The Right Way to Pass
The crowd stirred; they hadn't expected the Immortal Cult to place such importance on this induction selection, with even the vice-leader making an appearance.
The vice leaders of the four major demonic sects are all prominent figures in the entire Central Continent, and it's a luxury to even meet them on ordinary days.
Lu Yang didn't feel anything special; he was just at the same level as the elders of the Ask Dao Sect, and it wasn't like he hadn't seen them before.
"Your current state is that of a single thought; your physical bodies remain in place. After the formal test, your cultivation and memories will all disappear, and everyone will be on the same starting line."
The leader attaches great importance to this test. In this great struggle, what is most important? Genius is the most important!
If they had a single Spirit Root, an innate immortal body, or an innate demonic seed, then they would have the means to challenge the righteous path!
Therefore, he instructed his vice-leader to meticulously design three tests to ensure that a true genius was selected!
To prevent cheating, Secret Method from the sect was used this time to erase people's cultivation levels and memories, so as to reflect their true abilities.
"The first test has officially begun; the standard for passing is to defeat the Liang Kingdom's army."
After the vice-leader finished speaking, everyone felt dizzy and disoriented, unable to distinguish east from west. When they came to their senses, they couldn't remember anything.
"Where am I?" Man Gu was still dizzy when he came to his senses.
He was disheveled, clutching a broken sword, his armor stained with blood.
Man Gu took two steps, then stumbled and nearly fell. His guards quickly steadied him. "General, mount your horse now! This is not the time to be sentimental; the Liang army is catching up soon!"
During the escape, memories related to this test gradually flooded into Man Gu's mind.
"Here are the states of Liang and Jin, sworn enemies who both seek to defeat the other. Jin is not as powerful as Liang, and I am now a general of Jin, commanding the entire Jin army."
"This time I was careless and fell into the enemy's trap. I must regroup, make a comeback, and defeat the Liang Kingdom!"
Man Gu forgot that this was a test; he only remembered that he was the ever-victorious general of Jin, and that he was determined to defeat Liang and protect his country.
In addition to background memories, combat experience also flooded his mind, and now Man Gu has completely become an invincible general of Jin.
Unfortunately, both the Man Gu and Liang generals were experienced, and the Man Gu suffered repeated defeats in their battles.
Man Gu was highly respected in the army, and the soldiers trusted Man Gu. They believed that the setbacks were temporary and that General Man Gu would surely lead them to victory.
Man Gu failed again. He was honest by nature and had combat experience, but he couldn't apply it well in practice and always fell into the traps set by the Liang generals.
"Huff, huff, huff..." Man Gu fled in a sorry state to a mountain cave. This defeat was utterly crushing, a disgrace to his entire life.
The bleak wind and rain outside only amplified his desolate State of Mind.
Man Gu of the soldiers' trust in him, and the blows of repeated defeats, Mangu looked down at the nicked sword in his hand, wishing he could kill himself!
He decided to end it all with his death; the defeats and the state of Jin were no longer relevant to him!
Suddenly, a spider caught his attention.
The spider looked strange; it was one that Man Gu had never seen before.
The spider was spinning its web, but the wind and rain outside the hole blew in and tore the web several times.
Each time the web is torn, the spider begins weaving again, never giving up.
Watching the spider fail time and time again, and try again and again, Man Gu felt that the spider was just like himself!
"You will succeed!" Man Gu stared at the spider, hope gradually rising in his eyes.
If spiders are like this, how can a human being's willpower be inferior to that of a spider?
Finally, after countless failures, the spider successfully spun its web.
Man Gu jumped to his feet, his fighting spirit ignited. The spider would succeed, and so would he!
A fierce fire ignited in Man Gu's heart, and he resolved to regroup and launch a counterattack against Liang!
"Um?"
Man Gu glanced at the spider unintentionally, wanting to thank it for its encouragement, but unexpectedly a praying mantis suddenly appeared and killed the spider.
Man Gu wanted to angrily stomp the mantis to death, but then he thought about how similar the spider's situation was to his own. After succeeding, the spider became complacent and forgot about the hidden dangers.
He pondered for a moment, "Yes, perseverance is important, but strategy is equally important. Striking when the enemy is complacent can have a surprising effect!"
In the end, Man Gu used small victories to lull Liang into a false sense of security, then unleashed his hidden army to strike, annihilating Liang's main force and achieving a great victory.
Man Gu clears the level.
At the Immortal Cult headquarters, the calm water surface reflected everyone's appearance during the first stage, with the vice-leader observing their performance and providing evaluations.
"Well, any promising talents?" Space distorted, and the cult leader appeared. "Your first hurdle won't be easy. Faced with a series of failures, you must not only learn perseverance from the spider, but also the principle of catching your prey by surprise from the mantis."
The vice-leader shook his head. "This is necessary. The righteous path is suppressing us, and the demonic sect has suffered repeated defeats. Some members of the sect are already considering giving up. Our experience is so similar to that of the Jin Kingdom. I want to use this test to select members with strong willpower, train them, and fight against the righteous path!"
"To fight against the righteous path, one cannot rely solely on willpower; one must also possess skill. If one cannot learn skills from spiders and mantises simultaneously, how can one achieve victory?"
The cult leader nodded. "Indeed, you're right. This is why I had you organize this selection. The outstanding followers selected this time should be given special attention and training; they are our reserve force to fight against the righteous path!"
The vice-leader pointed to one of the images and said, "I have high hopes for this one named Man Gu. His method of clearing the level perfectly matches my intentions. This boy will surely achieve great things in the future!"
The cult leader glanced at Man Gu, finding him rather pleasing to the eye, and said, "Then let's see how the others perform."
The cult leader and the deputy cult leader stood together, looking at each other for a while. Suddenly, the cult leader asked, "Do you think there's any possibility that there are other ways to pass the level?"
The vice-leader flatly denied it, saying with absolute certainty, "Absolutely impossible!"
"This first test is a fragment I extracted from history. The Liang and Jin kingdoms were a corner of the world in chaos 100,000 years ago. There were far fewer cultivators back then than now, and the Liang and Jin kingdoms had very few cultivators at all. I have made interpretations based on this, ensuring the authenticity to the greatest extent possible."
The Immortal Cult has invested a great deal of resources in trying to extract fragments from history, which even made the vice-leader feel sorry for them.
"Historically, a general from the Jin state attained enlightenment in a mountain cave and defeated the Liang army!"
"This is a miracle! I refuse to believe there's any other way!"
The cult leader nodded; he thought so too. He had asked that question earlier because he felt it would be too awkward to remain silent, and he wanted to find a reason to chat.
Then they saw how Meng Jingzhou and Lu Yang cleared the level.
I'll update again tomorrow during the day; I'm too tired to type anymore.