Era of Mist

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: The First Trial, Won with a Tumble

The radiant humanoid bounded forward, showing no intention of probing. It charged straight for him, holding nothing back.

Shi Tiexin’s eyes flashed. ’It’s a basic fist style. An unoriginal, basic fist style. This radiant humanoid’s Martial Arts Fist Technique is completely unremarkable. And... and why does it seem to be moving a little slow?’

It was as if a video that was supposed to play at 1.0x speed was instead playing at 0.7x. The slowness was accompanied by a faint sense of strangeness and absurdity.

The openings in its fist techniques were glaringly obvious.

This was the first time Shi Tiexin had ever encountered such a situation, and he couldn’t help but be a little stunned. But he quickly shook his head and adjusted his mindset. The radiant humanoid before him was the first trial of the lesser county exam. As long as he defeated it, he would make it onto the Copper Ranking, become an official candidate, and possess the most basic academic degree.

Although the Copper Ranking wasn’t his goal, even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Shi Tiexin didn’t want to get tripped up by a careless mistake. When the radiant humanoid closed within two meters, Shi Tiexin’s gaze tightened. The muscles in his legs tensed, then suddenly released their power.

His front leg extended, his rear foot pivoted on the heel, and power surged up through his body as he stepped forward—

WHOOSH! Something unexpected happened! Shi Tiexin’s world spun, and he lost all control, pitching forward. WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH! He took three quick steps, trying to regain his balance, but the more he struggled, the stranger it got. Finally, in a deeply embarrassing moment, he tumbled to the ground with a THUD.

’I... what the... Fuck!’

’What is happening?!’

’How did I just slip like that?!’

’I was just about to look cool and I ended up face-planting. Could this be any more embarrassing?!’

’No, no, no, this isn’t about being embarrassed right now. I’m in the middle of a test!’ Shi Tiexin quickly rolled over and looked up, anxiously scanning his surroundings. But no matter where he looked, he couldn’t see any sign of the radiant humanoid. There were only shimmering motes of six-colored light drifting through the air.

Shi Tiexin was completely dumbfounded.

’What the hell is going on? I came into the lesser county exam full of confidence, and right at the start, something this ridiculous happens!’

He got back on his feet and thought it over carefully. Suddenly, Shi Tiexin understood.

Shi Tiexin looked at the light of physics wrapped around his legs and suddenly realized something. He had already adjusted to the floor’s slipperiness, yet he had still fallen. It was all because his power output had suddenly increased. His muscles had exerted the same amount of force as usual, but the resulting thrust was greater than he’d anticipated. That was why every step had felt wrong, why he couldn’t keep his footing.

”So this is what ’stacking’ means...”

The six-colored layer of light had indeed stacked his offensive and defensive attributes onto his physical body, but it wasn’t a simple numerical increase like in a video game. The effect was far more pronounced than Shi Tiexin had imagined. This layer of light was like a suit of power armor, comprehensively amplifying all his output, even enhancing his senses like vision.

Seeing the radiant humanoid move in slow motion just now was the effect of the light of natural history on his head.

”No wonder those guys during the county exam a few days ago were so fierce! I thought every one of them had broken through the limits of the human body. So this was the secret!”

A single punch could shatter an arm, a hooking kick could snap a neck—was that the kind of destructive power someone in the Nourishing Essence Realm should have? Before, Shi Tiexin had been under immense pressure, thinking the county exam grounds were on another level, filled with monsters who had surpassed human limits while still in the Nourishing Essence stage. He’d felt like a complete weakling.

Only today did he understand. It wasn’t that he was too pathetic; it was the six-colored layer of light at work. If they weren’t inside the Wenxin Secret Realm, they wouldn’t be able to unleash such exaggerated destructive power.

Now, he too was in the Wenxin Secret Realm, enjoying this comprehensive stacking of combat power. The effect was truly incredible. As for the radiant humanoid in the test... while he was flailing and slipping forward, it seemed he had headbutted through something like a bubble. It was so easy, with so little resistance, that he hadn’t even noticed at the time.

The thing he had shattered with his tumble was probably that poor radiant humanoid.

He had passed the first trial of the lesser county exam just by tripping and falling!

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But on second thought, Shi Tiexin realized this wasn’t entirely a good thing for him. He had to get used to this additional power output quickly, or the following tests would be troublesome. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

He listened closely. The ”enthusiastic person” hadn’t yet announced the losers’ exit, which meant the other examination areas hadn’t finished. His tumble might have bought him a good amount of time. Shaking off his embarrassment, Shi Tiexin quickly began to adapt to his new power output.

He tested it this way and that. The situation was not looking good. His old shoes, with their soles worn smooth, were definitely not helping.

”Losers, exit the field!”

The enthusiastic person’s voice echoed through the Wenxin Secret Realm. The next test was about to begin. Shi Tiexin gritted his teeth and took off both his shoes. He tried it in his socks—damn it, even more slippery! He took off his socks too and stood barefoot on the wooden floor. He wiggled his toes, then dug all ten of them into the floorboards, gripping them tightly. It was finally a bit better than before.

”Second round, begin!”

Another radiant humanoid leaped into existence ten meters away. This one looked a bit more solid than the last. Without a word, it shot forward, looking somewhat stronger than its predecessor.

Shi Tiexin rotated his ankles. ’I shouldn’t be too careless now.’ To avoid another mortifying face-plant, he decided to stand his ground, countering all moves with stillness and waiting for the right moment to strike.

SWOOSH! The radiant humanoid threw a straight punch right at his chest. Shi Tiexin’s eyes flashed as he raised his arm to block. He planned to test the attack power of this second-trial humanoid first before considering his strategy. He could also use this humanoid to practice his movement and counter-attacks in preparation for the Gold Ranking placement.

’Block!’

POOF! With a sound like striking rotten leather, the radiant humanoid’s attacking arm exploded entirely.

Shi Tiexin was almost speechless. ’You’re the one hitting me, not the other way around! I just parried, and your arm blew up? Are you even trying?!’

SWOOSH! The radiant humanoid didn’t hesitate, its other fist following right behind. Shi Tiexin blocked again on instinct. POP! The entire radiant humanoid exploded, and a six-colored mist once again swirled before his eyes.

Shi Tiexin stood in the mist, completely bewildered.

’Speaking of which, did I imagine the lesser county exam to be way harder than it is?’

’No, that can’t be it.’

’The lesser county exam, in the end, is a test of one’s Mind Arts cultivation. It’s just like the written exams in the Champion Scholar Stone’s world-line. Although the radiant humanoids in this world-line are vastly different in form from a test paper, their substance is essentially the same. With my current level of a perfect first layer and double excellent in the second, these ”test papers” are indeed too simple, appearing pathetically weak.’

’But when it comes to the PVP for the Gold Ranking placement, I’m afraid it won’t be the same as this PVE.’

”Losers, exit the field! Third round, begin!”

As the enthusiastic person’s voice faded, another radiant humanoid popped out of the void ten meters away. But Shi Tiexin took the initiative and charged forward with a heavy punch. The humanoid didn’t even have time to make a single move before it exploded into a six-colored mist.

Shi Tiexin retracted his fist and stood still, carefully regulating his breathing. He was ready to face the real challenge.

The Gold Ranking placement.