Many cultivators chose a futon and sat down cross-legged.

The old Ru, Song Taosheng, first taught everyone the methods of *tou xuan liang* (head suspended by a beam) and *zhui ci gu* (stabbing thigh with an awl).

Both magical techniques required corresponding magical artifacts: the former used a hemp rope, and the latter used a wooden awl.

Kong Ran’s face grew paler and paler. He looked around, feeling a bit restless.

He wished from the bottom of his heart that someone would voluntarily leave, but he was disappointed to see that the other cultivators either had solemn expressions or were expressionless, showing no intention of departing.

Song Taosheng slowly said, “You are to choose your own texts and use these two methods to aid your study. This Wen Miao has already been set up. If anyone cheats, they will be severely punished without mercy!”

This warning made everyone’s hearts tremble with awe.

Next, Song Taosheng was quite straightforward and immediately announced the start of this Xingyun Xiaoshi.

Ning Zhuo did not act in a hurry but fell into rapid thought.

He felt somewhat conflicted: “Of course I have texts, but – what should I choose to study?”

“Something I’ve already learned, that I know inside and out?”

“Or a half-understood text, something I haven’t quite mastered?”

“Or perhaps choose something completely unfamiliar?”

Ning Zhuo’s dilemma was not his alone; other Ru cultivators shared it.

This was mainly because the selection criteria for this Xingyun Xiaoshi had not been publicized. Everyone was unaware, so they couldn’t quite grasp what was expected.

Thus, the next moment, Bai Jiyun stood up and bowed to Song Taosheng, asking for clarification.

Song Taosheng was expressionless and shook his head, saying, “This is also part of the test of this Xiaoshi. Most of you are Ru cultivators. If you were to participate in the Huawenguo National Examination, would you also ask the invigilator with your test paper in hand at the examination hall?”

Bai Jiyun had no choice but to sit down.

The cultivators looked distressed, almost all of them bowing their heads in thought about what the judging criteria for this Xingyun Xiaoshi were.

Only Ning Zhuo understood: this rule was very favorable to him!

Liu Fushu secretly gritted his teeth and made a decision: “It seems I can only give it my all.”

Kong Ran, on the other hand, held onto a fantasy: “Do I really have to do this? If this Xiaoshi tested our ability to make the wise choice of giving up decisively, that would be great.”

Kong Ran also knew this was just wishful thinking.

But he really didn’t want to *tou xuan liang* or *zhui ci gu*.

In his childhood, during his elementary studies, he had been personally traumatized by his father, Kong Zhaoming.

Kong Ran occasionally scanned the room with expectant eyes: “If any of you leave your seat, I’ll follow. I’ll leave this place too!”

“Sigh, if I had known it was this kind of competition, I definitely wouldn’t have come.”

“Even sleeping in would be better than this.”

Kong Ran, at such a young age, was already beyond his control.

He carried the reputation of a child prodigy and was one of the faces put forward by the Kong family. His father was one of the current prime ministers of the Feiyunguo, so his performance also concerned Kong Zhaoming.

A burden of fame!

Ning Zhuo realized that this Xingyun Xiaoshi was subtly favoring him, so he put aside his previous concerns.

He spread his spiritual sense into his storage waist belt and began actively selecting the texts he would study next.

There were many texts in the storage waist belt.

For example, *Bingdiao Midian* (Ice Sculpture Secret Canon) gifted by Ning Jiufan, *Qu She Tandong Zhenfa Ji* (Collection of Curved Serpent Movement Array Formations) from Elder Chen, and *Xuemojieti Xiaofa* (Lesser Blood Demon Disintegration Art), *Siyue Xiange* (Dead Moon Offering Song), and *Tianzang Dadian* (Heavenly Burial Grand Canon) which Ning Zhuo himself had purchased.

The jade slips from the Jiao family contained several Jiao family cultivation methods and a treasure map.

The *Wanxiang Jing* (Myriad Manifestations Classic) with its Qi refining and Foundation Establishment chapters.

Elder Chu’s inherited jade slip, which recorded cultivation methods, recipes, and cultivation experiences from the Dark Cuisine school. It served as both proof of identity and an entry and participation ticket for the Hundred Nations Culinary Competition.

Oh, and there were also the *Ling Shuang, Ao Xue Wufa Tu* (Frost-defying, Snow-proud Enlightenment Diagrams), one of the Ning family’s foundations. Although they were drawings, they could also be studied and contemplated.

The precious military treatise *Gao Sheng Yishu* (Gao Sheng’s Legacy).

The unique *Difu Xingshu* (Underworld Punishment Book).

*Yingu Jue* (Yin Bone Art), *Youming Xinjing* (Underworld Heart Sutra), *Hunyin Shu Xiangjie* (Detailed Explanation of Soul Guiding Art), and many other texts related to soul cultivation. Most of these were thanks to the contribution of Tianshuang, one of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

And the recently acquired *Yuanyin Huangpian Shu* (Original Sound Reed Book), which Ning Zhuo had already mastered.

After some thought, Ning Zhuo felt that bringing out those soul cultivation techniques might not have a good impact. So, he still chose *Bingdiao Midian*.

Ning Zhuo had skimmed through it several times before and clearly recognized his own shortcoming: carving techniques, especially “inner carving,” which required manipulating a knife like a brush inside a layer of ice without breaking it. This was his current greatest weakness. Being busy traveling and unable to split himself, he had always regarded this technique as a minor detail, temporarily putting it aside, only for broadening his horizons.

The last time, Ning Zhuo used his *Huiyi Bi* (Understanding Brush) to copy this book, gaining more information that could only be intuitively understood, not verbally explained.

This time, he used the Ruist techniques of *tou xuan liang* and *zhui ci gu* to comprehend the book.

Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged, his back straight as a pine. He infused spiritual power, mobilized his spiritual sense, and urged the magical rope.

Thus, the cinnabar hemp rope became agile and automatically tied itself to Ning Zhuo’s topknot. Then, the other end of the rope wrapped around a protruding beam at the top of the stone chamber behind him and hung down, beginning to tighten with just the right amount of force.

The roots of the hair, constrained by the hemp rope, gave Ning Zhuo a continuous, subtle yet clear sensation of pulling and a slight pain of his scalp tightening.

At the same time, Ning Zhuo held the wooden awl, gently pressing it against the outer side of his left thigh.

The boxwood awl firmly pierced into his flesh, about an inch deep.

A sharp, direct pain continuously stimulated Ning Zhuo.

*Tou xuan liang*, *zhui ci gu*!

Ning Zhuo was almost the first cultivator to act, inevitably attracting the attention of many others.

On his young face was a serene calmness, not even a flicker of a frown.

Some cultivators were secretly surprised. Kong Ran’s mouth slightly opened, thinking with some panic and resistance, “You’re starting already?”

Song Taosheng had naturally been watching Ning Zhuo for a while.

Seeing Ning Zhuo’s performance, he nodded internally but remained observing: “The *tou xuan liang* and *zhui ci gu* I taught are ancient versions, so even non-Ru cultivators can use them.”

“The key is whether the cultivator using this method can overcome the pain and calmly immerse themselves in study?”

“If one is distracted by pain, and their learning ability doesn’t increase at all, achieving nothing, it would be a loss and one would suffer for nothing.”

Ning Zhuo fell into deep thought.

His mind focused on a section of the *Bingdiao Midian*, which was about how to construct array formations using micro-carving techniques on the inner walls of interlacing ice棱.

Previously, this content was like a thin layer of ice covering it for him—seemingly transparent but actually blurry.

How did the internal array patterns intertwine and connect without damaging the ice wall structure? How did spiritual power maintain balanced flow within the winding patterns? He had pondered these questions repeatedly, but always through a layer of fog, unable to grasp the core essence.

But now, with the help of *tou xuan liang* and *zhui ci gu*, everything was different.

The pulling pain on his scalp was like an invisible hand, constantly pushing away the distracting thoughts and fog that arose during his contemplation.

The sharp pain in his leg, like a cold spring, repeatedly washed over his mind, keeping it in an almost excited, highly sensitive state.

“So that’s it!” Ning Zhuo’s eyes flashed brightly. “The key is ‘overlap but not break, guide but not stagnate’! It’s not just simple interlacing, but using the ice wall’s own texture as a base, allowing the array patterns to ‘grow’ naturally like natural ice formations. The depth of each incision, the angle of each turn, must conform to the internal structure of the ice formation, not be forcibly embedded!”

Like thin ice melting under the sun, this difficult point that had troubled him for so long was now thoroughly understood!

“Effective!”

“These two Ruist spells work well.”

Ning Zhuo cleared his mind, suppressed his excitement, and continued to study.

He could clearly feel his learning ability significantly increasing.

The condensation and shaping control of ice魄, the delicate spiritual power manipulation of inner carving knife paths, how to stably engrave talismans in extremely cold environments, and even how to use the refractive properties of the ice body itself to enhance array pattern effects—all the profound contents he had previously swallowed whole were now being disassembled, analyzed, and comprehended one by one!

Layer after layer of thin ice continuously shattered.

“Hmm? Interesting.” Seeing Ning Zhuo immersed in his studies, not disturbed or hindered by pain, and displaying a sense of deep immersion, Song Taosheng couldn’t help but feel a sense of appreciation in his heart.

Pain?

Ning Zhuo’s mental fortitude had already been tempered in Huoshi Xiancheng.

The continuous tugging pain on his scalp? To him, it was like an alarm bell used to dispel fatigue and constantly remind him to focus.

The sharp pain in the outer thigh, like a hot needle piercing? It was like a gentle breeze, unable to stir even a ripple. It existed objectively, yet his powerful willpower easily isolated and ignored it.

This level of “suffering” was no longer an obstacle; it had been tamed by his powerful willpower, transforming into a sharp tool to sharpen his mind and penetrate迷障 (illusions).

“My memory has become much stronger; this is the power of the *tou xuan liang* technique. My thoughts are like an awl, gaining penetrating power, able to pierce through many previous learning obstacles. This is the power of *zhui ci gu*!”

Having finished the entire *Bingdiao Midian*, Ning Zhuo still felt a bit unsatisfied.

His eyes gleamed. He quickly scanned the surroundings and found that almost all the cultivators were employing *tou xuan liang* and *zhui ci gu*.

Sighs of cold air were heard intermittently.

Ning Zhuo only heard them now—before, he had been completely immersed in arduous study, his mind overly focused and concentrated.

“Next, what should I choose to learn?”

A flash of inspiration flickered in Ning Zhuo’s spiritual sea.

“Why don’t I directly study the two techniques, *tou xuan liang* and *zhui ci gu*?”

Ning Zhuo used *tou xuan liang* and *zhui ci gu* while learning about them.

His greatly increased learning ability allowed Ning Zhuo to make rapid progress.

“Beware of laziness, and reflect on oneself three times a day!”

“This continuous, unavoidable subtle pain, like a ruler, constantly taps the mind, preventing any slackness, forcibly focusing attention on the present. This perfectly aligns with the profound meaning of the Ruist ‘shen du’ (prudent in solitude).”

“Even without supervision, one must constantly self-reflect and remain vigilant. The mind is forced to gather to a high degree, thus distracting thoughts are hard to breed, thinking is focused, memory is naturally deep, and understanding is naturally clear.”

Next was *zhui ci gu*.

“Think through pain, and then one can comprehend!”

“Each sharp, intense pain, like a thunderclap bursting in a calm mind, instantly shatters all inherent inertia. The spirit is intensely focused in an instant, bringing about penetrating insight!”

Ning Zhuo pricked himself with the wooden awl while observing the Dantian in his spiritual sea.

He saw that with each prick, affected by the *zhui ci gu* technique, a large number of thoughts would erupt in his spiritual sea.

These thoughts were like tempered awl tips, discarding all superficiality and hesitation, becoming extremely sharp, direct, and focused. Using them to ponder problems brought penetrating effectiveness.

The rope for *tou xuan liang* was pulled tighter and tighter, gradually producing faint creaking sounds. The blood holes on his thigh grew more numerous, blood continuously flowing down.

More and more cultivators stopped.

Liu Fushu was soaked in cold sweat from the pain and had to stop.

As for Bai Jiyun, he was quite open-minded and was one of the first to give up. If Song Taosheng hadn’t kept the temple gates closed, he would have left long ago.

“Are the rope and wooden awl he’s using really the same as mine?” Kong Ran’s mouth was slightly agape, confused and shocked.

Song Taosheng’s gaze was now uninhibited, fixed directly on Ning Zhuo, his eyes openly displaying his admiration: “I didn’t expect this lad to be capable of enduring the hardship of studying! Wen Ruan Yu didn’t recommend him wrongly.”

“Such a young man, even without our assistance, will surely stand out!”

Ning Zhuo was already lost in himself, completely immersed in the pleasure of learning.

“Excellent, this progress truly makes me unable to stop!”

“When I return to Qingshi Dongfu, and then use the *Huiyi Bi* and *Luoshu Shuye* simultaneously, what kind of grand scene will that be?”

Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but reveal a smile, full of anticipation for the future.

“This person isn’t a pervert, is he?!” It was precisely this smile from Ning Zhuo that broke the last struggling competitor.

In the end, only Ning Zhuo remained.

Song Taosheng nodded and uttered a low shout: “Good.”

Such a situation required no manipulation or control.

He immediately announced: “This big-headed young man, you are the victor of this Xingyun Xiaoshi!”

No one objected.

However, Ning Zhuo was so deeply immersed that he didn’t hear Song Taosheng’s words.

Puff, puff. His arm did not stop, continuously pricking his thigh, making even Song Taosheng’s eyelids twitch.