Chapter 430: Li Yun’s Turn!
In the previous aptitude test, Li Yun’s result had been the closest to Xue Wuyan’s.
An aptitude of nine rings and one-third was impressive even within the entire Heavenly Sword Sect. Among everyone participating in this assessment, the only person qualified to compete with Xue Wuyan for first place was Li Yun. As for the others, even Crown Prince Xing Tian and Princess Yuehan were still slightly inferior.
Faced with Xue Wuyan’s calm challenge, how would Li Yun respond?
To everyone’s disappointment, Li Yun merely smiled faintly and said nothing more.
After that, the assessment continued.
The elimination rate remained high, but the later participants had at least learned some lessons from those who had gone before them. Because of that, their performances gradually improved, and most of them were able to reach the passing standard of three variations.
However, those who could derive five variations or more and obtain a good result were still extremely rare.
It was not until the thirty-ninth contestant, Han Mingxuan, stepped forward that another excellent performer finally appeared.
When Han Mingxuan displayed the Falling Star Sword Technique, he successfully derived eight variations. With this result, he temporarily became the second-best performer in the second phase, ranking only below Xue Wuyan.
After that, several more geniuses appeared among the Preparatory Disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and each of them achieved excellent results.
Once the Preparatory Disciples finished their turns, it was finally time for the geniuses from the various prefectures and regions to take the stage.
The first to be tested was Crown Prince Xing Tian from Starheaven Prefecture. Just like Han Mingxuan, he derived eight variations and ultimately obtained an excellent result.
Next came Princess Yuehan from Moonveil Prefecture.
Her performance was even more eye-catching. She derived ten variations in total, but unfortunately, one of them contained a flaw. Because of that, only nine variations could be counted, causing her to narrowly miss a superior grade.
An hour later, it was finally the turn of the contestants from the Southern Martial Domain.
Su Fengyan was the first to step forward. He demonstrated six variations and obtained a good result.
Qin Baoluo, on the other hand, was exempted from the assessment because he had already become the personal disciple of Elder Yunlu.
As for Li Hao and Huang Chen, their comprehension ability was not low, but their understanding of the sword path was not especially deep. In the end, both of them also demonstrated six variations and obtained good results.
Finally, it was Li Yun’s turn.
"It is finally here. I really want to see what kind of comprehension ability Li Yun has."
"He is a genius whose aptitude is only slightly lower than Xue Wuyan’s. Even if he cannot obtain a superior grade in this phase, he should at least achieve an excellent result."
"That may not be certain. Strong aptitude does not always mean strong comprehension. Besides, Li Yun is only at the 1st level of the Essence Qi Realm. What he can perceive may still be limited. In my opinion, his result might not be as impressive as everyone expects."
"Whatever the case, we will know once we watch."
The crowd immediately grew restless.
Even heavyweight figures like Xue Wuyan, Princess Yuehan, and Crown Prince Xing Tian became more attentive. Their gazes all landed on Li Yun, and they watched him without blinking.
Amid the discussions of the crowd, Li Yun stepped forward calmly.
His sword appeared in his hand, and he casually swung out a single strike.
His movement was relaxed, natural, and almost careless.
After that one strike, he stopped moving and simply stood in place.
"This..."
"That is it? It is over?"
"No way. I waited so long for this, and it turns out he is just pretending?"
"He did not even derive a single variation. This Li Yun, the person who ranked second in the aptitude test, actually has such poor comprehension. This is truly unbelievable."
Everyone was stunned, and many could hardly believe their eyes.
What was going on?
With an aptitude of nine rings and one-third, even if Li Yun’s comprehension could not compare to Xue Wuyan’s, it should not have been this ridiculous.
Not a single variation.
This result was even worse than those who had been eliminated earlier. Such a performance was truly far below everyone’s expectations.
Xue Wuyan frowned slightly.
Princess Yuehan also revealed a trace of surprise.
As for Crown Prince Xing Tian, he immediately burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha. I was right, was I not? Trash will always be trash."
His face was filled with mocking delight as he raised his voice and ridiculed Li Yun without restraint. "Even if he has some aptitude, his comprehension is pitifully poor. This Li Yun is a complete waste. What a pity that such aptitude was given to someone like him."
"A small place is ultimately still a small place. Even if he managed to surprise everyone during the first phase, his true nature was bound to be exposed sooner or later. Trash from a small place like that can never truly stand on a grand stage."
"Trash, get out of the Heavenly Sword Sect."
As soon as Crown Prince Xing Tian spoke, many people quickly followed along.
Although Li Yun had displayed an aptitude of nine rings and one-third, the Heavenly Sword Sect valued comprehension even more than aptitude. This could be seen clearly from the fact that the elimination rate in the comprehension test was far higher than the aptitude test.
In their eyes, a person with such poor comprehension could never gain the recognition of the Heavenly Sword Sect, no matter how high his aptitude was.
Since Li Yun was destined to be eliminated, why should they still fear him?
Naturally, they took this chance to curry favor with Crown Prince Xing Tian by mocking Li Yun together.
However, at this moment, no one noticed that the green-robed elder suspended in midair had fallen into an extremely strange state.
His eyes were shining.
His face was filled with excitement, fanaticism, and disbelief, as though he had just discovered a peerless piece of unpolished jade.
"Good. Good. Good."
Suddenly, the green-robed elder shouted three times in succession, startling everyone in the plaza.
His burning gaze fell on Li Yun, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement as he declared, "Li Yun, your grade for this stage is superior."
