Divine Intent Achieved!

The clamor in the arena continued without end, while the platform above lay in dead silence.

Listening to the cries from the heart ringing out from the stakes, the leaders of the Three Gangs and Four Families went pale, then green, their faces utterly disgraced. Pang Shilang's expression was even darker, as though water could drip from it.

The eldest grandson he had always favored had voluntarily exposed such family shame—he loved his father's equal wife. It was something Pang Shilang had never imagined.

Usually, he seemed refined and scholarly, sensible and proper, respectful of rules and boundaries. Yet his heart was so twisted...

Quite a few curious people secretly glanced sideways, observing the reaction of the person involved while fearing they would be noticed...

Lu Li's mind seemed to be scorched, the agony tormenting him.

The killing intent had only just been suppressed.

Then, an even fiercer and more surging obsession stirred monstrous waves in his heart.

It was his obsession with martial arts, the thoughts accumulated step by step through countless days and nights, the strongest voice in the depths of his heart.

Lu Li's pupils abruptly contracted, and his breathing quickened.

Wasn't martial obsession something every person should possess? Even martial obsession could be amplified?

Then what exactly was this Heart-Questioning Stake testing?

Amid the tangled swirl of thoughts, Lu Li gradually sorted through his mind. Since every obsession and delusion was amplified without distinction, perhaps the Heart-Questioning Stake could not distinguish good thoughts from bad at all. Perhaps it only possessed the ability to magnify thoughts...

At that thought.

Lu Li began guiding his usual calmness, slowly clearing and steadying his mind as he immersed every thought in the Hidden-Blade Intent.

He decided to use Divine Intent to withstand the pressure that burned his heart and seared his spirit.

The pressure of the Heart-Questioning Iron Stake continued. One examinee after another lost control, collapsed into chaos, and fell from the tops of their stakes.

Yet Lu Li seemed to have found the key.

He used the Hidden-Blade Intent to resist the immense pressure, forcing himself to focus and escape the agony of being crushed by obsession.

But as time passed, the more Lu Li resisted, the less the pressure weakened or vanished. Instead, it gradually intensified, as though it meant to grind the resisting Lu Li into dust.

It did not merely press down on his flesh and blood.

It pressed upon his spirit, his intent, and his heart-soul. Pressure came from every direction, wave after wave, steadily growing greater...

At that moment, in order to resist the mountain-like pressure and keep his thoughts from collapsing, Lu Li began tempering his Divine Intent beneath the crushing burden.

Beneath the illumination of the Celebratory Cloud Lamp, he began analyzing the immense pressure and tempering his Hidden-Blade Intent under its weight.

And he slowly began advancing in the right direction.

He gradually discovered the sluggishness in his spirit, the muddled impurities in his martial intent, the flaws in his thoughts, the weak points in his will... Once these problems, which he usually ignored, were exposed one after another, he crushed them all.

Lu Li quietly entered a state of selflessness.

Throughout the process, his martial intent gradually became purer, clearer, more coherent, and less flawed.

The greater the pressure upon his true heart, the calmer it became.

The greater the pressure upon his thoughts, the clearer they became!

The Heart-Questioning Stake's dim light wrapped around him without cease, while the power of Magnetic Soul washed over him endlessly.

Not only did the immense pressure fail to crush his mind, it instead helped him extinguish every last stray and muddled delusion, thoroughly pulverizing all selfish and distracting thoughts detrimental to his martial path.

Two hours later, only ten people remained atop the stakes.

Lu Li was still cultivating in selfless absorption, as though this was not an examination but a sacred ground for his cultivation.

Another three hours passed, and night descended.

Only three people remained in the arena.

Quite a few distinguished guests in the viewing stands had already temporarily left.

Only Gao Jiangong remained unruffled, quietly observing the situation in the arena and scrutinizing the changes around him, prepared for any sudden crisis.

Naturally, the two proctors could not leave either.

Among the five great sects, many elders secretly left behind representatives while slipping away themselves.

Only Yu Canglan of the Eight Forms Sect remained with a smile on his face.

As for the seventy-two martial schools, aside from those represented by the three remaining contestants and the Lineages behind them, everyone else had departed to prepare for tomorrow's second test.

The crowd began discussing matters as well.

This first stage was not an elimination round. Rather, the examinees would be scored according to their performance.

The longer one endured, the higher one's evaluation would naturally be.

In the depths of the night.

Ge Yuanzheng, who stood in third place, drew a deep breath and was forced to leap down from the top of his stake.

At this point below the platform.

Only Qin Shaoheng of the Canal Gang and Lu Li remained.

Lu Li's eyes were shut tight. His expression was tranquil and his posture relaxed, as though the enormous pressure did not exist at all.

His Divine Intent no longer depended on the Hidden Blade. It had broken free from it, able to gather and disperse at will.

From then on, his spirit repository stood on its own, his conscious thoughts existed independently, and his calmness came from his heart rather than external force or objects.

At this point, considering Divine Intent alone, his Divine Intent had already reached Minor Achievement.

It had to be known that Su Meiyi had begun nurturing his spirit at the age of six, only barely reaching Minor Achievement after ten years. Lu Li, however, had gone from initiation to Minor Achievement in a single night.

The next morning.

Qin Shaoheng opened his eyes and leaped down from the stake, delight evident on his face. Clearly, he had gained greatly from this experience.

The guests in the viewing stands had returned to their places as they had the previous day. The entire venue was packed, every seat occupied.

Everyone's gaze was fixed upon the sole youth in the arena.

Many began to stir, and some ill-intentioned people wanted to speak and disrupt Lu Li's cultivation state.

But after glancing up at Gao Jiangong on the platform, they quietly suppressed the evil thoughts in their hearts.

The atmosphere in the viewing stands gradually became oppressive and deathly still.

Just then, Gao Jiangong's deep voice exploded beside every person's ear in the arena.

"Those who attempt to disrupt the peace of the Martial Examination shall die!"

Secret voice transmission!

This secret transmission entered the ears of every spectator present without discrimination. Naturally, it did not include Lu Li, who remained atop the stake.

The scene immediately became peaceful and harmonious.

Time passed.

Another day went by.

The third morning arrived.

Yu Canglan, Shen Gangfu, and Lin Lanyi all knew what this trial meant to Lu Li. Their eyes were filled with appreciation, and they were quietly happy for him.

All three were also quite pleased with their own judgment. They had placed their bets on Lu Li early, yet Lu Li's performance had far exceeded their expectations.

Although all three had tried their best to think highly of Lu Li, the facts proved that they had still underestimated his potential.

The others were different.

Though they were unhappy in a hundred different ways, they had no choice but to sit quietly in the viewing stands with their eyes open, watching Lu Li stand upon the stake.

Some of the more impatient ones had begun nodding off.

Near noon on the third day.

Buzz!

A soundless, formless roar rang out in Lu Li's mind.

The tranquil Divine Intent that had accumulated for so long, tempered beneath ten thousand jun of pressure, seemed to suddenly shatter through a certain layer of shackles.

There was no heaven-shaking radiance, nor any surging waves of air.

All agitation in his heart was extinguished, and he saw through illusion and reality.

In complete silence, his Divine Intent reached Major Achievement.

Once Divine Intent had formed, his mind became like a deep pool. No disturbance from external things could stir a ripple within his heart. Within a radius of several feet, he could sense the tension in an opponent's muscles and thoughts, the stored force in their tendons and fascia, and predict their moves.

At the same time, after enduring such crushing pressure for three days, his divine awareness had gradually merged with the ability to amplify human obsessions.

Should he encounter Divine Intent pressure capable of amplifying obsessions again, it would have nothing to cling to and would disperse on its own.

At the same time, his Divine Intent could impose a faint pressure on the mind, disrupting an opponent's senses and magnifying some of their obsessions.

Compared to Minor Achievement, his Divine Intent was more condensed, pure, and lucid.

From now on, severing distracting thoughts and delusions would be as easy as drinking water, and external disturbances would find it difficult to shake his true heart.

Lu Li did not sigh with emotion. He continued cultivating, charging toward the completion of Divine Intent.

"Wake up!"

At that moment, a faint voice echoed beside his ear.

"From Major Achievement to completion, you will need at least half a month. A divine miracle is about to descend. Once the Martial Examination ends, I will permit you to borrow this Heart-Questioning Stake for half a month of cultivation."

Hearing this, Lu Li gave a slight nod. He understood at once that this was Dean Gao's voice.

He opened his eyes, gathered his robes with both hands, then bowed formally toward Dean Gao on the high platform, gratitude visible in his eyes.

"The first round of the Martial Examination—Heart-Questioning Stake. First-Rank Champion: Lu Li."

Dean Gao's voice, deep and resonant as a bell, rang out and spread across the entire martial arena.