Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 108 - Profound Gate Pass

The commotion concluded as it had begun. There were seventeen of them who came, and there were also seventeen of them who left. Fan Yeping left while Zhao Enzhu stayed.

“Headmaster, even if we keep someone with his constitution, his growth will be limited. Isn’t it excessive to penalize Teacher Fan for his sake?” On the way back, Dong Yue kept close to the headmaster, pleading for Fan Yeping.

If Liu Wuxie were a prodigy, it would be a different story. However, someone of his constitution would only experience a significant boost after eighteen years of accumulation, and there was a risk of cultivation deviation. Hence, Dong Yue felt it unjust to punish Fan Yeping for such a liability.

“Who informed you that his constitution necessitates eighteen years of accumulation?” Fan Zhen halted, turning to face Dong Yue. His imposing aura caused Dong Yue to shudder.

“Headmaster, I’m sorry.” Dong Yue quickly bowed after realizing he had overstepped his boundaries by advising the headmaster. Even without considering Liu Wuxie, Fan Zhen had shown leniency towards Fan Yeping by merely demoting him based on his actions.

The third round of assessment resumed with the remaining participants after Chen Leyao sent over two hundred participants, including Zhang Qing’s group, out of the Imperial Academy.

As Zhao Enzhu’s gaze swept across the remaining two hundred individuals, he unleashed an aura of formidable power at the Marrow Cleansing Realm level. This aura enveloped everyone, creating a suffocating pressure that was almost tangible.

Without uttering a single word, he demonstrated his strength. The aura he exuded transformed into an intimidating pressure that caused cold sweat to bead on everyone’s faces, including Bai Yu and Yu Yifan.

Only Liu Wuxie maintained his composure while others were forced to bow down under the immense pressure. He was the only exception, standing upright and catching Zhao Enzhu’s attention.

Upon noticing Liu Wuxie, Zhao Enzhu intensified the aura he was emitting. His aura resembled a ferocious beast lunging at Liu Wuxie. Upon reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm, one could manipulate spiritual energy into various forms to exert psychological impact.

A participant’s face turned pale from fright, and he crumpled to the ground with a dull thud. A repugnant odor soon wafted from beneath him, eliciting a flicker of annoyance on Zhao Enzhu’s face. However, this youth was not alone in his plight as more individuals began to succumb to the ground, unable to bear the pressure exerted by a Marrow Cleansing Realm expert. Yet, some held on, their teeth gritted in determination, refusing to surrender.

The youth next to Liu Wuxie swayed precariously and threw up a mouthful of blood, but he held his ground stubbornly, unwilling to give up.

Bai Yu, on the other hand, was teetering on the brink of his endurance. The formidable strength of Zhao Enzhu, a star teacher, was pushing him to his limits.

In a mere span of ten minutes, less than fifty individuals managed to remain standing, their bodies drenched in sweat as if they had been dragged out of a lake. When the oppressive aura finally dissipated, those who had managed to stay upright drew ragged breaths, their faces etched with residual fear.

The soul pressure they were experiencing was overwhelming, akin to a sharp sword suspended above their heads, threatening to descend at any moment and claim their lives. Amidst this, only Liu Wuxie remained calm. His golden soul sea became more refined and abundant under Zhao Enzhu’s pressure. While others could only endure the pressure, he utilized it to practice the Ghost Eye. Had Zhao Enzhu been aware of this, he might have choked on his own blood.

“The caliber of participants has been declining year after year. You all can’t even hold out for fifteen minutes!” Zhao Enzhu shook his head in disappointment. This year’s batch of participants did not meet his expectations. However, the Imperial Academy didn’t harbor high hopes of recruiting exceptional talent through these annual assessments either.

After all, they had long recruited exceptional talents from the thirty-six cities beforehand, including the Imperial Capital. But when Zhao Enzhu looked at Liu Wuxie, his eyes showed a hint of admiration. Only Liu Wuxie remained unaffected under his pressure, which was a pleasant surprise.

“Let’s move on to the third round of assessment!” Zhao Enzhu commanded as everyone regained their footing. Many were nearing the end of their true essence reserves, and their chances of success in the assessment were slim.

“Teacher Zhao, can we recover our true essence before proceeding with the third round of assessment?” a participant proposed. They had expended a significant amount of their true essence and soul energy to withstand the immense pressure of a Marrow Cleansing Realm expert, leaving many in a state unfit to continue with the assessment.

“Are you going to tell your opponent to wait for you to recover before resuming the battle?” Zhao Enzhu responded, his tone devoid of emotion. His words elicited a ripple of laughter from those around.

Zhao Enzhu’s statement held truth; in a battle of life and death, survival often hinged on endurance and the ability to outlast the opponent in terms of true essence.

Leading the group across the square, Zhao Enzhu brought them to a structure resembling a long corridor. Spanning approximately five hundred meters, the building bore three large characters on its beam—the Profound Gate Pass.

Upon sighting the building, many participants gasped in surprise. Those who had depleted their true essence turned pale and slumped to the ground in exhaustion.

“Everyone will enter the Profound Gate Pass, and those who can endure for fifteen breaths in there will pass the third round of assessment!” Chen Leyao announced, picking up a booklet. She didn’t give anyone the time to think or recover their true essence.

This was the real test. Everyone was subjected to the same pressure, and some had already lost their eligibility to participate in the assessment even before entering the Profound Gate Pass.

Bai Yu was the first to step into the Profound Gate Pass, with the rest following closely behind. Fifteen breaths wasn’t a long time; many believed they could succeed if they just gritted their teeth. Consequently, it didn’t take long for all the participants to enter the Profound Gate Pass.

Liu Wuxie also entered the Profound Gate Pass, leaving behind an afterimage. As for running out of true essence? That was impossible because the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron could devour a large amount of spiritual energy with a casual inhale, converting it into true essence, filling up his dantian. As a result, his dantian would never run out of true essence.

In just three breaths after entering, roughly forty to fifty people were sent flying away, indicating their elimination from assessment. Even those in the seventh-level Xiantian Realm couldn’t last for three breaths.

Previously, they would have stood a good chance of clearing the assessment. However, their prospects had diminished with the change in assessment teachers this year and the depletion of their true essence due to enduring Zhao Enzhu’s pressure. They wailed when they sat on the ground because this was the last chance for many of them.

“It’s all that brat’s fault! Teacher Fan wouldn’t have been replaced if it weren't for him. I want to place a bounty on him!” Those eliminated gritted their teeth and blamed it all on Liu Wuxie.

“That’s right! It’s all his fault! When we leave the Imperial Academy, we can join forces to hire someone from the Assassin Pavilion to kill him!” They didn’t bother hiding their conversation from Zhao Enzhu. They were already eliminated and couldn’t become a student of the Imperial Academy. Thus, Zhao Enzhu naturally didn’t have the authority to care about them. Even if they did hire an assassin, the Imperial Academy couldn’t do anything to them without concrete evidence.

As more participants were eliminated, it wasn’t long before over a hundred of them were disqualified, each sprawled on the ground. Chen Leyao couldn’t help but smile in a bitter-sweet way, realizing that probably fewer than a hundred individuals would be eligible for admission to the Imperial Academy this year.

When Liu Wuxie entered the Profound Gate Pass, he activated the Ghost Eye. This was the last round of assessment, and he couldn’t afford to fail here.

In the next instant, a golden bronze figure materialized before him, clashing its fists together and launching an attack on Liu Wuxie.

“The Bronze Men Formation!” The sight immediately brought to mind the Bronze Men Formation for Liu Wuxie. The bronze man that charged forth had a strength comparable to the fourth-level Xiantian Realm. While the bronze figure wasn’t particularly powerful, it exerted tremendous pressure even on those at the second level of the Xiantian Realm.

Liu Wuxie didn’t draw his blade and threw a punch, planning to fight the bronze man head-on to see how powerful the Profound Gate Pass was. He could only receive the opportunity to cultivate in the Flame Sun Cave if he obtained first place. He had already obtained first place in the two previous rounds and couldn’t allow himself to fail in the last round.

Securing first place in the first round would earn him a martial technique, while the second round would reward him with pills. The third round offered the opportunity to cultivate in the Flame Sun Cave. No one had ever claimed first place in all three rounds in the past, but he might be the one to break that record this year.

The impact of Liu Wuxie’s punch was so powerful that it felt as if the heavens and earth had collapsed. The massive bronze figure was sent flying, shattering into pieces with a series of cracking sounds.

Everyone’s situation was the same when they entered the Profound Gate Pass. They found themselves in a long passage that stretched as far as the eye could see.

In the next moment, two bronze figures appeared, each at the fifth level of the Xiantian Realm. This development, occurring in just three breaths, took Liu Wuxie by surprise.

“This is interesting...!” Liu Wuxie dashed forward, taking the initiative to attack. For most individuals, enduring for fifteen breaths of time and opting to engage in combat would be the most suitable strategy. However, Liu Wuxie was an exception; he was determined to make it through to the other end of the Profound Gate Pass.

Unleashing a flurry of punches, Liu Wuxie left a trail of afterimages in his wake, generating a potent shockwave in the air as he advanced. Much like the previous bronze figure, these two were sent hurtling into the darkness upon contact, obliterated in an instant.

A ferocious roar echoed from the darkness. The bronze figures, which took a considerable amount of time to forge, had suffered significant losses today. As Liu Wuxie pressed on, the fifteen breaths were nearly up, and he was on the verge of passing the assessment.

However, three bronze figures materialized before him, obstructing his path. These figures, equivalent to the sixth-level Xiantian Realm, possessed immense strength. Therefore, defeating them under the same conditions would be no easy feat.

Meanwhile, Zhao Enzhu made his way into the central control room. An old man was seated there, and the roar from earlier had originated from him.

“Teacher Zhao, what brings you here?” The old man stood up respectfully when he saw Zhao Enzhu.

“I’m in charge of the assessment!” Zhao Enzhu said politely, bowing to the old man as the latter was older than him. There was a crystal wall in front of them, displaying everyone’s performance. He asked, “Did anything unusual happen?”

“If there’s anything unusual, it’s the performance of these three. Since entering the Profound Gate Pass, they’ve demonstrated exceptional strength and have already destroyed a significant number of bronze men,” the old man replied, pointing at the crystal wall. The images of Bai Yu, Yu Yifan, and Liu Wuxie were enlarged.

Zhao Enzhu’s gaze landed on the trio. Bai Yu and Yu Yifan, both in the Spirit Cleansing Realm, would only find the final part of the Profound Gate Pass challenging.

However, Liu Wuxie, who was only at the fifth level of the Xiantian Realm, had managed to send three bronze men, comparable to the sixth level of the Xiantian Realm, flying. This surprising feat caused Zhao Enzhu to narrow his eyes in astonishment.