Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1724 - Mentor Application

Chapter 1724 – Mentor Application

Wei Wenbin gave Liu Wuxie a final warning with his eyes.

“You’re right. He’s the assistant I invited,” Ye Linghan said openly. Liu Wuxie would be taking the assessment soon anyway, so everyone would learn about it sooner or later.

“Linghan, I know the past few years haven’t been easy for you in the Azure Flame Dao Hall with the declining number of students. But do you really need to drag someone in casually to make up the numbers?” Wei Wenbin asked as he withdrew his gaze and urged her to reconsider.

“My affairs have nothing to do with you. Stop meddling,” Ye Linghan replied before leading Liu Wuxie away and ignoring him completely.

A murderous glint flashed deep within Wei Wenbin’s eyes as he watched them leave.

“Brat, stay away from Ye Linghan if you know what’s good for you,” he muttered under his breath.

Afterward, he headed straight for the assessment grounds. Although he wasn’t a spiritual array mentor himself, he knew several mentors in that field within the Azure Flame Dao Hall. With a little scheming, he believed he could keep Liu Wuxie out of the Azure Flame Dao Hall and ensure his failure in the assessment.

The thought of Liu Wuxie spending every day beside Ye Linghan made Wei Wenbin grind his teeth in fury. Over the past few years, he had sought Ye Linghan out countless times, yet she always avoided him like a plague.

“Looks like this Wei Wenbin has quite the background,” Liu Wuxie remarked along the way.

Given Ye Linghan’s temperament, the fact that she hadn’t exploded at Wei Wenbin already proved that his status wasn’t beneath hers.

“He’s the son of the Wei Clan’s patriarch,” Ye Linghan explained.

Within a radius of three thousand miles, several major powers existed aside from Fourfold City and the Azure Flame Dao Hall, and the Wei Clan was one of them. Though the Wei Clan couldn’t compare to the Azure Flame Dao Hall, it was still slightly stronger than Fourfold City.

The two passed through several winding paths before the assessment grounds came into view.

Even with fifteen minutes remaining before the assessment began, nearly a hundred mentors had already gathered there. Besides the mentors, many students had also come to watch.

“The spiritual array classes barely have any students. Do we really need more mentors?” many intermediate- and advanced-class students whispered among themselves. Some junior-class students had also come, though they stood much farther away.

Aside from a few second-grade mentors whose classes still attracted decent numbers, the remaining spiritual array mentors barely had any students at all.

“I heard the person taking the assessment is only at the Heavenly Immortal Realm,” an advanced-class student said. He had already reached the True Immortal Realm and held considerable status within the Azure Flame Dao Hall.

An uproar broke out. “What? Are you joking? A heavenly immortal wants to become a mentor? He would mislead students.” Many thought the advanced-class student was pulling their legs.

Within the Azure Flame Dao Hall, even junior-class students had reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm. A heavenly immortal didn’t even qualify to teach them.

“It’s absolutely true! I watched them fill out the registration form myself,” the advanced-class student insisted.

The surrounding mentors frowned when they heard the news. Some even revealed open displeasure and were prepared to leave. To them, a heavenly immortal applying to become a mentor was nothing short of absurd. Every mentor had at least reached the Profound Immortal Realm.

Even the mentors who taught junior classes stood at the pinnacle of the Spirit Immortal Realm and were only a step away from the Profound Immortal Realm.

The elders overseeing the assessment soon arrived with a roster in hand. Any applicant who achieved the required score would qualify as a mentor.

Ye Linghan led Liu Wuxie to the assessment grounds, instantly drawing thousands of gazes toward them. Wei Wenbin had arrived earlier and now stood behind several of the judges.

The Azure Flame Dao Hall had a total of 12 spiritual array mentors, including Ye Linghan. Since she had personally recommended Liu Wuxie, she naturally had to attend the assessment as well. Liu Wuxie needed approval from at least half of the spiritual array mentors before he could become an assistant.

Eleven spiritual array mentors stood in a row. The oldest had white hair, while even the youngest appeared to be at least fifty years old. Ye Linghan naturally stood out among them.

Martial technique mentors stood to one side, alchemy mentors to another, blacksmithing mentors to the right, spiritual array mentors to the left, while poison-art mentors occupied another section entirely.

These represented only a fraction of the Azure Flame Dao Hall’s instructors, as most were still teaching classes elsewhere.

The Azure Flame Dao Hall taught nearly every cultivation-related discipline imaginable, such as martial techniques, spiritual arrays, alchemy, spiritual talismans, poison arts, puppetry, beast taming, mind-reading, charm arts, and even magic.

“Go on. I believe you’ll pass,” Ye Linghan said reassuringly. Based on what she knew of Liu Wuxie, she didn’t think the assessment would pose much difficulty.

A mentor required more than practical experience. They also needed sufficient theoretical knowledge, since instructors had to explain many concepts verbally. Someone who only knew how to set up arrays but couldn’t explain them would never qualify as a mentor.

For that reason, the Azure Flame Dao Hall divided the spiritual array assessment into three sections. The first was a written examination prepared jointly by the eleven spiritual array mentors. The full score was one hundred, and eighty points counted as a passing grade.

No one could cheat in this section, nor was there room for favoritism. Passing meant passing; failing meant failing. The mentors had already finalized the questions two hours earlier.

“Applicant, step forward and answer the questions!” announced the elder overseeing the assessment.

The elder was called Zuo Yang, a senior mentor who had already retired from teaching. He now specialized in conducting assessments. In his early years, he had taught alchemy and trained countless students, which had earned him considerable prestige within the Azure Flame Dao Hall.

Liu Wuxie stepped into the arena, drawing the full attention of the eleven mentors. A stack of papers rested atop the table in the center.

“Greetings, mentors,” Liu Wuxie said politely with a slight bow. Since they would likely become colleagues in the future, there was no harm in building goodwill.

A few mentors responded with friendly expressions, but most looked at him with open contempt. In their eyes, someone so young and weak, daring to apply to be a mentor, clearly didn’t know his place.

Had Ye Linghan not personally vouched for Liu Wuxie, they would have driven him away already. They had agreed to the assessment out of respect for her, especially since Liu Wuxie sought the position of an assistant rather than a mentor.

“Have you considered this carefully? If you fail, you won’t be allowed to take the assessment again for another three years,” the eldest spiritual array mentor reminded him kindly.

“I understand,” Liu Wuxie replied. Ye Linghan had already explained the rules beforehand.

The surrounding mentors gathered closer, eager to see how Liu Wuxie would perform.

The students stood farther away and couldn’t see the contents of the examination papers, but the expressions on the mentors’ faces already told them the questions wouldn’t be simple.

“You may begin,” the old man said with a wave of his hand.

Among the twelve spiritual array mentors, this old man possessed the highest status and the largest number of students. Even the other spiritual array mentors treated him with great respect.

The old man was Zhongsun Wen, a towering authority in the art of spiritual arrays. Even Ye Linghan respectfully addressed him as Teacher Zhongsun.

Liu Wuxie walked to the table and examined the test papers. There were exactly one hundred carefully selected questions. Since Ye Linghan wasn’t present when the instructors prepared the questions, it ruled out any possibility of her leaking the questions.

A faint smile rose on Liu Wuxie’s lips as he skimmed through them. While these questions might have overwhelmed others, they posed no challenge to him.

The exam mainly focused on difficulties encountered while setting up spiritual arrays, practical applications of arrays, and methods for countering them.

Spiritual arrays fell into countless categories, including defensive, offensive, illusion, and many others. Even Liu Wuxie himself couldn’t remember exactly how many types existed.

The questions fell into three main categories. The first dealt with problems encountered during array construction, the second with how to respond to specific arrays, and the third with repairing damaged arrays.

In short, the test covered how to create, break, and repair spiritual arrays.

Liu Wuxie activated Ghost Pupil and instantly copied all one hundred questions into his soul sea. He then used the Heavenly Dao Book to deduce the answers. He barely needed to think, as the Heavenly Dao Book rapidly supplied the solutions.

Still, he had no intention of appearing too monstrous. He closed his eyes and pretended to contemplate the answers. With a two-hour limit, he had more than enough time.

Even without the Heavenly Dao Book, Liu Wuxie was confident he could finish the test within fifteen minutes. But writing every answer flawlessly would only draw unnecessary attention.

After all, he only needed eighty points to pass. Maintaining a score near the passing line suited him perfectly. His true reason for joining the Azure Flame Dao Hall was to access its facilities and obtain cultivation resources.

Time slowly passed, and the crowd grew increasingly impatient as Liu Wuxie kept his eyes shut. Even the eleven mentors gradually frowned in displeasure.

Most applicants began answering questions right away and skipped those they didn’t know. Yet Liu Wuxie had written nothing at all.

“Does he know absolutely nothing and just wants to put on an act?” The mentors maintained their dignity and refrained from openly mocking him, but the surrounding disciples showed no such restraint. Waves of ridicule swept across the crowd.

As a mere ninth-level Heavenly Immortal, Liu Wuxie instantly became the target of everyone’s scorn.

“Get lost! A heavenly immortal dares to embarrass himself here?” one high immortal student cursed loudly.

Wei Wenbin moved quietly through the crowd, whispering occasionally to nearby students. Before long, the insults grew even louder.

Mockery echoed continuously throughout the grounds. “There has to be something wrong with his head! Otherwise, why would a heavenly immortal apply to become a mentor?”

The eleven mentors’ expressions darkened further, yet they could do nothing while the allotted time remained.

Even Ye Linghan grew anxious. Though she fully acknowledged Liu Wuxie’s practical skill in spiritual arrays, she had no idea how deep his theoretical knowledge was. Many people specialized in a single array and knew almost nothing else. She couldn’t help wondering whether Liu Wuxie was one of them.

Liu Wuxie ignored all the voices around him. Only after a full hour had passed did he finally open his eyes and pick up the brush to begin writing his answers.