Soon, it was Xu Ning's turn.

The black armored deputy dipped the feather into the unknown liquid in the metal pot just like before and glazed the feather over Xu Ning's eyes.

When the mysterious liquid entered Xu Ning's eyes, Xu Ning felt a cool sensation.

The cool sensation disappeared quickly, and when he opened his eyes again, Xu Ning looked around, but everything remained the same as before.

In the end, the unknown liquid was dripped into everyone's eyes.

The deputy put away the metal can and walked to the shelf where the round object was placed.

"In a moment, everyone will need to stare at this round stone tablet. Then, try your best to sit down and not stand up."

The deputy's voice spread throughout the venue. "During this period, no one is allowed to close their eyes except for blinking. If someone is found to have closed their eyes, they will be disqualified."

"The last 20 people sitting here will become a member of the Black Armored Guards."

Everyone looked serious.

Although they didn't know what they were about to face, everyone fully focused.

Some of them, such as Tao Qingping, were even taking nervous deep breaths.

"Okay, the final assessment will begin now."

After that, the deputy turned around and took the black cloth off from the round stone.

The shape of the round stone was fully exposed before everyone's eyes.

Xu Ning looked at it intently.

The round stone tablet had a rough surface. There were even cracks in some places.

There were a series of line markings along the center of the stone.

'The examiner told us to keep staring at this black pattern?'

Xu Ning thought about the words the deputy said just now.

Xu Ning stared at the round stone tablet closely.

At the beginning, Xu Ning didn't notice anything strange.

But after about a dozen breaths, suddenly, changes began to occur on the disk.

The black lines that were originally still, began to start moving slowly.

They moved in a clockwise direction, but the speed was not synchronized. Some lines moved fast; some lines moved slowly.

The second the lines started to rotate, Xu Ning felt his surroundings disappear.

He could only see darkness and the strange lines.

Around the venue.

After the black cloth was uncovered, all of the Tao Village elders also stared at it.

What they saw was exactly the same as what Xu Ning and others saw at the beginning.

A round stone stele with curly black lines.

"What is this…"

The elders of the Tao Village had never seen such a thing.

"They're using this as a test?"

The clan elders stared at it for a long time, but didn't see any movements.

"Captain Xia, what is this…"

Tao Jingxing frowned and asked Xia Yuanxing.

Xia Yuanxing remained the same as before, with an indifferent look on his face.

He smiled faintly. "Clan Head Tao, don't worry, keep watching."

"Isn't it just staring at a stone tablet and sitting still, are we going to be here all day…"

Tao Jinglu murmured in a quiet voice.

Xia Yuanxing glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

The candidates in the venue suddenly moved.

"What?"

Xia Yuanxing raised his eyebrows. "People are already giving up? How did they pass the first two assessments with such a bad aptitude?"

The elders of the Tao Village also noticed the strange situation.

"They can't sit still anymore?"

Everyone looked over.

The focus of their eyes was on Xu Ning.

'What is this feeling…'

Xu Ning had no idea what was happening around him.

He just felt that the black lines were rotating faster and faster, and as it rotated, his breathing was being controlled.

It was as if someone was standing beside him, blocking his nose and mouth, before releasing to let him breathe.

The random rhythm made it quite uncomfortable.

'Sure enough, I inherited my predecessor's aptitude…'

Xu Ning began to reluctantly recognize this reality.

He already began to lose control of his body; his natural talent had to be quite poor.

'It seems that aptitude is related to the body…'

Xu Ning felt that his breathing was deliberately being controlled by the rotating black lines.

'Traversing the soul, the memories carried by my previous life do not carry any additional benefits to this life…' Xu Ning smiled bitterly. 'As for the geniuses in my previous life, they show their talents when facing certain disciplines. This is related to the depth of brain development. High IQ itself means that the brain, as a physical organ, is powerful. It is difficult for a person to break through the boundaries of IQ and become an expert in certain fields only by virtue and hard work.'

'Martial arts should be the same. I have experienced a conscious mode of training from my previous life's education system, but my sensitivity to martial arts has not improved. Whether it is internal or external skills, it all depends on the depth of physical perception.'

'What a shame… I might be the first one to be eliminated…'

Xu Ning felt a little unfortunate.

This weird breathing pattern deliberately controlled by the black lines was not something that could be maintained with perseverance alone.

The more he resisted with perseverance, the more difficult it was for his body to bear this discomfort, his concentration was rapidly diminishing.

'Oh well…'

However, just when Xu Ning was about to give up…

A white light flashed suddenly in front of his eyes.

The Martial Arts Panel suddenly appeared.

—

Consume 1 unit of energy to level up the Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic?

Yes/No

—

'What's going on?!'

Xu Ning was stunned.

'Why did the Martial Arts Panel prompt suddenly appear in front of my eyes?'

'And what is this Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic? I have never heard of this technique before!'

Xu Ning didn't confirm immediately. He resisted the discomfort and took out the Martial Arts Panel.

—

Name: Xu Ning

Martial Arts:

Spring Breeze Tactic (Mortal realm second stage: muscle bone realm) +

Gale Knife Method (Intermediate) +

Light Feather Bow (elementary )+

Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic (Unlearned)+

Available energy: 7 units

—

Sure enough, on his Martial Arts Panel, there was a new martial arts skill that he had never seen before—it was an external skill.

'I see!'

Suddenly, Xu Ning realized the key to the problem.

'The breathing technique controlled by this black pattern is actually the cultivation method for the Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic!'

Xu Ning was certain. 'The Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic is a body exercise that operates through a specific breathing method. The so-called test is actually the candidate's ability to learn an external skill by using the pattern on this black stone.'

'Talented candidates can quickly adapt to this breathing method and follow the cultivation path of the Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic. However, those with poor talents, such as me, won't be able to begin practice and just continue to suffer.'

'In essence, the person is being assessed through the progress of learning an external skill!'

Xu Ning felt relieved.

It seemed that he wouldn't be eliminated.

Xu Ning chose the "yes" option.

Then, the panel refreshed.

—

Name: Xu Ning

Martial Arts:

Spring Breeze Tactic (Mortal realm second stage: muscle bone realm) +

Gale Knife Method (Intermediate) +

Light Feather Bow (elementary )+

Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic: (Beginner)+

Available energy: 6 units

—

The second after he upgraded his Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic, the strange and uncomfortable breathing method felt relaxing.

Xu Ning was no longer being dragged by the breathing method, instead his body was rotating with each breath.

At the same time, Xu Ning felt that his body had also gained a certain degree of strength.

He was already in the muscle bone realm, but now it seemed that he was 20% stronger.

'The Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic is an excellent external skill!'

Xu Ning felt the changes in the body. He realized. 'Just the beginner realm can make me feel an obvious improvement in my body. If I reach the elementary, intermediate, or even perfection realm, I will be able to defeat strong opponents with my body alone.'

'These guys really are the Black Armored Guards, backed by the Source Faction. I have already felt the abundance of their resources and the powerful methods, even before officially joining them.'

Xu Ning finally had an intuitive understanding of the legendary Source Faction.

Forget about the Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic itself, this strange way of teaching the technique was elusive and unheard of.

'Black Armored Guards, Source Faction…'

Xu Ning used his passion for martial arts and entered a flow-like state.

He stabilized himself.