Chapter 293

"Zhongli, this fellow is even more..."

Before she could finish, Zhongli glanced at Alice, who huffed and said no more.

Venti also hurriedly coughed a few times and waved his hand.

"That's all in the past, no need to mind it, right? We are all cultivators now; what Archon or not, we are called cultivators now."

"Can an Archon be stronger than a cultivator?"

Alice glared at him fiercely and continued:

"You can actually see that the power I originally possessed was not from Teyvat, but from outside Teyvat—that is, the Sea of Quanta."

"Those people from the Ebon Knight are the same."

Zhongli remained expressionless, withdrew his gaze, and said calmly:

"So, do you think you are stronger now, or is Surtalogi stronger?"

"Need you ask!"

Alice immediately huffed and said triumphantly:

"I am a cultivator now. Once I activate the Separation Light, Surtalogi wouldn't have enough lives for me to kill! No matter how high the realm, if one doesn't cultivate, they are no match for me."

"So, does that Ebon Knight fellow have anything to do with us?"

Venti waved his hand with little interest and said with a grin:

"Just cultivate with peace of mind. If you can reach the peak of Refining Spirit into Void like the Sect Master, no matter how chaotic the world becomes, you can make it quiet with a single word."

"By comparison, I am quite surprised that the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, is actually the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, but... isn't the Hydro Dragon Sovereign a bit too weak?"

"With such strength, how could he have fought against that bunch of outrageous fellows from the First Throne back then?"

Zhongli shook his head.

"This is normal. He does not have the so-called power from outside the world, and furthermore, having just recovered the authority of the Hydro Dragon, he may not necessarily be very strong."

"These have nothing to do with us. As long as Shushan exists for one day, Teyvat will not fall into chaos."

"Let's figure out what is the most important thing."

The two nodded in deep agreement and continued to send away those who failed the assessment.

Before long, less than ten thousand people remained in the field.

Immediately after, Hu Tao and the others also woke up one after another.

It was evident that they were still quite shocked by this dreamlike life assessment.

There was even a hint of lingering fear in their eyes.

"The methods of cultivators are too terrifying, a whole life in an instant..."

Tartaglia sighed with a sense of loss and said gloomily:

"If I hadn't suddenly come to my senses at the last moment, I fear I would have failed the assessment."

However, Tartaglia felt a small moment of happiness.

In any case, he had successfully passed one layer of heart-questioning.

At the very least, he had secured the status of an outer disciple.

But this was not enough for Tartaglia; without becoming an inner disciple, he wouldn't truly have joined Shushan.

Immediately, Tartaglia didn't bother to look at the people around him, took a step forward, and continued to accept the test of the second life.

"Miss Furina..."

Clorinde looked at Furina not far away with a complex expression.

She was somewhat shocked, but also felt a bit of heartache.

"Forget it, they must all be illusions..."

Shaking her head, Clorinde continued forward; Furina was already close to passing the second layer of heart-questioning.

She couldn't let Furina down; she had to catch up to her.

More and more people successfully broke through the Heart-Questioning Array.

Some chose to continue forward, while others were filled with fear and stopped in their tracks.

Not long after, when the last person was sent out of the Heart-Questioning Array.

One thousand three hundred and forty-eight people had successfully passed the assessment of the first layer of the Heart-Questioning Array.

Most people were dismayed by this terrifying elimination rate.

Zhongli and the others were somewhat worried.

Jiang Yan only said to recruit one thousand people, and now one thousand three hundred and forty-eight had come.

That was quite a few extra.

Ultimately, a portion of these people would have to be eliminated.

Or, they could only wait as servant disciples for a chance to rise.

That was also fate.

It would depend on who was stronger and who had better fate to continue rising.

For cultivators, luck is also the most important part of cultivation.

Before long, the second layer of the Heart-Questioning Array was also successfully broken through by Furina.

But at this moment, she felt not a shred of weakness; instead, her emotions became increasingly fervent.

Her will became increasingly firm.

She possessed the shortcomings of a human, but she also possessed the strengths of a human.

Therefore, she was a perfect human, and could also be a perfect god.

The infinite possibilities of humanity were perfectly displayed in her.

Furina did not need Zhongli to ask; she took a step forward and continued to forge ahead.

At this time, she had lived two lives, and her firm will was breathtaking.

"Becoming braver with every setback—the infinite possibilities of humanity lie exactly in this."

Zhongli nodded slightly and said softly:

"Regarding the issue of Fontaine, we need to report to the Sect Master later. Even if Furina is exceptionally talented, she cannot catch up with her cultivation now."

"Without solving the problem of Fontaine, Furina will ultimately be unable to stabilize her mind to cultivate."

"If necessary, I can have Xiao go to Fontaine. With his current strength, dealing with a Deep Sea Whale would be easy."

Hearing this, Alice shook her head.

"Wait a while. Furina has a firm will; I imagine she doesn't want to rely on others for help."

"But if she wants to solve the Fontaine problem, she needs at least the late stage of Refining Essence into Qi."

"Even if she cultivates, she would only be starting from the early stage of Refining Essence into Qi. Although her talent is good, wanting to break through to the late stage of Refining Essence into Qi is calculated in years."

"Fontaine might not be able to wait."

Zhongli still had some differing opinions.

But Alice blinked.

"Why was Ganyu able to break through from the middle stage of Refining Essence into Qi to the peak of Refining Essence into Qi so quickly?"

"..."

Zhongli was silent. After a long while, he coughed and said in a low voice:

"Be careful with your words..."

"I didn't mean it like that."

Alice giggled.

"Even without mentioning Ganyu, there are Ningguang and Keqing as prime examples; they both broke through the middle stage of Refining Essence into Qi in a short time."

"Furina has better talent and an excellent temperament, so I imagine it shouldn't be a big problem."

"What's more, the matter of Fontaine is ultimately a small matter to us. If we were to bring out the Sect Master for such a small matter, it would make us seem too incompetent..."

"Let's wait and see."

Regarding this, Zhongli thought for a moment and said softly:

"Very well... let it be as you say."

The three stopped communicating and turned their gaze back to the people being assessed.

Most people chose to continue forward after passing; these people were naturally those who, in Zhongli's eyes, had already successfully passed the outer sect assessment.

However, they didn't care about these people; that was a matter for the Outer Sect Council to worry about.

The rest were the real focus.