The next morning Wu Guang rose up before the sun and after eating breakfast at one of the stalls moved towards the Martial area.
Arriving at the place he was supposed to, he found out that Duqi and Lang Juang had already arrived. They exchanged some small talk while another nine people arrived and an elder from the Martial palace appeared. Wu Guang did not really look around, but one of the applicants did arise a bit of interest in him. It was a tall, lean and bald teen with dark skin with eyes that seemed closed even as he walked, and dressed in vibrant orange and red colors.
The arriving Elder quickly explained the comprehension test which would be a competition between the twelve of them. First place would get 50 points while the second and third place would get 30 and 20 respectively. Everyone else would not gain any points at all.
The competition would be a simple test of how much they could master one of the basic techniques of the Sect, called 'Stomping the Hill'. From the explanation about it, Wu Guang understood that it was not only a qi technique usable in combat but also would be used as a base for almost all the sect techniques.
When everyone was prepared, the Elder stomped the ground and a stone slab emerged from the ground. This slab was actually 'Stomping the Hill' manual, which described how one would need to circulate his qi and then project it via one of the lowest meridians. It was a martial circulation technique as this type of circulation did not affect one's cultivation and so did not interfere with the main circulation technique it could be used by anyone. Wu Guang only scanned the contents once and directly sat down to meditate.
The circulation was simple and the mantra was even simpler, but the technical level and power would depend on the understanding and control one had over the qi inside a meridian and how much could be gathered in there without a dantian. It had a different method for Ying and Yang lower meridians so the user could train the dominant one, but Wu Guang's 'Everchanging Path, Everchanging Flow' had given him equal dominance over them so he decided to concentrate on understanding both at the same time.
With Wu Guang's strengthened comprehension and consciousness, such level of techniques was learned and all the information was discerned instantly so he used all the two hours simply to mentally imagine it while getting a full understanding and feel of its required circulation.
During this time everyone else except the applicant that had caught his attention practiced the technique physically and if not for him being able to ignore any disturbance the quakes, shouts, and disturbed qi would make meditation impossible.
As the time to demonstrate arrived, almost no one around him had reached more than the so-called Novice mastery. The only exceptions being Lang Juan who he had sensed to reach something resembling Intermediate mastery and the foreign-looking teen who had not made any movements. Proficiency for this technique was determined by the deepness and narrowness of the crater one would form by stomping if using the Yang part, or the exact opposite if using the Ying one.
The demonstration would be made in order, so Wu Guang was second last with only Duqi following after him.
Confirming what he had sensed the first applicants showed a Novice mastery, which would only form a three feet wide and extremely shallow crater beneath their stomping leg accompanied by an almost unfelt shake. Lang Juan indeed reached Intermediate mastery and her stomp formed a crater 2 feet wide and twice the deep from the Novice's, reaching a full foot. The shaking was also more noticeable and a small rumble was heard from below her as if the earth responded.
The foreign-looking applicant surprised everyone by showing a level that could be almost considered Proficient mastery. So judging from the ones before him when Wu Guang turn to demonstrate came, the foreigner had first place while Lang Juan was second.
Proficient mastery for this technique was considered a foot wide and more than 2 feet deep mark, as it was already too small to be called a crater.
Wu Guang slowly rose up and choosing an untouched spot activated the Yang part that everybody had used until now, this could be explained by the fact that most basic circulation techniques started from the Yang meridians and so the control over them was better.
No shaking or rumble accompanied his qi-infused stomp, and if not a small amount of dust that rose underneath his shoe, one would think he did not even activate the technique.
Most of the faces around him showed a sympathetic expression, thinking that he failed but the Elder eyes were actually showing surprise. Wu Guang wasn't worried at all, on the contrary, his face had a confident smile. The reason for it was quickly discovered after he lifted his foot and everyone saw the spot he had stomped on. There was no crater at all, only a deep hole in the form of his shoe.
"Advanced mastery!" The elder exclaimed after examining the place.
Wu Guang had held back a bit, but the actual mastery he felt had already surpassed the Advanced one and was near the Peak. Duqi was next and although he was shocked as the rest he demonstrated a Beginner mastery, which was in between the Novice and Intermediate ones. With the last demonstration finished, the Elder announced the top three which were Wu Guang, the foreigner, and Lang Juan respectively. After the points were assigned they were ordered to move towards the opposite side of the area.
They had several minutes to reach the destination and use their breathing and circulation techniques to refill the used up qi, as the next tests which were qi manipulation would start right afterward.
The next test was divided into two parts, but everyone had the opportunity to get points. They were assigned by the result, with the minimum being 5 and 25 being the maximum per each part.
The first test was to expel a strand of qi from any of the extremities by using one's normal circulation and willing it to leave the body as an arrow. There were five lines on the ground, with each being 10 feet apart and giving 5 points for each one passed by the released qi. Runes etched on the sides of these lines would react to the normally invisible qi of Body realm cultivators and would remain illuminated for only a brief moment, preventing cheating. Surprisingly not only Wu Guang but also the foreigner qi strands passed over the five lines. Lang Juan and Duqi both managed to get 4 lines while the rest of the group were divided between the two and three lines results.
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The examinator was the same Elder so he wasn't so surprised to see such results and after assigning the points notified them that the second part will take between two and three hours so they had an hour to rest, recuperate, and else. The place for it would be in the same tower as the aptitude test, and they were expected to gather there on time. Missing it by even a moment would be considered forfeiting.
Wu Guang did not want to mingle much with the applicants that approached to talk with him, so he informed them that he would go for a stroll as preparation. Nodding to Lang Juan and Duqi he retired from the area and noticed that the foreign teen imitated him some moments later when the applicants turned their attention to him.
***
The second part of the test would actually test one's control over the qi in the air by using the body to let it flow freely. Basically, the amount that one could absorb and expel at the same time. When the time arrived, everyone was there so the Elder did not say anything before ushering them into the tower.
The test was held on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors and was pointed by 5, 10, and 15 points respectively. For a maximum score of 25 points, the applicant would need to clear each one after another, while the minimum expected was to clear the lowest floor.
The tower normally was programmed to exert pressure, but during this test, it would actually form a qi current between the two ends of the empty floor. The more one moved forwards, the more opposition would be. A floor was considered passed right as the applicant reached the stairs to the next during the hour that they were allowed to remain on each, but they could ascend to the next only after the full time passed. With all this explained, the elder commanded them to prepare and activated the tower.
The current appeared almost instantly, it was partially visible and could not be surmounted by the brute strength of Body realm cultivators, so everyone was slowly pushed back by it. As the provided information about the test, the only way to resist it and advance would be to attune the body to absorb the current and instantly expel it or as the Elder worded it, stop being an obstacle for the current.
At the fringes of the current where they stood, the qi wasn't strong, only being a bit more concentrated. But with every step that the applicants did, it would get stronger and seemingly reached about the triple concentration around the stairs.
Everyone activated a mix of breathing and cultivation to resist and stopped being pushed, but as most of the people moved forwards, Wu Guang and the foreigner stood still. Lang Juan after noticing this did the same.
The trio started moving only after the sand in the hourglass the Elder had set had fallen almost fully and reached the stairs to the 9th floor just a moment before the time ran out.
The Elder gave them a brief moment to recuperate, but forbid them of meditating or circulating qi. Lang Juan used this time to approach Wu Guang and ask him about why they had waited, as she just followed him because of a hunch.
"Hmm? I thought you had understood it, but let me explain. The rules state that you would need to remain near the stairs when the time ends, so everyone would rush towards, right? With every step the concentration increases, so you would need to absorb and expel more. But as we stood on the weakest part of the current our actual efforts were low for most of the time"
"Oh! In place of fighting the stronger current parts during all the hour, we only had to resist it for some brief moments!"
"Yes. It's almost explained by the rules, after all, who would expect that the fifty feet distance would need a full hour to be crossed?"
When this was heard by them, every applicant almost facepalmed. Indeed, they had resisted the stronger half of the current for half an hour, so they would be far more tired if compared to this three. Nobody was angered at or said anything to Wu Guang for not telling before, after all this was a competition.
Still, everyone waited until Wu Guang moved before following towards the opposite stairs after the elder made them ascend and started the next current. Regretfully for four of the applicants, their resistance and adaptability were low so they did not reach the stairs in time.
When the elder activated the current on the tenth and last floor, Wu Guang moved forwards almost instantly, only taking a brief moment to nod towards Lang Juan.
She did not understand the motives of such but decided to follow him. The foreigner, Duqi, and one more applicant also moved while the rest seemingly decided to follow the previous strategy.
Wu Guang's actions were not wrong, as when he reached the stairs, he found a small tile that was protected from the current. The foreigner and Lang Juan reached and stood on similar tiles some minutes later while Duqi managed to finish a brief moment before the time ran out, although his pale face and the slumped-down pose he had when he crawled unto the tile showed his extreme tiredness. The other one who had followed them failed because he did not manage to cross the last increase, which increased the concentration to fifteen times the normal from the twelve times it was before. For the ones that decided to wait a bit, they failed and did not manage to reach even that mark.
The elder congratulated the ones who passed and even gave a small explanation to the ones who failed because of waiting
"You all failed because you did not hear and understand the rules. Points are assigned as soon you arrive, but passing to the next floor requires you to be near the stairs when the time runs out. So waiting in an easier zone is the perfect strategy for the first two floors, but the third floor is the final one, so the quicker you finish, the easier it is. Only these three applicants understood and followed the correct way, so I congratulate them on passing with full marks" Saying this he turned towards Duqi who had already sat down on the floor and was breathing roughly
"While you young man, although you did not, your willpower is impressive. After all, you finished the last feet by advancing by relying only on it. Don't think I did not notice that your breathing had failed you, but the rules don't say anything about brute-forcing the test, so congratulations on full marks as well"
With this said, the elder commanded everyone to leave the tower. Before they dispersed he called Wu Guang, Lang Juan, Duqi, and the foreigner by their numbers and made them follow him.