Chapter 1311: Zhang Xuan's Decision

"Glacial Spiritual Liquid?"

Zhang Xuan hadn't expected the other party to offer a gift after apologizing. He paused, then looked at the jade bottle.

The bottle was small, yet it exuded an icy chill, as if it could freeze a person solid at any moment. Simultaneously, it emanated a rich spiritual energy, far more potent than even top-grade primeval spirit stones.

Although he had never heard of this substance, a single glance told him it was incredibly valuable. With its spiritual energy, it was highly probable one could breakthrough to Half-Ethereal Realm, or even the Ethereal Realm!

"Yes," Chen Leyao quickly said, "I hope Master Zhang will accept it!"

Having cultivated the cultivation technique modified by Zhang Xuan, she felt a debt of gratitude akin to that owed to a semi-master. Moreover, he was also the Young Palace Master's teacher. Earlier, if she hadn't mistakenly thought he was trying to flirt and hadn't intended to attack, Zhang Qian wouldn't have been alerted, and all the subsequent trouble wouldn't have arisen. Therefore, she had to make amends properly, no matter what, to prevent any further discord.

"This..."

Zhang Xuan blinked.

Zhao Xingmo had just spoken so gravely about apologies and compensation... how did this woman from the Icefield Palace seem so agreeable now?

"If Master Zhang doesn't accept it, we might not be able to rest easy..."

Seeing his hesitation, Chen Leyao, thinking he was still angry, quickly added.

"Well... alright, it would be rude to refuse, so I won't be polite then!"

The other party's persistence was such that if he didn't take it, she might just cling to him and not leave. Zhang Xuan felt a bit helpless, so he reached out, took the bottle, and placed it in his storage ring.

"Thank you, Master Zhang, for your understanding!"

Chen Leyao's eyes lit up, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Accepting the gift meant he was no longer angry and that the conflict was resolved.

"You're welcome..." Zhang Xuan cupped his fist, feeling a bit puzzled. "I was also rude just now, so why are you... apologizing to me instead?"

He couldn't understand it. Just moments ago, they were furious and wanted to attack, and now, so soon, they were offering gifts... The change was simply too abrupt!

"This..."

Chen Leyao and the other women exchanged glances, their faces etched with wry smiles.

"It's because..."

Just as she was about to explain, the surrounding cacophony instantly quieted down. Then, several figures flew straight from a distance, hovering in the air and emanating terrifying auras.

They were three elders. Their exact strength was indiscernible, but they exuded a powerful deterrent aura, as if their gaze alone could tear a person apart.

"Even more formidable than Luo Chengxin..."

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows rose, and he clenched his fists beneath his sleeves. The presence of these three in the air was even more terrifying than Luo Chengxin, whom he had encountered before! Luo Chengxin was a powerful expert at Saint 7-dan... Could it be that these three had already reached 8-dan? If so, such strength would undoubtedly rank them among the absolute pinnacle across the entire continent!

"These are the three elders from the Saint Son Hall, responsible for this assessment..."

Zhao Xingmo's voice transmission came through.

"Elders?"

Zhang Xuan gasped. As expected of the Saint Son Hall; even their elders possessed terrifying strength!

"Silence!"

The elder at the front scanned the surroundings, and his voice boomed. "This Saint Son Hall assessment will be overseen by the three of us! I am Liu Haoyu, an 8-star master teacher. You may call me Elder Haoyu! To my left is Elder Hanzhu, and to my right is Elder Lin Qing!"

His voice wasn't loud, yet it resonated in everyone's ears. It seemed even if one covered their ears or shut off their hearing, the voice would still echo in their minds, impossible to ignore.

"It's demonic music... and it has reached an extremely high level!"

Zhang Xuan's expression turned solemn. As a demonic music master, he could instantly discern the unique quality of the elder's words, which had clearly reached the profound state of "the greatest form is formless, the greatest sound is silent." If mere speech possessed such power, then if the elder were to employ the full force of his primordial spirit, likely none on the plaza would escape, and all would be easily swayed.

As expected of an 8-star master teacher at Saint 8-dan; he could unleash unimaginable power with such casual ease.

"Regarding the entrance assessment, I presume your respective welcoming envoys have already informed you about the 'Mountain Gate Challenge'..."

Nodding, Elder Haoyu spread his five fingers and made a grasping motion forward. With a *whoosh*, a colossal gateway materialized before everyone. Light shimmered within it, making it impossible to discern what lay beyond.

"This... could it be the rumored teleportation formation capable of transporting living beings?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned. Legend had it that formations reaching Grade 8 or higher could not only transport images and text, but even living beings with ease. This gateway before him, with its strong spatial fluctuations, seemed to lead to another world upon entry, suggesting it was precisely this type of special formation.

"It is a teleportation formation!"

Nodding, Zhao Xingmo's voice transmission came: "The Mountain Gate Challenge assessment doesn't take place within the academy itself. Instead, it's held in a specific folded space, which can only be accessed via this teleportation formation!"

"Folded space?"

Zhang Xuan nodded. From the description, the Mountain Gate Challenge sounded far more difficult than the Cage Battle. He had previously wondered where such an assessment could be held for tens of thousands of people simultaneously, with varying difficulties... so this was the answer! He himself possessed a folded space and had even refined the Qiuwu Palace left behind by Ancient Sage Qiuwu, so he was quite familiar with them.

"The difficulty of the Mountain Gate Challenge assessment will be adjusted according to each individual's abilities. Everyone will experience something different, so there's no way to learn from others' experiences. All that's required is to exert your full strength and display your greatest capabilities."

Looking down at the crowd, Elder Haoyu continued, "As for the results, rest assured, the Saint Son Hall has an assessment jade tablet that will fairly score you based on your strength and performance during the assessment. The higher your score, the greater your chance of passing!"

"This time, we are recruiting 500 people. If all goes as planned, those ranked within the top 500 will pass. Those ranked lower will have little chance."

"Only 500 recruits?"

"There must be tens of thousands here, right? 500 people... that's one in twenty?"

"The difficulty is immense!"

Faces flushed, everyone clenched their fists. Zhang Xuan's eyebrows also rose. Those selected to come here were essentially the most brilliant among geniuses, the most skilled among experts. A one-in-twenty selection rate... the difficulty was truly horrifying. No wonder Zhao Xingmo had said it was highly possible none of them would be chosen; with such a high ratio, success was indeed extremely difficult. Even Zhang Xuan himself wasn't absolutely confident. However, this also illustrated how formidable the Saint Son Hall was. These were already geniuses, yet they still had to undergo such a brutal selection process. How strong must those who remained be?

"Master Zhao, what is this assessment jade tablet?"

A puzzled master teacher looked over and asked.

"In the Mountain Gate Challenge assessment, everyone will face different trials. For example, if you are currently at late Primordial Spirit Realm and you defeat a Saint Beast at peak Primordial Spirit Realm, your score will naturally be higher than if you defeated a Saint Beast of your own level. These achievements will be converted into numerical scores and tallied on the assessment jade tablet! The higher the accumulated number, the better your overall performance!"

Zhao Xingmo explained.

"Oh..."

Everyone suddenly understood.

"Then... besides defeating Saint Beasts during the assessment, what else can count towards one's score?" another master teacher asked. Since achievements could be converted into numerical scores, there must naturally be strict criteria. While defeating a Saint Beast of a higher level would yield more points, it couldn't be that Saint Beasts were everywhere! There must certainly be other assessment tasks to earn points.

"During the assessment, defeating Saint Beasts, breaking through formations, anticipating danger, giving lectures and explanations – as long as you perform well, you can earn points... Even special professions, by demonstrating unique effects, can earn points... For instance, Spirit Awakening, Grandeur, Calligraphy and Painting... As long as you surpass others, you can become a standout and be admitted by the Saint Son Hall!"

Zhao Xingmo explained, "In other words, if you possess any extraordinary ability and demonstrate it, it will be recorded and tallied, ultimately converted into points to help you stand out!"

Everyone clenched their fists. What the elder said sounded simple and fair, but in reality, it was the most challenging. When competing against one or two people, you might have unique strengths others lack, but against tens of thousands, your distinctive features would become less apparent. If you excelled in calligraphy and painting, there would always be someone even better; if you were strong in Spirit Awakening, there would be someone even more terrifying. As the saying goes, "There's always a higher mountain, and a more capable person." The difficulty of overwhelming everyone and becoming the absolute top existence was immense.

"The Saint Son Hall's goal is to develop human wisdom and allow humanity to advance further. The requirements are extremely strict. If you possess leadership or management abilities, you can also earn bonus points!"

Seeing the increasing pressure on everyone, Zhao Xingmo smiled. "Everyone, don't be nervous. As I said before, as long as you perfectly showcase yourselves and utilize your full potential, you will shine and gain the attention of the Saint Son Hall!"

"Yes!"

Everyone nodded, pondering what their own unique strengths were. Zhang Xuan also stroked his chin in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he couldn't help but shake his head... It seemed he didn't have any particular standout abilities!

Lecturing, breaking formations, Grandeur, calligraphy and painting... none were weak, but none were definitively the strongest either! For instance, his calligraphy and painting, though reaching the level of a 7-star Calligraphy and Painting Master, faced competition from geniuses from the Calligraphy and Painting Guild who were surely far superior to him. Alchemy, artifact forging... it was the same for all of them. Among master teachers, his auxiliary professions were considered impressive, but compared to true specialists in those fields, he still fell significantly short.

"If I were to say what I'm best at... it would probably be feigning!"

He narrowed his eyes and nodded secretly. His auxiliary professions were generally on a similar level, with none particularly outstanding. If there was one thing he was truly good at, it was... "impersonating a master!" His disguise as "Yang Xuan" had fooled even Luo Chengxin; he had never failed in so many attempts... demonstrating his skill.

"But... impersonating a master probably won't earn me points, right?"

A mournful expression crossed his face. This was the Saint Son Hall assessment; going there to pretend to be a master... or to act arrogant, surely wouldn't earn points! It seemed his strongest ability couldn't be utilized.

"Never mind. If worst comes to worst, I'll just casually demonstrate a few unremarkable abilities. At most, I'll show off several of them; that should still earn me a decent score!"

He nodded to himself, a plan forming in Zhang Xuan's mind. He was determined to enter the Saint Son Hall. Since it involved Luo Ruoxi, he would not retreat. At most, he would display several of his less outstanding abilities. As long as he showed enough of them, he should still be able to accumulate enough points to successfully pass the assessment!