After the Examiner Elder finished speaking, he called out ten names and let them enter to take the test.
It was obvious that these ten people had previously participated in the reaction speed assessment and were quite familiar with the checkpoints inside.
Even before stepping into the passage, they all appeared to be very cautious.
Mu Jinyu and Wen Rou stood together, focusing intently, wanting to observe the hidden intricacies of this reaction speed test.
"Boom!!"
As soon as the ten individuals stepped into the passage, the eighteen Bronze Men trembled slightly, then their eyes gleamed with red light as they began moving.
Seeing this, the ten people hesitated slightly but continued to keep cautious, taking each step very carefully as they advanced!
"In that case, they might as well rush through before the Bronze Men wake up."
Wen Rou, unable to discern any intricacies, questioned seeing the eighteen Bronze Men awakening.
Mu Jinyu said, "It shouldn't be that simple. Let's watch a bit more."
"Boom boom boom!"
In just three seconds, the once stiff-limbed Bronze Men suddenly became as nimble as normal humans, their arms and waists twisting without a trace of stiffness.
Then, the eighteen Bronze Men made great strides towards the ten testers!
Their movements were extremely agile and natural, completely masking the fact that they were Bronze Men.
"Swish swish swish!!"
As the Bronze Men charged at the ten testers, the passageway shook violently, triggering numerous traps. Instantly, countless hidden weapons, darts, crossbow bolts, flowing sand, snares, falling rocks... all shot towards them!
The ten individuals, slightly panicked, quickly displayed their movement techniques to dodge these hidden weapons and avoid the slaughter by the Bronze Men!
The strength showcased by these Bronze Men was far from a rigid and single approach; it adjusted based on their targeted opponents.
For instance, if a Bronze Man's target was at the Fifth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm, then his power would elevate to the Sixth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm, always overwhelming their target. This left hardly any room for brute force, the only way to get through was skillful footwork and dodging!
"It's indeed very challenging."
Seeing this scene, Mu Jinyu knew that this reaction speed test was by no means simpler than Zhongfeng's test of speed.
"Boom!!"
At this point, someone inadvertently triggered a trap, the ground tiles flipped over, revealing sharp sword tips underneath!
"Ah!!"
One person screamed, nearly falling in. He quickly used his movement technique, narrowly avoiding the trap by dodging sideways.
However, avoiding the pit, he was struck by a flurry of sand and stones on his back, turning his face pale and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
At this time, the Examiner Elder intervened, using his True Essence Power to pull him out.
Otherwise, the person might have died in there.
Being rescued by the Examiner Elder naturally meant he failed the test.
"Boom!"
At the same time, someone else triggered another trap, retracting a stone tile from the passage ceiling, releasing a sea of fire!
"Boom boom boom!!"
Fortunately, that person reacted in time, enduring a few hits from the Bronze Men to escape, avoiding being roasted.
However, even so, he ended up in a miserable state, with burnt hair and tattered clothes from the Bronze Men's grip.
Soon, the time for three joss sticks to burn had passed. Among the remaining nine, the furthest had only made it halfway, each having been hit over thirty times.
They all failed!
Then, another group went in for the test, but they too were entirely defeated.
Batch after batch entered, and soon over a hundred had taken the test, but only a handful managed to pass.
"Why is this test so strict? Most people don't stand a chance of passing!"
Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan, having failed as well, complained to Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu reached out to pat Wen Rou's head and smiled, "Because this test is to select the talents to participate in the Four Sects Martial Meeting. If Inner Sect disciples could pass the test easily but their overall performance was lacking, wouldn't it bring disgrace to our sect when facing others? Naturally, it has to be much harder than the Outer Gate exam."
"Really?" Wen Rou looked up at Mu Jinyu with sparkling eyes, "But if that's the case, why not just let the top talents from the List of Outstanding Talents go directly?"
Mu Jinyu said, "How do you know that there aren't Inner Sect disciples who prefer not to stand out and love challenges? Some might have the skills to be on the List of Outstanding Talents but never tried for it. They might only show their true potential in such challenges."
"Moreover, aside from the top three, the strength of those in the forefront of the List of Outstanding Talents is fairly similar, between the Eighth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm and the Seventh Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm. Their rankings come from real combat, which doesn't necessarily equate to superior speed or strength."
"The sect's arrangement might be because the Four Sects Martial Meeting includes various challenges, not just duels among disciples..."
Mu Jinyu speculated.
"Hmm, Junior Brother Mu, your guess is correct. The Four Sects Martial Meeting indeed includes various challenges, not just disciples' duels..."
Yun Ge chimed in.
By this time, those taking the test in the passageway had been replaced by the top twenty from the List of Outstanding Talents. From the start, one could see someone using an unusual movement technique, spreading their arms like a crane, swiftly covering a third of the passage without triggering any traps.
By then, his movement technique couldn't sustain his flight anymore, so he landed, clashing with the Bronze Men for a few moves before dodging and continuing forward.
However, his earlier clash with the Bronze Men triggered certain traps, unleashing another barrage of hidden weapons.
This caused him to spend more time dodging.
Eventually, he passed through, but two joss sticks worth of time had already passed.
Mu Jinyu, seeing this, turned to Wen Rou, "Look, the first one to pass was the twentieth on the List of Outstanding Talents, whereas the eleventh is still stuck two-thirds of the way through. Is this test necessary?"
Wen Rou stuck out her small tongue and said, "I understand now, it is indeed necessary."
Jian Ruyan stood aside, watching Wen Rou's cute movements. Despite having gotten somewhat used to it over time, it still felt a little uncomfortable.
Soon, the time for three joss sticks had passed. This batch, though, passed successfully, with some barely making it within the time limit.
"Next, Yun Ge, Wei Ziping, Mu Jinyu, Wei Qingfeng..."
As the ten finished, the Examiner Elder continued to announce the names.
The reason Mu Jinyu and other top ten talents were called together wasn't intentional but out of consideration for ordinary disciples.
Since the Bronze Men inside would adjust their strength according to the testers, if Yun Ge participated with ordinary disciples, the Bronze Men targeting Yun Ge would rise to the Fanxu Realm. If Yun Ge dodged their attacks, they might accidentally injure others.
The consequences would be dire.
So similar strength participants were grouped together.