Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1725 - Questions

Chapter 1725 – Questions

Liu Wuxie answered the questions quickly, choosing the easier ones first. His goal was simply to pass the assessment. There was no need for him to appear overly monstrous. He spent only fifteen minutes answering the questions and skipped ten altogether.

The eleven mentors exchanged glances before stepping forward with the answer sheets to compare results. After grading the examination, they arrived at a final score of eighty-seven points.

Liu Wuxie had deliberately answered several questions only halfway, which was why he hadn’t received full marks. Since eighty points were enough to pass, he had exceeded the requirement by seven points. The result shocked everyone, including Wei Wenbin and the surrounding students.

They had thought it would already be heaven-defying if Liu Wuxie managed to score fifty points, yet he had achieved eighty-seven.

“This is impossible! How could he possibly score eighty-seven points?” a spiritual array student shouted as he stepped out from the crowd, convinced that Liu Wuxie had cheated. After all, how could a mere heavenly immortal obtain such a score?

Since a mentor assessment for spiritual arrays was underway, nearly all spiritual array classes had been suspended so students could watch the assessment.

Students started accusing Liu Wuxie. “He must’ve cheated!”

Only the eleven mentors knew they had carefully selected the questions. Even someone who had extensively studied spiritual arrays beforehand would still struggle to achieve such a high score. Earlier, Wei Wenbin had secretly approached them and asked them to stop Liu Wuxie from joining the Azure Flame Dao Hall by any means possible.

Wei Wenbin was an alchemy mentor and held considerable status within the Dao Hall. Many mentors naturally treated him with respect. After all, who could avoid injuries during cultivation? At critical moments, pills could save lives.

Besides martial cultivation, alchemy remained one of the Azure Flame Dao Hall’s most popular disciplines. Coupled with Wei Wenbin’s status, many people naturally favored him.

Facing the accusations around him, Liu Wuxie remained completely indifferent.

“Mentors, perhaps you should review the paper again?” Wei Wenbin asked as he walked over to the eleven mentors.

The mentors from the other disciplines also gathered closer, though none of them spoke and merely observed quietly.

Logically speaking, eighty-seven points wasn’t particularly high. It only barely exceeded the passing mark. But Liu Wuxie was merely a heavenly immortal. That alone made his score unbelievable. Had he been a profound immortal instead, no one would have doubted him.

“There’s no issue with the answers,” a middle-aged man suddenly said as he stepped forward. “But I suspect someone leaked the questions beforehand.”

The man went by the name Tu Zhengbao and taught spiritual arrays to a large number of students. Earlier, he had also graded Liu Wuxie’s paper and given him eighty-seven points.

The crowd erupted into an uproar once more. “Who leaked the questions?” No one had expected cheating to occur during a mentor assessment.

Everyone understood who Tu Zhengbao was implying. Ye Linghan, a spiritual array mentor herself, had recommended Liu Wuxie. Naturally, suspicion fell upon her.

Countless gazes turned toward Ye Linghan, making her furious. Everyone knew her character. How could she possibly leak examination questions?

Yet if she stepped forward to defend herself, it would sound like a guilty excuse. If she stayed silent, others would treat it as a silent admission, placing her in a fix.

“Since someone leaked the questions beforehand, we should invalidate this examination result,” Wei Wenbin declared with a regretful sigh as he shook his head.

In the blink of an eye, Liu Wuxie became the target of public condemnation. Most mentors said nothing outright, but the contempt in their expressions was impossible to hide. They merely restrained themselves out of respect for Ye Linghan.

The situation rapidly turned against Liu Wuxie. The assessment consisted of three rounds, and he had already run into trouble in the first. If the accusation of cheating could not be cleared, there would be no need for him to continue with the remaining two tests.

Liu Wuxie turned toward Wei Wenbin, a cold, murderous glint flashing deep within his eyes. Aside from Wei Wenbin, most of the spiritual array mentors also viewed him with hostility.

However, their hostility didn’t stem from Wei Wenbin’s influence. They looked down on him. At his age, being only at the Heavenly Immortal Realm placed him at the bottom, even among students. Yet someone like him dared to dream of standing on equal footing with them as a mentor.

Naturally, they viewed him with disdain.

The eleven spiritual array mentors began discussing the matter alongside Zuo Yang. After all, they lacked any concrete evidence proving Ye Linghan had leaked the questions. The assessment had reached a complete deadlock.

If they allowed Liu Wuxie to pass, many students and mentors would refuse to accept it. Yet without evidence, they also couldn’t officially invalidate his score.

“What right do you have to accuse me of leaking the questions? You were the ones who prepared them, and I wasn’t even present!” Ye Linghan stepped forward angrily, her voice suppressing the surrounding uproar.

“Mentor Ye, you misunderstand us,” Tu Zhengbao replied with a fake smile. “We’re not accusing you of leaking the questions directly. We merely suspect someone extracted the information from you.”

His words effectively accused Liu Wuxie of obtaining the questions from Ye Linghan beforehand. The difference was purely semantic.

In truth, the conflict between Ye Linghan and Tu Zhengbao had existed for quite some time.

The previous year, one talented student had joined Ye Linghan’s class, greatly displeasing Tu Zhengbao. He had forcibly taken the student away and publicly claimed Ye Linghan’s attainments were too shallow and that she would only lead her students astray.

“You—!” Ye Linghan’s face flushed red with fury, but Liu Wuxie quietly stopped her.

“Liu Wuxie, forgive us, but we cannot approve your assessment,” Zuo Yang finally announced. “However, if you’re willing, you may still join the Azure Flame Dao Hall as a miscellaneous hire. You’ll receive a monthly salary as compensation.”

Ye Linghan’s expression instantly darkened.

Meanwhile, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Wei Wenbin’s lips. Though he concealed it well, Liu Wuxie still noticed it clearly.

Offering Liu Wuxie a miscellaneous position already counted as giving face to Ye Linghan.

“Elder Zuo, I appreciate your kindness, but you may give that position to someone else,” Liu Wuxie replied calmly. He had wanted to explode angrily, but forcefully restrained himself. Joining the Azure Flame Dao Hall wasn’t necessary. If all else failed, he could always carve out his own path elsewhere.

With his talent, growing stronger wouldn’t be difficult. The only reason he had agreed to come here in the first place was to repay Ye Linghan’s favor. After all, they had agreed that he would become her assistant if she helped him eliminate the Azure Bamboo Gang.

Now it seemed the problem didn’t lie with him. These people were too arrogant.

Without another word, Liu Wuxie turned and prepared to leave.

“Wuxie, wait! I’ll reason with them!” Ye Linghan hurriedly stopped him before rushing over to argue with Zuo Yang and the others.

Liu Wuxie grew angrier after seeing how fiercely Ye Linghan fought on his behalf. Since these people insisted on humiliating him, he no longer minded slapping them across the face.

“Wuxie, they agreed to prepare another set of questions and let you retake the assessment,” Ye Linghan said after returning.

Since the instructors would prepare the questions on the spot, nobody could cheat.

“There’s no need for another assessment,” Liu Wuxie replied. “I’ll write ten questions instead. If they can answer all of them, I’ll willingly leave the Azure Flame Dao Hall.”

He walked back to the table, flipped the examination papers over, and swiftly wrote ten questions onto the blank side.

No one expected Liu Wuxie to turn around and test the eleven mentors instead.

Before long, he finished writing.

Each question revolved around spiritual arrays, covering setup, destruction, and defense. Coincidentally, they matched the same three categories the mentors had used to examine him.

“What a joke. Why should we answer your questions?” Tu Zhengbao sneered without even glancing at the paper.

“If you want to mock me, answer the questions first,” Liu Wuxie replied coldly. “Then you can slap my face all you want.”

How could he fail to notice Tu Zhengbao’s constant hostility?

Zhongsun Wen stepped forward and casually glanced at the paper. The moment he read the questions, his expression changed drastically. His hands even began trembling slightly as he lifted the paper.

“What brilliant questions!” he exclaimed in shock.

Seeing Zhongsun Wen’s reaction, the other mentors immediately gathered around and became engrossed in the questions as well.

“If the Crimson Astral Stone is missing from the Seven-Star Northern Dipper Array, what material can replace it while maintaining the array’s operation?” one mentor subconsciously read aloud.

That single question instantly stunned all eleven mentors.

Since ancient times, every spiritual array required fixed materials. Every component was considered indispensable. Alchemy worked the same way. Changing ingredients might still produce a pill, but its effects would diminish drastically.

Similarly, replacing array materials recklessly usually destabilized the formation and caused backlash against the array master.

Generations of accumulated experience had refined every array recorded in the ancient texts. Randomly altering materials bordered on suicide.

A mentor then read the second question aloud, “For the Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array, how can someone enter the array unharmed without destroying it?”

Every question sounded both ordinary and absurd at the same time. The only known method to overcome the Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array was brute force destruction. None of them had ever heard of anyone entering it safely without dismantling it.

The spiritual array mentors continued reading the remaining questions. Even Ye Linghan leaned closer, curious to see what Liu Wuxie had written. But after reading them herself, she realized she also couldn’t answer any of them.

She was knowledgeable in spiritual arrays and knew how to construct them, but she had never encountered the methods Liu Wuxie described.

“What nonsense! None of the things you wrote can even exist,” Tu Zhengbao sneered after reading through the questions.

“The fact that you don’t understand them only proves you’re trash,” Liu Wuxie replied mockingly. Tu Zhengbao had repeatedly targeted him, and Liu Wuxie naturally showed no mercy in returning the humiliation.

“How dare you insult me?” Tu Zhengbao roared furiously.

As a profound immortal, no one found it strange when he humiliated Liu Wuxie earlier. But now that Liu Wuxie openly retaliated, the entire crowd erupted into chaos.

“Do you believe I can slap you to death right now?!” Tu Zhengbao bellowed as he struck at Liu Wuxie with his palm.

Several mentors hurriedly tried to stop him. After all, the assessment hadn’t officially concluded, and such conduct disgraced the dignity of a mentor.

“Liu Wuxie… we cannot answer any of these questions,” Zhongsun Wen finally admitted after setting the paper down.

The eleven mentors had discussed the problems extensively, yet none of them could solve a single one.

A trace of disappointment flashed through Liu Wuxie’s eyes. He realized he had overestimated them, believing they possessed truly profound attainments.

Now, however, they appeared painfully mediocre.