Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 369 Profound Fate: Unparalleled Talent (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

The disciple's assessment is held in the attic.

The building was hundreds of feet tall. The moment Lin Chen stepped into the pavilion, the door he had opened slowly closed.

Snapped!
A beam of icy blue light descended from the attic, enveloping Lin Chen.

Canglan Energy.

When this vast energy landed on him, Lin Chen felt as if his entire body had been scanned.

The next moment, the icy blue beam of light disappeared.

however!
Three more beams of light descended from the top of the pavilion, and when the beams dissipated, three icy blue figures were revealed.

War puppet?

Lin Chen squinted at the three figures and immediately thought of the battle puppets. He had encountered battle puppets at the ruins of the Qingtian Sect, so it was normal for the Canglan Sect to have them as well.

"The shorter the time it takes to defeat a battle puppet of the same level, the better."

A dignified voice rang out from the attic.

call out!
Three ice-blue battle puppets transformed into afterimages and shot towards Lin Chen.

A glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. According to the voice prompt, the faster he defeated these three battle puppets, the higher his score would be. So he held nothing back. His body suddenly expanded, transforming into a ten-zhang-tall figure, with flames swirling around him.

boom!
Lin Chen, who had transformed into a ten-zhang giant, swept his leg out, and the battle puppet on the left was instantly hit and sent flying. At the same time, Lin Chen pressed down on the battle puppet that was attacking from the right with his right hand and slammed it to the ground with a palm.

呲.

The battle puppet that came towards him was the only one that managed to reach Lin Chen, but before it could even touch Lin Chen's skin, it was engulfed and burned by the flames burning all around it.

Three breaths.

One war puppet fell to the ground and was pinned down by Lin Chen's right foot, unable to move. Another one flew backward and crashed into a stone pillar in the pavilion, becoming embedded in the pillar and unable to escape. Yet another one was burned by flames, making crackling sounds.

The beam of light descended again, enveloping the three battle puppets. Soon, the puppets gradually became ethereal, eventually transforming into icy blue energy that dissipated along with the beam of light.

"First hurdle passed, in three breaths."

The majestic voice rang out again, and the next moment, the area above the pavilion changed once more. Vast energy surged down like waves, enveloping Lin Chen.

Lin Chen did not dispel the Canglan energy because he did not sense any malice from it. After his entire body was enveloped by the Canglan energy, it began to ripple, like waves crashing against the shore.

Snapped!
With each wave of surging energy, Lin Chen felt his soul tremble.

"Therefore, the first test is to assess one's martial arts combat strength, while the second test is to examine one's spiritual soul."

This vast energy not only assaulted his soul with each attack, but also exerted a suction force as it receded, trying to pull his soul out of his body.

Lin Chen began to circulate the Thousand Machine Evolution Technique to solidify his soul, allowing the Canglan energy to continuously assault him, his soul remaining unmoved.

……

……

Outside the attic.

The steward who brought Lin Chen in was also waiting.

The sect's direct disciple assessment consists of three stages, and the final score is the total score of the three stages, with 100% representing the passing grade.

The first test examines the disciple's combat ability. Those who can become personal disciples are all the best in their realm. When they encounter ordinary martial artists, even those of the same realm, they can fight against two, three, or even four opponents at once.

The three battle puppets are evolved from the Azure Energy and will be at the same level of strength as the disciples who enter the pavilion. If you fail to defeat the battle puppets, you will not receive any points. Defeating the three battle puppets will also give you points based on the time it takes to defeat them.

Fifty points in one breath.

After that, one point is lost for every additional breath. After forty breaths, no matter how long it takes to defeat the three war puppets, the minimum score is still only ten points.

The second challenge is a test of one's soul.

The Azure Tide has a shock effect on the soul. If the soul is unstable or weak, it is difficult to withstand the impact of the Azure Tide. The Azure Tide will also decide to stop or continue on its own according to the condition of the test taker's soul.

After all, they are all disciples of the Canglan Sect. The sect's assessment is to verify the disciples' strength, not to injure them.

The longer the second stage, the Tide of Azure Waves, lasts, the higher the score; this stage, however, has a score of seventy points.

After ten breaths, you get a base score of ten points. Almost all disciples who enter can persist for ten breaths. Twenty breaths gives you twenty points. After that, you get one point for each additional breath until you reach fifty points.

The first fifty minutes are one point per breath, but after fifty breaths, if you want to get the extra twenty minutes, it becomes one point every ten breaths.

A perfect score of 70 means you have to hold on for 250 breaths.

Since its founding, only two disciples of the Canglan Sect have ever achieved a perfect score of 70.

The impact of the Azure Tide on the soul is stronger with each wave, and the two who were able to persist to seventy points had already entered the Innate Realm when they participated in the assessment.

……

……

Amidst the surging tides, Lin Chen felt his soul being dragged into a vast, icy blue ocean. Countless waves of surging energy crashed down upon him like a storm-driven wave, each more turbulent than the last.

Under the impact of the vast ocean's energy, Lin Chen did not merely passively defend himself; instead, his divine sense transformed into oars around him, constantly fighting against the plagiarizing energy.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Later, the originally icy blue Canglan energy transformed into a dense purplish-black hue, like the difference between the shallow and deep seas. Lin Chen's mind began to become somewhat hazy, and his surrounding divine senses transformed into a light shield enveloping him.

Snapped!
The moment the light shield shattered, the Azure Tide also vanished abruptly. Lin Chen opened his eyes and was momentarily dazed, but his mind cleared quickly.

"Hold on for two hundred breaths."

The authoritative voice announced the time Lin Chen had been able to endure, and at the same time opened the next stage: "The third stage, the potential stage."

As the sound faded, ice-blue jade steps slowly descended from the top of the pavilion, with the lowest step landing precisely in front of Lin Chen. At the end of the jade steps, an ancient mirror floated.

"potential?"

Lin Chen squinted, not rushing to step forward. The first test was to assess his combat ability, the second test was his soul, and this test was to assess his potential.

How should potential be assessed, and what is its relationship with career advancement opportunities?
Does climbing more steps indicate higher potential?
If that's the case, it means that each step is more difficult to climb than the last, which is actually a test of the disciple's strength and spirit.

Wouldn't that be redundant?

"The martial arts of the Yan Dynasty are worlds apart from those of the Nine Kingdoms. Perhaps there is something magical about them that I, a frog in a well, cannot understand. Maybe these steps have another way of testing potential."

Unable to figure it out, Lin Chen simply stopped thinking about it, calmed his mind, and stepped onto the first step. ...

Outside the attic.

"Elder Du?"

The steward guarding outside the pavilion saw Du Xiaofeng walk in and immediately greeted him respectfully.

"Has Lin Chen not come out yet?"

Du Xiaofeng looked at the closed attic. He came in because more than two hundred breaths had passed since Lin Chen went in.

According to his estimation, Lin Chen should have been released long ago.

"Junior Brother Lin is still in the pavilion, probably testing his potential. Congratulations to Elder Du on taking on such a fine disciple."

The deacon congratulated Du Xiaofeng, not entirely out of flattery because of Du Xiaofeng's status as an elder. In his opinion, Lin Chen's ability to persist inside for so long without coming out must mean that he had been stuck at the potential level for quite some time.

The longer you stay in the third stage of the personal disciple assessment, the higher your potential.

As for the claim that Lin Chen spent a long time in the second level, that's clearly impossible.

Among the disciples who have not entered the Innate Realm, very few can last up to fifty breaths in the second test of the soul; most only last around forty breaths.

The second stage takes forty breaths, and adding the first stage where he defeated the battle puppet, let's say fifty breaths at the slowest pace. Lin Chen should have already entered the third stage a hundred breaths ago.

Being able to hold out for a hundred breaths in the third stage means you've climbed at least thirty steps, which is thirty minutes.

This final potential level is worth 100 points. Each step is worth one point, and there are 99 steps in total. Reaching the top will earn you 90 points.

However, just like the second test of the soul, it is almost impossible to get a perfect score. Since the test was established, no disciple has ever gotten a perfect score.

The highest score was only 80 points.

Du Xiaofeng narrowed his old eyes slightly. In his estimation, Lin Chen should be able to get more than 30 points in the first stage, at least 20 points in the second stage, and 50 points in the potential stage would be no problem. He could reach 100 points.

More than two hundred breaths have passed now, so he no longer needs to worry. He can just wait for Lin Chen to come out.

……

In the attic.

Lin Chen reached the fiftieth step, but he was still very confused.

After stepping onto the steps, the expected test did not occur. He smoothly made his way to the fiftieth step. If he hadn't been certain that he was in the attic, that this test was to assess his potential, and that the ancient mirror floating at the end was constantly shrouding him in a beam of light, he would have suspected that there was something wrong with this test, causing it to fail.

The jade steps were obscured by ancient, surging energy, so Lin Chen couldn't see the mirror's surface. He was unaware that his reflection was also visible on the mirror. With each step he took, the mirror would ripple like water.

At the same time, a line of text appeared on the mirror: "A body of unparalleled talent, a gift unmatched throughout history; a destiny of profound understanding, perfectly suited to the pinnacle of martial arts."

With each step Lin Chen took, the words would shimmer and reflect light on the mirror surface.

Seventy steps, eighty steps, ninety steps...

Lin Chen walked as if on flat ground, and at this moment he could see the ancient mirror in the camera lens on the steps, as well as the words on the ancient mirror.

"A body of unparalleled talent, a gift unmatched throughout history; a destiny of profound wisdom, perfectly suited to the pinnacle of martial arts?"

Upon seeing the words on the ancient mirror, Lin Chen's eyes gleamed. He wasn't stupid; he knew that the words on the mirror were a comment on him.

How could I possibly receive such high praise?
"The body I have is because I have cultivated the Zhenyue Manual and the subsequent Boundless Divine Body."

"Unparalleled talent throughout history" should refer to his martial arts talent. With the blessing of "Martial Arts Prosperity", his martial arts talent has now reached a terrifying level.

[The mysteries of destiny...]

When Lin Chen saw this sentence, his mouth slightly opened, and there was a look of shock in his eyes. What was his destiny? It was "water flows into the channel", meaning that there were no bottlenecks in his cultivation. The reason why he had not yet broken through to the Innate Realm was simply because he was missing one of the Five Elements. As long as he absorbed the last of the Five Elements, he would be able to step into the Innate Realm immediately, and there would be no possibility of failure in breaking through.

But Lin Chen wasn't shocked by the mirror's assessment of his fate; rather, he was shocked that the mirror could actually reflect his destiny.
The destiny displayed on the panel is one's greatest reliance and also one's greatest secret. This mirror can reflect one's destiny, does that mean that the Yan Dynasty also has other means to know about the existence of my panel?

If that's the case, it means that your biggest secret is very likely to be exposed.

"Or perhaps this mirror simply senses that its destiny is somewhat special, and it's just that it's worrying too much."

Lin Chen decided that once he settled down in the Canglan Sect, his first priority would be to learn about the information regarding [Destiny] in the Yan Dynasty, or perhaps ask his master about it after he left.

Now, the question facing him is whether or not to reach the summit.

He didn't know what it would be like to reach the summit, and he was afraid that it would attract too much attention and expose his secret.

However, after only three breaths, Lin Chen smiled helplessly. He had been too indecisive. Since the mirror had already displayed these words, if the sect had a way to review them later, people would still know the mirror's comments about him.

Although his master only said that a score of 100 was enough to pass the assessment, without mentioning any rewards for higher scores, Lin Chen knew without a doubt that the higher the score, the more attention the sect would attach to the assessment, and the better the resources and treatment it would provide.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!
Ninety steps, ninety-one steps...

When Lin Chen stepped onto the ninety-ninth step and stood at the top, the dome of the pavilion was almost within reach.

boom!
Suddenly, a beam of ice-blue energy with a diameter of over ten feet burst forth from the dome.

This beam of light, carrying countless shimmering starlight, shot straight into the sky. The energy fluctuations it emitted caused the Canglan Clouds and Mist surrounding the entire Canglan Sect to surge violently. When this beam of light reached a height of a thousand feet, the surrounding Canglan Clouds and Mist also began to condense into a beam of light, like a rainbow piercing the beam of light in the sky above the dome.

At this moment, all the disciples of the Canglan Sect who were not in seclusion could look up and see these pillars of light in the sky.

"A single color of azure, does this mean a disciple achieved a perfect score in a certain aspect of the assessment?"

In several residences of the Canglan Sect, several elders looked at the rainbow-like pillar of light in the sky with surprise in their old eyes. The next moment, their figures disappeared from the spot.

Meanwhile, Qu Guanfu and the others, who were still in the Elder Hall, naturally sensed the changes in the sect above. They exchanged glances and saw shock and regret in each other's eyes.

At this point, no one but Lin Chen had set a perfect score record in an assessment.

They were shocked to find that Lin Chen was even stronger than they had imagined. They regretted not having done what Du Xiaofeng had done and shamelessly accepted Lin Chen as a disciple.

In the Canglan Sect, at least one disciple every few years can achieve a perfect score in the assessment, even if it's just one item. It may take decades for one such disciple to emerge.

Meanwhile, many young people were also looking up at the strange phenomenon in the sky, their eyes shining with excitement. Which junior brother had achieved a perfect score in the assessment?

Inner disciple assessment?

Assessment of personally trained disciples?

It should be the former. Those few in the sect who are qualified to become personal disciples should not have perfect strength.

(End of this chapter)