Chapter 122: Chapter 121: One Must Have Self-Awareness

“The last test is the neuron test, which evaluates your nerve reflexes.”

Gu Xi pointed towards the examination hall that rose in front of them.

It was an enormous tunnel.

Both sides of the tunnel were densely packed with honeycomb-like holes.

She said, “You need to pass through this tunnel as quickly as possible; the less time you take, the higher your score… Of course, it’s not that easy. Both sides are filled with laser beam attacks, which, although deliberately reduced in power, are nearly as destructive as a full-force strike from a True Transformation Realm martial artist. If they hit a vulnerable spot, broken bones and torn muscles are common occurrences.”

This time, even Gu Xi was exceptionally cautious.

She said, “Alright, let me show you a demonstration first.”

Saying this, she leaped into the tunnel in front of all the test-takers.

As soon as she entered…

The originally dark tunnel immediately became bright and dazzling. From the holes on both sides, countless beams shot out. These beams didn’t target Gu Xi but were randomly aimed in various directions. Some missed her entirely, while others aimed directly at her vitals.

Gu Xi’s slender figure inside resembled a butterfly flitting about.

Her movements were so fast they almost left afterimages as she danced among the hundreds of laser beams.

At times, a beam seemed to pass dangerously close to her, almost appearing to sweep through her body… But she emerged near-perfectly unharmed.

Despite her advancing and retreating actions, giving the illusion of stepping in place.

In just a few seconds.

She burst out of the tunnel from the other entrance.

She brushed off a strand of hair on her shoulder that had been cut short.

Gu Xi, neither gasping nor struggling, sighed, “I’m getting old; it took me a full 12 seconds this time. If this were scored, this time would probably get 140 points. Frankly, I’ve become slack these past years. Otherwise, I should be able to get inside 10 seconds.”

Everyone was silent.

The lasers were incredibly dense; evading those countless beams?

“Rest assured, the sensors are very sensitive. The faster you go, the more beams there are. Slowing down a bit isn’t a bad idea, and if you get hit…”

Gu Xi kicked a stone inside with her foot.

As soon as it went in…

A beam shot out, pulverizing the stone.

Gu Xi said seriously, “So if you can’t handle it, immediately hit the ground… Otherwise, it could be life-threatening.”

Watching the fragmented stone dust.

The crowd fell into a deathly silence, swallowing nervously.

“Alright, the last test. Whether it adds to your laurels or provides a vital aid depends on your fate. Come on, proceed voluntarily.”

“I’ll go first.”

Zong Xiaoping stepped forward proactively.

He was tired of hanging around with two maniacs; he wanted to finish quickly. With his current score… it’s more than enough to get into Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion.

“Not bad, after all, these lasers are fired randomly, and which sensor is triggered by your actions depends entirely on your improvisation. Each of the thousand attacks is never entirely the same, and the pattern is undetectable. It depends entirely on your adaptive response, so who goes first or second doesn’t really matter.”

Gu Xi smiled, “Rather, finish quickly and go back to rest… Prepare well for tomorrow’s written test. After all, no matter how well you do today, if tomorrow’s written test doesn’t reach a score of 370, it will still be a failure. From this perspective, Zong Xiaoping, you are quite smart.”

Zong Xiaoping chuckled dryly twice, thinking to himself that he just didn’t want to suffer in front of these two maniacs anymore.

Looking at the tunnel ahead.

He took a deep breath and charged in.

The sensor’s reaction is very quick; no matter how fast I am, I can’t be faster than it. Since that’s the case, I might as well slow down. Didn’t the teacher say, the faster you are, the more beams there are, but if I aim for stability over speed.

As long as I slow down the pace a bit…

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

He had just stepped in when several beams directly shot towards him.

Very swift, but there was ample space to dodge.

Zong Xiaoping dodged aside, advanced two steps, and once again dozens of beams came at him.

He could only step back, dodging again.

Then couldn’t help but feel secretly annoyed, continuously warning himself not to rush, yet ended up rushing… unintentionally accelerating his pace.

Slow down, even slower.

Stability first.

His movements slowed down significantly once more.

And as a result, while the beams were still dense, they slowed down as well, seemingly easing the rhythm.

For him, it wasn’t as grueling then.

After twenty-five seconds…

Zong Xiaoping finally staggered out.

In just over twenty seconds, he was drenched in sweat as if he’d been washed in water, clearly showing the mental and physical toll was immense.

“Are you okay?”

Xu Lingjun asked with concern, supporting him.

Zong Xiaoping gasped, “I’m fine, but be careful during your test; the faster you are, the more beams there will be.”

“Don’t worry, I understand.”

Xu Lingjun nodded.

“Good, not bad, 25 seconds, 96 points, quite remarkable.”

Gu Xi remarked.

Zong Xiaoping heard this and breathed a sigh of relief, relieved to have crossed the passing line.

With this…

He silently calculated for a while, then grinned, laughing, “I need to tell Teacher Su this good news, I got into Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion, I finally got in.”

points.

The full score for cultural courses is 700, even if he gets the minimum 370 points, his total score exceeds the admission requirement for Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion.

Of course, someone like him who has been equally devoted to both martial and cultural studies since childhood, while certainly not comparable to those dedicated technology-side students, would definitely not only get the minimum score.

Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion, secured.

He joyously rushed out to report his great achievement to his teacher.

Whether it succeeds or not, this is the final hurdle.

And this time, it provided no valuable reference. One participant stepped forward voluntarily.

Choosing to become the second, he clearly recognized that Zong Xiaoping’s strategy was indeed effective and wanted to follow his example.

Unfortunately…

His skills were significantly inferior to Zong Xiaoping’s.

His reactions were far below Zong Xiaoping’s.

He barely reached halfway before a beam hit his side.

With a heartrending scream, he fell to the ground, unable to get up… but managed to avoid the subsequent assaults just in time.

Eventually, he crawled out with much difficulty.

He only earned 59 points.

It turned out failing the test still yielded some points, albeit less.

As a result, many participants sighed with relief, fearing a complete loss of scores if they failed, which would indeed be dire.

The third participant stepped out.

This time, even more steady than Zong Xiaoping.

Even slower.

Using over forty seconds to make his way through.

But fortunately, he wasn’t hit…

Earning 79 points.

Clearly… this test included a self-assessment aspect. To get high scores, you must take risks, but risking injury might result in lower scores.

Grasping the middle ground is up to oneself.

Xu Lingjun suddenly realized that these tests seemed to heavily focus on self-awareness, just to see if one has true self-understanding.

After more than ten participants.

Li Jingjun finally exhaled softly. From the beginning, she had been silently calculating something. Now, she seemed fully prepared, proactively stepping forward and saying, “I’ll go.”