The third test followed shortly after. It was designed to test the cultivators' intellect and decision-making abilities. The participants would be placed inside an array that created an illusionary maze. To pass, they had to reach the center of the maze and retrieve a jade pendant. If they wished to give up, they could break the talisman they carried with them.
To those inside the array, it could feel as though hours had passed, while in reality only seconds went by. It was an advanced formation that combined illusion arrays with time-related artifacts and talismans.
The students lined up to take the test, and the line moved quickly. Zhuan Ming observed the scores. So far, the best time was one hour and eleven minutes according to the array's internal time.
Just then, Li Qingyue stepped out of the formation, setting a new record of forty-five minutes.
It was an impressive result, and many students immediately gave up any thoughts of claiming first place after seeing her score.
Her recent training and unique physique made it easier for her to sense the correct path. By choosing the routes that contained denser spiritual energy, she avoided dead ends. For this particular maze, the solution was actually that simple.
However, knowing the answer and executing it were two entirely different matters.
It required exceptional spiritual sense and fine control over one's spiritual energy. Without noticing this trick, one could easily spend hours wandering through the maze, trying to remember which paths had already been explored.
That was why the test was far more difficult than it appeared.
Zhuan Ming made eye contact with Li Qingyue, but she merely stuck out her tongue before quickly turning away.
"A disciple who thinks she has surpassed her master." A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I suppose I'll have to remind her of the distance between us."
Time passed, and eventually it was his turn.
The record remained unchanged at forty-five minutes.
He stepped into the array, and the world around him shifted. Endless white walls rose around him, forming a vast maze. A thin layer of fog drifted through the corridors, not dense enough to block vision completely, but enough to make one lose their bearings and second-guess their memory.
The formation was designed to force participants to keep careful track of every step they took.
Like Li Qingyue, Zhuan Ming quickly noticed the maze's flaw.
He sensed the subtle differences in spiritual energy flowing through each path and immediately identified the route with the highest concentration. Extending his spiritual sense through the corridor, he traced the entire path ahead of time, ensuring that the fog would never have the chance to confuse him.
Without the slightest hint of urgency, he calmly walked through the maze.
He reached the center at the thirty-four minute mark.
Then he sat down.
Ten minutes later, he casually picked up the jade pendant and exited the formation at exactly forty-four minutes.
Silence fell over the arena.
The students and elders alike were so angry that their faces turned red. Zhuan Ming's actions felt less like competition and more like deliberate mockery.
Meanwhile, the elders of the Azura Sky Sect sat proudly, wearing smug expressions as they boasted about their talented generation of disciples and claimed that Zhuan Ming was merely one of many outstanding talents within the sect.
In reality, for most of them, this was the first time they had even heard his name.
Naturally, the sect became curious about this mysterious disciple who had appeared out of nowhere.
To learn more about him, they decided to invite him to a gathering held in celebration of the competition's conclusion and the arrival of an important guest.