Chapter 35

Last time, at the second floor of the Treasure Pavilion, Lu Xuan unreservedly taught Xia Chenxi the techniques of ancient enchantment. Now, she was returning the favor.

When she took out the storage ring, she saw a hint of envy in Lu Xuan's eyes. Now that there was an opportunity, she naturally wanted to help him. However, whether he would succeed or not depended on Lu Xuan himself.

Just to win this bet, Uncle Jiu had to put up his personal weapon as the stake, which made Xia Chenxi feel somewhat guilty. However, with the power of the City Lord's Mansion and the Lin family, it would only be a matter of time before they could find Uncle Jiu a good weapon again. Besides, Lu Xuan might not lose!

"How can this be? How can I let Uncle Jiu take such a risk to help me win something..."

Lu Xuan wanted to say more, but Xia Chenxi stopped him, smiling, "The bet has already been made, and the elders on the judging panel are all witnesses. If you don't want Uncle Jiu to lose his weapon, then you should strive to win first place."

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the Sword Testing Hall. Looking around, Xia Chenxi said, "I won't say more. I'll go back now. I believe in you, so don't let me and Uncle Jiu down."

Watching Xia Chenxi leave gracefully, Lu Xuan could only shake his head with a bitter smile. Now, Xia Chenxi had given him a significant pressure. Although his original goal was to be first, he now had a reason to have to be first—not for the bet, but to avoid owing a favor.

"Alright, all those who passed the first round are now here. Now, let's begin the second round of the assessment!" Elder Sun stood on a high stone platform, looking down at the many martial artists below.

Lu Xuan scanned the crowd, seeing a dense group of martial artists, roughly a thousand in number. The young martial artists from the entire Lincheng area numbered at least ten thousand, and the first round had eliminated ninety percent of them. The difficulty of entering the Wind Sword Sect was evident.

However, this was also due to the higher standards of this assessment. Most of the martial artists who passed the first round were at least at the third level of Body Tempering, with only a few at the second level, who had barely passed with their innate strength.

"The content of the second round is about mental fortitude! For a martial artist, strength is important, but mental fortitude is equally important. On the path of martial arts, one will inevitably encounter setbacks and temptations. If one's mental fortitude is not strong enough, they may stray from the path, lose their martial heart, and in severe cases, fall into the path of demons, with no hope of redemption!"

"I'm sure you've seen the stone platform where I stand. This was originally the testing ground of the Sword Testing Hall, but now I have set up an illusionary array on it. Once the array is activated, the assessment begins. Unless you pass the assessment or the array is stopped, you cannot break free by force. The standard for passing this round is to successfully complete all mental fortitude tests. Those who fail will be eliminated!"

When Elder Sun announced the passing standard, the martial artists below were immediately in an uproar.

"Are you kidding? How can we possibly pass all the mental fortitude tests?"

"Didn't we only need to pass fifty percent before?"

"Out of the thousand of us here, I doubt even half can pass all of them?"

...

"Finished, finished... Brother Xuan, I'm definitely done for." Yao Lei immediately started scratching his head, as mental fortitude was one of his major weaknesses. Now, he had to pass all the tests, and he had no confidence at all.

"Don't be afraid," Lu Xuan patted his shoulder, "As long as you stick to your martial heart, a mere mental fortitude test is no problem."

Yao Lei smiled bitterly, "It's easy for you to say. I don't have your martial heart. I might as well go back to Green Hill Town and find Little Hong."

Lu Xuan was speechless. After some thought, he smiled, "I'll teach you a method. The higher a martial artist's level, the stronger their physical constitution, and, cough, the longer their endurance. Moreover, it can extend one's lifespan. You'll have more time to enjoy life. Just think about this, and you'll be fine."

Hearing this, Yao Lei's eyes lit up. It was a good method, and Brother Xuan was indeed quick to come up with ideas.

At this moment, Elder Sun's voice rang out again, "Now, all participating martial artists, please ascend the stone platform. The assessment will begin in one incense stick's time. Those who do not ascend will be considered to have forfeited."

As he finished speaking, the martial artists began to ascend the platform. Although they grumbled about the assessment standards, no one was willing to give up easily. Participating in the assessment still gave them a chance, while giving up meant no hope at all. They could only hope to persevere.

Lu Xuan and Yao Lei also began to ascend the platform. On the way, Lu Xuan glanced at Xia Chenxi and Lin Xinyi, who were also looking at him. The former gave him an encouraging look, while the latter smiled sweetly.

Lu Xuan returned their smiles and then turned to prepare for the second round of the assessment. He was confident in his martial heart, so he was not afraid of the mental fortitude test.

The Sword Testing Platform was very spacious, and even with a thousand people, it did not feel crowded, but rather spacious.

Lu Xuan found a spot and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to meditate, waiting for the assessment to begin.

Yao Lei, standing close to Lu Xuan, also sat down and closed his eyes, though it was unclear what he was thinking.

Soon, all the martial artists were in position, and the Sword Testing Hall fell silent. In front of the judges' platform, an incense stick slowly burned. As it was about to burn out, Elder Sun nodded to an attendant by the platform, signaling him to start.

The attendant activated a switch, and the illusionary array covering the entire platform immediately activated!

While meditating, Lu Xuan suddenly felt a blur in his vision, and he found himself in a forest that seemed somewhat familiar.

After a moment's thought, Lu Xuan realized where he was—it was the wild forest where he had diligently practiced when he was being pursued by Long Yang.

Just as Lu Xuan figured this out, a wolf's howl reached his ears. He turned his head sharply and saw a huge ferocious wolf not far from him!