Year-End Assessment (Part Two)

The disciples erupted in astonishment. So many before had merely passed, yet Qi Haozhi alone had received an outstanding grade.

Listening to the envy and cries of surprise around him, Qi Haozhi's face faintly showed pride. After bowing once more to the stewards, he gracefully leaped down from the demonstration platform.

When he returned to the new disciples, he was met with their flattery and praise. This demonstration of the Spirit Sword Technique had won him considerable prestige.

After all, while the other disciples could not even afford defensive spirit artifacts, possessing a flying sword spirit artifact meant one could be called invincible among cultivators of the same level.

A spirit energy shield condensed from spiritual power might withstand spells like the Fireball Technique, but it could not block a single strike from a flying sword.

Xu Chunniang frowned. She could tell that Qi Haozhi had put in a great deal of hard work on the Spirit Sword Technique. His flying sword was not slow, and it moved with exceptional agility.

If I were struck by his flying sword...

Xu Chunniang instinctively imagined herself being hit by the flying sword. She had neither defensive spells nor defensive spirit artifacts. Forget being struck by a flying sword—even a Fireball Technique would cost her half her life.

For a moment, her expression turned grave as she continuously considered countermeasures. She did not even have the mood to watch the demonstrations below.

One person after another took the stage to demonstrate spells, but after seeing the Spirit Sword Technique, the disciples felt that all the other spells were utterly ordinary. They even began commenting on them.

"Ha ha ha, what kind of spell is this? Lying on the ground and disguising yourself as a big rock?"

"This should be some kind of concealment spell, but it looks far too ridiculous."

Hearing the commotion, Xu Chunniang steadied herself and looked toward the stage. She saw a disciple lying prone in an odd posture, yellow-brown spiritual energy swirling around him. Concealed by that energy, his entire body became indistinct. From afar, he was utterly unremarkable, just like a stone by the roadside.

It was only that his cultivation of the spell was likely not yet sufficient. A few extra glances were enough to see through his disguise.

"Ha ha ha, what kind of trash spell is this? Just walk a little closer and this low-grade disguise falls apart!"

"You might as well learn the Light Body Technique. At least you could run when someone attacks you. This spell is too stupid—squatting there and pretending to be a rock. Are you playing the fool while covering your ears to steal a bell?"

The surrounding disciples burst into laughter.

But Xu Chunniang's thoughts stirred. Right, how had she forgotten the Light Body Technique?

Ever since Qi Haozhi had demonstrated the Spirit Sword Technique, she had been thinking about how to defend against a flying sword. She had thought for a long time without finding a solution, but what if she chose to dodge instead of defend?

The more Xu Chunniang thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. At present, her speed made it difficult for her to evade a flying sword, but if she learned a movement technique and increased her speed, avoiding one would not be too difficult.

Qi Haozhi might be able to control a flying sword, but he was only at the second level of Qi Refining. How long could he keep it up?

Xu Chunniang made up her mind. Once the assessment ended and she received the new year's benefits, she would buy a movement technique for self-defense. Better safe than sorry.

This assessment only tested one's proficiency in casting spells and did not care about the rank of the spell. The disciple who had disguised himself as a rock successfully passed the assessment.

Yet after passing, there was not the slightest joy on his face. Instead, he looked utterly dejected. Clearly, he had heard what those people below were saying.

Cui Li glanced at the commotion below, hesitation flashing across his face. "Martial Aunt Mu, the disciples are making quite a disturbance. Should we say something to stop them?"

The female steward seated in the place of honor opened her eyes. She was the Martial Aunt Mu Cui Li had mentioned. This steward of the Merit Pavilion was actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Steward Mu shook her head. "In our Carefree Sect, so long as it does not involve sect rules, we do not interfere in matters between disciples. It is the same even in the inner sect."

Cui Li nodded. He had already known the answer in his heart. He had only asked to confirm it.

Quite a few clever disciples below had also been watching the stewards' reactions. Seeing that they paid no attention whatsoever to the situation below, they relaxed and began commenting on the demonstrations onstage with even less restraint.

"Oh, this is a metal-element spell, the Golden Armor Technique, right?"

"That's right. I'm metal-element too, and I had taken a liking to this spell back then. But it said the cultivation difficulty was relatively high, so I chose another one."

"After the Golden Armor Technique is cast, metal spiritual energy covers the entire body and forms a thin layer of armor. Metal spiritual energy is the sturdiest among the five elements, so with this armor, it can both attack and defend."

"The Golden Armor Technique is truly impressive. One spell, yet two effects. Aside from Qi Haozhi's Spirit Sword Technique, this is probably the strongest spell!"

Xu Chunniang looked up at the stage, but shook her head.

The Golden Armor Technique was indeed powerful, but it consumed nearly twice as much spiritual energy as spells of the same rank. In actual combat, one only needed to avoid its edge and wait until his spiritual energy ran dry to win easily.

The new disciples went onstage one after another to demonstrate their spells. Soon, several disciples using spirit artifacts appeared. All of them received outstanding grades, drawing everyone's attention.

After all, while most people were still pinching every penny over one or two spirit stones, those who could afford spirit artifacts stood out like cranes among chickens. Without exception, they all came from cultivation backgrounds.

Looking at those spirit artifacts brimming with spiritual energy, Xu Chunniang was equally envious. But without even thinking, she knew that such spirit artifacts were astronomical prices to her right now.

"Forget it. Spirit artifacts are still far beyond my reach."

Xu Chunniang shook her head painfully. Rather than thinking about that, she might as well consider which movement technique to choose.

She had seen several movement techniques from below as well. The one most commonly used by the disciples was the Light Body Technique, followed by wind-element techniques like the Wind Riding Technique and Wind Concealment Technique.

Wind-element movement techniques had better effects, but she did not have a wind spiritual root. Instead, attribute-free techniques such as the Light Body Technique and Swift Travel Technique suited her better.

"Next, Xu Chunniang."

Just as Xu Chunniang was struggling with her choice, she heard a sharp call. It was her turn to go onstage and demonstrate.

After waiting so long, Xu Chunniang had long decided which spells to demonstrate. Excluding the Earth Moistening Technique, which she had not yet begun to learn, she knew only three spells in total: the Spiritual Rain Technique, Spring Growth Technique, and Hidden Spirit Art.

Of course, she did not intend to use the Spiritual Dew Technique and Spirit Blast Technique evolved from those three spells, nor the "Manifesting Spirit Art," which could make her cultivation appear higher than it truly was.

When she had first watched everyone demonstrate their spells, Xu Chunniang had thought that others, like her, could develop the endless wondrous uses of spells. But after watching from below for so long, she discovered that not a single person could do so. Many were not even proficient in controlling their spells.

Then it was very likely that this flexible use of spells was something unique to her.

Xu Chunniang thought to herself that when using these new spells in the future, she needed to conceal them somewhat and not let others see through the secret.