"Of course, if their only function was array-breaking, that alone wouldn't be enough to excite my colleagues in the Strategy Array Hall and me."
Just as the students were staring excitedly at the Disassembler Discs and chattering amongst themselves, Ji Hongdao continued.
"The true power of the Disassembler Disc lies in its capacity for growth."
Having said this, Ji Hongdao deliberately paused, waiting for the students' reaction. As he expected, his words caused an immediate uproar.
Every cultivator knew that an artifact with growth potential was worth ten, even a hundred times more than one without.
As a secondary entity of the Tianxuan Mirror with array-breaking functions, the Disassembler Disc was already incredibly precious.
If it also possessed growth potential, its value would be truly immeasurable! The students' gazes burned as they fixed on Ji Hongdao, awaiting his explanation.
Seeing that he had sufficiently whetted their appetites, Ji Hongdao stopped holding back. "We array masters all harbor a common aspiration in our hearts: to create our own, perfect array. The Disassembler Disc can help us achieve this.
"Each time one dismantles an array with it, the Disassembler Disc absorbs and stores the array's data within itself.
"Based on our research and observations, the disc will then spontaneously analyze and extrapolate from the array’s data, attempting to repair the vulnerabilities it exploited during the dismantling process.
"When the flaws are mended, a brand new array is born.
"Subsequently, the Disassembler Disc will attempt to dismantle this new array.
“Dismantle, repair, dismantle again. In the hands of an ordinary array master, a single array often requires years, even over a decade, to undergo one iteration.
"With this Disassembler Disc, several iterations can be achieved in the span of a single year. Of course, its efficiency is also related to the complexity of the array being dismantled.
"For an array of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array's caliber, the iteration speed would naturally slow down.
"Even so, the Disassembler Disc's efficiency is still slightly higher than all of us combined."
Ji Hongdao praised it freely, without a hint of resentment at being outdone by an artifact. He couldn't help but stroke the treasure in his hand again before continuing.
"The more array data the Disassembler Disc absorbs, the stronger its dismantling capabilities become. Similarly, its analytical and iterative abilities grow more powerful as well.
"It's truly unimaginable what heights they might evolve to in the future.
"It is said that our Myriad Immortals Alliance's supreme treasure, the Tianxuan Mirror, was initially nothing more than an ordinary mirror.
"It was only after witnessing the Immortal Venerable imparting the Dao, gaining self-awareness, that it gradually transformed over millennia into the profound wonder it is today.
"So, who's to say that in your hands, the Disassembler Disc might not evolve into a second Tianxuan Mirror?"
His words caused every student in the hall to hold their breath.
There was no helping it. No one within the Myriad Immortals Alliance was unaware of the Tianxuan Mirror's power and priceless value. The mere thought that they might one day possess an artifact comparable to it made everyone's breathing grow rapid after a moment's pause.
"Master Ji, stop teasing us! Announce the results already!"
The speaker was a Golden Core cultivator named Qi Chengcheng, who had consistently ranked at the top of every previous assessment.
Confident in his results and certain that one of the nine Disassembler Discs would be his, he urged Ji Hongdao impatiently.
Li Fan, however, was carefully recalling Ji Hongdao’s words, detecting a peculiarity in them.
It was true that the Disassembler Disc was an extraordinary esoteric treasure. If Ji Hongdao wasn’t exaggerating, it was essentially the perfect, lower-tier substitute for the Tianxuan Mirror that Zhang Zhiliang had hoped for to use as the core of the Unlimited Art.
Li Fan had to admit that he himself was tempted. Yet, Ji Hongdao’s motivational speech felt somewhat off.
Had it been delivered at the start of the training to incentivise the trainees, it would have been understandable.
But now, the final assessment was over, the results were set, and logically, the ownership of the nine Disassembler Discs should have already been decided. So why was Ji Hongdao delivering such a speech now? He’d even trotted out lines like, "Who knows if it might become a second Tianxuan Mirror?"
If Li Fan hadn’t already known that the Tianxuan Mirror was likely connected to the ancient Xuantian Sect’s supreme treasure, the Xuantian Treasure Mirror, he might have almost believed Ji Hongdao’s nonsense.
And just as Li Fan suspected, after a faint smile, Ji Hongdao revealed his true intentions.
With a gentle wave of his hand, a golden scroll of light unfurled across the sky. Upon it, names were listed from top to bottom according to their ranking. The top nine names glowed with a faint, unmistakable violet-gold radiance.
As the golden scroll appeared, Ji Hongdao spoke. "It was promised that these nine Disassembler Discs would be awarded as prizes to the top performers of this assessment. This decision was personally approved by the Strategy Array Hall headquarters, and we naturally will not go back on our word. However... circumstances have changed."
A trace of helplessness appeared on Ji Hongdao’s face. The students exchanged uneasy glances, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.
"Initially, there were indeed nine Disassembler Discs. Even now, the number remains the same. But just yesterday, we suddenly discovered that eight of the nine discs had dimmed slightly. The remaining one, however, did not diminish in brilliance but instead grew stronger.
"Although the degree of change was extremely subtle, we still detected it. Secondary entities of the Tianxuan Mirror often possess hidden characteristics unknown to us, only manifesting under specific conditions. Therefore, we previously failed to perceive the true mystery of these Disassembler Discs... This was indeed our oversight." Ji Hongdao sighed, his old face flushing slightly.
The students, however, grasped the implication of his words.
"Instructor Ji, are you saying... these nine Disassembler Discs... consume each other?" Qi Chengcheng couldn’t help but ask.
Ji Hongdao nodded. "After noticing the anomaly and conducting careful research, we realized that these nine seemingly separate Disassembler Discs are, in fact, one entity. Whenever the Disassembly ability of one grows stronger, it siphons essence from the other discs to empower itself further.
“If the weaker ones remain stagnant and do not strive to catch up, they will have their own power drained, growing weaker and weaker until they finally vanish.
"This is what is meant by the strong growing stronger and the weak growing weaker.
"Through the constant competition among the nine Disassembler Discs, only one will survive to the end. And it will be the ultimate victor, having gathered the full power of all nine Disassembler Discs.
"The true Disassembler Disc."