepped into a festive firework celebration; wave after wave of orange light assaulted their vision.

"Three times!"

"Four times!"

"Five times..."

"Eighteen times..."

...

It was only less than an hour since the appearance of the first instance of the five rays of orange light, and it had already appeared consecutively for another seventeen times.

Slowly, the shock grew into numbness.

Guild Leader Mu Hong's lips quivered. At this point, he was already on the verge of tears.

He thought that he could already be considered as a genius given how he induced three rays of orange light for four times. He thought that no one in Tianwu Kingdom would be able to match his feat. However, after seeing this sight... he realized that his accomplishment was truly nothing at all!

The other party doesn't know medicine?

What a joke! If the other party doesn't know medicine, then what do I count as?

Am I worse than an ignorant oaf?

"Guild leader..."

Seeing Mu Hong's current state, the guard leader called cautiously after noticing the latter's daze.

"Guild leader your head! I am no longer the guild leader, that fellow inside is!" Mu Hong flung his sleeves furiously.

As long as one's result in the Wall of Dilemma surpassed that of the previous guild leader, one would automatically take his place. Mu Hong had only managed to induce three rays of orange light four times, but the other party had achieved the level of Perfect for eighteen times straight. At this point, there was already no way to dispute this!

In other words, that fellow inside was already the guild leader!

"Yes..."

The mouth of the guard leader twitched, and he hurriedly shut his mouth fearfully.

He was afraid that this Physician Mu Hong would go on a rampage and kill him on the spot if he were to speak any further.

"H-he..."

Ya Rou shuddered fearfully. She felt so much regret that her guts were turning green.

If only she knew that the fellow inside possessed incredible medical skill that was superior to even that of the guild leader, she would have never dared to act so rudely to him!

Considering how disdainfully she treated him at the start, it was about time for her to resign from her job and go into hiding.

In contrast to the gloomy atmosphere floating around Guild Leader Mu Hong and the others, the majority of the crowd in the hall was rowdy, excited by this incredible sight.

"Five rays of orange light! All eighteen of those solutions are a Perfect Treatment Method!"

"To be able to see such a formidable physician overcome the Wall of Dilemma, I feel like I haven't lived my life in vain..."

"Hurry up and inform the old master! Wasn't his illness listed on the Wall of Dilemma? There is finally a cure for him..."

...

The commotion slowly crescendoed as everyone's eyes burned with excitement.

The explanations and descriptions from the apprentices and veterans had given them a rough idea of the current situation.

To actually solve eighteen difficult illnesses listed on the Wall of Dilemma, and on top of that, for all of them to reach the level of Perfect Treatment Method, the medical skill of the person inside had already surpassed the capability of a 3-star physician!

It was a huge benefit to have such an incredible physician in Tianwu Kingdom.

After all, no matter how much money they had, if they couldn't find a sufficiently capable physician to treat them, it would be for naught.

...

"There are only a total of twenty questions on the Wall of Dilemma. Could he really... solve all of them in one go?"

Putting aside his dismay, Physician Mu Hong stared at the wall before him intently.

Other people might not be aware of how many questions there were on the Wall of Dilemma, but as the previous guild leader and someone who had challenged the Wall of Dilemma, it was natural that he was aware of the situation on site.

Even though these questions had accumulated over several centuries, every succeeding guild leader would always strike a few questions off the wall, leaving only a total of twenty questions.

The other party had already solved the eighteenth, and every single answer was on the level of Perfect. Could this fellow really solve all twenty questions in one go?

"Impossible... The final question is an illness who no one was able to solve in the past several centuries. It is impossible for him solve it..."

Recalling the final question, Mu Hong clenched his jaws.

Even though the other illnesses were difficult as well, this concept of 'difficult' was only limited to Tianwu Kingdom. To the physicians in Xuanyuan Kingdom or other more advanced regions, those problems were nothing more than a walk in the park.

However... the final question was an illness that stumped even the physicians of Conferred Kingdoms!

It was an extremely rare and troublesome illness. Rumor has it that a 5-star physician had once attempted to find a solution to the illness, but in the end, he wasn't even able to find the root of the problem, leaving him at a loss to even where he should start.

Weng weng weng weng weng!

Just as his thoughts were wandering around, orange rays of light filled the hall once more. The nineteenth question was also solved with a Perfect grade.

"It's down to the last question now..."

Physician Mu Hong's breathing quickened.

True Martial World - Chapter 970: This is my original line of work

After Chi Zhuiyun entered the curtain of light, the bloodied Black Tiger and Bear Two, who had just got up from the ground, gaped. They were completely dumbfounded.

He… went in just like that!?

The scene of Chi Zhuiyun entering the Door of Misty Rain dealt a severe blow to them!

It was obvious that Chi Zhuiyun did not use all his strength in that strike, but he was still able to enter?

If they had only seen Chi Zhuiyun's entry process, they would definitely believe that the light curtain was too weak to withstand a single blow. However, they had previously attempted to charge through the Door of Misty Rain. They were left badly battered, but not a single ripple appeared in the light curtain.

Wasn't the gap just too huge?

Bear Two and Black Tiger suddenly recalled something as they looked at Yi Yun. Yi Yun's back was facing them. He was not looking at them, but even so, the duo felt that their black faces were being consumed by flames.

Didn't this mean that Yi Yun could easily enter the Door of Misty Rain just like Chi Zhuiyun?

In the first round of assessments, they were clearly the first few to exit the array. Yi Yun and Chi Zhuiyun were one of the last few!

"Chi Zhuiyun has already entered the Door of Misty Rain. Wouldn't that mean that the ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower will fall into his hands?"

Many people turned anxious, but there was nothing that they could do.

"What is Yi Yun doing? Why hasn't he made a move?"

Chi Zhuiyun's strength was inferior to Yi Yun’s, but he had taken the first step into the herb garden. Yi Yun, who was stronger, had ended up falling behind.

And at that moment, Tianya Haoyue had made his move. With his moonblade in hand, he slashed at the light curtain. As blade beams shot out in every direction, a phenomenon of a cliff and luminous moon appeared behind him

Lunar Occultation!

Cha!

The light curtain looked like it was being swallowed by Tianya Haoyue's strike, just like a lunar eclipse.

At the next moment, Tianya Haoyue had entered the Divine Lord herb garden as well!

Everyone drew a gasp. It was not difficult for Tianya Haoyue to enter the Divine Lord herb garden as well. Were these top geniuses from the various factions so much stronger than them?

And people recalled that geniuses like Tianya Haoyue had been defeated by Yi Yun a year ago!

All the people that Yi Yun had previously defeated were actually so abnormally strong?

After Tianya Haoyue passed through the Door of Misty Rain, he looked back at Yi Yun and flashed the blade in his hand.

After losing to Yi Yun, he had worked hard in the hopes of crushing Yi Yun so he could avenge the humiliation that he had suffered. And now, the opportunity was here!

A ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower could help him condensed his Dao fruit!

With this thought in mind, Tianya Haoyue looked into the Divine Lord herb garden. In it, the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi was so rich and dense that it condensed to form liquid droplets. This made it look like it was misty and rainy, thus giving the Door of Misty Rain its name. But only when he entered did he know that the so-called misty rain was actually extremely pure Heaven Earth Yuan Qi!

If one were to cultivate in here, the effects would be heaven-defying!

Tianya Haoyue impatiently used his movement technique and he attempted to head further into the Divine Lord herb garden. However, he realized that it was like he had fallen into a quagmire when he took a step forward. His speed was as slow as a snail's.

It was tough!

Tianya Haoyue was surprised to discover that although his surroundings had rich Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, he had no means of absorbing any of it!

He opened all 360 acupuncture points, but he was unable to absorb Heaven Earth Yuan Qi. What was wrong with the Yuan Qi here?

The outcome of each step being extremely demanding and Tianya Haoyue not being able to absorb any of the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi around him meant that his stamina was rapidly decreasing!

It was not only limited to Tianya Haoyue. Even Chi Zhuiyun was encountering the same situation. However, he was much stronger than Tianya Haoyue, so it was slightly easier for him to advance.

But even so, it would be extremely difficult for him to enter the depths of the Door of Misty Rain.

"This Door of Misty Rain is truly fascinating."

Yi Yun saw everything clearly from outside. He was in no hurry to begin because he wanted to observe the mysterious traits of the Door of Misty Rain.

He realized that as an enchanted treasure, the Door of Misty Rain controlled every strand of Heaven Earth Yuan Qi like they were well-trained soldiers. Upon entry into the Door of Misty Rain, it was equivalent to entering a Heaven Earth Yuan Qi quagmire.

This was the difficulty of plucking the ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower.

The location of the ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower was too deep, and the Door of Misty Rain was expansive. A great deal of energy was needed to take every step inside, so how easy could it be to find a specific flower?

But such a difficulty made Yi Yun itch to try.

He did not immediately enter the Door of Misty Rain but he looked at Shui Ningshuang instead.

"Senior Ningshuang, this junior has a question and is unsure if he should ask."

"Oh? What do you want to know?"

Shui Ningshuang smiled at Yi Yun. Typically, warriors who participated in such an assessment would rush to be right in front, afraid that the best herbs would be snatched by others. However, despite Yi Yun being very strong, he was in no hurry. This made her curious as to what Yi Yun would ask.

"This junior wants to know what happens if this junior happens to come across other precious herbs other than the ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower after entering Felicitous Rain Lord's herb garden?"

When Yi Yun asked such a question, it left everyone somewhat dumbfounded.

Anyone could tell that even Chi Zhuiyun and Tianya Haoyue were finding it extremely difficult to pluck a ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower. Even a eight or nine thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower would be difficult enough!

Not only did Yi Yun want a ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower, he was planning on plucking a few others in passing!

This is way too ridiculous!

"Oh? You have so much confidence?" Shui Ningshuang gave Yi Yun a surprise glance. She knew that Yi Yun wasn't a simple person, but she refused to believe that Yi Yun could complete such a feat.

A year ago, Shui Ningshuang had seen a projection array of Yi Yun's battle with Chi Zhuiyun. Yi Yun was stronger than Chi Zhuiyun, but he wasn't that much stronger.

"If you have the ability, you can take them away. However, the rule is that you can only take one of every strain!"

Inside the Door of Misty Rain, the herbs were grown in different areas. The same herbal strain was grown in the same vicinity. Since he could only take one of each strain, it meant that Yi Yun had to go very far to pluck the second herb. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Such a difficulty left people secretly horrified, but they never expected Yi Yun to nod and say, "Alright."

Shui Ningshuang's brows pricked up. "As the saying goes, heroes come from youths, but I need to remind you. The deeper you go into the Door of Misty Rain, the higher the difficulty will be. You must leave sufficient stamina to walk out of the Door of Misty Rain. Do not be overly greedy. If you lack the energy to return, you will only come back empty-handed!"

"Senior, thank you for your advice. I will do my best to choose only herbs that are within my grasps. Actually… herb-picking is my original line of work." Yi Yun said with a smile.

It had been decades in the blink of an eye. The scenes of his herb-picking days back in the Tai Ah Divine City were still fresh in his mind. Those days were really a cherished memory.

Herb-picking was Yi Yun's original line of work? No one understood what Yi Yun meant, but at that moment, Yi Yun had finally moved towards the front of the Door of Misty Rain.

True Martial World - Chapter 969: Badly Battered

No one expected that Shui Ningshuang's assessment would directly give an opportunity to everyone who was present. Just the thought of entering a Divine Lord's herb garden to pluck herbs was exciting.

About nine thousand warriors impatiently stood in front of the Door of Misty Rain. They were waiting for Shui Ningshuang to give the go ahead.

A look of excitement flashed in Black Tiger's eyes as he prepared himself. At that moment, he noticed Yi Yun, who wasn't standing very far from him. He could not help but reveal a sneer. "Number one genius of the Luo clan? I wonder if your speed will still be as slow as a tortoise."

"Bro, in a while, we brothers will charge right in front. If I'm not wrong, there is one ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower at most. If we are too slow, there won't be any left!" Bear Two said.

"That's right! However, be careful of any unexpected dangers. The herb garden is most likely not that simple with traps along the way."

Just as Black Tiger finished speaking, Shui Ningshuang nodded her head slightly and said, "You can begin."

Charge!

Fighting spirit burned in the eyes of Black Tiger, Bear Two, and many other assessees. They charged out like arrows that left a bowstring!

Everyone knew very well that Fairy Ningshuang's assessment was not that simple. Many of them had activated their Fey race bloodlines, which caused them to shimmer in a divine light. Behind many people were the phantom images of their ancestors. Instantly, Brocade Spring Court looked like thousands of Fey were galloping in a spectacular stampede!

Black Tiger and Bear Two was rushing right in front of the crowd!

But just as they reached the Door of Misty Rain...

"Boom!"

A loud explosion echoed aro as the duo slammed into an invisible light curtain. The duo's bodies shook violently as they rebounded off the light curtain.

Black Tiger and Bear Two flew backward at a speed much faster than when they were charging at the door. They slammed heavily into the ground!

"Peng! Peng!"

With two dull thuds, the duo crashed into the ground. Their faces faced the sky, but Black Tiger's face was covered in blood. He had been running at full speed and he had protruded his head right in front. It was his face that slammed into the invisible light curtain and so even his nose had been flattened.

As for Bear Two, his condition was worse. He had fractured seven or eight ribs and his body was convulsing as he foamed at his mouth.

After Black Tiger and Bear Two, there were about a hundred more people who slammed into the light curtain just like them. The impacts left them badly battered as they wailed in pain.

It was the ones that had charged slightly slower who managed to slow down when they took warning from the failures of others. They had escaped the outcome of slamming into the wall of light.

As for Yi Yun, the crowd had already charged forward and were sent flying back, but he did not even take a step forward ever since Fairy Ningshuang declared the start of the assessment.

After a long while, Bear Two and Black Tiger managed to catch their breaths.

They struggled to get up and they could hardly stand straight. Their heads were hurting and they felt dizzy.

"What the heck!?"

"Fuck, we got tricked. To think that there is such a trap set up in the Divine Lord herb garden. The lot of us who were the first to step on the mine suffered a great deal, while those cowards at the back managed to gain an advantage."

As Black Tiger touched his bloodied face, he noticed that Yi Yun was not far from them. Yi Yun had been standing there all along, like he was an outsider witnessing all that was happening.

Black Tiger and Bear Tiger looked at Yi Yun, and in return, Yi Yun looked at the pair of brothers in trouble.

Yi Yun did not conceal his gaze. The way that he looked at Black Tiger and Bear Two was like he was looking at a a pair of retards.

They only had brawn over brains. They were shallow and ignorant, but they thought highly of themselves, so who else could be blamed?

In fact, Yi Yun had long noticed the thick energy that gathered in front of the Door of Misty Rain with his energy vision. As long as anyone attempted to rush in, the energy would immediately condense together and become as unassailable as divine metal. In addition, the energy light curtain could even reflect energy. It would return how ever much energy was used to slammed into it. This was the reason why many people ended up in such tragic states when they slammed into it.

"That punk!" Black Tiger and Bear Two were furious. They had suffered serious injuries after bouncing back from their charge, but Yi Yun found much amusement in watching them on the side.

"How is it skill to be standing on the side watching? If you have the guts, go on and charge at it. How shameless is he to mock us when he cowers behind like a tortoise!" Black Tiger cursed unhappily.

At that moment, a beam of light flashed. Chi Zhuiyun had walked in front of the Door of Misty Rain.

He was dressed in red and he stood straight in a towering and magnificent manner. All his energy began to gathering on his spear.

"Oh, Chi Zhuiyun?"

Just as everyone was surprised, Chi Zhuiyun suddenly thrust his spear out!

The thrusting of the spear made it seem like hell had descended on the mortal realm. Wraiths wailed as a gigantic Shura devil appeared behind Chi Zhuiyun.

War Demon Form — Shura!

"Boom!"

With a loud explosion, visible ripples appeared in the void in front of Chi Zhuiyun. The light curtain was reverberating!

Everyone finally realized that it was a pale blue light curtain. It was like a water membrane. And now, Chi Zhuiyun's stab has caused a tear in the curtain of light!

Chi Zhuiyun's eyes were focused as his body flashed. He had already entered the light curtain!

At the next moment, he had stepped through the Door of Misty Rain!

"He entered the Divine Lord herb garden!"

Everyone stared with widened eyes. Chi Zhuiyun had managed to use his powerful attack to rip the light curtain apart, allowing him to gain entry through the Door of Misty Rain!

His attack was way too sick!

"I can enter as well!"

In a split second, a small-built Fey sprang out of the crowd. With a machete in hand, he immediately followed Chi Zhuiyun's footsteps.

"Dang!"

He slashed at the light curtain that Chi Zhuiyun had just attacked. He had an ingenious plan. He believed that the part of the light curtain that Chi Zhuiyun had just ripped apart was likely to remain unstable. By attacking the same spot, there was a higher chance of tearing the light curtain open.

However…

"Whew!"

His blade beam was rebounded, slashing straight back at his chest.

'"Puah!"

The small-built warrior spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward and crashed heavily into the ground.

He had failed!

Everyone was stunned. Chi Zhuiyun had succeeded with a single attack. The guy had attacked the same spot but ended up in such a situation?

"I know him. He is Yuchi Long from the Oracle Fey Kingdom's Yuchi family. He is definitely one of the top figures of the southeastern zone of the Oracle Fey Kingdom, but who knew that the gap between him and Chi Zhuiyun would be so large!?" Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

In the Oracle Fey Kingdom, Chi Zhuiyun had made his public appearance a decade ago. Although he was famous, there were very few people who had a chance to really fight with Chi Zhuiyun. Without an actual fight, there was no way to understand Chi Zhuiyun's formidability.

A year ago, Chi Zhuiyun had swept through the Luo clan but was eventually defeated by Yi Yun. This had greatly reduced the halo around Chi Zhuiyun, which also resulted in some members of the Oracle Fey Kingdom thinking that Chi Zhuiyun was just that and nothing more. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

But today, they had witnessed and got a deep understanding of how much more inferior the famous Yuchi Long from the southeastern zone was when he was compared to Chi Zhuiyun.

Upon seeing this scene, many people could not help but cast their gazes on Yi Yun.

Chi Zhuiyun was already so powerful, but he was still defeated by Yi Yun's hand. Then, what was Yi Yun's strength? How strong was he?

True Martial World - Chapter 968: Divine Lord Herb Garden

Upon hearing the Oracle Fey Kingdom king's question, Song Wuchen's heart fell into turmoil.

With things coming to this point, he was already unsure about what to do. The assessment that he had prepared was not suitable for about ten thousand people. Did he have to do another test of the Nine Palatial Array?

Disregarding the fact that he was already too embarrassed to use the Nine Palatial Array again, even if he used it, what would happen if the problem reemerged? He might as well slam his head against a surface till he dies.

Who was it that cracked my Nine Palatial Array? Could it really be the warriors that participated in the assessment, such as… Yi Yun!?

Tens of thousands of people had their eyes focused on Song Wuchen. Song Wuchen did not heed the thoughts that these lowly warriors had of him, but... Felicitous Rain Lord!

Song Wuchen knew very well that on the floating island, Felicitous Rain Lord could see him. Felicitous Rain Lord was waiting to see what he would do, making him even more anxious as his palms broke out in sweat. Without the support of the Demon Defying Bead, he did not have any arrays that could test ten thousand people at once.

The only option that he had was to send everyone to the desolate plains and group them together in a battle royale. However, that was a simple and crude. Furthermore, it would not be a fair assessment. It would obviously not please the Felicitous Rain Lord.

At that moment, a rustling sound was heard.

Like misty rain that drifted past, a misty drizzle enveloped the towering tree's hall. A white-dressed female appeared above the square.

Shui Ningshuang!

The person most trusted by Felicitous Rain Lord after she began following him tens of thousands of years ago.

"Martial Aunt Ningshuang… "

Song Wuchen hurriedly stood up and saluted her. Song Wuchen felt nervous upon seeing her at that moment. It was obvious that Shui Ningshuang was displeased with the assessment that he presided over.

"The next assessment's topic shall be given by me!" Shui Ningshuang said.

Her words caused Song Wuchen's heart to sink.

He gaped but eventually, he did not say a word.

Shui Ningshuang was giving the next topic that was going to be assessed?

Many warriors who were present looked at Shui Ningshuang, and her gaze had unintentionally landed on Yi Yun.

Yi Yun was inconspicuous with about ten thousand warriors present, so although the others did not know that Shui Ningshuang was focusing on Yi Yun, Yi Yun himself knew.

He stroked his chin. He knew that the process of him cracking the array had mostly likely been seen by Shui Ningshuang.

He was not afraid that the secret of the Purple Crystal would be exposed. The Purple Crystal far exceeded the martial realms of this world. No one would be able to detect it.

If they could not detect the Purple Crystal, then everything would come down to Yi Yun himself.

Since he wanted to become a personal disciple, he definitely needed to show the extraordinary worth of himself. There was no reason to continue hiding his strength.

"Since the first round is as such, everyone can be considered to have passed. As for the second round… "

As Shui Ningshuang spoke, she snapped her fingers.

"Whew!"

A faint light tore through the void after it shot out from Shui Ningshuang's fingertip. It accelerated before becoming a big door.

"Boom!"

The door landed on the ground and it stood in front of everyone.

The door was hundreds of feet wide, and more than ten stories high. It was massive.

People could see the misty rain inside the door. There were mountains that could be barely made out through the rain, with lush grass and an endless sea of flowers.

A door that led to another world!

"This is the Door of Misty Rain. It's a Divine Lord herb garden that I am in charge of. Past the Door of Misty Rain is an independent world. My assessment is for everyone to enter the Door of Misty Rain, and pluck a flower from the ground. Coming out of it again would be considered a pass!"

Divine Lord herb garden?

Plucking flowers?

The warriors present were all extremely excited when they heard this. It was a Divine Lord herb garden!

The thought of being able to enter a Divine Lord's herb garden was invigorating. Furthermore, the details of the assessment were rather fresh!

Plucking flowers inside the Door of Misty Rain sounded extremely simple, but people knew that the assessment set by Shui Ningshuang was definitely not as simple as it sounded on the surface. There was probably some tricks to the Door of Misty Rain.

However, that only made it more interesting. If anyone could complete it, it would be meaningless as well.

"Haha, plucking flowers. May I ask Fairy Ningshuang if simply plucking a flower is a pass, are there other means of grading?" Black Tiger asked loudly.

Previously, the shorter the amount of time taken to clear the Nine Palatial Array, the better the results were.

As for plucking flowers, the Door of Misty Rain was just in front of them. The flowerbeds were not very far either. Charging in to pluck a flower before returning was something that could be completed if one had the ability. The amount that it took wouldn't differ greatly amongst people. It would not illustrate the disparity in his result from others.

"Grading?" Fairy Ningshuang smiled. "The flowers closest to the Door of Misty Rain are known as Seven Heart Flowers. The flower takes a thousand years to sprout, a thousand years to grow, and a thousand years to form its bud. After that, it would grow one additional petal every thousand years, for a total period of ten thousand years. If you can return with a Seven Heart Flower, it would be considered to be a perfect grade. However, even if you fail to pluck a ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower, that's fine. Just bringing back a bud would be considered a pass!"

When Fairy Ningshuang said this, everyone looked at the Door of Misty Rain.

Through the blurry mist of rain, people saw flowers on the bed of grass as expected. The number of petals varied.

The ones closest to the Door of Misty Rain were only flower buds, and the deeper it was, the more petals the flowers had.

However, it was already considered quite a number for a flower to bloom four or five petals. Six petals were extremely rare and they were usually in the deepest depths of the misty rain. They would not be seen clearly.

As for the seven-petal flowers, they were nowhere to be found.

"Are there seven-petaled flowers?"

Black Tiger craned his neck to take a look. He wanted to find a flower ahead of time so that he could lock onto a target when he entered the Door of Misty Rain and pluck it in one fell swoop!

Even if it was too difficult, preventing him from plucking it, he could bring a five or six petal flower on his way back.

Black Tiger's question made the elders in the towering tree's hall frown.

A legendary figure of the World Margin Sect said, "Although the lifespan of the Seven Heart Flower isn't considered to be long, with it being ten thousand years at most, it is extremely precious. It has gathered the worldly essence, and most Seven Heart Flower would wither before they fully bloomed. The number that can grow to an age of ten thousand years is one in ten thousand. It is a top holy herb, and it has amazing effects for Dao Manifestation realm warriors in their breakthroughs to Dao Palace, as well as Heaven Ascension realm warriors in their breakthroughs to Dao Manifestation.

"Kid, do you think a ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower is cabbage that can be found anywhere on the streets? That you can find it without much work!?" The elder grunted, clearly annoyed about a burly man who had little knowledge like Black Tiger.

It was unknown how Black Tiger managed to be at the forefront during the first assessment.

Upon hearing the elder's words, everyone's eyes lit up. Many of the people present were at the Heaven Ascension realm. If a ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower was helpful in their manifestation of the Dao, it would be an absolute treasure.

At that moment, Shui Ningshuang said with a smile, "The Seven Heart Flower that you pluck will belong to you, even if it is a ten-thousand-year-old Seven Heart Flower! Of course, it will depend on your own circumstances if you have one or not."

Shui Ningshuang's statement made the warriors present excited.

The Seven Heart Flower that they plucked would be theirs!

The value of the herbs in the Divine Lord herb garden was beyond doubt. Furthermore, the World Margin Sect elder had just mentioned the miraculous effects of the Seven Heart Flower.

Fey like Black Tiger and Bear Two, who came from tribes, were extremely eager. As tribes that were far away from the central cities, they were most lacking in herbal treasures. The Divine Lord herb garden was truly timely.

True Martial World - Chapter 967: Abnormal Eyes

The feeling of estrangement was a result of the complete destruction of Song Wuchen's mental imprints in the Demon Defying Bead. Now with the Demon Defying Bead in hand, Song Wuchen probed it with his perception. The Demon Defying Bead was not his, so he spent a very long time trying to figure out what had happened. The twelve energy nodes had completely shattered!

This…

Song Wuchen was astounded. Every energy node had traces of the energy being destroyed remaining. He had a feeling that it was destroyed by mortal means, but who could have the ability to destroy his energy nodes?

Song Wuchen was incensed. He would definitely make the person pay a heavy price if he knew who had done it!

"Could it be Tian Xun? Or is it Mi Liu?"

Song Wuchen's initial suspects were not the warriors that had participated in the assessment, he suspected his fellow martial brothers. Under Felicitous Rain Lord, it was not uncommon for the in-name disciples to have their own conflicts.

It was possible that someone knew that he would be presiding over the assessment and that he wanted to demonstrate his prowess, so the person deliberately sabotaged him?

But on further thought, Felicitous Rain Lord was watching. Who had the ability to pull wool over the Felicitous Rain Lord's eyes and tamper with the assessment?

Was it really a participant that did it?

Song Wuchen found it unbelievable. A group of disciples who were mostly at the Heaven Ascension realm, and some at the Dao Manifestation realm, were just riff-raff. None of them had that sort of ability!

At that moment, many people were in flurries of discussion as they talked about the assessment.

Song Wuchen sat on a seat of honor in the towering tree's hall, but he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

He had previously made a boast, but the outcome was disastrous. His face had figuratively swollen.

He cast his eyes across all the disciples that cleared the level before his gaze landed on Yi Yun.

"Could it be him? He is only at the Heaven Ascension perfection realm, so how was he able to crack my array!?"

At that moment, Yi Yun was freely floating mid-air as he quietly regulated his breathing. The cracking of the array did not consume too much of Yi Yun's energy, as all he needed to do was find the energy nodes and sever them.

After severing the energy nodes, Yi Yun leisurely cleared the remaining eight palatial halls. By the time he came out, most of the participants had already come out. Yi Yun did not stand out when he appeared in the raining beams of light.

Although he was keeping a low profile, there were people who paid him special attention.

"Are you Yi Yun?"

Two stout males appeared in front of Yi Yun.

Yi Yun snapped out of his meditation and opened his eyes.

The two of them had beast fur covering them. It was not uncommon to have half-beast appearances amongst members of the Fey race.

"I'm Black Tiger, and he's my brother, Bear Two!" One of the men said. Kid Tiger was his nickname in the tribe, and it naturally didn't sound as imposing as Black Tiger when it was said in a formal setting.

Yi Yun's eyebrows pricked up. The two had released their aura and they had surging killing intent. They were definitely not here to greet him.

"Rumors say that you are the number one genius of the Luo clan, but it seems that your speed at clearing the array wasn't that fast either!"

Black Tiger's first words had an aggressive tone.

He and Bear Two were amongst the first few to clear the Nine Palatial Array, so he was obviously feeling very confident.

Although people later believed that something had gone wrong with the Nine Palatial Array, there were no problems with the first few levels after all. By being the first few to come out of the array, it was also a proof of their strength. This made Bear Two and Black Tiger turn smug.

"I heard that you defeated Chi Zhuiyun?" Bear Two said with a low, muffled voice. "Chi Zhuiyun is called the number one genius of the Oracle Fey Kingdom, but it's only a title. Don't think that you have swept through the Oracle Fey Kingdom by simply defeating Chi Zhuiyun!"

Yi Yun was amused when he heard Bear Two's words. He knew that many geniuses were proud and they also felt proud of their family clans or factions. They were naturally indignant about the claim that the Oracle Fey Kingdom had been swept clean by Yi Yun alone.

If he had not cracked the Nine Palatial Array, it might have been a problem for the duo to even come out of it. However, the world was large, so there was bound to be people that had an exaggerated opinion of their own abilities. And such kind of people could even be the majority.

"The assessment has only just begun. We will have a chance to compete with you." Black Tiger declared his challenge against Yi Yun before he turned and walked away.

…

Simultaneously, on a floating island outside the royal capital, Felicitous Rain Lord was paying attention to the entire situation. He gave a rare chuckle.

"That young guy is rather interesting!"

As the owner of the Demon Defying Bead, Felicitous Rain Lord naturally saw the entire process of Yi Yun cracking the array.

"Divine Lord, what method did Yi Yun use to crack the array?" Fairy Ningshuang had also seen the entire process. It was true that Song Wuchen's control of the Demon Defying Bead was inadequate, but the energy nodes were still situated in really hidden spots. However, the twelve energy nodes were still found by Yi Yun and they were all destroyed.

This act astonished Fairy Ningshuang greatly. Even Dao Manifestation perfection realm geniuses had no chance of cracking it, let alone a Heaven Ascension realm warrior.

"That child might have some special talent. I can sense that he has very keen senses when it comes to the perception of energy! In Wuchen's array, due to some imperfect initializations, there were residual energy trajectories. Yi Yun followed these energy trajectories precisely and he finally reached the energy nodes."

With Felicitous Rain Lord's cultivation level, he could easily sense the distribution of the energy nodes and the energy trajectories. As such, he understood how Yi Yun had cracked the array.

"For him to have such keen perception of energy, could he be born with abnormal eyes?"

In a martial world, some people possessed special physical traits, such as abnormal eyes. They could see laws and the trajectories of energy.

People who possessed such special traits were extremely few in number, with very few historical records describing them. Even well-read people did not understand much about these people who were born with extraordinary physical traits.

Furthermore, people with extraordinary traits did not necessarily have martial talent. People who could see flow trajectories of energy might not be able to absorb the energy. Their ability to learn and perceive was not necessarily high. These factors caused the extremely few number of people to eventually be lost in the crowd, and vanish in the vestiges of time.

And those with impressive talent and possessing extraordinary traits were truly the blessed children of the heavens. They were particularly rare.

"Divine Lord, if Yi Yun really was born with an abnormal trait, he is truly an extremely rare prodigy considering his martial talent."

"It's still too early to say. The way he cracked the array is but a trick after all, and it was not done with his own strength and interpretive perception. I want to see what his limit is, and what his understanding of the Dao is."

As Felicitous Rain Lord spoke, Shui Ningshuang could clearly see the look of anticipation in his eyes. It was truly not easy to make Felicitous Rain Lord, who had extremely high standards, reveal such an expression. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

…

At the moment, in the towering tree's main hall.

"Young Master Wuchen, what do we do now?" The Oracle Fey Kingdom king asked a probing question.

He could tell that the assessment had fallen into disarray. Song Wuchen had suffered quite a setback.

Supposedly, the assessment after this demanded a small group of people, with a test of Dao Domain for example. It would require each person to showcase their Dao Domain one after another. But now, with nearly ten thousand people present, no one knew how long it would take if they all lined up.

True Martial World - Chapter 966: Hidden Geniuses

Feng Zheng and Feng Qi had seen Song Wuchen's Nine Palatial Array. It was absolutely impossible to clear it in such a short period of time!

However, the other members of the audience did not care about this.

"Someone cleared! He cleared it so fast!"

"What a genius!"

People shouted excitedly. However, as these people were shouting, there were even more people who were dumbfounded. They looked at the long-haired youth that had suddenly appeared, and the first thing on their minds was — who the heck is he?

There were many geniuses in the alliance, but not every one of them were known by everyone like Yi Yun or Chi Zhuiyun.

Nearly no one knew who the person that had appeared was.

"Hmph! You don't know him? I'm not afraid to tell you that he is my sworn brother! At a young age, he showed unparalleled talent. Later on, he went deep into the mountains and became the disciple of an erudite master. He remained unseen for years, and his strength is definitely top in the Oracle Fey Kingdom. It's beyond your imaginations!"

At that moment, a youth jumped out and said those words. He looked like he was a strutting rooster after a victory.

Everyone looked at the fellow who came out to posture in a daze.

Now, who was this guy?

The guy was wearing a tiny hat and his clothes were beast hides. There was a family clan emblem that no one knew about on his clothes. It was obvious that he came from some tiny tribal clan from some nook and cranny.

How could such a person like that know a 'top' genius of the Oracle Fey Kingdom?

Everyone found it unbelievable.

However, it was not uncommon for some peerless geniuses to have friends at the grassroots level in his youth. It was common to have legends of how a peerless hero would stand up for his friends that were being bullied in his youth.

But at that moment, another beam of light flashed and another person who cleared the assessment appeared!

The person looked even more handsome. He was dressed in white robes and he held a fan in his hand. He was even slowly flapping his fan. Although he had cleared the Nine Palatial Array, he looked energetic and clear-minded. He did not look drained at all, and he gave off an impressive vibe.

"Another passed, and it was done so easily."

"It is another unfamiliar face. However, it seems like he's also from the Oracle Fey Kingdom. I never knew that we had so many hidden geniuses in the Oracle Fey Kingdom!"

"Indeed. It seems like these people had remained hidden and do not like to compete for fame and wealth. But now, with Felicitous Rain Lord taking in a disciple, it's truly a rare opportunity, so all of them are beginning to make their appearances."

A few scions argued and at that moment, they saw another few beams of light flash. Three consecutive people appeared in Brocade Spring Court after having cleared the array!

This…

Everyone faltered in shock.

There were really too many hidden geniuses.

However, it was apparent that these people were not from the Oracle Fey Kingdom, so it was expected. The other factions in the alliance were bound to have hidden geniuses as well.

But following that…

Sha! Sha! Sha!

Beams of light flashed one after another like it was raining. In the blink of an eye, there were more than twenty geniuses!

Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw this scene. Who knew that there were so many geniuses in the world. They were truly frogs in the well to believe that the world only had geniuses like Yi Yun, Chi Zhuiyun, and Luo Huo'er. From the looks of it, they were short-sighted. Each era has men of talent, leading in what they did for hundreds of years.

"Hahaha! It's Kid Tiger of my Black Tiger Tribal Clan! That kid has extraordinary talent. He could lift a 500-kilogram rock at the age of three. Today, he has indeed given me a big and pleasant surprise. There is hope for the rise of my Black Tiger Tribal Clan!" A stout old man said with a mighty roar.

He looked extremely excited. As for the ’Kid Tiger’ he was referring to, it was a person with a silly look. The fur had yet to shed from his body, making him look like a beast-man. As for being able to lift five hundred kilograms at the age of three… that training method sure was simple…

This guy… was also some hidden genius?

Many people looked each other in the eyes. They were somewhat dumbfounded. One really couldn't judge a book by its cover.

"Congratulations as well. My White Bear Tribal Clan's Bear Two has succeeded as well. When the younger generation grows up, as fellow tribal brothers, we will march forward hand in hand!" Another stout elder said.

The Bear Two he mentioned was covered in yellow fur, making him have a brotherly resemblance of the person known as 'Kid Tiger'.

A white bear and a black tiger. What the hell? Can you tribal clans name your people in a better manner?

In fact, the White Bear and Black Tiger tribal clans were not completely unknown. They were considered to be two of the bigger tribal clans in the wild tribal clans of the Oracle Fey Kingdom. However, they were incomparable to the large family clans. Everyone believed that people from Fey tribal clans would never be able to catch up to people from large family clans that were situated in the capital. But now, from the looks of it, these tribal clans were not to be underestimated. The probability of them producing geniuses was low, but they had the numbers, so it was also possible for a talent to rise up from a tribal clan.

And following that, beams of light began bursting out one after another. Every light beam revealed a young person who had cleared the array. One after another, they appeared like mushrooms appearing after a rain. There were so many people that it was easy to lose count.

"One, two, three, four… a hundred and eighty-one, a hundred and eighty-two… " Someone casually counted as he stared with widened eyes.

Wasn't the difficulty of the assessment said to be very high? Wasn't it previously said that the first round of assessments would eliminate 99%? Why did so many people manage to clear the array?

"Two hundred and thirty-six, two hundred and thirty-seven… "

The headcount was still rising. As people were counting on one side, there would be people descending on the other side like rustling leaves. Those counting failed to keep up with the number of people descending.

Soon, the headcount broke three hundred!

People were astonished. But at that moment, many people felt that something was amiss.

It was said that it would take three days for the first person to clear the assessment, but there were more than three hundred people clearing it in eight hours?

However, there were people immersed in the joy of clearing the assessment, especially the trial-takers themselves. There were relatives and friends who excitedly spoke amongst themselves.

"Brother Bai, you passed as well!"

"Hahaha, same to you. Congratulations Brother Yuchi. The last time I met you, I knew that you aren't ordinary."

"Eh, isn't that Brother Li? It looks like he cleared it as well. Let's go and congratulate him."

There were no end to such dialogs.

At the moment, the headcount had already exceeded eight hundred!

There was no decrease in the number of beams of light that descended from the Demon Defying Bead. Instead, they were increasing in number to the point of the beams of light forming a contiguous beam that was so blinding that people could not open their eyes.

"What's going on?"

In the hall in the towering tree, many members of the upper echelon were agape. Even if the assessment relaxed in its difficulty, there was no way that everyone would be able to clear the array together, right?

Furthermore, they even saw some wondrous existences amongst the participants who cleared the assessment. The Kid Tiger and Bear Two from before could be ignored, because they saw a ten year old girl. She had two tiny hair stumps on her head and she had shimmering eyes. She looked extremely innocent, with her only missing a cotton candy in her hand to perfect her look.

Although they guessed that the assessment would adjust its difficulty according to the trial-taker's age, it was completely unacceptable that such a harmless young girl could clear the first round.

This was definitely not what a normal assessment should look like.

Many people could not help but look at Song Wuchen. He was the examiner of the first round, and the entire Nine Palatial Array was created by him. They realized that Song Wuchen's face seemed to have grown moss. It could not be any greener.

Because at that moment, there was already more than two thousand people that had cleared the Nine Palatial Array.

Actually, he knew that there was a problem when the first person came out of the Nine Palatial Array in eight hours.

When his mental imprints collapsed, he was unable to probe the situation inside the Demon Defying Bead. Now, he knew that his mental imprints had not collapsed because it was too tough on him to control the Demon Defying Bead. Instead, something strange had happened to the connection between the array formation and the Demon Defying Bead. This resulted in the collapse of his mental imprints that were not stable to begin with.

What the hell happened?

At that moment, Song Wuchen was like a burning chicken. He wished that he could charge up and block the Demon Defying Bead!

If a few hundred people appeared, he could have brushed the matter aside and increased the difficulty of the next round.

But now, with the numbers quickly approaching four thousand, half of the participants had already cleared the first level. There was bound to be more later.

How could he brush this aside? Felicitous Rain Lord was still watching!

"Damn it! What's going on!"

Song Wuchen clenched his teeth. He had tested his Nine Palatial Array several times!

It was true that he could not control the Demon Defying Bead, but as long as the Nine Palatial Array and the Demon Defying Bead were interfaced, there would not be any problems even if he ignored it. How could the present situation happen?

Song Wuchen did not think of the possibility that the interface was destroyed by someone. He did not believe that anyone had the ability to do so.

"Hmm… Young Master Wuchen… " The Oracle Fey Kingdom king spoke in a probing manner, "There's already more than seven thousand people… Uh… it's over eight thousand. Do you think that we should end the first round of assessment and quickly begin the second round?"

The number of people that participated in the Divine Lord's disciple recruitment numbered about nine thousand people. And previously, Song Wuchen had said that more than 99% would be eliminated and that it would take the first person three days to clear it. He even said that there would be only about ten people who would clear the trial after four or five days, but now, after eight hours, there were already over eight thousand people. Was this still an elimination?

Even if there was, it would probably number in the dozens. How unlucky would they be to be eliminated?

Although the Oracle Fey Kingdom king knew that Song Wuchen was like a volcano ready to explode, he could not help but speak up. This couldn't go on any longer. The people below were already creating a din. Even the silliest person could tell that something was amiss. There was talk going around.

"I know!" Song Wuchen said through clenched teeth.

He had failed miserably during the first round of assessment, so what else could he say!?

"Demon Defying Bead, come!"

At that moment, Song Wuchen managed to barely summon the Demon Defying Bead back using a pathetic new imprint that he placed on it.

With the Demon Defying Bead in hand, he felt the coldness of the Demon Defying Bead. Song Wuchen's face turned extremely surly.

Previously, while presiding over the assessment, he had even fantasized of the tiny hope that his master would give the Demon Defying Bead to him after the assessment. He was adept at array formations, so the Demon Defying Bead would greatly benefit him.

But now, Song Wuchen could only feel a limitless estrangement from the bead in his hand.

True Martial World - Chapter 965: Something’s not right

"Ka-cha!"

Yi Yun had completely destroyed the twelfth energy node in the Nine Palatial Array.

As a result, although the Nine Palatial Array was still in its original state, its strength was greatly reduced without the Demon Defying Bead's support.

And at that moment, Song Wuchen, who was sitting in a palatial hall in the towering tree, felt that something was amiss.

"The Demon Defying Bead… "

Song Wuchen looked at the Demon Defying Bead and he felt troubled.

Song Wuchen had previously claimed that the Demon Defying Bead was a treasure bestowed unto him by the Felicitous Rain Lord. It gave others the impression that the Demon Defying Bead had been given to him. But in fact, Song Wuchen was just an in-name disciple, so how could a treasure at the Divine Lord level be really given to him? It was just lent to him.

The Demon Defying Bead had mental imprints in it that belonged to the Felicitous Rain Lord. In order to control the Demon Defying Bead, Song Wuchen had recently infused his own mental imprints into the Demon Defying Bead. It was not very stable, and his control of the Demon Defying Bead was extremely weak.

With Yi Yun severing the energy nodes between the Nine Palatial Array and the Demon Defying Bead, his mental imprints had suddenly collapsed. This left him momentarily baffled. He obviously refused to believe that an examinee would deliberately destroy his mental imprint. He believed that it was a result of him being able to barely control the Demon Defying Bead.

"Young Master Wuchen, what's the matter?" The Oracle Fey Kingdom's king asked as he noticed that something was amiss with Song Wuchen's expression.

"Nothing much," Song Wuchen said as he waved his hands. "Just a tiny mental imprint in the Demon Defying Bead was weakened. In a while, I'll place a few more mental imprints, so I can have more control over the assessment."

How was it possible for Song Wuchen to tell others that his mental imprints had collapsed? He had done it at such a large scale, so if there were suddenly any problems, wouldn't he be embarrassing himself?

"I see. Young Master Wuchen has been controlling a treasure at the Divine Lord level, so it's only normal for the mental imprint to weaken after a period of time." The Oracle Fey Kingdom king said with a smile. He knew how to read the cues from the countenance of others.

Placing additional mental imprints in the Demon Defying Bead was not an easy task. Song Wuchen began to producing dozens of seals, but only a tiny number of his mental imprints managed to seep into the bead.

And at that moment, the difficulty of the Nine Palatial Array had turned nearly trivial. With about nine thousand people attempting to crack an array formation that was created by a Dao Manifestation realm warrior, there was already not enough strength for the array formation to hold itself together!

Instantly, all the participants in the assessment felt energized. They gathered all their energy and began forging ahead. Many people even began running.

One palatial hall after another was left behind them.

"So it's a psychological battle. The beginning is very difficult, but once it's cleared, the later stages become trivial."

A participant was very pleased with his performance.

"I made my first public appearance after intense training, but Master said that I'm too weak and that Chi Zhuiyun is many times stronger than me. He thought that I would suffer a setback if I were to be eliminated in the beginning. Ha! I already said that it was impossible for me to be eliminated in the beginning. I really should let Master have a look at this. I’m already at the eighth hall. I'm indeed a genius. The trial is very easy!" A young man confidently muttered to himself.

In the vast world, there were all sorts of people. Although Chi Zhuiyun was publicly considered to be the number one genius of the Oracle Fey Kingdom, it did not mean that every young warrior was convinced of his strength. There were always people who believed that they were the strongest and that they would be able to trample on Chi Zhuiyun once they made their public appearance. Now, with the ease of clearing the array increasing, they were convinced of their viewpoints.

Soon, quite a number of people had reached the ninth palatial hall.

They initially believed that as the last hall of the Nine Palatial Halls, there would be some difficulty to it, but they were surprised to find that the ninth hall was the easiest!

...

At that moment, the Oracle Fey Kingdom king was eating spirit fruits outside the Nine Palatial Array as he looked at Song Wuchen.

"Young Master Wuchen, there's no need to rush the mental imprints. The assessment has only gone on for eight hours." The Oracle Fey Kingdom king said deliberately when he noticed that Song Wuchen was struggling to condense mental imprints.

"It's fine." Song Wuchen frowned. After his mental imprint had collapsed, he did not know what was happening inside the Demon Defying Bead either. However, he believed that the Nine Palatial Array was interfaced with the Demon Defying Bead, so even if certain nodes were not stable, the twelve nodes combined would reduce any possibility of error. It was likely that the assessment would continue on as expected.

"In a while, when a new mental imprint is established, I'll definitely increase the difficulty greatly and make those fellows suffer." Song Wuchen secretly thought to himself as he wished to vent the anger in his heart.

He knew that Felicitous Rain Lord was most likely watching the in-name disciple recruitment with his perception. As the owner of the Demon Defying Bead, Felicitous Rain Lord definitely knew about the mental imprint collapsing in the Demon Defying Bead.

This would affect Felicitous Rain Lord's impression of him!

As an in-name disciple for so many years, he had always been yearning to be promoted to a personal disciple. If he failed to run the assessment properly, how could he be promoted to a personal disciple?

Song Wuchen took a deep breath and said, "Eight hours isn't too short either. It's better that I recreate imprints. The first assessment would last about three to five days. I cannot let the assessment period exceed my control."

"Hahaha, Young Master Wuchen is truly a serious person. By saying that, I'm truly worried, afraid that my Oracle Fey Kingdom's disciples will have terrible results!" The Oracle Fey Kingdom king joked. And at that moment, the hovering Demon Defying Bead suddenly emitted a faint beam of light.

"Oh? What happened?"

In Brocade Spring Court, many people saw this scene.

"Could it be that someone has cleared the array?"

"How can that be possible!? Didn't you hear what Young Master Wuchen said? It's extremely difficult to clear the Nine Palatial Array and it would take at least three days before the first participant would clear it!"

"It might be Yi Yun or Chi Zhuiyun since it might be possible for them to clear it ahead of time… " A disciple whispered.

And at that moment, Feng Zheng and Feng Qi were in the crowd as well. Upon hearing that person's statement, they sneered, "Chi Zhuiyun? Yi Yun? Hmph, with their strength, they are only relatively stronger in the alliance. Amongst Master's disciples, they are nothing at all! They are facing an increased difficulty in the Nine Palatial Array. It would be Senior Brother going easy on them if they can successfully clear it in five days. Clear it ahead of time? Stop dreaming!" noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Feng Zheng and Feng Qi detested Yi Yun and Chi Zhuiyun to begin with. Upon hearing someone tout the two of them, they could not help but pass off snide remarks.

When the people around them heard this, they were stunned. So it turned out that Yi Yun and Chi Zhuiyun were facing higher difficulties?

Before they could say anything, the flickering light from the Demon Defying Bead suddenly grew more intense.

"Oh? That is… " Feng Zheng and Feng Qi were puzzled as well. They did not notice that up in the hall in the towering tree, there was an extremely ugly expression on Song Wuchen's face.

Swish!

A beam of light burst down from the Demon Defying Bead as a figure appeared!

The person wore a long robe and he held a three-foot-long sword. His black hair was fluttering in the beam of light, making him look distinguished.

The first person to clear the Demon Defying Bead had appeared!

Feng Zheng and Feng Qi were immediately left dumbfounded. It had only been eight hours, so how could that be possible!?