Chapter 3710 — Departing the Stage One After Another
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Otherwise—a deficiency in either strength or will—and there is no hope of scoring high in a trial like this. Only in this way, too, can the newcomer assessment reveal its true meaning, and the preciousness of every single point.
One must understand that every point earned in the newcomer assessment is filed away in the Tri-Layer Pavilion's archives, and every point shapes the Tri-Layer Pavilion's estimation of each newcomer. A high or low score decides not only whether one can seize the advantage in the assessment immediately at hand, but also the treatment one will receive in the future, after entering the Tri-Layer Pavilion.
After all, even for the Tri-Layer Pavilion, the finest cultivation resources are finite. When the time comes, will those resources go to the dregs with low scores and weakness in every regard, or to the geniuses with high scores and strength in every regard? The answer is plain at a glance.
This much was clear not only to Wei Zhao but to every newcomer present, and so none of them dared slacken in the slightest; all had to give their utmost. To do otherwise was to lose far more than a starting line—it was to lose one's entire cultivation career to come.
Once the trial officially began, one by one the newcomers of the Tri-Layer Pavilion set their respective mental techniques running at full power to resist the oppressive force, bracing themselves as though before a great enemy and holding nothing back, fearful that a single moment's negligence would cost them the contest. Yet the performance of a few among them was plainly far more relaxed than the rest.
Kang Jingming, Zhong Yongliang, Meng Zhou, and Wei Zhao—all four without exception were experts at the early Foundation Establishment stage or above, their strength a full cut above that of the other newcomers who had not yet succeeded in Foundation Establishment, and so they handled the pressure with far greater ease.
After all, setting aside the question of mental fortitude on the spiritual plane, these four possessed formidable strength and an inherent advantage far beyond the others. Were everyone's will of a single measure, they would without question be the last ones standing.
And among the four, Wei Zhao was the most at ease by far—not only because he was a peak early-stage Foundation Establishment expert a cut above the other three, but above all because he had the jade pendant's space at his back, from which he could replenish at any moment the true qi draining from his body.
That is to say, had this been like the summit of the hidden clans in the secular world, a matter of sheer physical pressure alone, he could have sat here as long as he pleased; the true qi in his body would never run dry.
This time, however, an additional and far more refined layer had been added: spiritual oppression. For Wei Zhao, this was an entirely new trial. Even so, he remained far more composed than the others—by the same logic, his reserves were more abundant than everyone else's combined.
With no need to fear the depletion of his true qi, he had only to devote himself wholly to withstanding the trial of spiritual oppression. This was the greatest advantage Wei Zhao held over everyone else present.
As for will—remember, this was a man who had fought his way up from the secular world. Whether rising or falling, he remained calm as ever, and always grew stronger the stronger his foe; never once did he flinch. Would such a will lose out to anyone else? Nonsense.
Yet while Wei Zhao could remain at ease, the others present had neither his reserves nor his iron will. After holding out only a short while, fine beads of sweat began to emerge on the newcomers' brows, sliding down bit by bit—the mark of strain already setting in.