First Assessment

The next morning, early in the morning

Jiang Liu hurried to Apprentice Plaza.

Before long, all forty-two apprentice gang members had arrived.

Master Ma arrived shortly afterward as well. He swept his gaze across the apprentices, then turned and called out, "Xiao Qing! Start the timing hourglass!"

"Yes, Master Ma!" Xiao Qing replied.

Master Ma immediately circulated his qi and blood, spreading the pressure over the entire plaza.

Soon, two apprentices could no longer withstand the pressure of qi and blood. They knelt down first, then eventually collapsed facedown on the ground.

Master Ma glanced at the timing hourglass. Then he waved his hand, and two gang members from Miscellaneous Affairs Hall immediately dragged those two away.

Master Ma paid the two apprentices no further attention and continued increasing the pressure of qi and blood.

Before long, one person after another could no longer endure the pressure and was forced to their knees. In no time, a whole swath of apprentices had collapsed facedown across the plaza.

In the end, only Jiang Liu, Wang Zhuang, and Pan Duan were still holding on.

After roughly another quarter of an hour, Jiang Liu finally could not hold on any longer.

Before Jiang Liu collapsed, he saw that he was the only one still persevering.

Only after Master Ma saw that no one was still standing did he withdraw the pressure of qi and blood.

He glanced at the timing hourglass and said, "You've all been practicing for a month and a half. Those who were the first to succumb haven't even entered Flesh Hardening. You're no longer worth having the gang spend vast resources cultivating!"

"As for the resources they used before, either have your families pay back double the amount, or have them work in the gang's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to pay it off!"

"You should understand that every bit of cultivation resources the gang spends on you was hard-won! I hope you'll know what's good for you!"

With that, Master Ma turned around and strode away with great flair.

Watching Master Ma's receding figure, Jiang Liu thought, So they kick people out just like that! They don't even give you any warning!

Jiang Liu had actually been in this world for more than half a year. When he first started hanging around the streets, he had already learned that the gang committed no shortage of evil deeds.

Cheating, swindling, and trickery were commonplace. There were even occasional cases of people being abducted, mutilated, and dismembered. When Jiang Liu first witnessed such things, he was so frightened that he could not sleep for several days, plagued by nightmares every night and terrified that he might meet the same fate one day.

Fortunately, Jiang Liu had not been particularly young when he transmigrated. Otherwise, his fate absolutely would not have been any better than those people's. Even so, the neighbors next door had already been planning to take advantage of him after his family's death.

Luckily, Jiang Liu had awakened in time. Otherwise, he would definitely be begging for food by now. With such a weak body, even begging would have gotten him bullied by others.

Thus, Jiang Liu felt only a trace of sympathy for the two apprentices who had been dragged away, and then his emotions settled back into calm. After all, the gang had already provided such excellent conditions. If they still refused to work hard, whom could they blame?

The other apprentices, however, saw what had happened and several of them began shouting and making a fuss! They said that Master Ma was too cold and heartless and should give them another chance, among other things.

When Xiao Qing heard those remarks, he immediately rebuked them: "Anyone who discusses Master Ma behind his back will have their medicinal soup rations cut in half today! If there's a next time, your medicinal soup rations will be canceled for an entire day. Xiao Jie, write down the names!"

"If anyone thinks the punishment is too harsh, you can pay their expenses for them yourselves. Don't say I didn't give you this chance!"

"Also, don't think you have plenty of time. Master Ma will continue the assessment next month. Those who fail will receive the same treatment as the two driven out today. As for what will happen to them? I believe you already know."

After Xiao Qing finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to the apprentices and walked away with his hands behind his back.

He also had to hurry up and cultivate. Where would he find so much spare time to meddle in their trivial affairs? If he could not earn contribution points and fish out some benefits by coming here to manage these apprentices, who would bother coming?

After all, those who roamed with a gang faced the threat of death at any moment if their martial arts were poor. They might not even know where they would die the next day.

As soon as the apprentices heard that, they immediately lost interest in continuing the discussion. Each began that day's cultivation. After all, if they failed the next assessment, they would be the ones driven out. Who would still have the leisure to care about others?

Jiang Liu sat in meditation to recover his qi and blood. After circulating it twice, he was full again. He then began that day's cultivation tasks.

Jiang Liu had formulated a strict cultivation regimen for himself.

He made full use of every moment, distributed his time rationally for cultivation, and steadily completed his cultivation tasks step by step.

Only by watching himself grow stronger day by day could he gain enough sense of security.

After all, this world was terrifying. Experts who soared through the skies could be found everywhere, along with bandits and brigands, while strange beasts ran rampant in the wilderness.