The martial arts school held a disciple assessment every year. If a disciple's strength was too poor and they showed no promise, they would be expelled from the school.
The martial arts school did not support idlers, nor did it support good-for-nothings.
This mainly applied to ordinary disciples in the Body Tempering Realm. Once ordinary disciples with too little potential were eliminated, the school would recruit a new batch of disciples.
Through this process of removing the dross and retaining the essence, the school's strength would also grow greater.
The policy for ordinary disciples in the Body Tempering Realm was survival of the fittest, but things were different for elite disciples in the Inner Force Realm. Being able to enter the Inner Force Realm already proved their strength and potential. Moreover, Inner Force Realm cultivators were precious combatants capable of killing Evil Creatures. The martial arts school would never kick such people out.
Although elites did not have to face elimination, elite disciples still had to participate in competitions, and their rankings had to be determined.
The strongest elite disciple would be the martial arts school's senior brother!
The martial arts school's senior brother represented the strongest disciple in terms of strength, as well as the school's public image. He would receive the school's full support and cultivation. Leaving aside benefits such as money, the key was the preferential allocation of martial arts resources!
For example, High-grade martial arts that only True Qi Realm martial artists could cultivate!
Although Zhengyang Martial Arts School possessed fewer martial arts manuals than the Special Capture Division, it still had two High-grade martial arts. One was the Cloud Stream Sword Record cultivated by the school master, while the other was the Five Elements Fist of the late vice-school master Feng Xiang. However, that vice-school master had already passed away, and no one could teach this High-grade martial art now.
If he could learn the Cloud Stream Sword Record from the school master Qi Zhengyang, that would be a good thing as well. If he exchanged for it through the Special Capture Division, it would require far too many contribution points. Even the cheapest High-grade martial arts started at a thousand contribution points. He would have to work like an ox for the Special Capture Division for a very long time to earn that much contribution. It simply was not worth it.
If he had the connections, he would still prioritize obtaining a High-grade martial art from the martial arts school.
Moreover, he had once been fortunate enough to see the school master perform the Cloud Stream Sword Record. The might of this martial art was truly formidable. Even among all High-grade martial arts, it ranked among the better ones.
Therefore, he had to fight for the position of senior brother of the martial arts school, no matter what.
The martial arts school's disciple assessment was a major event. All the disciples were summoned back one after another, and soon everyone was standing on the school's training ground.
Qi Zhengyang looked solemnly at the more than two hundred disciples before him. "We martial artists must advance with courage and diligence. Even when facing Evil Creatures, we must not fear a battle. Today is the day to test the results of your year of martial training."
"The martial arts school currently has a total of two hundred and thirty-four disciples in the Body Tempering Realm. You will be paired off and compete in martial bouts. Your matches will be directly overseen by seven senior brothers in the Inner Force Realm."
Qi Zhengyang lectured them from the front while the disciples before him were all extremely nervous. The results of today's matches would determine whether they could stay. If they performed poorly, they might very well be sent packing.
After a brief lecture, the disciples began taking their places.
The more than two hundred ordinary disciples were divided evenly. Li Yuan led thirty-two disciples to an empty area of the training ground. The other Inner Force Realm disciples also led the martial arts school disciples under their charge to separate areas of the training ground, preparing to begin the bouts between disciples.
Li Yuan stood among the Body Tempering Realm disciples and swept his gaze around. Looking at the various expressions before him—nervousness, anticipation, and calm—he felt slightly moved as well.
Just one month ago, he too had been in the Body Tempering Realm, no different from these ordinary disciples before him.
But now he had broken through into the Inner Force Realm and become the senior brother of these disciples, responsible for their assessment and capable of largely determining whether they could stay. Li Yuan even saw several disciples give him ingratiating smiles.
Li Yuan looked solemn as he regarded the disciples and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, I'll be responsible for your assessment. I won't say anything unnecessary. Everyone knows the martial arts school's rules."
"When fellow disciples compete, stop at the point of victory. When I call for you to stop, you must stop. If anyone dares deliberately cripple another person, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
"Is that clear?"
The disciples hurriedly replied, "We understand."
Li Yuan nodded slowly. "Good. Pair off randomly and take the ring. You may begin now."
The group immediately scattered, leaving an open space in the middle for the matches. Soon, a tall, powerfully built man walked to the center of the area.
"I'll go first."
This man was named Mao Ming. He was tall and powerfully built and was a little over twenty years old. He had joined the martial arts school six years ago, and his strength was already at the late Body Tempering Realm. Given a little more time, he had a very good chance of breaking through into the Inner Force Realm. He also enjoyed considerable prestige among the Body Tempering Realm disciples.
Mao Ming's presence on the ring placed great pressure on the disciples. However, the result of this assessment was not determined solely by victory or defeat. As long as one displayed sufficient strength and potential, one could remain in the martial arts school even after losing.
Conversely, if one's strength was mediocre, one's potential poor, and one acted timidly and without any bloodlust during the bout, one would be kicked out of the martial arts school even after winning.
After Mao Ming took the ring, another person stepped onto it. This man was named Zhu Pengyi. He had joined the martial arts school five years ago, and his strength was slightly inferior to Mao Ming's.
Once the two had taken the stage, Li Yuan announced the start. Mao Ming and Zhu Pengyi quickly engaged in combat.
Mao Ming wielded the Mountain Splitting Palm. His palms moved with sweeping momentum, powerful and fierce beyond compare.
Zhu Pengyi wielded the Black Tiger Fist. His fists pounced like a black tiger preying on its food, savage and razor-sharp.
The two fought back and forth on the ring. Whenever the battle reached an exciting point, the watching disciples cheered.
Li Yuan stood to the side and quietly watched their fight. From the perspective of an Inner Force Realm martial artist, there was truly little to see in a bout between Body Tempering Realm cultivators. There was a vast chasm in strength between the Inner Force Realm and the Body Tempering Realm.
It was precisely because of this that Qi Zhengyang had arranged for Inner Force Realm disciples to oversee their bouts. If an emergency arose during a match, Li Yuan and the others had enough strength to intervene and prevent deaths or serious injuries.
Mao Ming and Zhu Pengyi exchanged more than twenty moves. As their techniques traded blows, both sides suffered injuries, but they were all minor wounds that did not matter.
After Mao Ming took a Black Tiger Fist head-on, he spotted an opening in Zhu Pengyi's defense. The instant Zhu Pengyi's move had run its course and could no longer be sustained, Mao Ming suddenly blasted apart his guard with a palm, leaving his center wide open and sending him staggering backward.
Zhu Pengyi's expression changed drastically. He tried with all his might to defend, but it was already too late. Mao Ming had rushed in front of him and fired several palms in succession, imprinting them on Zhu Pengyi's chest.
Although Zhu Pengyi had been struck by the palms, they were light and carried little force.
Mao Ming had held back. Otherwise, Zhu Pengyi would have suffered severe injuries and vomited blood.
"The victor has been decided."
Li Yuan made the decision on the spot. He looked at Zhu Pengyi. "You lost. Do you have any objections?"
Zhu Pengyi gave a bitter laugh. "I wouldn't dare. My skill was inferior, so I accept the loss wholeheartedly."
He then looked at Mao Ming with gratitude on his face. "Brother Mao, thank you for holding back."
Once the dust had settled, all the disciples looked toward Li Yuan. They now needed him to announce his decision.
Although Li Yuan was not even twenty, and many of the disciples present were older than him, not one dared flaunt their seniority before an Inner Force Realm Li Yuan. Among martial artists, strength was what mattered.
Li Yuan looked at Mao Ming and Zhu Pengyi and smiled faintly. "Both of you passed the assessment."
As soon as he spoke, Mao Ming and Zhu Pengyi were delighted. They hurriedly thanked Li Yuan before stepping down and giving the ring to the other disciples.
Soon, two more disciples took the stage. One carried a sword, while the other carried a saber. This was also one of the unspoken rules of the martial arts school's competitions: fists and feet against fists and feet, weapons against weapons.
In battles between low-level disciples, the difference in strength between armed and unarmed fighters was considerable. To maintain relative fairness and avoid accidental injuries, armed disciples would not compete against unarmed disciples.
Since this was only a competition between fellow disciples, both of them changed to wooden sabers and wooden swords. Once they took the stage, they quickly began their bout.
Li Yuan stood to the side. When the result became clear, he called for both sides to stop and announced the assessment result.
These bouts proceeded quickly. A round could end in the time it took to drink several cups of tea, and there were a full seven such rings on the training ground.
Before long, more than half of the martial arts school's disciples had completed their assessments.
Soon, a martial arts school disciple who required special attention took the stage, making Li Yuan focus and raise his spirits.
Tian Huarong had joined the martial arts school eight years ago, but his strength was still only at the Mid Body Tempering Realm. There was a very high chance that someone like him would not remain at the martial arts school.
After the two disciples took the stage, the match began once more.
Before you continue