"According to your spiritual roots, go to those monuments and memorize a technique described on them. That is the test."
The fairy replied with a yawn.
"Is there a time limit to stay here?"
Lu Han did not mind her attitude and asked what he considered most important.
"Hmm."
The fairy looked at Lu Han again, this time with a faint trace of surprise in her eyes. So far, he was one of the few who had asked a truly relevant question. Most of the youths underestimated the test because it seemed easy, fully trusting their memorization abilities.
Observing the bruised young man, she showed a slight interest. Was he cautious because of a difficult life? Or simply slow-witted, someone who needed to reread things multiple times to memorize them? Perhaps he knew this and, out of fear of failing, had asked that question.
That was one possibility. The other—and the one she found more likely—was that he was pretending. After all, it was impossible for a complete fool to cross the mountain range and reach that valley.
'Interesting.'
The fairy displayed a faint, arrogant smile. To her, it mattered little what the truth was. Mortal affairs were not worth her attention—unless they involved infiltrators from the demonic race.
And Lu Han clearly was not one of them.
The mirror, besides detecting spiritual roots, could also identify anomalies in the body and soul. Possessions and traces of demonic Qi were easily detected. Since Elder Yu had allowed him to pass, the inspection had already been completed.
"There is no time limit. You can stay here for up to a year. But I don't recommend it. How do you intend to survive without food and water? No one will give you anything. This is not charity. The moment you show signs of dying, you will be thrown down the mountain."
She explained without changing her tone, treating mortal life as insignificant. To her, dealing with weak humans was merely an inconvenience—there was no benefit in it.
Lu Han nodded at the answer and stopped bothering her.
'I don't have much in my bag… just a few hard loaves of bread and half a flask of water. That will last at most a day. And I can't take too long—the fight will be against five at once. Fighting on an empty stomach is certain failure.'
As he made these calculations, a sense of urgency grew in his chest.
Taking a deep breath, he began his learning as quickly as possible.
Walking toward the monuments, he chose the nearest one—a brown board. As he approached, he saw other youths standing before it, memorizing in silence. For such an important test, no one wanted to risk being distracted.
Following their example, Lu Han also remained silent. He fixed his gaze on the characters and began to read.
There was no powerful art capable of shattering mountains—only subtle fundamentals of the element.
[Earth is unyielding. It can harden like rock and soften like mud. Quicksand can swallow, and the firmness of solid ground can endure, becoming an impenetrable fortress.]
"…?"
Lu Han's eyes trembled slightly.
He understood the concept—but how was he supposed to use that in combat against the statues? There was no explicit method described on the board.
'Comprehension? We need to understand how to apply this, using the spiritual roots within our bodies… and then fight?'
Lu Han pieced everything together.
"How complicated… how can mortals deal with something like this? I don't even know how to activate my spiritual root."
Lu Han sighed.
At that moment, he had one foot in the grave.
But…
He also had one foot in transcendence.
Looking once more at the board, he memorized it and closed his eyes.
At that moment, the perspective of the burly youth appeared in his mind. He was walking slowly along a path, his steps heavy.
Lu Han was surprised. Zhao Ming had survived that condition and had even managed to stand again. His willpower was not weak. If he had not taken that initial blow, he might have truly lasted three minutes.
"Disappear."
Shaking his head, Lu Han decided to cut off that connection. Zhao Ming's vision vanished instantly, and he sank into endless darkness.
Within that void, Lu Han began to think about how to adapt the earth's fundamentals to his own body.
It was extremely difficult.
He did not know where to begin, nor how to reach a conclusion.
Minutes passed.
Some youths finished memorizing and left the board.
Half an hour went by.
Only five people remained, besides the supervisor.
Lu Han still stood alone before the earth monument. He was no longer observing it, nor trying to memorize it. His eyes remained closed, focused on finding a way to apply that knowledge.
"Martial arts? Creating a style based on the fundamentals?"
That was the only idea that came to his mind—and probably the most suitable way for a mortal to use those principles.
"If I were a man of earth, I would certainly be very strong. My fists, heavy like mountains…"
A scene formed in his mind: himself, transformed into a two-meter-tall man of earth, facing an opponent of equal size.
At first, he advanced slowly, like a turtle, raising his fists. As he approached, he threw a heavy punch—but it was far too slow. The opponent easily dodged.
"This won't work. The punch may be strong, but it lacks speed. If I rely only on brute force, I'll lose all other basic human qualities."
He reflected for a moment.
"For this to work… maybe I should turn that strength into defense."
Instantly, the scene changed.
This time, he did not attack. He remained still as the opponent advanced. When the strike came, Lu Han raised his elbow, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and stood as stable as a mountain.
The attack was blocked. Completely absorbed by the solid defense of earth.
After that, nothing happened.
Lu Han could not imagine himself counterattacking. His body felt too rigid. He had the sense that, in that form, he could barely move.
In a real fight, he would probably stand still, simply enduring while the opponent tried to break his defense.
"I would wear my enemies down until they got tired…"
Lu Han chuckled.
It was an interesting idea—even functional—but it was not what he wanted.
His goal was not to endure blows, but to defeat at least one of the statues and become an outer disciple.
"For now, I'll use the earth's foundation as my main defense… and study the other elements."
He took a deep breath.
"In the end, I might be able to create a complete style… a style capable of making me win."