Chapter 2164: Assessment Ends
The Golden Mountain powerhouse standing in the void swept his gaze across the surrounding crowd, then continued speaking: "This time, the quota for Golden Mountain is thirty people. Therefore, there are still ten people in excess."
"Exactly ten alliances. Each alliance must select one more person to eliminate. If an alliance has a dispute, a battle will determine who is eliminated. Additionally, the eliminated person may choose one of those who achieved three consecutive victories to fight. The victor stays, the loser is eliminated."
His calm voice made the atmosphere tense once again. This was the final round of elimination. This time, ten people needed to be eliminated—exactly one per alliance.
"Let's go through them one by one." The powerhouse in the void looked toward a certain alliance and said to them: "Among the three of you, who will be eliminated?"
The three of them all stiffened. Those who had achieved three consecutive victories were all formidable figures—the elite among the defeated alliances. Only they could obtain such a record. If their alliance excluded them and they wanted to challenge one of those victors, the difficulty was extremely high, even hopelessly slim.
But since the rules were set, one of them was destined to be eliminated. Two of them simultaneously fixed their gazes on the third, making that person's expression ugly. They had already fought, so they had a general understanding of each other's strength. Unless someone had hidden their true power, it was easy to tell who was stronger and who was weaker. The one being stared at by the other two was indeed the weakest. He said nothing, willingly stepped forward, and challenged the person he considered the weakest among those with three consecutive victories, fighting for his last hope. Unfortunately, he still lost. Losing meant elimination—no qualification to participate in the Nine Heavens Gathering.
"Those being eliminated now are already elite-level geniuses," Lin Feng remarked as he watched the battle between the two. Both were quite formidable. The various ancient saint clans had selected three to four hundred people from three to four thousand, then subjected them to brutal elimination until only thirty remained. The cruelty of this process was unimaginable.
As the rounds of elimination continued, the space became exceptionally silent and oppressive. Finally, it was Lin Feng's alliance's turn, drawing considerable attention. The remaining members of this alliance were Yu Xiao's First Lord Yu Qing, Golden Mountain's Jin Zhen, the King Body Dugu Bubai, and Lin Feng—four extremely powerful figures. In this alliance, probably no one was willing to be eliminated.
Jin Zhen immediately fixed his gaze on Lin Feng, and at the same time, Lin Feng also looked at Jin Zhen.
"Will you directly challenge someone with three consecutive victories, or shall we fight first?" Lin Feng said calmly, making Jin Zhen's eyes turn exceptionally cold. Before Jin Zhen could even speak, Lin Feng had already addressed him in such a manner, as if implying that in their alliance, Jin Zhen was the one most deserving of elimination.
Yu Qing was obviously out of the question. Jin Zhen had a conflict with Lin Feng, and Dugu Bubai was uninvolved. Therefore, both of them wanted to eliminate the other. This left Dugu Bubai in a rather fortunate position.
"That's what I wanted to say to you," Jin Zhen replied calmly.
"Think carefully. Battle is blind. If you get injured, you won't have time to recover before the next challenge. In that case, you might not even qualify for the Nine Heavens Gathering," Lin Feng continued, making Jin Zhen's eyes burst with terrifying cold light. "Get out here!"
With that, he leaped into the air and landed on the central battle platform, his gaze fixed on Lin Feng. Killing intent surged, Dao might spread, and laws raged like a torrent.
Lin Feng looked at Jin Zhen and walked out slowly. Jin Zhen extended his hand, and in the void, endless golden law light condensed into a terrifying giant hammer.
"Forging hammer technique?" The crowd's pupils contracted slightly. Golden Mountain cultivators specialized in forging weapons. As a Golden Mountain cultivator, Jin Zhen naturally had high attainments in artifact forging. The giant hammer in his hand seemed capable of blasting anyone to pieces with a single strike, and golden light swirled around it.
Lin Feng stepped forward, and a dull boom echoed through the void. On Lin Feng's body, terrifying sword light howled endlessly. A formidable sword intent permeated heaven and earth. Lin Feng reached out, and a giant sword appeared in the void—a heavy, dark giant sword that exuded an unparalleled sharpness, like the ancestor of all weapons.
"Ancestor of weapons intent?" The crowd's pupils contracted. Could this be Lin Feng's martial soul? Why would he have such intent? And the law power converging into the dark giant sword was terrifying—clearly stronger than Jin Zhen's laws.
Jin Zhen's brow furrowed slightly, then he began to swing his giant hammer. Array patterns seemed to interweave in the void. Jin Zhen stomped the ground, his body soaring into the air, and the giant hammer danced along with the light patterns. In an instant, the wind and clouds shifted, and the entire void seemed shrouded in hammer shadows. An overwhelming pressure radiated outward, capable of piercing heaven and earth, shattering the sky.
"So strong. The pressure is increasing wildly." The crowd stared at the void, filled entirely with golden light. The more it gathered, the stronger it became, as if the Dao might itself was supreme power.
Lin Feng's gaze turned cold. The giant sword howled furiously, gathering the power of heaven and earth as if all laws were merging into it. At the same time, terrifying array patterns interwove before him. The Celestial Terrace Array Dao was born, transforming into nine celestial steps. The giant sword slowly charged into them, its pressure growing more and more terrifying, as if no power could stop this sword.
A terrifying pressure howled. Jin Zhen's giant hammer struck out, producing a booming sound that pulsed with immensely powerful energy, as if it would shatter this very world. It smashed fiercely toward Lin Feng, turning the entire void into a colossal hammer shadow.
"Go." Lin Feng slapped the giant sword. It passed through the Celestial Terrace Array Dao, its power increasing wildly, turning into a streak of light that pierced through the endless hammer shadows. A dark demonic vortex appeared around the giant sword, penetrating everything. All the hammer shadows were pierced through, unable to shatter the unstoppable giant sword. Finally, in the space wrapped in gold and darkness, the giant hammer and giant sword seemed to collide violently, sending terrifying ripples through the void. With a thunderous explosion, Jin Zhen's body was once again knocked back. Before him, the giant hammer was torn apart, and a sword continued forward.
"Break!" Jin Zhen blasted out a palm strike, causing the void to tremble repeatedly. An incredibly powerful force struck the giant sword again, finally causing it to shatter and collapse.
At the same time, a gale howled toward him. Jin Zhen saw a terrifying dark fist light carrying demonic might rolling toward him like a thunderbolt. Jin Zhen raised his hand to block, but a cracking sound rang out—the sound of bones breaking. His body was sent flying backward. He roared in fury, and a terrifying light tried to rush into Lin Feng's mind.
"Die!" Death Dao intent swept out, and at the same time, endless death swords slashed forth. Lin Feng's fists pierced through heaven and earth, striking wildly. A continuous rumble echoed through the air. The crowd watched as Jin Zhen was sent flying, blood constantly spilling from his mouth. He then fell heavily to the ground, causing everyone's hearts to tremble violently.
"So strong. The power of that giant sword earlier, and his strength..." The crowd stared at Lin Feng, their hearts shaking. No wonder he was so arrogant. This guy would probably make a name for himself in the Nine Heavens Gathering.
Lin Feng looked at Jin Zhen, who was getting up, and said coldly: "For the Nine Heavens Gathering, you don't even have the qualification to enter."
With that, Lin Feng turned around and returned to his pillar. In their alliance, only he, Yu Qing, and Dugu Bubai remained.
Jin Zhen's face instantly turned pale. He coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. The Golden Mountain powerhouse in the void said to him: "You can now choose to challenge someone with three consecutive victories, or forfeit."
Hearing this, Jin Zhen's expression became even uglier. In this state, how could he challenge someone with three consecutive victories? Those people were all elites themselves.
"I... forfeit." Jin Zhen's venomous gaze fixed on Lin Feng, but Lin Feng completely ignored him. Jin Zhen was merely a small stumbling block on Lin Feng's path to the Nine Heavens Gathering. Next, the Nine Heavens Gathering would finally open its doors to him.
In the following battles, each alliance still had one person eliminated. Finally, when the assessment came to a close, only thirty people remained.
"Congratulations, everyone." The powerhouse in the void smiled at the crowd. "The remaining thirty can all participate in the Nine Heavens Gathering. The others are eligible to watch."
Hearing this, the people on the pillars showed faint smiles. But those who were eliminated had no joy at all—only desolation. They could only be spectators.
"Alright, disperse. There is still one month left. Prepare well for the Nine Heavens Gathering." The man said calmly. Then, thirty tokens flew out, landing before the people on the pillars. Everyone reached out to take them, immediately sending their divine consciousness into them. The tokens transformed into imprints that merged into their consciousness.
Then, figures flickered away one after another, leaving this place. The last month had begun.