Chapter 1286: Ruoxi, I'm Coming!

The wind howled as the sacred beast flew through the sky, its speed so fast that it left a trail of white air currents.

Zhang Xuan sat in a room on the beast's back, looking at the young man before him, nodding with satisfaction.

Without waiting for the re-examination results, the group flew toward the Holy Son Hall under Zhao Xingmo's guidance.

The journey was uneventful; he passed on the Three Swords of Lingxu and his understanding of the sword path to Zhang Jiuxiao in detail.

As expected of a genius from the Zhang family, his learning ability was astonishing. In just half a month, his comprehension of the sword path reached the level of Half-True Solution. Although still far behind Zhang Xuan, when wielding the sword, he was already unmatched among the examinees!

Not only that, his cultivation had smoothly broken through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. With this strength, combined with his sword intent, he could even hold his own against Sun Qian, Ma Minghai, and others in a direct confrontation.

If before, Zhang Jiuxiao could barely pass the Holy Son Hall's assessment, now he could definitely rank among the many geniuses and be considered a notable figure.

Once a person's strength reaches a certain limit, progress becomes slower and slower. For example, in the hundred-meter dash, improving from thirteen seconds to twelve seconds is easy, but from 10.3 seconds to 10.2 seconds, the difficulty increases several times over.

Zhang Jiuxiao was in this situation. His talent was already good, and with his own cultivation method, even a small improvement was difficult. To have made such a huge breakthrough in half a month would, if spread, absolutely shock countless people into speechlessness.

It could be said to be a divine feat, a method only a Nine-Star Master Teacher could possess.

“Walker Without Boundaries has finally reached the second level!”

While instructing Zhang Jiuxiao, Zhang Xuan was not idle either. In half a month, he integrated the movement technique he had learned with the Yan Kong Heavenly Scripture, finally forming the second-level Heavenly Dao technique of Walker Without Boundaries and successfully mastering it.

However, on the beast's back, he couldn't test it, so he didn't know the specific effects of this move.

Not only had Walker Without Boundaries reached the second level, but his peak Nascent Soul cultivation was also thoroughly consolidated. The Nascent Soul within him seemed ready to leap out at any moment, impacting the Half-Exit Soul stage.

Of course, his greatest progress was in swordsmanship.

Having comprehended the True Solution of the Sword Path and combined it with the sword techniques from the Three Swords of Lingxu, his understanding of the sword far surpassed that of other weapons. Not to mention the Lingxu Sword, even the Ice Rain Sword he used before could now unleash extraordinary power in his hands!

Previously, he could at most fight to a draw with early Domain Realm cultivators, but now, as long as he used a sword, he could easily crush them.

“Now the most important thing is to gather more sword techniques to supplement the flaws in the Three Swords of Lingxu. Once a Heavenly Dao technique is formed, my combat power will surely skyrocket again!”

He sighed and stood up.

The power of the Three Swords of Lingxu was indeed terrifyingly strong, but they had too many flaws. For someone as perfectionist as him, it was impossible to continue cultivating them.

It seemed he could only enter the Holy Son Hall, seek more secret manuals, and let them form a Heavenly Dao technique before studying them properly.

Along the way, he and Zhang Jiuxiao had been constantly cultivating. Ma Minghai, Sun Qian, and the others were not idle either; they seemed to have been stimulated and trained even harder.

Although their strength hadn't changed much, their aura and mentality had become noticeably sharper than before.

“Jade must be carved to become a vessel. These people are geniuses from various powers. Having been struck by Teacher Zhang and realizing the gap is a good thing for them…”

Watching this scene, Zhao Xingmo nodded with satisfaction.

Those he had selected were almost all the most talented figures from their respective powers, extremely proud. After being severely hit by Zhang Xuan, they were psychologically unconvinced. For half a month, they all gritted their teeth and trained, striving to surpass him as soon as possible and avenge their shame.

“Teacher Zhao, what is the final assessment of the Holy Son Hall? Is it also a battle?”

Just as he was feeling emotional, a master teacher asked.

Turning to look, it was Sun Qian.

Hearing this, the others also stopped cultivating and looked over curiously.

They were about to arrive at the Holy Son Hall, and they were all curious about the final assessment.

“This assessment is much harder than the previous preliminary and re-examinations. It's not a simple battle!”

Zhao Xingmo hesitated for a moment and said, “It's a comprehensive evaluation!”

“Comprehensive evaluation?”

Everyone was puzzled.

“The Holy Son Hall is the number one academy in the Master Teacher Continent. To enter it, strength, wisdom, adaptability, breadth of mind, courage… all are factored into the score. The difficulty is much greater than the re-examination!”

Zhao Xingmo said: “Based on past experience, if nothing unexpected happens, it should be… the Mountain Gate Challenge!”

“Mountain Gate Challenge?”

“Yes, the mountain gate is an assessment venue painstakingly set up by the Master Teacher Hall. It greatly tests the cultivator's mind and strength. To become a member of the Holy Son Hall, one must complete a series of assessments within a set time. The shorter the time, the higher the score… Those who exceed the time limit and fail to pass are eliminated!”

His expression solemn, Zhao Xingmo said.

After flying for half a month, they were not far from the Holy Son Hall. Explaining the rules in advance was not a violation.

“Those two failed the Mountain Gate Challenge but had decent results, so they got the chance to be auditors. Otherwise, they wouldn't even have the qualification to audit!”

As he spoke, Zhao Xingmo pointed to the two young men who had been in charge of the preliminary examination.

“So… they are all geniuses who passed the re-examination?”

Everyone was startled.

Being able to challenge the mountain gate meant they had passed the re-examination… Although they also had the opportunity to challenge the mountain gate, under normal circumstances, at least a dozen of them would be eliminated.

In other words, among the group, a small portion hadn't passed the re-examination.

It was only because of the changes in the re-examination that they were fortunate enough to follow.

“Yes, they all passed the re-examination but were eliminated in the Mountain Gate Challenge!” Zhao Xingmo nodded.

“Teacher Zhao, based on your experience, how many of us do you think can get through?” Ma Minghai couldn't help asking.

“Your talents and strengths are all good, but the Mountain Gate Challenge requires facing geniuses and experts from major powers. The difficulty is incomparable to the previous cage fight. According to my estimation, if luck is good, about ten people will pass; if luck is bad… at most one or two, or even none at all!”

Zhao Xingmo said.

The Mountain Gate Challenge was not just an internal assessment among these thirty-odd people; it also included the alliances, sage clans, and countless supreme geniuses from major powers…

Strength was one factor, luck was another. Although these thirty-three people were not weak in strength and talent, at most ten could actually pass. With bad luck, perhaps none would be admitted.

Such situations had occurred before.

“Jiuxiao is from the Sage Zhang family; he should know a lot about this assessment!”

Seeing that everyone found it hard to accept, Zhao Xingmo turned.

“Yes, it is indeed very difficult. Even the Sage Zhang family sends out quotas each year, and half of them fail to pass…”

Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

Although he was a collateral branch of the Zhang family, he knew quite a bit about the Holy Son Hall and understood the difficulty of the Mountain Gate Challenge.

The Zhang family had countless core disciples, many with better talent and higher strength than him… Yet even so, many were eliminated every year. The difficulty was imaginable.

“A genius from my branch, Zhang Yunqi, was twenty-eight last year and had reached the early Exit Soul stage, having undergone one lightning tribulation. Such strength was unmatched among us, but unfortunately, he also failed the assessment and didn't pass…”

Zhang Jiuxiao continued.

“Early Exit Soul stage, and he still failed?”

Everyone was stunned.

The strongest among them was only Pseudo-Exit Soul. If an Exit Soul stage expert who had undergone lightning tribulation couldn't pass, didn't that mean none of them could succeed?

“Yes, but this assessment doesn't rely entirely on strength. Zhang Yunqi's younger brother, whose cultivation was only late Nascent Soul stage, also challenged the mountain gate and passed… I'm not sure what exactly is tested or what the criteria are!”

Zhang Jiuxiao smiled bitterly.

Many geniuses from the Zhang family came to challenge every year. Some failed for over a decade, while others achieved good results on their first try… Without personal experience, one probably couldn't figure it out.

“The Mountain Gate Challenge has various forms. Even those taking the same assessment may encounter different scenarios. One can only rely on personal ability to adapt; it can't be trained or informed in advance. The specifics depend on you…”

Zhao Xingmo nodded.

“This…”

Everyone fell silent.

They had thought that knowing in advance would allow them to prepare, but now they understood it wasn't that simple.

Indeed, if the continent's number one academy were so easy to get into, it would have been overcrowded long ago.

“Actually, everyone doesn't need to worry too much. After entering the mountain gate, as long as you perform at your highest level, even if you fail to pass, there's still a good chance of becoming an auditor. Once you audit, when the time is right, you can take the assessment again… It's not like one failure means no more opportunities!”

Seeing that everyone was a bit scared and nervous after his words, Zhao Xingmo smiled.

Although the Holy Son Hall's assessment was strict, it wasn't that one failure meant no more chances. As long as one's achievements weren't too poor, they could become auditors and try again the next year.

Of course, the second assessment would definitely be harder than the first… But to prevent everyone from losing heart, he could only keep such words to himself. Otherwise, if they were too discouraged and all failed, he, as the guide, would lose face.

“As long as it's not an immediate elimination…”

Hearing that there was still a chance if they performed well, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“The Holy Son Hall is here. Everyone, prepare. If nothing unexpected happens, the Mountain Gate Challenge should take place within three days!”

After chatting for a while, Zhao Xingmo suddenly pointed ahead.

Everyone quickly looked and saw a huge city standing among the mountains. Around it seemed to be a massive gathering formation, drawing spiritual energy from hundreds of thousands of miles around. Even before arriving, they felt the oppressive aura, refreshing their minds.

“This is the Holy Son Hall?”

Zhang Xuan stood up abruptly, his fist clenched under his sleeve: “Ruoxi… I'm coming!”