Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 103 - Mockery

In the second round, the 500 contenders were split into various groups. Chen Leyao began to document the specifics of this stage by pulling out a book. She pointed out the Testing Pillar and explained, “Do you notice the five light beams at the top? Each beam is divided into ten sections. Your task is to deliver a punch with all your might. If you manage to illuminate the fourth section in any of the beams, you advance to the next round!”

The Testing Pillar, an oval structure, featured five distinct light beams etched onto it. These beams, colored red, orange, yellow, green, and purple, symbolized five different attributes. There were additional beams on either side, but they were faded, indicating they hadn’t been activated in a while.

Some participants began rubbing their hands together in anticipation. Many were already acquainted with this evaluation process; some were even repeat participants. Others had participated the previous year but had been eliminated. The rules were straightforward: to qualify for the third round, they needed to light up four sections on the Testing Pillar.

“Wang Shiqi!” Chen Leyao began calling out names.

Participants whose names were announced approached the Testing Pillar and delivered their punch. Soon after, the lights on the pillar progressively illuminated, halting at the fourth grid.

“You pass. Next!”

There was a long queue as everyone took their turn. Liu Wuxie was at the back of the queue as he wasn’t in a hurry to take the test since being first had no meaning. Everyone had to take the test, and it would eventually be his turn, even if he were the last one.

“The second round of assessment is too tough. I didn’t make it past this round last year,” a man standing in front of Liu Wuxie lamented.

“That’s right. Wang Shiqi barely lit up the fourth grid with cultivation in the fourth-level Xiantian Realm, and I’m only in the third-level Xiantian Realm!” a youth on the right sighed.

There were over 500 participants, and it was natural for many to be in the lower levels of the Xiantian Realm. Half of the people were likely to get eliminated in this round.

“However, it’s not a given,” another man whispered, “The Testing Pillar measures our talent. There have been instances where individuals at the eighth-level Xiantian Realm were eliminated. They had only reached such high levels in the Xiantian Realm due to pill consumption, thereby depleting all their potential. The Imperial Academy wouldn’t naturally accept such individuals.”

Indeed, this round had nothing to do with the cultivation but innate talent, and even someone in the first-level Xiantian Realm could make it through. Throwing a punch on the Testing Pillar would test the participant’s true essence, talent, and attributes on their true essence.

“Li Mu, three grids, fail!”

“Zhu Cong, four grids, pass!”

“...”

As Chen Leyao announced the result, more than thirty people were eliminated, and only twenty-odd people made it to the next round in a short time. This was how strict the Imperial Academy’s assessment was. As the queue moved, those who passed stood on the right, while those who failed stood on the left. After this round’s assessment, those who failed would have to leave the Imperial Academy.

As for those who passed and advanced to the next round, they held their heads high. This was because if they could perform well in the next round, they could join the Imperial Academy and bring honor to their families.

“Lin Xuan, seven grids, pass!” A seemingly frail man stepped forth to the Testing Pillar, striking it, and lit up seven grids.

“How is that possible? He’s only at the second-level Xiantian Realm!” The crowd erupted into an uproar because most people in the fifth-level Xiantian Realm only managed to light up three grids. But someone in the second-level Xiantian Realm managed to light up seven, thus causing a sensation.

Only Liu Wuxie maintained his composure because he knew that this Testing Pillar primarily assessed the participants’ talents and not just their cultivation. If this was an assessment of their cultivation, the Imperial Academy might as well pick the top hundred with the highest cultivation. However, the Imperial Academy focused on an individual’s talent, not their cultivation.

“Do you think that kid can advance to the next round? If he can’t, the Heavenly Govern Academy and Xue Clan might not let him off.” Many people began to compare themselves to Liu Wuxie. After all, Liu Wuxie had made a name for himself by ranking first in the initial assessment round. Despite having won the support of the majority earlier, many still harbored resentment towards him.

Xue Pinzhi was seen mingling with the participants who had advanced to the next round, occasionally casting a derisive glance at Liu Wuxie. It was only natural for people to try and curry favor with someone as influential as Xue Pinzhi.

“The Testing Pillar tests talent, but there’s something weird about that kid.” The surrounding discussion continued as talent couldn’t be discerned with the eyes. Only experts could perceive an individual’s potential by touching their bones and muscles.

“I bet this youngster won’t make it to the next round!” Feng Bingquan wasn’t the only one who had tried to take Liu Wuxie’s tent the previous day, and the speaker was one of them.

“Brother Zhang Qing, what do you mean?” A young man nearby asked, curious about his reasoning.

“Perhaps you’re unaware, but he hails from Azure Billow City and is a son-in-law of the Xu Clan. He’s been considered a waste since his youth. I’m not sure what stroke of luck led to his sudden rise. Word from the Xu Clan is that he consumed some sort of pill.” Zhang Qing’s voice carried across the square, ensuring that everyone was privy to Liu Wuxie’s background.

This information had trickled down from the Xue Clan to Xue Pinzhi, and from Xue Pinzhi to Zhang Qing. Consequently, Liu Wuxie’s background as a son-in-law, an unflattering title, spread like wildfire.

“Hahaha, so he’s just a son-in-law? And here I was, thinking he was someone important yesterday.” Laughter rippled through the crowd, with the term ‘son-in-law’ being emphasized for all to hear. Ridicule soon followed, and those standing near Liu Wuxie hastily distanced themselves, as if fearing they might catch his supposed bad luck.

“Only the worthless would stoop to becoming a son-in-law. He’s quite handsome, so I bet that’s how he caught the Xu Clan’s eye!” Before long, Liu Wuxie was seen as a bad omen by everyone. Even those who had previously supported him switched sides.

“He’s the lowest of the low. It’s an embarrassment for us to even participate in the same assessment as such trash!” Those who had been eliminated chimed in, demanding that Liu Wuxie be expelled to open up a spot for them to compete.

Despite the surrounding ridicule, Liu Wuxie remained calm. He didn’t bother to defend himself against the mockery. The Xu Clan had never treated him as a mere son-in-law; his father-in-law regarded him as a son. Even so, a glint of cold light flashed in his eyes. His expression remained unchanged, and the mockery couldn’t even cause a ripple in his heart.

“Brat, how does it feel to become a son-in-law? Do you get ridiculed every day that you’re no longer bothered by it?” Seeing Liu Wuxie’s calm demeanor, the surrounding mockery escalated, with people assuming that he had grown accustomed to such treatment from a young age.

That was also the truth because he was the object of scorn for everyone in the Azure Billow City.

When Chen Leyao turned to look at Liu Wuxie, she was surprised. Liu Wuxie appeared to be in his late teens, and she found it hard to believe that he was married.

However, the truth was that Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue were married in name only and had not consummated their marriage. This was common knowledge in Azure Billow City, but not in the Imperial Capital.

Xue Pinzhi wore a sinister smile. Since he couldn’t kill Liu Wuxie, he would find ways to make him infamous, trying to force Liu Wuxie to leave the Imperial Academy.

The assessment proceeded, and Fan Yeping made no move to halt the mockery directed at Liu Wuxie. Still seething from being rebuffed by Liu Wuxie earlier, he naturally wanted the latter to leave. However, as a teacher, he had to suppress his anger and wait for Liu Wuxie to fail the test before expelling him, leaving him at the mercy of the Heavenly Govern Academy.

Gradually, those reaching five, six, and seven grids began to appear. But there wasn’t anyone who managed to light up the eighth grid. Most people only lit up four to five grids, with few who lit up six or seven.

The crowd fell silent when Bai Yu stepped forward as a Spirit Cleansing Realm participant. Everyone expected the round’s top spot to be a contest between him and Yu Yifan. All eyes were on Bai Yu as he raised his right arm and struck the Testing Pillar.

His punch produced a loud impact, drawing applause from the surroundings.

“Bravo! Senior Brother Bai!”

Bai Yu came from the Serene Tomb City’s Bai Clan. Aside from him, a few more disciples had made it to the second round of assessment.

Fan Yeping opened his eyes slightly as he couldn’t be bothered with the participants here. The participants here couldn’t be compared to those recruited into the Imperial Academy before the assessment. Among everyone here, only Bai Yu and Yu Yifan could catch his interest.

“Look, he lit up three columns!” A wave of astonishment swept through the crowd. Until now, everyone else had only managed to light up one column, and no one had succeeded in lighting up two. However, when Bai Yu struck the Testing Pillar, he lit up three columns, causing a stir among the spectators.

“Hahaha! This is great! Three attributes! You’ve comprehended three attributes!” Fan Yeping stood up and held onto Bai Yu’s hands, laughing out loud.

Most people could only comprehend one attribute, and only a few could comprehend two. Those who managed to comprehend three attributes could be considered prodigies. It was no wonder that Fan Yeping was so emotional.

As the columns lit up, the red column reached eight grids, the yellow column five, and the purple column seven. Red represented the gold element, suitable for becoming a swordsman; yellow represented the earth element, suitable for practicing spiritual arrays; purple represented spiritual runes, suitable for practicing the way of talisman.

The green column represented alchemy, and the orange column symbolized blacksmithing—the five different attributes covered all the martial paths. Most people only managed to light up the red column out of the five columns, meaning they were suitable to become martial cultivators.

Alchemists and blacksmiths were extremely rare; only one in a hundredth possessed the qualification to take on those professions. As for Spiritualists and the Spiritual Array Masters, they were even rarer, with only one in a thousandth.

Individuals like Bai Yu, who could activate the columns representing both Spiritual Array Masters and Spiritualists, were a rarity even within the Imperial Academy. However, mastering all skills was a daunting task, and most had to choose one as their main focus, relegating the others to secondary importance. This made Liu Wuxie’s abilities quite extraordinary.

Bai Yu wore a smile with his head raised to the sky like a proud peacock displaying its feathers to draw admiration from the surrounding area.