Chapter 862 - Li Jinxi's Evaluation (2)
"That's it! She must be cheating! After all, 400 steps is simply too ridiculous! It's impossible!"
"Examiner, that participant must be cheating! You need to do something about it!"
The participants in Li Jinxi's examination began complaining to the examiners there, some of them even urging the examiners to stop the examination.
Of course, these examiners were also suspicious of Li Jinxi's performance, but none of them dared to call her a cheater outright. After all, what if Li Jinxi's performance turned out to be real and that she was a monster who could walk 400 steps? They did not dare to risk offending such a genius even if it's the last thing they do.
"Whether she is genuine or not, we do not have the qualifications to make any decisions. The elders overseeing this examination will make those decisions." One of the examiners said to the participants there.
"Wha—?! It's clear that she's cheating! I heard the highest score ever recorded was only 170 steps by the founder of the Heavenly Academy! Are you telling me that some unknown girl nobody recognizes can somehow double that number?! This is utterly ridiculous!"
The examiner's eyebrow twitched upon hearing the participant's words. Indeed, the highest score ever recorded was 170 steps, and Li Jinxi just walked her 410th step. If one thought about it logically, there was no way such a situation could be possible.
However, anything is possible in the cultivation world.
"I will not repeat myself. The elders will make the decisions. If you're not content with my answer, you may leave this examination."
The participants no longer dared to talk back after hearing such words, and they returned to watching Li Jinxi in silence.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the spectators and even the examiners there, seven figures suddenly appeared above the area where Li Jinxi was being evaluated.
These seven figures were Sect Masters of the Seven Spirit Academies, and they have all decided to personally oversee Li Jinxi's examination because of her unnatural performance.
"Think she's cheating?" One of them asked out loud.
"I don't sense any treasures on her."
"Me neither."
"I heard from the examiner that did her first evaluation that she managed to make the crystal ball explode by pouring too much spiritual energy into it." One of them suddenly said.
"Just where did such a monster come from? She appears very young as well."
"Just so you all know, this girl will be joining my Universal Music Academy."
"Huh? Did you hit your head on your way here? Her talents will be wasted if we let her join your sect. She doesn't even play the instrument."
"And how do you know that?"
"I can tell by her physique and demeanor. She's definitely the type to use a sword, so she should join my Formless Sword Academy."
"We can debate about this later. For now, let's just watch her."
Sometime later, Li Jinxi made her 450th step.
'Hm?' Li Jinxi's tranquil face slightly changed when she noticed some mysterious power restricting her movements, making it harder for her to move. Of course, it wasn't anything that could cripple her movements, and she could still move with relative ease.
"Looks like she's finally feeling it." Yuan said out loud while most people didn't notice anything different about Li Jinxi.
"Really? She still seems to be walking just fine." Chu Liuxiang said.
"It's not enough to really test her, but she is slowly approaching her limit. Of course, I still believe that she will make it out the lake."
After taking her 460th step, the mysterious force intensified, making it much harder for her to move.
When she tried to take her 476th step, Li Jinxi found it incredibly hard to even lift her leg, almost as though it was chained to an anchor that was already at the bottom of the lake.
"Hmph!"
After taking a deep breath, Li Jinxi released her cultivation, and her eyes turned red.
Furthermore, her body began emitting a bloodthirsty aura that would slowly become visible to the eyes, making it seem as though she was enveloped by a red aura.
"That appearance… Yuan, didn't she also look like that during her first fight with you?" Meixiu asked him.
He nodded, "Yes. However, she looks a bit different now compared to back then, like she has more control over it."
After activating her family's secret technique, Li Jinxi started walking again in her original pace, perhaps a little faster even, almost as though the mysterious force restraining her had disappeared.
"What kind of technique is she using? She's releasing such a tyrannical aura."
"I don't know, but I can tell that her body is growing increasingly stronger with every passing second."
"It reminds me of the forbidden technique 'Berserker's Bloodlust', which enhances one's body, granting them unrivaled strength at the cost of their sanity and control over their body and mind, turning them into mindless beasts. However, she doesn't appear to have gone mad, so it's probably a different technique."
"Her technique perfectly fits my Indomitable Flesh Academy's teaching, and it even resembles our most powerful cultivation technique! She must join our academy!"
"Bullshit! She'll join my Formless Sword Academy!"
"No, she will join my Universal Music Academy! We may mainly focus on instruments and the Dao of Music, but we also have plenty of experts that can teach other things!"
While the seven Sect Masters argued with each other, Li Jinxi took her 500th and final step, leaving the silver lake and returning to land.
"S-She really did it… She really crossed the lake…"
Pretty much every spectator had their wide eyes on Li Jinxi at this moment, all of them feeling as though they were witnessing the beginning of a new legend.
After crossing the lake, Li Jinxi deactivated her technique and walked around the lake until she returned to the participants and the examiners.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Should I not have left the lake and just walked around until I cannot move anymore?" Li Jinxi asked the examiner with a calm yet questioning face.
"Uhh…" The examiners there were speechless.