With the revival of spiritual energy, I cultivated the Great Emperor's Technique on Blue Star.

On the high platform, Lin Yan quietly looked down at the flow of people being tested, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

Talent has never been the only factor determining the upper limit of cultivation. According to the universe he knew well, countless geniuses with talents that could be called the best in the nine heavens and ten earths ended up failing on the path to becoming an emperor because of their weak Dao heart. For example, that genius surnamed Wang with the "talent of an emperor".

The first round of selection only eliminates those who do not pass temporarily; the real test lies in the second round of trials of character.

Compared to the tests of the first two days, the third day was much faster. The entire assessment was completed in just one morning, marking the end of the first round of assessments.

The statistics of the entire university are simultaneously published at the top of the official website: a total of 345,670,890 people participated in the independent enrollment examination this time, but the proportion of people who met the comprehensive score standard was only about one ten-thousandth, a total of 34,507 people.

Its cruelty far exceeds people's imagination!

The eliminated candidates left the venue dejectedly. Although filled with regret, they mostly stayed up to watch the official live stream to witness the results of the subsequent assessments. Meanwhile, the more than 30,000 who passed gradually calmed their initial excitement and focused on honing their skills to ensure a smooth passage through the second round of exams.

"If I pass one more hurdle, I'll officially become a member of Jiangcheng Martial Arts University!"

There are countless candidates who hold this kind of thought, unaware that what awaits them is a test that directly targets their weaknesses and will amplify the evil thoughts in their hearts.

The next day, at 7:00 AM.

All the candidates in Jiangcheng who passed the first round of assessments gathered together. Of the different examination areas that had been divided up a few days ago, only one remained. A simple black tower standing at the very front of the examination area attracted everyone's attention.

Shortly after, a powerful broadcast voice rang out, its tone more serious than before: "The second round of the exam, the Trial of the Mind and Nature, is out of 100 points, with 60 points required to pass. Before the formal assessment, candidates are allowed to choose whether to continue participating in the assessment."

"This assessment is tailored to each individual and will reflect the five inner demons of greed, anger, ignorance, fear, and delusion deep within the candidate's heart. All the temptations and suffering within the illusion originate from the inherent nature of living beings, and there is no external force interfering with the outcome of the assessment..."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone saw that the ancient, pitch-black tower, which was dozens of feet tall, had its doors wide open, like a ferocious beast opening the gaping maw of an abyss, waiting for each "food" to line up and enter.

In reality, the tower is essentially a small, independent secret realm, imprinted with special Dao patterns that touch upon the level of will. It is a treasure unearthed from ancient ruins, seemingly a training ground used by powerful forces during the golden age of antiquity to hone the skills of their disciples.

Now, they've used it as the testing ground for the second round of character assessments for the candidates, truly making the best use of it.

Soon, all the Jiangcheng examinees arrived at the ancient tower one after another. Following the instructions, they injected their unique energy into the stone tablet next to them. Then, they were pulled into the tower by an irresistible force. The light and shadow in front of them were distorted, and the originally solemn examination room instantly turned into a series of different scenes.

A seventeen-year-old boy entered the tower and the first thing he saw was a familiar farmhouse. His parents were healthy, the granary was full, and he didn't have to worry about making a living. There was no so-called spiritual revival or the world-shaking crisis of alien invasion.

A gentle yet highly seductive voice echoed in his mind: "The path of cultivation is harder than ascending to heaven. It is destined to traverse countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood. A slight misstep will lead to death and the dissipation of one's cultivation, and may even implicate one's parents and relatives. It is better to stay in one's hometown, live a peaceful life, and live out one's life in an ordinary way..."

The young man was in a daze. Whenever he wanted to leave the peaceful little courtyard, his parents and relatives would gently dissuade him, and he almost became immersed in the comfortable illusion in front of him.

"Dad, Mom, I wish I could stay with you a little longer, but I can't, you're both gone!"

With tears in his eyes, the young man recalled the image of his parents sacrificing themselves to protect him and others, and remembered his original intention of honing his body day and night and practicing the body-strengthening techniques.

He longed for power—the power to protect his family, the power to kill his enemies!

"I don't want to live a life of ease; I want those enemies who dare to invade my Great Xia to die!"

He roared to the sky, his will terrifyingly resolute at that moment. The illusion surrounding the courtyard shattered inch by inch. At the same time, a beam of light suddenly shone on the stone tablet outside the tower, and the boy's name appeared on it—

Gu Changce!

"Gu Changce, character score: 90, qualified."

Specialized teachers from Wuhan University score and record the brightness of the light shining on the stone tablet.

Gu Changce walked out of the ancient tower, his back soaked with cold sweat and his legs slightly weak, but his eyes showed an unimaginable determination. Step by step, he walked behind the teacher from Wuhan University and straightened his chest.

Above his head, a warm, golden ray of sunlight shone down, drawing applause and cheers from countless people.

This is the first candidate to successfully pass the test, and the first one to break through to a terrifying level of 90 points undoubtedly gives others a sense of reassurance.

"Perhaps, the illusion of the mind is not as difficult as we think."

However, the performance of the next candidate took them by surprise, and their hearts sank.

He was a genius with considerable cultivation. Although he couldn't compare to those young prodigies who broke through to the third rank early on, he had still reached the second rank, but he fell victim to his inner demons.

After entering the illusion, he transformed into a prodigy even more talented than "Lin Yan," and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. He easily broke through to the fourth and fifth ranks, and even reached a higher realm that even national-level experts had not been able to reach, thus taking control of the martial arts of the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

Endless rare and precious materials were presented to him, all the noble families and sects bowed down in worship, and hundreds of millions of people praised his supreme fame.

The supreme authority and the power to suppress all ages—under such temptation, he was completely lost in the false dream of the pinnacle, unwilling to awaken, until his spirit deteriorated to the extreme, at which point the ancient tower automatically sent him out.

Everyone's inner demons are different, and the illusions they experience will naturally vary greatly.

Some people grieve the loss of loved ones, and their illusions repeat this pain day after day; some are trapped in a desperate situation, surrounded by enemies, isolated and helpless; some possess endless wealth and longevity, indulging in pleasure; some spend their entire lives in anonymity, only to be subjected to endless scorn and slander...

Time passed slowly, and finally it was time for the last candidate to emerge.

Throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty, more than 30,000 people entered the second round, but less than one-tenth of them were able to pass, failing to even reach the planned enrollment target of 3,000!