Chapter 702 - 361: Book Page Maze (Part 3)

Although this Confucian-robed youth’s strength is only at the early stage of the Sixth Realm of Primordial Qi Warrior, just his identity alone makes him more than adequate to act as their arbiter.

"Thank you." Ji Wujiang and Jin Yuntang clasped their hands in greeting.

The two dared not continue targeting each other, both quietly drinking their own wine.

Seemingly drinking in silence, Ji Wujiang was actually secretly sending messages to his friends Wuding Sheng, Baihong Nanyou, and Baman Mountain.

"Who is Xuanyuan Ye?" he inquired via the messaging.

"Xuanyuan Ye!" The three immediately replied, "the great-grandson of Marquis Cyan Simurgh."

Marquis Cyan Simurgh!

Ji Wujiang’s heart trembled.

In the Celestial Veil Kingdom, there are Three Dukes and Nine Marquis. The Three Dukes have such high status that even the royal family of the Celestial Veil Kingdom must show them respect, while the Nine Marquis have slightly lesser status, yet can still cover half of the kingdom.

Especially Marquis Cyan Simurgh, who ranks third among the Nine Marquis and is immensely powerful.

The great-grandson of such a formidable figure is dining at this tavern and is so approachable that the tavern shopkeeper only used five jugs of wine to invite him to act as their arbiter...?

"Not only that," Baihong Nanyou followed up in the reply, "Xuanyuan Ye, as Marquis Cyan Simurgh’s great-grandson, is just one of his identities. Xuanyuan Ye is also a student of Hanmo Confucius Temple, acclaimed as its foremost genius."

"Furthermore, he seems to have passed the test of the Six Great Literary Residences and entered the Literary Residence for cultivation."

Celestial Curtain City has over thirty Confucius Temples, and the temples are merely the first stage of literary cultivation. Above them are the Six Great Literary Residences and the Three Great Confucian Temples.

Entering a Literary Residence implies that he will at least become a Seventh Realm literary cultivator in the future, which corresponds to a Seventh Realm Primordial Qi Warrior at the Divinity Opening Realm!

"Seventh Realm!" Only then did Ji Wujiang realize the true prowess of Xuanyuan Ye, who was drinking inside the tavern.

"Thank you." After sending a reply, Ji Wujiang called the waiter and sent three more jugs of wine to Xuanyuan Ye.

On the other side, Jin Yuntang also seemed to have clarified Xuanyuan Ye’s identity and likewise sent three jugs of wine.

Xuanyuan Ye nodded slightly at both of them, then continued to drink his wine.

...

Inside the Confucius Temple courtyard.

"Silence, the second trial is about to begin!"

A majestic voice came from above, quieting the dozen or so people still present immediately.

The King of Shun’s Confucian Scholar cast a friendly glance at Chu Ming and then became solemn.

After a few breaths, seventeen beams of golden light suddenly descended from above, shining onto the writing paper in everyone’s hands, and some kind of change seemed to occur on the paper.

Chu Ming saw clearly that the beams of golden light were extremely pure Primordial Consciousness wrapped in Primordial Qi, inscribing several lines of large characters on the writing paper anew.

These characters combined to form an effect similar to Primordial Pattern.

Inscribing Primordial Pattern with words...

He pondered thoughtfully.

"The second trial: communicate with the writing paper using spiritual power, waking up within two hours means passing."

Waking up means passing?

Confused, everyone used their spiritual power to communicate.

Chu Ming paused, roughly guessing the scenario, then sent a small thread of spirit diving into it.

The threads of spirit felt as if caught by a giant hand, traversing through chaotic illusion.

In an instant, a very special space unfolded before his eyes.

Floating within the space were countless gigantic book pages, each featuring either lines of complex text or various designs and paintings.

Then, right in front of him appeared a line of text: Book Page Maze, identify information, find paths.

"Book Page Maze?"

Chu Ming calmly observed the countless pages suspended in space.

What was called a maze, in his eyes, was merely pages where he could see the end at a glance, devoid of any maze-like nature; he didn’t need to identify the information as he already saw countless paths to exit.

Moreover, without reaching the exit, he could at any time withdraw his spiritual power, exit the maze, and wake up.

This degree of Illusion Technique, even a hundredfold enhancement, could not confine him.

However, since the Confucius Temple devised such a trial, someone must be secretly observing. To conform to the ’Chu Ming’ identity, he decided to proceed according to their rules.

With a casual glance, he found a path, pretending to identify information while advancing.

Deep within the Confucius Temple, two temple teachers clad in Confucian robes watched a phantom.

In the courtyard, seventeen people stood as if asleep, their bodies present but their spirits drawn into the illusion.

The expressions of these people as they navigated the Book Page Maze were all written on their faces.

Some furrowed their brows, some hesitated indecisively...

"The younger generation of Vermilion Bird Marquis’ Mansion is impressive; within half an hour, they have reached the maze’s center. It seems they can pass the maze in a quarter of an hour." The teacher on the left remarked with a smile.

"That Zhuque Huan kid, I heard he exhibited talent in Primordial Qi cultivation even when he was still at Vermilion Bird Marquis’ Mansion, yet I hadn’t expected him to participate in the test at our Hanmo Confucius Temple." The teacher on the right stroked his beard.

"Lingx Long of Lingwu Kingdom is also doing well, already completing forty percent, temporarily ranking second."

"This little girl cultivated the Primordial Qi technique herself, her spiritual power has already transformed into Primordial Consciousness, and her talent is high; passing the Book Page Maze isn’t much of a challenge."

"As for the others..." the teacher on the left paused, a hint of surprise in his eyes, "The speed of King of Shun’s Confucian Scholar seems commendable, already completed thirty percent."

"Indeed impressive, thirty percent in half an hour, there’s a fair chance of passing."

"Additionally, five people have completed twenty percent; if they don’t speed up, the likelihood of passing is very small, and as for the other nine," the teacher on the right snorted coldly, "it’s a complete waste of this old man’s time."

"..."

In the Book Page Maze.

Chu Ming walked at a leisurely pace, his speed not particularly fast.

"The Celestial Veil Kingdom deserves its reputation as one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Ancient Profound Western Continent. The countless pages used for this temple’s trial contain a wealth of content even I have never seen."

In half an hour, he’d walked two-tenths of the way, not intentionally slow but due to reading the content on tens of thousands of pages.