Li Qingshan was the first to react. His eyes darted around, and catching a glimpse of his still-dazed fellow disciples, he spoke in a measured tone, repeating himself three times.
"Not bad. Not bad. Not bad at all."
The others were even more bewildered, looking at Li Qingshan as if he were a fool.
Li Qingshan ignored them entirely, offering a solemn commendation. "To see a River Spirit and remain unfazed, to be presented with immortal artifacts and not care a whit—not only refusing to take them but not even sparing them a second glance... I ask you, even for us immortals, could we truly achieve such a feat? A child with Xu Xian's temperament is a rarity once in ten thousand years. It seems my decision to bring him back was not in vain. We cultivators should..."
He stopped mid-sentence, his brow furrowing deeply.
Inside Xu Xian's illusion, another change had occurred: the boy's figure had actually turned around and come back.
"Why did he run back?"
"Heaven only knows."
The others had no interest in listening to Li Qingshan’s posturing and instead focused their gaze back on the illusion.
At this moment, the River Spirit also looked bewildered. Watching the young boy return, the light in its eyes flickered uncertainly.
'Why is he back?'
Xu Xian looked up, meeting the River Spirit's gaze. "I just remembered. I think I really did drop an axe just now."
The River Spirit froze for a moment, but without thinking too much, it recited its lines once again.
"Young man, did you drop this tattered iron axe, this spiritual qi axe, or perhaps this immortal artifact axe?"
Without even thinking, Xu Xian shook his head. "None of those."
The River Spirit tilted its head.
"Hmm?"
Xu Xian said, "What I dropped was an ancient divine artifact—the Pangu Axe."
The River Spirit's small eyes suddenly bugged out.
"???"
"What are you just standing there for? Hurry up and fish it out for me!"
The River Spirit still wore its benevolent smile, but the words were practically squeezed through its gritted teeth.
"I do not have a Pangu Axe here. You have remembered incorrectly, young man."
Xu Xian wasn't having it. "How dare you, River Spirit! You're talking nonsense. You just want to keep my Pangu Axe for yourself, don't you?"
"I do not."
"Yes, you do."
"No."
"You definitely do."
The River Spirit flew into a rage. The surrounding river water surged violently, transforming into water dragons that blotted out the sky. The bright day suddenly turned dark as the River Spirit, wielding the world-toppling waters, roared in fury:
"I said, I DO NOT!"
Xu Xian, however, didn't even flinch. He showed no fear, his eyes narrowing slightly as he provoked the spirit word by word: "You. Do."
"I'll kill you!"
Xu Xian said mockingly, "Going to silence the witness, are we? Come on then, kill me."
The River Spirit finally snapped. Grabbing all three axes and bringing the sky-covering flood with it, it lunged toward Xu Xian on the bridge.
The wind howled and the waves roared, crashing down from the heavens. Yet, standing in the center of it all, Xu Xian remained as steady as a mountain.
The celestial waves and the enraged River Spirit passed through him like a gust of wind, vanishing in an instant like dissipating smoke.
The bridge was still the same bridge.
The river was still the same river.
Xu Xian still stood at the edge of the bridge, completely unharmed.
However, three axes—black, white, and gold—were left lying on the bridge floor.
Xu Xian stood in the middle of the bridge, unleashing a stream of complaints toward the small river below.
"Don't leave!"
"Kill me then!"
"Come out and fight me one-on-one!"
"Stop calling yourself a River Spirit; you should be called a turtle. A cowardly, head-shrinking turtle..."
Below the bridge, however, the surface of the water remained perfectly still.
Xu Xian suddenly found it boring.
Looking at the three axes on the bridge, he kicked them into the river one by one.
Originally, he had intended to leave.
After all, he knew this was an illusion.
However, once he had seen through the illusion, the memories sealed by the Heart Inquiry Bamboo began to return...
Naturally, he remembered that he was participating in Wendao Sword Sect's entrance examination.
He knew exactly what this stage was testing.
Honesty.
He had learned about that back in primary school.
That was why he had turned back.
To cause some mischief.
Not only had he lied, but he had also falsely accused the River Spirit. He didn't believe that, after all this, he could still pass.
He clapped his hands clean.
Then he strode away.
Inside the Heart Inquiry Pool, everyone was utterly dumbfounded. Their minds went blank, and their seas of consciousness were in disarray.
Li Qingshan, much like the River Spirit, had suffered a complete mental breakdown. He no longer cared about his usual image; rolling up his sleeves, he pointed at the illusion in the Heart Inquiry Pool and cursed:
"He did that on purpose!"
"He definitely did it on purpose!"
"This boy must not be kept! I’m going to ruin him..."
"Don't any of you stop me..."
Led by Ye Xianyu, the group just stood there quietly, watching him.
"Don't stop me! Even if I'm punished, I'm going to ruin him..."
Ye Xianyu said, "Go ahead."
Li Qingshan: "Huh?"
"Go on, ruin him. We won't stop you."
Li Qingshan said weakly, "I'm really going..."
Ye Xianyu narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Go. I promise I won't punish you."
Li Qingshan's eyes shifted away, and his temper vanished instantly.
No one knew a disciple better than their master.
Li Qingshan retreated, though he continued to mutter under his breath:
"He did it on purpose. That kid definitely knew it was an illusion... He did it on purpose."
The others looked at the deflated Li Qingshan, but no one laughed. Instead, they all shook their heads, caught between tears and laughter.
Even if it was unbelievable, it was undeniable.
Xu Xian had indeed done it on purpose.
His behavior had exceeded the bounds of a normal person.
It was plain to see.
He knew it was an illusion, so from start to finish, they had been the ones being toyed with.
This also explained everything.
It explained why his behavior was so abnormal.
A group of elders being played by a twelve-year-old boy—who would believe it if word got out?
When they thought about their reactions and the things they had just said, they were suddenly overcome with shame, wishing they could find a hole to crawl into.
The point was to let you pass the test, not to break the formation! Where were they supposed to go to demand justice for this?
Is he even human?
Over at the Heart Inquiry Forest.
The mist that had lasted for an hour gradually dispersed. The boys and girls who had successfully passed the trial walked out from the other end of the bamboo forest one after another...
They looked at each other.
They were dazed and confused.
Looking back at the bamboo forest, joy filled their hearts.
No one remembered what had happened. It felt like they had just taken a nap; aside from their heads feeling a bit heavy, there was nothing unusual.
However, they knew the result.
They had walked out.
That meant they had passed the examination.
In the Heart Inquiry Pool.
The countless small illusions vanished one after another as the thick fog cleared, replaced by the projection of a lush green bamboo forest.
The elders did not leave, their gazes still fixed on that forest.
Aside from those who had walked out...
Most of the participants were lying crisscross on the ground, motionless.
Xu Xian was among them.
Looking at the boy who was pretending to be unconscious, they were truly at a loss.
They could not understand Xu Xian's behavior.
The mockery inside the illusion.
The deception outside the illusion.
What exactly was he after?
Everyone else was doing everything they could to join Wendao Sword Sect, but Xu Xian seemed to be looking for every possible way to get himself disqualified.
All sorts of reckless behavior.
They couldn't comprehend it.
This was Wendao Sword Sect.
The greatest sect in all of Fanzhou, second only to the Three Sects.
Could it be?
He didn't want to cultivate?
But that didn't make sense.
How could anyone not want to become an immortal?
Except for Li Qingshan, every single one of them was lost in the fog.
"What on earth does he want to do?"
"I don't know."
"Then... does this count as a pass?"
"He broke the formation himself. If you disqualify him, I can't afford the embarrassment when word gets out..."
Ye Xianyu looked at Li Qingshan and said meaningfully, "Xiaoshan, since he’s the one you brought back, why don't you make a trip over there?"
Li Qingshan asked in return, "Master, are we keeping him?"
Ye Xianyu narrowed her eyes and smiled. "A sword spirit root who broke the Heart Inquiry formation... what do you think?"
"Uh!"
Ye Xianyu tucked away her smile and said very seriously, "Talk to him properly."
Li Qingshan said solemnly, "I understand!"
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