At the end of the stone steps, there is an open platform.
The platform is paved with bluestone, which is as flat as a mirror and can clearly reflect people's reflections.
On the other side of the platform, a mountain rises from the ground.
It was exactly the same as what he saw on the Spirit Realm sky dome before.
The mountain is not too high, no more than a thousand meters by visual inspection.
From the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, dozens of pavilions with white walls, gray tiles and cornices are scattered in an orderly manner.
Halfway up the mountainside, clouds and mist are lingering, and a higher palace can be vaguely seen hidden among the clouds, with only the golden temple roof and vermilion pillars exposed.
"Exactly the same as what you see outside..."
Ye Wudao stood on the platform, looked around, and whispered to himself.
The doors and windows of those pavilions were open, but there were no lights, no figures, and no sounds inside.
Myriad Worlds Academy, as quiet as a painting.
"I'm in, what next?"
Ye Wudao stood on the edge of the platform, his eyes sweeping over the pavilions.
He did not rush up the mountain, but observed it for a while.
Those pavilions are distributed very regularly, spiraling up the mountain, like a long dragon coiled on the mountain, and the position of the dragon's head is the main hall hidden in the clouds.
"The primary assessment is called "Mirror Breaking", so the next step should be the formal assessment?"
While he was thinking, he suddenly noticed a wooden sign hanging at the door of the first pavilion at the foot of the mountain.
The wooden sign was very old, and the edges were somewhat blackened, as if it had been beaten by wind and rain for many years.
There was a line of words engraved on the wooden sign in a simple font. Although he couldn't understand the words, he understood the meaning at a glance.
"A strong heart leads to a smooth road."
No signature, no explanation, just these five words.
Look at the plaque on the attic again. On the plaque are the words "Beginner Pavilion".
"So, this is the official assessment?"
"The previous assessment was just a preliminary assessment. Only by passing the preliminary assessment can you be qualified to enter here?"
He looked at the words on the plaque and wooden sign and murmured softly.
At the same time, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"You can only climb to the top after clearing the seven pavilions."
"If you fail one level, your body will die and your path will disappear."
"If you want to retreat, you can retreat now."
"Succeed in climbing to the top, please see me."
When these three sentences appeared in Ye Wudao's mind, his eyes narrowed slightly.
There are no such prompts during the primary assessment.
In other words, if you fail the preliminary examination, your life will not be in danger.
Now enter the formal assessment. If you fail the assessment, you will die.
"So, the assessment of the Myriad Worlds Academy is to climb this mountain?"
"Every time you pass a loft, does it count as a level?"
He looked at the seven lofts built next to the hiking trail and narrowed his eyes.
There are many lofts nearby, but only these seven lofts are on both sides of the hiking trail.
Therefore, these seven lofts are the seven levels of the official assessment.
And the palace on the top of the mountain is the final destination.
Climb to the top of the palace and you will get the inheritance of the Myriad Worlds Academy!
Ye Wudao took a deep breath and glanced behind him.
Currently, no one has passed the primary examination.
In the entire Myriad Worlds Academy, he is the only one.
He took a deep breath and pushed open the door of the Beginner Pavilion.
Behind the door is a deep corridor.
There are stone walls on both sides of the corridor, and a copper lamp is embedded every few steps. The flame is dim and can only illuminate a few meters around it.
Ye Wudao took a deep breath and stepped in.
The door behind him closed silently, completely blocking his escape route.
The corridor is not too long. After walking about twenty steps, the front suddenly opens up.
A circular stone chamber with a high dome and a stone pillar standing in the middle, with a line of words engraved on the pillar:
"Is it okay to do it if you know it can't be done?"
Ye Wudao read it again and again.
This is not a question, this is an exam question.
Just as he was about to answer, a door suddenly appeared on the wall next to the stone pillar.
The door was ajar, and a faint light shone through the crack.
Ye Wudao approached slowly and opened the door.
Behind the door is a battlefield.
Corpses littered the fields, and smoke filled the air. There was the sound of horns in the distance, and the groans of the wounded nearby.
He stood on the top of a dilapidated city, and at his feet were the soldiers guarding the city. They were in ragged clothes and with incomplete weapons. The enemy troops were pouring in from the plains in black.
A bloody veteran staggered up to him and shouted, "General, withdraw! We can't hold it anymore!"
Ye Wudao looked down at his body. He was wearing blood-stained armor and was holding a broken sword in his hand.
This scene is not his memory, it is "stuffed" by the illusion.
But at this moment, he was that general, standing on top of a city that was destined to be undefendable, facing a choice.
He knew it was false.
But he also knows that the "choice" here will reflect his true heart.
A strong heart leads to a clear road. These five words are the assessment content of this level.
He can understand that what is tested in this level is the will.
Therefore, he could not retreat. He knew that once he retreated, this level would be a complete failure.
And the price of failure is death!
"Withdraw?"
Ye Wudao raised his head, looked at the dark enemy army in the distance, and twitched the corner of his mouth.
"If we withdraw, what will happen to the people in this city?"
The veteran was stunned for a moment. "General, what kind of people are you talking about... This city has been empty for a long time. What we are guarding is an empty city!"
Ye Wudao was also stunned for a moment.
He turned around and looked into the city.
Sure enough, the streets in the city were empty, the doors and windows were closed, and there was no one around.
What he said just now, "What should the people do?" was a thought brought into his own mind, not something given to him by this illusion.
An idea that doesn't belong in this scene.
But Ye Wudao's hand holding the broken sword did not loosen.
He was silent for a moment, looked up at the veteran, and suddenly asked, "What about you? Why are you still guarding?"
The veteran looked at him blankly for a while before whispering:
"Because General, you haven't left yet."
Ye Wudao's heart trembled.
He looked down at the remnants of the soldiers at his feet. They were all sallow and thin, with wounds on their bodies, and could hardly hold their weapons, but everyone's eyes were on him.
They were waiting for him to speak.
Wait for him to give the order to retreat, or wait for him to turn around and leave, then they can abandon the city with peace of mind.
But he didn't.
He stood here the whole time, so they didn't leave.
"Keeping it even though you know you can't keep it, what's that?"
Ye Wudao said softly.
Holding the broken sword, he walked down the steps at the top of the city, walked among the soldiers, patted one man on the shoulder, and helped the other man up from the ground.
He didn't give any orders, he just walked into the middle of them, then turned around, facing the direction of the city gate, and tightened his grip on the broken sword in his hand.
He stood at the front of the team.
The soldiers behind him were silent for a moment.
Then, I don't know who stood up first, followed by the second, third, and fourth...
Those who were lying, leaning, and barely able to stand stood up straight one after another.
They held broken weapons and stood behind Ye Wudao.
Although there was no formation or order, everyone was facing the city gate and the pressing darkness.
Ye Wudao did not look back, but said softly, "Doing it if you know it is impossible does not necessarily mean you will win."
"Sometimes, I don't want to regret it."
The moment he finished speaking, the enemy troops outside the city stopped.
It wasn't that he was defeated, but that the illusion was like a scroll, starting to shatter and peel off inch by inch from a distance.
The walls of the city, the soldiers, the smoke, and the sky all collapsed, revealing the walls of the stone chamber behind them.
Ye Wudao stood in the stone chamber again.
The line of writing on the stone pillar is still there, but the writing is much darker, and there is a golden mark on the wall next to it.
A small symbol that looks like a flame or a star.
The first test was passed.
However, he did not turn around and leave.
Because, a stone door in the stone room opened, and a corridor appeared again.
Like the previous corridor, it was surrounded by bronze lamps, which emitted a dim light.
However, this time, there are two words directly above the corridor.
"Gains and losses."