Regarding the disciple evaluation, the one who cared more than Gu Chengming was actually Hundred Bones Resonating.
【Hundred Bones Resonating felt incredibly excited, thinking to itself: The disciple evaluation is finally here!】
【Next, will I defeat enemies of a higher stage, amaze the world with a single resonance, be chosen as a disciple by a great powerhouse, and finally compete for the position of the Sect's Holy Son?】
—Speechless. I can't talk to you; you have a typical starting-point protagonist mindset.
Gu Chengming complained silently in his heart.
This Wenjian Sect didn't even have a position for a Holy Son. The closest thing was the dao seed of Daoning Gate... surely they wouldn't make him become a female cultivator?
While his thoughts were wandering.
"Senior Brother Gu, it's starting!" Jiang Lu, who was beside him, suddenly gave a low-voiced reminder.
Gu Chengming snapped back to his senses and looked up.
In the center of the square, a middle-aged deacon in charge of hosting announced loudly: "The first test: dao heart!"
In past disciple evaluations, most were direct competitions of cultivation realms or practical combat training. No one had ever heard of testing the dao heart. This thing was ethereal and difficult to measure, and it was also prone to accidents.
On the viewing platform, several elders looked at the restless disciples below with varying expressions.
"It seems these little fellows are all caught off guard."
Zhao Wuji took a sip of tea and spoke with a half-smile.
Sitting in the primary seat, a white-haired old man spoke slowly.
"The path of Dao is full of obstacles. If the dao heart is unstable, one will eventually end up as nothing but a handful of yellow soil."
Ren Wencai felt quite relaxed as he listened to the elders' discussion.
After all, he was the one who had personally witnessed Gu Chengming leave a sword mark on the Questioning Sword Stone. He knew very well that this first test meant nothing to Gu Chengming.
As the elders conversed, the array on the square had already been activated.
A hazy green light soared into the sky, instantly enveloping the several thousand disciples on the square.
This array was called the Great Dream of Floating Life. As the name suggested, those who entered the array felt as if they were in a great dream.
Those who could break through the illusion on their own within half an hour were considered top-tier; within one hour, high-tier; within two hours, mid-tier. If they still hadn't woken up by the time the array closed, it could only be said that their dao heart was covered in dust and they were unlikely to achieve great things.
With the activation of the array, the originally noisy square instantly became silent.
......
On the other side.
Gu Chengming felt his vision blur, and the surrounding scenery underwent an earth-shattering change.
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer inside the Wenjian Sect.
Beneath his feet were white jade steps shrouded in clouds and mist, and above his head was an immortal palace with ten thousand rays of golden light. Countless fairies dressed in rainbow garments held delicacies and fine wine, standing respectfully on both sides.
At the end of the steps, a dragon throne symbolizing supreme power sat quietly, waiting for him to take his seat.
Below the platform, countless cultivators knelt, including sect elders he had seen before.
They shouted in unison: "Welcome the Immortal Venerable back to his throne! May the Immortal Venerable live for ten thousand years and unify the Immortal Realm!"
Gu Chengming stood on the steps, looking down at all this.
"That's it?"
He sighed in his heart. Wasn't this illusion a bit too perfunctory?
As if sensing his thoughts, the scene shifted.
The immortal palace disappeared, replaced by a scene of ambiguous red curtains and warmth.
Several peerless beauties surrounded him, some slender and some plump, each with her own charm.
But honestly, it's no fun without character art.
In the time that followed, the illusion seemed determined to prove itself, showing him various peaks of life in different ways.
Building a career, being titled a marquis or prime minister, being invincible in the world, opening the gates of heaven with a sword;
It even made him a savior, rescuing all living beings from fire and water...
Can't this illusion be fast-forwarded?
Gu Chengming was starting to lose patience.
In galgames, I usually just hold down the Ctrl key to skip this kind of plot.
At the very moment this thought arose, the surrounding images suddenly began to distort and accelerate.
The beauties who had been incessantly whispering in his ear to drink wine suddenly had their voices become sharp and hurried, and their movements became so fast they looked like they were twitching.
The sun rose and the moon set, seasons changed, and a whole life that originally required a long time to experience now felt like a playback button pressed at dozens of times the speed.
The so-called glory, power, and beauty flashed past his eyes, turning into a blurred mass of light and shadow.
"Holy crap? It really can fast-forward?" Gu Chengming was stunned.
In just a few breaths, this long life was "fast-forwarded" to its end.
The screen froze at the moment he was about to ascend to immortality.
The gates of heaven opened wide, and immortal music played.
Just then, that familiar sense of dizziness struck again.
【Wisdom Eye activated.】
Gu Chengming's eyes lit up as those three familiar translucent option boxes directly overlaid the scene of his impending ascension.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
Good grief, I can even play a galgame in this illusion?
He focused his gaze on the three options:
【Option 1: That's it? Isn't there any more interesting plot?】
【Option 2: Replay. I think that part where the fairy danced just now can be savored a bit more.】
【Option 3: Illusion, break for me! I'm not playing this boring game anymore.】
Gu Chengming didn't hesitate and chose the third option.
The magnificent immortal palace, the sky full of Buddhas and immortals, and the heaven gate about to open... all of it was like a mirror struck by a stone, instantly covered in cracks.
"Crack—"
A crisp sound of shattering rang out.
All the scenes collapsed in an instant, dissipating into countless points of light.
He broke through the illusion with great ease.
To the outside world, only a single breath of time had passed.
The spiritual light on the Sword-Questioning Platform was still flickering slightly, but Gu Chengming had already opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear, without the slightest hint of the confusion that comes from just escaping an illusion.
Beside him, thousands of disciples still had their eyes tightly shut. Some had pained expressions, while others were dripping with cold sweat, clearly struggling deep within their inner demon illusions.
This scene was so abrupt that the elders on the high platform, who had been chatting and laughing, all paused mid-action, forgetting to put down the teacups in their hands.
"This..."
A deacon elder responsible for array maintenance frowned, looking at the array patterns beneath Gu Chengming's feet in disbelief. His fingers moved rapidly in his sleeve to calculate, but he couldn't make the numbers match:
"Breaking the array in one breath? This is absolutely impossible. Could it be that a node in the array has fallen into disrepair, and a glitch occurred, failing to pull this disciple into the illusion?"
As soon as these words were spoken, several elders nearby nodded in agreement.
After all, Gu Chengming was just an outer sect disciple. If it were those core true disciples who achieved an instantaneous breakthrough, it would be one thing, but for an obscure junior, there was no explanation other than an array failure.
Ren Wencai, of course, knew that Gu Chengming had broken the array through his own ability.
But he was always a bit devious. Instead of speaking up to explain, he stood up with a serious face and said with great righteousness:
"What my fellow brothers say is absolutely correct! The matter of evaluation concerns the sect's fairness and must not be handled carelessly."
After saying that, he looked at Gu Chengming below and pretended to be stern:
"Since there are doubts, it cannot count. Gu Chengming, do you dare to be tested again in public?"
Gu Chengming was about to say he had already broken the array when he looked up and met Ren Wencai's gaze.
Gu Chengming understood instantly.
He thought to himself that this Elder Ren really loved to act. He probably thought that one breath just now was too fast and nobody saw it clearly, so he was setting up a stage for him to perform again.
In that case, I'll play along with him.
After all, Elder Ren had helped him a lot before; now it was just helping him show off a little.
With this in mind, Gu Chengming's expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands and said loudly:
"This disciple obeys. I am willing to be re-tested."
"Since it's a re-test, we cannot use this great array again."
Ren Wencai stroked his beard, his gaze circling the elders before finally landing on Zhao Wuji with a smile:
"Junior Brother Zhao, I remember you are most skilled in divine soul techniques like the Spirit Induction Art. Since everyone feels the array is faulty, why doesn't Junior Brother Zhao personally take action to conduct a separate test on this disciple?
This way, it shows fairness and will convince everyone. What do you think?"
The surrounding elders nodded in agreement, feeling this was a very appropriate way to handle it.
Only Zhao Wuji had a strange expression.
This old fellow was usually the most protective. If this disciple really had no talent, he would have found a way to deflect and cover it up long ago. Why would he proactively bring his face forward to let others slap it?
There must be a catch!
Thoughts whirled in Zhao Wuji's mind, but seeing the expectant gazes of the elders around him, he knew that if he declined now, it would make him look like he was suffering from stage fright or being petty toward a junior, which would be undignified.
"Since Senior Brother Ren holds me in such high regard, then I shall make a fool of myself."
Zhao Wuji accepted with a fake smile. He slowly stood up, and his originally cloudy old eyes instantly became incredibly deep. An invisible pressure radiated from his body, making the surrounding air feel as if it had solidified by eighty percent.
"Kid, my Spirit Induction Art is not like that gentle array. If one's mind is not firm, their soul might be damaged, and resting for ten days to half a month would be considered light. It's not too late for you to regret now."
Gu Chengming's face was calm, neither humble nor arrogant:
"Please grant me your guidance, Elder."
"Good!"
Zhao Wuji snorted coldly and said no more.
He took a deep breath, crossed his right index and middle fingers, and pinched a hand seal.
With a low shout from his mouth, a faint light lit up at his fingertips.
Although this "Spirit Induction Art" was not a killing technique, it was extremely good at evoking the deepest fears and obsessions in a person's heart. It was pervasive and much more tricky than the Great Dream of Floating Life array.
Gu Chengming did not dodge or avoid it, allowing that faint light to sink into the space between his eyebrows.
As the light entered his body, Gu Chengming only felt his Sea of Consciousness turn slightly cool, and he prepared to fast-forward and speedrun again.
And then... there was no then.
Gu Chengming stood in place, eyes closed, waiting for a long time.
However, one breath passed.
Three breaths passed.
Ten breaths passed.
There was still only the cool mountain wind and the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance.
Gu Chengming was a bit puzzled.
What happened?
Could it be that Elder Zhao aimed the technique wrong? Or did this "Spirit Induction Art" have a wind-up time or a channeling bar?
Just as he was about to open his eyes in confusion to see what was going on, a line of text suddenly popped up in his vision.
【Hundred Bones Resonating was greatly shocked in its heart: Where is this place?!】
A question mark appeared over Gu Chengming's head.
"?"
No, wait, why is it you who went in?
Rate on N.U.
