Chapter 189: Secondary objectives, tertiary learning

The stare Kong Ye had fixed on his face was so full of suspicion that Han Xuhan was beginning to regret revealing his theory.

"Manipulating time?! That's....not something we can control, right?" Xiao Wu said hesitantly.

"Exactly how did you reach that conclusion, disciple?'' Kong Ye enunciated each of his words with an unnecessary amount of force.

Han Xuhan's eyes flickered towards his martial siblings, taking in the look on each of their faces.

Mu Ran— dumbfounded.

Yuen Zhou— Expressionless.

Xiao Wu— Confused.

"I thought hard about the possible answers to this phenomenon," he began by pointing at the molten tail of the chain.

"The conclusion I've reached is based upon martial brother Mu Ran's information - that normally, the chain would only begin to destabilize after more than a couple of hours has passed without his command."

Mu Ran's shock seemed to grow further at that.

"So, I adopted a very simple assumption; a couple of hours have passed already, not for us, but for this chain of qi."

If countenances could make sounds, Han Xuhan was sure that a collective of 'What the fuck are you on about?' would be heard at that moment.

"....That's it? You based your solution on a theory that you made up on the spot without any logic?" Kong Ye barked, his eyes getting narrower and narrower.

Han Xuhan really wished he could explain the logic he had applied to reach his conclusion. But he had no idea how to begin elaborating on how the curving of space due to tremendous gravitational force could induce a change in the relative perception of timeflow.

He hadn't studied astrophysics in his previous life. All he could recall was that this phenomenon was well-known during his lifetime, which had garnered his interest as a curious child. But other than the general description provided for the convenience of laymen like him, he didn't know anything else about the topic, let alone being able to explain why it happened.

From the undercurrents he could sense right now, nobody would believe it if he told the truth. While the source of his logical reasoning was not from this world, the answer itself must have hit the mark.

"Well?" Kong Ye's tone grew even harsher, demanding a better answer.

But that was okay.

Because he had already thought of a fairly convincing argument to support his conclusion. In fact, the argument was so convincing that he himself felt pretty optimistic about its chances of being correct.

"Teacher, do you remember the knee guard I came back carrying unconsciously after my journey through the spatial cracks?" he asked. "Didn't you tell me that most of the disciples who had entered the spatial cracks to explore have returned with similar miscellaneous objects?"

Kong Ye nodded. "What about it?"

"If you think about it, no matter how many miscellaneous objects are lying around in that void between the two sides of the cracks, it is extremely unlikely for one to simply traverse through the area and get in touch with one of the items in there within the span of a few seconds."

Mu Ran and Xiao Wu gasped as the blocks fell into their positions in their minds, connecting Han Xuhan's theory with their experience.

"This seed of doubt has long taken root in my mind. And right now, after seeing how the chain of qi has melted as if it has been hours since martial brother Mu Ran commanded it, it seems quite likely that the rate of timeflow inside and outside the spatial cracks are not harmonious and parallel.

Rather, one moment here can mean hours inside that void.

Disciples who had gotten the strange items must have been inside the void for hours and hours, which greatly increased their chances of coming into contact with those things.

It now makes perfect sense why such a high portion of the disciples came out carrying an item or two. After all, the blocked perception inside the void makes it hard to tell precisely how much time has passed."

"It does add up..." Xiao Wu trailed off, lost in thought. He was one of the disciples who hadn't gone below to explore the spatial cracks. He did not have any experience to match with Han Xuhan's theory.

None of the rest countered his logic either, and Kong Ye tried to shift away from the topic after sending one last complex look his way.

"Since I'm not even allowed to tell you whether you're on the right track or not, I suppose you should really just proceed with that theory if no one has got better ideas. Nonetheless, your objective today is not to delve into what lies behind the spatial cracks. You only need to measure their size. You've already found a way to do that, so the path forward should be easy now."

"Of course, of course," Han Xuhan agreed vehemently, nodding like a chicken. "We'll get right to it, teacher."

And so they did...well, Tun Shi Tian did most of the work in reality while Han Xuhan ordered the owl around from the edge of the floating island. It was a good thing that the unpredictable catastrophe routine had been temporarily suspended. Otherwise, they'd never proceed so far on the task.

The sun had set by the time they were done examining the entire region below the floating island, almost half a kilometer of space.

Han Xuhan noted down the measurement of the last spatial crack there and revised their findings so far.

Eleven spatial cracks had been discovered by their team this evening. Some of them were circular in shape, some unclear, and some like narrow fissures. The sizes of the cracks varied, from a radius of just three meters to a twenty-five meters wide maw.

And they weren't even the only team to have found a way to perform the task set by the sect master. On their side of the island, two other teams had managed to do the same. One of them was surprisingly using the method Yuen Zhou had come up with. Two members of the team practiced techniques related to telekinesis, perhaps. Countless large blobs of water had risen from the sea, floating around below, around, and above the island lazily.

Whenever a blob suddenly went missing, that area would be fully surrounded by dozens of smaller, widely spread clumps of water, bringing out the approximate size and shape of the spatial crack there.

These guys were much more efficient that Tun Shi Tian. By sunset, Han Xuhan doubted they had left a single inch of the area nearby unexamined.

At this time, the familiar magnified voice of the sect master echoed from the top of the island in every direction.

"Disciples! You've worked hard! It is heartening to see that all the spatial cracks around our island have been found and measured already! You've made this old man proud."

It would be an understatement to say that Han Xuhan and his martial siblings were startled. Even Kong Ye seemed taken aback.

"Counsellor Luo Yi and I have been watching your progress. The main assignment today was to find out the largest spatial crack around us. A big congratulations to Heaven Grazing Snow peak's second team for accomplishing this objective!"

Thunderous sounds of slow clapping ensued, which was probably just Xuan Zi and Luo Yi clapping politely. How the hell did that noise magnifier spell even work? Han Xuhan was really interested to know.

"From today, till tomorrow evening, all chores and duties of this team will be delegated to the teams with the lowest level of performance in this session. Team Two and Team Four of the Incorporeal Snow Peak and Team One of the Silent Snow Peak, these three teams are hereby assigned with this task. I'd advise the disciples in this team to make haste and get to work, because there is a TON of chores left in the Heaven Grazing Snow Peak, hahaha!"

This time, Luo Yi could be heard laughing maliciously alongside Xuan Zi.

Han Xuhan could not help but shiver. Ever since they had arrived in this archipelago, all sorts of odd jobs and miscellaneous tasks that used to be handled by failed disciples and mortal laborers back in the sect were piling up. Washing robes, gathering daily necessities, cooking, cleaning, repairing, shopping, transactions and many more jobs had created a mountain-sized backlog. Whoever was made to tackle this problem would be in deep, deep trouble.

Sect master Zi was a real crafty fellow. He knew that the disciples themselves would never properly focus on solving the issue, at least not in a situation as tense as the tournament. So he was using the competitive lesson scheme as an excuse to get these things done.

"This is so unfair!" Mu Ran complained. "It is entirely dependent on luck! How would we know which spatial crack is the largest one without measuring each and every one of them? If someone is lucky enough, they can measure just one crack and become the champion immediately."

It was rather unbecoming of him, least of all people to complain about luck, but Han Xuhan didn't voice that thought.

"Not necessarily," Kong Ye said in a consoling tone. "Perhaps they executed a technique to figure out exactly where the largest spatial crack was around the island. Would that fall under luck? Nope!"

As the four disciples and one very hardworking skeleton owl sighed in dissatisfaction, Xuan Zi's shout boomed through the island once more.

"Madam Yi has an announcement to make, disciples!"

Luo Yi's disembodied voice came right after.

"As most of you are aware, some rules of the tournament have been changed and a new mode of competition has been prepared for all competing sects.

I've just received the news that the new mode will be initiated tonight!

The rules are simple! Every 24 hours, every sect needs to send a team of disciples to sneak into another sect's territory and steal a certain treasure that they will keep hidden. As always, no elders shall interfere in the clashes. Also, the safety measures beyond the peak of the Physique Transformation Realm protecting the treasure right now will be disabled in order to ensure a fair competition.

After one week, whoever has the highest number of the treasures shall be declared as the winner of this event and the top ten sects in this list shall automatically reach the second round regardless of their accrued points in the current ranking system.

You may attack other sects as many times as you want, but you can only attack each sect once a day. If your attack on the first day fails, look for another sect to attack if you want to. Wait for the day to pass, and you may attack the same sect again the next day. For further details, your team leaders can come meet me for consultation. Good luck!"

Han Xuhan was completely caught off guard. As he met his fellow disciples' gazes, he saw them mirroring the same look. But right then, Xuan Zi's voice returned to make things even worse!

"Today's session was, of course, an introductory lesson. I know many of you are disappointed in yourselves, at your teachers even, for not having the appropriate techniques in your arsenal to perform well. But worry not, because tomorrow, you lot have a new chance to prove yourselves on a playing field with different rules, and a different objective.

Today, you have located and measured each and every spatial crack surrounding our island. Tomorrow, all of you shall locate and measure the spatial cracks surrounding the islands of our competitors!"