Assessment Concluded

"Cui Bai, you did well. To go toe-to-toe with a Black Rock Bear and kill it with your bare fists shows you've put in the effort."

"You have now passed the assessment. Stand aside and wait."

After hearing the Steward Disciple's report, Elder Ming understood the disciple's assessment situation and thus praised him.

The disciple named Cui Bai was overjoyed to hear this. Lu Ming could see that his body visibly relaxed upon hearing the results.

Clearly, he had been under a lot of pressure recently.

"Thank you, Elder."

Suppressing his joy, he bowed and stood next to Lu Ming.

The assessment continued, and soon another disciple emerged. This one had also participated in an assessment before and succeeded this time.

However, the Demonic Beast they hunted was very ordinary.

Still, they had completed the assessment requirements and, under the supervision of the Steward Disciple, had not used any external forces or cheating methods.

So, they successfully stood beside Lu Ming and Cui Bai.

Next, another disciple came out. This was also someone who had participated in an assessment before. She was a female disciple, dressed practically, and she also successfully hunted a Demonic Beast to pass the assessment.

Following her was the disciple surnamed Qi. Like Lu Ming, this was his first assessment, and he also succeeded.

However, he looked disheveled, with a scratch on his face. It was clear he had suffered quite a bit.

Now, only three disciples remained inside, two of whom had participated before.

After a while, the only disciple who had not participated in an assessment before emerged. The result was clearly a failure.

Immediately after, another person came out. He had not succeeded and appeared extremely unwilling to accept it.

Through the Steward Disciple's explanation, everyone finally understood the reason for this person's failure.

It turned out that he had been entangled with one Demonic Beast for too long, which attracted other Demonic Beasts, and not just one, but two more.

Facing the encirclement of three Demonic Beasts, the Steward Disciple almost couldn't save him.

"Elder, can you give me another chance? I would have succeeded this time, it was just bad luck."

The disciple knew he was already past seventeen and a half and would no longer have a chance to participate in the assessment, so he pleaded.

Elder Ming initially wanted to reprimand him, but at the last moment, he couldn't bear to and said gently:

"The rules are the rules. If I make an exception for you today, it would be unfair to the disciples who were eliminated before."

"But..."

Tears welled up in the disciple's eyes, "But I don't want to go back like this."

The scene was silent. No one spoke, or rather, no one knew what to say.

Elder Ming sighed, "Every year there are people who are unwilling to leave, but every year I must be hard-hearted. It's also out of necessity."

He continued, his gaze becoming serious again:

"You say you had bad luck, but in reality, your strength was insufficient. If you could have dealt with your opponent faster, you wouldn't have been surrounded."

"Moreover, you've already participated in two assessments, and you're still lacking. Being slightly lacking in the Hundred Beasts Garden means someone can save you, but being slightly lacking outside means no one will."

The disciple lowered his head even further upon hearing this.

"Especially since I said before the assessment, the dangers you face after becoming an Inner Sect Disciple are not few. So don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

He was indirectly telling him to quit. If one's strength wasn't up to par to enter the Inner Sect, they might not live long. It was better to return.

"I understand. Thank you, Elder."

The disciple no longer insisted. After taking a deep breath, he bowed to Elder Ming and then left.

Everyone, including Lu Ming, watched him slowly disappear.

To be honest, it had a profound impact on them.

Currently, only the last disciple undergoing assessment remained in the Hundred Beasts Garden, and the incense stick was almost burnt out.

Finally, after the incense stick completely burned out and a while longer, the last person emerged, and for some reason, he kept shouting "Unfair!"

"What's going on?"

Elder Ming frowned and looked at the accompanying Steward Disciple. He clearly couldn't stand hearing the word "unfair."

The Steward Disciple was also frustrated and quickly explained, "Reporting to the Elder, this person's Lightness Skill is good, so he just kept running circles around the Demonic Beasts until time was up. I had to forcibly bring him out then."

"Is what he said true?"

Elder Ming looked at the disciple again.

Seeing his expression, the disciple flinched, but still retorted unconvinced:

"It's unfair! Not everyone is suited for combat. The sect shouldn't only want disciples with strong martial abilities."

Everyone was stunned, including Elder Ming. However, he quickly recovered, clearly not encountering this situation for the first time. He simply asked the Steward Disciple accompanying him:

"How exactly is his Lightness Skill?"

The Steward Disciple looked a bit embarrassed at this and replied:

"Elder, when I said his Lightness Skill was good, I meant relative to his own strength. Compared to others, it's only slightly better than average."

"Impossible," the disciple immediately retorted.

The Steward Disciple didn't argue.

Elder Ming was somewhat displeased and let out a cold snort, ordering the disciple to demonstrate. The result was indeed as the Steward Disciple had said.

He performed the Human-tier Mid-grade Lightness Skill, Flying Cloud Steps, with his furthest leap only reaching just over sixty meters.

At this distance, Elder Ming merely shook his head and then asked Lu Ming to come out and demonstrate his Lightness Skill.

Lu Ming's Soaring Cloud Skill was also Human-tier Mid-grade, but he had already practiced it to its peak. With a single, light leap, he traveled over eighty meters.

This was even without activating his Heavenly Blade Inner Qi, otherwise, he would have gone even further.

Seeing Lu Ming float away so effortlessly, the disciple's eyes visibly bulged. "How could it be so far?"

Then, Elder Ming had the other disciples who passed the assessment demonstrate their Lightness Skills one by one.

The result was that even Cui Bai, who majored in external techniques, could leap over sixty meters in a single step.

Naturally, the disciple had nothing more to say.

"Hmph, martial power doesn't represent everything, but relying solely on Lightness Skill is clearly not enough. Although there have been disciples like you in previous years, they knew how to use the advantage of Lightness Skill to kite their opponents, while you only know how to dodge."

After a comparison, Elder Ming sternly criticized, "Furthermore, your Lightness Skill isn't even that outstanding."

The disciple had already lowered his head in shame.

"Normally, with my temper, I wouldn't waste so much time with you. However, considering you still have another chance to participate in the assessment, I'm giving you a stern warning so you understand that whether it's in life or in your actions, you need to calm down."

Elder Ming's intentions were truly thoughtful.

"Alright, you can go!"

Hearing this, the disciple dared not linger and left in a hurry.

Lu Ming and the others saw this and couldn't help but shake their heads, thinking that with such a restless attitude, he likely wouldn't pass next time either.

Elder Ming didn't dwell on it. Perhaps after seeing so many such cases, a reminder was all he could do, fulfilling his duty.

He waved his hand, dismissing the Steward Disciples, and then led the five who had passed the assessment to a Jade Tablet.

This Jade Tablet was divided into two parts: one was jade green, and the other was grayish-white.

What they had in common was that both were covered with jade plaques bearing names.

"These are the names of the Inner Sect Disciples. Some are still alive, and some, have already died."

Arriving here, Elder Ming's voice grew somber. "The living are on this jade green section of the tablet, and the order of their names represents their strength ranking."

"This ranking is updated once every three years during the Inner Sect Grand Competition. Those who consistently fall behind will be punished, and may even be expelled from the Inner Sect."

Upon hearing Elder Ming's words, the five couldn't help but look at the names. Lu Ming saw Chu Yunxiao's name at the six hundred and seventh position.

He had witnessed Chu Yunxiao's strength firsthand; he could handle two Demonic Cult members alone with ease.

He was undoubtedly a powerful talent.

For someone like him to be ranked sixth hundred and seventh was enough to show the significance of this Jade Tablet's ranking.

"The main reason I brought you here is not to look at this, but at this gray Jade Tablet. The names on it are those who have been confirmed dead."

"And for those who have been missing and unheard from, their names are not on here."

Elder Ming spoke again.

When the group saw these names, their hearts tightened. This was death and brutality laid bare before them.

"Therefore, I've brought you here to give you one more chance to choose: do you wish to join the Inner Sect?"