Chapter 43: Formal Assessment.
Chapter 43
After a short rest, Bu Xingjin sat cross-legged with difficulty, took another sip of spiritual essence, and began to adjust his internal breath.
Before long, Bu Xingjin successfully adjusted his condition to the best state.
The countdown returned to zero, the monster appeared, and then the countdown began immediately. These three things happened almost at the same time. Bu Xingjin looked up at the countdown. There was about an hour and twenty minutes left from the time the monster appeared.
He then opened the system panel, took out the earth essence, transformed it into its original form, and wrapped it around the roots. Soon, the cultivation progress bar kept popping up +20, +20...
It takes 54,000 cultivation points to upgrade from level 36 to level 37. At the current rate of cultivation increase, it only takes about 40 minutes to upgrade.
Bu Xingjin quietly waited for time to pass. He had no more distractions. The surrounding platforms were deserted. The cultivators who had fought the monsters alongside him were now defeated one after another by this wave of attacks. Even while Bu Xingjin was still fighting fiercely, they had all been eliminated. The scene beyond seemed obscured by a hazy white veil, and Bu Xingjin could not see beyond that.
Bu Xingjin could only stare at the system panel, occasionally glancing at the countdown. As the remaining thirty-seven minutes slowly slipped away, Bu Xingjin, who had been concentrating on the system panel, noticed that the cultivation progress bar had reached full capacity.
He immediately clicked on upgrade.
36→37.
Although the upgrade reward does not come with higher-level magic weapons or physical skills, among the three available items, twenty drops of spiritual essence are undoubtedly the most outstanding.
Bu Xingjin, the tallest among the short ones, chose reward one: twenty drops of spiritual marrow.
Bu Xingjin raised his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the countdown. It showed only thirty-five minutes remaining. He knew this short time wasn't enough for him to level up again. So, Bu Xingjin returned to his human form, placed the earth essence and spiritual essence in his backpack, and slowly walked over to Qing Yan's side.
Qing Yan, who had been practicing with his eyes closed, opened his eyes before Bu Xingjin approached. He looked at Bu Xingjin, a hint of doubt on his cold face, as if asking: What happened?
"I wonder what kind of monsters will come next?"
Only after he'd said this did Bu Xingjin suddenly realize that his words had been somewhat redundant. In this immortal tomb, aside from the tomb owner responsible for the assessment, no one could possibly predict the specific species of the next wave of monsters. He actually asked Qing Yan about this; it was truly absurd.
"No, I want to tell Qingyan that you should leave three monsters for me later. I think my current ability can only handle three monsters."
Bu Xingjin quickly said what he wanted to say, trying to make Qing Yan forget the meaningless words he had just said.
"Okay." Qing Yan nodded in agreement.
Bu Xingjin breathed a sigh of relief and was very glad that he had dragged Qing Yan out with him.
Otherwise, he probably wouldn't believe what he looked like now. Perhaps he had already died the moment he escaped from the mine and encountered the middle-aged man in green robes.
Thoughts flooded his mind, and Bu Xingjin suddenly remembered the disappearance of the middle-aged man in the green robe. They had entered the Tomb of the Loose Immortals together, and he entered a fantasy world. However, when he emerged from the illusion, he only saw Qing Yan and the little turtle, while the man in the green robe had disappeared without a trace.
Could it be that the middle-aged man in green robe has also entered the illusion?
"Oh, I forgot to ask, where is the middle-aged man in green robe we brought in?"
"Dead." Qing Yan gave an answer that did not surprise Bu Xingjin at all. He thought of this possibility when he guessed that the middle-aged man in green robe might have entered the illusion with him.
Although my original intention of bringing him in was to seek revenge, I never expected that he would die as soon as he set foot here.
"Did he enter the illusion with me?" Bu Xingjin went to Qing Yan to confirm his guess. He probably entered the illusion with him. Because his cultivation was sealed, he had no ability to resist, so he died easily.
"Yes, the body has dissipated as the illusion collapsed."
Things in the world are unpredictable. It wasn't long after that the person who was as tall as a mountain in front of him was reduced to being a sedan chair bearer, and then died in an instant.
Bu Xingjin sighed twice and then put him out of his mind. It was impossible for him to mourn for his enemy. Not taking his life with his own hands was already considered extremely merciful.
After chatting, Bu Xingjin saw that there was still some time left, so he said something to Qing Yan and transformed into his original form again to increase his cultivation.
Twenty minutes later, with five minutes left before the next wave of monsters appeared, Bu Xingjin noticed his cultivation progress bar had already passed halfway and reluctantly put it away. He transformed into a humanoid, took out the Blood River Knife, and waited for the monsters to descend.
At the moment the countdown reached zero, Bu Xingjin tensed all his muscles, alertly preparing to face the possible appearance of the monster. However, fate often plays tricks on people that are beyond their expectations.
The monster didn’t come!
Did the assessment come to an end so abruptly? Bu Xingjin looked back in astonishment, only to see that the countdown above him had quietly disappeared, without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
Before Bu Xingjin could be shocked for a moment, a translucent giant suddenly appeared outside the platform.
He was a platform suspended in the endless void, its base unfathomable and its top inconceivable. Suddenly, a giant, like a planet, appeared out of nowhere, looming in the very center of space. From above, the giant and the surrounding platform resembled a planet and its surrounding ring, creating a breathtaking contrast.
Most of these platforms appeared empty, with only a few dozen platforms where monks were standing, staring in astonishment at the giants before them.
Without counting carefully, you can find that the number of people on the platform far exceeds the number of people entering from outside Shifang City. It is conceivable that there must be other ways to enter this immortal tomb from different places.
Indeed, the correct path to the Tomb of the Loose Immortals should be through the runes, tokens, formations, and other items left by the tomb owner in various locations in the eastern part of the Desolate Territory. When the time is right, these treasures, which have pre-set small teleportation formations, will lead the holder into the tomb to undergo the baptism of assessment.
This was a method the tomb owner came up with to select a successor, but who knew that his tomb would appear in the world before he even selected a successor.
According to the tomb owner's rules, anyone who enters the Immortal Tomb directly from outside Shifang City without going through the teleportation formation is considered a stowaway.
In reality, the number of test locations was limited, only enough to accommodate those who entered the tomb via the teleportation array. However, the tomb owner had set a rule that anyone who entered the tomb could participate in the test. Perhaps he hadn't anticipated that many people would enter directly through the tomb door.
There were only so many "test papers" in the exam room, and it was impossible for two people to take the same one. Who would then pass? The number of participants could only be less than the number of seats, not more. As a tomb spirit, Qibao Chixuanyin had to temporarily add another test, transforming into a monster to screen out some of the candidates.
After several rounds of fighting with monsters, the number of people basically meets the requirements, and it appears to let everyone take the real test.
The assessment is divided into three parts, the first of which is the most important part: understanding.
Anyone who reaches the platform is considered to have excellent qualifications, but it's their comprehension that determines how far they can go in their learning. Given the same technique, someone with high comprehension might instantly grasp its mysteries, even applying them to other situations and integrating them into a comprehensive understanding. Meanwhile, those with lower comprehension skills will need more time to explore, and may even never grasp its essence.
If one step is faster, all steps will be faster. What the monks are fighting for is the initiative.
"The assessment begins!"
"Each of you will receive a set of skills. I will lock you in a cage. Only by using this set of skills can you break the cage and escape."
"The fifty people who take the shortest time will enter the next round of assessment."
Bu Xingjin stared at the giant. From his angle, he could only see the giant's waist and could not see what it looked like. His cold tone did not arouse any emotional reaction from the people on the platform.
After he finished speaking, he gently waved his right hand, and the platform instantly transformed, separating Bu Xingjin from Qing Yan. Then, the platform spread upward like flowing liquid, quickly forming a cube, tightly trapping Bu Xingjin inside.
The cube was tightly closed, not letting in a single ray of light. Logically, it should be very dark. However, what was puzzling was that despite the lack of light source, the inside of the cube was still as bright as day, allowing Bu Xingjin to clearly identify the words engraved inside.
This is the technique that the giant was talking about.
Bu Xingjin searched for a long time before he found the name of this martial art and the first sentence of the practice formula under his feet.
This is a martial art called "Zhou Tian Quan". When mastered to perfection, a single punch can unleash a force of 100,000 jin, which is truly terrifying.
Inside the cube is not the full version of the Zhou Tian Fist, only fragments. After mastering it, one can exert a force of ten thousand pounds, directly shattering the cage. To prevent someone from being physically strong enough to exert a force of ten thousand pounds without practicing the Zhou Tian Fist, the cage also comes with a small rule that can only be shattered by the Zhou Tian Fist.
Those who master the laws are all gifted. Chunhua Sanxian, the master of the Sanxian Tomb, can comprehend the laws at the Sanxian realm, a true genius. Generally, only after ascending to the upper realm of immortality can one begin to engage in the cultivation of the laws.
Of all the people in the Tomb of the Loose Immortals, only Qing Yan was the first to realize this; not even the little turtle noticed. Only Qing Yan sensed the faint power of the law the moment he was imprisoned.
Bu Xingjin knew nothing about this, but the words engraved inside specifically stated that one could only practice the "Zhou Tian Fist" and then use the "Zhou Tian Fist" to break the cage. Bu Xingjin felt something was wrong when he saw this line of words.
He still had no idea how to learn how to practice martial arts. What he knew now was directly instilled into his mind by the system.
Bu Xingjin quickly glanced through the martial arts technique, and as expected, he was unable to understand the mystery of it at all.
He had an uneasy feeling. If he could never learn this technique, he would be trapped to death.
No!
Bu Xingjin used all his strength and punched the wall. Even with his current physical strength, he could still feel the intense pain, but the wall was as solid as a rock and did not budge at all.
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