Chapter 4

"My axe!" Meng Jingzhou shouted in the illusion, wanting to go down and retrieve his axe.

The river spirit lifted three axes and appeared on the river surface.

"Young boy, you..."

Splash—

Before the river spirit could finish speaking, Meng Jingzhou dived into the river with a splash, the bubbles he exhaled were even bigger than him.

What's going on?

The river spirit was stunned; he had never encountered such a situation before.

The bubbles gradually decreased and eventually disappeared, leaving the river surface eerily calm, with only the ripples caused by the river spirit's aura.

"Why is there no movement? Did he drown?" the river spirit muttered. He wasn't too worried about Meng Jingzhou drowning, as this was an illusion, and no one could drown here.

Before the river spirit could figure out what Meng Jingzhou was trying to do, something strange happened again!

The ripples on the river surface became more frequent, and the river spirit frowned slightly. He had excellent control over his power, so it couldn't be caused by his aura.

He realized, "It's that boy who jumped into the river!"

In the stream, a thread of golden aura could be seen, and the mist on the river surface exuded a faint divine aura, as if something terrifying was brewing at the bottom of the river!

The unknown terror made one's heart race!

Three fountains sprang up from the river surface, spraying higher and higher, splashing a light golden mist that enveloped the entire river, making it hard for the river spirit to see what was happening.

A breeze blew from somewhere, dispersing the light golden mist.

Three figures appeared, all looking like Meng Jingzhou, but their auras were incomparably different from before.

The river spirit trembled, a reaction that came from the depths of his soul!

An ordinary Meng Jingzhou, a great cultivator Meng Jingzhou, and... a celestial Meng Jingzhou!

This was the fundamental rule of the illusion: when an ordinary object fell into the river, it would transform into three forms: ordinary, spirit, and celestial.

"Take it." The three Meng Jingzhous spoke in unison, each taking their own axe.

With the celestial Meng Jingzhou present, the river spirit had no chance to resist and could only let them take the axes.

The celestial Meng Jingzhou took the celestial axe, the great cultivator Meng Jingzhou took the spirit axe, and the ordinary Meng Jingzhou, taking advantage of the river spirit's confusion, took the old axe.

With the three axes in hand, the illusion shattered, and Meng Jingzhou passed the level.

Those who pass the second level will temporarily fall into a coma, a self-protection mechanism of the human body.

...

The people of Wenda Sect looked at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, who had passed the second level, speechless.

What about the honest people?

Yun Zhi was silent. She had a premonition that bringing these two into Wenda Sect would bring endless trouble.

She hoped her premonition was wrong.

The real river spirit appeared, holding two axes, one gold and one silver, and rushed towards Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou with a fierce aura.

As the guardian spirit of Wenda Sect, he had never suffered such a great humiliation.

"None of you stop me! I will teach these two brats a lesson today, break their limbs, and then reattach them!"

The disciples of Wenda Sect quickly stopped the enraged river spirit.

"Senior River Spirit, you can't cut them!"

"Senior River Spirit, calm down."

"If something happens to the participants, our Wenda Sect's reputation will be ruined!"

In the end, Dai Bufan stepped in to stop the enraged river spirit.

"Senior River Spirit, don't worry. The third test is designed by me, Dai Bufan, and it will certainly teach them a lesson."

Seeing Dai Bufan's confident assurance, the river spirit finally calmed down.

The third test, as the final challenge, had two options: one proposed by Yun Zhi, which was relatively gentle, and one proposed by Dai Bufan, which was somewhat cruel. Both could test the resolve, and after a vote, everyone decided to choose Yun Zhi's option.

Yun Zhi's option was too gentle, and even if one failed, there was no punishment. To calm the river spirit's anger, they had to choose Dai Bufan's option.

Yun Zhi had no objections to this.

It was good to let these two suffer a bit.

The second level eliminated a large number of people. Faced with the temptation of the three axes, many followed their inner desires and lied to the river spirit, claiming they had dropped the celestial axe and the spirit axe.

Those who were eliminated from the illusion complained that the second level of Wenda Sect was too difficult.

However, not everyone complained about the second level being too difficult, such as those who passed it.

...

"The second level was quite simple," Man Gu said, "Just tell the truth."

The others waiting for the third level nodded in agreement.

"What? It wasn't supposed to make us jump into the river and snatch the axe from the river spirit?" Meng Jingzhou shouted, wondering why his approach was different from others.

Lu Yang rolled his eyes at Meng Jingzhou, thinking he was truly foolish: "If the river spirit were real, wouldn't you have provoked him?"

"You should have done what I did, take the river spirit's axes and throw them into the river, so all three axes would count as ours."

Meng Jingzhou suddenly understood: "You are smart."

The others silently watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou summarize their experience, beginning to doubt whether their method of passing was correct.

Man Gu nodded lightly. He remembered his father saying that the ancient barbarians nearly went extinct because of their arrogance and lack of learning. As descendants, they must overcome this flaw and humbly learn from others.

Man Gu felt he had found a role model.

Just as everyone was discussing the correct way to pass, Yun Zhi and Dai Bufan, along with other Wenda Sect disciples, appeared.

Dai Bufan had a smile on his face. He flipped his palm, and a palm-sized mountain appeared. The mountain grew rapidly, reaching a height of a hundred feet in just a few breaths.

The crowd whispered in amazement; such a feat was rare even among cultivators.

The mountain was lush and verdant, indistinguishable from a real mountain. On one side of the mountain, there was a long staircase leading to the top.

"This is called the Heart-Testing Mountain, a unique object I asked the elders to refine. On the Heart-Testing Mountain, all are equal, whether they are ordinary people or cultivators. Your task is to climb the Heart-Testing Mountain. The higher you climb, the stronger your resolve."

"To pass, you need to climb to the fiftieth step."

Someone raised a question: "But this way, doesn't Man Gu have an advantage?"

At fifteen, Man Gu had the physique of a twenty-five-year-old, towering over others. Climbing the mountain would indeed give him an advantage, as he could take larger steps, covering two steps in one.

Dai Bufan smiled, "Don't worry about that. The Heart-Testing Mountain will level the physical abilities of everyone. Whether you are an ordinary person or a cultivator, you will become an ordinary person on this mountain."

"Is there a time limit?" someone else asked.

"No."

The crowd rejoiced. Without a time limit, they could keep trying. How could they fail to pass the third level?

Was the third level just a formality?

"Can we use magical treasures?" They had special magical treasures granted by their clans that could be used without consuming spiritual energy, making them powerful tools.

Dai Bufan smiled with a hint of malice, "Yes."

If the magical treasures still worked.