Elder Cheng, although eager to find Mu Jinyu and discuss the Alchemy Dao with him, also knew that rashly seeking him out now could ruin things, so he decided to wait until after the Outer Gate examination ended to do so.
He no longer paid too much attention to Mu Jinyu; instead, he walked with Elder Lin Feng to the front of the high platform, quietly waiting for Lin Feng to announce the start of the Outer Gate examination.
Standing on the high platform, Lin Feng surveyed the quiet crowd below and spoke, "The semiannual Outer Gate examination has arrived once again, and this time, I am presiding over it. I hope that this time, we'll have more disciples pass through the trials and enter the Inner Gate."
"I won't bore you with a long speech since I guess you don't like to listen to it. Alright, let me introduce the rewards for this examination. The top ten will receive one Superior-grade Spirit Stone; the top three will receive ten High-Grade Spirit Stones each; the first place will not only get the privilege to select a Secret Manual from the second layer of the Scripture Pavilion but also thirty High-Grade Spirit Stones and the right to cultivate in the Heaven Cave Blessed Land for three days!"
His voice fell!
"Wow!"
"Is that true? The reward for this Outer Gate examination is the most generous in history!"
The crowd on the scene couldn't help but be astonished by the rewards for this examination.
After all, it was just the Outer Gate examination, and in the Heavenly Sword Faction, it didn't actually account for much. So, the rewards in the past were very ordinary; generally, the top ten would receive a Second-Grade Elixir, and only the top three would be rewarded with a few Superior-grade Spirit Stones.
For the first place, it was merely a bottle of pills, a few Superior Grade Spirit Stones, and a single entry to the first layer of the Scripture Pavilion!
This time, the reward had significantly increased, which was completely beyond their expectations.
With such thoughts in mind, they couldn't help but turn to look at Mu Jinyu, who stood together with Wu Lei and the others.
They thought to themselves that the reward for the Outer Gate examination had been doubled, and it was likely changed for his sake.
And since the reward had gotten such a substantial raise,
Then, this Outer Gate examination would probably be far more competitive than before!
They all wondered if Mu Jinyu, with his Spirit Root talent, could surpass the three great experts of the Outer Sect and take first place.
Wu Lei and Li Xiaoxiao, when they heard Lin Feng's announcement, their expressions became a few shades more serious, and their eyes grew hotter.
Although the reward for first place was not something they desperately desired, it was still appealing. Furthermore, it seemed the sect was somewhat intent on using them as stepping stones for Mu Jinyu, which made them even more determined to excel and defeat Mu Jinyu.
To let the sect see clearly who the most deserving disciple was to be nurtured!
They turned their heads to look at Mu Jinyu, their eyes blazing with the fire of fighting spirit.
Mu Jinyu remained expressionless and wasn't too concerned about the rewards; he was just wondering if he might find any rare Pill Formulas in the second layer of the Scripture Pavilion.
Elder Lin Feng on the platform, after announcing the rewards for this Outer Gate examination, fell silent for a while, allowing the crowd to digest the information. When the hubbub had gradually died down, he spoke again:
"Alright, everyone is clear about the rewards. I hope you'll all try harder. Next, the Outer Gate examination officially begins. As per the old rules, you will go to the screening passage. Hidden within the Wooden Dummies are fifty tokens. Those who first obtain a token and exit the passage will gain the qualification for the following official trials!"
"Prepare yourselves, in three minutes, I will open the screening passage!"
Mu Jinyu, upon hearing Lin Feng's words, looked at the throngs of people, shoulder to shoulder, waves of them like a surging tide, and knew that with so many participants in the Outer Gate examination, it would take days to conduct individual battles.
Thus, they would conduct a one-time selection to sift out the fifty qualified Outer Sect Disciples, starting the competition for first place.
In this way, much effort would be saved, and the truly capable would definitely not be hindered by this mere screening passage.
The three minutes swiftly passed by.
The participants also arrived at a stone wall on the eastern side of the plaza at this precise moment, waiting for the screening passage to open.
"Three minutes are up, the examination begins!"
Timing it perfectly, Lin Feng announced loudly the moment the three minutes were reached.
"Boom boom boom!"
As his voice trailed off.
The stone wall to the east split heavy and resolute to either side, revealing a dim and murky passage within, deep and silent, its destination unknown.
"Charge!"
"Charge!!"
"The Pass Token is mine!!"
As the stone walls parted, nearly five hundred Outer Sect Disciples instantly swarmed into the passage!
No one was thinking about letting their seniors go first at this time!
They all harbored the sentiment that striking first gave one an advantage, believing that the earlier they entered, the greater their chance of obtaining the Pass Token.
Mu Jinyu and Wu Lei, like the others, had not rushed in with the crowd.
He was quietly waiting for these Outer Sect Disciples to charge in first.
Because he understood that if the sect was using this selection passage to filter out the most capable candidates, it certainly would not make the foolish decision of allowing the first entrant an easier chance at obtaining the Pass Token.
Especially since he just remembered Elder Lin Feng stressing that the Pass Tokens were hidden inside the wooden dummies, indicating that these dummies were not simple at all.
If one's strength was too weak, even if they were the first to enter, even if they knew which wooden dummy contained the Pass Token, could they defeat the dummy and get their hands on the token?
And having obtained it, could they ensure they would be able to take the token out without being robbed?
Therefore, Mu Jinyu was confident and undisturbed by the idea of letting these people go ahead.
Tent minutes passed.
Finally, those five hundred people had successively surged into the selection passage.
"Junior Brother Mu, after you."
Li Xiaoxiao turned her head to glance at Mu Jinyu, a flash of admiration in her eyes, thinking to herself that this guy was truly extraordinary to be so composed during his first Outer Gate trial, opting to depart only at the end. She then extended the invitation.
"Hmm, let's go."
Mu Jinyu saw Chen Qiuqiao giving him a deep look before stepping into the selection passage without a word. He nodded to Li Xiaoxiao and followed.
Afterward, he led Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan, catching up with Wu Lei and the others on their way into the selection passage.
Upon entering the passage, Mu Jinyu instantly noticed the chaotic footprints inside, as well as a few damaged wooden dummies before encountering ten diverging paths that led in different directions.
"In these ten forks, there are at least three Pass Tokens in each, so there's no need for us to start fighting in the passages just to get through, right?"
Li Xiaoxiao suggested with a charming smile, proposing that the six of them split up to seize the Pass Tokens.
"Alright."
Everyone agreed, and then Chen Qiuqiao and Wu Lei picked a fork and strode into it!
Li Xiaoxiao gave Mu Jinyu another look, then chose another fork, her figure quickly disappearing from sight.
"Little Mu, should we also split up?"
Wen Rou recalled what Li Xiaoxiao had just said, that there were at least three Pass Tokens in each fork, so she pondered whether to separate from Mu Jinyu.
"Yes, let's split up. Consider it a test. Anyway, the Outer Gate trial doesn't have much to offer. Even if you don't manage to get a Pass Token in the end and get screened out, it's no big loss. But, I think you should be able to pass. Good luck!", said Mu Jinyu, cheering Wen Rou on.