65: Is there a special reward for being the first to complete Chapter 65?

The moment the formula appeared, Zhou Qilin didn't hesitate for a second, immediately extending his Mental Power into that stream of pale blue light.

Densely packed symbols and logical chains unfolded in his consciousness, wriggling like living creatures, and he immediately began his calculations.

The first few steps went smoothly enough, but as the formula iterated on itself, the computational load grew exponentially.

In less than half a minute, fine beads of sweat broke out on Zhou Qilin's forehead, and his temples throbbed faintly.

Realizing the difficulty, Zhou Qilin diverted a sliver of his attention and quickly scanned the others around him.

The situation was much better than he had imagined; among the other competitors, some were crouching with their heads in their hands, their minds dizzy from the strain, while others stared blankly at the light screen, completely at a loss as to how to proceed.

His gaze finally landed back on Gu Changming.

The other man was looking at the formula before him with a deep frown, his lips pressed into a thin line, clearly caught in a difficult calculation and looking quite troubled.

Seeing this, Zhou Qilin felt slightly relieved.

At least this guy who was always chasing after him wasn't having an easy time either.

Then, he poured his attention back into the formula, but as soon as he delved deep, the massive torrent of information jolted his consciousness, making his head swell with the surge of data once more.

At this rate, it feels a bit difficult to finish...

The thought flashed through his mind.

He didn't hesitate much, quickly reaching his left hand into his collar to pull out an inconspicuous Dark Silver Pendant hanging from a thin chain.

The pendant had a primitive shape, with a transparent crystal as its exterior. He quickly popped it into his mouth and bit down gently with his teeth.

A cold sensation spread from the tip of his tongue, and in the next instant, a clear, refreshing chill rushed straight to his brain.

Though the ever-changing formula before him remained complex, it was no longer so dizzying. The swelling pain that felt like his head would burst quickly receded, and his thoughts became clear.

He didn't dally, taking this opportunity to immediately plunge back into the calculations.

Time flowed in a suffocating silence.

By the sixth minute, the last figure struggling among the other five suddenly swayed, the last trace of color draining from his face.

As if he had exhausted all his strength, he staggered back two steps and slumped onto the ground, staring vacantly at the light screen that was still flowing ahead.

He had failed; he was no better than the other four, having only managed to struggle for a bit longer at the end.

Then, like his four companions who had long since given up, he looked up, casting a complex gaze toward the only two remaining in the field, Gu Changming and Zhou Qilin, who were still performing the calculations.

Looking at the two, their eyes held resentment, loss, and a hint of indescribable envy.

Another two minutes passed, and in the seemingly frozen air, a crisp and pleasant "Ding!" suddenly rang out.

The five of them jolted almost simultaneously, looking toward the sound.

The intricate pale blue light screen in front of Zhou Qilin scattered like starlight, the calculation complete.

Once again, he was the first to finish.

Immediately after, the gazes of the five instinctively turned toward Gu Changming, the last one still on the Assessment field.

When Zhou Qilin finished, the time had already jumped to over eight minutes and forty seconds.

Now, there was only a little over a minute left on the countdown.

At this moment, they didn't know whether they hoped Gu Changming would succeed or if they wanted him to fail along with them.

They just watched.

Thirty seconds later.

There was another equally crisp "Ding!"

The light screen flowing in front of Gu Changming shattered at the sound, dissipating into specks of blue light.

As the notification for Gu Changming's successful Assessment sounded, the five people slumped on the ground felt a gentle repulsive force from the surrounding space.

Their figures began to grow blurry and transparent, slowly fading away from this pure white Assessment space.

In their final glimpse, they saw Gu Changming and Zhou Qilin standing in the empty space, with the blue words "Assessment Successful" appearing before them.

[Fifth Assessment Passed.]

[Reward: Intermediate Psychokinesis.]

Gu Changming looked at that line of text, his eyes flickering slightly.

The rewards are getting richer the further I go.

Back then, he had fallen at this very stage, so he hadn't known what the reward was.

With Intermediate Psychokinesis, both strength and control precision would see a qualitative leap.

Without waiting, Gu Changming reached out and tapped lightly in the void, accepting the reward.

In the next instant, invisible energy waves surged into his body, and he could clearly feel his perception and control over surrounding objects grow stronger.

"Only the two of us left."

Zhou Qilin's voice suddenly rang out.

After receiving the reward, Gu Changming also turned his head to look at him.

The other party spoke again, his lips twitching as he spoke first:

"If you had been just a bit faster just now, you would have been the first to finish the Assessment."

"Is there a special reward for finishing the Assessment first?" Gu Changming asked.

Zhou Qilin's expression blanked for a moment, then he shrugged. "Well, no."

"That's good then."

Hearing this, Zhou Qilin clicked his tongue inwardly. Why did that tone sound somewhat relieved?

[Please proceed to the next Assessment area.]

The moment the text appeared, Gu Changming had already started walking, heading straight toward the pale blue light screen.

Seeing this, Zhou Qilin also immediately composed himself and quickly followed.

Passing through the light screen, after a brief moment of disorientation, the two stepped into a new pure white space.

Almost at the same time they came to a halt, the pure white sky above lit up with a pale blue light.

[Sixth Assessment: Construct the corresponding complete and complex model based on the holographic projection.]

The text remained concise.

Gu Changming also expanded the detailed rules he could see.

[Mentalist Basic Assessment · Sixth Round]

[Content: Focus and Mental Power Shaping.]

[Description: After the Assessment begins, a set of three-dimensional holographic projections will be displayed. Within the time limit, the examinee must use only Mental Power to completely replicate the model of the projection in the designated area. The model must achieve high consistency in structure, proportion, and detail.]

[Tip: Maintain high focus and stable output throughout. External interference may lead to the failure of the model shaping.]

Gu Changming quickly scanned the description, understanding it clearly.

So it's a test of focused Mental Power output.

The pale blue text slowly faded, and in the pure white space directly in front of them, light suddenly condensed and intertwined.

A complex three-dimensional holographic projection silently emerged.

It was an extremely precise mechanical structure outlined by countless slender silver-white lines. It was not static, but was operating slowly and regularly.

This model was dynamic, multi-layered, and intricate in detail.

After it appeared, Gu Changming's attention became highly concentrated as he began to rapidly analyze every detail of the structure before him, while simultaneously conceiving it frantically in his mind.

It was also at the moment they were sketching the vague outlines in their minds...

In front of them, within that designated area that was originally empty, faint, semi-transparent phantoms emerged in sync with the flow of their thoughts!

This sudden change caused both of them to pause for an extremely brief moment.

Gu Changming was only surprised for a split second before pulling his attention back, continuing to analyze the projection in front of him.

However, just as he was concentrating, a voice drifted over from the side.

"Is this difficult for you?"