The Enlightenment Assessment

Two months later.

Time passed day by day.

Since Shi Yazhou's death, the students in Ding Wei's class indeed had much less to talk about for a long time.

Some male students who had a secret crush on Zhao Huaxue began to give up, but there were still a few persistent ones, led by Zhou Zheng and Yang Zhiman. The two even had a few arguments because of this and confronted students from other classes.

And Lu Tianyou, the arsonist of hearts, never dreamed that he would become the focus of the class's new topic, following Shi Yazhou.

His two-timing was discovered by Guo Hongjuan!

Guo Hongjuan actually went directly to the class and publicly slapped him hard.

After Hu Tian'er learned the whole story, she also distanced herself from him. He had now completely entered the blacklist of female disciples in the class.

Besides these, a few other things happened.

Every month, a few fearless disciples in the Enlightenment Hall secretly circulated the Greater Heavenly Cycle cultivation, ultimately encountering accidents and dying from a backlash of magical power. Shi Yazhou was just the first, but not the last.

Ma Ling beat up the guy who nicknamed her 'Tiger Girl', stunning the entire class.

After seeing this, Li Mo secretly resolved that he would quit the bad habit of giving nicknames in the future. It was better to be upright and honest.

Zhang Guoyin broke a tooth during morning meal...

Afternoon meal.

Lu Tianyou came to Li Mo's side and couldn't help but pour out his troubles.

"Sigh, that Liu Yaoyao is really stupid. She still hasn't found her qi sensation. How long has it been? The Enlightenment Assessment is coming up soon. I went to help her, but she dodged me."

Li Mo looked helpless.

"Your reputation in the class is completely ruined. They all treat you like a plague god."

"Tch."

Lu Tianyou rolled his eyes. He seemed indifferent, but in reality, he was a little guilty.

"We haven't even become official disciples of the Lingmu Sect yet, so why are you acting like a fairy? The assessment is in a few days. I see a lot of people who haven't opened their spiritual eyes. They'll have something to cry about then. When we become rogue cultivators outside in the future, they won't be worthy of getting close to me."

Li Mo was a little surprised that so many people still didn't have qi sensation, so he looked at Lu Tianyou.

"What about you? Have you opened your spiritual eyes?"

"Mhm, I condensed my magical power the day before yesterday and reached the first level of Qi Refining. I opened my spiritual eyes that same day."

The condensation of magical power was a manifestation of reaching the first level of Qi Refining.

Before this, even if cultivators condensed magical power through qi sensation, this magical power would gradually dissipate over time. Only by following the instructions of the Lingmu Sect's main cultivation technique and condensing the magical power into a misty vortex in the dantian would the magical power no longer dissipate.

With stable magical power support, cultivators could then perform various miraculous techniques.

Of course.

Due to the meager magical power of low-level cultivators, they could only perform some basic low-level spells and found it difficult to sustain combat.

Lu Tianyou did not ask about Li Mo's cultivation progress.

As roommates, although Li Mo was not ostentatious, Lu Tianyou could still vaguely feel that Li Mo's cultivation speed was very fast and he always maintained a state of confidence. He knew that Li Mo was definitely far ahead of him.

At this moment.

Hu Tian'er, the "medicine pot," came to Li Mo and Lu Tianyou after the afternoon meal.

Lu Tianyou thought she had changed her mind and immediately got up with a smile to greet her. However, he saw Hu Tian'er glare at him fiercely before saying to Li Mo, "Li Mo, why are you still with this kind of person?"

Li Mo felt helpless.

He knew that Hu Tian'er now completely hated Lu Tianyou, so he casually said, "I'm his distant cousin."

Hu Tian'er's expression turned angry.

"If you keep being with him, you'll turn into him sooner or later!"

Then Hu Tian'er glared fiercely at Lu Tianyou again.

Seeing this, Lu Tianyou slumped like a deflated ball, looking like he had given up on himself. He sat down again and sighed.

"One wrong move, and you lose the whole game."

Li Mo curled his lips and said, "Perhaps it's because you usually talk too much and offended someone?"

"Huh?"

Lu Tianyou was stunned, then suddenly realized, "I knew it was too much of a coincidence that day. Someone must have tipped them off. If I find out which bastard it was, I'll make them pay!"

He did not regret his philandering, but rather regretted not being more careful.

"Li Mo!"

Ma Ling greeted Li Mo when she saw him. Niu Li and Yang Guang also waved hello.

"Want to practice martial arts together tonight?"

Li Mo waved back in response, "The assessment is in a few days, and I still need to prepare. I won't be going these few days. You guys keep up the good work."

"Okay."

The three were not angered by the remark.

The reason was simple: Li Mo's martial arts mastery was astonishing to them, and they were all sincerely impressed.

Lu Tianyou, however, seemed to recall something and looked at Li Mo.

"I think I heard someone say that practicing martial arts can improve one's innate talent and aid in enlightenment. You're one thing, but those three guys over there are also so calm and collected. It seems the idea that martial arts can improve one's foundation isn't just baseless talk."

Li Mo rolled his eyes. "You think practicing martial arts is easy?"

However, if Li Mo hadn't experienced the difficulties of other martial artists in Eighteen Mountains, he wouldn't have been qualified to say that.

"That's true."

Lu Tianyou clearly understood the difficulty of practicing martial arts. He chuckled and said no more.

Night.

Li Mo returned to the rock garden and found a secluded spot to cultivate.

Although he had benefited greatly from the Misty Dreamscape in recent days, completing the condensation of Magical Power and reaching the first layer of Qi Refining a month and a half ago, activating his Spirit Eye, he had not neglected his usual practice.

With the accumulation of time, his Magical Power had become even more profound, and he now showed signs of breaking through to the second layer of Qi Refining.

According to Li Mo's knowledge.

Generally, after reaching adulthood at fifteen, one's innate talent gradually matures, allowing them to begin cultivation.

Practicing too early could potentially damage their spiritual roots.

In the following forty to fifty years, if a cultivator could not complete Foundation Establishment, their physical potential would continuously decline, and their vital essence would constantly deplete. After fifty, when one understands destiny, the possibility of Foundation Establishment would be almost entirely lost. Some say that high-level Qi Refining cultivators, nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, could even live to an advanced age, but many high-level Qi Refining cultivators died of old age by sixty.

Cultivators who completed Foundation Establishment before the age of thirty-five were almost all the most elite forces within their sects.

They would have a certain chance of advancing to the Golden Core Stage in the future.

Therefore, the number of these elite cultivators not only determined a sect's future potential but also affected a nation's destiny for the next century.

As for the very few disciples who received the full support of their sects and aristocratic families, many completed Foundation Establishment within seven or eight years of reaching adulthood.

After an unknown amount of time.

Li Mo, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise in his gaze.

"It's done."

He hadn't expected breaking through to the second layer of Qi Refining to be so easy.

"To break through to the second layer of Qi Refining in such a short time, at this rate, by the graduation assessment in three years, I'll probably be at least at the ninth layer of Qi Refining?"

Li Mo couldn't help but think optimistically.

There were so-called major bottlenecks at the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth layers of Qi Refining.

However, he also knew that his current astonishing cultivation speed was partly due to frequently entering the Misty Dreamscape during thunderstorms. Once the summer thunderstorms ended and his opportunities to enter the Misty Dreamscape decreased, his cultivation speed would naturally slow down.

As his cultivation increased, so would the time and effort required. Considering all these factors, he couldn't give an accurate assessment.

Moreover, in a cultivator's journey, personal opportunities were also an extremely important factor.

Excited, Li Mo immediately activated his Spirit Eye again.

This was the only spell he had mastered so far. Concentrating his Magical Power in his eyes, he looked in all directions and could vaguely see faint wisps of spiritual energy forming human shapes.

It seemed others were also cultivating nearby.

Next, Li Mo noticed a faint spiritual glow on the courtyard wall, exuding an aura of invincibility.

He guessed this was likely the Lingmu Sect's mountain-protecting formation, which not only enveloped the entire Qingming Mountain but also divided the sect into dozens of courtyard areas.

Currently in the Enlightenment Hall, Li Mo naturally found it difficult to see the situation outside through his Spirit Eye.

"Sometimes, it's better not to activate the Spirit Eye."

After a moment of curiosity, Li Mo deactivated his Spirit Eye and looked outside with his natural vision. He could see more clearly, which made him mutter to himself.

He then sensed his Dantian.

Compared to the first layer of Qi Refining, the Magical Power vortex at the second layer of Qi Refining was noticeably more solidified and slightly larger, but that was all. There were no fundamental changes.

"It seems that as Wang Feng said, only at the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth layers of Qi Refining will there be some special changes in the Dantian's Magical Power, and the cultivator's strength will greatly increase. It's not just empty talk."

With his current Magical Power at the second layer of Qi Refining, Li Mo could now easily and skillfully activate his Spirit Eye, which was certainly enough to handle the upcoming introductory assessment in a few days.

It was then that he realized, without noticing, that it was already the Hai Time (9-11 PM).

"It's so late, and so many people are still studying diligently."

Li Mo had always considered himself one of the most diligent people in the Enlightenment Hall, but he never expected that there were many others who worked even harder than him. It was already so late, and so many people were still quietly cultivating.

He walked down the rock garden, and at the same time, someone else happened to finish their cultivation and descend.

The two froze for a moment upon seeing each other.

It was a fair-skinned girl with wide eyes staring at him. Li Mo recognized her after a closer look as Zhao Xiaonan, a friend of Zhu Yidan.

"Li Mo?"

Zhao Xiaonan exclaimed in surprise. "You're cultivating here too?"

"Yeah, I've been cultivating here since the start of the semester."

Zhao Xiaonan looked surprised.

"Me too. I can't believe we've been so close for so long without knowing. A few days ago, a student named Chen Chen had a backlash from their magical power here. I hesitated for days, wondering if I should find a new place."

"I heard about that too. Chen Chen wasn't found until noon the next day..."

The two walked together, chatting as they headed towards the dorms.

Thanks to Zhu Yidan, they were acquainted, but not deeply. This chance encounter seemed to bring them closer.

A few days later.

The three-month enlightenment learning period concluded, and the Lingmu Sect would begin its enlightenment assessment for everyone.

Including Ding Wei, twelve Foundation Establishment Realm uncles stood in a line, looking at the over five hundred students arranged in neat rows in the courtyard, being openly assessed by members of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Li Mo and Lu Tianyou stood together, constantly craning their necks to look ahead.

They only knew the assessment was fast, but they couldn't see the specific content.

A hawk-eyed cultivator with an unusually pale face stood at a high vantage point, loudly calling out names and, like a judge, emotionlessly announcing "Pass" or "Fail."

"Liu Yaoyao, Fail!"

In Ding Wei's enlightenment class, many students had already been declared to have failed the assessment, including Hu Tian'er and Liu Yaoyao.

Li Mo sighed softly.

"The elimination rate is about fifty percent."

Lu Tianyou, however, laughed carelessly. "My sweet Tian'er sister. Last time she saw me being so arrogant, she said I was useless. Turns out she's the one who got eliminated... Heh heh. Seeing you cry your eyes out now, I almost feel sad too. It's a pity we're destined to be different people."

At this moment.

The calling of names resumed from the front. It was Li Mo's turn.

"Here!"

Li Mo hurried forward and stepped onto the high platform.

Five cultivators with different expressions sat in a row. Behind them stood the twelve uncles and aunts from the Enlightenment Hall responsible for enlightenment education. They were expressionless, like a group of wooden figures.

A plump cultivator looked at Li Mo with a kind smile.

"Don't be nervous. We are the chief examiners. Here are ten Copper Coins. You only need to activate your spiritual eyes and find the three most special ones within ten breaths. The assessment begins!"

One moment he was kindly assuring Li Mo not to be nervous, the next he coldly announced the start of the test, making Li Mo shiver.

He quickly activated his spiritual eyes and looked at the ten Copper Coins on the table.

With just a cursory glance, Li Mo spotted three Copper Coins that were different.

The other Copper Coins looked lifeless to Li Mo, appearing dark gray. But these three Copper Coins seemed to possess a life of their own, with spiritual energy faintly flowing within them.

He then took out these three Copper Coins.

The five supervising examiners nodded as they saw this.

The plump-faced cultivator took back the three Copper Coins Li Mo had retrieved. The pale, hawk-eyed man, upon receiving instructions, loudly announced the assessment result to the crowd.

"Li Mo, Pass!"

Li Mo smiled slightly, bowed to the uncles and aunts presiding over the assessment, and left.