Year-End Assessment

The Lü Family's Puppet Technique, and the Chen Family's alchemy.

Li Mo guessed that each of the four great Aristocratic Clans had its own specialty, though this wasn't an absolute rule.

For example, Lü Cuicui's cousin, Lü Tong, excelled in Runes and Restrictions. As for the fields in which the Jiang and Ye Families excelled, Li Mo didn't know yet.

"I'm back."

Li Mo returned to Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang and greeted the three of them.

"Come watch with us. The duels have already started."

Li Mo nodded, sat down, and looked at the two people inside the barrier.

He didn't know either of them, but judging by their fighting, neither seemed to be a first-year disciple. One specialized in fire spells, while the other specialized in earth spells and controlled a copper hammer artifact, attacking relentlessly.

The hammer was about four feet long. Though it moved slowly, its power was astonishing. When it struck the ground, it often landed with a "boom," the impact deafening. Without the barrier holding it back, it could easily have smashed a huge crater into the ground.

The disciple who specialized in fire spells had to keep dodging.

"An artifact."

Yang Guang licked his lips and murmured enviously.

In a battle between cultivators, the one with an artifact undoubtedly held the advantage. Sustained attacks with an artifact consumed far less magical energy than casting one spell after another.

Li Mo, meanwhile, focused on the two fighters' cultivation levels.

Cultivators' cultivation levels usually couldn't be sensed by outsiders. Thus, a cultivator walking down the street was barely distinguishable from an ordinary person. Only when a cultivator circulated the magical energy of their cultivation, or when their divine sense reached the Nascent Soul Realm, could others see through their cultivation—or, rather, deliberately peer into it.

Compared with probing another person's exact level of magical energy, cultivators found it much easier to sense one another's divine sense. However, this wasn't reliable, since most cultivators didn't casually send out their divine sense to investigate their surroundings.

After all, while you were probing the area, someone with ulterior motives might notice you.

Perhaps it was precisely because cultivators kept their abilities hidden that Nascent Soul Cultivators could truly roam the world unhindered, and were even regarded as a sect's deterrent to the outside world.

In front of a Nascent Soul Cultivator, the cultivation of lower-level cultivators was transparent.

Generally speaking,

warriors were like blazing torches, their strengths and levels clear to one another, while cultivators were like hidden arrows. Great experts often concealed themselves among the common folk, unknown to outsiders, righting Heaven's wrongs and eliminating demons and monsters—the stuff of legends that endured for a thousand years.

As the two fighters on the field pushed their magical energy to its limit, Li Mo could finally see that both had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. They were among the stronger second-year disciples.

Once Advanced Study Hall disciples entered their second year, they gradually began taking on various temporary assignments. Their Spirit Stone earnings rose rapidly, and with all those resources behind them, their cultivation improved much faster.

The battle between the two on the platform lasted about a quarter of an incense stick.

In the end, the disciple who specialized in fire spells ran out of magical energy. He removed the Evacuation Talisman from his body and was instantly transported out of the barrier, escaping with his tail between his legs.

After the two referee uncles announced the end of the duel, two more disciples quickly stuck on Evacuation Talismans and entered the barrier.

Li Mo recognized one of them immediately: Zhao Dongpu, who had once worked with him on kitchen duty. He didn't know the other disciple, but the face looked familiar. Clearly, he was another first-year disciple from Advanced Study Hall.

Their duel was much more lackluster and mediocre.

One seemed to have mastered only two basic low-tier spells, while the other had mastered only one. They traded spells while dodging in a panic, looking so disgraceful that they hardly seemed worthy of being cultivators from an immortal sect. They made fools of themselves in every possible way.

Many spectators were deeply disappointed and shook their heads as they headed toward the third-year assessment barrier.

Niu Li, on the other hand, looked eager.

"If only my opponent were at that level."

"Don't get your hopes up."

Yang Guang chuckled. "At least half the second-year disciples have already broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Even those who haven't reached the fourth level have mastered several spells, and some have brought talismans or artifacts. They're nothing like us first-years."

As someone who'd received a bye, he was enjoying himself without a care in the world.

Li Mo also went to watch the combat assessment at the third-year disciples' barrier.

The third-years fought far more viciously than the first- and second-years.

Every fighter had a suitable artifact, and some even had more than one. They unleashed one spell after another, occasionally slipped in a surprise attack with a Spirit Talisman, and some even summoned puppets. Their fighting styles were all over the map. A few had even mastered the hovering spell, attacking from above.

Li Mo, Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang couldn't help gasping from below the platform. The spectacle greatly broadened their horizons.

Elsewhere,

when Lu Tianyou's name was announced at the second-year assessment barrier, Li Mo hurriedly took Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang over to cheer him on.

Unfortunately, Lu Tianyou's opponent was a second-year disciple, and he was soon defeated.

Niu Li sighed. "The gap between first-, second-, and third-year disciples is just too big. We don't stand a chance."

But he immediately fell silent.

Because the one who took the platform after Lu Tianyou was Ye Fuhu.

This exceptionally burly disciple from the Ye Family actually held his own against a second-year disciple. With his superb reflexes and nimble footwork, he kept trying to close the distance, occasionally mixing in a basic low-tier spell.

The second-year disciple was caught off guard and struggled for a while.

Only after they had circled each other for quite some time did the second-year disciple use his deeper reserves of magical energy to force Ye Fuhu back. Then he spent a Spirit Talisman, which transformed into a windbird and defeated Ye Fuhu. The Evacuation Talisman transported him out of the barrier.

"That guy's actually this strong?"

Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang all marveled.

Li Mo replied calmly, "If we're talking only about martial arts and footwork, he's definitely better than me. He's a rare martial arts prodigy, worthy of being a disciple of one of the four great Aristocratic Clans."

Just like that,

two and a half hours passed.

Ma Ling, Niu Li, Zhu Yidan, and Zhao Xiaonan had all drawn second-year opponents, so they were defeated one after another. Among Li Mo's friends, Wang Feng and Wang Zhu still hadn't taken the platform. He had no idea what their opponents would be like.

"Next pair of contestants: Li Mo and Wu Xin!"

A referee uncle with a triangular beard stepped forward and stuck an Evacuation Talisman to Li Mo's chest.

"This is an Evacuation Talisman. It'll keep you safe inside the barrier. If you're in mortal danger, it'll automatically transport you out. If you want to concede, just tear it off."

"Yes."

Cheers rose from the crowd below.

Some came from Li Mo's friends, others from Wu Xin's.

Li Mo nodded to the referee uncle in charge of explaining the rules, then stepped onto the platform inside the barrier. The moment he crossed into it, the sounds outside quickly faded. At the same time, he clearly felt waves of spiritual power emanating from his chest, rapidly enveloping his body and producing a strange reaction with the barrier.

Rather than saying the Evacuation Talisman transports me out of the barrier, it seems I can only move around inside the barrier because I'm wearing one. What a strange wonder.

After marveling to himself, Li Mo looked at Wu Xin approaching from the other side of the platform.

They stood about ten yards apart, looking at each other.

Wu Xin was a handsome man with red lips and jade-white skin. He seemed somewhat fastidious. To Li Mo, he looked like an opera singer, but he appeared to be very popular with the female disciples of Advanced Study Hall.

Before stepping onto the platform, Li Mo had noticed many female disciples cheering him on.

On the other side,

Wu Xin was also studying Li Mo.

He noticed that Li Mo looked unwell, seemingly very weak. He frowned, then chuckled softly. The two exchanged salutes and began their duel.

Under normal circumstances, Li Mo would definitely have tried to fight at close range.

But his divine sense was damaged. He felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if he were drunk, and couldn't manage any strenuous movements.

So he quickly formed hand seals and silently recited the incantation. With a rumble of thunder, the lightning before him gathered swiftly, taking the shape of a hound-like creature of thunder. He had successfully cast the Thunder Slave summoning spell.

Just as I thought.

Seeing that he had successfully summoned the Thunder Slave, Li Mo finally let out a breath of relief.

The tribulation he'd faced in the Mystic Dream the previous night had indeed greatly benefited his understanding of the Dao of Thunder, allowing him to master the Thunder Slave summoning spell. But this was his limit. He could feel his mind spasming again and again.

Wu Xin, who had been preparing to cast the basic low-tier Earth Spike Technique, was stunned at the sight.

He keenly sensed the danger posed by the Thunder Slave, but before he could get a closer look, it charged at him. Its speed was astonishing. With no time to react, he could only cast the Earth Spike Technique at it while quickly preparing another basic low-tier spell, ready to adapt to the situation.

The Thunder Slave seemed able to see the future, easily dodging the dense field of earth spikes ahead.

Then it leapt into the air and pounced. Wu Xin had only just reached the early stage of the third level of Qi Refining and couldn't cast a spell in time. He let out a cry of terror, then was transported out of the barrier.

"Li Mo wins!"

Not many of the Advanced Study Hall disciples watching the duels were paying attention to this one, but some had noticed Li Mo. Among them was Wu Xin's friend Tao Ran, the disciple with the Divine Wood Physique.

"What?"

At that moment, he was standing with two other friends. Seeing Wu Xin defeated by Li Mo so quickly, he looked utterly incredulous.

"That five-element summoned creature is so powerful. Could it be a basic high-tier spell?"

"Impossible,"

one of the people beside him said calmly. "With the magical energy of first-year disciples like us, how could we possibly sustain the cost of a basic high-tier spell?"

Leaving Tao Ran and the others to whisper among themselves,

Li Mo stepped down from the platform, and the sounds from outside returned.

The friends he knew came over to congratulate him. After responding to each of them, Li Mo looked toward the other side of the platform barrier. A crowd had gathered around Wu Xin too, but most of them were petite female disciples. Many even turned to look his way, puffing up with indignation.

Li Mo shook his head helplessly, then left with his friends.

A while later,

Wang Feng, Zhu Yidan, Zhao Xiaonan, Wang Zhu, and the others who had come to congratulate him went their separate ways. Li Mo, Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang stayed together to watch the duels, occasionally finding inspiration in what they saw and chatting.

"Li Mo, congratulations."

A woman's voice came from behind him. Li Mo turned around and saw that it was Lü Cuicui.

But he noticed another female cultivator standing beside her. She looked very gentle, with bright, beautiful eyes and a mysterious red symbol drawn in the middle of her forehead.

Lü Cuicui introduced her first. "This is my cousin, Lü Tong."

"Hello. Lü Cuicui told me long ago that she had a cousin who specialized in Runes and Restrictions. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Lü Tong smiled faintly and said little.

Li Mo then looked at Lü Cuicui. "I was just lucky to draw a first-year disciple."

Lü Cuicui chatted with Li Mo for a few more moments before leaving with Lü Tong.

"I don't like her."

Ma Ling pouted.

Just then, Wang Feng took the platform, and Li Mo hurriedly went with Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang to cheer him on.

Wang Feng soon defeated his opponent.

Li Mo went over to congratulate him. Wang Feng clearly had a wide circle of friends; quite a few came to congratulate him, and Li Mo hardly stood out among them.

A little while later, Wang Zhu took the platform.

Unfortunately, his opponent was a second-year disciple, and he was eventually defeated.

The first- and second-year assessments had reached their final duel, but the third-year assessment was still proceeding in orderly fashion.

The third-years' reserves of magical energy were far beyond anything the first- and second-years could match.