Upon entering the house, the inside was also extremely refined and elegant, truly resembling a place where a cultured scholar like Murong Changtian would reside.
In the reception hall,
Murong Changtian had prepared a lavish meal and fine wine, he laughed and said, "We warriors all have secrets that we’d prefer others not to discover, and I’m no different. Hence, there’s no one else in the house but me."
"Please forgive me if the food and drink aren’t up to your tastes."
Murong Changtian kindly explained.
Bai Xiaoxiao chuckled, "We’ve just arrived in Tianding City and are complete strangers here. It’s already such a great relief for us to stay in your house for a while. How could we complain?"
Lin Bai laughed and added, "Indeed."
Murong Changtian laughed, "Well then, let me propose a toast to you both."
Murong Changtian personally poured wine for Lin Bai and Bai Xiaoxiao.
Seeing Murong Changtian being so polite, it would be ungracious for Lin Bai and Bai Xiaoxiao to refuse. They came together for a toast and drank in one gulp.
However, when the cup of wine reached Lin Bai’s mouth, the Devouring Sword Spirit inside him trembled.
Lin Bai was perplexed.
He swiftly connected with the Devouring Sword Spirit.
But at this moment, the Devouring Sword Spirit wasn’t displaying any unusual signs.
"Brother Lin? What’s wrong? Is my wine not to your liking?" Murong Changtian noticed Lin Bai had stopped drinking and immediately looked somewhat displeased.
Upon seeing this, Lin Bai noticed that Bai Xiaoxiao and Murong Changtian had already drunk their wine.
Immediately, Lin Bai laughed, "Haha, no, no."
Lin Bai gave a slight smile and gulped down the wine.
After finishing the drinks,
Bai Xiaoxiao asked, "Brother Murong, do you know what the Three Stages and Five Obstacles of the Miracle Ridge’s assessment are?"
"Yes, I’m also very curious. I heard that the Three Stages and Five Obstacles are notoriously hard to pass. Just now at the Ascension Tower, I heard a warrior saying that he had attempted it for three years and still hasn’t passed it, right?"
Lin Bai also looked quite eager for the answer.
Murong Changtian chuckled, "Yes, the Three Stages and Five Obstacles have indeed challenged many master warriors. The warriors you saw earlier on the Potential List, apart from He Qian, all appeared on the list last year."
"However, they all plummeted from the list last year."
Bai Xiaoxiao remarked, "I noticed Brother Murong’s name was also on the list, ranked ninth. Were you also..."
Murong Changtian ruefully admitted, "Yes, I was stuck at the fifth obstacle and could not overcome it."
Probed by Lin Bai’s curiosity, he asked, "Brother Murong, could you tell us what this Three Stages and Five Obstacles test exactly is?"
Murong Changtian laughed, "Alright, I’ll tell you."
"First, you must pass Five Obstacles, then three Stages to be considered a warrior of Miracle Ridge."
"At that time, deputy deans from the Nine Great Institutions will come to the Ascension Tower to acknowledge you. As long as the warrior passes the Three Stages and Five Obstacles, he will be accepted into the Monastery."
"If more than one Monastery invites the warrior to join them, then the warrior can choose which one to join."
"Firstly, let me tell you about the Five Obstacles."
"The Five Obstacles are located on the third to seventh floor of the Ascension Tower."
"Each floor above the third of the Ascension Tower contains a powerful illusion. These illusions almost mimic reality, and any attacks suffered within them are real, which resulted in many warriors dying carelessly in the midst of the Five Obstacles."
"The Five Obstacles are: Heavenly Thunder, Earth Fire, Knife and Sword, Fear, and Evil Ghost."
"Three Stages represent: Courage, Martial Spirit, and Combat!"
"Whenever you enter an illusion, as long as you find the Pass Token, you can then open the Light Gate to the next stage; only then are you allowed into the next stage."
"If you can’t find the Pass Token, then you must remain in the illusion."
"The time given to complete the Five Obstacles is one day. If you can’t pass them within a day, then you lose your eligibility and must wait until next year."
"Last year, I was unable to pass the Evil Ghost Obstacle on the seventh floor of the Ascension Tower. It was simply too horrifying."
Remembering it even now sent shivers down Murong Changtian’s spine. It was quite obvious to Lin Bai that the fifth obstacle had left a massive impact on Murong Changtian, a trauma that still seemed to linger.
Upon hearing this, Lin Bai and Bai Xiaoxiao had a eureka moment and nodded.
"Of course, the faster you pass the stages, the more attention you gain from the deputy deans of the Nine Great Institutions of the Miracle Ridge, which goes without saying."
"Throughout history, what warriors have always cared about the most is the first place, who will care about the second place?"
"Every year, the warrior who ranks first in the Three Stages and Five Obstacles is the warrior fought over by Nine Great Institutions."
"Moreover, being able to achieve a commendable result in the Three Stages and Five Obstacles will earn a lot more respect and resources for cultivation upon joining any of the Nine Great Institutions."
Murong Changtian spoke in such a manner.
Warriors within the world would only remember the first place, who would consider the second?
Take the Sword Discourse Conference organized by the Famous Sword Manor for instance, over the past thousand years, every first-place winner is remembered by the sword cultivators of Lingdong, but has anyone remembered the second-place winner?
No one cared about second place.
Yu Jian Qiu, for example,
He was awarded the title of Dongling First Sword Cultivator last year, but does anyone remember who the Lingdong Second Sword Cultivator was last year?
Other than Yejian Qiu, the Dongling First Sword Cultivator, no one remembered who the Lingdong Second Sword Cultivator was from last year.
Thus, in this world where strength is supreme, people only remember the achievements of the first place and never pay attention to the second.
Bai Xiaoxiao curiously asked, "Then what does the Three Stages represent?"
Murong Changtian laughed, "The Three Stages represent Courage, Martial Spirit, and Battle power."
"Courage, a warrior that treads the Martial path, if he is afraid of death, he would have a hard time achieving anything great. The Miracle Ridge does not need cowards for warriors, so the first stage is to test the courage of the warriors.’
"In the Eighth Layer of the Ascension Tower, there’s an illusion that will confront you with the most dreadful person in the world. If you can’t defeat him, you can’t pass the Courage Stage!"
"Many warriors have passed the Five Obstacles but failed at Courage!"
"Martial Spirit, not only does it possess unique powers, the grade of the Martial Spirit represents the potential of a warrior. The Miracle Ridge has a rule, they do not accept any Martial Spirits below the Mysterious Level."
Martial Spirits below the Mysterious Level are not accepted?
Upon hearing these words, Lin Bai’s face turned gloomy.
Bai Xiaoxiao too looked at Lin Bai, she grabbed his hand and tried to comfort him.
Bai Xiaoxiao knew Lin Bai’s Martial Spirit was only a Yellow Level First Grade>
Lin Bai managed a bitter smile then shook his head in helplessness.
As Ling Tianzi had said before, Lin Bai’s Martial Spirit grade would be laughed at and scoffed at no matter where he went.
And the only thing Lin Bai could do was constantly prove himself through his strength.
Murong Changtian continued to say with a smile, "Of course, as harsh as this rule might seem, it’s not impossible to overcome ..."
"Miracle Ridge is quite lenient with Yellow Level Martial Spirits, they have a special regulation."
"As long as a Yellow Level Martial Spirit completes a task ... they can then forcefully choose to join any Monastery."