Chapter 59 of 100

Chapter 59

13 min read3,299 words

Fang Liuxian was referring to the names of Hong Cheng and his two companions. In most cases, the abilities of martial cultivators progress gradually, especially for Hong Cheng. If he could enter the top ten this year, how could he have failed to even reach the top thirty last year?

Qu Chun comforted him, "Our Mingxin Society transcends all nations. The internal affairs of the Zhu Heavenly Kingdom have nothing to do with us. We just need to ensure that enough martial cultivators enter the academy..."

Fang Liuxian sighed deeply and said no more.

Qu Chun added, "I know you are dissatisfied with the tarnishing of the name 'Jie Tian,' but such things will not happen again now that the Heaven Sacrifice has begun this year."

Fang Liuxian finally said, "Thanks to the one from the Zhong family! Hmph, to dare cause a bloodbath in the river right in front of 'that one,' leading to the mobilization of the Qianzhong Army! Once the Qianzhong Army moves, how can the Zhu Heavenly Kingdom still hide anything? They can only obediently accept the Heaven Sacrifice and let the Jie Tian power take over the exam!"

Qu Chun nodded in agreement. He looked up and saw that most of the names on the county list already had scores, and he breathed a sigh of relief, asking, "Teacher Fang, the Heaven Exam is about to end. Should we start the Earth Exam?"

Fang Liuxian sighed again and waved his hand, "Let's start!"

...

With a loud bang, all the candidates in the training ground were startled into silence. They saw that the two iron gates on the right side of the training ground were wide open, revealing another hall.

The venue for the Heaven Exam was very spacious, and the entire process was visible. The Earth Exam was different.

In the hall, two walls crossed horizontally and vertically, with wooden doors lined up on the walls. From the outside, it was clear that there was nothing behind the walls. Even if the doors were opened, one would only walk into empty space.

Ping Luan, resting his hand on Hong Cheng's shoulder, asked, "Big Brother, you have experience. Tell us, what is the Earth Exam about?"

The Heaven Exam was so clear, and although Hong Cheng looked honest and simple, his actual level was one grade higher than Ping Luan. Ping Luan's respect for him increased significantly, and he even started calling him "Big Brother."

Hong Cheng shook his head, "I've taken the Earth Exam twice, and the content was different each time. I can't really explain it."

He looked a bit uneasy and suddenly asked, "There's something I can't understand! Last year, during the Heaven Exam, I only showed one bright branch, and the second branch had no openings. How could it be different this year..."

Ping Luan asked curiously, "You don't even know your own level?"

Hong Cheng said, "Of course I know. But the Heaven Exam measures strength, not level. Even if you reach the level, if your strength is not enough, it won't show. So..."

He sounded a bit dejected, "I always thought my true ability was far below my actual level..."

Jiang Feng smiled, "With the Jie Tian Seal as proof, your score is completely genuine. Don't worry, Big Brother Hong, your strength is entirely in line with your level, and it's very powerful!"

He said earnestly, "With such strength and Mr. Hua's guidance, you have a very good chance of passing the county exam just by performing normally!"

A new light appeared on Hong Cheng's face, and he nodded heavily, "Yes!"

Without a doubt, with Hong Cheng's strength, the only reason he failed the county exam for two consecutive years was one possibility.

He became a casualty of the conflict between the noble families and the Fuliang Jun. To ensure their own people passed, his score was forcibly lowered, and he was brushed off.

This year, with the Jie Tian power, the Heaven Exam has returned to its former fairness, and Hong Cheng's true strength has been revealed.

There might be many people like him, and this county exam is a rare opportunity for them. Ultimately, it's because the noble families and the Zhu Yang Wang have been making a mess, and some people have started to express their dissatisfaction...

At this moment, Qu Chun walked out, clapping his hands.

The sound was like metal striking, echoing throughout the venue. His loud voice rang out, "The Earth Exam begins. Activate the Misaligned Gate!"

A beam of light projected from the county list, winding and twisting, crawling towards the middle wall of the Earth Exam hall.

The golden light climbed the wall, drawing countless symbols, extending forward. In no time, it covered the entire wall, both horizontally and vertically, like countless golden flowers blooming, beautiful and mysterious.

The most prominent were the doors on the wall, ten horizontal and ten vertical, a total of twenty doors, all outlined by the golden light, cycling continuously.

After two cycles, the golden light passed through the door frames, forming scenes in the air behind the doors.

Each scene was different, constantly changing, switching between various natural landscapes such as small bridges over flowing water, forests and mountains, endless deserts, and lava caves.

The scenes formed by the golden light lasted for two seconds before completely disappearing.

Qu Chun said, "This is the county-level treasure, the Misaligned Gate, specially prepared for this Earth Exam. The Misaligned Gate has twenty doors, each representing a question. Candidates enter and randomly select a question. The Misaligned Gate will tell you what to do. The Earth Exam lasts for two hours, and you will be automatically sent out when the time is up. Your scores will be displayed on the county list."

These two walls, which seemed unremarkable, were actually county-level treasures!

Treasure is a special type of martial cultivator equipment, usually made from bright beast materials, divided into five levels: "Xiu, County, Prefecture, Province, and Nation." The higher the level, the greater the power.

It is already very difficult for ordinary martial cultivators to obtain a Xiu-level treasure, and such county-level treasures can only be used by the core disciples of noble families and sects, or by government offices.

Hong Cheng exclaimed, "Last time, the Earth Exam was just a regular room for each person. This is a much bigger deal..."

Qu Chun looked at the amazed expressions of the crowd with satisfaction and said loudly, "The following names, come to me!"

Then, one by one, he called out twenty names, and they lined up in front of him.

Qu Chun took out an hourglass and placed it on a nearby high stand, saying, "When the hourglass is empty, the Earth Exam will be over."

"Now, enter the venue in order and stand in front of a door."

A moment later, a candidate stood in front of each door, gripping the door handle tightly.

At the command, the sand in the hourglass began to fall, and the candidates opened the doors and walked in, disappearing behind them.

Everyone outside was stunned. From their perspective, it was just a door, and there was nothing behind it. These candidates pulled the doors from the other side, walked in, and disappeared!

Where did they go?

Qu Chun looked up at the county list, and the other candidates followed his gaze.

Sure enough, in a few breaths, the rankings on the list began to change, and the scores of the twenty candidates started to increase, rising sharply!

Jiang Feng stared intently at the list, trying to find some clues from the changes in the scores.

This batch of candidates did not include any from the Yuan Mountain Martial Hall or the Ancient Vine Martial Hall. Both groups, like Jiang Feng, were staring at the list.

The scores were changing almost constantly, with each increase being only a few points, two or three. Some were faster, some were slower.

The fastest was a candidate named Ban Yan, who scored twenty-four points in the previous exam and was not highly ranked. But in the Earth Exam, he scored fifty points in ten minutes, surpassing Jiang Feng, who was originally at the top, and leaped to the first place!

Ping Luan muttered, "It seems the Earth Exam counts for a lot of points..."

Jiang Feng nodded, "Yes, much more than the Heaven Exam."

After two hours, the last grain of sand fell to the bottom of the hourglass.

The golden light flickered, and all the candidates appeared behind the Misaligned Gate. Their expressions varied, some surprised, some frowning, and some punching the air and cursing.

Ping Luan said, "It seems there's a time indicator inside."

Jiang Feng nodded, having noticed this as well.

At this moment, the top of the county list had changed. This person scored a total of 152 points in this exam, and with the previous score, his total was nearly 200.

This person was pleasantly surprised, and someone immediately came up to ask, "What was the exam just now? Can you tell us?"

Including this person, everyone fell silent, clearly unwilling to reveal the information. The others muttered a few times but did not force them.

Then, the second and third batches of candidates also completed the Earth Exam.

Now, the highest scorer had 189 points, and the total score was over 200!

Ping Luan said, "The score difference is quite large... and it doesn't seem to be closely related to the level..."

As he said, in these three batches of the Earth Exam, the highest score was 189 points, and the lowest was only 52 points. Moreover, the highest scorer had one chain and two openings, while the lowest had one chain and three openings. There were also many with high levels but low scores.

Hong Cheng was worried, and the joy of entering the top ten in the Heaven Exam was gone, "If the score in this exam is pulled down, the county exam is still dangerous..."

Jiang Feng's gaze swept over the candidates, and he patted Hong Cheng's shoulder, "Don't worry, I don't think anything will happen to you... nothing will happen to any of us!"

At this moment, Qu Chun clapped his hands again and said loudly, "Prepare the fourth batch of candidates!"

Another twenty names were called out, and they entered the venue one by one.

Jiang Feng stood by the Misaligned Gate and glanced at the person next to him.

Teng Zhi's hand was tightly gripping the door handle, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, this batch of twenty people included all five from the Yuan Mountain Martial Hall and all ten from the Ancient Vine Martial Hall!

Everyone's eyes became excited. This round was almost a showdown between the Yuan Mountain and Ancient Vine Martial Halls, a real spectacle!

Fang Liuxian, who had been standing silently on the side, raised his eyebrows and walked to the Misaligned Gate, drawing several symbols on it with his hand.

Qu Chun hurried over and asked, "Teacher Fang, what are you doing?"

Fang Liuxian waved his hand and smiled, "Nothing, just giving them a little motivation..."

Qu Chun looked at him suspiciously, but the time had already come. He flipped the hourglass and shouted, "The fourth exam begins. Open the Misaligned Gate!"

Jiang Feng felt his hand loosen, and the door creaked open a small crack.

He took a deep breath, pushed the door, and walked in, immediately finding himself in darkness!

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