âThatâs enough time to have a cup of tea,â Jiang Chen.
âWhat? Are you afraid? Youâve caused such a stir as a short-term disciple. If you quit now, not only will you be a joke, but weâll send you back.â Mo Sir said sarcastically.
âNo. I meant it was too long. Iâve already seen through the tactical formation of the forest from here.â
Jiang Chen said, âI have an idea. Iâll deploy a formation here. Letâs see whether you can walk out of it.â
âCut the crap. Go back if you donât want to take the test!â Shi Gandang shouted.
âAlright. Alright.â
Jiang Chen walked to the stone forest and placed the sand clock upside down, but he didnât rush to get in. He stood there, still, watching the sand flow down.
âHow arrogant,â those from the Sacred Institute thought when they realized what he was doing.
A short-term disciple like this was somewhat interesting.
âShowoff,â Yi Qing said unhappily.
Jiang Chen went into the forest and disappeared from sight when there was only half of the red sand left.
Soon, the spectators sensed there was something going on in the forest. They heard lots of disturbances.
âIs he trapped there and trying to rely on force?â some people couldnât help think.
After a short while, it seemed the forest had lost its spirit. The seven-color mist also vanished.
Jiang Chen didnât show up at the exit. Instead, he came back from the entrance.
âWhat happened?!â
The disciples who were watching the test were confused. Some of them complained loudly since they wouldnât put up with Jiang Chenâs tricks.
The tactical formation master of the east courtyard went closer with Mifa to check the situation.
They glanced at each other. Both of them were shocked when they confirmed theyâd reached the same conclusion.
They turned around and said, âHe⊠he cracked the tactical formation deployed in the forest.â
âWhat?!â
The spectators were shocked. Suddenly, it was very noisy.
If one could walk out of the formation, it meant he had found its flaw. The Sacred Institute had even deployed the formation in the way they had taught it, so that their disciples could use the knowledge theyâd studied in practical situations, but if one could crack the formation, it meant he was as good as its deployer.
To achieve that, it would be necessary to use a formation disk. As for how to use a formation disk, that was what the disciples of the Heaven Grade were learning!
Mifa had been disdainful of him, but then she realized it wasnât that Jiang Chen had an improper attitude; things she taught in the class were too simple for him, and she had even tried to make things difficult for him since she wanted to establish superiority so that he would obey her in class.
âWhatâs wrong with you?! I told you to go inside, not to crack the formation. Fail! Fail! Go back home!â Shi Gandang shouted.
The spectators from the west and east courtyards looked at each other. Was he really going to do that?
âWhy are you looking at me? Do you think I canât take failure? Next one.â Shi Gandang waved his hand impatiently under the gaze of others.
No one was surprised at his hot temper.
Not until then did Jiang Chen realize Shi Gandang hadnât been picking on him. It was just his character.
The second test was poison.
The toxicology master put a table in the square next to the stone forest. He placed six jade boxes and many processed herbs on it.
âThe difficulty of the test varies with the order in which you take the six poisons. To join the superfine class, you must take three of them at the same time. The other three will be up to you. Then you should use your knowledge of poisons to make the antidote with the herbs here,â the toxicology master said.
This test was, no doubt, very risky. Besides, the toxicology master had intentionally skipped over the consequences of failure to pressure Jiang Chen.
The disciples who were watching felt more or less nervous, since the toxicology test was what they were afraid of most. They had to take these poisons although they knew how strong they were.
Although there were teachers watching and they wouldnât lose their lives, they would still suffer a lot.
Jiang Chen had to take three poisons together to join the superfine class. It would be trickier when the poisons were mixed.
âThatâs the superfine class. Itâs not for everyone.â Yi Qing calmed down from the shock Jiang Chen had brought her. Her pride was back.
She would like to see how Jiang Chen would end up in this test.
He hadnât taken any classes. She thought he could even be ignorant of the characteristics of the poisons in the jade bottles.
She wasnât the only one to think this way. So did the others.
Tactical formations were completely different from poisons.
She was expecting to see him tumble on the ground due to the ache resulted from taking three poisons together.
The five from the Fire Field also showed up. They cared about Jiang Chen more than the others.
Crimson Moon had just condemned Jiang Chen to failure this morning. When she learned he was going to join the superfine class, she said âCanât he just have one dayâs peace?â
He had defeated Zhuang Fan on his first day here. On the first day of school, he had applied to join the superfine class.
There were no short-term disciples like him.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen did something shocking. He mixed the six poisons together. He shook the mixture and drank it all.
He had taken the six poisons together!
âDo you want to die?!â the toxicology master shouted loudly.
With the six poisons mixed together, the problem wasnât that it would be twice as difficult as the three-poison mixture. It wasnât that simple. It was a real mess!
If Jiang Chen died, it would be his own responsibility, but it would still harm the Sacred Instituteâs renown.
Jiang Chen ignored the toxicology master and started to work on the antidote. He selected some spiritual herbs decisively. He was working in a fast and precise manner.
The whole process was very smooth. About one minute later, Jiang Chenâs lips were turning black. The poison was going to take effect soon, but he had finished the antidote by then. He drank it up. His lips and his face looked normal again.
The toxicology master held Jiang Chenâs wrist to feel his pulse. He was totally shocked when he confirmed all of the poisons had been detoxified.
âAnother pass?!â Shi Gandang asked.
The toxicology master looked at Jiang Chen in surprise and nodded.
âLetâs skip these skill tests and enter the main part directly. If he succeeds, heâll join the superfine class of the east courtyard,â Shi Gandang said.
It caused a stir in the crowd.
Did it mean that as long as Jiang Chen passed the last test, he would join the superfine class?
Yi Qing was bewildered at first. Werenât these tests supposed to frustrate this arrogant guy?
Why would he get what he wanted soon?
Although it wasnât the superfine class of the west courtyard that Jiang Chen was going to join, if he succeeded, she would be embarrassed by what she had said.
The last test to enter the superfine class was about the usage of Twelve Standard Meridians and holy points.
âHoly points are located in the meridians. Twelve Standard Meridians have their own circulation rhythms, so there are different ways to use holy points to accumulate force under different attacks.
âThis is the most important course in the Earth Grade. Once you have knowledge in this regard, youâll be able to enhance your battle power, even though your state and martial arts techniques stay the same.â
This time Shi Gandang introduced the rule in person. He said complacently, âI donât think youâll be good at this, too.â
The technique to produce effective force mattered a lot when an average person gave a punch. The waist and the thighs should work together to stabilize the body. The force should be focused on the fist.
It was the same when it came to manipulating the holy points and holy yuan.
Although martial arts did teach people how to use force, it was only passive learning. If they could understand the principle and why, in this way, the force could be maximized, they would have better control of their bodies.