But suddenly, the way the Array exerted spiritual pressure changed.
If at first it had only been tugging at his soul, inflicting superficial pain to torment him...
...then now, it was as if a colossal, sky-cleaving axe was viciously hacking at his soul.
And with every swing, a piece of his soul was hewn off.
These severed soul fragments didn't disappear. Instead, they scattered Mo Qi's mental focus, as if forcibly making him divide his attention.
As the axe fell again and again, Mo Qi endured the searing agony of his soul being torn apart while his focus was continuously partitioned.
Doing three things at once... Four... Five...
Had it been anyone else, their consciousness would have long been lost in the pain as their mind was repeatedly split.
But Mo Qi was different. He didn't know how many simultaneous tasks were required to split a single hair into 13,600 strands. All he knew was that after a brief period of adjustment, this new spiritual pressure couldn't crush him.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred..." On the second floor of the great hall, Liu Hong was stroking his beard so forcefully that his voice trembled as he counted under his breath. In his excitement, he accidentally plucked out a tuft of it.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Liu Ruyan noticed Liu Hong's strange behavior.
"N-nothing..." Liu Hong waved his hands repeatedly, his throat feeling dry.
'It's already reached one hundred and fifty! Heavens, the kid is still holding on. Just how many things can he focus on at once?!' Liu Hong had only altered the Array in a playful mood, but who could have known that Mo Qi would give him such a massive surprise.
'Two hundred! This kid is a born Array Master!' Liu Hong glanced at Liu Ruyan. He hadn't expected the girl's judgment of character to be so sharp.
'But there's no rush. Let's first see what his character is like.'
Mo Qi had no idea that he had already been targeted by his future grandfather-in-law.
When his soul had been split into two hundred and thirty-two parts, the twenty minutes were up, and the Array automatically shut down.
All the pain receded like a tide, and Mo Qi, in a daze, saw the light once more.
He checked himself. Everything was normal. His consciousness was intact, and his soul was whole. It was as if everything he had just experienced was an illusion.
"The Dao of Arrays is truly wondrous," Mo Qi marveled.
Unsurprisingly, Mo Qi once again received a perfect score of twenty for the third stage.
Stepping out of the Array's range, a hundred-yard-long corridor appeared before Mo Qi's eyes.
Every ten yards stood either a Demon Beast or a Humanoid Puppet.
Mo Qi took a deep breath. He knew the hardest part of the test had arrived. This stage tested one's combat awareness.
Five years ago, Uncle Niu had fallen at this stage, torn to pieces by the first Demon Beast.
At the corridor's entrance, two rows of weapons were arranged on the left and right for challengers to choose from.
Mo Qi selected a long staff made of refined steel. It was golden from end to end. He hefted it in his hands.
'Much better-looking than my Fire Stick.'
He had never learned any Combat Techniques, let alone Martial Techniques. Although his Sword Skill was his greatest strength, he still chose the staff as his weapon, as it could be used for both offense and defense and had a longer reach.
This was the first real fight of his life. While he couldn't say he was scared, he was still quite nervous.
"Do you think Chef Mo can make it through?"
"It's hard to say. Given the physical strength he's shown, it shouldn't be a problem in theory. But the key issue is that he's just a cook. He has all that brute strength, but if he doesn't know how to fight, there's no way he'll pass this stage."
"I agree. I remember Chef Mo used to have a master with the surname Niu. He died in the fourth stage five years ago. I doubt anyone taught him how to fight."
Hearing the crowd's discussion, Wang Hao and Fang Min revealed sinister smiles.
'Mo Qi, oh, Mo Qi, I'd like to see just how you're going to pass this stage!'
Mo Qi walked into the corridor, carrying the long staff.
Waiting for him at the ten-yard mark was a pure white Demon Tiger. While not yet a true Demon Beast, it already possessed a degree of intelligence and understood some rudimentary Cultivation Techniques. Compared to an ordinary beast, this Demon Tiger was far more powerful.
Upon seeing a living person, a vicious light filled the Demon Tiger's eyes. It rose to its feet, standing over two meters tall with a body nearly five meters long.
In front of it, Mo Qi looked like a tiny speck.
"I recognize you. Five years ago, you were the one who killed Uncle Niu," Mo Qi said calmly, his eyes narrowing to slits as he stared at the Demon Tiger.
No matter the outcome today, he would give his all to kill this Demon Tiger and avenge Uncle Niu.
However, he didn't attack immediately. He hadn't learned any offensive techniques and didn't know what abilities the Demon Tiger possessed. Rather than flailing about blindly, it was better to let the Demon Tiger make the first move while he watched for an opportunity and a weakness.
The Demon Tiger snorted. It didn't rush to attack, but instead circled Mo Qi, its eyes full of mockery and disdain. It could clearly understand human speech.
For a moment, man and tiger were locked in a stalemate.
In the great hall, everyone wore looks of confusion.
"Why isn't Chef Mo moving? This is a race against time! The faster you pass this stage, the better your score."
"I think the Demon Tiger has him scared stiff. His legs have gone soft, and he doesn't dare to move," one of Wang Hao's lackeys finally found a chance to jeer.
"He'll end up just like his master with the surname Niu—torn to pieces by this Demon Tiger, hahaha."
Wang Hao and Fang Min exchanged a look and smiled. This was the script they had been hoping to see.
Not far away, the Inspector Elder suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead.
'Oh no, I didn't tell the kid the rules for the fourth stage. Don't tell me he doesn't know?'
The fourth stage of the entrance exam didn't require one to defeat the Demon Beasts and Puppets in the corridor. One only had to ensure their own survival and escape from them to the other end of the corridor.
The score was determined by how quickly one escaped.
Although the Demon Beasts and Puppets in the corridor were not of a high Realm and their strength wasn't overwhelming, their combat awareness was top-notch.
It might not be effective against powerful experts, but against a rookie just stepping onto the Martial Dao, it was bound to be devastating.
Just as the Inspector Elder was about to open the Obsidian Gate to remind Mo Qi, the Demon Tiger lost its patience. With a roar, it pounced at Mo Qi like a flash of lightning.
"He's finished!"
This was what most people thought, because this Demon Tiger was a Wind Tiger, renowned for its speed.
When facing a Wind Tiger, especially for a Low-Tier Cultivator, if you couldn't finish it before it made its move, the Cultivator would be the one to die. There would be no escape.
SHLICK~
The sound of flesh being torn came from the light screen. Those who had been certain of Mo Qi's death all froze.
The image froze. The Demon Tiger had been impaled by the long staff in Mo Qi's hands. The staff entered through its mouth and exited the back of its head, lifting it into the air. Its body was still caught in the motion of its pounce.
"Th-that's impossible... Did any of you see what just happened?"
"I saw it... It looked like the Demon Tiger ran right onto the staff itself. That's right, it just ran right into it."
As ridiculous as it sounded, seeing was believing. Even Wang Hao, who had already reached Qi Refining Ninth Heaven, had to believe this explanation, because that was exactly what he had seen.
Only the Inspector Elder and, on the second floor, Liu Ruyan and her grandfather knew that was a load of crap. Mo Qi's movements had simply been too fast. The instant the Demon Tiger postured to pounce, he had already shoved the staff into its mouth.
The Demon Tiger hadn't even had time to react before it impaled itself.
What terrifying reaction and execution speed was that?!
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it.
"I told you Brother Mo is the best!" Liu Ruyan's face broke into a smile that could topple nations, and she relaxed her sweaty palms, which she had clenched in nervousness.
Inside the corridor, Mo Qi lowered the Demon Tiger's corpse and pulled out his staff, a little puzzled. 'Its movements were a bit slow. How did Uncle Niu die at the hands of this beast? Was it because the previous stages exhausted his stamina?'
If the people outside knew that Mo Qi actually found the Wind Tiger's speed to be slow, who knows what they would think.
To split a single strand of hair into 13,600 threads in the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, without interruption and without it falling.
Mo Qi himself didn't realize just how powerful his neural reaction speed and physical execution speed had to be to accomplish such a feat.