Bang! Bang!
Two figures slammed heavily into the ground.
The two Squad Leaders' expressions darkened as they looked at the Bronze Man Formation, still shaken.
They had both sustained numerous injuries.
As Houtian Realm Martial Artists at the first level, they had True Qi protecting their bodies, but the Bronze Men's defenses were astonishing.
They could cope for a short while, but not for long!
Especially once the Bronze Men's strength reached the Eighth Level of Body Tempering and more than eight of them attacked in an orderly fashion.
That was already more than they could bear.
The two Squad Leaders sighed softly, then retreated into the ranks.
The surrounding Demon Suppression Guards saw this, and their expressions grew grave.
The Bronze Men at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering were already too much to handle.
So what would they be like once they reached the Ninth Level of Body Tempering?
Yet before much time had passed, barely ten breaths later,
another six men were blasted out by the Bronze Men!
The reason was simple.
When someone was eliminated, the remaining Bronze Men were freed up.
Naturally, those extra Bronze Men would go after the Squad Leaders who were still in the formation.
So the fewer people there were, the greater the pressure on those left!
Another ten breaths passed.
Three more Squad Leaders were eliminated!
One of them had even reached the second level of the Houtian Realm.
But his body-tempering and movement skills were both mediocre, and he was soon overwhelmed when even more Bronze Men swarmed him.
By now,
only two men remained in the Bronze Man Formation.
They were the two strongest men in the Captains' eyes: Jiang Deyun and Qin Bang.
However, once only two men remained inside the formation,
the pressure they faced became immense.
Each of them was effectively facing attacks from more than fifty Bronze Men at once!
After all, these were Bronze Men at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering—and they never tired and could barely be injured.
Although Qin Bang and Jiang Deyun were the strongest,
they were already drenched in sweat and didn't look as if they could hold out much longer!
The two glanced at each other, gritting their teeth as they held on.
To them, the real opponent they had to defeat now was each other!
Whoever took first place would receive an astonishingly generous reward!
The rewards for first and second place were worlds apart!
They had already made it this far, so they had to hold on and claim first place.
"The Bronze Men keep getting stronger. They've already reached the Eighth Level of Body Tempering!"
"This is way too hard! More than fifty Bronze Men are attacking one person, and they can't even be killed!"
The Demon Suppression Guards watching from all around stared wide-eyed.
Meanwhile, the Squad Leaders who were about to take their own tests looked grave.
These Bronze Men were exceptionally strong and incredibly hard to deal with.
How long would they last when their turn came?
Even Houtian Realm Martial Artists would struggle to hold out!
In the crowd, Lin Feng remained as calm as ever.
For everyone else, Bronze Men at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering were a nightmare to deal with, and it was hard to last against them.
But to Lin Feng, they seemed merely average!
After giving it some thought, he concluded that Bronze Men at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering couldn't hurt him.
He wondered how strong the Bronze Men at the Ninth Level of Body Tempering would be.
Just then,
time ran out, and the Bronze Men grew stronger once more!
They rose from the Eighth Level of Body Tempering to the Ninth Level!
Before this, Qin Bang and Jiang Deyun had barely managed to hold their own with their movement and combat skills.
But when the Bronze Men reached the Ninth Level of Body Tempering, their strength underwent a qualitative leap!
In an instant, their attacks became ferociously swift!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Inside the Bronze Man Formation, the clash of metal rang without end.
Every Bronze Man raised a fist and attacked the two men.
On the high platform,
Captain Xu said slowly, "Now that the Bronze Men have reached the Ninth Level of Body Tempering, those two won't last much longer!"
"Jiang Deyun can hold out for quite a while with his combat skills, but Qin Bang is about to be eliminated!"
After speaking, Captain Xu looked at Captain Chen beside him and said, "Old Chen, I got it right this time, didn't I?"
Captain Chen said nothing, only giving a slight nod.
From their vantage point, they had a clear view of everything below.
They knew exactly what was happening.
Down in the Bronze Man Formation, Qin Bang, who had mastered the Spirit Snake Lightness Skill, was finding it harder and harder to hold on.
When there were fewer Bronze Men, he could still handle them.
But now Qin Bang had to defend against attacks from more than fifty Bronze Men by himself.
His movement skills were no longer enough to hold them off.
A number of Bronze Men's heavy punches slammed into Qin Bang.
Qin Bang hadn't trained in any body-tempering Martial Arts. With only True Qi protecting him, he couldn't last long!
Sure enough,
ten breaths later, Qin Bang's movements slowed more and more, and he staggered as if he might fall at any moment.
Just then, three Bronze Men attacked together, smashing into Qin Bang's back.
With a splutter, Qin Bang coughed up a mouthful of blood and could hold on no longer.
He was then blasted out of the Bronze Man Formation.
Jiang Deyun, by contrast,
had given up dodging. He planted his feet where he stood, crossed his arms over his chest, and let True Qi surge through his body.
Countless heavy punches from the Bronze Men landed on him, ringing like blows against iron.
Jiang Deyun was in much better shape than Qin Bang, but after Qin Bang was eliminated,
more than a hundred Bronze Men took turns attacking him.
Even with the Second-tier Martial Art Iron Armor Skill, he couldn't hold out for long.
Another ten breaths passed.
Jiang Deyun couldn't take it any longer, and the Bronze Men blasted him away.
But he was in far better shape than Qin Bang and hadn't coughed up blood.
He simply hit the ground looking a little disheveled.
Jiang Deyun didn't care about that now. His eyes blazed with excitement.
"I won! I won!"
"I'm first in this assessment!"
He couldn't help growling in excitement, unable to contain himself!
Just imagining the reward for coming first made his whole body tremble with excitement!
Five hundred True Qi Pills, three Second-tier Weapons, and one Third-grade Martial Art!
Those rewards would be more than enough to make him much stronger and raise him by two whole ranks!
Nearby, the other Squad Leaders who had been eliminated earlier wore rueful expressions.
Qin Bang, who had come second, sighed especially heavily.
What a pity—he'd been just a little short!
The surrounding Demon Suppression Guards erupted in an uproar.
"Jiang Deyun won!"
"Good grief, he's incredible! His Iron Armor Skill is as unshakable as a mountain. He lasted so long against attacks from that many Bronze Men!"
"Ah, I think luck played a part too. Jiang Deyun may not be stronger than Qin Bang, but he specializes in body-tempering Martial Arts, which gives him an advantage!"
The Demon Suppression Guards discussed it animatedly.
Everyone knew Jiang Deyun would only grow stronger in the future.
With so many cultivation resources, even a pig would become a lot stronger.
What's more, Jiang Deyun was a Martial Artist with a fair amount of talent.
On the high platform,
the heads of the Four Great Families and the Gymnasium Curators all had a gleam in their eyes.
Jiang Deyun and Qin Bang were both under thirty, and they still had plenty of potential in the martial path.
Give them some resources, and they might become powerful enough to serve as Captains!
They were both promising prospects!
At that moment, none of the Four Great Families' heads or the Black Tiger Gymnasium Curator said a word.
But they had already made up their minds in secret: they would pay a huge price to recruit Jiang Deyun as a Guest Elder!
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