All eyes gathered on Lin Xun, and all with different expressions.
The clansmen from the Chu Family smiled coldly, waiting to see Lin Xun embarrass himself.
The other rune masters either pitied or frowned at him.
Even the authority figures in the other hall wore disapproving looks when they looked at Lin Xun.
Lin Xun only felt a cryptic power drowning him, and a wave of dizziness swept over him.
He seemed to have arrived in an ancient world of chaos where everything was gray and blurry and only a stone tablet was towering into the sky.
It was propping up the sky and connecting the sky and the earth!
Upon a careful look, one would notice that the stone tablet was of infinite height, entirely jet-black, and resembled a pillar.
The surface was engraved with strange and winding runes like earthworms. They all emitted a strange, mysterious glow like stars in the sky.
At a glance, they looked like countless magnificent paths running across the stone tablet’s surface.Lin Xun immediately knew that that was the rune vision concealed in the dragon gate tablet!
However, he didn’t expect to see them in such a mysterious way. He felt like he had been plunged into an incomparably ancient secret realm and returned to ancient times.
Hu—
Lin Xun drew a deep breath, cast away the distracting thoughts in his mind, and began to observe the complicated rune visions around the tablet.
Instantly, he noticed that the thousands of rune tracks were all completely different, complicated and intricate.
It would be incredibly difficult for ordinary rune masters to comprehend and control a complete rune pattern from it.
Even Lin Xun couldn’t help but frown because it was the first time he saw such a strange assessment method.
However, soon, he was captivated.
He had a greater mastery in the art of runes compared to ordinary people. After all, he had been fascinated by runes since a young age, so he wouldn’t be hindered by the assessment thrown at him.
Within moments, Lin Xun successfully understood a complete rune pattern from the complicated rune vision.
Almost at the same time, the rune pattern in his mind surfaced on the stone tablet, glowing a golden hue.
Lin Xun suddenly felt enlightened. The rune pattern he comprehended would become his assessment result and presented on the Dragon Gate Stage.
However, he suddenly scrunched his brows.
That’s not right!
It shouldn’t be this simple.
He pondered and wasn’t in a rush to act. Instead, he focused his mind on the rune vision around the tablet.
Before long, he indeed noticed something different and comprehended another complete rune pattern. Additionally, he found that the newly discovered rune pattern was in perfect harmony with the first one and together they transformed into a new rune pattern.
No, it should be called a rune array!
However, he soon found that even if the rune array seemed complete, it still wasn’t that simple. He had a feeling that the rune array could be supplemented with even more rune patterns and become more complicated and greater.
He attempted to comprehend and observe again.
As he had thought, he confirmed his speculation!
The rune array could be supplemented with new rune patterns.
“The countless rune tracks on the first tablet seem to be completely different, but amazingly, they not only can be transformed into several different complete rune patterns but also combined in a special way, integrating into a rune array…”
“They are like the strokes of a character and can form different words. These words seem chaotic and disorderly, but they can create sentences when combined and even arranged into a splendid essay!”
Lin Xun’s thoughts grew increasingly clear. He felt enlightened. He was completely immersed in the state of comprehending the rune vision and had forgotten that he was undergoing an assessment.
……
Time flew by.
On the Dragon Gate Stage, there wasn’t the slightest movement from the first tablet.
Everyone’s expressions changed strangely. Lin Xun...wouldn’t fail the first level right?
That would be pathetic!
Many people sighed inwardly. Why did Lin Xun go to such trouble? He is just an initiate rune master, but he came to be verified as a rune grandmaster. Why did he bring humiliation upon himself?
He is biting off more than he can chew!
“Haha, ten minutes is almost up, but the kid hasn’t even comprehended a complete rune pattern. What a joke!” A clansman of the Chu Family burst into wild laughter.
“Hey, wasn’t he very arrogant before? But he can’t even pass the first level. How embarrassing!”
“When he fails, I have to properly humiliate him to get revenge for Haidong.”
“We not only have to humiliate him, but also have to make the entire Forbidden City know about it and make Lin Xun become a laughingstock and not able to lift his head again!”
“He’s a joke if he thinks he can be compared to Young Master Haidong!”
The clansmen of the Chu Clan sneered.
Especially Chu Yunkong. He was so excited that his fists were clenched tight like he could already see Lin Xun’s tragic defeat.
It was the same for Chu Haidong.
When Lin Xun fails, I won’t need to say anything to make everyone know who is the real stupid idiot!
“Lin Xun...I don’t know what to say about him. He is arrogant, but if he is arrogant to the point of ignorance then he is too stupid,” an influential figure sneered in the other hall.
“This is the price he has to pay for underestimating the Nine Tablets of the Dragon Gate. He is just an initiate rune master but he thinks he can pass the assessment! He thinks too highly of himself.”
The other big shots also sighed. They found it very strange that he couldn’t even pass the first level.
“As I said earlier, he is just here to entertain.” Cheng Jing shook his head.
“How could that be? Based on Lin Xun’s feats in the Forbidden City, he doesn’t seem like such an arrogant and ignorant person...”
Shen Tuo frowned in bewilderment. He found it very bizarre that Lin Xun’s performance was so poor.
Feng Qingyou nodded secretly. She shared the same thought with Shen Tuo. She also found Lin Xun’s performance a little strange.
Just as time was almost up, there was still no movement from the first stone tablet.
Chu Haidong couldn’t help but cackle to himself. Lin Xun, Lin Xun, your defeat is going to be ugly!
He was secretly planning in his mind how to humiliate Lin Xun and vent his anger.
It was then that an exclamation rang out, “That is?”
Immediately, mutters of exclamation and astonishment rippled through the hall.
“Heavens!”
“What…what is going on?”
Chu Haidong was startled at first before he noticed dazzling golden light rushing forth from the first tablet and rising excitedly like golden waves that were about to drown the entire stone tablet!
“That…”
Chu Haidong stared dumbstruck at the tablet. What’s going on?
In the past years, never had such an abnormal thing happened in the tests of the Nine Tablets of the Dragon Gate!
The entire audience was bewildered.
Time was almost up but arcs of golden light continued to emerge from the stone tablet’s surface, and a golden wave was rising. It was too unbelievable.
Linghu Xiu trembled all over, and his pupils enlarged like he had realized something.
In the other hall, the group of authority figures reacted immediately, crying out in astonishment.
“Golden clouds soar to the sky! The legend is true!”
“It is rumored that when one fully comprehends and controls the rune vision in the tablet, one will awaken the origin power within the stone tablet and produce dazzling golden clouds that resemble waves soaring in the sky! That kid… managed this?”
“I never thought that I would be so fortunate to witness such a legendary spectacle! Lin Xun is really…an abnormal freak!”
All the other influential figures broke into an uproar. Their faces glowed with excitement as they sprang to their feet one after another like they saw the birth of a miracle.
Yu Beidou, Cheng Jing, and Shen Tuo quivered, and their countenances visibly changed.
They understood what the spectacle Golden Clouds Soar to the Sky meant. Lin Xun had obtained a perfect result in the test of the first tablet!
They couldn’t believe it. They had previously thought that Lin Xun was a stupid and arrogant idiot and was just bringing humiliation upon himself.
But then, the spectacle of golden clouds soaring into the sky appeared!
It felt like an invisible slap to their faces. They felt their faces burn with pain and flush with embarrassment.
Who would have thought that Lin Xun, a teenager, and only at the initiate rune master level, could achieve that?
He’s too abnormal!
Feng Qingyou stared at the spectacle in stunned silence. She had long known that something was strange, but she had never thought that Lin Xun would achieve such a magnificent result.
Even she…didn’t achieve such a remarkable result when she took the assessment!
“What a weird but amazing guy,” Feng Qingyou muttered to herself.
At that moment, everyone still hadn’t recovered from the shock. Most of them hadn’t even heard of the legend of Golden Clouds Soar to the Sky, so they didn’t understand how amazing and abnormal Lin Xun’s result was.
Among them, included Chu Haidong and Chu Yunkong.
Their expressions morphed indefinitely. That kid…passed the assessment?
Chu Yunkong couldn't help but ask, “Brother Linghu, what’s going on?”
Swoosh!
All gazes shifted to Linghu Xiu. Everyone was eager to know the answer.
Linghu Xiu’s face was blank. It was only after a moment that he slowly regained his senses, drew a deep breath, and explained, “That’s…the legendary Golden Clouds Soar to the Sky!”
Chu Yunkong was even more perplexed. “What is that?”
Linghu Xiu sneered inwardly. This old guy is as stupid as Lin Xun has said. He has lived for so long, but he has never even heard of Golden Clouds Soar to the Sky!
However, because he was from the Chu Family, Linghu Xiu patiently explained, “This means that Lin Xun...has obtained the most perfect assessment result!”
Si—
Immediately, a chorus of sharp gasps rang out from the audience.