In the afternoon, all the registered disciples underwent the test.
Thousands of people who intended to muddle through were eliminated in the preliminary test.
This also made Zhang Ergou greatly appreciate the wise decision of the city of Shuyan.
It seems that wherever there are people, there are those who seek shortcuts.
After the preliminary selection, Zhang Ergou and Li Zhan successfully advanced to the second round.
It was said that the second round was set by Mu Xian'er, the daughter of the City Lord of Shuyan.
Mu Xian'er had shown a special talent for formations since childhood.
Legend had it that Mu Xian'er could understand elementary formations at the age of five.
At six, she had already set up an elementary formation.
When Mu Chen saw his daughter's talent, he had Mu Xian'er apprentice under Bai Youran, a master of formations.
After apprenticing under Bai Youran, Mu Xian'er further displayed her unique talent.
At the age of ten, Mu Xian'er could set up a Level 4 formation.
Not long ago, Mu Xian'er had broken through to become a Level 6 formation master.
And she had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday.
Formations were more obscure and difficult to understand than cultivation. Without a certain talent, one couldn't even comprehend the text describing formations.
Mu Xian'er's achievements at such a young age were naturally a great joy for the city of Shuyan.
Moreover, formation masters were rare. Bai Youran had even predicted that Mu Xian'er would break through to become a formation master before the age of thirty.
Mu Chen's grand selection of a son-in-law for his daughter was not without a touch of boasting.
These were all things Li Zhan had learned through special channels.
Zhang Ergou could not help but marvel at the intelligence-gathering skills of his newly acquainted friend.
To be able to unearth such secrets was truly remarkable.
...
As Li Zhan had said, the next morning, those who passed the first round were gathered before a dense forest.
Before the forest, Zhang Ergou and the others once again saw Mu Chen and Hua Xu.
Also present were elders from some of the major sects and noble families who had come to offer congratulations.
These individuals, as spectators, were also invited by Mu Chen to act as judges for the performance of the young talents.
The elders readily agreed, of course.
Among the participants in the selection were disciples from their respective sects. If they could give their own disciples some leeway,
perhaps they could even gain some benefits.
They had heard that the City Lord of Shuyan had prepared generous rewards for the top twenty participants.
"Esteemed guests, you are all young talents from the Yin Continent. Mu Chen expresses his deepest gratitude for your presence at the selection of his daughter's husband."
The young men who had passed the first round looked up at Mu Chen in the sky with great excitement.
He was a legendary figure of the Nascent Soul stage.
To be so approachable, speaking words of gratitude to them.
"As you can all see, there are indeed too many young talents who admire my daughter."
"Thus, I had no choice but to resort to this method, selecting the most outstanding youth to become my daughter's husband through this selection."
"I trust that you talented individuals will not bear me any grudges."
Zhang Ergou muttered to himself, "This guy is truly shameless.
He says whatever he wants. It was you who organized this public selection, attracting so many participants.
Yet now you attribute the reason to too many people admiring Mu Xian'er."
Even Hua Xu, standing beside Mu Chen, rolled his eyes at his old friend's pompous words.
The elders were even more disdainful of Mu Chen's thick skin.
However, in such a situation, no one bothered to dwell on these pleasantries.
Only the young, inexperienced individuals who had never ventured out into the world looked at Mu Chen with excitement.
They had clearly believed Mu Chen's words.
"Next, in order to test the strength of all you young talents, and to gain the affirmation of my daughter,"
"my daughter, Mu Xian'er, has set up some formations within this dense forest. Only by passing through these formations will you be considered to have passed the second round of selection."
After the pleasantries, Mu Chen returned to the main topic.
Those who had fallen behind on the news immediately changed their expressions.
However, the disciples from the major sects and noble families showed no surprise on their faces,
clearly having received insider information from their elders long ago.
Zhang Ergou, who had observed these reactions, exchanged a meaningful glance with Li Zhan beside him.
Those who appeared calmer likely had means to overcome the formations.
These individuals would become their formidable opponents in the subsequent selections. Zhang Ergou naturally wanted to remind Li Zhan to be wary of them.
Li Zhan nodded and, at the same time, pointed in the direction of Jiang Yu and his group to Zhang Ergou.
Jiang Yu appeared calm, while Jiang Xu looked full of confidence.
"Hmph, since you are so confident, then I'll give you something to deal with."
Zhang Ergou suddenly felt that this formation selection might not be so boring after all.
With the old man of Snow Mountain around, there was no formation he couldn't break.
Just now, he had been agonizing over how long it would take to break through the formations.
Now, seeing the Jiang Yu brothers, he had a new idea.
"Everyone, my daughter has proposed a requirement when setting up the formations."
As the young talents were restless and eager to try, Mu Chen spoke again.
"My daughter said that only those young talents who pass all the formations she has set up within two hours will be qualified to become her husband."
Instantly, the scene became chaotic.
The sect disciples who had appeared calm moments ago were now also unsettled.
Two hours, these were formations set by a Level 6 formation master.
None of them had specifically studied formations. Who knew how many formations Mu Xian'er had set up in this dense forest?
Mu Chen, Hua Xu, and the others naturally took in everyone's reactions.
When they saw Zhang Ergou looking calm, even somewhat casual, both of them couldn't help but pay more attention to him.
"Brother Mu, does that young fellow know which sect he belongs to?"
Hua Xu subtly gestured towards Zhang Ergou. Mu Chen, seeing that Hua Xu was pointing at the person he had noticed, was somewhat surprised.
However, he immediately shook his head, indicating he did not know.
The disciples from the major sects and noble families had been specially introduced to him by their elders.
He had never met Zhang Ergou before.
Shi Wuhen also noticed Zhang Ergou in the crowd at this moment. He truly hadn't expected to encounter Zhang Ergou here.
However, he said nothing.
He simply watched everything unfold with a poker face, like a bystander.
"Everyone, the next part will depend on your performance."
As Mu Chen's voice fell, Zhang Ergou suddenly felt the scenery before his eyes change.
Li Zhan, who had been standing beside him moments ago, had vanished.
What appeared before him now was an unfamiliar scene.
Zhang Ergou looked up, seeing no abnormality. Before him lay a winding stone staircase.
Just as he was about to lift his foot to ascend the steps,
the voice of the old man of Snow Mountain echoed in his mind: "If you want to die, take that step."
Zhang Ergou immediately broke out in a cold sweat.