Chapter 88: Great Genius
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The third pass, on the second level of the Wu Tower.
Having gotten through the arrow corridor, Zhang Ruochen walked towards the third pass.
He opened up the door and saw a transparent and glittering jade tablet standing beside a 10-foot square pool. A line of words appeared on the jade tablet. “Count the number of ripples in the pool, no more than 10 ripples error”
“Count the ripples, what does that mean?”
He didn’t react as he heard the splash.
“Splash!”
A silver coin had fallen onto the calm surface of the pool.
Immediately, ripples appeared in the center of the pool where they radiated to the outer edge.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t understand the purpose of this pass, but he concentrated on counting the ripples on the water’s surface. “One, two, three…”
The ripples became thinner and weaker, making them more difficult to count.
“This is to test the ability of the warriors’ Spiritual Power, observation, judgment, and willpower.” Zhang Ruochen thought.
His eyes became dry and started to sting, but he continued to stare at the surface without blinking.
While the task seemed simple, it contained some great truths about martial arts.
The First truth was Spiritual Power. If your Spiritual Power wasn’t strong enough, you wouldn’t be able to see the slight changes in the ripple.
The second truth was observation. Only those, who were observant, were able to see every ripple because the ripples spread from the center and then returned after hitting the wall, which could affect the warrior’s observation. Warriors who lacked observation would get nervous when the ripples returned. Then they would fail.
The third truth was judgment. As the ripples became fainter and fainter and the surface returned to calmness, this was the time to test the warrior’s judgment. The warrior must decide when the ripples had disappeared and the water was considered calm.
The final truth of this test was willpower. As a warrior concentrated on counting the number of ripples, their eyes would tire and a warrior that lacked willpower would give up before the end.
After 15 minutes, the surface finally returned to its former calmness.
Zhang Ruochen felt a pain in his eyes and closed them for a while. “Luckily, I’ve opened up my eye vessel which facilitates the ability of my eyesight. Hence my eyesight is stronger than warriors who are in the same Realm. My Spiritual Power reaches level 30, so I can distinguish each ripple. It’s not difficult for me to complete this pass.”
Zhang Ruochen walked towards the jade tablet, picked up a pen and wrote down a number on it.
2765 ripples!
“Waaa!”
A white light lit up the tablet and displayed this word: pass.
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly. “Just like I had thought. But, this is a messed up pass. It’s no wonder not many can’t successfully complete this task. This tests the warrior’s overall ability.”
“Boom!”
The door to the third floor opened.
Zhang Ruochen went straight through the door, climbed the stairs and arrived at the third floor of the Wu Tower.
The lights on the third floor of the Wu Tower were lit up.
Right now, all the young warriors and the nine presbyters outside the tower were shocked again.
Eight of the 10 warriors that had entered the tower with Zhang Ruochen, were all defeated. Only Xie Zhaowu of Square Commandery and Zhang Ruochen of Yunwu Commandery still remained in the tower.
“There are warriors that made it through the third pass on the second level and they entered the third floor. Who do you think it is?”
“It must be Xie Zhaowu, warrior of Square Commandery.”
“Yes! It must be him! Although he’s less famous than Prince Huo Xing and Qing You, he’s still a genius with his cultivation of the Dawn State of the Black Realm. How can he be mediocre since he’s young and has reached the Dawn State of the Black Realm!”
No one believed that Zhang Ruochen would have the ability to pass the third pass on the second level. After all, he was only 16 and had just reached the Mid Stage of the Black Realm.
Even Elder Situ nodded and said, “Xie Zhaowu must have hidden his actual strength in the past in order to set the world on fire when he breaks through the Wu Tower. He’s going to obtain great achievements with such wise thinking.”
The other presbyters all gazed coldly because they didn’t like to see Elder Situ’s proud look.
Elder Situ was the receptionist of Square Commandery. The better the warriors’ grades, the more rewards Elder Situ received.
When he saw the third level illuminate, he couldn’t help laughing with smug satisfaction.
However, the next second, he was frozen.
“Cheeka!”
The gate opened and the one who emerged in despair was not Zhang Ruochen, but Xie Zhaowu.
When Xie Zhaowu raised his head, he noticed that the nine presbyters were looking at him. He was so surprised that he stepped backward.
“What happened?” he thought.
Elder Situ immediately approached him and asked, “How many barriers did you get through?”
Xie Zhaowu stepped back again as if he were scared by Elder Situ’s overbearing look. Once he was able to stand steady, he said, “I broke through the second pass on the second level, but I failed at the third pass. Elder Situ, what has happened?”
Elder Situ’s face turned red. He was angry and shouted. “Since you failed on that level, why has the light on the third level turned on?
“What, the light is on?” Xie Zhaowu was more surprised than Elder Situ.
Standing not far away, Elder Xie laughed before saying, “You should know that there’s still another young warrior in the Wu Tower. Since Xie Zhaowu failed, the other warrior must have broken through the third pass of the second level.”
“Zhang Ruochen, the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery.”
Finally, all of them recognized what was happening and displayed a look of shock.
It was unbelievable that a warrior who was in the Mid Stage of the Black Realm could break through to the third pass!
Only Zi Qian remained calm because she knew how strong Zhang Ruochen was. It would have been strange to her if he didn’t break through.
“Back-off!” Elder Situ glared at Xie Zhaowu and said, “Somebody, get me Zhang Ruochen’s information.”
He couldn’t believe a warrior at the Mid Stage of the Black Realm could break through to the third pass. He wanted to know more about Zhang Ruochen.
Shortly thereafter, an external student of the school handed over Zhang Ruochen’s information to Elder Situ.
“How can this be?”
After reading his details, Elder Situ was so shocked. He looked as if his eyes were going to fall out of his head.
The other eight presbyters looked curious and wanted to know what it was about Zhang Ruochen’s details that made Elder Situ look so surprised?
“Calm down! Calm down! Elder Situ, you are mature enough to keep calm. It’s just information about a genius. Why are you so surprised?” Elder Xie laughed.
Elder Situ looked serious and said, “Stop saying those irresponsible and sarcastic remarks. Come and take a look yourself.”
The eight presbyters looked at each other blankly before walking towards Elder Situ, looking at Zhang Ruochen’s information.
After reading it, they all showed the same expression as Elder Situ. They were shocked and speechless for a long time.
“He didn’t open up his Sacred Mark until he was 16. I guess it has been less than a year since then? After less than a year of practice, he was able to reach the Mid Stage of the Black Realm?”
“Look at this, after only six months’ practice, he became a warrior of the Yellow Board and ranked as first. Oh, god! What a magnificent genius he is.”
Elder Xie was the receptionist for the young warriors of Yunwu Commandery, but he hadn’t read Zhang Ruochen’s information.
This was the first time that he read it and he shouted. “Liu Chuanshen, you’re a jerk! Why didn’t he tell me that Zhang Ruochen was so incredible? What a pity! What a pity!”
Elder Xie was so upset and regret filled. If he had known that Zhang Ruochen was so talented, he would have taken him as his apprentice on the way to the School of the Martial Market.
But, it was too late now!
A genius with this gift must be accepted by the dean of Western Campus as his own disciple. He’d have no chance.
Elder Xie scolded Liu Chuanshen.
Standing not far away, Liu Chengfeng felt displeased and whispered, “Uncle Xie has always been polite. Why did he scold my father all of a sudden? Well, just let it go. He is an elder, and I’m not going to argue with him.”
Liu Chengfeng was also depressed.
…
Zhang Ruochen walked into the first pass on the third level. It was still a sealed Martial arts field, much like the one on the previous level.
“Waaa!”
The Spiritual Body of Luo Xu walked out of the wall again.
Luo Xu looked at Zhang Ruochen and laughed. “You don’t need to fight me again. You’ve already defeated me on the previous level.”
Zhang Ruochen could sense that Luo Xu was still at the Advanced Stage of the Black Realm. He asked, “How many strikes do I have to catch in order to pass this barrier?”
“Three strikes,” Luo Xu answered.
The first strike of Luo Xu was at 20% power, the second at 30%, and the third at 40%.
He only needs to catch three attacks of Luo Xu and then he would be able to pass the first obstacle on the third level.
It was known that Zhang Ruochen had caught all nine strikes in the first barrier on the second floor, so he should pass this barrier quickly.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Luo Xu and said, “I have a question!”
“I can answer one question for you.” Luo Xu laughed.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You’ve been the most powerful warrior of the Mid Stage and Advanced Stage of the Black Realm for 460 years in Western Campus. Are you also the most powerful warrior in the seventh Realm of the Black Realm?”
Luo Xu said, “It was true before you appeared, but now that you have shown up. I believe that you’ll replace me and become the new gatekeeper of the Wu Tower for every Realm.”
After that, Luo Xu turned into a wisp of Spiritual Qi and disappeared in the Martial arts field.
Zhang Ruochen laughed lightly and walked towards the second barrier on the third floor.