"Congratulations to everyone for passing the first round of the spiritual root test!" Elder Hu Tian stood with his hands behind his back. "Next, the second round of the test will begin. The examiners will explain the content and rules of the test."
"Good luck to everyone!"
As Elder Hu Tian finished speaking, Qin Yu suddenly felt a dizzying sensation. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a strange space.
"Welcome to the second challenge, little one!"
A being made of white mist, shaped like an elderly figure, appeared beside Qin Yu. "Let me introduce myself, I am the head of the Scripture Pavilion of the Xuantian Sect, the ancient book spirit, Bai Shitong."
"Book spirit? Is that impressive?"
"Of course!" Bai Shitong said proudly, "I have read countless books, I know everything about astronomy and geography, the theory of cultivation, hundreds of millions of methods of immortality, and everything about the cultivation world, big or small—I know it all."
"If I say I’m the second most knowledgeable person in the cultivation world, no one would dare claim the first."
"Kid, do you think I’m powerful?"
Qin Yu sneered, "Pfft, what’s the use of knowing so much? In the cultivation world, it's all about strength."
"Shallow! Haven’t you heard that knowledge is power?"
"The cultivation world isn’t just about fighting and killing. Forget it, forget it, there's no point explaining this to a little brat like you. When you join Xuantian Sect, you’ll naturally see how powerful I am."
"You say you know so much, well, let me ask you a question!"
"Ask away!" Bai Shitong replied confidently.
Qin Yu grinned and asked, "Okay, let me ask you this—can humans breathe underwater?"
"Of course not!" Bai Shitong answered without hesitation. "Even the most powerful cultivators, when submerged underwater, can only hold their breath. They cannot breathe underwater."
"Wrong answer!"
"Impossible!" Bai Shitong's eyes widened.
For thousands of years, his answers had always been considered correct, and no one had ever dared tell him, "Your answer is wrong."
"Senior Bai Shitong, don’t rush. Let me demonstrate," Qin Yu said.
"Fine, let’s see how you explain this." Bai Shitong stared at Qin Yu and said seriously, "If you make fun of me, the consequences will be severe."
Qin Yu respectfully replied, "I would never dare, Senior."
Just moments ago, Bai Shitong had gone through all the books to confirm that there was no cultivation method that allowed one to breathe underwater.
Since he hadn’t found anything, how could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old kid possibly know?
It must be some kind of illusion.
Qin Yu looked around and asked, "Senior, do you have a water bottle here?"
Bai Shitong waved his hand, and a water bottle appeared in front of Qin Yu.
"Wow, that’s impressive!"
Qin Yu took the bottle and said, "Senior, watch carefully, I will demonstrate only once!"
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"Alright!"
Bai Shitong stared at Qin Yu, not wanting to miss a single detail.
"I’m starting now!"
Under Bai Shitong’s watchful eyes, Qin Yu slowly raised the water bottle above his head, then took a deep breath.
Hoo~
Sigh~
Bai Shitong urged, "Hurry up and start!"
"Senior, I’m done demonstrating."
Seeing Bai Shitong’s confused expression, Qin Yu explained, "Look, this bottle has water in it, right?"
"Yes!" Bai Shitong nodded, still confused.
"The water is on top of my head, right?"
"Yes."
"And I’m underwater, right?"
"Yes."
"I can breathe, right?"
"Yes."
"I’m a human, right?"
"Yes."
"Therefore, this proves that humans can breathe underwater, right?"
"Right... no... no, that’s wrong!" Bai Shitong suddenly shouted, looking like a mad old man.
"You’re cheating! You’re switching the concept!"
Qin Yu retorted, "Even though you’re a senior, you can’t just make baseless accusations!"
"What did I say that was wrong? Which part isn’t the truth?"
"Th... this..." Bai Shitong was at a loss for words.
He instinctively felt that something was off, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what was wrong.
Seeing the white smoke rising from Bai Shitong’s head, Qin Yu knew he was right.
This guy was like the artificial intelligence from Qin Yu’s past life—extremely knowledgeable, but when faced with logical issues, it turned into an "artificial idiot."
Qin Yu rubbed his nose. 'I nailed it easily!'
"No, this is definitely wrong!"
Bai Shitong panicked, floating back and forth, trying to find the flaw in Qin Yu’s reasoning.
Several minutes passed, but Bai Shitong couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
"Kid, I’m just a fragment of my true self. My wisdom has been split."
"Your little tricks wouldn’t stand a chance against my true form."
Qin Yu: "Ah, yes, yes!"
"Are you questioning me?" Bai Shitong’s eyebrows and beard stood up in anger.
"I’m not, I didn’t, please don’t misunderstand, ha ha~"
"Why are you laughing?"
Qin Yu: "I just thought of something funny."
"You’re clearly questioning me!" Bai Shitong said angrily. "Alright, wait for it, I’ll soon give you the answer!"
"I won’t be wrong!" Bai Shitong shouted, and the space in front of Qin Yu shattered.
'What’s going on? Why is he losing it? If you can’t handle the game, don’t play!' Qin Yu silently complained.
Meanwhile, in the main hall of the sect.
The Sect Leader and twelve elders were gathered here. Through a crystal mirror, they were watching the scene of the new disciples answering questions.
Elder Hu Tian was also present. The elder outside was just a projection of his true self.
The sect’s recruitment ceremony represented the addition of fresh blood to the sect, influencing the future of the sect.
The higher-ups of the sect took it very seriously. Even the elders in seclusion left a projection here.
Of course, their attention was not only on the future of the sect but also on the distribution of outstanding disciples.
"Elder Hu, what kind of questions did you set up for the second round?" the Grand Elder asked.
Unlike Elder Hu Tian, who had a dignified, immortal aura, the Grand Elder looked like someone in their twenties.
Powerful cultivators could maintain a youthful appearance forever.
Elder Hu Tian laughed, "I’ve thought long and hard about these questions. They’re definitely tricky."
"Let me give you a few examples!"
"In ancient times, it is said that the goddess Nuwa created humans out of clay. Can you provide evidence to prove the truth of this myth?"
All the elders immediately began thinking, but after a while, they couldn’t come up with any leads.
The myth of Nuwa creating humans was just a story from ancient times, and its truth had never been verified. There’s no way to provide any evidence!
The Grand Elder asked, "Elder Hu, what’s the answer?"
Elder Hu Tian awkwardly said, "Well, when you take a bath and scrub yourself, isn’t that evidence?"
"......"
Everyone was stunned.
'We’re recruiting cultivators, not mentally unstable people!'
Just as they were talking, the crystal mirror went black.
"What’s happening?"
In response, voices from outside quickly came, "Sect Leader, something’s wrong, Bai Shitong has stopped working!"
Elder Hu Tian: "?"
All the disciples participating in the second round were inexplicably kicked out of Bai Shitong’s space, looking at each other, utterly confused.
"What’s going on? I only answered one question and I’m out. Is there only one question in the second round?"
"It’s over, I got the first question wrong. Looks like I’ll have to wait another year."
"It can’t be just one, Bai Shitong already asked me the second question, but it was interrupted halfway."
"Could this test be about our speed in answering questions?"
"This is great, I answered three questions, though they were all nonsense, but hey, let’s see if you can answer faster!"
Hearing the discussion, Qin Yu was utterly confused.
What answering questions? Isn’t this a test where we ask the questions?
Bai Shitong himself said he knew everything, so didn’t that mean if I asked a question he couldn’t answer, I’d pass the test?
Qin Yu suddenly realized that he might have gone off track.
And it seemed like everyone being forced to stop was somehow related to him!
‘Looks like I might have caused some trouble...'
Qin Yu nervously glanced around, then thought for a moment and convinced himself that he wasn’t at fault.
After all, Bai Shitong was the one boasting that he knew everything, and he said we could ask anything.
I didn’t expect him to lose it over something so simple.
Can I be blamed for that?
It’s his own fault for being too fragile.