“Uh…”
Mr. Zhuang said, “How old are you anyway? The ones taking the assessment with you are either middle-aged cultivators or old men with white hair. They are more anxious than you; what’s your hurry?”
“Oh.” With that thought, Mo Hua indeed felt much more relaxed.
“But what if I never pass?”
Mo Hua pressed the point.
Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but ruffle Mo Hua’s hair again, “If you never pass, then you should just go straight for the Second Grade.”
Mo Hua was taken aback, “Second Grade?”
“First Grade might hold you back, but not Second Grade. The Heaven Shu Pavilion isn’t full of fools; they turn a blind eye to the blockage at First Grade. But Second Grade is different. If your Formation skills reach Second Grade, even without a distinguished background, you are no ordinary person, and the Heaven Shu Pavilion wouldn’t dare to provoke you lightly.”
Mr. Zhuang said with a half-smile, “If you really have the standards of a Second Rank Formation Master and the Heaven Shu Pavilion still refuses to assess you, then you can stand at their doorstep, point at their plaque, and accuse their Pavilion Elders of being blind.”
Mo Hua quietly asked, “What’s the Cultivation of the Pavilion Elders of the Heaven Shu Pavilion…?”
“It’s hard to say. At the very least, they should be at the Heaven Void level…”
Mo Hua’s mouth hung open. Heaven Void? She hadn’t even heard of it.
Mo Hua looked at Mr. Zhuang and quietly asked, “Gentleman, you haven’t cursed at a Pavilion Elder before, have you?”
Standing at someone else’s doorstep, cursing their Pavilion Elders.
If Mr. Zhuang hadn’t done it before, how could he speak of it so familiarly?
“I always avoid cursing at people,” said Mr. Zhuang.
Mo Hua eyed him again.
He had an air of immortality about him, a demeanor both elegant and casual—effortlessly composed even while lying down.
Mo Hua thought to herself: Mr. Zhuang doesn’t seem like the type to berate others, but what he actually does is another matter.
Then Mr. Zhuang lightly tapped Mo Hua on the head.
“Are you imagining things about me?” he asked.
Mo Hua giggled softly, then added,
“But Gentleman, it would take ages for me to become a Second Rank Formation Master.”
Mr. Zhuang said, “Becoming a First-grade Formation Master is difficult, as there is only one level. Second-grade Formation Masters are different; they are divided into three stages: initial, middle, and high. There is a significant disparity in formation skills with each step.”
Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua, “Given your abilities, as long as you can achieve Foundation Establishment, it shouldn’t be too hard for you to become an Initial Stage Second Grade Formation Master with some hard work.”
Mo Hua perked up, feeling a newfound sense of purpose.
But she still had one doubt, “Why does Second Grade have three stages, Initial, Middle, and High, while First Grade does not?”
According to Mr. Zhuang, First Grade could also have three stages.
Apprentices and Formation Masters who have not been ranked, and those ranked as First-grade Formation Masters.
Current First-grade Formation Masters could be considered High Stage First Grade Formation Masters.
“What do you think?” asked Mr. Zhuang.
Mo Hua frowned and thought for a moment, “Is it a threshold?”
Mr. Zhuang nodded and spoke lightly, “If the threshold is raised, the cultivators below won’t be able to cross it.”