Chapter 149 The Selection Test Begins

After the old man disappeared, Huan Yin stayed in the tower for a long time before coming out.

The more Huan Yin learned about the art of sword-making, the more he discovered that he had many insights and thoughts about this art. These insights and thoughts are inextricably linked, lingering and lingering in his mind all day long.

Huan Yin knew that these insights and thoughts were his accumulation of the art of making swords, but they were too messy and scattered, and they were far from the real path.

Today, the old man's words were like an enlightenment, giving Huan Yin a vague opportunity to sort out his messy perceptions and thoughts. So he sat on the floor in the tower, constantly comprehending the profound meaning of the old man's words, hoping to take advantage of this rare opportunity to deepen his understanding of sword-making.

The next day, Huan Yin and Ji Cangqiong came very early to the valley where the casual cultivators usually listened to Zhao O's lectures. Today, all the casual cultivators had agreed to meet here and then go to the fifth level to participate in the selection test.

When Huan Yin and Ji Cangqiong arrived, most of the casual cultivators had already arrived, and Zhao On also appeared on the hillside as usual.

After most of the people had arrived, Zhao Wen looked at the roving cultivators in the valley and said word by word: "In one more hour, it will be time for you to go and take part in the selection test. Today is the last time I will do this for you." Dear lecturers, I only have one thing to say, which is that I hope everyone can calm down when taking part in the selection test.”

"Forging swords, like alchemy, requires calmness. To make swords, the sword master needs to have clear thoughts. If the mind is not calm, the thoughts will be chaotic. Once confused, your skills will not be fully utilized."

"Zhao clearly sees your daily efforts, so Zhao believes that as long as you can perform normally, you will all have a chance to pass this selection test."

"Finally, it is Zhao's honor to be able to get to know you all. Zhao is very grateful that you can come here every day and take the trouble to listen to Zhao's teachings! Please pay your respects to Zhao." After that, Zhao stood. His body, which looked a bit old, bowed deeply to the cultivators in the valley.

The monks in the valley looked at Zhao On on the hillside, all in a daze. This older generation weapon master of Yijian Peak has no sectarian views in his heart. He only has a sincere heart for the sword-making profession and a sense of responsibility for teaching and teaching.

Although he initially taught the casual cultivators because he lost to Huan in a literary battle, during this year he worked hard regardless of rain or shine, and his sincerity had already been revealed in front of all the casual cultivators.

At this moment, Zhao On can be said to be both a teacher and a friend to the casual cultivators. Without his help this year, the casual cultivators in the valley would not have as much knowledge as they do today, let alone participate in the weapon master training today. The confidence and courage to take the exam.

"Master Zhao's teachings will never be forgotten!" Under the leadership of Ji Cangqiong, all the monks in the valley bowed deeply to Zhao On.

Zhao Wei stood up straight, took another deep look at the people in the valley, glanced at the faces he was used to seeing every day, and then waved his hand: "Okay, let's go."

…

In the square where the newcomers' martial arts competition was held on the fifth level of Yijian Peak, there were more than 1,800 weapon cultivators standing neatly. Among these weapon cultivators, there appear to be more than 1,300 people belonging to Yijian Peak, while there are more than 500 casual cultivators.

In front of these monks, there is a cloud platform floating in the air. There are five fixed seats on the cloud platform. On each seat is a senior powerful weapon cultivator from Yi Jianfeng. The person on the chair in the middle was none other than Bai Jinfeng, the master who successfully realized the realm of enlightenment under Huan Yin's light curtain when Huan Yin and Meng Li were competing in the tower.

When the time came, Bai Jinfeng stood up and shouted to the audience: "I, Bai Jinfeng, am one of the weapon masters of Yijian Peak. This year's weapon master selection test is presided over by Bai."

"I think everyone in front of me has prepared for this selection test for a long time and spent a lot of energy. I have seen your daily efforts, and even among you, there have been very few people who are in a certain situation. He is a rising star whose achievements in these aspects make me look up to him.”

"This test is an assessment of your hard work over the years. Your daily efforts will be fed back to you with an answer within the next three days. Whether you can become a weapon master recognized by Yijian Peak depends on you. What a performance these days!”

Having said this, Bai Jinfeng paused for a moment, and then continued: "This selection test is divided into three assessment items. Each item will be completed within one day, and the results will be announced on the spot. Those who passed the assessment of the previous item, Only then will you have the chance to move on to the next project. If you fail in any assessment project, you will be eliminated directly!”

"If anyone can pass the assessment of all three projects, then in three days, he will truly become a weapon master recognized by Yijian Peak!"

When Bai Jinfeng said this, many of the weapon cultivators present frowned, especially the casual cultivators. They finally felt the rigor of the Yijian Peak weapon master selection test in person.

In addition to Yi Jianfeng, there are many other sects in Jiuzhou that also have weapons cultivators, and there are also ways to assess and recognize weapon masters. However, at Yi Jianfeng, not only is the difficulty of the test recognized to be on the high side, but candidates are not allowed to deviate in every test. As long as there was a slight deviation, he would have to wait another ten years if he wanted to obtain the title of Weapon Master at Yi Jian Peak.

However, it is precisely because Yijianfeng has such strict requirements for the younger generations that Yijianfeng's sword-making skills can become famous across Kyushu.

"The selection tests for the next two days will all start at Chenshi. As for the content of the test, I will tell you personally on the same day." Bai Jinfeng continued.

"As for today's test, it is also the first test of this weapon master selection test, and the content is to identify materials."

"Identifying materials is the most basic and most critical knowledge for weapon masters of our generation to forge swords. The Nine-Layered Pagoda of Yijian Peak uses identifying materials as the assessment method for each level, which shows the importance of identifying materials to us."

"The land of Jiuzhou is vast, and the materials for swordmaking are endless. Not to mention you, even I spend a lot of time reading classics every day and asking for advice from fellow practitioners to continuously improve my ability to identify materials. Because I know that only by laying a solid foundation can I make progress in the way of swordmaking."

"Today's test is limited to one hour. You must identify 10,000 materials within one hour, and no mistakes are allowed. If you fail to complete it within one hour, or if you identify one material incorrectly, you will fail this level!"

As soon as these words came out, the disciples in the entire square instantly gasped. They originally thought that this assessment was already very strict, but they didn't expect that it would be so difficult. You should know that the third level of the Nine-Layered Pagoda only has 10,000 materials in total, and even the fourth level only requires identifying 5,000 materials, but the weapon master selection test actually requires identifying 10,000 directly, and it is within the time limit of one hour. I just don't know how rare these 10,000 materials are. If they are rarer, it will be too difficult.

Bai Jinfeng saw the reaction in the field and frowned: "Are you scared? Those who don't have the ability should leave now and come back to study for another ten years! What kind of weapon master is it if you can't identify 10,000 materials?"

When he shouted, the square suddenly became quiet, and no one dared to say anything.

Then, Bai Jinfeng's eyes began to scan back and forth among all the weapon masters in the square, as if he was looking for something. Soon, his eyes stopped on Huan Yin, and then he said loudly: "There is one exception in this round of selection, he is Huan Yin, the foreign weapon cultivator."

Huan Yin looked at Bai Jinfeng in astonishment when he heard this, but saw Bai Jinfeng gave him a kind look and then said: "Huan Yin's attainments in identifying talents are amazing. He has passed the eighth level in the assessment of the Nine-Layer Pagoda, so his ability is far beyond even Bai's reach. Even before, Bai had the honor to first realize the realm of enlightenment under Master Huan's light curtain when he broke through the seventh level of the pagoda. Today, Bai would like to express his gratitude to Master Huan for teaching again!" After saying this, Bai Jinfeng bowed deeply to Huan Yin.

As soon as Bai Jinfeng made this move, everyone here instantly looked at Huan Yin. In the minds of these cultivators, Bai Jinfeng was such a profound figure, but today he bowed to Huan Yin again in front of all the younger generation of weapon cultivators, and even called Huan Yin "Master". Who else has had such an honor except the five weapon cultivator ancestors of Yijian Peak?

Huan Yin politely returned a salute to Bai Jinfeng on the cloud platform below, and then Bai Jinfeng said: "Today, the ancestor Lan Yanzi personally conveyed his meaning to me. His original words were 'Huan Yin's attainments in identifying talents have reached the ancestral realm, and he no longer needs to participate in today's test.' Therefore, Huan Yin does not need to participate in this first round of talent identification test!"

Now, the younger generation of weapon cultivators present were even more shocked. They couldn't believe that Huan Yin's attainments in identifying talents had alarmed their ancestor Lan Yanzi, who even personally praised him as "ancestral realm".

The so-called ancestral realm is the realm that only the ancestors of Yijian Peak can reach. Lan Yanzi said that Huan Yin's attainment in identifying materials has reached the ancestral realm, which is equivalent to admitting that his attainment in identifying materials can be on par with the four ancestors of Yijian Peak except himself.

You know, Lan Yanzi rarely praises his juniors. If someone can get a few words of praise from him, it means that the person has a deep attainment in a certain aspect of swordmaking and can be called a "master". But today, the words used by Lan Yanzi are obviously not comparable to the word "master".

Huan Yin bowed to Bai Jinfeng again respectfully: "Thank you, Senior Lan Yanzi, thank you, Senior Bai."

Bai Jinfeng nodded, and then turned to the field again: "Okay, everyone else, get ready to start the first round of selection!"