Muscular Rabbits Legion: “No one can escape from the novice village!”
Chapter 580 - 550 The Rabbit Ran Away Again

Chapter 580: Chapter 550 The Rabbit Ran Away Again

The fragment flickered briefly, almost eluding capture, but after observing it repeatedly, Yi Zheng’s Sea of Consciousness began to manifest a dim phantom—it was a Dao Rune of the literary path!

However, it was still ethereal, almost indiscernible and impossible to infuse with the Power of Dao to bring it to life.

But Yi Zheng vaguely felt his Swallowing Dao Rune trembling, seemingly excited, as if that literary Dao Rune was of great importance to it.

Yi Zheng had not refrained from devouring others these days, having collected many Dao Runes, and he also gathered quite a few pertaining to literature, writing, and calligraphy. Yet, faced with so many flamboyant runes, his Swallowing Dao remained as lifeless as a dead dog, utterly still.

This time, it suddenly stirred, agitated, almost as if it were in heat.

Yi Zheng knew that this rune was definitely not simple!

At the same time, Yi Zheng also understood the true use of Diligent Study!

To learn something, one must first learn the sound, then the form, only after mastering both can one read and write articles. Therefore, Diligent Study teaches the basics of entering the path!

Thinking of this, and seeing the reaction of the Swallowing Dao, Yi Zheng’s eyes shone brightly...

At this moment, whether for himself or for the sake of the Confucian Disciples, he had no reason to give up.

This exam had no time limit, only a restriction on the number of steps to ascend. There’s no rush!

With his direction and confidence reaffirmed, Yi Zheng took a deep breath and stopped caring about the people continuously surpassing him. He continued to carefully perceive each step, every character...

Only when he had thoroughly comprehended the characters and left an imprint in his Sea of Consciousness did he move to the next step.

Others didn’t do it like that; they just wanted to reach the half-millionth step as quickly as possible.

So, as long as they heard the sound and saw the character, they considered the task completed and moved on.

It wasn’t until the pronunciation of the characters became more difficult and unclear that they began to slow down...

There were also extremely complex characters they had never seen before, and they couldn’t remember them at a glance, which made them stop.

Late into the test, poems and rhapsodies awaited them, and at that time, grievances filled the path of Diligent Study.

Of course, there were those who were as unstoppable as a breaking bamboo. They had read extensively with a profound foundation; despite ascending the first hundred thousand steps quickly, they remembered them all...

The strongest were still Li Hanlin and Liu Haichao ahead, having already climbed four hundred thousand steps and yet strolling leisurely as if it were a walk in the park, effortlessly.

"Worthy of being the scions of two great families, whether by accumulation or comprehension, they indeed have reason to be proud." Seeing these two, Liu Ximing, Zhao Fubing, and Zheng Zhisheng on the mountain could not help but express their admiration.

They ascended Book Mountain following the path of Wenchang Palace, but due to their limited talent, they still could only wander the Outer Sect after so many years, and as for the inner court, it was like an insurmountable mountain, forever out of reach.

As for becoming a Direct Disciple, they didn’t even have the chance to aspire.

Occasionally, they too would attempt the path of Diligent Study, but they could only manage five hundred thousand steps at most!

Nothing beyond that was possible.

So, upon seeing two newcomers casually ascend to the four hundred thousandth step, they were filled with both admiration and jealousy.

However, when the three saw that Rabbit again, they felt a sense of balance because the Rabbit had stepped back again!

This time, he didn’t stop after descending two thousand steps but continued running downward.

Seeing this scene, the three of them laughed out loud together, "Looks like this Rabbit has completely given up... Hahaha..."

"I said it long ago, without that comprehension and foundation, why bother trying the path of Diligent Study? Without even achieving transformation, just a little Rabbit Demon, climbing the mountain is a joke. Rolling off early is the best choice." Zhao Fubing sneered disdainfully.

Zheng Zhisheng and Liu Ximing nodded in agreement.

It wasn’t just them; even the candidates who started running up the mountain from the base were stunned.

While everyone else was racing uphill, the Rabbit was actually flowing downstream, heading down the mountain. Those slackers shook their heads in disbelief, "This Rabbit... even more mixed up than I am!"

"I came here to loaf about, but he’s not even doing that much!"

"Good grief, he hasn’t even finished reciting the characters, and he’s already giving up?"

"What’s the point of such determination? Isn’t it better to just stay home and eat grass?"

At this moment, whoever saw it just shook their heads and sighed...

Seeing this scene, the Wenchang Star Lord on the mountain burst into laughter, "Wenqu Star Lord, even your last hope is no good, huh? It seems that even the worst candidate from back then managed to reach a hundred and thirteen thousand steps, but this Rabbit didn’t even make it to the lowest count..."

With that, the Wenchang Star Lord slapped his thigh and added, "I get it now, he’s not aiming for the best, but for the worst! Congratulations to the Wenqu Palace for securing the worst candidate and breaking the record for the fewest steps climbed on the path of Diligent Study! Hahaha..."

While the Wenchang Star Lord laughed heartily, the Wenqu Star Lord’s face was looking rather grim.

Originally, he didn’t like that Rabbit very much, but when he saw the Rabbit thwart a bunch of layabouts from the Wenchang Palace, winning him a bit of satisfaction, his opinion on the Rabbit began to change.

And using his authority, he secured the greatest possible opportunity for the Rabbit...

However, the Rabbit had descended the mountain twice now, with fewer and fewer steps climbed each time.

This final time, he appeared to be dashing straight to the bottom of the mountain to leave for good.

"Ah..."

The Wenqu Star Lord let out a long sigh, thinking, "It seems I misjudged the Rabbit after all..."

But then again, it was to be expected. The Rabbit had a stubborn nature and was not really one for studying, without the guidance of a distinguished teacher and the constant supervision; truly, it was difficult for him to settle down and learn everything on the path of Diligent Study.

Just as the Wenqu Star Lord was about to give up and the Wenchang Star Lord was ready to declare his victory, the Rabbit reached the first step and then abruptly stopped.

Turn back!

Turn around!

One step taken up!

"What?!"

People were once again baffled by the rabbit’s actions; it was actually going back the way it came.

"Damn it, it’s coming back!"

Zhao Fubing, Liu Ximing, and Zheng Zhisheng were all nearly driven mad, completely unable to fathom what the rabbit was up to.

The laughter of Wenchang Star Lord also came to an abrupt halt, his brow furrowed, "Has it... started again? What on earth is it trying to do?"

However, a glint of insight flashed in Wenqu Star Lord’s eyes, and his face lit up once more.

"Damn, why is that rabbit heading back?" The candidates climbing the mountain had been paying close attention to this rabbit, who was the first to leave the examination area, only to end up disappointed.

"No clue, maybe it just can’t take our ridicule and its pride has taken a hit, so it’s going for another gamble?"

"What pride does a rabbit have?"

"True... but then why did it come back up?"

"Who knows? But at this rate... can it reach the top in its lifetime?"

As he said this, many people took note—the rabbit was climbing the steps extremely slowly!

Logically, the steps lower down should be easier, and the teachings simpler—mere child’s play, something anyone could grasp in a second and then move on.

But this rabbit, after stepping on the first step, stood still for a full three minutes before moving on to the second step!

A million steps, three minutes per step—that’s three million minutes, which translates to more than five years to potentially reach the top.

However, as the difficulty of each step increased, if it took three minutes just for the first step, wouldn’t the later steps require even more time?

If it managed to complete the million steps, wouldn’t that mean it would take who knows how many years?

Just as everyone thought, the rabbit stood on the second step for a full ten minutes before moving on to the third step!

This was no longer a mere doubling of time; it was clearly a geometric increase!

Seeing this, people shook their heads, "With such limited comprehension, it probably won’t reach the top even if its lifespan ran out."

Then, everyone turned away, no longer concerned with the most inept rabbit in history, and continued climbing the steps.

Liu Ximing muttered, "Something’s not right. It was moving quite fast before, so why is it slowing down now?"

Zhao Fubing replied, "Probably can’t bear to leave immediately due to shame, so it’s deliberately prolonging the time. When no one’s looking, it will run off, right?"

Zheng Zhisheng said, "Certainly must be the case, otherwise it shouldn’t be getting slower and slower... Doesn’t make sense."

"This rabbit, lacking in comprehension, lacking in strength, still cares about saving face..." Liu Ximing said disdainfully.

Zhao Fubing spoke, "No need to watch anymore, this assessment has nothing to do with it. Let’s just focus on the others, lest some mess occurs and we get punished for it."

Zheng Zhisheng and Liu Ximing nodded in agreement and shifted their gaze towards the other candidates.

Atop Book Mountain, Wenchang Star Lord looked at Wenqu Star Lord, "Is it... trying to compete with us till its dying breath?"

Wenqu Star Lord said, "Read your books, drink your tea, and wait for the results."

Wenchang Star Lord pouted, "You still haven’t given up? This rabbit is getting slower and slower. With such pauses even for the simplest numbers, one, two, three, what about the path ahead...

The outcome is already decided; better to rest up now."

Having said that, Wenchang Star Lord closed his eyes to rest.

Wenqu Star Lord continued to watch the rabbit, which, just as everyone had said, was getting slower and slower.

The simplest number three had made it pause for half an hour!

Number four took an hour!

At this pace, not just ordinary disciples and candidates, even the Wenqu Star Lord started to feel hopeless.

"Sigh... if you wish to leave, I won’t stop you."

With a sigh, Wenqu Star Lord took his eyes off the rabbit and turned to leave.

Clearly, he too felt that the rabbit was up to something and would run off once it was no longer the center of attention.

However, unbeknownst to everyone at that moment, the rabbit stood on that fourth step, lifting its head to the sky where fireworks burst forth. A giant hand wielding a great pen, enveloped in rolling thunder, tore through the heavens with a force as it inscribed a word magnificent and domineering—Four!

Boom, boom, boom...

Yi Zheng’s Sea of Consciousness trembled unstoppably under that character. His soul looked up, pondering, realizing, as the huge rune inside the Sea of Consciousness became vaguely clearer by a fraction.

Yi Zheng was ecstatic, "Indeed, indeed!

These characters are not merely simple ones; the more they are understood, the more can be seen!

Pondering halfway yields limited insight. Letting go of everything and starting anew, heaven and earth are transformed!"