Chapter 583: The River-Sifting Book

"The River-Sifting Book? What's that?"

"I don't know either!"

"If it made Master Hong apply to headquarters, it must be something special!"

"Exactly!"

…

Hearing about the River-Sifting Book, the many masters below all looked utterly bewildered.

None of them had heard of this thing, not even Hall Master Kang or Master Su, who were equally confused and at a loss.

"All of you are masters, and you must have heard that knowledge is not just mere words and information—it also has weight!"

Seeing their confusion, Master Hong said.

"I've heard that before!"

"The more knowledge you learn, the more composed your mindset becomes, and your temperament changes completely!"

"The more knowledge you accumulate, the heavier your soul becomes. Legend says that when Master Kong stomped his foot, the earth sank and the seas tilted, because the knowledge within him encompassed an entire world, unmatched by anyone!"

"Yes, later Master Kong stepped into the void, and his seventy-two true disciples were no weaker than him, yet none had that power to suppress the eight directions!"

…

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Zhang Xuan couldn't help nodding.

Although he didn't know much about Master Kong's deeds, the books he had read also introduced the concept of knowledge having weight.

This thing, though a form of information, the more you learn, the more it enhances your cultivation and makes your mindset heavier.

"Since it has weight, it can naturally be measured, and there is a corresponding item—this... River-Sifting Book!"

Master Hong continued: "Sift river sand to find true gold, part the mists to see the bright moon. The River-Sifting Book tests a person's knowledge, easily stripping away one's disguise."

"This item was created ten thousand years ago by an eight-star master, imbued with a master's probing consciousness. As long as you place your palm on it, it can automatically detect the amount of knowledge memorized within a given time period, with no possibility of falsification!"

"Of course, it only measures the quantity of knowledge, not your thoughts or ideas, so no need to worry! The one I borrowed from headquarters, though only a low-grade item, is more than sufficient for testing all of you."

"Measure knowledge quantity?"

"This... is amazing!"

"Yes, too incredible—truly a treasure from headquarters!"

…

Hearing that this artifact could measure the amount of knowledge learned based on its weight, the crowd erupted in uproar.

"When teachers assign tasks and homework, if students slack off and don't complete them, teachers have no way to check. With this thing, it's simple—just probe and if the knowledge quantity is insufficient, it shows they haven't studied."

"The River-Sifting Book was created precisely for this reason."

With that, Master Hong flicked his finger, and a book appeared before everyone.

The book was not large, pure white all over, but it contained strong spiritual energy fluctuations, clearly a treasure of no low grade.

Placing the book on the table in front of him, Master Hong looked at the crowd again: "The River-Sifting Book reacts to the measured knowledge quantity and emits seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple! Each level corresponds to 800 books. That is... red light means you passed the assessment; orange light means you memorized the knowledge of 1600 books, and so on. Our assessment is the simplest—just touch the book and make it emit red light, and you pass!"

"Oh, so it's that simple!"

"This is fair and just—no one can object!"

After Master Hong's explanation, everyone suddenly understood and nodded.

Since it was a treasure from headquarters, there was certainly no problem.

"It's over..."

Unlike the others' delight, Zhang Xuan's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.

If he had known they would use this thing to automatically test, he wouldn't have read so many books. In one hour, others read a few hundred or a thousand, while he, in the library using his soul to observe at extreme speed, had already read about two hundred thousand...

He had thought it was just an exam where he could choose to fill or not fill, answer or not answer, and keep a low profile at will... But with no human control, how could he hide it?

There was no way to conceal it!

What should he do?

"Alright, let's start the test now. Who goes first?"

While Zhang Xuan was agonizing, Master Hong stroked his beard and looked at the crowd.

"This..."

They exchanged glances, hesitated, then suddenly looked in unison at Zhang Xuan nearby.

"How about... Master Zhang goes first!"

"Yes, Master Zhang, you test first—we're not in a hurry!"

…

Several people laughed.

Before Zhang Xuan could speak, Master Hong stumbled, nearly spitting blood.

You're not in a hurry—you want to wait for this guy to cause another stir and pass easily, right!

That way... of course you're not in a hurry, but I am!

His face reddened, and he quickly waved his hand: "Forget it, let's... arrange by age, from oldest to youngest, with Master Zhang last!"

It wasn't that he didn't want this guy to go first, but this guy was really... too frightening.

If he let him go first, he really didn't know if this River-Sifting Book could survive.

The Ghost Realm Phantom City was his thing, and the alien spirit tribesmen were captured by him personally—even if lost, he could find a way to resolve it. But this thing was borrowed from headquarters—if damaged, he couldn't bear it!

"Me last?"

He hadn't expected that a five-star master would be so scared of him. Zhang Xuan shook his head, finding it both amusing and frustrating.

Last was fine—it didn't affect him. As long as he could pass, there was no need to fuss about the order.

For now, he had to think hard about how to hide the knowledge he had just learned...

…

Hearing this decision, Hall Master Kang and the others were also speechless. To force the examiner to dare not let you go first—Master Zhang, you're truly a talent!

With the rule set, the rest was simple. The first to be tested was the oldest master—the contestant from the Mingxia Empire.

This master was also in the top ten of the potential rankings, with cultivation at the peak of Turbid Clear Realm, eyes like lightning. Hearing Master Hong's instruction to test, he stepped up to the River-Sifting Book.

Everyone's eyes focused on him.

Taking a deep breath, the master placed his palm on the book, then withdrew it. The snow-white book shook twice, then let out a clear ring, and a red light blazed forth.

"Red light—he passed!"

"Yes, great..."

"This treasure can test the amount of knowledge learned—truly powerful!"

Seeing that the River-Sifting Book worked as described, everyone was excited.

Many had only known artifacts for combat or cultivation; this was the first time they saw one used to test learned knowledge.

"How many books did you read just now?"

Master Hong nodded with satisfaction and asked.

"Reporting to Master Hong, I read one thousand two hundred and thirty-eight books!" the master nodded.

"Mm, not bad!" Master Hong praised and announced the result: "Liu Quan of Mingxia Empire passes. Next, Zhang Mingzhi of Hengsha Empire."

Hearing his name, the second person stepped forward. Although Zhang Mingzhi was second oldest among the group, his actual strength was only at the early stage of Mortal Transformation Fourth Layer, not outstanding.

He approached and placed his hand on the book.

But unlike before, the River-Sifting Book showed no reaction, as if his palm hadn't touched it at all.

"Looks like he didn't reach 800 books."

After waiting a while with no response, everyone shook their heads.

"I only read seven hundred and seventy-one books..." Zhang Mingzhi explained with a bitter smile.

He had thought that being just short of 800 books might let him slip through, but now it was clear the River-Sifting Book was so powerful that cheating was impossible.

"Mm," Master Hong nodded. "Zhang Mingzhi fails, disqualified from the competition. Next..."

With the previous example, everyone understood the marvel of the River-Sifting Book and stepped forward in order of age for testing.

An hour later, of the 53 contestants, all except Zhang Xuan had been tested.

This round, testing wisdom, was indeed not as simple as imagined. A full seventeen were eliminated, and upon questioning, all had memorized fewer than 800 books. One even remembered 799 but still failed, leaving dejectedly.

"So accurate!"

Seeing the River-Sifting Book's precision, able to discern even a difference of one or two books, everyone couldn't help marveling.

Truly a treasure from headquarters—formidable!

Excluding Zhang Xuan, 35 had passed. The highest score was not the most acclaimed Luo Xuan, nor the earlier disdainful Liao Wuzhi, but Zhang Xuan's old acquaintance... Song Chao!

He actually emitted an orange light, meaning he had memorized a full 1600 books!

That many books in one hour—he must have memorized content with a single glance. Such memory was superhuman.

Even Zhang Xuan found this result very surprising.

This guy seemed simple-minded; no one expected he had such a powerful memory.

As for Ruohuan Gongzi, with over 1200 books, his ranking was relatively high.

"Last one, Master Zhang Xuan!"

With Master Hong's call, everyone's eyes focused on the young man who had been restless since arriving.

"Master Zhang is about to be tested. I'm curious to see what result he'll get."

"His result probably won't be good. When he was reading earlier, I watched closely—he took out a book and just stared blankly... On the shelf of 5000 books, he only flipped through a few... It'll be hard for him to get a good score."

"I think so too, but... this is Master Zhang. After the first two rounds being so incredible, I don't believe he'll be eliminated here."

"Let's just watch..."

…

After the first two rounds, Zhang Xuan had become the focus of everyone. They all wanted to see if this guy, who had stumbled through two rounds, would cause another stir.

Having dodged for so long but now it was his turn, Zhang Xuan looked dejected.

He had thought of all kinds of methods this half-day, but still came up empty—no solution at all.

"Forget it, let's just go..."

Knowing he couldn't avoid it, he had to steel himself and step forward, placing his palm on the book and then withdrawing it.

Then he quickly leaned in to see what color would shine.