Chapter 1882 - Clearing the Examination

style="font-weight: bold">Translator: StarveCleric  style="font-weight: bold">Editor: Millman97

Peng peng peng peng!

After knocking down and eliminating more than a dozen examinees at once, Fan Xiaoxing’s eyes reddened in excitement.

It had been less than two hours since he started learning from Xiaoxu, but he had already single-handedly eliminated at least three hundred examinees!

Such a rate of improvement was something that he would never have dared imagine possible! For the longest time, he had thought of cultivation to be an extremely slow process where one gradually accrued power, but such a conception had been completely shattered in his mind!

Yet, despite his massive improvement, he was still a long way from matching Fan Xiaofeng. The latter had eliminated at least seven hundred people thus far!

As for Xiaoxu, he had been walking along with them, but he did not make a move at all. However, as soon as the two of them made the slightest mistake, they would be treated to a combo of dagger-like glares from behind and frighteningly cold criticisms. It was due to this that they were able to improve so swiftly within such a short period of time.

“That’s more like it. Temper yourselves a little more and stabilize your cultivation. You should be able to achieve a breakthrough soon enough…”

After those two defeated the final wave of enemies, Zhang Xuan finally nodded with a slight hint of approval.

While those two were a little dimwitted, through his unyielding perseverance, he still managed to induce a significant rise in their abilities.

Even after this examination, the two of them would still benefit from the elevation in their state of mind and advancement in their fighting prowess. Of course, as for how far they would go in the future, that would not be any of his business.

“There are only a hundred people left on the mountain. I hereby announce that the examination has prematurely ended!”

Along with that resounding voice, the crowd felt a surge of energy wrapping around them, and the next moment, they were teleported to a square in front of the mountain.

Zhang Xuan looked around him and noticed that there was exactly one hundred people in the square. However, other than the three of them, everyone seemed to have been inflicted with some kind of energy and looked rather unkempt.

Even though most of those people looked ordinary, the fact that they could survive to the end among two thousand other competitors meant that they likely possessed extraordinary means. Of course, more importantly, they had also had the fortune of not encountering the three of them!

“First and foremost, I would like to extend my congratulations to all of you for officially being recruited into the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism as this year’s batch of students!” Zhong Qing announced grandly.

As he spoke, his eyes inconspicuously fell on Zhang Xuan and the others, and his cheeks twitched a little. He felt an urge to rush forward to pummel them, but he eventually held himself back.

The fact that his descendants had been eliminated by them only meant that they were still lacking. He would not abandon his honor just to make things difficult for them.

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Qing continued on, “After this, you will each exchange your jade token for a storage ring. Within the storage is the route and method to get to the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, an Introspective Convalescence realm cultivation technique, and cultivation resources. You have three days to enter the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism with your own abilities. Only if you succeed will you become full-fledged students of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism.

“I know that this test won’t be too difficult for you, but allow me to give you some words of advice in advance. The earlier you get to the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, the higher your chances of picking out a good teacher. Naturally, it goes without saying that it will pave the way for your future cultivation!”

Similar to other academies, mentorship in the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism was a mutual relationship. While the students were allowed to choose their teachers, the teachers were allowed to choose their students.

The number of students that each teacher could take on was limited, so those who entered earlier would have a better chance of catching the eye of the teachers they wanted. At the same time, the resources that they were entitled to would be different as well.

“Alright! Submit your jade tokens now!”

Shortly after those words were spoken, the jade token pinned on everyone’s chest rose into the air, and a hundred storage rings flew into everyone’s hands simultaneously.

Zhang Xuan placed his finger lightly on the ring, and the items that were inside swiftly appeared in his mind.

Just as he had been told, there was an Introspective Convalescence realm cultivation technique manual inside. Similar to how there was no common cultivation technique that all cultivators could practice for this realm, the cultivation technique manual that was in the storage ring only pointed out a general direction. Nevertheless, with such a manual in hand, pushing for a breakthrough would be much easier.

Other than the cultivation technique manual, there was a grade-9 Strength Shaping Pill.

It had the effects of refining one’s body and zhenqi once more, and the process simulated the effects of a breakthrough to the Introspective Convalescence realm. As such, it could boost one’s chances of achieving a breakthrough by around ten percent.

Last but not least, there was a jade token inside.

Zhang Xuan took out the jade token and touched it lightly, but he did not feel anything at all.

Seeing Zhang Xuan’s actions, Fan Xiaofeng quickly explained, “There’s a formation on the jade token. If we wish to see what is inside, we’ll have to first decipher the formation. This is one of the examinations of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism!”

“It’s also an examination? What about those who don’t specialize in formations?” Zhang Xuan asked.

There could be those who were not too familiar with formations among the crowd, and imposing such an examination on them seemed rather unfair.

“The formation on the jade token isn’t too complicated, so familiarity with formations won’t help too much. The difficulty lies mainly in how intricate it is. It requires one to have precise control of one’s zhenqi to decipher it carefully. While it’s an examination, it’s also a warning to us as well that we mustn’t just focus on building up our zhenqi, and that the precision of control is extremely important as well!” Fan Xiaofeng said.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan nodded slightly.

Fan Xiaofeng and Fan Xiaoxing’s cultivation had yet to advance ever since they entered the mountain, but their fighting prowess had increased significantly, allowing them to easily defeat opponents after opponents. The main reason for that was that they had learned how to control and maneuver their strength efficiently and effectively.

By not making the slightest useless movement and striking accurately at any openings, it was inevitable that their fighting prowess would advance so much.

Swiftly scanning through the jade token, Zhang Xuan saw numerous inscriptions carved densely on it. It seemed like he would have to control his zhenqi to an extremely fine degree in order to decipher the inscription.

While such a feat might pose a challenge to other examinees, it was a walk in the park for him. He lightly waved his hand over the jade token.

Hula!

The seal immediately opened, and the content within flowed into his mind.

It was the exact location of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism and the method to entering it.

Just as he had expected, the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism was not located in the vicinity but amid a desert roughly ten thousand li away. In order to reach the destination, he would have to follow a specific path marked out on the jade token.

“Alright, you may start deciphering the formation on the jade token now!”

Seeing that everyone had begun taking out the jade tokens in the storage ring, Zhong Qing shot a sweeping glance across the surroundings before saying, “In the history of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, the fastest record for deciphering the seal is six hours. In the past hundred years, the only one who has come close to this record is the descendant of Kong shi, Kong Shiyao, with a record of seven hours. After that would be the descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Yuan, Yan Xue, with a record of eight hours. For the rest of you, it would be a formidable feat as long as you are able to decipher the seal within a single day!”

While the formation on the jade token seemed simple, it was far more troublesome than it looked. Without a calm mind and sharp control of zhenqi, it would be nigh impossible to pull it off.

Even the top genius of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism had taken a total of seven hours to decipher it!

“Also, allow me to give you some words of advice! Hastiness and impatience will get you nowhere. If you can’t complete this task within three days, even if you have cleared the elimination examination, you won’t be recognized as an official student of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism!” Zhong Qing warned before waving his hand lightly.

Hula!

A mirror-like barrier appeared in front before everyone’s eyes.

“This is a unique Teleportation Formation. As long as you have deciphered the seal on the jade token, you will be drawn into it. Following which, you just have to follow the pathway recorded on the jade token to get into the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. Alright, you all should get to deciphering the seal now! I would like to see what the fastest record for your batch is…” Zhong Qing said.

But halfway through his words, he saw a ripple appearing on the mirror-like barrier.

A figure slowly rose into the air before diving right into the barrier.

“What? Has he… deciphered the formation already?”

For a long moment, the surroundings were overwhelmed by silence.