A mental world created by the joint efforts of the ten great sects.
When the exam officially began, Zhang Yu felt his consciousness being pulled out of his body, entering another world.
A gentle breeze brushed through his hair, and he felt the hard sensation of sitting on a chair.
When Zhang Yu opened his eyes, he found himself in an ordinary classroom.
Inside the classroom were dozens of students, all around his age, from various high schools.
This was the Spirit Realm, a mental world distinct from the real world.
The Spirit Realm could be considered both real and illusory.
It was real because everything one experienced here was indistinguishable from the real world.
It was illusory because everything in this world didn’t exist in reality, like a dream or an illusion.
Everything seen, smelled, touched, and felt here could be artificially controlled.
Zhang Yu knew his physical body was still lying on his bed at Songyang High School, while his consciousness had entered the Spirit Realm.
Like the other students around him, he had been randomly selected from the many students taking the exam in Songyang City to be in this classroom.
Glancing around the classroom, Zhang Yu couldn’t tell any difference between this place and reality.
He thought to himself, “I hope I don’t get stuck here halfway through the exam, like some virtual game where all the city’s high school students are trapped.”
A place similar to a virtual online world—that was Zhang Yu’s understanding of the Spirit Realm after learning some information about it.
However, Kunxu had achieved this using immortal techniques.
Of course, Zhang Yu also knew his understanding of the Spirit Realm was limited, but for now, it was enough.
In front of the group stood a thin man wearing an owl mask, looking at them from behind the podium.
Li Xingyu glanced at the examinees before him.
In the next moment, from his perspective, each examinee’s number, name, and high school appeared above their heads.
“Sigh, I hope this ends soon so I can clock out.”
As a soul cultivator from Mangshan High School, Li Xingyu, who had no physical body and only a soul, was already accustomed to daily life in the Spirit Realm.
Due to the unique nature of soul cultivators, they didn’t need to participate in this Dao Heart exam.
Instead, they were assigned by their teachers to proctor it.
Thinking about the 45 hours of work he had left for the day, Li Xingyu couldn’t help but sigh.
Suddenly, while inspecting the examinees, his gaze sharpened as he looked in Zhang Yu’s direction.
“Is that him?”
Li Xingyu remembered the day at Li Xuelian’s art exhibition when this security guard had caused a stir, triggering strange phenomena on the Heavenly Martial Diagram.
“From Songyang High School?”
“Interesting. I’ll record his performance in this exam. It might make for good research material to sell to the principal.”
Taking note of this, Li Xingyu took a few steps forward.
With each step, several identical versions of him split off.
By the time he took his tenth step, a Li Xingyu stood in front of every examinee.
This kind of Spirit Realm cloning technique was second nature to soul cultivators like Li Xingyu.
Zhang Yu looked at the proctor with the owl mask standing before him, his mind filled with speculation.
The strength of one’s will was a reflection of their Dao Heart.
To determine the level of one’s Dao Heart, the test usually measured the strength of their will.
Thus, the Dao Heart exam primarily tested one’s will, at least during the Qi Refining stage.
However, there were many ways to test the strength of one’s will.
To prevent examinees from preparing specifically for the test and causing inaccuracies, the content of the Dao Heart exam changed each time.
From what Zhang Yu knew, the higher the level of the exam, the more resources were invested into the Dao Heart exam, and the more complex the content would be in the Spirit Realm.
After all, more complex and varied experiences could more accurately assess the examinees’ conditions.
“This is just a monthly exam…” Zhang Yu thought to himself. “Based on past experience, it shouldn’t be too complicated.”
At the same time, Li Xingyu extended his hand, revealing a device that looked like a smartphone in his palm.
“Take this.”
Simultaneously, all the Li Xingyus spoke: “Today’s Dao Heart exam is simple… pain.”
“For the next sixty minutes, the controller in your hands can adjust the level of pain you feel at any time.”
“During these sixty minutes, the higher the pain level and the longer you endure it, the higher your ranking will be.”
The Dao Heart exam was scored based on rankings, so the final score depended not only on one’s own performance but also on the performance of the other examinees.
For example, the monthly Dao Heart exam in Songyang City was scored based on the rankings of all high school students in the city.
As for the actual college entrance exam, it was scored based on the rankings of all examinees in the first layer of Kunxu.
“Also, if the pain level exceeds your tolerance and causes you to faint, your consciousness will immediately exit the Spirit Realm, and your score will be zero.”
After explaining the exam’s content, Li Xingyu pointed to the sky, and a ten-second countdown appeared in the air.
“The countdown begins in ten seconds.”
Zhang Yu looked at the smartphone-like controller in his hand.
The screen displayed pain levels: 0, 1, 2, 3… The controller had only two buttons, up and down, allowing him to adjust the pain level starting from 0.
Just looking at it made Zhang Yu feel pain all over his body.
Who came up with this exam question? Did they lose their mind?
Don’t tell me the pain levels include things like being burned, castrated, or dismembered…
Is this our own little version of Saw in Songyang City?
Zhang Yu hated suffering more than anything, and he hated even more when someone forced him to suffer.
Ever since he came to Kunxu and started on the path of cultivation, he had been suffering nonstop, swallowing it in large mouthfuls.
At this moment, Zhang Yu felt utterly disgusted, his resistance reaching its limit.
Realizing this, Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened, and he thought to himself, “But then again, as a high school student on the path of cultivation, studying, training, and taking exams are my duties. The more I suffer now, the more I’ll earn in the future.”
“I love studying! I love exams!”
Pumping himself up, Zhang Yu felt a bit more motivated, and the pain controller in front of him seemed a little less daunting.
What is will? What is thought? What is Dao Heart?
The Dao Heart teacher had explained a lot.
Throughout history, some worshipped gods, some worshipped demons, some worshipped people… They established various thoughts, and through these thoughts combined with cultivation techniques, they enhanced their Dao Heart and will.
In Zhang Yu’s understanding, will was the ability to endure suffering.
The stronger the will, the more one could endure.
And thoughts enhanced will by convincing oneself that suffering had benefits, thus enabling one to endure more.
At this moment, Zhang Yu was using small thoughts to comfort and encourage himself, hoping to perform better in the exam.
He had many such small thoughts, as did everyone.
But truly lasting, systematic thoughts were something Zhang Yu hadn’t yet developed, and the school’s Dao Heart class hadn’t taught him.
That required each student to combine the teachings, their own experiences, and their cultivation techniques… Only then could it be established.
The strength of a cultivator’s will could be used to score their Dao Heart level.
The thoughts in a cultivator’s heart, combined with cultivation techniques, could enhance their Dao Heart level, further strengthening their will.
Thoughts were the core, will was the manifestation, and cultivation techniques were the method.
The combination of these three formed a cultivator’s complete Dao Heart.
The next moment, as the countdown in the air reached zero.
The students in the room began operating their controllers.
Some let out screams, some twisted their faces in pain, some gasped…
When Zhang Yu adjusted the pain level to 1, he felt as if a steel needle had pierced his palm.
He quickly activated the Basic Heart Cultivation Technique Level 1 taught in the Dao Heart class, trying to stabilize his mind.
Emptiness, nothingness, selflessness… The Basic Heart Cultivation Technique was a method to stabilize emotions, maintain calmness, and gradually enter a meditative state.
Through long-term practice, the Dao Heart level would rise, and willpower would grow stronger.
This Level 1 Basic Heart Cultivation Technique was something the original Zhang Yu had learned before he arrived in this world.
But because he had been busy improving his mana, physical strength, Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique, Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Moves, and Freehand Combat, he hadn’t had time to improve this technique.
Now, as Zhang Yu activated the Basic Heart Cultivation Technique, he felt his mind gradually calm down, and his tolerance for pain seemed to increase.
He immediately raised the pain level to 2.
Hiss!
Zhang Yu felt as if another steel needle had pierced his other hand.
But it was still bearable.
So Zhang Yu continued to increase the pain level step by step.
When it reached 37, he felt as if 37 steel needles had pierced his hands and feet.
At this moment, Zhang Yu’s face was twisted in pain.
No matter how hard he tried to activate the Basic Heart Cultivation Technique, he couldn’t feel even a hint of calmness.
“Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!”
Calm the mind, focus, endure silently, persist silently, like water dripping through stone… The Basic Heart Cultivation Technique required this kind of thought system to maximize its effectiveness.
This was also the norm for improving the Dao Heart.
Only when one’s thoughts matched the cultivation technique would the improvement in Dao Heart be most effective.
But calm the mind, focus, endure silently, persist silently, like water dripping through stone… This set of ideas didn’t suit Zhang Yu’s personality at all.
At this moment, he just wanted to immediately, right now, kill the person who came up with this Dao Heart exam.
Just as Zhang Yu felt he had reached his limit, the contents of the Heavenly Martial Heart Technique suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Fist, palm, leg, spear, blade, sword…
One figure after another suddenly appeared in his mind, carrying the killing intent to break through armies, the unyielding fighting spirit, the fearless courage… These were what resonated with him.
Although Zhang Yu, with his insufficient Dao Heart level, hadn’t truly mastered the Heavenly Martial Heart Technique.
Just recalling the concepts within this martial art gave Zhang Yu a surge of momentum.
It was as if he were a small soldier following a legendary general, seeing the general’s majestic posture and feeling his courage and spirit renewed.
At this moment, the pain of the steel needles piercing his body didn’t seem so unbearable.
A fierce smile appeared on his lips: “When I climb to the top, I’ll make the person who came up with this exam beg for mercy on their knees.”
(End of Chapter)