Du Meng's performance made Chen Yuanxin's face turn ugly in an instant, his expression like he had swallowed a fly.
Especially after everyone's attention was snatched away by Du Meng once again, Chen Yuanxin was filled with hatred!
Yet no matter how bitter he felt, half a quarter of an hour later, the seventh ring lit up in full.
Then, after another quarter of an hour, the eighth ring lit up as well.
It was the same quarter of an hour, but Chen Yuanxin had resorted to trickery, while this fierce brat Du Meng had fought with real blades and guns!
Du Meng likewise had not come out, but Chen Yuanxin sneered at this moment.
Did he really think he could clear the ninth stage?
Although everyone who entered the challenge would face puppets based on their current cultivation realm, Chen Yuanxin, who had seen the ninth stage, did not believe in the slightest that Du Meng could clear it.
More than ten breaths after entering the ninth stage, Chen Yuanxin thought Du Meng should have been forced out by now.
But half a quarter of an hour passed, and Du Meng still had not emerged. Even so, Chen Yuanxin still did not think he could pass the ninth stage.
A quarter of an hour passed, and Du Meng remained in the ninth stage. At this point, Chen Yuanxin was beginning to lose his composure.
Another half an hour later, the doors of the assessment site trembled faintly, and the lofty ninth ring lit up.
After the ninth ring lit up, the mentors somewhere nearby sighed once more.
What a pity!
Such a fine seedling could not be accepted as a disciple. It truly made people green with envy!
"How... how is this possible!"
The instant he saw the ninth ring light up, Chen Yuanxin's eyes widened enormously, filled with utter disbelief. His lips kept moving as he muttered under his breath, "Impossible, how could he clear the ninth stage? Even after my strength was raised with medicinal pills, I could only barely withstand one move from one of those puppets before I could no longer hold on. How could that brat possibly pass the ninth stage?"
While Chen Yuanxin muttered to himself, everyone else erupted into cries of shock.
"The ninth stage! Someone actually cleared the ninth stage!"
"That's unbelievable! He might be the first person to ever clear the ninth stage!"
"It was worth it! Even if I can't enter Lianyang Academy, simply witnessing someone clear the ninth stage with my own eyes makes it worth it!"
"..."
Amid the noisy discussions, the examiner in charge of this assessment site excitedly took out a jade token and informed the academy's higher-ups of the matter.
"Hahaha, Wu, many thanks!"
At the place where the students observing this assessment were gathered, Lin Zhihao suddenly burst into loud laughter.
But Wu Lang, who stood opposite him, looked rather unpleasant.
Because of what he had said earlier, he could not say much now. After all, he was representing the Lone Wolf Gang this time. If he went back on his word, it would not do the Lone Wolf Gang's name any good, though the Lone Wolf Gang had never had much of a good reputation to begin with.
Especially since Lin Zhihao was from the Heavenly King Party, it was even less likely that Wu Lang could renege on it.
Yet Wu Lang had not given up. Though he had said those words before, if that brat voluntarily joined their Lone Wolf Gang now, then Lin Zhihao would have nothing to say.
With a thought, Wu Lang gave someone behind him a meaningful look, and that person immediately slipped away in secret.
Lin Zhihao, caught up in his excitement, did not notice this. The woman from Nine Phoenix Garden did notice, but she had no intention of warning Lin Zhihao.
She only found it somewhat regrettable that the person who had cleared the ninth stage was not a woman.
Still, she did not pay it much mind. After all, Nine Phoenix Garden had already recruited a peerlessly talented young girl in advance this time.
In the words of several Garden Masters of Nine Phoenix Garden, that girl possessed the potential to surpass the Heavenly King of the Heavenly King Party. She was a super genius whose future knew no bounds.
If the Second Garden Master of Nine Phoenix Garden had not been that girl's second senior sister, she probably would not have joined Nine Phoenix Garden.
With such a genius joining them, Nine Phoenix Garden had become much more indifferent toward this recruitment assessment.
"He's out! Du Meng is out!"
At last, amid a startled cry, Du Meng walked out of the assessment site.
However, Du Meng looked somewhat bedraggled at the moment. His clothes had nearly been reduced to strips of cloth, and Qin Shaofeng could even sense that Du Meng had suffered some minor injuries.
Qin Shaofeng secretly activated his Fiery Golden Eyes and discovered that Du Meng's Inner Qi had been completely exhausted.
After clearing the ninth stage, Du Meng had entered the tenth stage. But in the end, he had only held out for ten breaths before retreating in defeat.
This made Qin Shaofeng secretly wonder whether Du Meng's condition had been caused by the ninth stage or the tenth.
Qin Shaofeng was more inclined toward the latter.
But Qin Shaofeng soon stopped guessing. He would know exactly what was going on once he experienced it himself.
Taking a step forward, Qin Shaofeng headed toward the assessment site.
Because it was his turn now!
Passing through the doors, Qin Shaofeng entered a room directly.
The room was not small. It could easily accommodate over a hundred people at once.
Crack!
Just as Qin Shaofeng glanced at the doors, a spot in the room suddenly split open, and a figure walked out. It was the assessment puppet.
"Defeat the puppet, and you pass. If you cannot hold on, call for a stop at any time!"
An aged voice suddenly rang out, startling Qin Shaofeng.
But after looking carefully, Qin Shaofeng did not find a single person in sight apart from the puppet before him.
Even after Qin Shaofeng secretly activated his Fiery Golden Eyes, he could not find the source of that aged voice. However, he did inspect the puppet's attributes.
Assessment Puppet Level: Early Houtian Eighth Layer (strength restricted) ...
Although the Assessment Puppet before him was only at the Early Houtian Eighth Layer, Qin Shaofeng could only inspect this much information. The words "strength restricted" showed him that this Assessment Puppet's true level was definitely far more than merely the Houtian Eighth Layer.
Whoosh!
Right after Qin Shaofeng finished examining the Assessment Puppet's information, it suddenly charged at him.
At this, Qin Shaofeng's lips curved slightly as he smiled.
Houtian Eighth Layer?
Heh!
Facing the Assessment Puppet charging straight at him, Qin Shaofeng did not dodge at all and threw a direct punch.
Bang!
It was only a simple punch, yet the Assessment Puppet was sent flying by Qin Shaofeng's fist.
With a slap, the Assessment Puppet crashed onto the ground and lay there without moving.
Then the aged voice rang out once more.
"Passed. Would you like to challenge the second stage?"
I'm going right now?
Qin Shaofeng was slightly stunned and felt somewhat helpless, but he still answered, "Yes!"
Crack!
Following Qin Shaofeng's answer, the Assessment Puppet that had fallen to the ground without moving actually stood up again.
Seeing this, Qin Shaofeng's heart stirred slightly, and he activated his Fiery Golden Eyes once again.
Assessment Puppet Level: Mid Houtian Eighth Layer (strength restricted) ...
It had changed!
This Assessment Puppet's level had risen. Although it had only gone from the Early Houtian Eighth Layer to the Mid Houtian Eighth Layer, Qin Shaofeng could clearly sense that the aura of the Assessment Puppet before him had definitely reached the realm of an ordinary Late Houtian Eighth Layer martial artist.
However, it was still far too weak for him.
Bang!
Another punch, and the Assessment Puppet was once again smashed onto the ground, motionless.
At the same time, the aged voice rang out again.
"Passed. Would you like to challenge the third stage?"
Qin Shaofeng's mouth twitched as he replied, "Yes!"
Crack!
The Assessment Puppet climbed back up again, making Qin Shaofeng think of the words "reviving on the spot."
Before long, the aged voice sounded once more, tirelessly repeating itself.
"Passed. Would you like to challenge the fourth stage?"
"Yes!"
Qin Shaofeng sounded somewhat listless.
But this time, something different happened.
Crack!
The wall of the room split open again, and another figure walked out from within.
Mm, it was an Assessment Puppet!
What was this?
Seeing this scene, Qin Shaofeng was somewhat surprised.
Once he activated his Fiery Golden Eyes, Qin Shaofeng was even more surprised.
Because the newly appeared Assessment Puppet had exactly the same attributes as the previous one. Furthermore, compared with the third stage, the two Assessment Puppets both possessed the exact same Late Houtian Eighth Layer level.
"So this time, the level isn't increasing, but the number is?"
Qin Shaofeng understood something, but his expression remained utterly relaxed.
"Unfortunately, they're still not worth looking at!"
With a flash, Qin Shaofeng moved, followed by two bang bang sounds of bodies hitting the ground.
"Passed. Would you like to challenge the fifth stage?"
"Yes!"
Crack!
There was one more Assessment Puppet!
But the result remained the same!
"Passed. Would you like to challenge the sixth stage?"
"Yes!"
There were four Assessment Puppets now!
Yet Qin Shaofeng still did not feel the slightest pressure.
But Qin Shaofeng did not know that outside, a considerable commotion had arisen because of him.
"Damn, this guy is another fierce one! He's only at the Houtian Eighth Layer, yet he's already reached the sixth stage so quickly?"
"Tsk tsk, he's even faster than that fierce guy from earlier. He may be the Houtian Eighth Layer martial artist with the best result!"
"How many stages do you think he can clear?"
"How many stages? His realm is right there, Houtian Eighth Layer. What stage can you expect him to reach? He should thank the heavens if he can clear the sixth stage!"
"Mm, that's true. His realm is too low!"
Hearing the discussions around him, Du Meng gave a sly grin.
"Ha, this bunch of ignorant fools actually think Brother Feng should thank the heavens if he can clear the sixth stage? Although the Assessment Puppets will grow even stronger after the seventh stage, with Brother Feng's freakish defense and his ridiculously deep Inner Qi, I cleared the ninth stage, so how could Brother Feng possibly fail to clear it?"
In truth, there was another sentence Du Meng did not mutter aloud.
In his eyes, Brother Feng definitely had the ability to challenge the tenth stage and could hold out for at least several dozen breaths.
This was already Du Meng's boldest guess, since that final stage was no trifling matter.
But Du Meng did not know that he had still underestimated Qin Shaofeng.
Du Meng had experienced the astonishing defensive power of Qin Shaofeng's Lightning Armor, and he also knew that although Qin Shaofeng was only at the Houtian Eighth Layer, his Inner Qi was much deeper than Du Meng's own.
But Du Meng had yet to experience Qin Shaofeng's strongest attack!
"He passed! The sixth stage has been cleared!"
A startled cry suddenly rang out as the sixth ring above the assessment site's doors lit up.
Inside the room, looking at the five Assessment Puppets before him, Qin Shaofeng finally found things a little less boring.
For the seventh assessment stage, one Assessment Puppet was added as usual, bringing the total to five.
Not only that, the Assessment Puppets, whose levels had remained unchanged since the third stage, finally changed.
Assessment Puppet Level: Early Houtian Ninth Layer (strength restricted) ...
Before you continue