Chapter 29: Initial Trial (1)
Slap—
He could see. He could hear.
Hmmm.
Smell, taste, and touch returned to him.
Xu Mo found himself back at the moment when the testing platform elder had slapped him. The stinging sensation on his cheek was all too real.
"Why did the elder suddenly slap him?"
"He’s that pervert from before. The elder must have caught him doing something shady."
"What?! Has this guy harassed you before?"
"Yes, he was behind me while we were climbing up, a-and..." Her voice trailed off deliberately, her face flushing red.
Xu Mo watched as the once-sympathetic eyes around him now glared with disgust—as if they, too, would have done the same if they were in the elder’s position.
What is going on? Xu Mo wondered. Was this reality, or an illusion conjured by his mind?
The last thing he remembered was a strange voice declaring:"[The Initial Trial - The Whisper of Power][Is starting.]"
Could this be a trial set for him by the Grand Dao?
Xu Mo noticed that everything up to this point had unfolded exactly as it had before. But what was this trial trying to imply?
The surface of the Talent Stone was cold and smooth, about twenty-eight centimeters thick.
And then—
A tremor.
The massive black Talent Stone began to shake violently. Dust rose from the ground. Pebbles trembled. The very mountain upon which the sect stood quaked.
Cracks appeared on the stone where his hand touched it. Tiny, spiderweb-like fissures spread outward, originating from his middle and ring fingers.
Xu Mo's body moved against his will. He tried to regain control, but it was a futile struggle.
What happened next mirrored the past. Elder Long arrived, accompanied by other sect elders.
The moment Xu Mo removed his palm, the shaking ceased.
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Everyone regained their footing.
The testing elder hurriedly bowed upon seeing that even the inner sect elders had arrived.
"What is your name, young man?" One of the elders—clearly the leader—descended from the sky, his presence dominating the air.
His footsteps made no sound as he landed on the testing platform.
"E-Elder! M-My name is Xu Mo," Xu Mo stammered, startled by the elder’s sudden approach. But he quickly composed himself.
Even his mouth moved against his command. Was this the power of the Grand Dao?
Did everyone who comprehended the Dao experience the same thing?
It felt like being reborn.
"Were you the one who caused the tremors? Or was it someone before you?" the elder asked, his gaze scanning the other aspirants.
The testing elder, drenched in sweat, hastily pointed at Xu Mo. In his fifty years of service, nothing like this had ever happened. The Talent Stone cracking? Unheard of.
Xu Mo's consciousness remained calm, but his physical body was anything but.
"Elder, the tremors began the moment I placed my hand on the Talent Stone… and then the cracks appeared."
The elders who had silenced the testing platform’s elder walked toward the Talent Stone. One of them traced his fingers over the cracks that had formed under Xu Mo’s touch.
Jingle~
The stone emitted a faint ringing sound, barely audible but noticeable to those present.
Xu Mo observed the scene through the eyes of his past self.
"Long Bai. That is my name. For you, Elder Long Bai."
It felt like watching a play unfold before his eyes.
The testing platform’s elder hesitated before speaking."Elder, should I proceed with Long Chen’s test?"
But why?Why was this moment chosen as the trial ground?
Then, something happened that answered his question.
Long Bai stepped in front of Xu Mo.
His sharp gaze landed on the red marks on Xu Mo’s cheek.
"These slap marks… who did this?"
Xu Mo remembered hesitating at that moment, his mind racing with thoughts. But this version of himself was different—arrogant and confident, a stark contrast to the Xu Mo in his consciousness.
His body spoke without his consent: "It was that testing platform elder who slapped me for no reason."
What?!
Long Bai’s piercing eyes met Xu Mo’s, but before he could respond, the testing platform’s elder interjected.
"Trash. No talent in cultivation found."
Silence fell.
The one most shocked was Long Chen himself.
"No… No. How could this be possible? There must be something wrong with the stone. Yes, that’s the only explanation!"
Long Chen was in complete denial.
When he had placed his hand on the Talent Stone, there had been no reaction—only an eerie, suffocating silence.
"I want to retake the test! Just one more chance! Please!"
"No."
The refusal came first from the testing elder, and then from Long Bai.
"Retaking the test is against the rules. And even if you did, the result wouldn’t change."
Long Bai’s voice remained calm, but his words were absolute. He had seen this reaction countless times before.
As usual, Long Chen blamed Xu Mo for his failure. In his consciousness, Xu Mo couldn’t help but wonder what his physical body would say next.
The decision was up to his physical body. And oh, how it disappointed him.
With an arrogant and condescending tone, his mouth declared, "Give him a one-month deadline." As if he were the highest authority present.
Elder Long and the other seniors were still there, but his physical body disregarded them entirely. Xu Mo thought that even if he knew he would become the True Successor of the sect, he would never act so arrogantly.
And yet, his physical body from the past wasn’t even certain if it would be accepted by the sect master.
Xu Mo's consciousness had no hands or feet. He could only observe the world through the window of his past self’s eyes.
Without looking back, his body shook the sleeves of Elder Long and demanded to be taken to meet the sect master.
Xu Mo's consciousness could only pray that the sect master wouldn’t kill his physical self on the spot.