"Yes, you saw correctly. He's flying. Who can't fly? We all can, hahaha… heh heh heh… heh…"
Xiao Jin gradually stopped laughing, realizing his joke wasn't funny at all.
"Damn it!"
Xiao Jin roared, stepping onto his flying sword and rapidly moving forward beside the wind tunnel.
His speed was much greater than Wan Lei's. When Wan Lei reached seventy li, he caught up.
Wan Lei was still flying, but his speed had greatly reduced. The higher he went, the greater the pressure. Even though he had integrated with the lightning and become one with it, he still felt the immense pressure, which slowed him down.
However, this slow speed was relative to his previous speed, which was like a massive black rat. Compared to the people struggling to move, each step causing them to tremble, he zipped past.
"Is he even human?"
"We're both testers, why is this guy so fast?"
"He must be cheating. Did the pressure in the lightning tunnel disappear?"
"The tunnel must be broken."
Wan Lei's speed was too fast for him to hear the words of those he had left far behind.
At this moment, he had only one feeling.
Bliss!
This lightning was so pure. He felt like a man parched in a drought finally receiving rain, or someone who had drunk sewage suddenly getting sweet, pure water – he was parched, eager, and utterly exhilarated.
If this wasn't a test, he would be happy to cultivate here indefinitely.
The pressure in the tunnel was immense, but Wan Lei, as one with the lightning, felt very little of it.
Finally, under the dumbfounded gazes of the Five Elements Hall's assessment elders at the foot of the mountain at the end of the tunnel, he completed the passage and landed steadily on the ground.
Xiao Jin also landed beside him.
At the foot of the mountain was a row of tables, behind which sat several elders, all of them at the Boundless Realm cultivation level.
But at this moment, they had lost all elderly composure, their eyes wide with disbelief as they looked at Wan Lei.
Two minutes and ten seconds!
A common thought ran through all their minds:
"This must be fake!"
"Esteemed elders, this junior has completed the first assessment. May I proceed to the second?"
Wan Lei bowed respectfully with clasped hands. The elders snapped back to reality.
Some walked up to Wan Lei, examining him from head to toe, while others went to the tunnel to check if it was damaged.
"How is it? Is it broken?"
An old man in front of Wan Lei asked, looking into the distance.
The elders inspecting the tunnel came back to their senses and all shook their heads.
"What's going on?"
The elder looked at Wan Lei, extremely curious. Finally, he concluded,
"Perhaps the tunnel had a problem just now, or you used something. The score for those two minutes and ten seconds is invalid. You will have to attempt it again. Oh, and leave your storage bag and belongings here."
Wan Lei frowned upon hearing this and was about to speak when Xiao Jin indignantly interjected,
"Steward Liu, what do you mean? This tunnel was set up by the Immortal Venerable himself. Do you think anyone can cheat the Immortal Venerable? Are you looking down on the Immortal Venerable? My brother has clearly passed. What do you mean by invalid? Isn't this clearly bullying? I'm going to report you!"
Xiao Jin's words left the elder speechless. After stammering for a long time, the elder explained,
"I didn't mean it that way. It's just that no one has ever completed it within two hours. This time is simply too unbelievable.
Also, I saw this young friend struggling to adapt when he first entered, wasting quite a bit of time, so his score is inaccurate, which is why I asked him to go again. There's no other intention."
Xiao Jin was about to speak again, but Wan Lei stopped him.
"This junior will obey. However, if this junior passes again on the second attempt, will the score be valid?"
"You can rest assured. If the second attempt yields the same result, I will absolutely not make things difficult for you and will record your score accurately!"
Steward Liu patted his chest and promised.
"Good."
Wan Lei nodded, took out his storage bag, and handed it to Xiao Jin.
There was no other way. Wan Lei didn't know anyone here, and only Xiao Jin seemed to have decent character, someone who wouldn't embezzle his belongings.
"Brother Wan, you go ahead. I'll wait for you here."
Wan Lei nodded, turned around, and flew back to the entrance. Upon reaching the entrance,
With his previous experience, he naturally wouldn't waste time by walking and then running at the entrance like the first time. Furthermore, knowing the pressure at each section, he knew when to rest and when to exert himself.
Wan Lei charged forward.
One and a half minutes later…
Wan Lei's figure reappeared at the foot of the mountain.
Astonished!
The stewards were dumbfounded. This time, they had been watching Wan Lei intently. However, they hadn't expected that their plan to have him re-attempt the passage and discover a flaw would not only fail but that he would arrive even faster.
"Uh… elders, is this score valid this time?"
The stewards were once again jolted back to reality and nodded repeatedly,
"It's valid, it's valid, an unprecedented prodigy!"
Steward Liu immediately went to his screen and officially entered Wan Lei's score.
"Alright then, may this junior proceed to the second assessment?"
"Go on, go on."
The stewards surrounded Wan Lei, their faces full of excitement, and led him to the stairs.
Meanwhile, Steward Liu took out his communication jade slip, dialed a number,
"Hello, is this the Sacred Hall? Something big has happened. There's someone named Wan Lei who passed the first test in just one and a half minutes…
What? Don't worry about it? Proceed as scheduled?
Oh, oh, I understand, I understand."
After hanging up the jade slip, Steward Liu slumped into his chair, his eyes vacant, muttering to himself,
"What background does this kid have…"
"I don't know his background, I only know he has Origin-level talent."
Xiao Jin looked at Steward Liu with sympathy, shook his head, and walked towards the second test.
At the same time, as a helpful fellow disciple, he was already using his communication jade slip to post a message on the Five Elements Hall's internal network.
[Shocking! Come quickly to the South Gate to witness it! An unprecedented Origin-level talent, a monstrous prodigy who passed the first test in one and a half minutes!]
Poster: Big Boy Under the Streetlight
Soon, many comments appeared below.
First Floor: Really? The poster is lying about having a hundred and eight babies.
Second Floor: Impossible. Origin-level talent has only been achieved by Water Immortal Venerable in all of history.
Third Floor: Brother, there are limits to bragging. Even if you said he passed the first test in three or four hours, I would have believed you, but one and a half minutes? Did he fly around the tunnel?
Fourth Floor: According to the laws of the Five Elements Hall, what's the punishment for spreading rumors within the sect?
Fifth Floor: The punishment is castration.
Sixth Floor: Congratulations to the poster for becoming a eunuch, you can now serve in the Imperial Palace of Chang'an City.