Chapter 750: Assessment
The old man led the group to a large square snow-covered area. Ahead of them were simple houses, far from the luxurious palaces, just ordinary rooms.
Among these connected houses, one room was more spacious than the others. Inside, a group of martial artists seemed to be sitting, quietly contemplating something.
These martial artists were all quite young. At the front of the room was a meditation cushion, where an older martial artist sat, occasionally muttering to himself, as if guiding the young ones in their cultivation.
The old man brought the eight of them to a spot not far from the house and said to them, "Sit down and rest while you wait."
Everyone sat down. The old man had powerful cultivation and a high status, but ordering them to wait here indicated that the person inside was quite important.
After a moment, the person sitting on the meditation cushion opened his eyes and swept his gaze over the eight seated figures outside. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Under that gaze, the eight outside felt their bodies tighten, as if an extremely cold aura was rushing toward them, threatening to freeze them solid.
Lin Feng shifted his position on the ground, moving in front of Tang Youyou to block the freezing aura rushing toward them. Tang Youyou was still injured and couldn't use her true essence power, making her unable to resist external attacks. He naturally had to protect her.
The frosty air directly covered their bodies, coating the seven of them with a layer of snow that covered their front halves.
A powerful flame aura burst forth, and a sizzling sound came from the space around them. The snow on their bodies instantly melted into nothingness. The others also used their own methods to wipe away the snow that had fallen on them.
When the snow disappeared and their vision cleared, they saw the figure inside slowly walking out and coming before them.
"Hunter, you should understand what I mean," the old man said to the person who had come out. The middle-aged man called Hunter nodded slightly, looked at the eight of them, and said, "Xue'er is exempt. As for the other seven, I'll test them to see who they're suited for."
"Let's start with you." The middle-aged man pointed at Baili Xi and spoke.
Baili Xi stood up and bowed slightly to the middle-aged man. "Senior, what are your instructions?"
"Come out and attack me with all your strength," the middle-aged man said to Baili Xi. Baili Xi's gaze froze for a moment, but then he nodded. With his strength, it was impossible to shake the other party. The middle-aged man was likely trying to test them, to see their cultivation level and choose how to guide their training.
This was an opportunity. He had to seize it well.
Walking out slowly, Baili Xi came before the middle-aged man and said, "Junior will have to offend you."
"Use your strongest attack. Otherwise, you'll only end up at a disadvantage," the middle-aged man said. Baili Xi nodded solemnly. Facing this Heavenly Martial Realm expert, he didn't need to hold back. Even a full-force strike wouldn't shake him; it was just a test of how strong his power was.
"Alright."
Baili Xi took the sword from his back—a silver sword, a white sword, carrying a hint of desolate coldness. Baili Xi excelled in Sword Dao Will and Snow Will. At the Ninth Layer of Mysterious Martial Realm, his attack power was extremely formidable.
With a thought, sword energy began to run rampant. The snowflakes on the ground danced wildly, and wisps of frost and snow continuously covered his sword, cold and desolate.
"Dual Will, Sword in Snow!" Baili Xi stepped forward. His sword was like snow, silver light flashing. It carried the sharpness of a sword and the lightness and coldness of snow. The cold light refracted from the sword alone was enough to make one feel frozen.
"Sword Dao Will, Second Layer; Snow Will, Third Layer. Not bad," the middle-aged man nodded. Endless snowflakes drifted and condensed, directly sealing and burying the sword, freezing Baili Xi's sword in place. When the sword reached the middle-aged man, it was already frozen in midair, unable to move, blocked by the snow.
"Impressive."
The crowd praised inwardly. The Will of a Heavenly Martial Realm expert was indeed incomparable to that of the Mysterious Martial Realm. The power of Will was much stronger.
"Xueli Jian is the same as him, skilled in the dual Will of sword and snow. He's more suitable to guide him," the middle-aged man said to the old man. The old man nodded slightly, silently noting it down. Xueli Jian was at the Third Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm. Guiding Baili Xi was enough.
The crowd's gaze sharpened. So this test was actually to select teachers to guide them. It seemed very important. If one was strong, the teacher assigned to them would naturally be strong too.
"Return to your spot," the middle-aged man said to Baili Xi, then looked at Han Qiuyu and said, "Your turn."
Han Qiuyu was already prepared and walked out directly.
"Same as before. Attack me with your strongest strike."
"Alright." Han Qiuyu nodded. Behind him, a martial soul materialized—a phantom book floating there. This sight made Lin Feng's pupils contract. A book martial soul. It was somewhat similar to his Heavenly Book in the darkness, but far less magnificent.
The Heavenly Book Martial Soul. It seemed it hadn't been turned in a long time. He wondered if it would flip a page when he crossed into the Heavenly Martial Realm.
"Book!" Han Qiuyu said softly. Immediately, the martial soul drifted, arriving before him, floating ethereally.
"Book, contain the sword!" Han Qiuyu shouted softly. A sword appeared from the book, suspended there.
"Book, contain the spirit!" Han Qiuyu said again. A light imprinted on the sword, and the sword seemed to gain a spirit, emitting a buzzing sound.
"Book, contain the intent!" Han Qiuyu said again. The sword released a powerful Will, and sword energy howled wildly.
"Book, contain the technique!" Han Qiuyu's aura fluctuated violently, as if he was struggling. The sword began to emit an extremely sharp light, as if it would pierce through the air. The sword spun wildly, as if divine abilities and techniques were being added to it.
"The book contains all things. Words become law. Kill!" Han Qiuyu roared. The sword turned into a beam of light, shooting out from the book, vanishing in an instant, piercing through space with shocking power.
"Oh?" The middle-aged man's eyes narrowed, and then a flash of surprise appeared. He slapped his palm, and a terrifying snow power tried to freeze the book-sword. But the sword directly pierced through the snow and continued to stab toward him. This sword was a killing sword.
"Condense!" The middle-aged man shouted sharply. Rolling snow wrapped around the sword, but it still rushed before him, piercing through the snow and spitting out sword light. The middle-aged man suddenly slapped out with his palm, and only then did the sword stop. It buzzed once and then helplessly dissipated into the air.
"Impressive." A look of pleasant surprise appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes. He said, "That guy Chunyang loves to study divine abilities and techniques, all kinds of powerful attack methods. He will definitely be very interested in this kid."
"Chunyang." The old man's gaze froze. Chunyang was at the Sixth Layer of Mysterious Martial Realm, a white-haired old monster. He was much more formidable than Xueli Jian. The middle-aged man actually recommended him to guide Han Qiuyu. Clearly, he valued Han Qiuyu highly.
But Han Qiuyu's methods were indeed very powerful.
Next came Bili and Huangquan. After their attacks, the middle-aged man selected guides for them—one at the Second Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm, one at the Third Layer—both far inferior to Han Qiuyu's.
After that, it was Huangfu Long's turn.
Huangfu Long jumped out directly, excitement flashing in his eyes. Attacking a Heavenly Martial Realm expert made him very excited.
"You should know what to do."
"Be careful. I've never used my Snow Dragon Fist on anyone before. I'm afraid I might hurt you," Huangfu Long said directly, making everyone's gaze stiffen. This guy... was he crazy?
Lin Feng was also speechless at Huangfu Long's madness. Ever since he kept shouting about marrying Tianchi Xue as his wife, Lin Feng had never considered him normal.
"If you can hurt me, it's my incompetence," the middle-aged man said, not minding Huangfu Long's youthful arrogance. Who hadn't been young? He too had once been arrogant and looked down on everything.
"Alright." Huangfu Long took a deep breath and suddenly inhaled. Instantly, the snowflakes in the sky wildly rushed toward his mouth, swallowed directly into his stomach. For a moment, it seemed heaven and earth changed color. The snowflakes rolled violently, extremely terrifying.
"What great power." The crowd's gaze sharpened. They became more and more interested in Huangfu Long. This guy had always been crazy. He had fought before, but always easily, as if he had never used his full strength. Could he really have some extraordinary divine ability?
For a moment, everyone showed some interest in Huangfu Long!