Assessment (2) (Please Vote)

When Qin Ze and the others arrived at the Soul Fighting Arena, they were immediately assigned to the main arena.

Standing in the arena was an elder Qin Ze knew very well—Wu Feng's Grandfather, Wu Qingyang.

Yan Renyi first bowed respectfully to Wu Qingyang before turning to the group. "There are several parts to this assessment. First: willpower! Second: talent! Third: actual combat!"

"The first assessment is willpower. Over the next two minutes, if you can withstand Elder Wu's aura pressure, you pass. If you cannot hold on, raise your hand and withdraw. You will then proceed to the second assessment, the talent test. Understood?"

"What!"

The moment those words were spoken, everyone's expressions changed drastically. A year had passed, and they all knew Wu Qingyang. He was a Soul Douluo! They were supposed to endure the aura pressure of a Soul Douluo when they were only Soul Masters? Was this a joke?

Yan Renyi offered no further explanation and simply told everyone to get ready.

There were not many people inside the Soul Fighting Arena, only a few instructors and Wu Qingyang. Oh, and several dozen spectators standing off to one side.

Qin Ze recognized one of them. It was Zhong Han, the one who had taken her to register in the beginning.

"Are you ready?" Wu Qingyang asked calmly. The moment his voice fell, an immensely powerful red fluctuation erupted from his body. The air seemed to twist and turn scorching hot as an overwhelming aura instantly enveloped everyone.

Everyone could clearly feel the air around them solidifying. This meant the assessment had begun!

Wu Qingyang's Martial Soul was called the Red Dragon, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul. Naturally, he could not possibly release his aura pressure in full. Otherwise, he could directly crush everyone present to death.

The aura pressure Wu Qingyang unleashed actually struck according to each person's limit. In other words, as long as someone held firm in their heart and refused to give up, the pressure would remain at that level and would not increase. However, Soul Power pressure hovering at the edge of one's limits often made the mind lose its ability to think.

In less than ten seconds, more than a dozen people gave up.

Qin Ze bent forward slightly. The pressure he faced was far stronger than that of the others.

Wu Qingyang clearly knew that Qin Ze's endurance was higher, so he did not go easy on him and suppressed him as usual.

In the viewing area of the Soul Fighting Arena sat an elderly woman. An invisible Soul Power Fluctuation from her body reinforced the aura Wu Qingyang had released.

She was also a sect-protecting elder of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, a Level 93 Titled Douluo. Her title was Moonlight, and her name was Yue Ming!

Wu Qingyang could not possibly grasp exactly where the limits of all one hundred people present lay. The Moonlight Douluo made up for this perfectly. Her Soul Power entered each person's body and could relay the limits of the disciples undergoing the assessment to Wu Qingyang at any time.

"I can't hold on!"

"This feels awful! I feel like a gigantic Red Dragon is trying to tear me apart."

One disciple after another flushed red, fear showing on their faces. In the end, unable to endure any longer, they raised their hands.

Qin Ze's forehead was drenched in sweat, and the ground beneath his feet had already been soaked through. In his mind, a red dragon seemed to be roaring without end.

Qin Ze was not afraid of that dragon. He merely found it unbearably noisy. More importantly, it was not even as cool as the Azure Dragon inside him!

"This kid is a monster." Wu Qingyang glanced at Qin Ze, his regret growing deeper. Why had he not acted sooner back then?

Two minutes passed quickly. The longer they held on, the calmer the remaining people became. They were not fools and soon sensed that the aura pressure had been held precisely at the limits they could withstand.

Whoosh!

The two minutes were up, and Wu Qingyang immediately withdrew his aura.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In an instant, everyone who remained, apart from Qin Ze and a few others, collapsed onto the ground, gulping down fresh air.

Qin Ze looked at those who had passed and shook his head. Only twenty-three people had chosen to persevere; everyone else had withdrawn.

Among those who withdrew was even a genius with innate Level 8 Soul Power.

Of those twenty-three, five were girls. Their willpower had utterly surpassed that of the boys who had given up early.

"Very good. Since you were able to hold on, everyone who passed the first willpower assessment will receive a reward of five hundred Gold Soul Coins." Wu Qingyang looked at those who had persevered with satisfaction.

Perhaps their future accomplishments would not reach as far as those with greater talent, but at least for now, those more talented than them had lost to them.

Moonlight Illumination!

Suddenly, a gentle voice rang out.

For no apparent reason, a half-moon appeared in the air. It radiated white light that fell upon everyone who had endured.

The exhaustion in their bodies recovered almost instantly.

A Healing Type Titled Douluo!

Qin Ze suddenly recalled what his master had told him about the other two sect-protecting elders of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.

One of them was the Moonlight Douluo, whose Martial Soul was Moonlight—a powerful Healing Type Titled Douluo.

His gaze shifted toward the elderly woman seated in the viewing area outside the fighting platform.

A Yellow Soul Ring flickered beneath the elderly woman.

A few seconds later, the half-moon vanished. Wu Qingyang nodded to the elderly woman before leaving the fighting platform.

Yan Renyi leapt up from the viewing area and said, "The second round: talent testing!"

Upon hearing this, many of those who had passed the first round darkened. Their willpower was strong, but when it came to talent, they truly fell far behind.

Still, disappointment was disappointment. They would not give up.

The second round was arguably the simplest. It was similar to testing Soul Power Level and Martial Souls once again, with the purpose of measuring a disciple's progress and development over the past year. The results would be delivered to the people in the sect responsible for managing such matters.

It took only a short time for the second round to be completed. No one was eliminated in this round, and no results were announced. Everyone's information was placed into strictly confidential envelopes.

"The third round: actual combat testing!"

Yan Renyi and the other instructors handed the envelopes to Wu Qingyang, who was waiting in the viewing area. He was the elder of the outer hall and its head, so all such matters had to pass through him.

At the mention of actual combat, everyone grew excited, especially those disciples who were already stronger.

However, a single sentence left everyone frozen where they stood.

A sly glint flashed through Yan Renyi's eyes. "Your opponents will be the sect's stewards!"

The moment he finished speaking, the several dozen people who had been watching in the viewing area all stood up.

Only then did everyone understand that these stewards had not come to watch at all. They were here to participate!

"That's impossible! The rules two years ago clearly had disciples fighting disciples. Why have they changed?"

Those who knew the inside details were filled with doubt, but no one explained the mystery to them.

Sorry, sorry. I got a phone call and have something urgent to take care of, so I barely managed to write this fourth chapter on my phone in the car. I have to take an hour-long ride somewhere. I originally planned to write five or six chapters today, but I won't be able to finish them. I probably will not even be back tonight. I'll make up the chapters I owe everyone tomorrow. I'm truly sorry!