38 A Rigorous Test (2)

"Sir? What's my score?" Cifer was laughing inside, but managed to keep a straight face and ask the question in a normal tone. Years of dealing with people looking for an excuse to punish him had taught Cifer how to act completely correctly in a way that delivered an insult.

Suddenly recovering himself, Deacon Gorou laughed in appreciation. He did not mind a justifiable degree of confidence and arrogance. And with the first Azure Manifestation that Deacon Gorou had ever seen someone actually able to use, Cifer was justified. "A full 20. I don't know why the Crimson Sect didn't snap you up, but my Skull Sect could use someone like you. Provided you don't completely fail the next tests."

Cifer nods, self satisfied and confident smile on his face. Than felt it slip a little as Deacon Gorou turned to conduct Momo's exam simultaneously. That would make it almost impossible to help her get in since he wasn't even a disciple himself yet.

Momo's voice was steady as she introduced herself though. "My name is Kani Momo. I am 16 and my Cultivation is Intermediate stage of Broken tier Origination." She then summoned her Dove Manifestation. For the first time in Cifer's vision, the Dove was a Sky Blue.

Cifer wasn't sure when she'd built up her foundations to that extent, but it certainly helped their cause now. Deacon Gorou was clearly hesitant to dismiss a Sky Blue Potential too easily, but he obviously didn't think well of Momo's progress in Cultivation for someone her age and apparent talent.

After a few moments of thought, Deacon Gorou made up his mind. "3. As a relative of a very high ranking member in your Clan, in combination with your low Cultivation, the should have had no lack of resources. With no lack of resources, plenty of time, and a Sky Blue Potential you could have reached Perfect Broken Origination at the least. I can only take this as an indication of your character and lower your score significantly."

Momo and Cifer flinched at the horrible score. Both knew that the real reason for her low Cultivation was entirely reasonable, and actually put her well beyond the level of Deacon Gorou's expectations. But the Ring of the Horses was a secret that neither of them dared reveal.

The Deacon ordered them to take back their Manifestations and led them to a pair of separate rooms. Inside each was a desk, three tomes and a chair. "As I said previously, there is a manual on Pill concoction, Weapon forging and a Technique. All of them are Broken tier manuals to match your Cultivation. You have one hour, and the room will be locked down after you enter. Remember, you will only be tested on these manuals in your own rooms for you to read to get your final score."

Both of them nod, then enter the separate rooms. Something about the emphasis that Deacon Gorou gave certain words was bugging Cifer. He almost felt like the entire Comprehension test itself was a giant trap. Unable to figure out the trick, Cifer begins looking at the Weapon forging manual, and was soon sucked into the methods and procedures that would be used to craft Broken Origination equipment.

The materials for gear of this level were cheap, and mostly common. What made the final product so different from a normal weapon like his scythe was the Essence Core that was imbedded into the equipment.

Essence Cores were often carved and fused Pearls of a grade that matched the Tier of the intended final product, but could be anything able to hold a vast amount of Essence. Whatever was used as the Essence Core was always the most expensive part of the materials. While being forged into the Weapon, an Essence Core would be imprinted with a resonance signature that would recognize when it was being wielded and meld with the Essence of its owner.

This would result in awesome increases in the strength that the wielded could demonstrate as the resonance offered a boosting effect that was not dissimilar to the raw strength increase that a Technique would permit as the flow of Essence was perfected by the resonance of the Origination Weapon.

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Momo shared Cifer's sense that something was off. Expect she thought she knew what it was. "You will only be tested on the manuals in these rooms for you to read." The Deacon had stressed the words 'only be tested', 'you', and 'read' while the rest of the sentence breezed by. Her bold hypothesis was that it didn't matter what manual one read while in here, as long as it was a manual in this room it would be considered part of the test.

However, if Momo were wrong and only read from a single book to gain an in manual to gain a deep comprehension, than she would forfeit 2/3rd of the points available instantly, resulting in a negative score and no hope whatsoever of passing the exam. But she did think of a way to stack the odds in her favor.

She had the manual for the Mighty Mace Cultivation method and Techniques on her person and already knew it frontwards and backwards. In addition, it went all the way up to Skeleton Foundation, giving it greater weight. If she included it into the test as a "manual in these rooms for her to read" than that would guarantee her at least 1/4th the available points and increase her chances of understanding enough to get at least a few points to her credit.

So Momo spent 10 minutes reviewing the thick manual on the Clan Founder's manual, then spent 20 minutes in the complex and interesting field of Pill refinement. The list of materials was almost endless, and she could find no guideline on which to base her understanding of combining them. However, the possibilities opened up by an expert in Pill refinement is simply extraordinary, and the methods for combining the ingredients was consistent.

Put the ingredients into Essence Water and use the pressure of the Essence Water and heat from the refining fire to melt and crush the materials into a single point that would hold the concentrated final product of the process. Which might have the effect of curing or poisoning, in addition to effects of raising strength temporarily, aiding breakthroughs and the possibility that most enchanted Momo. Providing specific kinds of Essence for the purpose of Cultivation.

Pulling herself from the extremely interesting topic, Momo then turned her attention towards towards the manuals of Weapon forging and Bull's Charge Technique. She spent 15 minutes reading each, sweating bullets as time began closing in on her.