Two consecutive “A+” grades.

Su Ming’s name was no longer just circulating among the menial disciples; even the inner sect stewards and even elders on the viewing platform were now frequently glancing his way.

“If this lad could enter our Vessel Hall and be properly guided, he would definitely become a top talent,” a Vessel Hall elder stroked his beard and sighed, completely forgetting that his own steward had just been trying to make things difficult for him moments ago.

“Nonsense, this is clearly a promising seedling for our Formation Peak!” a Formation Peak elder beside him immediately flared up, his beard bristling with indignation. “That concept of harmonizing water and fire, without exceptional talent in the path of formations, it would be absolutely impossible to conceive!”

Meanwhile, Su Ming, at the center of this storm, was currently following the group to the examination site for the third question.

“The third question: Deploy a formation.”

“Location: The back mountain of Hundred Refinements Peak, the Bone Erosion Cave.”

Upon hearing these words, the faces of all the examinees turned pale.

The Bone Erosion Cave was a land of ill omen on Hundred Refinements Peak. A strange wind called the “Yin Evil Wind” perpetually howled within the cave. It could not only corrode the physical body but also freeze spiritual energy. Without the protective spiritual light of the Foundation Establishment realm, entering meant certain death.

“Task: Deploy a formation at the mouth of the Bone Erosion Cave and hold out for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”

Zhao Yin stood at the cave entrance, smiling with a sinister air. “The rules are simple: No restrictions on methods, no restrictions on formation plates, but… each person can only carry spirit stones equivalent to the total spiritual energy of a Qi Refinement third layer cultivator. In other words, thinking of relying on burning through piles of spirit stones to brute force your way? No chance.”

This was a strategy designed to cut off all avenues of escape.

The intensity of the Yin Evil Wind in the Bone Erosion Cave meant that the spiritual energy of a Qi Refinement third layer cultivator could at most sustain a defense for half a quarter-hour. To last through the burning of an incense stick, unless one was a formation master capable of using the environment to deploy a high-level defensive formation, it was nothing but wishful thinking.

“Junior Brother Su, this stage… won’t be easy to pass.”

Behind Su Ming, a menial disciple who had also passed the first two stages had a deathly pale face, his teeth chattering. “This Yin Wind is too sinister. Our meager spiritual energy simply isn’t enough to handle it.”

Su Ming glanced at the pitch-black, monstrous maw-like cave entrance, feeling the bone-chilling cold that assaulted his face. A faint glimmer flickered in his eyes.

“It won’t be easy,” Su Ming said softly. “If one tries to resist it head-on.”

“Master, please help me observe the surrounding environment.”

“Yin Evil Wind,” Lin Yu replied. “But this wind has a characteristic: there are extremely brief pauses in the middle.”

“Flowing energy…” The corner of Su Ming’s mouth lifted slightly. “Then it’s manageable.”

He didn’t start frantically calculating how to allocate his spiritual energy to maintain a defensive barrier the moment he received the spirit stones, unlike the others.

He pulled out from his storage pouch a handful of… oddly shaped little flags.

These flags were crudely made, using the cheapest leftover materials. They looked like toys a child might have casually put together.

“What is that? Has he given up?” someone wondered, confused.

Su Ming paid no attention to the gazes of those around him.

The assessment began.

Everyone immediately activated their strongest defensive formation plates, huddling and trembling inside their light barriers.

Only Su Ming was different.

He didn’t deploy a defensive formation.

Holding that handful of small flags, he braved the Yin Wind and, like a madman, ran a circle around the cave entrance.

Every few steps, he planted one of the small flags.

The placement of these flags was extremely tricky. Some were wedged into rock crevices, some were planted right in the wind’s path. It seemed utterly chaotic.

But if a high-level formation master were present, they would be astonished to discover that these flags actually formed a… diversion channel?

“Rise.”

After planting the last flag, Su Ming retreated to an inconspicuous corner, holding between his fingers a “miniaturized Void rune” no larger than a fingernail.

This was a scrap rune—”Disturbance”—that he had extracted while studying the “Minor Void Spirit Attraction Formation.” It had no offensive power; its sole function was to create a tiny ripple in space.

He gently flicked this rune into the wind’s path.

*Hum—*

The moment the rune made contact with the Yin Wind, it vibrated faintly.

This vibration was like a pebble dropped into a calm lake.

The originally howling Yin Evil Wind, as it passed the rune, was slightly disturbed by that tiny spatial ripple, causing an extremely minute shift in its direction.

It was this minute shift that caused the wind, which originally charged straight for the cave entrance, to collide with the first flag Su Ming had planted.

The rune carved on that flag wasn’t a defensive one, but rather… a smooth “Force-Dispersing Pattern.”

*Whoosh—*

The wind was deflected, crashing into the second flag, then sliding toward the third…

For a time, the terrifying Yin Evil Wind that should have poured into the cave entrance was actually being kicked around like a ball by this seemingly crude set of little flags, until finally… it curved around and swept over Su Ming’s head!

And Su Ming, he just sat there openly in that sole “eye of the wind”—the dead zone.

He even pulled out half of an uneaten Water Cloud Fruit from his robe, taking a crisp bite.

All around, the other examinees, struggling bitterly within their defensive barriers as their spirit stones rapidly depleted, watched this scene, their eyes practically popping out of their heads.

“This… this works?!”

“He’s cheating! He must have used some wind-avoiding treasure!” Zhao Yin jumped up and down, shouting angrily.

In a corner of the viewing platform, a gray-robed elder who had been meditating with closed eyes opened them at some point, his gaze falling on the small flags Su Ming had planted.

A flicker of understanding passed through his cloudy eyes as his fingers unconsciously twirled his beard.

“Not a treasure,” the gray-robed elder said, his voice not loud but clearly reaching the ears of another blue-robed elder beside him. “Look at the positions where he placed those flags. They subtly align with the flow of the Xun position and the support of the Kun position. They appear chaotic, but in reality, each one is positioned at a ‘joint’ in the flow of the Yin Wind’s spiritual energy.”

Hearing this, the blue-robed elder concentrated and observed carefully. After a moment, he let out a soft sound of surprise. “He’s actually using ‘deflection’ instead of ‘blocking,’ borrowing the wind’s own force to divert it… What ingenious thinking! This requires a thorough understanding of the Yin Evil Wind’s flow characteristics and extremely fast on-the-spot calculations. Where did he get the time?”

The gray-robed elder shook his head slightly. “I’m afraid it wasn’t calculated on the spot. From the very beginning, this lad never intended to resist head-on; he was observing the patterns of the wind’s momentum. That rune thrown into the wind’s path is the key—it’s not a powerful interference, just a perfectly timed ‘trigger,’ like throwing a stone to test the water, creating a tiny exploitable gap in the originally stable wind flow, allowing the subsequent flag formation to take effect.” He paused, looking toward Zhang Lie on the main viewing platform, whose expression kept shifting. “This lad’s comprehension and application of the ‘momentum’ principle in formation theory is no longer confined to the grade of runes or the amount of spiritual energy. When Junior Brother Ma insisted on keeping him back then, perhaps he truly saw this unique, ingenious talent.”

Another elder nodded, his gaze sweeping over Zhao Yin and Sun Tong, whose expressions were as dark as water, then glancing at Zhang Lie on the main platform, whose face shifted through complex emotions before finally settling into a complicated calm. He said meaningfully, “After these three stages, this lad’s name has probably reached the ears of certain people. It’s just that damage to his Dao foundation… what a pity.”

Zhang Lie had now stood up. He no longer looked at Zhao Yin. His gaze swept across the entire venue, pausing especially on Su Ming. His voice betrayed little emotion, yet held noticeably less coldness than before.

“Third stage, Formation Deployment. Su Ming, A+.”

“Overall evaluation for the three stages,” he paused briefly, as if weighing his words, “…A+. Ranked first in the formation path assessment of this ‘Hundred Arts Path to Heaven.'”

After another pause, he added a sentence, his voice carrying across the entire venue: “The path of formations values principles, but values adaptability even more. All of you, in the future, should diligently contemplate and practice earnestly, and avoid becoming complacent and stagnant.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue was shocked. This was almost public recognition and encouragement!

Su Ming cupped his hands in a salute, neither overjoyed by favor nor disturbed by disgrace.

When he returned to the Repair Hall group, Wang Defa and the others were already overwhelmed with excitement. Qingfeng and Mingyue also came over. Mingyue chattered non-stop about the thrilling scene moments before, while Qingfeng gazed thoughtfully toward the cloud-and-mist-shrouded main peaks deep within Hundred Refinements Peak.

No one noticed an almost imperceptibly fine thread of spiritual sense, originating from a certain floating mountain peak in the extremely distant sea of clouds high above, lightly swept across the plaza. It circled around Su Ming, pausing for an imperceptible moment especially on the seemingly unremarkable ring on his left hand, before silently withdrawing.

As if it had never appeared.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep