Chapter 1936: Chapter 1933: Entrance Test
Just as Lin Tian and the two women exchanged glances, a ray of light pierced through the mist, shining upon the cliff’s summit — it was the morning sunlight. The mist quickly dissipated, revealing the full view of the blurred mountain silhouette ahead.
It was a solitary peak, standing taller than the cliff top, connected to the cliff only by a single iron chain, like the Qingshuang Pavilion, with a large iron chain spanning the mountain gorge.
At the pinnacle of this solitary peak stood a nine-story tower, constructed of brick and wood with octagonal flying eaves. It resembled the sword casting tower of the Qingshuang Pavilion, but each corner of the tower hanging down an iron chain anchoring it to the ground, as if to prevent the tower from flying away, sealing it with iron chains.
"Such a bizarre design," Lin Tian couldn’t help but say. He had seen many towers, with the ancient tower of the Fanyin Temple and the sword casting tower of the Qingshuang Pavilion leaving the deepest impressions.
However, those two towers appeared normal on the outside, while this one before him was locked to the ground with iron chains. The chains were very thick, and each one likely weighed over a thousand pounds. Forget about how they were installed; just transporting eight iron chains to the solitary peak was a miracle.
Even in modern times, it wouldn’t be easy to transport something weighing thousands of pounds to a solitary peak, let alone in ancient times. The style and age of this tower suggested it wasn’t a modern construction.
Zhang Lingyu took two steps forward, looking up, saying, "This is the Spirit Suppressing Tower, built together with the Zhang Family mansion, with a history spanning over a thousand years."
"Your family’s antiques are really numerous. No, I should say, even the house is an antique. The Spirit Suppressing Tower has withstood the winds and rains of centuries without damage?" Lin Tian asked curiously. It should be known that even the ancient seal that sealed Jiang Chen had broken, though only temporarily.
"The main structure of the Spirit Suppressing Tower is made of King Kong jade, with main beams crafted from iron birch soaked in Spirit Talisman Water, making them non-decay for a thousand years. Additionally, the tower’s foundation is integrated with the mountain peak, communicating with the earth’s veins. As long as the earth’s veins do not deplete, the Spirit Suppressing Tower will not fall," Zhang Lingyu said proudly.
"Really extravagant, each brick must be worth a fortune. But you said as long as the earth’s veins don’t deplete, the Spirit Suppressing Tower won’t fall. That’s not necessarily true, right? If it were subjected to a powerful external force, wouldn’t it collapse? Like Jiang Chen..." Lin Tian expressed some skepticism.
The two women exchanged a glance, and this time Zhang Lingyu didn’t speak; instead, Zhang Ruyan spoke: "The Spirit Suppressing Tower is connected to the Zhang Family’s Grand Barrier. If the Spirit Suppressing Tower could be destroyed, it would surely mean the Grand Barrier could also be destroyed. In that scenario, the Zhang Family would have likely suffered a catastrophic disaster. At that point, does it even matter if the Spirit Suppressing Tower is broken?"
"That’s true," Lin Tian nodded, then asked, "Is there anyone guarding the Spirit Suppressing Tower?"
"No, the Spirit Suppressing Tower has its own sealing Barrier and doesn’t require human guarding," Zhang Mingxing answered promptly. Seeing his earnest and clever demeanor, Lin Tian and the three others couldn’t help but laugh.
"You sure know a lot," Lin Tian said, patting his head with amusement.
Feeling praised, Zhang Mingxing happily replied, "Of course, wanting to become a Demon Exorcist, one needs to know these basic things."
Lin Tian turned to Zhang Lingyu and said, "Such an ambitious young man, can’t your master take him on as a disciple? You can’t just keep him hanging on like this, can you?"
Zhang Lingyu looked a bit troubled and finally sighed: "He hasn’t even passed the most basic test; the master also has no choice." Zhang Mingxing looked somewhat embarrassed, feeling a bit ashamed.
Lin Tian raised his eyebrows, saying, "What test?"
Zhang Lingyu didn’t answer immediately but took out a red talisman paper from her body, her fingers quickly folding it into a paper crane in a few moves.
She opened her hand, laying the paper crane flat on her palm, focusing her gaze on the crane as if concentrating her thoughts. Then a magical scene occurred: the paper crane began to rise slowly, as if it had come to life and could fly!
Zhang Lingyu stored the paper crane and handed it to Lin Tian, saying indifferently, "This is the test. The talisman paper has a special spell cast on it. Before a prospective disciple can join, they must do as I just did—focus their mind, use their thoughts to communicate with the spell, and make the paper bird fly. Only those who succeed can become formal disciples."
"Typically, prospective disciples, after a month of training, can generally lift the paper bird. Some with less talent may need training for three months, or even six months."
"This is still manageable; though it takes a bit longer, at least they pass the test. However, some people, regardless of how long they train, can never lift the paper bird. They cannot pass the test and thus can’t become formal disciples. Zhang Mingxing is the latter," Zhang Lingyu explained with some regret.
"Isn’t that a bit unreliable, expecting ordinary people to train for a month and then perform a Taoist magic that can make a paper crane fly, right? I really doubt its fairness," Lin Tian expressed dissatisfaction and suspicion.
"You can also try it and experience it. Those with exceptional talent might not need any training at all. They might be able to lift the paper bird after just getting familiar with it a few times," Zhang Lingyu said calmly without defending further.
Lin Tian pursed his lips, feeling competitive: "I’ll give it a go then."
After speaking, he placed the paper crane in his palm, the other three watching him, especially Zhang Mingxing.
How should I communicate? I haven’t undergone any training, Lin Tian thought as he looked at the paper crane. He didn’t want to back down in front of the Beautiful Sky Master.
Wait, while I haven’t trained in Taoist magic, I’ve always practiced the Sword Control Technique. A flash of inspiration crossed Lin Tian’s mind as he recalled how he usually practiced the Crescent Blade.
Lin Tian slightly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze had become as calm as water, locking onto the paper crane. In the depths of his pupils, the shadow of the paper crane seemed to be reflected.
As he concentrated his thoughts on the paper crane, he almost instantly sensed the strange fluctuations on the paper bird. With a fortuitous intention in his mind, Lin Tian thought: Rise!
A magical scene appeared, the paper crane really rose, and Zhang Lingyu, Zhang Ruyan, and Zhang Mingxing widened their eyes. Lin Tian himself was also amazed, having succeeded, and in his excitement, he controlled the paper crane with his thoughts, making it fly like a real bird.
The paper crane indeed flew overhead, circling above the few of them. At this, Zhang Lingyu and Zhang Ruyan were utterly dumbfounded, looking at Lin Tian as if he were a monster, while Zhang Mingxing was already awestruck, his face soon filled with admiration.
"Descend!" Lin Tian commanded with another thought, and the paper crane circled once before landing steadily back into his palm.
After observing Lin Tian for a long time, the three were silent, until Zhang Lingyu finally spoke: "You are..."
She wanted to say, are you a zombie or a Demon Exorcist? However, remembering Zhang Mingxing’s presence, she swallowed back the rest of her words.
Lin Tian returned the paper crane to the Beautiful Sky Master, smiling: "Does this mean I’ve passed the Zhang Family’s initiation test?"
"That’s right, you’ve passed the initiation test," Zhang Lingyu had to admit but then added, "However, even if you’ve passed the test, you still can’t become an official disciple of the Zhang Family."
