Chapter 720: Fan Wuhen!
"Too strong."
"Wang Lie truly lives up to his reputation as a seeded contestant. He is indeed formidable."
"It seems Wang Lie is almost guaranteed a spot among the elite disciples this time."
At the foot of the mountain, everyone exclaimed in admiration. They were clearly shocked by Wang Lie’s strength.
One had to realize that at this moment, the second-place contestant in this batch had only reached the three-fifths mark and was still trapped inside the illusion formation.
Even Wang Lie himself was clearly very satisfied with his performance. A smug smile appeared on his face.
"Not bad."
At the summit, Daoist Scarlet Brow gently nodded, giving Wang Lie an encouraging look.
Afterward, more cultivators successfully reached the summit, but their speed was far slower than Wang Lie’s. Even the second-place finisher took more than half an hour.
Finally, one hour passed.
Out of ten thousand people, only a little more than nine hundred managed to reach the summit.
Whoosh!
Daoist Scarlet Brow’s expression was indifferent.
With a casual wave of his hand, all the cultivators still climbing were immediately enveloped in crimson light. In the next moment, their figures vanished.
Clearly, those who had failed the trial of the Heart Refining Road had all been teleported out of Profound Origin Immortal Mountain.
Merely the first stage of the trial had eliminated more than ninety percent of the participants.
"The second batch begins."
Daoist Scarlet Brow’s expression remained calm. He did not care at all about the more than nine thousand people who had been eliminated. With another wave of his hand, a second group of ten thousand cultivators was enveloped in crimson light.
Unfortunately, Li Yun and the others were still not within the scope of the assessment.
"A mere Heart Refining Road cannot possibly stop me."
"I must pass the Heart Refining Road. Not only that, I must pass all the following assessments as well."
This time, the ten thousand selected cultivators were clearly not as confident as the first batch. Each person’s expression had become extremely solemn.
Obviously, the elimination rate of over ninety percent from the previous batch had made everyone feel pressure. They no longer believed that the Heart Refining Road could be passed easily.
Soon, this batch of cultivators began to move.
The one rushing at the very front was a white-robed youth. He wore a smile and looked harmless, yet his speed was even faster than Wang Lie’s from the previous batch.
"Fan Wuhen."
Fatty Chu’s expression turned serious as he spoke. "This guy is even stronger than Xuan Long and Wang Lie. Among this batch of examinees, he can at least rank in the top three."
"His cultivation is also at the peak of the 9th level of Heavenly Core Realm, but he is only twenty-three years old."
"More importantly, this person has absolutely no background. Wang Lie at least has a third-rate force supporting him, but Fan Wuhen comes entirely from an ordinary background. Not even one of his parents is a cultivator."
"That strong?"
Li Yun’s brow twitched.
Although Fan Wuhen was only two years younger than Wang Lie and Xuan Long, those two years represented a world of difference.
Furthermore, Fan Wuhen had no background at all, which showed that his talent and potential were significantly greater than Wang Lie’s and Xuan Long’s.
A faint premonition rose in Li Yun’s heart.
Perhaps this Fan Wuhen would become a formidable rival for him in the future.
"Hm?"
Just then, Fatty Chu suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise. Astonishment appeared on his face.
It turned out that Fan Wuhen had already reached the one-fifth mark of the Heart Refining Road. However, unlike Wang Lie, he stayed there for the duration of one breath before breaking free from the illusion formation.
"Could it be that Fan Wuhen’s willpower is not as firm as Wang Lie’s?"
Fatty Chu did not think too deeply about it. After all, Fan Wuhen was younger and came from a commoner background, so he had experienced less. It was normal for him to encounter some difficulty within the illusion formation.
But soon, Li Yun and Fatty Chu glanced at each other.
Both saw confusion in the other’s eyes.
This was because at the two-fifths mark, Fan Wuhen stopped again. This time, he stayed inside for ten breaths.
Then, at the three-fifths mark, Fan Wuhen stayed even longer, for a full three hundred breaths.
"What is going on?"
Fatty Chu frowned and said, "Even if Fan Wuhen’s willpower is not firm enough, since he was able to cultivate to the peak of the 9th level of Heavenly Core Realm so quickly, it is impossible for him to be this bad. Moreover, in the previous batch, many eliminated cultivators did not stay inside the illusions for such a long time."
"It seems the assessment method of the Heart Refining Road is more complex than we imagined," Li Yun said.
It was not just Fan Wuhen.
Among the cultivators in these two batches, many who clearly possessed significant strength were obviously staying in the illusions for a considerable amount of time. Conversely, some with weaker cultivation passed through the illusions quite smoothly.
This matter was clearly strange. However, what exactly was happening probably could not be known without experiencing it personally.
Soon, another hour passed, and the test for this batch ended.
Although Fan Wuhen had wasted a lot of time inside the illusions, he still successfully passed the test. Unfortunately, because he stayed in the final illusion for a full fifteen minutes, he only obtained third place in his batch.
"Useless fellow."
Wang Lie glanced at Fan Wuhen, but in his heart, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Originally, Fan Wuhen had been a major enemy in his mind, a powerful opponent he would have to face when competing for the position of elite disciple.
But now, it seemed that this opponent was nothing special.
To waste so much time merely crossing the Heart Refining Road, it seemed this Fan Wuhen was unworthy of his reputation and could not be considered a true threat.