sjar Chapter 1078 Human Candlelight Illuminates the Abyss
Chapter 1078 Human Candlelight Illuminates the Abyss
"Who would like to go first?"
Having explained everything that needed to be explained, Jiang Jiansi didn't waste any more time. He glanced at the three hundred cultivators who had already passed the first round.
When his gaze met theirs, everyone instinctively looked away.
It's not fair to say that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, but in this situation, nobody wants to be the first one to be seen. Most importantly, even though they know the power of the human candle, nobody is sure how many candles they can light when they step forward.
A little more would be fine.
But if not a single lamp is lit, that would be incredibly embarrassing.
Subconsciously, many people looked at Gu Xiu. In terms of strength, many people present probably felt that they were no weaker than Gu Xiu. At least those on the Heavenly Ranking did not think that they were inferior to Gu Xiu.
But if we talk about reputation...
Gu Xiu was indeed far beyond ordinary people. After all, as early as five hundred years ago, he traveled around doing chivalrous deeds. Although he made many enemies, he also made a wide range of friends. So much so that even people who did not know him had heard of the name Qingxuan Sword Immortal.
and so.
In today's test of the human candle, Gu Xiu, as the first person to participate, has a reasonable and well-founded argument.
only……
To everyone's surprise, Gu Xiu in black robes seemed oblivious to their expectant gazes, remaining standing at a distance without any intention of approaching. Was it simply that Gu Xiu didn't want to step forward? In the past, he would never have missed such an opportunity to display his divine power and let everyone witness the might of their sovereign.
But this time, the situation is a bit out of control.
"Damn it, how come there are so many messy things in this Tianyuan Sword Sect?"
"That testing stone almost made me lose face. What if this damn Human Candle causes something else?"
"Let's see what's going on first."
He decided to keep a low profile and observe from the sidelines first.
Fortunately, the group's distress did not last long, because a figure stepped out first. He was wearing the battle robe of the Tian Ce Mansion and still holding the spear that he never parted with. When he came out, many people breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ye Wentian is the Northern General of the Tian Ce Mansion. These Human Candles are originally from the Tian Ce Mansion, so he must be familiar with them. Let him try them out first and see how many Human Candles he can light. We can use that as a reference.”
"The Tian Ce Mansion already has a great reputation, and Ye Wentian, as the Northern General, is probably even more renowned. Moreover, although he rarely takes action, it is his duty to do so. Many times, when he does, it is to protect the righteous path and safeguard humanity. He has probably ignited quite a few fires."
"Yes, promotions in the Tian Ce Mansion often depend on the results of the Human Candle. The fact that Ye Wentian was able to become the Northern General of the Tian Ce Mansion shows that his Human Candle results were definitely not bad."
"How many do you think Ye Wentian can ignite?"
"Could it be that everything is lit up?"
"..."
As Ye Wentian walked out, many people started discussing, mostly speculating about how many candles Ye Wentian would light this time.
All eyes were on Ye Wentian.
Amidst the intense attention, Ye Wentian finally arrived before the longsword that represented the test of humanity. He nodded to Jiang Jiansi, then without saying a word, reached out and grasped the hilt.
next moment.
Centered on him, the candles were lit instantly, and then quickly spread outwards. In just a few breaths, a large number of candles had been lit, and everyone immediately widened their eyes and began to count them carefully.
"Five thousand!"
"Ten thousand!"
"Thirteen thousand!"
"Fifteen thousand!"
"Eighteen thousand! We've caught up with Senior Jiang!"
"..."
As one number after another appeared, everyone was surprised to find that Ye Wentian was able to light just as many candles in the human world as Jiang Jiansi.
This is understandable.
As a disciple of the Sword Saint and also temporarily serving as the sect leader of the Tianyuan Sword Sect, Jiang Jiansi was quite renowned. However, he was mainly responsible for the internal affairs of the Tianyuan Sword Sect. Therefore, the fact that he could light half of the human candles was already quite remarkable, but it was also his limit.
On the other hand, what about Ip Man-tin?
As the Northern General, his duties covered the entire northern part of Zhongzhou, even concerning the Northern Demon Realm and the chaos in Zhongzhou. He also frequently had to participate in major operations of the Tian Ce Mansion. He was not just a figurehead, and naturally accumulated considerable prestige, more than the number of candles lit by Jiang Jiansi, which was to be expected.
but.
Even if there are more, it's still limited.
When nearly 20,000 candles were lit in the human realm, the lighting rate began to slow down rapidly until only a few scattered lights remained, after which there was no further activity.
"Ye Wentian, light 20,826 candles in the human world."
As the voice of a Sword Sect elder in charge of statistics rang out, Jiang Jiansi nodded to Ye Wentian first and said with a gentle smile, "It seems that General Ye has accomplished quite a few great things since emerging from the Three Enclosures Sea of Sin."
"It is my duty to protect the common people." Ye Wentian clasped his hands in a salute.
Jiang Jiansi returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute. After standing up again, he looked at everyone and said, "Next, everyone, please hurry up."
Seeing this, although everyone still had many concerns, they all understood that whether they stuck their necks out or not, they would all be killed, and delaying would be useless.
The second person to step forward to take the test was a prince from a divine dynasty. Although the dynasty was already corrupt, this prince had a good reputation. He had done a lot within his own dynasty, purging evil and focusing on the people's livelihood, and was extremely respected and loved.
He ultimately lit eight thousand candles in the human realm, a result that made him somewhat uneasy, unsure whether it was a high or low number.
But soon.
After the second, third, and fourth cultivators walked out, everyone roughly figured out what was going on.
Being able to light five to eight thousand candles in the human realm is considered average; the higher the level, the fewer there are, and those who can light more than ten thousand are extremely rare. Even the fewest, those who have been in seclusion and have little reputation, can usually light two to three thousand candles.
At this rate, lighting eight thousand candles in the human realm would be practically a sure thing.
Six thousand lamps might be somewhat dangerous.
For those with fewer than 5,000 lamps, there's basically no hope.
"Senior Jiang, may I ask you a question?"
As everyone began to undergo trials one after another, Lü Dongshan asked Jiang Jiansi, "Since these Human Candles represent human faith, why is it that some people who are unknown can light many Human Candles, while others who are quite famous have very few Human Candles lit?"
Lu Dongshan's question also aroused everyone's curiosity.
They noticed it too.
This doesn't seem to be entirely based on reputation, because some people, despite having considerable renown, only managed to light two or three thousand candles in the human realm when they went up, which seems to be different from what they initially expected.
Jiang Jiansi had his own explanation for this question:
"The Human Candle represents all living beings of the human race, but it is not something that can be influenced by a single individual. In fact, it carries certain heavenly secrets and causal power, and to a certain extent, it can be considered a kind of prophetic object."
"Or to put it another way."
"The number of candles lit in the human world represents whether a person can save humanity and how much of a role they can play in a human catastrophe."
"Of course, although one may have a good reputation, most of that reputation is just an empty name, a facade, and therefore useless."
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
The group of cultivators who had previously been arrogant and self-important all changed their expressions and became uneasy upon hearing this.
"If that's the case, is it possible that someone can light all the candles in the human world, or that no candles in the human world can be lit at all?" Lu Dongshan asked curiously.
That's just his personality; he's often extremely straightforward in his words and actions.
This personality trait has actually offended quite a few people.
This time, however, no one was offended. Everyone was curious and looked at Jiang Jiansi. Even Gu Xiu in black robes couldn't help but glance at him.
What you're saying is indeed possible.
Jiang Jian nodded, then after a moment of contemplation, his expression turned serious. He said, "If someone can light all the candles in this world, it means that person has the power to save the world, and could even be considered the savior of the entire universe."
"But what if not a single lamp can be lit?"
That means...
"This person is a demon of destruction, the one who will annihilate the universe!"
When the words "Demon of Annihilation" were uttered, a sharp glint flashed in Jiang Jian's eyes. Although he was extremely restrained, everyone understood.
If such a person appears.
The Tianyuan Sword Sect will likely not hesitate to kill and annihilate him.
This reaction made everyone even more uneasy. On one hand, they hoped they could light more candles in the human world, and on the other hand, they worried that they had become the demon that would destroy the world.
Fortunately.
The crowd soon discovered that even those who were truly unknown and almost lived in seclusion could still light some candles in the human world. According to Jiang Jiansi, everyone in the world has cause and effect, so it is impossible to truly isolate oneself from the world. Therefore, one will naturally have some connection with the candles in the human world, and someone will always be affected by them.
This test of the human candle lasted for two days.
When the third night arrived again, Gu Xiu, who had been observing from the sidelines, finally relaxed and headed towards the place of the Human Candle's trial.