The bell rang, shattering the lingering stillness after the Talent trial. A deep, resonant voice echoed across the arena:
"Prepare to proceed to the second segment: the Application trial. All candidates enter the combat grounds."
The lighting shifted. The stone floor split into vast panels that rearranged themselves into a wide plaza layered with elevated stone platforms. Sixteen energy-conducting walls stood around the perimeter, eight stone pillars rose upright, and currents of white-violet Spiritual Energy drifted in the air like sentient mist.
Lyra spoke within Duong Minh's consciousness:
"This segment is far more difficult. They are testing your ability to apply Spiritual Energy. The others have trained for years."
Duong Minh inhaled slowly. He could see every current of energy circulating around the arena, yet he did not know how to optimize it like true Dao Cultivators. In the previous trial he had experimented with compressing Spiritual Energy into a single punch, but other methods of application were not so simple.
And that was precisely why this trial felt more terrifying than anything before.
Around two hundred candidates were divided into groups of eight. Each group entered a smaller "arena" where they had to apply Spiritual Energy to overcome practical scenarios. Duong Minh was placed in a group with Thanh Cuong, Arjun, and several other highly talented competitors. He quietly observed and recorded information about each of them:
Thanh Cuong – East Asia, deep foundation, stable blue aura, cold demeanor.
• Arjun – South Asia, strong Fire root, blazing red energy, movement light as smoke.
• Morga – Northern Europe, towering physique, earth-yellow aura, force so heavy the stone floor trembled when he stepped in.
• Rin Saito – Japan, small frame yet swift, sword energy sharp as slicing wind.
• Sena Kaori – Japan, water-blue aura, specialized in manipulating objects through Spiritual Energy.
• Gao Tie – Mainland China, muscular build, advanced Gravity Art, each step compressing the air against the ground.
Thanh Cuong glanced sideways at him. "This is real combat. If you're afraid of getting hurt, withdraw now."
Rin Saito rested her slender blade on her shoulder and smiled faintly. "For someone who trained only a few days to reach this stage… intriguing."
Arjun, however, looked at Duong Minh with respect. "If you pass this segment, I'll believe you're a true genius."
Duong Minh only smiled. Words meant nothing before a trial. In a few minutes, strength would speak for itself.
At the center of the arena, light flared. A massive stone weighing over three hundred jin rose from beneath the ground.
Master Lieu Chan announced:
"First test: Control of Energy. You must use Spiritual Energy to lift this stone three meters into the air. The faster and more stable the lift, the higher your score."
Thanh Cuong stepped forward first. He placed a hand before his chest, channeling blue energy from his dantian to his palm.
"Whoosh!"
The aura twisted into threads and lifted the stone as easily as raising a ball. Within three breaths, it reached three meters, hovering steadily as though resting on solid ground.
A judge praised, "Excellent."
Arjun stepped up next. His hands did not touch the stone. He guided a torrent of heated energy upward like a column of fire. The stone shot into the air immediately.
"Good."
Rin Saito made a light sword stroke. Sword energy, thin as threads, lifted the stone smoothly into the air.
"Light sword technique. Solid foundation of a Sword Cultivator."
Morga relied on brute force and protective aura, his yellow energy clinging to his arms. The lift was rough, but firm and unwavering.
Sena Kaori moved gracefully, her water-like energy soft yet precise, raising the stone as gently as lifting a child.
For the others, this was a basic exercise in energy manipulation. With proper control, whether through sword aura, rigid aura, or other forms, lifting the stone posed little challenge.
But for Duong Minh, it was different.
He had only learned to compress Spiritual Energy crudely and release it as a punch. He had not yet trained in fine control.
When his turn came, he stepped toward the stone, inhaled deeply, and circulated Spiritual Energy through the Ren and Du meridians before guiding it outward along his channels into his palms. He saw clearly the currents of energy surrounding the stone—the nodal points that needed to be pulled, the angles that required pressure. He wrapped his aura around the underside of the stone, concentrating force on the most efficient nodes.
The stone trembled.
It lifted a few centimeters off the ground.
Shaking.
"Keep going, you're doing it right," Lyra cheered.
Duong Minh focused, increasing the Spiritual Energy flowing into his palms. The Fire Serpent flared from the first chakra unexpectedly, blazing upward. Startled, his hands trembled. The energy shifted off balance and—
"BAM!"
The stone flipped sideways and slammed into the ground, shaking the entire arena.
No one laughed.
The silence was worse.
Then Thanh Cuong burst into laughter. "Seems he hasn't had a single lesson in energy control."
Gao Tie crossed his arms. "At least he lifted it. Some beginners can't even sense the energy."
Arjun looked at him sympathetically. "The next test will be harder. Prepare yourself."
Duong Minh did not respond. Nor did he feel disappointed. For someone who had only encountered Spiritual Energy three days ago, he had set no grand expectations.
Instead, curiosity and excitement overpowered every other emotion.
He saw it—truly saw it.
He saw the rigid aura streaming from Thanh Cuong's palm to lift the stone. That current resembled the white energy he had absorbed earlier.
He saw Rin Saito's sword energy—thin yet razor sharp, flexible yet powerful.
He saw Morga's protective aura, Sena Kaori's water energy. Each sight filled him with childlike excitement, like tasting candy for the first time.
Duong Minh possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to Spiritual Energy and to every derivative form transformed from it. With his scientific mindset and half-formed understanding of the Path of Dao, he reached a conclusion:
The body of a Dao Cultivator was a "factory," absorbing and transforming Spiritual Energy through different methods into various functional energies—rigid aura, sword energy, protective aura, water energy…
And those transformation methods must be what they called cultivation techniques.
Yes. There had to be techniques for this. And Master Tinh Khong surely knew them.
A sense of grounding settled within him. Master Tinh Khong had promised to wholeheartedly teach him the Path of Dao.
Without realizing it, Duong Minh grinned mischievously, causing Arjun to shiver when he noticed.
"Has he cracked under pressure?"
Amid the curious and wary gazes around him, one thing became increasingly clear:
Duong Minh was not learning the Path of Dao the way they did.