Before the crowd had seen enough, Li Qingxian had already burst out of the dense forest and reached the finish line.
The proctor was stunned.
In the second round of the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination, aside from Martial Cultivators who specialized in Hidden Weapons, no one had ever managed to completely evade such an intense assault.
Especially not a Fate Master, who weren’t known for their combat prowess.
"Total time under fifty breaths. Super Armor," the proctor yelled, then added, "Wait a moment for the supervising proctor to verify."
Just as the proctor was about to make a note on the Developing Paper, text automatically materialized on it.
The proctor said helplessly, "The higher-ups have spoken. You’ve passed the second round. Super Armor."
"Thank you, sir."
Li Qingxian said as he walked toward the third gate.
Along the way, he glanced back at the others and noticed that the elimination rate for this round was staggering—only two or three out of every ten participants made it through.
Inside the supervising proctors’ large wooden cabin, four Purple-Robed Upper-Grade proctors and numerous Middle-Grade proctors were all gazing at a large silver mirror. It was replaying Li Qingxian’s trial in slow motion.
"At first, I just thought it was like he had eyes in the back of his head. But looking at it now, he can actually predict the trajectory of every arrow and Hidden Weapon in advance."
"Fate Skills are truly formidable."
"It’s this candidate’s combination of Fate Skill and Daoist Skill that’s so formidable. Ordinary Eighth-Grade Fate Masters have taken the Cyan Cloud Examination before, but none have ever been so flawless."
"There are more candidates this year, so we had to weed out more people. That’s why the puppets are a bit tougher than usual. I never thought we’d still see someone achieve Super Armor."
"Having the foundation of a scholar really makes a difference."
A group of proctors from the path of Literature Cultivation nodded repeatedly, while the Martial and Daoist Cultivator proctors simply rolled their eyes.
Li Qingxian headed for the third testing ground, with only one large gate left before him.
A new proctor greeted him with a smile. "Congratulations, candidate. Passing the first two rounds has greatly increased your chances of entering the Cyan Cloud. Do you know what the third round entails?"
"I read the notice last night. The third round is the ’Special Selection,’ where candidates choose a category to be tested in based on their own strengths. As long as we meet the standard, we’re considered to have entered the Cyan Cloud with the rank of Senior Eighth Grade. The fourth round after that is a competition among the very best for a spot in the top ten."
"Good. Which do you plan to choose?"
Li Qingxian pondered as he walked.
The Special Selection for the third round was divided into six categories: Speed and Agility, Hidden Weapons and Archery, Hard Skills and External Skills, Inner Qi and Magical Power, Destructive Power, and Weapon Techniques.
Unlike the imperial civil service exams, the Cyan Cloud Examination was an improved version of the martial exams, emphasizing combat. This made it most advantageous for Martial Cultivators. In this third round, Literature and Magic Cultivators could only choose between the Inner Qi and Magical Power category or the Destructive Power category.
Li Qingxian knew his Magical Power was vast. ’But,’ he thought, ’Eastern Peak Lin Zhenyuan’s Inner Strength was even greater than mine. If some future Great Cultivator were to appear in this competition, I’d likely lose to them.’
’But I have the Divine Sky Thunder Seed. The destructive power of my Thunderbolts is definitely greater than Lin Zhenyuan’s was when he was at the Eighth Grade.’
"I’ll choose Destructive Power. I specialize in Thunder Skills and am adept at Breaking Evil," Li Qingxian said.
The proctor made a note on the Developing Paper as they walked. "Alright, choosing Thunder Skill for Breaking Evil. What Grade of fiend do you want for a target?"
"Seventh Grade? No, let’s make it Sixth Grade," Li Qingxian said.
The proctor looked up and smiled. "Your Thunder Skill is indeed powerful, but an accident is likely when you challenge something two Grades above your own."
"Against a Seventh-Grade fiend, the highest I can score is an A-grade. That won’t be enough to test my true power," Li Qingxian said.
"Very well. We’ll make the arrangements."
Li Qingxian walked through the third gate, carefully read the contents on the notice board, and looked out at the testing grounds.
This area was no longer covered in wild grass but was a clean and tidy Grand Martial Field.
One candidate was sprinting down a path, rapidly dodging the sharp spikes that continuously jutted out from the ground and the Hidden Weapons flying in from both sides.
In another area, a candidate dodged a barrage of Magic and mechanical contraptions while simultaneously running and throwing Hidden Weapons.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In front of a small stone hill, a candidate specializing in Hard Skills was repeatedly ramming it, forcing the hill to slowly inch backward as stone fragments flew everywhere.
Finally, Li Qingxian’s gaze fell upon a massive cage. Outside, a candidate was chanting and casting spells. Inside, a Seventh-Grade Ox Demon was frantically trying to flee but couldn’t escape the barrage of Magic.
Li Qingxian glanced at the candidate’s Magic and gently shook his head. ’Flashy, but lacking in power.’
’Sister Youfei was right,’ he thought. ’Magic isn’t like Martial Arts; the cost is too high. If you can kill an opponent in one hit, you should do your best to avoid needing two.’
A short while later, a massive cage shrouded in black cloth was wheeled into an empty space on the field.
The proctor ripped off the black cloth, revealing a Bell-Shaped Magical Artifact suspended above. It emitted a hazy, clear light that enveloped the entire cage.
Inside the house-sized cage, a Sixth-Grade, tiger-like behemoth with black and yellow stripes slowly rose to its feet, its glowing green eyes sweeping across the field.
Faint black smoke coiled around its body.
The Seventh-Grade Ox Demon suddenly let out a pained cry, collapsed to the ground, and began to tremble violently. A moment later, a dark puddle spread out from underneath it.
The proctors and candidates stared at the Sixth-Grade giant tiger, momentarily stunned. ’Which candidate is this brainless?’ they wondered. ’Requesting a Sixth-Grade member of the Demon Race is one thing, but a Sixth-Grade Demon Fiend?’
Li Qingxian was also taken aback for a moment and glanced at the proctor.
The proctor said with a helpless expression, "The higher-ups arranged it. They probably saw how smoothly things were going for you and decided to give you a real test."
Li Qingxian stared at the Sixth-Grade Demon Fiend and silently walked forward.
Demon Fiends were an offshoot of the Demon Race that had only appeared in the last few centuries. They possessed higher intelligence but were emotionally unstable and prone to fits of madness, making them outcasts within the Demon Race.
The Human Race believed they were a creation of the Demon Race, while the Demon Race firmly insisted that the humans were behind it, arguing that normal demons were not so insane.
This was because Demon Fiends not only possessed Demonic Power but also a Demonic Qi similar to that of Demon Cultivators.
The Demon Sects denied any connection, reasoning that while the two energies were similar in nature, they were by no means from the same source.
The proctor said, "Don’t worry too much. It’s been many years since anyone achieved a Triple Super Armor rating at the Eighth Grade. Even the great Eastern Peak Lin Zhenyuan couldn’t completely avoid the Hidden Weapons in the forest. So, whenever it looks like someone might achieve it, they always increase the difficulty."
"In Jiang Youfei’s Fourth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination, how many Super Armor grades did she get?"
"Uh... I believe she got Super Armor in every event. But that was the Fourth-Grade exam, which has nothing to do with us at the Eighth Grade. Generally speaking, the lower the Grade Level of the Cyan Cloud Examination, the harder it is to achieve a Super Armor rating. That’s because most experts only participate in the Seventh and Fourth-Grade exams, skipping the others," the proctor said.
The two of them walked until they were about three zhang from the Demon Fiend. The proctor stopped Li Qingxian and said, "This is close enough. Any nearer and I fear you’ll be affected by its Demon Qi."
Li Qingxian nodded. ’If I want to get Super Armor,’ he thought, ’I could just summon the Electric Drum Warrior. But that’s my ace in the hole, not something to be used unless it’s absolutely critical.’
’Looks like I’ll just have to put in the effort, consume all of my Magical Power, and unleash a Thunder Skill.’
’The strongest Thunder Skill I’ve mastered requires setting up an altar to summon the Yuqing True King. I used the Emperor’s Finger Divine Curse against Bone Filth Child, but altars are forbidden in this exam.’
’In that case, my only option is the Opening Qian Curse Thunder.’
Li Qingxian took a deep breath, centered himself, and successively cast the Heart Purification Curse, the Body Purification Curse, the Mouth Purification Curse, and the Earth-Securing Curse.
Then, Li Qingxian began Stepping on the Stars and Treading the Dipper, performing the Yu Step with a limping, stumbling gait that made him look like a cripple.
Magical Power surged down his legs, gradually overflowing and condensing into blossoms of white light. As they touched the ground, they manifested as yellow shadows of the Eight Trigrams, merging with his footprints.
A moment later, the ground was densely covered in overlapping yellow trigrams, layered one upon another like a field of fallen yellow flowers.