Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 98 - Who Instructed You?

As time progressed, the line of participants began to elongate, with many falling behind Liu Wuxie, who maintained a steady pace. Those he surpassed were visibly fatigued and drenched in sweat, while Liu Wuxie remained remarkably composed and sweat-free, which was unusual.

Princess Leyao was tasked with observing everyone’s performance and recording the data for the assessment. Initially, Liu Wuxie didn’t catch her attention, but four hours in, she couldn’t help but notice his consistent pace, a feat even she found challenging to achieve.

After four hours, the participants were divided into several groups. The first group consisted of roughly two hundred people, and they were having an easy time under pressure, with waves of laughter being heard from them. Liu Wuxie was at the tail of the first group, showing signs of overtaking them.

However, as time progressed, the pressure increased, silencing the laughter as they were now bearing nearly five times the pressure. This was equivalent to carrying five times their weight while walking. They might have managed to walk a few hundred meters, but with several miles still ahead and the pressure continuing to increase, the challenge was far from over.

Along the way, people began stopping to recover their true essence. Liu Wuxie had witnessed many sects’ assessments in the past, and they would usually use a form of crystal to test one’s potential. Only those who met the criteria would pass. This was the first time he encountered such a time-consuming and exhausting assessment method.

If one traveled at an average pace, it would only take them two hours to travel ten miles. As a result, the participants didn’t find it challenging initially, thinking that the first stage of the assessment was the easiest.

But as time passed, people began giving up as they sat on the ground, waiting to hit the six-hour mark. Despite this, Liu Wuxie maintained his steady pace. He was determined to secure first place and earn the opportunity to cultivate in the Flame Sun Cave. His goal in coming to the academy was to obtain more resources to accelerate his cultivation pace.

As the six-hour mark approached, Liu Wuxie managed to catch up with the leading group. The pace of the front-runners, including Bai Yu from Serene Tomb City and Yu Yifan from Manifest City, had significantly slowed. This was due to the pressure, which was now nearly ten times greater. The test was not only a physical challenge but also a test of their determination. The final mile was the most grueling, with many participants clutching their heads as they struggled under the immense pressure.

This is interesting. I initially didn’t hold much expectation for the Imperial Academy, but I underestimated them. Liu Wuxie mused to himself. The first test might have appeared to be the easiest, but in reality, it was the most challenging. It was not just a test of physical strength but also of the soul. If his soul weren’t strong enough, he wouldn’t be able to endure the final mile, and those with weaker souls could potentially collapse under the strain.

The path of cultivation wasn’t solely about physical prowess and the level of cultivation but also about the heart. Without a strong heart, one’s path would inevitably be limited.

“Isn’t that guy who was threatened by the Heavenly Govern Academy previously? How is he moving so quickly?” More people began to take note of Liu Wuxie as he overtook them. With an hour left before the end of the test, it seemed likely that only about five hundred participants would reach the finish line.

Unfazed by the surrounding chatter and the fingers pointed at him, Liu Wuxie maintained his steady pace. Each step he took caused a ripple to spread across the ground, seamlessly blending with the surrounding area. This meant that Liu Wuxie felt no pressure on this path, as he had become one with the array.

The number of people ahead of him began to dwindle, with only about ten remaining. They could already see the finish line, where a large plaque emblazoned with ‘Imperial Academy’ shone brightly, akin to a dazzling sun. Given Liu Wuxie’s current pace, he was likely to complete the first stage within an hour.

Each step Liu Wuxie took attracted a multitude of curious gazes from the surrounding crowd. He surpassed numerous participants who were at the seventh-level Xiantian Realm, a feat that defied common sense. As time progressed, Liu Wuxie also managed to overtake some participants who had reached the ninth-level Xiantian Realm.

Suddenly, two hostile gazes were cast in Liu Wuxie’s direction. Aside from Bai Yu and Yu Yifan, there was no one else ahead of Liu Wuxie. The two were locked in fierce competition, neither willing to relinquish the top position in the assessment. According to past assessments, the first-place winner could receive numerous rewards and might even be taken in as a disciple by a teacher. Initially, the competition for the top spot was solely between the two of them, but the unexpected emergence of another contender naturally incited their hostility.

However, Liu Wuxie remained unfazed by their hostility and continued at his steady pace, catching up to them in just ten breaths.

“This is impossible! He must be cheating! How can someone who’s only a fifth-level Xiantian Realm possibly be so fast?!” someone yelled as several participants who reached the ninth-level Xiantian Realm felt deeply unsettled and humiliated to be surpassed by Liu Wuxie, whose cultivation was lower than theirs.

“I demand an investigation! How could such a low-level cultivator rank ahead?”

Initially, only one or two individuals expressed discontent, but it soon spread like wildfire, drawing more people’s hatred towards Liu Wuxie. After all, there were a few hundred people that Liu Wuxie overtook who had higher cultivation than him, and they naturally couldn’t accept this outcome.

Princess Leyao continued to record the data, undeterred by the uproar. She didn’t offer any explanation, knowing that Liu Wuxie hadn’t cheated; he had relied solely on his strength to get this far.

“Look, he surpassed Bai Yu and Yu Yifan! He’s close to the end point!” A wave of exclamation sounded out, spreading throughout the entire path. Could it be that the first of the assessments was going to be claimed by someone who was only at the fifth-level Xiantian Realm?

The pressure was close to ten times in the last few hundred meters. Liu Wuxie slowed his pace slightly. As for the pressure on his soul, it was non-existent.

In stark contrast to Liu Wuxie, Bai Yu and Yu Yifan found each step increasingly challenging. The pressure on their souls was so intense that it felt like countless needles stabbing into their minds.

Xue Pinzhi stood at the finish line, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

With firm strides, Liu Wuxie finally crossed the finish line, taking a total of five hours. This wasn’t particularly fast compared to previous years, but Liu Wuxie had the lowest cultivation level among them.

Upon crossing the finish line, Liu Wuxie felt a terrifying murderous intent directed at him, as if someone wanted to devour him. This naturally made Liu Wuxie frown. He hadn’t offended anyone since his arrival, and he wondered who held such a strong animosity towards him.

While the participants might have harbored hostility, none displayed murderous intent. However, the young man standing before him, Xue Pinzhi, had murderous intent flashing in his eyes, making no attempt to conceal it. But Liu Wuxie ignored the murderous intent and stood to the side as the assessment hadn’t ended yet. He sat on the grass, taking out an Origin Yang Pill and Heavenly Spirit Pill to recover his true essence.

But Xue Pinzhi looked at him as though he was looking at a dead person. In his eyes, Liu Wuxie was as good as dead the moment the assessment ended.

It didn’t take long before Bai Yu and Yu Yifan crossed the finish line. The sudden disappearance of the pressure made them stagger and nearly fall to the ground as they couldn’t adapt to the sudden change in gravity. After stabilizing themselves, they quickly retreated to the side and sat down.

This intensified their resentment towards Liu Wuxie. After all, Liu Wuxie looked unaffected when he crossed the finish line and wasn’t impacted by the sudden change in gravity. Naturally, they found it hard to accept this, given that they, too, were considered geniuses.

As time quietly passed, more people crossed the finish line. Each one cast a glance at Liu Wuxie upon completing the first test.

“Unbelievable,” a young man muttered, his gaze fixed on Liu Wuxie. “I’ve seen the records of the past assessments. The top rank in the first stage is usually dominated by participants at the pinnacle of the Xiantian Realm or those who have reached the Spirit Cleansing Realm.” Major clans often studied the data from past assessments as a reference.

A few hundred people gathered before the gate of the Imperial Academy, chatting among themselves.

“Time’s up,” announced Princess Leyao, marking the end of the first stage. “Those who have passed the first stage can follow me to the Imperial Academy for the second test tomorrow.”

Those who failed to complete the first stage lay on the ground, their cries echoing through the air. This was especially true for those who were only a few steps away from the finish line.

However, this was the nature of the Imperial Academy’s assessment—harsh and ruthless.

“Hold up!” Xue Pinzhi interrupted Princess Leyao as everyone’s gazes turned towards him.

“Senior Brother Xue, do you have anything to announce?” Princess Leyao asked, her brow furrowed. Both of them had supervised the assessment and hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

“Junior Sister Leyao, this person dared to cheat on the first test. Hence, I want to revoke his qualification to serve as a warning to others.” Xue Pinzhi was still unaware of Liu Wuxie’s true identity, and he just wanted to stop Liu Wuxie from joining the Imperial Academy, or even find an opportunity to kill him, in accordance with the instructions of the patriarch, Xue Dingtian.

Liu Wuxie suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Xue Pinzhi, finally figuring out what was happening. He had guessed Xue Pinzhi’s identity earlier from Princess Leyao’s form of address.

“Senior Brother Xue, do you have any evidence to prove that he cheated?” Princess Leyao showed displeasure on her face. The path had been in use for hundreds of years, and there had never been any errors.

Many people looked at Liu Wuxie with a gloating gaze. Even Bai Yu and Yu Yifan exchanged a glance with a hint of smile reflected in their eyes. After all, they would have a chance to obtain the reward if Liu Wuxie was stripped of his qualification to partake in the assessment.

“Junior Sister Leyao, he’s only in the fifth-level Xiantian Realm. Do you think trash like him can reach the finish line without cheating?” Xue Pinzhi sneered with a hint of mockery on his face. His question stumped everyone, including Princess Leyao. After all, it was strange for someone in the fifth-level Xiantian Realm to reach the finish line. But Princess Leyao believed that Liu Wuxie hadn’t cheated.

“Punish the cheater!” Shouts echoed from the surroundings, proposing a severe punishment for Liu Wuxie.

“Expel him from the Imperial Academy! Someone like him should be killed on the spot!” Anyone could tell that Liu Wuxie was by himself and didn’t have a background. So, the death of such a person naturally wouldn’t attract much attention. As a result, more people joined the bandwagon, proposing that Liu Wuxie should be punished.

“Brat, how dare you cheat on the Imperial Academy’s assessment. I bet you are tired of living. If you cripple your own cultivation, I won’t pursue this matter further and will merely strip you of your qualification to participate in the assessment.” Xue Pinzhi’s gaze was as venomous as a viper, pressuring Liu Wuxie to cripple his own cultivation and leave.

Under everyone’s gazes, Liu Wuxie stood up and looked at Xue Pinzhi with a playful gaze. He asked, “You must be from the Xue Clan, right? I bet Xue Dingtian or Xue Yu instructed you to do this?”