"They will choose how?"
Mao Bufan stared blankly around him, especially when he looked at Ling Sanxiao, his gaze carried an inexplicable tint.
These strong individuals all hailed from various parts of the Southern State.
The vast majority came from the Nantian Dynasty.
In the hearts of many of them, Xiaoshanhe Institute was strong, but it still paled in comparison to the Nantian Holy Institute.
Mao Bufan had the same thought.
Knowing the evaluation of the first challenge had fundamentally changed his view of Xiaoshanhe Institute.
Facing the conditions proposed by Ling Sanxiao, he did not respond immediately but watched quietly to see how the crowd reacted, waiting for their answer.
After a moment of hesitation, someone in the crowd said, "Okay, I accept your condition!"
"Since we can join the Nantian Holy Institute, who would want to stay in this godforsaken place..."
Watching one strong figure after another agreeing to Ling Sanxiao's conditions.
Mao Bufan's face gradually darkened.
He was astonished to find that among those present, everyone but him had agreed to Ling Sanxiao's conditions. After his initial astonishment, Mao Bufan understood the key point: in their eyes, the Nantian Holy Institute was ultimately superior to Xiaoshanhe Institute, right?
Mao Bufan couldn't help but sigh softly.
None of the tens of thousands chose to stay at Xiaoshanhe Institute, which truly surprised him.
"Mao Bufan, it's your turn to choose now!" Ling Sanxiao watched him with a grin.
So did everyone around.
Those stares were like thorns in his back, making his breathing uncontrollably quicken. During his hesitation, past memories surfaced in Mao Bufan's mind. There was a time when his family placed high hopes on him, providing him with countless resources and affection.
All for him to join the Nantian Holy Institute and soar to great heights.
In the end, he failed!
On the day he failed, his family withdrew all the resources and special treatment they had given him and turned to support another emerging talented relative.
Those relatives and elders who once flattered and took great care of him changed their attitudes completely. Without care, without special treatment, all that was left were disdain and blame, right up until a moment ago when he failed the first challenge and was severely injured by Ye Heng.
When he stood up again, despite being a mocked failure, Ye Heng did not despise him.
Instead, Ye Heng gave him the chance to reattempt the first challenge.
Mao Bufan was able to reach this step!
Mao Bufan took a deep breath, his eyes cleared of all confusion, and he looked seriously at the people before him and firmly said, "Sorry, I will not accept your condition."
"Has your brain really been kicked by a donkey, Mao Bufan?"
"After all you did to get into the Nantian Holy Institute, now the opportunity is before you, and you choose to give up?"
"It's just a simple gesture that could be worth all the effort you've put in over the past decade, why not do it?"
Ling Sanxiao raised his hand to signal everyone to stop talking and smiled at Mao Bufan, asking, "Could you tell me why you are unwilling to accept my condition?"
His smile was very odd.
At least in Mao Bufan's eyes, Ling Sanxiao's smile made him feel quite uncomfortable. After hesitating, he spoke, "I do want to join the Nantian Holy Institute and pursue martial arts, but I'm not willing to do it this way. The path of my martial arts must be navigated by my own abilities..."
He took a step forward.
In the front, a flash of light momentarily blinded Mao Bufan, leaving him seeing nothing but white.
Mao Bufan instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes. As his vision slowly returned, he was stunned to find himself still standing in the same spot. Before him stood Yu Huaxian, wearing a faint smile, along with Ling Sanxiao and others, and more powerful figures continuously appeared beside him.
Mao Bufan, looking astonished, stared at Ling Sanxiao. "Why do I see only a few of you? Didn't you say you had a way to help us pass the assessment, to let us..."
Ling Sanxiao looked utterly bewildered, pointed at himself, and with an innocent expression, said, "Mao Bufan, wasn't it you who said you had a way for everyone to pass the assessment, but on the condition that they shouldn't join Xiaoshanhe Institute? I refused to accept your terms and left on my own; why are you here..."
"What? When did I say that..." Mao Bufan blinked, his eyes filled with confusion.
Others also began speaking up, "That's wrong. I remember Zhang Yang saying it..."
"No, it was clearly Wang Pu..."
"That's not right..."
The crowd was abuzz with comments.
Ling Sanxiao and Mao Bufan looked at each other, and after a moment, they finally came to their senses.
Ling Sanxiao snapped his folding fan shut, giving a bitter smile, "I understand now; this is the challenge of the Chessboard Array. As soon as we entered, we became pieces on the board, and all the people we met and everything that happened was just part of what the Chessboard Array created. We were merely pieces. If we had agreed to the terms, we probably wouldn't have passed the assessment..."
"It must be so, but wasn't that scene just now too realistic? I can't believe it was just an Illusion Array..."
While they were talking.
A white light emerged behind them, and as heaven and earth converged, black and white orbs of light gradually shrank until they disappeared.
Of the tens of thousands of people, only about a tenth remained!
Around fourteen thousand people.
They quietly stood before Yu Huaxian, and the remaining powerful competitors were clearly eliminated. Yu Huaxian's lips curved slightly upward as he looked at the over ten thousand people before him and showed a satisfied smile, "Congratulations, you've successfully passed the second round of the assessment. The challenge you will face next is the final one, and this round is very simple..."
Yu Huaxian shifted his body to the side, and in everyone's view, nine paths emerged.
These nine paths weren't very wide, but they grew narrower the higher up they went.
Until there was only a fifth of the distance left to the summit.
The nine paths merged into one.
Turning into a narrow passage that only allowed one person to pass through.
Yu Huaxian calmly declared, "From here, begin your climb; the first thousand to reach the summit will directly earn their places in my Xiaoshanhe Institute!"
Yu Huaxian flicked his finger, and a streak of white light shot out.
The barrier blocking everyone's path vanished.
His lips slightly curled up, he watched them with a smile. The nine paths grew narrower as they ascended, and they converged near the summit, where regardless of which path they took, a fierce battle was inevitable.
Yu Huaxian was very much looking forward to Xiao Yi choosing this as the third round.
It was like the challenge of an army crossing a single-log bridge.
How would they choose?
Under Yu Huaxian's watchful gaze, among these fourteen thousand, suddenly a voice erupted, "Everyone, please hear me out..."
All eyes promptly focused on the person who had spoken.
Yu Huaxian was taken aback, raised his eyebrows slightly, "It's him?"