Comprehension Stronger Than Liu Ningshuang's

"Comprehending an artistic conception in the Qi Refining Realm?!"

"Hiss... No wonder so many elders showed up. Did someone like this really come from the outer sect?!"

The disciples were all utterly shocked.

At that moment, Dong Wang Lian and the other elders had already entered the hall.

Deacon Xiao hurriedly said, "Esteemed elders."

Lu Yi also spoke. "Lu Yi greets the esteemed elders."

The elders nodded at Lu Yi, their smiles gentle.

"Little fellow, welcome to Drifting Soul Peak."

"Kid, perform well in the assessment. I have high hopes for you!"

"..."

They then looked at Deacon Xiao. Dong Wang Lian said, "Deacon Xiao, why haven't you started the assessment yet?"

With all these Nascent Soul bigshots watching him, Deacon Xiao felt somewhat nervous as well.

He nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Elder Dong Wang."

He looked at Lu Yi and smiled. "Lu Yi, Drifting Soul Peak's Entry Peak Assessment is the most difficult among the sect's twelve peaks. According to the Peak Master, disciples within the peak should be valued for quality over quantity. Limited resources must be used to nurture disciples more worthy of cultivation... However, this difficulty is only relative to ordinary disciples. For you, it will likely be little more than a formality... Generally speaking, disciples who can enter the inner sect have no issues with their cultivation talent. Therefore, our Entry Peak Assessment mainly examines two aspects. The first is comprehension, and the second is practical combat ability. The comprehension test is to comprehend an art."

As he spoke, Deacon Xiao flipped his hand, and a book appeared in it. "Lu Yi, this is the Qi Refining art, 'Nine Shadows Sword.' It is considered a highly difficult art even among Qi Refining arts. Your task is to achieve beginner mastery of this art within two hours."

Lu Yi accepted the book, raised his brows, and smiled. "Understood."

No wonder they said Drifting Soul Peak's disciple assessments were difficult. Two hours meant four hours. Achieving beginner mastery of an art in four hours, even if it was only a Qi Refining Realm art, was no simple feat.

At the same time, Lu Yi muttered inwardly, I want to read through the 'Nine Shadows Sword' manual once.

Mission

Read through the "Nine Shadows Sword" manual once (0/1)

Reward: "Nine Shadows Sword" level +1

Accept: Yes/No

As expected...

Lu Yi was delighted. It only required beginner mastery. He merely needed to read it once.

There was basically no difficulty at all.

Then Lu Yi thought of something and muttered inwardly again, I want to pass Drifting Soul Peak's Entry Peak Assessment.

Mission

Pass Drifting Soul Peak's Entry Peak Assessment

Reward: Heaven-and-earth treasure Water Spirit Liquid, Middle-Grade Magic Item White Spirit Belt.

Accept: Yes/No

Lu Yi's eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

Good heavens, the Entry Peak Assessment actually had such generous rewards?

Though it could not compare to taking first place in the grand competition, it was already quite good!

He hurriedly accepted the mission.

Deacon Xiao pointed at the meditation cushions in the hall and said, "You may sit on a cushion to comprehend it. We will not disturb you."

Lu Yi nodded with a smile, walked over to a cushion at the side, and opened the Nine Shadows Sword manual.

Nine Shadows Sword differed from White Cloud Swordplay. White Cloud Swordplay drew mainly upon the White Cloud Artistic Conception, emphasizing graceful unpredictability, while Nine Shadows Sword placed greater emphasis on speed and strangeness. As one's comprehension deepened, one could unleash streak after streak of sword shadows while wielding the sword, and its power was quite formidable.

Lu Yi immersed himself in the manual and read quietly.

While Lu Yi read in silence, the elders and disciples did not disturb him. They merely communicated among themselves through voice transmission.

"It's begun!"

"Let's make a bet. How long do you think this little fellow will need to comprehend it?"

"Have you been influenced by the Peak Master too? Betting, betting, betting all day long... I bet one hour. This little fellow's cultivation is still low. If he were in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would certainly be much faster."

"Heh... How could that be possible?! Lu Yi has comprehended sword intent. Even if his cultivation is somewhat low, it wouldn't take him long to achieve beginner mastery of an art. I bet around half an hour."

"Half an hour?! Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Nine Shadows Sword itself is extremely difficult to cultivate. No matter how high this little fellow's comprehension is, he cannot possibly achieve beginner mastery of Nine Shadows Sword within half an hour!"

"Heh, we'll wait and see!"

"Then we'll wait and see!"

"..."

Lu Yi spent a little over ten minutes reading through the Nine Shadows Sword manual.

After finishing it, Lu Yi glanced at the panel. The mission to read the manual had already been marked complete. Grinning happily, Lu Yi claimed the reward. Information regarding Nine Shadows Sword quickly entered his mind, and once Lu Yi absorbed it, Nine Shadows Sword had reached beginner mastery.

Lu Yi looked at the words "Nine Shadows Sword" (lv1) on the panel, then looked at the time and could not help sighing.

That was way too fast.

Lu Yi suddenly felt the troubles of being a top student. When he had been in school in his previous life, there had always been some bastards who stood up and handed in their papers when only half the exam time had passed. It had truly made people envy, resent, and hate them.

He had not expected that he could do the same now.

For a four-hour exam, he had finished it in just over ten minutes. He was feeling pretty damn pleased with himself.

This gave Lu Yi a bit of a headache as well. Wouldn't getting up now be a little too high-profile?

He, Lu, was not a high-profile person.

Lu Yi flipped through the manual again, pretending to study it seriously while considering which of these many Nascent Soul elders would be most suitable to take as his master after passing the assessment.

After some more time passed, more than half an hour had gone by since the assessment began. Lu Yi felt the timing was about right. Standing up now should not seem too high-profile.

Only then did Lu Yi rise to his feet.

Seeing Lu Yi stand, the elders and disciples' eyes all lit up as anticipation rose. They communicated through voice transmission.

"He comprehended it so quickly? Only half an hour has passed. Isn't that too fast?"

"Don't rush. He hasn't started practicing it yet. He'll have to practice it several times at least."

"That makes sense... How many times do you think Lu Yi will need to practice it before achieving beginner mastery?"

"Within ten times!"

"Even then, wouldn't he still achieve beginner mastery in around half an hour?"

"Let's watch first."

"..."

As they conversed, Lu Yi took out the longsword he had previously stored in his Space Ring and swung it.

Swoosh!!

As the longsword sliced through the air, it left behind a sharp sword shadow. It was precisely the mark of beginner mastery in Nine Shadows Sword.

Everyone: "???"

The hall abruptly fell silent. The elders and disciples all stared wide-eyed at the slowly fading sword shadow.

Then one disciple cried out in alarm, "He achieved beginner mastery?! How long has it been?!"

The others also erupted into an uproar.

"Half an hour, and he actually achieved beginner mastery of Nine Shadows Sword! What kind of monster is Lu Yi?!"

"Yeah, he didn't even practice it. Could it be that he simply read the manual and performed a single deduction in his mind before reaching beginner mastery?!"

"... No wonder he could comprehend sword intent in the Qi Refining Realm. This comprehension is simply inhuman!"

The disciples cried out one after another.

Even the elders had shock in their eyes, and they could not help looking at one another.

"This comprehension..."

"If this little fellow had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, I would not be surprised for him to comprehend Nine Shadows Sword within half an hour. But this little fellow is only in the Qi Refining Realm!"

"Indeed. With such cultivation, he cultivated the extremely difficult Nine Shadows Sword and achieved beginner mastery in just half an hour... It is truly astonishing."

"This comprehension is probably no worse than Liu Ningshuang's... No, perhaps it is even a little stronger?" a Nascent Soul elder slowly said.

Thanks to the great Daoist Xiaogu of Night Rain on Bashan for the 500-point reward~