Three Great Precepts

"Speaking of which, I basically know all the examinees in Donghua City with a Primordial Spirit Value of 99." Jing Xiu looked at Zhou Bai curiously. "Why don't I know you? Are you new to Donghua City?"

Zhou Bai nodded. "I was a survivor from the wilderness. I was only rescued by the rescue team not long ago."

Jing Xiu looked at Zhou Bai in surprise. "The wilderness? Are there still survivors out there now?"

The next moment, she covered her mouth awkwardly. "Sorry. But since you managed to survive in the wilderness, when it comes to willpower, I'm afraid none of us can compare to you—except that freak Zuo Dao."

As she spoke, her gaze toward Zhou Bai was filled with admiration.

Zhou Bai scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's nothing, it's nothing. Just luck."

As Zhou Bai and Jing Xiu talked, a young teacher floated above everyone's heads. Looking at the examinees before him, he said, "Hello, everyone. I am the proctor for this examination, as well as a teacher for the next class of Dao School students—Lü Chongyang.

"You are all people with the hope of entering the Dao, with cultivation as your goal.

"Then you should all know that a hundred years ago, Pure Hermit, a great cultivator of our Donghua University, proposed the Three Great Precepts of cultivation. They were later widely adopted and became the consensus of all cultivators throughout the cultivation world. No matter what, do not violate these three precepts."

The young teacher's face was solemn. "First, do not face the Heavenly Dao directly."

"Second, do not let the Primordial Spirit leave the body."

"Third, do not greedily seek merit and advance rashly."

"Only by strictly following the Three Great Precepts of cultivation can we travel farther on the road of seeking the Dao. Only then can humanity's cultivators maintain their current numbers and avoid madness and aberration."

"And to strictly follow the Three Great Precepts of cultivation requires powerful willpower and incomparable self-discipline. That is why the entrance test of our Donghua Dao School assesses candidates' willpower every year, testing whether they can endure the hardships along the road of cultivation."

The students all around held their breaths and spontaneously lined up in silence, listening quietly to Lü Chongyang's speech with remarkable discipline.

Some nodded from time to time, deeply agreeing with what Lü Chongyang had said.

Ever since Christina had been taken into Zhou Bai's mind, she had sulked in silence. But upon hearing the Three Great Precepts of cultivation, she suddenly nodded. "That sounds awfully familiar. Wasn't that something I said before?"

Zhou Bai rolled his eyes. "Those were the words of an ancient man from a hundred years ago. What does that have to do with you?"

"At this moment, the remaining 12,000 examinees will be divided into four examination grounds to undergo the second round of testing simultaneously." As Lü Chongyang spoke, he formed a Dao seal with his hands. Blue light began flashing beneath everyone's feet, streams of light converging into lines and forming a vast circular track, three to four kilometers long.

"This round of testing is running," Lü Chongyang said. "But it is not ordinary running. This four-kilometer circular track is a cultivation treasure newly refined by our school: the Heavenly Road."

"Running on the Heavenly Road requires not only the strength of the body, but also the strength of one's will.

"Because every step you take on it stirs the Spiritual Machine, running on it does not merely tire the body—your mind will also rapidly grow exhausted. If your will is not strong enough, you will run slower and slower. Its difficulty is ten times that of ordinary running."

"You examinees who have yet to enter the Dao have unenhanced bodies, possessing only Primordial Spirit Power. During this examination, you may use only your physical strength. You may not use Primordial Spirit Power to assist your running.

"Therefore, if you wish to keep running on the Heavenly Road, what you need is unwavering will. The stronger your will, the longer and faster you can run on the Heavenly Road."

Lü Chongyang paused, giving the examinees a moment to think, before continuing, "However, stirring the Spiritual Machine does not merely bring additional fatigue. While you run, it can also assist you in drawing in and exhaling the Spiritual Machine, increasing your Primordial Spirit Power.

"The stronger your willpower, the faster and farther you can run. Those with powerful willpower can increase their Primordial Spirit Power more quickly through training on the Heavenly Road."

Upon hearing Lü Chongyang's introduction, the many examinees all wore looks of amazement. As they looked at the Heavenly Road track before them, eager expressions flickered across their faces.

Those who had come to take Donghua Dao School's entrance examination and passed the first round naturally had confidence in their own talent and willpower. Faced with this Heavenly Road track, they naturally wanted to try increasing their Primordial Spirit Power through running.

But upon hearing Lü Chongyang's introduction, Christina in Zhou Bai's head gave a soft laugh, then immediately raised a cat paw to cover her mouth.

Zhou Bai frowned and asked her in his heart, "What is it?"

Christina waved her paw. "Nothing, nothing."

Just then, Lü Chongyang continued, "Therefore, in this round of the examination, everyone will run together on the Heavenly Road. Starting from the fifth minute, anyone who can no longer run will be eliminated immediately, wherever they are. And every five seconds, I will eliminate the slowest runner present.

"This will continue until only the final three hundred remain. Those three hundred will be the people present with the strongest willpower, and they will be the ones who pass this test."

Hearing Lü Chongyang's words, everyone present instantly grew tense.

There were 12,000 people who had passed the first round, divided among four examination grounds. That meant 3,000 people per ground, with 300 passing—a pass rate of one in ten.

That was even lower than the pass rate in previous years.

Many examinees could not help recalling certain rumors. It seemed the tales of a difficult situation and the human side's resources growing scarcer by the year were not without foundation.

Next, with a thought from Lü Chongyang, Primordial Spirit Power spread from his consciousness into the real world, sweeping up the wristbands prepared at the side and accurately dropping one into the hands of everyone present.

Such powerful Primordial Spirit Power. Zhou Bai thought. And he accurately picked up three thousand wristbands and placed one before every person. That level of control is terrifying too.

Lü Chongyang continued, "These wristbands will record your speed. Five minutes from now, every five seconds, the wristband of the slowest person will turn red, indicating that they have been eliminated. If you stop because you cannot run anymore, it will also turn red immediately, indicating elimination.

"Everyone, put on your wristbands and do some warm-up exercises."

A few minutes later, the three thousand examinees set off from the starting point one after another, beginning the second round of testing.

Zhou Bai ran alongside Jing Xiu. After only a few steps, he began to feel waves of unceasing force clinging to both his body and mind, making every movement feel ten times more exhausting.

It was not just physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion as well.

Like everyone else, during the first five minutes, they all ran at the slowest possible pace to conserve their strength.

But even so, after only one minute of running, Zhou Bai was already starting to pant.

Ever since this body had become young again, it had been very healthy. Its physical condition would have counted as excellent in the society of the past, outstanding even among people of the same age.

But now, before he had even run for a minute, he already felt as if every step were an arduous struggle. Each stride and every footfall required him to persevere through sheer will.

"Damn... I'm exhausted... I can't keep this up..." Zhou Bai looked up and discovered that most of the examinees around him were the same, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat, all looking as though they could not hold on any longer.

But Jing Xiu beside him, though likewise soaked in sweat, still had a resolute gaze, and her movements showed not the slightest disorder.