Within the Martial Arts Stele Forest, nearly three hundred martial artists had found a Mystic Realm Stele suitable for their comprehension.
However, only a handful could actually commence comprehending.
In just minutes, out of the three hundred people, nearly a hundred had fainted due to an inability to endure the pressure.
Most of the remaining two hundred were also struggling to hold on.
Outside the Stele Forest, ten Inner Sect Deacons quietly nodded in approval.
"This year’s disciples are quite impressive, at least in terms of toughness, they have exceeded our expectations."
"Indeed, those who try to comprehend the Mystic Realm Stele without sufficient perception will only suffer. However, if they are mentally resilient enough, they might well reap some benefits."
The ten Inner Sect Deacons, serving as the ’examiners’ for this third assessment, were making fair evaluations.
"Look, someone has begun to comprehend."
The ten turned their attention to the individual who had started his comprehension.
That towering Mystic Realm Stele, several dozen meters tall, emitted an ancient and peerlessly sharp aura.
Beneath the stele, a young man was seated cross-legged; it was Xiao Yi.
"Not bad, considering his age of only 16 or 17, yet possessing Innate Ninth Layer Cultivation. His martial arts talent is enough to place him in the ranks of super geniuses."
"I wonder if this young man has any talent in refining; if so, he could join my Medicine Hall," said a Deacon from the Medicine Hall.
"There’s no need to think further," a Deacon from the Sword Hall laughed. "Don’t you see? He’s comprehending a Stele of Sword Dao; he’s definitely going to join our Sword Hall."
The Deacons from the other eight halls also smiled satisfactorily. "With such quick adaptation to the effects of the Mystic Realm Stele’s prohibition, it proves that this boy’s comprehension ability is extraordinarily excellent. No matter which martial arts he cultivates, his achievements will surely be high."
"Whichever hall he joins, he will certainly become a well-known genius in Northern Mountain County. It’s just a pity that he’s comprehending the Sword Dao Mystic Realm Stele, so it seems like he wants to join the Sword Hall."
"Humph, you guys just keep looking on enviously," the Sword Hall Deacon laughed. "This boy is destined to join the Sword Hall."
...
On the other side, underneath the Mystic Realm Stele, Xiao Yi was unaware of the discussions among the Deacons.
He was merely trying his best to quickly assimilate the content on the stele.
Each Mystic Realm Stele represented the lifetime martial arts knowledge of a Mystic Breakthrough Realm Martial Artist.
Strange characters and mysterious images were continuously flashing through his mind.
The so-called comprehension of the Mystic Realm Stele involved the Mystic Realm Stele transmitting this knowledge directly into the comprehender’s mind through ’Enlightenment.’
And this knowledge far exceeded what Innate Realm Martial Artists could understand and endure.
This was also why other martial artists would experience dizziness and even faint.
Those with high comprehension could digest this content; once understood, new characters and images would emerge in their minds.
Those with low comprehension who forced themselves to observe would find the images in their minds freezing, unable to endure; and they would experience near mental collapse and excruciating headaches.
"Ah." Xiao Yi gritted his teeth, and a pained expression suddenly appeared on his face.
These characters and images represented the lifetime cultivation knowledge of a Sword Dao Elder.
He was able to comprehend, but it required a process. During this process, before full comprehension was achieved, he still had to endure that torturous pain.
Only with complete comprehension, when everything became clear, would the torment disappear.
Yet, as soon as he comprehended one set of images, new ones would appear.
These new images would once again cast him into agony.
Xiao Yi’s expression kept alternating between pain and relief.
He could no longer count how many images had flashed through his mind or how many characters he had comprehended.
He only knew that he had comprehended about a third of the content on the giant Mystic Realm Stele in front of him.
The third round of the assessment tested comprehension ability, endurance, and mental resilience, among others.
And these were all aspects of talent, indicators of a true martial arts genius.
This was the purpose behind the third assessment.
Half an hour later, inside the Martial Arts Stele Forest, everything was settled.
Those who could comprehend had already commenced their comprehension under the Mystic Realm Stele.
Those who couldn’t comprehend, no matter how much they forced themselves, couldn’t last much longer.
Half an hour of torment was enough to make them utterly unable to endure and faint.
The Inner Sect Deacons waved their hands and controlled the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to pull out those who had fainted within the Stele Forest.
Only twenty people remained inside.
"If all goes as expected, these are the twenty who will enter the Inner Ten Halls this year," the Deacons said.
Every year the number of martial artists participating in the examination exceeded ten thousand, yet only three hundred made it to the third round, and usually, only about ten actually passed.
No wonder the Inner Sect Disciples were so few, yet their treatment was extremely generous.
Having twenty this year was already far beyond the usual numbers.