Asura Mad Emperor

"Hmm?"

With his keen senses, Qinchuan naturally wouldn't miss the glint of peculiarity in Elder Cheng's eyes.

At the same time, he also felt that someone was watching him from the shadows.

Glancing casually in the direction of a distant pavilion, the corners of Qinchuan's mouth lifted slightly.

"Well then, since everyone is here, let's begin the second phase of the assessment!"

"The test I am responsible for in this second phase is the Dao Heart Test!"

"In the path of cultivation, Root Bone Talent is fundamental, but the Dao Heart is also extremely important!"

"If a person's mind is not steadfast, then no matter how high their talent, they will ultimately become indistinguishable from the masses. On the contrary, if talent is lacking but one possesses a resolute Dao Heart, great achievements are still difficult to attain."

"Therefore, after testing your Root Bone Talent in the first phase, this second phase will test your Dao Heart. Only after passing this will you be able to reach the mountain top to undergo the final assessment of comprehension and innate talent!"

Elder Cheng's gaze never left Qinchuan as he swept over the twenty thousand young men and women who had passed the first phase of the assessment and spoke loudly.

His voice was booming, infused with True Qi, ensuring that everyone in the square heard him clearly.

Then, with a flip of his hand and a pinch of a spell, he took out a token, struck it with the spell he had formed, and shouted, "Summon the Thousand Illusion Tower!"

"Whooosh!"

"Swish swish swish!"

In an instant, spiritual Qi from all directions surged wildly, stirring up storms.

Soon after, the void thundered.

Countless blazing divine lights appeared out of thin air.

At last, a massive tower shot out from the void and landed on the ground!

"The Thousand Illusion Tower has a total of ten layers, each containing dozens or even hundreds of Illusion Realms!"

"The higher the floor of the tower, the stronger and more numerous the Illusion Realms contained within!"

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"This Thousand Illusion Tower is your test. As long as you can break through the first layer, or withstand the first layer for the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, you will have passed my Dao Heart Test!"

Elder Cheng declared.

"What?"

"That easy? Just get through the first layer or hold on for the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, and you pass the test?"

"Easy? You know nothing. This Thousand Illusion Tower test is one of the most difficult assessments of Congyun Sect. The Illusion Realms are incredibly strong and realistic. Once you enter, you can't tell if you are in reality or an Illusion Realm; many get confused and lose their sense of self, thus getting eliminated!"

Suddenly, numerous young men and women in the square exclaimed in surprise. Some, not very familiar with the Thousand Illusion Tower, thought this aspect of the Dao Heart Test would be easy. However, a few disciples from Congyun Sect, tasked with keeping order, heard this and delivered a merciless reality check, "Out of you twenty thousand, it would be a miracle if four thousand pass the test."

"After all, our Congyun Sect is one of the six Superior Sects in Shanhe County and boasts a long heritage spanning over a hundred thousand years. In our glorious past, we once dominated the entire Divine Wilderness Continent, so not just anyone can join our Congyun Sect," one of the official disciples of Congyun Sect said with evident pride.

However, upon hearing his words, all the disciples participating in the assessment on the square turned deathly pale.

Out of twenty thousand, only four thousand may pass the test, and even that would be considered a miracle?

Such a pass rate was dreadfully low.

Everyone was deeply concerned.

However, after hearing Elder Cheng's words, Qinchuan frowned and asked, "Since when has the Dao Heart assessment of Congyun Sect had such a low threshold?"

"A firm Dao Heart is more important and rare than Root Bone Talent. For this reason, the founding patriarch of Congyun Sect placed the Dao Heart assessment after the Root Bone assessment, as the second barrier."

"Therefore, the threshold for the Dao Heart assessment should be at least passing through the first layer and entering the second layer of the Thousand Illusion Tower, barely meeting the criteria for joining the sect. Yet, Elder Cheng said that merely lingering in the first layer of the Thousand Illusion Tower for half the time it takes to burn incense is sufficient. Such a test cannot sufficiently determine the purity of a disciple's Dao Heart."

He was all too familiar with the Thousand Illusion Tower.

It was he who had personally refined it.

Within the Thousand Illusion Tower, he had created a total of ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Illusion Realms!

Not only was it to check the Dao Heart, but it was also to help his followers train their own Dao Hearts, strengthen their wills, and drive away inner demons.

Back then, the standard for passing the Dao Heart assessment was to at least break through the first layer and enter the second one!

Although he had noticed during the first barrier of the Root Bone assessment that the standards had also been lowered.

However, Qinchuan's emphasis on Root Bone Talent was far less significant than his strictness regarding the Dao Heart.

Only a strong, unwavering Dao Heart is the most precious attribute of a cultivator, far more important than Root Bone Talent.

If one's talent is not strong but the Dao Heart is firm, and the practice of cultivation persists with dedication and without forgetting one's original aspirations, there will come a day of great success!

But if the Dao Heart is not steady, fickle, and unable to withstand setbacks, then on this arduous path of cultivation, one cannot possibly go far.

In the end, such a person may even be inferior to someone of ordinary talent.

Therefore, at this moment, Qinchuan could no longer restrain himself and raised the question.

"Hmm?"

"A low threshold?"

"Passing through the first layer of the Thousand Illusion Tower and entering the second is considered passing the assessment?"

Hearing Qinchuan's words, Elder Cheng was taken aback and then sneered at him with a glance, "Young man, I know you might indeed possess some Root Bone Talent, but your mindset is still lacking. Such arrogance and lack of down-to-earthness, even with some cultivation talent, it will be hard for you to achieve great success!"

"You suggest that passing through the first layer of the Thousand Illusion Tower to reach the second is the standard for passing the assessment. Do you realize that in the last several thousand to nearly ten thousand years, the number of candidates who pass through the first layer to the second each year are less than a hundred?!"

"If we were to use the standards you suggest, then from your group, perhaps only a mere few dozen would eventually pass the examination."

"As for your arrogant and conceited nature, I expect it to be difficult for you to pass the assessment, too!"

Qinchuan was taken aback by these words. He hadn't expected that among those taking the Congyun Sect entrance examination each year, fewer than a hundred could pass through the first layer of the Thousand Illusion Tower and step into the second.

His eyes flickered slightly, wanting to say something, but it finally turned into a sigh, "It seems the Congyun Sect really has fallen..."

He had already guessed why this was the case.

In former years, Congyun Sect had been at its zenith. All prodigies of Tianyuan Nation dreamt of joining Congyun Sect.

At that time, talents flocked to join Congyun Sect as plentiful as carps crossing a river, uncountable. Naturally, all those qualified to participate in the sect's entrance examinations were extraordinarily outstanding.

But now, with the decline of Congyun Sect during the years of change and the rise of other sects, just in the small Shanhe County alone, another five Superior Sects have emerged, each overshadowing Congyun Sect.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Those truly outstanding talents have been divided up among the other major sects. How many high-quality prodigies were left for Congyun Sect then?

If they continued to recruit disciples with the same standards as before, the fresh blood of Congyun Sect would have long since been cut off.