1965

**Chapter 1965: Not a Reward, But a Trap**

Lin Moyu stood at the end of the green jade path, facing a high wall, lost in thought.

Did the appearance of a dead end mean his luck had run out?

He had already navigated 450 forks, with only 150 more to reach the end.

It seemed that nothing had changed; he was still himself, and his luck remained the same.

But something must have changed; otherwise, according to his previous assumptions, a dead end wouldn't have appeared.

Considering all the details, Lin Moyu continuously sought the accurate answer.

"The appearance of a dead end isn't due to my choices but rather due to luck."

"As long as the luck is good enough, any choice will be correct."

"But my luck hasn't changed, so the issue isn't with me but with that mysterious force."

"Out of 50 choices, the mysterious force appeared 40 times."

"Each appearance should be an accumulation, gradually increasing in strength and eventually causing an impact."

"The impact should be on my luck; this mysterious force has affected my luck."

"That must be it. The Cloud Mist Sect has a way to measure luck and can determine the outcome based on its strength."

"But they wouldn't choose a successor based solely on luck; there must be other factors. If I'm not mistaken..."

A smile appeared on Lin Moyu's lips, and his eyes sparkled like stars, "If I'm not mistaken, the last 200 choices require observation and thought."

"From the four paths, I need to choose the correct one as much as possible."

"This can reduce the influence of the mysterious force, ensuring the correct result."

"Yes, that's it."

Lin Moyu clapped his hands, finally understanding completely.

He believed his choice was mostly correct, but out of caution, he needed to verify it.

Lin Moyu began to retreat, using his three chances to turn back.

He retreated 20 meters to the four-way fork.

As he retreated, Lin Moyu keenly felt a trace of the mysterious force leaving him.

When he returned to the fork, the leftmost path disappeared, turning the four-way choice into a three-way choice.

"It seems the mysterious force indeed affected me; my luck hasn't changed but was suppressed by this force."

Lin Moyu felt a sense of realization, and the first step of verification confirmed his guess.

He carefully sensed the departing mysterious force, measuring it.

Previously, he had accumulated 40 portions of the mysterious force, and now about 10 portions had left.

Based on this calculation, in the next 10 choices, regardless of right or wrong, the result would be correct.

"Second verification!" Lin Moyu thought, making another choice.

He had always chosen the leftmost path, and after retreating, he still chose the leftmost path.

The initial path had disappeared, so the current leftmost path was previously the second from the left.

In fact, it didn't matter which path he chose; any choice would be the same.

He quickly reached the end of the green jade path, the mist cleared, and four forks reappeared.

Another four-way choice, and this time Lin Moyu didn't feel the mysterious force.

He continued choosing the leftmost path, moving forward, and sensing the force.

"Once..."

"Twice..."

"Ten times..."

After thirteen choices, the mysterious force didn't appear three times.

Accumulating ten times again, Lin Moyu murmured, "This time, I should encounter a dead end."

He quickly made his choices and soon reached the end, facing a high wall.

No way forward, another dead end.

Lin Moyu's eyes showed joy; he knew his guess was correct. The mysterious force indeed affected his luck, thus influencing the result.

Lin Moyu began his second retreat, shaking his soul and carefully sensing all external changes.

As he retreated, another portion of the mysterious force left his body.

This time, the departing force was smaller, only five portions.

Returning to the fork, Lin Moyu muttered, "Half as much as last time. Each retreat reduces the number of attempts."

With fewer chances, Lin Moyu continued his verification.

As expected, after seven choices, he encountered another dead end.

On his third retreat, only two portions of the mysterious force left.

Lin Moyu's third verification confirmed his understanding.

After several consecutive choices, he encountered another dead end.

This time, he had no more chances to retreat; the green jade path behind him had disappeared.

His test had reached its end.

However, the final test brought some changes.

In front of the stone wall, a pearl floated.

It looked flawed and wasn't very beautiful.

"Is this the fragmentary inheritance?"

Lin Moyu recalled what the village elders had said: if the test failed, some rewards would be given based on the results.

In their eyes, it was a form of encouragement to try harder next time and achieve better results.

But Lin Moyu didn't see it that way. Luck couldn't be increased by encouragement.

Luck wasn't like cultivation; it was mostly predetermined.

Either you have it, or you don't.

Lin Moyu believed the Cloud Mist Sect wouldn't do something so trivial.

So what were these rewards?

Based on the experiences of those who had come before, Lin Moyu had an answer.

"It's not encouragement but a trap."

"If you take the reward, the difficulty of the next test might increase."

"That's why those who passed the test and received rewards often performed worse in subsequent tests."

Lin Moyu didn't take the pearl but stepped aside from the green jade path.

An irresistible force fell on him, blasting him out.

Outside the mountain, the mist suddenly rolled violently.

"Hey, the test is over."

"What a pity, he didn't reach the top."

"Haha, we get to see a human meteor again."

"Come on, let's bet on how long Lin Moyu will be stuck in the ground."

"I bet at least an hour, 100,000 units of belief power."

"Small bet, I bet 200,000 units of belief power, and he'll be stuck for at least two hours."

Betting became intense.

From their experience, Lin Moyu would soon fly out of the mountain and crash headfirst into the ground.

He would remain stuck until he regained control of his body.

Someone even shouted to the Hao Saint Sovereign, "Hao Saint Sovereign, you can't help this kid."

The Hao Saint Sovereign had closed his hearing and didn't hear them.

But seeing the expressions of these old guys, he knew what had happened.

This wasn't the first time, and he was experienced.

His eyes showed a hint of disappointment, "Lin Moyu didn't make it either?"

"Is this inheritance really unattainable?"

Under his gaze, Lin Moyu flew out of the mist.