Advancement! Level 3 Destined Bai Zhou!

"Did I just get... abducted by the temple?" Bai Zhou was slightly dazed. His immediate reaction was to raise the purple-gold saber and slash toward the wall before him. "[Moon Cinder Holy Oath Slash]!" *Boom!* A roaring blade edge traced a fiery-red full moon through the air, crashing into the nearby wall with thunderous speed. Crafted from some unknown material that seemed neither stone nor iron, the silvery-white wall remained completely unmoved. Just like the colossal bronze lock from before, not even the faintest mark was left behind. What if he repeated the old trick and carved the forbidden ancient glyph? Whirling up a black tempest in such a cramped space would leave Bai Zhou taking the brunt of it, dragged straight into the heart of the hurricane to joyously party with demons and monsters... Thus, an abrupt yet undeniable reality lay before Bai Zhou. He was trapped here. At that moment, the cold mechanical voice rang out once again. Obscure, ancient words drifted into the depths of Bai Zhou's mind, making their meaning clear: "Elite assessment commencing." "Please learn the secret art on the wall: the first three stances of the [Nine Basic Slashes]." "Master them within thirty-six hours, and you may wield them to break out of the assessment chamber." —*And what if I fail?* The question sprang to Bai Zhou's mind immediately. No one would answer if he asked, but there was no need to ask anyway. The skeletons strewn everywhere said it all. The temple didn't even have to do anything. Without food or water, trapped indefinitely in this enclosed chamber with no way out, any examinee would die of natural causes over time. "This is trouble." With that thought, Bai Zhou hurriedly looked up at the surrounding walls. Dense clusters of illustrated figures were walking, sitting, lying down, throwing punches, and leaping. After staring at them for a while, Bai Zhou suddenly felt as though these little figures came to life, shifting from static to dynamic to demonstrate martial movements right before his eyes. Hundreds of intricate diagrams and runes seemed to awaken all at once, washing over Bai Zhou with a vast, searing, and ancient, desolately grand aura. In a trance, he seemed to see a sun rising from the sea. Even with just a cursory glance, Bai Zhou felt mentally drained, deeply appreciating their profound breadth and depth. Their concept and essence surpassed the [Moon Cinder Holy Oath Slash] he had learned by far too much to quantify. Yet such a secret art was merely the first three stances of some [Nine Basic Slashes]? Where was the "basic" in that? Furthermore— Master all of them in just thirty-six hours? Sheer fantasy! No wonder there were so many skeletons here! Crow, the devil instructor whom Bai Zhou had once feared... seemed as kind as an angel compared to this temple! Setting aside whether Bai Zhou could master them one by one in a mere thirty-six hours, the crux of the matter was... When 36 o'clock arrived, he would have to return. Subtracting the time already spent, at the very most, he could only remain here for a little over eleven hours. Where was he supposed to get thirty-six hours? Once he departed midway, Bai Zhou might never be able to enter this temple again, thereby missing out on every legacy here. The path ahead would be cut off. Unless... Unless staying in this isolated place, unable to hear the bell outside, meant Bai Zhou wouldn't be able to return to the real world. Yet that was even more terrifying. Trapped in the Reflected Ruin Realm and failing to return when time was up? Bai Zhou had never heard of anyone like that, nor did he know what would happen afterward. Perhaps by then, he would never be able to return... This was a dead world. The Deep Ruin Realm and Wancheng, perched on the outer edge of the Reflected Ruin Realm's surface, were completely different concepts. With the unknown, Bai Zhou dared not gamble. This conflicting dilemma filled Bai Zhou with worry. An uncertain future ultimately turned into an insurmountable eleven-hour deadline. A suffocating sense of pressure bore down on him. Just then— *Buzz!* A brick-sized slit slowly opened in the wall, spitting out a test-tube vial filled with green liquid. *Clatter, clatter...* The vial rolled across the floor. Bai Zhou warily approached and inspected the liquid inside. "What is this...?" The vivid green color looked exceedingly ominous, reminding him of thick green broth brewed in a cauldron by a wicked witch deep in the forest, or foul potions brewed from dried pufferfish and dried lizards by an old wizard holed up in an antique shop. The slit in the wall sealed shut again without a seam, and the cold mechanical voice sounded once more: "Candidate, please consume the nutrient solution." "This nutrient solution sustains the candidate's physical conditioning requirements while enhancing brain activity, aiding the candidate's learning." Nutrient solution? Aren't you an ancient civilization from thousands of years ago... Why are you so advanced? Bai Zhou felt as though he had seen a ghost. He had originally thought the overall living standards of this civilization were inferior to Wancheng... Yet here they were, whipping out something like this. Then again, perhaps only this temple was special—much like how *Eight Thousand Questions of Naughty Black Cat* suggested that primitive Egypt thousands of years ago might have seen real aliens, possibly building the pyramids with extraterrestrial assistance. Bai Zhou let his imagination run wild. Still, a nutrient solution capable of meeting training demands and boosting brain activity... The temple assessment was at least somewhat humane, recognizing that cramming so much knowledge in such a short window demanded auxiliary measures. *Gulp, gulp...* With no other choice and no way back, Bai Zhou pinched his nose and downed the vial of nutrient solution. While bitterly gulping down the medicine, Bai Zhou prayed it hadn't expired. Fortunately, the nutrient solution was not bitter at all; in fact, it had virtually no taste. Within three seconds of drinking it, Bai Zhou felt a warm surge rush through his whole body, as though he were brimming with strength. At the same time, he felt his mind processing every thought with blistering speed. If someone asked him a problem like 87,452 times 58,452 right now, he could mental-math the answer—5,111,744,304—within two or three seconds. "It works!" Bai Zhou took a deep breath, slowly sat back on the ground, and looked up at the illustrations on the wall, his gaze hardening with resolve. Since he had no idea what would happen if he lingered in this "isolated" place past 36 o'clock, the path before Bai Zhou was ultimately only one: "The assessment gave me ten days, so I'll master the secret art and clear the trial in eleven hours!" When left with no other choice, all Bai Zhou could do was believe in himself. His talent was no mere three-foot threshold, but a Fate Principle height of five feet five inches—a genius who had astonished even Crow. —This was the first winning edge! Moreover... he had never been fighting alone! Bai Zhou swept his gaze over the withered bones around him. Sitting or lying, some cross-legged, some lunging forward, some leaning against stone pillars, some thrown back in laughter toward the heavens. They had all been "geniuses" who once took part in the elite assessment, undoubtedly full of vigor and unrivaled brilliance in their day. Yet every last one had fallen here. The last words left by these prodigies carpeted the floor. Though horrifying at first glance, a closer inspection revealed that those crimson last words, whether etched deep or faint— were distinctly their insights and reflections upon the *Nine Basic Slashes* on the wall! Evidently, the secret art all candidates who perished in this chamber had to learn was this *Nine Basic Slashes*... Aside from a handful of messages like "So hungry, I want Mom's roasted potatoes," most of the last words were begrudging summaries of straying paths and various realizations gained from past study. "Only off by a factor of one... I suspect the wall's bearing limit is 4.5 times the candidate's own strength, and just the first three stances of the *Nine Basic Slashes* allow one to burst with 4.5 times their power. Truly worthy of the Sun Temple!" "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Waist like a bowstring, arm like an arrow! Power rises from the earth, threads through the spine like a slingshot, and only then reaches the fingertips!" "Breathing might be the true key... Gather power at the end of inhalation and exhalation, burst in a split second, concentrate on a single point, and reach the pinnacle!" "It's the sun... The *Nine Basic Slashes* are clearly the *Nine Sun Wheel Slashes*! One must be warm and genial like sunlight to be explosive and ferocious like a sun wheel!" "Sunrise is light, sunset is heavy. One light, one heavy—is the Dao within this?" "Aha! I've succeeded! The sun does not slash the enemy; it illuminates shadows! Unlock the heart first, then release the Qi!" "..." As the saying went, true wisdom fits in a sentence; falsehood fills ten thousand scrolls. To Bai Zhou, these crimson last words bought at the cost of lives were nothing less than radiant signposts discovered while groping through darkness. They pointed out the path for cultivating the *Nine Basic Slashes* while silently testifying to the peril and brutality of this place. They were an invaluable treasure, and an even heavier warning. —Bai Zhou was cultivating this secret art standing on the countless shoulders of his predecessors. This was the second winning edge! With both a first and a second edge, commanding such an immense advantage and arriving prepared with "two edges," this was the third winning edge! Victory compounded upon victory! Break through the secret chamber in eleven hours, speedrunning the assessment! Eyes solemn and sharp, brain extraordinarily active, Bai Zhou set his deadline. ... Bearing his determination, Bai Zhou threw himself completely into studying the *Nine Basic Slashes*. The moment he began, he was fully immersed. The secret art labeled "basic" was in truth the most vast and profound Bai Zhou had ever laid eyes on. Compared to the *Moon Cinder Holy Oath Slash*, which Bai Zhou had wielded to remain undefeated in Tinghai, the *Nine Basic Slashes* belonged to an entirely different league. The former was more like directly teaching a child how to use a saber, tirelessly instilling the muscle memory for that single strike without the child ever truly understanding why. The latter, however, progressed systematically from kindergarten to elementary, middle, and high school in a step-by-step, methodical advancement. Such systematic guidance was not simply a matter of how visionary or mighty its creator had been. It required an ancient, colossal faction, weathering the test of time and refined through generation after generation of practitioners' polishing and practice, to achieve such perfection. Though there were hundreds of diagrams and runes, as Bai Zhou viewed them one by one, each completed illustration imparted a distinct sense of personal growth. What he had once thought to be near-perfection in his cultivation of "body" and "mind" at Level 1 and Level 2 now appeared riddled with flaws. "Study, study, study!" Gradually, Bai Zhou's rate of progress shocked even himself. For the *Nine Basic Slashes*, studying up to the eighty-first diagram marked official entry into the first stance. Once initiated, one could touch upon the true essence of "Qi." Then Bai Zhou suddenly realized that, contrary to what he had imagined... Upon arriving, his only hope had been to obtain a follow-up secret art for advancing to Level 3, never expecting to master it on the spot. Yet looking at it now? As long as he learned the first stance of the *Nine Basic Slashes*, he could smoothly brand a secret art mark onto his Fate Principle and directly advance to a Level 3 Destined! And if he successfully mastered the first three stances of the *Nine Basic Slashes* and walked out of the chamber... he would at least be a Destined at the peak of Level 3, unafraid of any Level 4 Extraordinary! From this came a staggering deduction— If this *Nine Basic Slashes* comprised a full set of nine stances, it was very likely a supreme secret art leading straight to Level 5 or even Level 6! Something of this caliber, and the temple called it the *Nine Basic Slashes*? The more he studied, the more Bai Zhou felt that one of the last words made complete sense. Perhaps this secret art truly ought to be called the *Nine Sun Wheel Slashes*. *Boom!* *Boom! Boom, boom!* With his growth and progress, Bai Zhou repeatedly tested his strikes against the wall. Yet the wall still remained completely unmoved. "Not enough! Still not enough!" Bai Zhou exerted himself to the utmost; in this moment, he was the true "Exam King." As he mastered more and more diagrams on the wall, what Bai Zhou saw before his eyes gradually changed. He saw... Temporarily setting aside the later illustrations, he suddenly saw the first eighty-one diagrams turn dynamic, slowly disassembling and recombining into one. The little figures, like tadpoles, swam and converged together, ultimately turning into nine colossal sun wheels that nested inside and partially overlapped with one another. These nine sun wheels were not static, but slowly revolving at a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. "This is..." Confronting these nine sun wheels, Bai Zhou felt both warm and relaxed, yet at the same time an alarming dry heat prickled his body, and the White Sun Fate Principle within him stirred with intense restlessness. He suddenly recalled several lines from the last words: [Deconstruct! It's deconstruction! First deconstruct one slash into nine slashes, then each slash into nine suns, and the nine suns into nine times nine—eighty-one diagrams... resulting in the hundreds of diagrams before our eyes!] [Merge eighty-one diagrams into nine suns, and nine suns returning to one makes a single slash... I've succeeded!] [...] Pondering the last words and gazing at the sun wheel diagrams before him, Bai Zhou fell into thought. This proved his path of study was not wrong. Keep learning! Practice a thousand times, then seek unity. Through diligent study and hard practice, skill reveals itself. Finally, before long, only two of the nine sun wheels remained before Bai Zhou's eyes. Bai Zhou felt he had hit a bottleneck. Something within him was on the verge of bursting forth, yet felt locked away by something. That was... Bai Zhou's vigorous, resolute spiritual power. Gripping the purple-gold saber, Bai Zhou blinked his puzzled eyes. A certain phrase he had seen earlier among the last words resurfaced in the depths of his mind: [Aha! I've succeeded! The sun does not slash the enemy; it illuminates shadows! Unlock the heart first, then release the Qi!] *So that's how it is.* As if struck by sudden inspiration, the White Sun Fate Principle in Bai Zhou's heart trembled faintly. A shadow existing at the brightest point beneath the sun slowly manifested. Previously, Bai Zhou had been completely oblivious to this shadow; after all, it lay too close to the White Sun. This shadow resembled a sun at times, and Bai Zhou's silhouette at others; before long, it shifted into six blurry, clawing, chaotic shadows. The sun does not slash the enemy. It illuminates shadows. It is easy to defeat bandits, but hard to defeat the bandit in one's heart. Then... "Slash!" Bai Zhou closed his eyes, let out a low shout, and slashed his blade fiercely toward the empty air before him! In a daze, a white sun rose warmly and deftly within this dim, enclosed chamber. The shadow beneath the white sun was torn apart by an invisible blade light, letting out a shrill shriek as six fragments melted away in the sunlight. Simultaneously. *Click!* As if the lock on his heart snapped open! Bai Zhou's spiritual power swelled once more, turning extraordinarily lucid, like a mirror, like a calm lake— Then, a wisp of "Qi" appeared within Bai Zhou's body. This Qi moved with his intent. It did not travel through human blood vessels, but circulated within his skin and muscles; wherever thought went, Qi followed. "This is...?" Feeling this marvelous new power, Bai Zhou suddenly stepped back a few paces and thrust a palm through the air toward the distant wall. Though he hadn't used the purple-gold saber and had merely struck out lightly with an airy palm, in the very next instant— something invisible flashed across midair, nearly imperceptible like a glimmer of sunlight. The moment it contacted the wall, this warm, genial, and featherlight "sunlight" erupted instantly! *Boom!* A massive cloud of smoke and dust kicked up, and for the first time, Bai Zhou left a scorch mark in the shape of a blade slash upon the wall. Genial as sunlight, ferocious as a sun wheel. One light, one heavy; the Dao resides within. This was a power burst equivalent to 1.5 times Bai Zhou's previous full-output strike! Only at this moment was Bai Zhou finally certain... The first stance of the *Nine Basic Slashes*—he had officially initiated. "Have I... advanced to a Level 3 [Adventurer]?"