Directly in front stood four people.
Shen Bai sized them up one by one.
At the front stood State Governor Feng Zheng, who had a long beard. Beside him was a refined young man with a noble air, leisurely fanning himself with a folded fan.
Ouyang Wu stood beside him. Shen Bai knew this refined young man must be the Third Prince of the Great Zhou Country.
The other two were a Daoist priest and a monk, both elderly. They emanated the power of the Unity Realm and were clearly representatives of two different factions.
’These four must be the judges for this internal examination.’
Feng Zheng stepped forward. After briefly introducing the other judges, he wasted no ti and began explaining the rules for this internal examination.
Besides achieving a high rank in the internal examination, the judges’ scores were also extrely important.
The judges’ scores would be based on the performance of the participants during the test.
If a participant didn’t rank high but demonstrated exceptional talent and extraordinary character, the judges would give them a higher score to help them achieve a better final placent.
This was the judges’ only real function.
Of course, the principle that strength reigns supre was the most important thing. Even if the judges gave a low score, soone with enough power could still crush the competition and co out on top.
This nine-story tower was quite unique in itself.
Every three floors constituted one trial, for a total of three trials.
Each set of three floors combined to form a special space, created by the builders.
The three-floor structure was necessary because of the sheer number of participants. Although Cyan Spirit Mountain itself was massive, the available area for the examination was limited, so they built it using this overlapping thod.
After explaining the general rules, Feng Zheng paused, giving the participants below ample ti to process the information.
The crowd of participants burst into discussion. A few small groups that had already ford began to strategize in hushed tones.
The hubbub of voices rose and fell, creating a disorderly scene, but Feng Zheng didn’t intervene.
This was an annual grand event, an important occasion for the Observatory to select talented individuals. It was only natural that the attendees were buzzing with excitent.
Feng Zheng understood this well, so he gave them ti to get the excitent out of their systems.
Fortunately, they were all geniuses of the younger generation and possessed a decent amount of self-discipline.
Before long, the crowd quieted down, and all eyes turned back to the front.
Shen Bai could feel the Third Prince’s gaze travel over the crowd and land on him, carrying a hint of inquiry.
This scrutiny wasn’t impolite; rather, it was full of restraint, making it seem quite courteous.
Shen Bai t his gaze, and after their eyes locked for a mont, they both gave a slight, simultaneous nod.
Then, they both looked away.
It was a simple acknowledgnt, their first proper introduction.
Ouyang Sword glanced around for a mont before saying in a bored tone, "Brother Shen, this internal examination is so dull."
He kept his voice low to avoid being overheard.
Shen Bai glanced back at him and said with a sigh of resignation, "I think it’s boring too, but since we’re here, we might as well see it through."
On this point, Shen Bai and Ouyang Sword were of the sa mind.
Ouyang Sword was obsessed with the Sword Dao, while Shen Bai was obsessed with grinding his Skill Level. Both of them found the internal examination incredibly dull.
Standing nearby, Xu Qian overheard their conversation, his eyes widening in astonishnt.
He didn’t quite understand.
Every mber of the Observatory took the internal examination extrely seriously. Only those like him, who knew they couldn’t achieve a high rank, ca here primarily to network.
’But Shen Bai and Ouyang Sword are both exceptionally powerful. Why are they so dismissive of this?’
Of course, despite his confusion, Xu Qian didn’t voice his question.
He had gained quite a bit this ti, especially by making a connection with Shen Bai.
Although he knew Shen Bai was just being cordial, it never hurt to be a familiar face. If he needed help in the future, perhaps Shen Bai would lend him a hand.
Their exchange was brief, and they soon fell silent.
Seeing that enough ti had passed, Feng Zheng cleared his throat, pointed to the nine-story tower, and said, "These first three floors may look ordinary, but since they are the work of the builders, they surely hold a world of their own inside."
"The format of the Observatory’s internal examination is different every year. To be honest, I spend a great deal of ti carefully planning it. Then, I discuss the detailed proposals with the other judges. Each ti, these discussions are painstaking and quite exhausting."
"In previous years, the first trial has always involved combat between participants, with only the format of the fights changing."
"This ti, however, I plan to save so ti."
’Save ti?’
When he said this, the participants looked at each other, not understanding what he ant.
No matter how they tried to save ti, it would still co down to one-on-one matches, with pairings decided by drawing lots. That wouldn’t save much ti at all.
But from Feng Zheng’s tone, it seed he had sothing new in mind this ti.
For this very reason, everyone watched Feng Zheng with curiosity, eager to hear about the new format.
Feng Zheng cleared his throat again, paused for a mont, and then continued.
"Using special techniques, these first three floors have been connected to form an imasurably vast space."
"It contains mountains and rivers; I went to great lengths to transport these landscapes from the outside world, a process that cost a great deal in both manpower and resources."
"Our trial thod is also extrely simple. All of you will enter this space and battle it out."
At this point, the elderly man from the Daoist Sect stepped forward. With a wave of his hand, Dao Talismans flew out and landed in each participant’s hands.
Feng Zheng continued, "Crush the Dao Talisman to form a layer of Dao Text around your body. If the Dao Text shatters, you have failed and will be teleported out."
"From this massive brawl, your rankings will be determined, and you will pass the first trial."
Hearing this, everyone understood the rules. They all found this trial to be quite novel.
Only Shen Bai’s eyes widened as a rough idea of the trial’s format ford in his mind.
’Damn, a xuanhuan version of a battle royale?’ Shen Bai thought.
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