"The pass rate is this low? What exactly is this trial, to be so difficult?"
Fang Xiao had become interested in the trial as well.
He wanted to know exactly how Heavenly Sword Mountain selected its inheritors.
And since they had already reached this point, Yao Ling had no intention of hiding anything further and told him directly.
"This trial is simple in one sense, yet truly difficult in another."
It was simple because the method of the trial itself was very straightforward.
Its content was a duel.
The inheritance sword would draw part of the challenger's consciousness into an internal space and create an opponent.
As long as one could defeat that opponent three times in a row using nothing but swordsmanship, one could pass this stage of the trial.
The difficulty was equally obvious—the key lay in the opponent.
The opponent created by the inheritance sword was none other than the challenger themself.
Simply put, it was 'defeat yourself.'
It sounded easy, but doing it was anything but.
Both sides possessed exactly the same memories, the same degree of understanding of the sword, and could only employ pure swordsmanship.
During the battle, the 'false body' had no concerns beyond fighting, while the challenger would be troubled by distractions of all kinds.
That was why most people could not even pass the first stage of the trial.
While focusing on battle, the challenger had to find a way to break through themself—and do so three times—in order to pass the trial successfully.
By now, Fang Xiao understood what kind of inheritor Heavenly Sword Mountain sought.
Someone who dared to challenge themself, constantly surpassed themself, and regarded no one but themself as an opponent.
I never expected Heavenly Sword Mountain's philosophy to be like this. It suits me quite well.