Chapter 257: The Art Trial

In Yin Yi Village, a group of players were again studying spells: some planted flags for PK, testing their self-developed spell techniques; others crouched in the library, researching spell theory; some simply devoted themselves entirely to the room housing the Four Elements' Cultivation Methods, attempting to push one discipline to its absolute limit.

Although everyone's self-developed spells still couldn't match the innate spells of each class, let alone the First-Generation Talisman and Spell's "Chaotic Casting," they still preferred crafting bizarre, abstract, or meme-heavy oddities over merely replicating existing class skills.

After all, if you want to try a different skill, just switch characters—but since you're crafting your own spells, you'd better make something different!

Yet in this atmosphere, a sudden scream shattered the village's calm.

"Eh! I did it! I actually did it!"

"You bastard, what did you accomplish?" The Super Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior, startled by Guan'er's shout, lunged forward—but before he could swing his meme slap, Guan'er shoved a glowing sphere straight at him!

"What the—?" The Tyrannosaurus Warrior, seeing the blue-hued mana sphere hurtling toward his face, instinctively raised both arms and roared:

"Stone Shield!"

As a player who frequently engaged in flag-based PK, the Tyrannosaurus Warrior's reaction was swift—the blue mana coalesced into a rising stone barrier—but Guan'er's sphere smashed through it mid-height.

"What the hell is that?" The Tyrannosaurus Warrior, retreating to a safe distance, stared enviously at the sphere in Guan'er's hand. Guan'er smirked, twirling the sphere in his grip:

"Can't you tell? It's the Rasengan!"

"You actually pulled it off?" The research maniac still tinkering with mana microchips looked up in disbelief. Guan'er puffed out his chest proudly:

"Hmph! It's not just the Rasengan!"

"Did you add nature transformation? Which element? Invisible sphere? Big Heat Wave? Or back to the classic shuriken?"

Seeing Guan'er so smug, Bao Long edged closer—but when he asked, Guan'er's grin faltered slightly, though he still shook his head:

"No nature transformation yet. But I received a voice message saying my 【Transformation】 has met the evaluation standard—I'm to undergo the 【Art Trial】."

"【Transformation】? But your Rasengan is a combination of 【Fixed】 and 【Transfer】, isn't it?" The research maniac asked in surprise—he still remembered Guan'er explaining the Rasengan's principle to him.

"Yes, but I just realized this: the original text describes the Rasengan's cultivation as 'rotation' and 'maintenance,' so I naturally assumed 【Transfer】 and 【Fixed】. But I kept failing, so I thought my approach was wrong. Since the Rasengan is a form transformation, I tried 【Transformation】 instead—and suddenly, the mana moved on its own. Now I just need to guide its motion to generate sufficient damage…"

Guan'er was a man of great sharing spirit; he preferred everyone using his inventions over hoarding them, and he revealed every detail of his research without reservation.

But upon hearing this, the research maniac frowned:

"This suggests our understanding of the Four Elements may contain a fundamental error. If 'making mana move' is more easily achieved through 【Transformation】, then 【Transfer】 probably isn't merely 'making mana move'…"

"We'll discuss that later—I'm going to take the trial now!"

Having shown off, Guan'er immediately followed the voice message's direction toward the 【Transformation Chamber】.

He had been in Yin Yi Village for over half a month and had visited the Four Elements' heritage chambers many times. This room remained unchanged: a massive stone slab stood in the center, detailing 【Transformation】 techniques and offering several preset configurations as examples. Around the room, rows of bookshelves held countless texts on 【Transformation】 configurations, and several players were still flipping through them.

As Guan'er pondered where the trial was, he suddenly noticed something odd. Focusing his attention, he was stunned to find that where a row of bookshelves should have been, there was now a stone door just wide enough for one person to pass through.

"What's going on? Was there a door here before?" Guan'er wondered, immediately grabbing a nearby player:

"What's that door for?"

"What door? Are you seeing things?" The player blinked in confusion—but as he followed Guan'er's pointing finger, his expression turned utterly baffled.

"You can't see a door this big?" Guan'er was puzzled, but realized this might be the trial. Still, to confirm the player wasn't mocking him, he asked again:

"Aren't you just messing with me?" The player, unsettled by Guan'er's tone, stepped forward and reached out to touch the air—Guan'er watched as his hand moved back and forth in empty space, as if he were actually touching something.

If this player wasn't performing a silent comedy…

Guan'er didn't hesitate—he reached out and gripped the stone door's handle. With a single tug, the door swung open.

"What the—how did you phase through… hey? Where'd he go? Is there really a door?" The player's shout came from behind, but Guan'er didn't turn. He activated his recording function and advanced down the narrow corridor. After walking about seven or eight meters, he finally entered a room.

"Pre… huh?" Seeing a figure standing in the room, Guan'er instinctively assumed it was a cultivation-system NPC—but upon closer look, he realized it was merely a crude wooden doll, lacking even facial features.

"Welcome to the 【Art Trial】. Trial participant, I am the examiner overseeing this trial. Since this is your first attempt, would you like me to explain the rules?"

The wooden doll spoke with a stiff, mechanical voice. Though Guan'er was a staunch skipper, he recognized this wasn't a place to skip—he replied politely:

"Please explain."

"Very well." The wooden doll nodded:

"The 【Art Trial】 is a 'coloring game.' I will show you images, and you must fill each shape with mana of the exact color I specify. Ten images total. Complete them within one minute to pass."

"Huh?" Guan'er's heart sank at the rules—but the wooden doll pressed on like a death knell:

"Shall we begin?"

"One question—can I retry if I fail?" Guan'er hesitated. The wooden doll replied immediately:

"Of course. You've met the eligibility criteria. As long as you wish and no one is queued, you may attempt the trial anytime."

"Alright then—let's go!"

(End of Chapter)