Chapter 222 Pantheon Monument Observation (Part I)
Under the lead of an assistant examiner, fifty examinees came to a tremendous copper hall. Right down to every single inch of the hall, it was forged from copper and the workmanship was flawless.
Once they entered the entrance to the copper hall, many examinees felt a solemn and sacred aura gushing toward them.
Right before them was an extremely vast hall filled with lighted candles. There was not a single pillar inside, but there was a hunchbacked old man with white hair and a face covered with so many wrinkles that they seemed like deep trenches.
He seemed to be even older than the Commissioner of Education, Luke, one of the examiners for the previous two stages. His clothes seemed very tattered, as if they were the white strips of cloth wrapped around a mummy’s body.
Even after all the examinees had entered the hall, the elderly man was still looking to the front, at that inconspicuous stone monument before him. The stone monument was a cubic shape ten meters wide, tall and long. All four sides had different diagrams, while the top and bottom were empty.
Looking at this tremendous Pantheon Monument, everyone turned solemn and respectful.
The elderly man’s eyes were fixed on the stone monument, as though he was in a trance. It was only when all the examinees had approached within thirty meters of the stone monument that he started to talk.
His old, hoarse voice was like a saw sawing on a block of wood. The elderly man said slowly, “You are the Knights participating in this year’s Regional Selection? I’m in charge of guarding the Pantheon Monument, and even Devitt and the others are not allowed to come in freely. You have twelve hours to comprehend the Pantheon Monument. When the twelve hours are up, leave. They’ll be waiting for all of you outside.
“Remember, you’re only allowed to look. You’re not allowed to touch.
“As for the profoundness behind the Pantheon Monument, although the examiners and your teachers would have told you about it, I’ll still go by the book and bring it up one more time.
“Back then, the Melancholic Monarch had left a tremendous amount of information on the Pantheon Monument using ether particles to channel in the information. After all, everything in this world was formed from ether particles. So, it was natural that the Melancholic Monarch would leave behind his comprehension of martial arts in the Pantheon Monument through ether particles.
“Thus, the Pantheon Monument holds the martial arts legacy of the Melancholic Monarch. Everyone will be able to comprehend a set of martial arts based on your individual ability to comprehend.
“However, comprehending martial arts is just the first level. Only after you’ve comprehended the second level on a deeper basis will you be able to let the skill evolve and make the martial arts you’ve comprehended more complete.
“Different understandings and interpretations will allow you to comprehend different martial arts, and the limits to each set of martial arts are also different. There are some people who are able to comprehend a complete set of martial arts after reaching the second level, but there are also some who will need to reach the third level before they’re able to comprehend a complete set of martial arts. There are even level four and five. Naturally, the more profound martial arts you comprehend, the more formidable you will become. However, the highest record at the moment is Devitt’s level four.
“As for the interpretation and the martial arts chosen, it’ll all depends on your understanding. Everyone’s understanding is different, and thus the martial arts and limits you attain will be different as well.”
After saying this, the elderly man stopped talking and became fully focused on the Pantheon Monument, as though he was only concerned with the mysteries of the Pantheon Monument.
Manny used his Reduced Force Field to tremble the air carefully and sent his voice to Fang Xingjian, “This person is the Governor from two terms back. He has been here, where the Pantheon Monument is, since twenty years ago, protecting it closely while keeping it in sight.”
Fang Xingjian nodded and saw that the rest of the people had headed over, looking at the Pantheon Monument with curious, astonished and excited gazes.
David was the first to walk up. Bearing two dark circles, he looked at the Pantheon Monument agitatedly, trying hard to comprehend the profoundness within.
After seeing Fang Xingjian’s performance in killing the Colossal Armed Ape, he had not been able to sleep at all the previous night as he was under tremendous stress.
Fang Xingjian’s performance in the first two stages had given him too much pressure. Fang Xingjian was not a Conferred Knight, yet he had a battle prowess close to that of a Conferred Knight’s. How could that not make David feel stressed out?
Moreover, he had already made an enemy out of Fang Xingjian. Therefore, he put in a lot of effort and focus into observing the diagrams on the Pantheon Monument. However, the more he did so, the more exasperated he felt. His mind was filled with Fang Xingjian, of himself being publicly shamed in the Hundred Blossom Banquet, of Fang Xingjian shattering the metal pillar, and of Fang Xingjian killing the Colossal Armed Ape.
The more this happened, the harder it was for him to calm down and comprehend the Pantheon Monument. He only felt that chest was stuffy, and he could not comprehend anything at all.
However, the more he could not comprehend anything, the worse his mood got, and very quickly, he was covered in perspiration.
On the other end, Manny walked up to the Pantheon Monument slowly. His expression was very carefree, and he appeared relaxed. After all, he had already comprehended the Pantheon Monument once and knew that his limit was at the second level. Therefore, he did not plan to insist too much on this.
Rota did not start comprehending the Pantheon Monument the first moment she stepped up. It was her first time seeing the Pantheon Monument and the first time she was participating in the Regional Selection, so she felt too excited to the point that her heart palpitated too quickly.
On had to be able to remain calm without batting an eyelid even if the sky were to fall. The more important the issue, the more one needed to remain calm and not panic.
Therefore, she knew that the more important the manual, the more profound the martial arts and the more one must not be overly anxious. Otherwise, it would just be a case of more haste and less speed. Restlessness was a great taboo in the study of martial arts.
Therefore, when she saw the other examinees who were rushing over anxiously, she smiled and shook her head. Then she sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes and meditated.
She did not start cultivating nor did she think about anything complicated. Rota merely wanted to clear her mind and calm down before she started to comprehend the Pantheon Monument seriously in a full-spirited and clear-minded state.
However, compared to how she needed to meditate and clear her mind, Anderson and Hoult were a notch higher.
They did not feel anxiety or agitation at all.
Anderson was indisputably a genius. How could he not be one when he could transition into a Shadow Death God, something which no one in the Empire had succeeded for the past 200 years? Moreover, he had the ability to not forget things he had a seen only once. He went up to the Pantheon Monument, took a walk around it and was able to remember every little mark, diagram, and color on it.
He then shut his eyes while in his mind, akin to a calculator at work, the diagrams on all four sides of the Pantheon Monument continued to be broken down, reformed, switched around and even twisted.
Hoult’s eyes were filled with an unprecedented confidence. In his gaze, everything on the monument appeared ever so clear.
The many scratches were astral traces, while the many dots were the brightest stars, and those colors were various strong winds and auras.
‘What Teacher said was true. The Melancholic Monarch did inherit the legacy of our Myriad Stars Palace. This Pantheon Monument he left behind are the records of the immemorial star charts.
‘This star chart is just right in complementing my Myriad Stars Meditating Technique. I shouldn’t be far from attaining Heaven’s Perception now.’
Hoult’s gaze lit up as he looked at the Pantheon Monument Observation like he was hungry or thirsty. After a few minutes passed, it was as if he could see countless stars clashing against each other in his mind. There were light rays shooting out and explosions from the earth’s magnetic fields. The messages left behind by the Divine level expert on the Pantheon Monument were being transmitted into his brain directly, showing him the stars in the universe through a virtual reality simulation.
Gradually, a set of mental cultivation method by the name of Astral Sword appeared in his Stats Window.
To other people, Hoult’s body was suddenly lit up with many micro lights. It was the sign that he had succeeded in comprehending the Pantheon Monument.
Various lights represented the ether particles, which made up the Pantheon Monument, flowed into the cultivator’s body together with the information they contained. This meant that he had attained some success in the comprehension.
This was something left behind by the Divine level expert, Melancholic Monarch, in order to differentiate the comprehension level of each individual cultivator. If one were to gain success in comprehending this, he would be able to show such signs within a day.
The elder, who had initially still been engrossed in the profoundness of the Pantheon Monument, suddenly stared at Hoult, who was deep in comprehension with his eyes wide-open. ‘So fast? How many minutes has it only been? To think that he has already comprehended the profoundness within the Pantheon Monument?
‘This Pantheon Monument contains boundless mysteries, and each individual’s line of thoughts and interpretations are all different. However, there has not been anyone who could comprehend them so fast. How did he do it?
‘I wonder how he interpreted the Pantheon Monument: what method he used; what martial arts he comprehended; and what level is he able to reach?’
All the examinees looking at Hoult were showing gazes filled with envy. To think that he was able to comprehend the profoundness of the Pantheon Monument in less than five minutes. What a terrifying talent!
Anderson looked at this scene and let out a cold snort, feeling that the white light was extremely dazzling and hurting his eyes. He shut his eyes and continued to comprehend the things he had ingrained in his memory. Various information were being regrouped endlessly, giving rise to different results.
David and the others became even more anxious and panicky after being provoked by Hoult. However, the more nervous they felt, the more messy their minds became, and thus were unable to decrypt any information.
After half an hour had passed, Wei Leng, who had attained Heaven’s Perception, also had spots of light shining all over his body. Through the information collection via the Heaven’s Perception, he had also directly comprehended the martial arts from the Pantheon Monument.
Just then, as Fang Xingjian was looking at the Pantheon Monument, a series of familiar feelings flashed past his mind incessantly.
