Chapter 115: Evil Nature

This cliff face was so slippery, it was almost impossible to get a foothold. Running up it was practically out of the question! Not all scholars had cultivated flight techniques, making it extremely difficult to jump up. Furthermore, most of them were still in the Spirit Embryo or Five Elements realms, and without reaching a higher realm, they couldn't learn divine arts.

This cliff face alone would likely eliminate half of the scholars. However, a number of scholars who had trained in flight techniques began to fly up the cliff, passing this stage with ease, though they were a minority. Many others attempted to sprint up the cliff, but without exception, they ended up sprawled against the cliff face, bruised and bleeding.

Scholars who hadn't learned flight techniques frowned deeply. Some leaped, attempting to jump onto the cliff, but it was thirty to forty zhang high. Who possessed the physical strength to leap that far? Most only managed to jump halfway before falling. Those who fell were immediately disqualified by the middle-aged Taoist priest at the base of the cliff and expelled from the academy.

“Climbing this cliff is simple, isn’t it?”

Wei Yong stepped forward, chuckling, “You’re all thinking about running, jumping, or flying up. Why didn’t anyone consider pulling themselves up?” Despite his plump face and large ears, he was exceptionally agile. He used strands of vital qi to tether his sword, controlling it with qi to send it flying to the cliff top first. Wei Yong manipulated ten vital qi strands simultaneously, using them to anchor himself to the cliff top. He then slowly tightened the strands, gradually hoisting himself up to the summit. Once there, his plump hands gripped the cliff face, and he flipped himself onto the top, waving down, “Brother Qin, why don’t you hoist yourself up too?”

“No need,”

Qin Mu squatted low, almost touching the ground. Then, with a burst of leg strength and vital qi, he shot upward, soaring forty zhang high, and landed with a thud beside Wei Yong.

Wei Yong startled, looked down, and exclaimed in surprise, “Brother, you practice martial arts? Oh, right, you use a saber. Your martial skill is truly impressive!”

At the base of the cliff, hundreds of scholars stared in astonishment.

The middle-aged Taoist priest nodded, made a mark next to Qin Mu’s name, writing “Martial,” and after Wei Yong’s name, he wrote “Intelligent.”

Wei Yong’s method was quite ingenious. Inspired by him, the scholars below found various ways to attach vital qi strands to the cliff, either by controlling their swords or using other techniques, allowing them to climb up.

As more people gathered at the cliff top, Qin Mu and Wei Yong walked onward. Though this was Jade Peak, it still featured mountain springs, cascading waterfalls, and lush vegetation, making it very serene. There were even birds and beasts, but the creatures here seemed extraordinary, unusually large, and often covered in scales and feathers. They had likely absorbed the dragon qi from the nine dragon veins, causing their unusual mutations.

“Scholars, halt!”

They arrived at the Grand Academy’s first main hall. This hall was extremely spacious, a hundred zhang wide, and the platform in front of it was equally vast, capable of accommodating thousands of people. Qin Mu looked around and noticed that the divine arts practitioners who had ascended earlier were not present. Their assessment content must be different from theirs.

In front of the hall stood ninety-nine Taoist priests, each with a divine figure floating behind them. These were gods formed from their vital qi, appearing as massive, imposing upper bodies suspended in the air, without lower halves.

“Impressive!”

Qin Mu’s heart pounded. The abilities of these ninety-nine Taoist priests were extraordinary. Their vital qi transformations suggested they were close to the Celestial realm. Each priest’s strength was probably no less than that of a hall master from the Heavenly Devil Cult! The Grand Academy truly lived up to its reputation as the supreme institution and foremost sacred ground in the world!

However, these ninety-nine Taoist priests had not yet reached the level of Fu Yundi, the Lord of Inlaid Dragon City, whose eight-armed, eight-headed celestial deity phantom manifested completely, appearing almost corporeal and incredibly terrifying. Clearly, these priests were one or two tiers below Fu Yundi.

“But why are the divine figures formed from the vital qi of all ninety-nine Taoist priests exactly alike?”

Qin Mu frowned. If their opponents figured out their weaknesses, wouldn't they be easily defeated?

‘Granny could kill ten of these Taoist priests with one hand!’ the young man thought to himself.

While the Imperial Preceptor’s promotion of primary and grand academies had its benefits, a downside was the uniformity of the martial arts and divine arts taught. Qin Mu began to feel that sects also had their advantages, as each sect had different specialties and diverse skills. Of course, primary and grand academies still served a vital purpose by ensuring more scholars’ talents weren’t buried. After all, sects in the past only accepted a limited number of disciples, whereas now, with academies everywhere, talent was flourishing.

The ninety-nine Taoist priests stood still. Suddenly, the divine figures formed from their vital qi drifted out from behind them, settling onto the circular platforms in front of the hall.

The lead Taoist priest said in a deep voice, “Scholars from all regions, form groups of ten and step forward. Use your strongest moves to attack the divine phantoms in front of you! Any method is permitted, whether divine, demonic, or Buddhist—feel free to employ them, there are no restrictions! The divine phantoms will also attack you. Only one out of ten will pass. The last person remaining on the platform will be considered to have passed.”

A commotion erupted among the scholars in front of the hall. Enduring the divine phantoms’ attacks, with only one out of ten passing—this stage was even more brutal than the last. The cliff-climbing stage had already eliminated half the scholars, and this one was set to eliminate ninety percent!

After a moment of panic, everyone began forming teams and stepping onto the platforms. Wei Yong quickly moved away from Qin Mu and ascended a different platform.

Qin Mu stood on his platform. Soon, his circular platform had ten people, and each of the other ninety-eight platforms also had ten scholars.

“Begin!” a Taoist priest commanded.

As soon as he finished speaking, the ninety-nine divine phantoms on each circular platform moved in unison, attacking the scholars. Everyone immediately began to defend themselves!

At that moment, Qin Mu’s movements were like a ghost’s. He dodged the divine phantom’s attacks, moving swiftly across the platform, using long and short range strikes. With nine consecutive thudding sounds, nine figures flew off the platform and fell. The scholars on his platform had not been knocked off by the divine phantom, but by him instead!

On the circular platform, the divine phantom that had been attacking Qin Mu suddenly froze, becoming motionless.

“You have passed,” the lead Taoist priest said in a deep voice, as the ninety-nine Taoist priests in front of the hall revealed expressions of surprise.

Qin Mu bowed to him and stepped down from the platform. The Taoist priest’s expression subtly darkened. He whispered to a nearby colleague, “I observe that this young man is not entirely righteous; he possesses a certain deviousness. Everyone else on the platform cooperated to resist the divine phantom’s attacks, but he alone targeted the other participants.”

As he spoke, exclamations of surprise erupted from other circular platforms. Other scholars had followed suit, ruthlessly attacking their fellow participants while under assault from the divine phantoms. In a short time, hundreds were forced off their platforms.

Not long after, this assessment stage concluded. Only about a hundred people remained, all of whom were scholars in the Five Elements realm; no Spirit Embryo realm scholars had managed to pass. Qin Mu looked around and saw that Wei Yong had also successfully passed. This plump-faced, large-eared young man indeed possessed profound cultivation, worthy of being a scholar from the Wei family of Jiangling.

The many Taoist priests were dumbfounded, having never imagined that a perfectly normal assessment would devolve into such a state.

After a moment, a Taoist priest announced loudly, “Scholars who passed, enter the hall. Other scholars, descend the mountain.”

Qin Mu and the other scholars walked toward the main hall, feeling as though eyes were watching him from behind. He looked back and saw that the gaze of all ninety-nine Taoist priests was fixed upon him. Qin Mu adjusted his clothes, found nothing amiss, offered the Taoist priests a brilliant smile, and then entered the hall.

“Devilish, truly devilish!” the ninety-nine Taoist priests exclaimed in unison from behind him.

The lead Taoist priest wrote a comment next to Qin Mu’s name in the roster, then tossed the roster into the air. A celestial crane flew by, snatched the roster, and flew over the hall, heading deeper into the mountains.

“Such a devious young man would be best eliminated along the way, lest he cause trouble for our Grand Academy and tarnish its reputation! I hope the later examiners can weed him out!”

Qin Mu and the other scholars entered the hall, still not seeing the group of Six Harmonies realm scholars who had ascended earlier. These scholars were divine arts practitioners, so their assessment content was likely different.

Qin Mu looked around and saw various strange and wonderful murals on the hall’s pillars. He wondered, “What are we being tested on in this stage?”

Wei Yong chuckled, “The Grand Academy’s tests vary every year; no one knows what will be assessed. If the test questions were known, it wouldn’t be so difficult to enter the Grand Academy.”

Qin Mu nodded, then his heart slightly trembled. The murals on these pillars were actually vital qi circulation diagrams for various cultivation techniques! Each diagram depicted the circulation route for a different cultivation technique! He looked at each one, feeling quite shocked. The Grand Academy had carved these vital qi circulation diagrams here—weren’t they being too trusting? Weren’t they afraid of someone secretly learning them?

“The vital qi circulation diagrams in this hall are all incomplete,” A scholar next to him said, “Every single cultivation technique is incomplete. I heard that the Imperial College’s Grand Libation collected incomplete techniques from all over the world and carved these partial diagrams here.”

Qin Mu suddenly noticed one diagram, and his heart gave a violent leap. This diagram was a vital qi circulation map for the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique! He then frowned. This diagram appeared to be the circulation map for the Six Harmonies realm of the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, not the Five Elements realm map that he most needed.

‘Did the Grandmaster discover a vital qi circulation map for the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique somewhere and have it carved here?’ he wondered. ‘If so, does the Grandmaster know about the other circulation maps? Regardless, I must become a Grand Scholar of the Grand Academy and meet the Grandmaster!’