Next, the candidates moved to the second test: Sword Technique and Energy Transmission. Each candidate was issued a wooden sword.
The task: Each candidate must strike down three targets, each protected by a layer of defensive aura. To break the barrier, Spiritual Energy had to be transmitted into the sword.
Thanh Cuong stepped forward. His sword flared with a blue radiance. He gathered his energy and struck.
One slash — the first target shattered.
The second — the protective aura was pierced like glass.
The third — so powerful it sent the entire stand flying.
The other candidates in the group remained indifferent. They were prodigies of their clans and nations. This segment posed no real difficulty.
Arjun stepped up and lifted a wooden sword from the rack, advancing calmly toward his targets. He channeled a stream of orange energy into the blade. The sword trembled violently and burst into a flame-like aura as though truly burning.
"Such powerful Fire aura," several candidates murmured.
Arjun swung with force, smashing each target apart. The protective aura tore open as easily as thin paper.
"Worthy of this year's talent," a judge commented.
The remaining candidates passed smoothly as well. Gao Tie relied purely on force; each slash was crude and heavy like a hammer. Rin Saito used fine sword aura, slicing through the barrier as a sharp blade cuts fabric. Sena Kaori combined telekinetic control; a layer of water energy wrapped the sword tip, soft yet razor-sharp.
Then it was Duong Minh's turn. He gripped the sword and summoned the Fire Serpent up his arm. Red aura surged along his spine to his shoulder, then down into his wrist. He focused, trying to channel his Spiritual Energy into the wooden blade — but it was not that simple. In truth, only a very small portion seeped into the sword. Most dissipated into the air or remained in his hand. He had never practiced energy transmission in his life.
He looked at the dim blade, then shifted his attention to the target.
He saw clearly the structure of the protective aura encasing it — a lattice of interwoven light.
"If I strike the right point, it will pierce."
Outside the ring, Thanh Cuong smiled with disdain. Arjun narrowed his eyes. No one understood what Duong Minh was doing with a wooden sword that carried almost no Spiritual Energy.
Duong Minh swung.
"whoosh!"
The first target shattered. Several people flinched. Thanh Cuong frowned slightly.
He attacked the second target. But this time the structure of the defensive aura shifted abruptly.
"Slow down!" Lyra warned.
Too late. The sword struck the aura but missed its weak point, and the Spiritual Energy was insufficient. The target only trembled. Without hesitation, Duong Minh shouted and poured all remaining energy into a single heavy slash.
"thud!"
The target exploded apart. But his hand trembled violently, and nearly all the Spiritual Energy in his body had been drained.
He turned to the third target. He slashed once, then again, but there was not enough Spiritual Energy left. The wooden sword, now nearly empty, only dented the protective aura without breaking it.
Thanh Cuong spoke softly, just loud enough for the group to hear:
"One without foundation who wastes his energy recklessly will only harm himself in the end."
Duong Minh did not reply. He knew Thanh Cuong was right. Without experience and training, the proportion of Spiritual Energy transmitted into the sword was far too low. Most of his energy had been wasted, leaving him unable to complete the task.
He quietly returned to his place and sat down in meditation to regulate his breathing and replenish energy. Endurance and persistence — that was what he needed now. With each test he understood more about the Path of Dao, about energy cultivation.
For everyone else, this was merely an examination.
For Duong Minh, it was a lesson.
He learned how others applied Spiritual Energy. He deepened his understanding of the road he had chosen.
The image of Lyra drifted gently in his consciousness, soothing his emotions, encouraging him.
"This is only the beginning," Lyra said.
"Yes. The road is still long," Duong Minh replied.
After ten minutes of rest, the candidates proceeded to the next trial: Lightness Skill and Spiritual Energy Evasion. This test was the nightmare of those without solid martial foundations.
Eight candidates were brought into a smaller arena. Fragments of Spiritual-Energy stones shot from four directions like bullets.
Their task: use lightness techniques to evade and channel aura to deflect the incoming projectiles.
The other candidates displayed their skill and experience:
Arjun glided like flame in the wind, each step making his body weightless. Thanh Cuong activated a blue protective aura, twisting his solid frame in impossible spirals, dodging within an extremely tight radius with terrifying precision. Rin Saito drew sword arcs that diverted the energy bullets. Sena Kaori formed a shield of water aura. Morga and Gao Tie relied on brute aura to block head-on.
Duong Minh saw every trajectory clearly. But his body was not fast enough to evade.
The first energy projectile grazed his shoulder. The pain was sharp, like being whipped.
Lyra shouted, "Standing still won't work! Alter the trajectory!"
In that instant, he did not dodge. He reached out and touched the incoming energy stream. He manipulated its path. Not much — only a few degrees — but the projectile veered aside.
Rin Saito glanced over in surprise. "Telekinetic control? How is a three-day beginner doing that?"
Before anyone could react further, two energy bullets flew toward him at once. He could redirect only one. The other struck him square in the abdomen.
"thud!"
Duong Minh tumbled across the stone floor.
Some in the group shook their heads. A judge prepared to record the result.
But just as they were about to conclude the session, Duong Minh pushed himself back up.
"I can continue," he said toward the judge.
He stood, breathing heavily. The Fire Serpent burned fiercely inside him, threatening to erupt.
"Lyra, processing speed."
"Increase twenty percent."
His body felt lighter. The world around him seemed to slow. He saw a projectile approaching, its spiraling curve clear in every detail. He grasped it with his mind and tugged it left. Another came; he could not dodge in time, so he created a small vortex of energy before his chest.
"BOOM!"
The projectile deflected aside.
"Careful on your right!" Arjun shouted.
A third shot surged toward him. Duong Minh stepped back half a step and bent the stream with pure intent.
"whizzed!"
Not perfect — but he avoided it.
For the remaining two minutes, he held his ground. Not graceful. Not powerful. But persistent, creative, and using what he possessed: the ability to see and control energy with his consciousness.
When the final bell rang, the six remaining candidates in the group looked at Duong Minh differently.
No more disdain. No more doubt.
Only recognition.
Arjun approached and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not the strongest. Not the fastest. Not the most skilled. But I've never seen anyone apply Spiritual Energy like that."
Rin Saito nodded. "Your ability to control aura with intent is dangerous — if cultivated to its peak."
Even Thanh Cuong, always cold, regarded him with a complicated gaze.
"To do that without foundation… I won't underestimate you again."
Lyra smiled softly in his mind. "You've passed, Duong Minh."
The praise made him smile faintly. He stood there gasping, sweat soaking his back, yet a weight seemed lifted from his heart.
The lights in the arena gradually dimmed. The Application trial ended.
But for Duong Minh, this was only the true beginning of his Path of Dao.