Swift and Deadly

A hundred demon beasts had been released into the Hundred Beasts Garden. Since the garden itself was not large, it was easy to find a target.

Of course, that also made it more dangerous.

The demon beasts were quite close to one another. If one failed to cleanly dispatch the opponent before them, they could easily draw other demon beasts over and end up surrounded.

Lu Ming was naturally unafraid. It was merely a demon beast that had just entered Level Two; he was confident he could deal with it swiftly.

The deacon disciple followed behind without saying a word. Lu Ming did not mind and carefully searched for a target. Before long, he noticed a disturbance.

What emerged was an Ironclad Rhinoceros. Its entire body was covered in scales as large as cup mouths, its hooves as wide as bowls, and its enormous frame left deep prints in the ground.

A sharp black horn protruded from its head, gleaming with a cold, sinister light beneath the sun.

"Is it this demon beast?"

When the deacon disciple behind Lu Ming saw the Ironclad Rhinoceros, his gaze shifted slightly. Based on his knowledge of the Hundred Beasts Garden, this beast could be considered one of the strongest within.

Its body was clad in iron armor, difficult for blades and swords to harm. More troublesome still, beneath that armor lay a layer of fat, soft as cotton and unable to bear force.

Thus, it was difficult for strength to penetrate through.

Combined with the horn atop its head, which was razor-sharp and carried deadly poison, anyone gored by it would surely die without prompt treatment.

Even he, at the Mid True Qi Realm and having cultivated an exceptionally formidable Human-grade Peak Stage martial skill, would not dare be the slightest bit careless when facing this demon beast.

Thus, he secretly circulated his true qi, prepared to intervene and rescue Lu Ming at any moment.

He even considered warning him to choose another target, since he was the descendant of Elder Ming's old friend.

That way, he might avoid failing the assessment.

Yet before he could speak, Lu Ming had already leaped out.

The instant the Ironclad Rhinoceros emerged, Lu Ming had assessed the situation seven or eight parts out of ten. At a glance, it was a demon beast with extraordinarily strong defenses.

Its attack power was surely formidable as well, but it had a fatal flaw—it was exceedingly cumbersome.

Lu Ming had abundant experience dealing with such opponents.

Once he had clearly observed the situation, his figure shot forward like a phantom. His saber left its sheath, and blade light flashed in rapid succession.

Then, beneath the deacon disciple's astonished gaze, the Ironclad Rhinoceros crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"What happened?"

Lu Ming had moved far too quickly for the deacon disciple to grasp what had happened. With the dust billowing up as well, he could only walk closer.

Only then did he see that the Ironclad Rhinoceros's four limbs had been crippled. Though it still struggled desperately, it could never rise. Lu Ming's strikes had clearly been both accurate and ruthless.

"How did you do that?"

Having seen the situation clearly, the deacon disciple could not help asking. It had happened too quickly—even he could not have done it.

Lu Ming turned the saber in his hand and thoroughly ended the demon beast's suffering, then explained casually, "The Ironclad Rhinoceros is not hard as iron all over. The joints connecting its limbs to its abdomen are its weak points."

The deacon disciple looked where he indicated and indeed saw four saber wounds there, each cutting straight to the bone.

After seeing them, the deacon disciple could not help shaking his head. Lu Ming had made it sound easy, but if someone else tried to do the same thing, they would likely find it extremely difficult.

One had to slash four times in four different directions almost instantaneously.

That required not only extreme speed and extraordinarily keen eyesight, but also swift and precise technique.

Without any one of those, it could not be done. Even the slightest mistake could cost one's life.

Thus, he had only one assessment of Lu Ming now: his strikes were exceedingly swift and deadly.

He even began unconsciously speculating whether he himself could withstand such rapid attacks.

"Let's go."

By then, Lu Ming had already hoisted up the Ironclad Rhinoceros and headed outside.

The deacon disciple came back to his senses and hurriedly followed.

Since they had not ventured far into the Hundred Beasts Garden, they soon emerged.

At that moment, the incense had only burned down a little—merely a few minutes had passed.

"So quickly?"

The moment Lu Ming emerged, Elder Ming, who had been waiting in his chair, could not help rising to his feet.

Then, when he saw the Ironclad Rhinoceros on Lu Ming's back, he was even more secretly alarmed.

He naturally knew what level this demon beast was. At first, he had thought Lu Ming had emerged so quickly because he had encountered an exceptionally easy demon beast.

Though he knew Lu Ming's combat strength was formidable and that he could fight above his level, this demon beast was different. Even someone at the Mid True Qi Realm could not possibly emerge so quickly after facing it.

Whether they could even defeat it was another matter entirely.

The deacon disciple quickly recounted the entire process. Aside from protecting assessment disciples, his role was also to evaluate their performance.

After listening, Elder Ming became increasingly satisfied with Lu Ming. Yet he forcefully suppressed any sign of it and said, "Very good. Your saber technique is extremely precise. If you keep this up, your future will be without limit. You have now passed the assessment. However, you must wait until the others finish before I take you to change your identity to that of an Inner Sect disciple."

He worked hard to deliver an evaluation that was neither too high nor too low.

This made the deacon disciple beside him mutter to himself, feeling that the evaluation seemed somewhat too low.

Unable to understand it, he could only assume that Elder Ming had higher expectations for this old friend's descendant.

Lu Ming, on the other hand, knew the reason. Even if he had not, he would not have cared. After offering a salute, he stepped aside and waited quietly.

Elder Ming then sat back down.

After a short while, someone else emerged.

It was one of the people who had just entered for the assessment. Seeing his dejected appearance, it was clear he had come out so quickly because he had failed.

"The moment he encountered a demon beast, he panicked. When they fought, he was even more flustered and disorganized. In the end, I had to step in and save him."

Upon hearing this, the disciple lowered his head in embarrassment, his face flushing red.

Elder Ming frowned deeply. He took the roster and glanced at it before asking, "You have never encountered demon beasts before?"

The disciple hurriedly shook his head. "Reporting to Elder, I have spent almost all my time cultivating techniques and martial skills."

Elder Ming sighed but did not criticize him too harshly. He merely reminded him, "Actual combat is also important. Practicing against wooden targets and facing living creatures—especially demon beasts—are completely different matters."

"Fortunately, you are still young and have opportunities ahead of you. Go back and gain more experience in the outskirts of the Wuji Mountain Range."

With that, he drew an X beside the disciple's name.

"Yes."

The disciple left respectfully. Before departing, he did not forget to glance at Lu Ming. He desperately wanted to know how Lu Ming had come out so quickly, and whether he had succeeded.

However, since Lu Ming had not left, he had likely succeeded.

Or perhaps Elder Ming had opened some back door for this old friend's descendant.

In any case, his mind was filled with distracting thoughts.

Lu Ming could read many things from his gaze as well.

Elder Ming naturally could too. With a wave of his hand, he took out the Ironclad Rhinoceros, which he had already stored in his storage ring, and tossed it onto the ground.

Then he waited quietly.

Less than several dozen breaths after the first failure left, someone else emerged. This time, it was a disciple who had participated in the assessment before.

He was tall and powerfully built, and had likely trained in external cultivation.

A massive black bear was slung across his back.

The instant he emerged, the first person he saw was Lu Ming, and he was plainly taken aback. He had thought he would be the fastest to pass the assessment.

For him, this was his final chance. To ensure nothing could go wrong, he had remained in the Wuji Mountain Range for more than five full months.

During those five months, aside from eating, drinking, and sleeping, he had done nothing but battle all kinds of demon beasts.

He had faced three life-and-death crises during that time. Fortunately, he had endured them all, and they had brought about his transformation.

This time, he had thought he would make a name for himself with a single brilliant feat. He had even deliberately selected one of the strongest demon beasts in the Hundred Beasts Garden as his target.

He intended to use it to prove himself.

Yet someone had been faster than him.

Still, he felt that Lu Ming must simply have been lucky and encountered an exceptionally easy demon beast. He even entertained the same thought as the failed disciple—perhaps Elder Ming had opened some back door.

But when he saw the Ironclad Rhinoceros lying on the ground nearby, he realized he had been mistaken.

Thus, he could not help looking at Lu Ming several more times.

The deacon disciple following behind him, however, had none of those complicated thoughts and directly stepped forward to report the situation.