Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 104 - Nine Stars Illumination

People flocked around Bai Yu, showering him with praise and seeking to establish a good rapport with him. Given Bai Yu’s evident talent, it was clear that he would have no trouble securing a place in the elite class of the Earth Grade.

It didn’t take long before Yu Yifan took the test. Like Bai Yu, he punched the Testing Pillar, creating a powerful impact that drew everyone’s attention. Given Bai Yu’s impressive performance, expectations were high for Yu Yifan.

The loud impact echoed throughout the area, and just like Bai Yu, Yu Yifan lit up three columns on the Testing Pillar. However, his were different. In addition to the red column, Yu Yifan also illuminated the green and orange columns, signifying his talents as an alchemist and blacksmith, represented by the fire and wood attributes.

Both refining pills and forging weapons required fire and wood attributes, and it was uncommon for someone to master both simultaneously.

“Red column, eight grids. Green column, five grids. Orange column, seven grids!” Bai Yu and Yu Yifan’s talents were pretty much the same, except they possessed different attributes.

“This is an eye-opening experience. It’s hard for anyone here to surpass them.” An uproar broke out as it was rare for two geniuses to appear in the same year. The academy typically didn’t pay much attention to these assessments, having already recruited the most promising talents. However, they conducted these tests to ensure no potential genius was overlooked. Each year, new talents were unearthed during these assessments and would quickly rise to prominence upon joining the academy.

Yu Yifan, like Bai Yu, was warmly received by everyone and took his place on the right, standing alongside Bai Yu.

The assessment resumed, but the results were no longer that shocking. Most people only managed to light up one column, but there would occasionally be a few who managed to light up two columns. Everyone still hadn’t recovered from Bai Yu’s and Yu Yifan’s results.

As the assessment progressed, fewer than two hundred individuals remained. Liu Wuxie, however, was isolated due to the others viewing him as a jinx, and he was naturally the last to be assessed.

As the second round of assessments neared its end around midday, only a few individuals remained ahead of Liu Wuxie.

Zhang Qing’s mocking voice broke the silence, “It’s finally his turn. How many grids do you guys think he can light up?” His words stirred the crowd, increasing the pressure on Liu Wuxie. This was part of Xue Pinzhi’s plan to embarrass Liu Wuxie and force him to leave the assessment.

“He’s just a piece of trash who relied on pills to attain his current cultivation. It’d be impressive if he could light up one grid!” The Xue Clan’s investigation had revealed that Liu Wuxie had a close relationship with the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Coupled with information gleaned from the Xu Clan’s servants, they concluded that Liu Wuxie’s cultivation was the result of pill consumption.

Xu Yilin had deliberately spread this information to confuse Liu Wuxie’s enemies by mixing truth with lies.

“Are you all overestimating him? Last year, someone at the eighth-level Xiantian Realm only managed to light up one grid. That person also relied on pills for cultivation,” a disdainful scoff echoed.

But Liu Wuxie calmly walked over to the Testing Pillar, ignoring the surrounding voices.

“Brat, give up and go back to being son-in-law. This isn’t the place for you!” Zhang Qing yelled. If he could, he would not hesitate to take action against Liu Wuxie. After all, his cultivation was at the eighth-level Xiantian Realm, which was higher than Liu Wuxie’s.

“Get lost! The Imperial Academy doesn’t need trash like you!” Mockery and laughter formed into a wave sweeping toward Liu Wuxie.

“That’s enough! Silence!” Chen Leyao finally couldn’t hold back any longer and roared. After all, they were conducting an assessment, not a market.

Everyone could only shut their mouths after hearing Chen Leyao’s command. She might not be a princess with a proper title, but she was still the emperor's illegitimate daughter, possessing an aloof status. Thus, her words naturally intimidated the other participants.

“Let’s begin!” Chen Leyao signaled Liu Wuxie to proceed.

Liu Wuxie stood three steps away from the Testing Pillar. As he took a step forward, an invisible ripple spread out.

While others couldn’t sense it, Fan Yeping did. He narrowed his eyes, looking at Liu Wuxie. “There’s something weird about that kid. He seems to have become one with the surroundings.”

It was a unique state, as if with each step Liu Wuxie took, he was stepping on the pulse of heaven and earth. With a gentle exhale, Liu Wuxie raised his right fist. His dantian stirred like a roused beast. The mysterious tree in his dantian began to rustle, with various attributes intertwining together, forming a mighty current that gathered in his right arm.

After devouring so much of the mysterious liquid and several experts in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, the attributes of Liu Wuxie’s true essence had long become indistinguishable, encompassing almost all the attributes.

Under a few hundred gazes, Liu Wuxie struck the Testing Pillar. However, there was no commotion; it was as if he had punched a cotton ball.

“Hahaha! That brat must fear pain, so he didn’t use his full strength,” laughter erupted from the crowd, including Bai Yu and Yu Yifan.

“What a piece of trash!” Many people sneered in disdain. After all, Liu Wuxie was the most handsome out of everyone here, and they considered him to have nothing but a pretty face.

Even Chen Leyao was stunned. Shouldn’t Liu Wuxie have at least exerted some strength? Why did he strike the Testing Pillar so gently?

“I’ll kneel and address him as ‘grandfather’ if he can even light up one grid!” Zhang Qing declared confidently.

“Count me in. If he can light up a grid, I’ll kneel and call him my ancestor!” More people joined in, believing it would be a miracle if such a gentle punch could light up even one grid.

Xue Pinzhi smiled as his task was nearly completed. If he could chase Liu Wuxie out of the Imperial Academy, he could leave everything to the Xue Clan.

All eyes were fixed on the Testing Pillar. For Liu Wuxie to pass this round of assessment, he would need to light up at least four grids.

“Look! The columns are lighting up!” someone exclaimed as the columns began to light up rapidly.

“One column...two columns...three columns...what’s going on? Why did so many columns light up?!” The scene erupted into chaos as Liu Wuxie didn’t just light up one column but multiple columns. But the shock that Liu Wuxie brought to everyone hadn’t ended yet. The green and orange columns also lit up, meaning all five columns were illuminated.

Fan Yeping’s eyes nearly popped out. Bai Yu and Yu Yifan had only lit up three columns, but Liu Wuxie managed to light up five columns, which was unbelievable. But if it had ended here, everyone wouldn’t have been so shocked.

“Why is there a sixth column?” The crowd was left speechless as another column lit up in addition to the initial five. The grids on this new column began to illuminate rapidly, keeping pace with the other five columns.

“The seventh column!” Everyone was taken aback, at a loss for words to describe their feelings. After all, aside from the initial five, the other two columns had never been lit since the establishment of the Imperial Academy. The best record was the illumination of four columns.

The entire Testing Pillar was aglow, making it impossible to discern the number of lit columns. However, only Fan Yeping knew that the full illumination of the pillar was known as the Nine Stars Illumination, signifying the lighting up of all nine columns.

A massive beam of light shot into the sky, outshining even the sun. Deep in the Imperial Academy, many elders were in seclusion, but they were alarmed by the Nine Stars Illumination that came out of nowhere.

“What?! Who lit up the Nine Stars Illumination?!” An old man flew over. His presence would have shocked anyone in the Imperial Academy, as he was the former headmaster. But he wasn’t the only one, as more experts also flew out. Even the teachers conducting classes trembled when they saw the Nine Stars Illumination phenomenon.

“The legend is true? The Nine Stars Illumination exists?!” The headmaster put down the book he was holding and looked out of the window with a serious expression.

Xu Lingxue and Baili Qing, who were in the midst of their cultivation, were disturbed by the commotion outside. Baili Qing, captivated by the uproar, roared, “They’re becoming more unbearable now. What’s causing such a ruckus?”

However, when she saw the beam of light piercing the clouds, she bounced up from her seat. She exclaimed emotionally, “The Nine Stars Illumination! The legend is true!”

“Master, what’s the Nine Stars Illumination?” Xu Lingxue asked as she opened her eyes.

She had been cultivating with Baili Qing for over a month, entering the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra’s threshold. This allowed her cultivation to undergo a significant boost in just one month. Her cultivation rose rapidly from the seventh-level Xiantian Realm to the third-level Spirit Cleansing Realm. Her cultivation speed was so fast that not even Liu Wuxie could keep up with her.

“Long ago, it was said that ten stars hung in the sky, bringing great suffering to all. An ancient deity emerged, wielding a bow and arrows, and shot down nine of these stars. However, legends suggest that these nine stars didn’t vanish but were concealed in a mysterious realm,” Baili Qing narrated. This tale is a legend, and its veracity remains unknown.

“Ten stars?” Xu Lingxue looked at Baili Qing with disbelief.

“The legend might not be true, but the founder of the Imperial Academy collaborated with countless craftsmen and created the Testing Pillar, infusing nine attributes into it. If anyone could light them all up, it would create the Nine Stars Illumination phenomenon. But over the years, there wasn’t even someone who could light up five columns, not to mention nine.”

Baili Qing regained her composure. The Nine Stars Illumination was merely a metaphor; it didn’t signify the appearance of nine stars in the sky. Instead, it referred to the intense radiance produced when the nine columns reached a certain height, resulting in a burst of light.

In other words, Liu Wuxie’s talent had exceeded the limit of the Testing Pillar, which led to this situation. The square also fell into chaos, with all the participants dumbfounded.

Fan Yeping also seemed to have lost his mind as he stared at Liu Wuxie blankly. He mumbled to himself incoherently, “Nine Stars Illumination...he lit up nine columns...!”

The book Chen Leyao had been using to record everyone’s results slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. The situation had surpassed her comprehension.

Xue Pinzhi was so frightened that he stumbled and almost fell to the ground with fear reflected in his eyes.

Liu Wuxie withdrew his fist and wore a bitter smile. He had initially intended to keep a low profile and downplay his strength, but the outcome had inadvertently thrust him into the limelight.