Who left their last words here?

Chapter 99 Advancement! Level 3 Chosen One Bai Zhou! (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)

"Am I... captured by the temple?"

Bai Zhou was a little dazed. His first reaction was to pick up his purple-gold saber and swing it at the wall in front of him.

"【Moonlight Oath Saint Slash】!"

"boom!"

The whistling blade sliced ​​through the fiery red moon in the air, striking the wall not far away with lightning speed.

The silver-white wall, made of some unknown material, neither stone nor iron, remained completely still, just like the previous bronze giant lock, without leaving even the slightest trace.

But what if they resort to the same old trick and carve forbidden ancient characters?
In such a small space, a black wind whips up, and Bai Zhou is about to be dragged into the hurricane's interior to have a fun party with the demons and monsters...

Thus, a sudden but undeniable fact was presented to Bai Zhou.

He is trapped here.

The cold, mechanical voice rang out again at that moment.

The obscure and difficult-to-understand ancient language reached the depths of Bai Zhou's heart and was understood by him:

"Elite assessment begins."

"Please learn the secret technique on the wall, the first three moves of the [Basic Nine Cuts]."

"If you succeed in learning within 36 hours, you can use it to break into the assessment room."

—What if it doesn't succeed?

Bai Zhou immediately thought of this problem.

No one will answer this question, and there's no need to ask it again.

The bones scattered everywhere say it all.

The temple doesn't even need to do anything.

Without water and food, and trapped in this enclosed room, the examinee will eventually die.

"It's troublesome."

Thinking this, Bai Zhou quickly looked up at the surrounding walls.

The pattern is densely packed with tiny figures, walking, sitting, lying down, punching and jumping.

After watching for a while, Bai Zhou suddenly felt that these little figures had come to life, changing from static to dynamic, and were performing martial arts in front of Bai Zhou.

Hundreds of intricate patterns and runes seemed to come alive at once, giving Bai Zhou a sense of vastness, heat, and ancient desolation. In a daze, he saw a sun rising from the sea.

Even at a cursory glance, Bai Zhou felt mentally exhausted and deeply appreciated their profound and far-reaching nature.

Its concept and essence far surpass the [Moonlight Oath Saint Slash] that Bai Zhou had learned by countless means.

But this set of secret techniques is actually just the first three moves of the so-called "Basic Nine Slashes"?
Where is the "foundation"?
and--

Learned them all in just 36 hours?

Arabian Nights!

No wonder there are so many skeletons here!
The devilish teacher Raven, whom Bai Zhou once feared... is as benevolent as an angel before this temple!

Let's set aside whether Bai Zhou can master them all within the short 36 hours.

The key is...

He was going back at 36 o'clock.

Even after accounting for the time spent beforehand, I can only stay here for a little over 11 hours at most.

Where did the 36 hours come from?

If Bai Zhou were to leave midway, he might never be able to enter the temple again, thus missing out on all the traditions of this place.

The road ahead is cut off.

unless……

Unless one stays in this secluded place, unable to hear the outside bells, the White Boat will not be able to return to the real world.

But that makes it even more terrifying.

Trapped in the Reflection Ruins, and not returned by the appointed time?
Bai Zhou had never heard of such a person before, nor did he know what would happen afterward.

Perhaps by then, he will never be able to go back...

This is a world of the dead.

The deeper layers of the Ruins Realm and the Evening City, located at the edge of the surface of the Reflected Ruins Realm, are completely different concepts.

Bai Zhou dared not gamble on the unknown.

Bai Zhou was filled with anxiety due to his conflicted feelings.

The unknown future eventually became an insurmountable 11-hour deadline.

A suffocating feeling of oppression came over my face.

At this time-

"Buzz!"

The wall slowly opened a crack the size of a brick, from which a test tube filled with green liquid emerged.

"Gululu..."

The test tube bottle rolled to the ground.

Bai Zhou cautiously approached and observed the liquid in the test tube.

"What's this……?"

The lush green color looked ominous, reminding him of a wicked witch living deep in the forest brewing a thick green soup in a cauldron, or an old wizard in a secluded antique shop making a filthy potion from dried pufferfish and dried lizard.

The cracks in the wall closed tightly again, and a cold, mechanical sound rang out—

"Please take the nutritional supplement."

"This liquid can maintain the physical exercise needs of the examinee, while enhancing brain activity, which is beneficial to the examinee's learning."

Nutrient solution?
Isn't this an ancient civilization from thousands of years ago...? So advanced?
Bai Zhou felt as if he had seen a ghost.

He had initially thought that the overall standard of living in this civilization was inferior to that of Wancheng...

They even managed to create something like this.

But it's also possible that this temple is special, just like in "Black Cat's 8000 Questions," where it's said that thousands of years ago, backward Egypt may have seen real aliens and possibly built the pyramids with their help.

Bai Zhou had a wildly imaginative idea about this.

However, nutrient solutions that can meet exercise needs and enhance brain activity...

The temple's assessment is at least somewhat humane, knowing that making people learn so much in such a short time requires some extra measures.

"Gurgling..."

Having no other choice and no way out, Bai Zhou chose to pinch his nose and drink the nutrient solution.

While bitterly drinking the medicine, Bai Zhou prayed that it wouldn't expire.

Fortunately, the nutrient solution wasn't bitter, and it didn't even have any taste at all.

Less than three seconds after drinking it, Bai Zhou felt a surge of heat coursing through his body, as if he were filled with power.

At the same time, he felt his brain was thinking about everything much faster.

If someone were to ask him a question like 87452 multiplied by 58452, he could even mentally calculate that it equals 5111744304 within two or three seconds.

"it works!"

Bai Zhou took a deep breath, slowly sat back down on the ground, looked up at the pattern on the wall, and his eyes hardened.

Because they have absolutely no idea what will happen if they stay in this "isolated" place until 36 o'clock.

Therefore, Bai Zhou is actually left with only one path—

"I've been given ten days for the assessment, so I'll learn the secret technique in 11 hours and pass the assessment!"

When there was no other way, all Shiraishu could do was believe in himself.

His talent wasn't some mere three-foot threshold; it was a genius whose destiny was five feet and five inches high, a talent that even crows marveled at.

—This is a victory!
Furthermore... he was never fighting alone!
Bai Zhou's gaze swept over the surrounding skeletons.

Some sat or lay down; some sat cross-legged, some leaned forward, some leaned against stone pillars, and some laughed loudly with their heads up.

They were all "geniuses" who had participated in the elite assessment in the past, and they must have been full of vigor and unparalleled talent.

But they all perished here.

The last words left by these geniuses covered the ground, initially terrifying, but upon closer inspection, one could discover that the words, some deep and some shallow, were written in scarlet ink—

These are clearly their understanding and reflections on the "Nine Basic Cuts" on the wall!
It seems that the examinees who perished in this room were meant to learn this "Basic Nine Cuts" technique...

Aside from a few last words like "I'm so hungry, I want to eat my mom's braised potatoes," there were none.

Most of the last words contained reflections on mistakes and wrong paths, as well as reflections on the various gains from past learning.

"Only one time less... I guess the maximum force the wall can withstand is 4.5 times the examinee's own strength, and the 'Nine Basic Slashes' only requires the first three moves to unleash 4.5 times the strength. No wonder it's the Temple of the Sun!"

"Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! The waist should be like a string, the arms like arrows, the power should rise from the ground, pass through the spine, like a slingshot, and reach the fingertips!"

"Perhaps breathing is the key... Focus your energy at the end of each breath, unleash it in an instant, concentrate on one point, and reach the pinnacle!"

"It's the sun... The 'Basic Nine Slashes' is clearly the 'Sun Wheel Nine Slashes'! It needs to be as warm and gentle as the sunlight to be as explosive and fierce as the sun wheel!"

"Sunrise is light, sunset is heavy; is the Tao contained in this lightness and heaviness?"

"Alas! I've succeeded! The sun doesn't slay the enemy, but reflects its shadow! First unlock the heart, then release the breath!" "..."

A true word is passed on, and a thousand volumes of books are falsely passed on.

These scarlet last words, exchanged at the cost of lives, were like a bright signpost that Bai Zhou had stumbled upon while groping in the darkness.

They pointed out the path for Bai Zhou to cultivate the "Nine Basic Slashes," and also silently told of the danger and cruelty of this place.

It is a priceless treasure, but also a sobering warning.

—Bai Zhou cultivated this secret technique by standing on the shoulders of countless predecessors, which is the second victory!

They won one game and then won two.

With such a huge advantage and having come prepared with two victories, this is the third victory!
Victory after victory!

Break through the escape room in 11 hours – a speedrun assessment!

With a sharp look in his eyes and his mind working exceptionally well, Bai Zhou set a deadline for himself.

……

With determination, Bai Zhou devoted himself wholeheartedly to learning the "Nine Basic Cuts".

He became completely absorbed in it as soon as he started learning; the secret technique called "Basic" was actually the most profound and extensive that Bai Zhou had ever seen.

Compared to the "Moonlight Oath Saint Slash," a secret technique that Bai Zhou used to achieve invincibility in battle while listening to the sea, the "Basic Nine Slashes" might not even be on the same level as the former.

The former is more like directly teaching a child how to use a knife, tirelessly making the child develop muscle memory for the action of swinging the knife without understanding why.

The latter, on the other hand, involves a systematic and gradual progression from kindergarten to primary, middle, and high school.

This systematic guidance does not depend on how high the vision or how strong the ability of the creator is.

It would require an ancient and powerful force, tested by time, and refined and practiced by generations of learners, to perfect this effect.

Although there were hundreds of patterns and runes, as Bai Zhou looked through them one by one, he could clearly feel a certain growth within himself after seeing each one.

What I thought was a perfect practice of "body" and "mind" in levels 1 and 2 now seems to have so many flaws.

"Study, study, study!"

Gradually, Bai Zhou's growth rate surprised even himself.

The "Basic Nine Cuts" course requires students to learn the eighty-first pattern before they can be considered to have formally entered the first style.

Once you get started, you can access the true meaning of "qi".

Then Bai Zhou suddenly realized that it was different from what he had imagined...

When he came, he was only happy to get the follow-up secret technique for advancing to level 3, and he didn't think about learning it immediately.

But now it seems...?
Once he learns the first move of the "Basic Nine Cuts", he can successfully imprint the secret mark on his destiny and directly advance to become a Level 3 Destiny Master!
If you successfully learn the first three moves of the "Basic Nine Cuts" and emerge from the secret room...

He is at least a level 3 peak Chosen One, fearless of any level 4 Extraordinary!
From this, a chilling deduction can be made—

If this set of "Basic Nine Slashes" is a complete set of nine moves, it is very likely to be a top-level secret technique that leads directly to level 5 or even level 6!

This level of existence is called "Basic Nine Cuts" by the temple?
The more Bai Zhou studied, the more he felt that what one of the people in the last words said made a lot of sense.

Perhaps this secret technique should be called "Nine Slashes of the Sun Wheel".

"boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

As Bai Zhou grew and progressed, he continued to try to bombard the wall.

The walls remained completely still.

"Not enough! Not enough!"

Bai Zhou worked hard and became the true "King of Exams".

As Bai Zhou mastered more and more of the wall patterns, everything he saw gradually changed.

He saw it...

Ignore the pattern behind it for now.

He suddenly saw the first eighty-one patterns gradually become dynamic, slowly splitting apart and merging back into one.

These tiny human figures, like tadpoles, swim and converge together, eventually transforming into nine enormous, nested, and partially overlapping sun discs.

These nine sun discs are not stationary, but are rotating slowly and imperceptibly to the naked eye.

"This is……"

Facing these nine sun discs, Bai Zhou felt both warm and relaxed, yet also a dangerous heat coursing through his body, and his Bai Yang destiny was in turmoil.

He suddenly remembered a few lines from the last words:

[Disassemble! It's disassembly! First, break the single slash into nine slashes, then each slash into nine suns, and each sun into eighty-one patterns... resulting in the hundreds of patterns you see before you!]

[The eighty-one patterns merge into nine suns, and the nine suns returning to one form a single strike... I've succeeded!]

【…】

Bai Zhou pondered his last words, gazing thoughtfully at the sun pattern before him.

This shows that his learning path was not wrong.

Keep learning!

Practice diligently a thousand times, then strive for unity.

Diligent study and practice will naturally reveal your skills.

Finally, not long after, only two of the nine sun discs in front of Bai Zhou remained.

Bai Zhou felt that he had encountered a bottleneck.

Something inside me was about to burst out, but it also felt like it was being held back.

That is……

Shirashu's vigorous and unwavering spiritual strength.

Bai Zhou gripped the purple-gold saber, blinking his confused eyes.

A phrase he had seen in the will before resurfaced in his mind.

[Alas! I've succeeded! The sun doesn't slay the enemy, but reflects its own shadow! First unlock the heart, then unleash your full power!]

It turned out to be the case.

As if struck by a sudden inspiration, Bai Zhou's understanding of the White Sun Destiny trembled slightly.

A shadow, existing in the brightest part of the sun, slowly appeared.

Previously, Bai Zhou was completely unaware of this shadow, after all, it was too close to Bai Yang.

The shadow sometimes resembled the sun, sometimes the silhouette of a white boat, and soon transformed into six blurry, menacing, chaotic shadows.

Japan has not killed its enemies.

It is a reflection.

Defeating the thief is easy, but defeating the thief in one's heart is difficult.

Then...

"cut!"

Bai Zhou closed his eyes, let out a low shout, and fiercely swung his sword at the air in front of him!

In a daze, a white sun rose gently and warmly in the dimly lit room.

The shadow under the bright sun was torn apart by an invisible blade of light, letting out a shrill scream, and the six fragments were melted away by the sunlight.

at the same time.

"Click" sound!
It was as if the lock on my heart had suddenly been unlocked!

Bai Zhou's mental power surged once again, becoming exceptionally clear, like a mirror or a lake.

Then, a surge of "qi" appeared within Bai Zhou's body.

This energy moves with the mind, not through the blood vessels, but flowing through the skin and muscles; wherever the mind goes, that's where the energy goes.

"This is……?"

Feeling this wondrous new power, Bai Zhou suddenly took a few steps back and waved his hand at the distant wall from mid-air.

He didn't use the purple-gold saber; he just lightly swung his palm.

But in the next instant—

Something invisible swept through the air, like a flash of sunlight, almost imperceptible.

The moment it touches the wall, this warm, gentle, and light "sunshine" bursts forth!
"boom!"

A huge cloud of smoke rose up, and for the first time, Bai Zhou left a scorched knife mark on the wall.

Like the gentle warmth of the sun, or the fierce fury of the sun.

One light, one heavy—the Dao lies within them.

This is equivalent to 1.5 times the power Bai Zhou unleashed when he was at full strength!

Only at this moment did Bai Zhou finally realize...

He has officially mastered the first move of the "Basic Nine Cuts".

"I've advanced to Level 3 [Adventurer]?"

(End of this chapter)