Five Assessment Puppets at the Early Houtian Ninth Layer—this at least made Qin Shaofeng feel a little less bored.
That was right, only a little less bored. There was still no pressure at all!
Whoosh!
The five Assessment Puppets struck first.
Qin Shaofeng raised a brow. Though he did not regard these five puppets as worthy opponents, he did not lower his guard in the slightest.
Smack!
Facing one puppet charging straight at him with a palm strike, Qin Shaofeng threw a punch.
But very quickly, Qin Shaofeng sensed that something was not right.
The moment they exchanged blows, he discovered that an Assessment Puppet at the Houtian Ninth Layer possessed several times the strength of one at the Late Houtian Eighth Layer.
Had Qin Shaofeng not remained vigilant all along, he would probably have suffered a small loss in that exchange.
Before he could continue attacking that puppet, Qin Shaofeng sensed another puppet attacking him.
Hmph!
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes. Qin Shaofeng spun around and unleashed a Wudang Long Fist.
Bang!
In an instant, Qin Shaofeng's Inner Qi dropped by 50 points, but those 50 points sent the Assessment Puppet flying.
Smack!
After hitting the ground, the puppet did not move again. It had been defeated!
Seeing this, Qin Shaofeng did not hesitate further. He threw four more punches in succession at the remaining four Assessment Puppets.
200 points of Inner Qi were instantly consumed.
At the same time, the great doors of the assessment grounds outside trembled lightly, and the seventh ring lit up.
The seventh trial had been cleared!
Whoosh!
Clearing the seventh trial meant one could become an Official Student of Lianyang Academy.
Being able to become an Official Student of Lianyang Academy at merely the Houtian Eighth Layer naturally stirred up a commotion among the crowd, filling countless people with envy.
Having cleared the seventh trial, Qin Shaofeng began challenging the eighth.
But what left Qin Shaofeng dumbfounded was that although the eighth trial did not increase the number of Assessment Puppets, the puppets' level in the eighth trial made his heart skip a beat.
Assessment Puppet Level: Houtian Tenth Layer Early Stage (strength restricted) ...
"You damn uncle, they're actually at the Houtian Tenth Layer? This is only the eighth trial!"
Seeing the Assessment Puppets' attributes, Qin Shaofeng nearly stomped his feet and cursed aloud.
But the five Assessment Puppets gave him no such time. With several swishes, five figures pounced on Qin Shaofeng with fierce momentum.
"Damn it, do you really have to be this ruthless?"
With a strange cry, Qin Shaofeng realized that the five Assessment Puppets had sealed off every direction around him, leaving him nowhere to dodge. Helplessness flashed over his face, but in the end, he activated Lightning Armor.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The instant Qin Shaofeng activated Lightning Armor, he was struck by five attacks.
Fortunately, compared with Du Meng, these five Assessment Puppets were still somewhat weaker. They could not break through Lightning Armor's defense at all, much less inflict any harm on Qin Shaofeng.
But Qin Shaofeng did not delay. Once Lightning Armor was activated, it consumed 100 points of Inner Qi every minute, and every attack it suffered consumed even more Inner Qi.
Sure enough, just five attacks from the five Assessment Puppets cost Qin Shaofeng 200 points of Inner Qi at once.
At this rate, even with his 2,750 points of Inner Qi, he would not be able to withstand many hits.
Whoosh!
His figure flashed, and Qin Shaofeng appeared directly before one of the Assessment Puppets, throwing out a Wudang Long Fist.
Ever since acquiring Wudang Long Fist, Qin Shaofeng had practiced it quite a bit. It had now reached Level 3.
Level 3 Wudang Long Fist had three tiers: consuming 10 points of Inner Qi, 50 points of Inner Qi, or 100 points of Inner Qi.
Now that he faced Assessment Puppets at the Houtian Tenth Layer Early Stage, Qin Shaofeng did not think twice and directly used the 100-point Wudang Long Fist.
And sure enough, this 100-point Wudang Long Fist was truly different.
With just one punch, it sent that Assessment Puppet flying.
But Qin Shaofeng's face twitched when, after being sent flying, the Assessment Puppet was not defeated. Trembling as it rose to its feet, it charged at him again.
Its movements, however, had become somewhat unsteady.
"One punch isn't enough? Then I'll throw two!"
Qin Shaofeng hardened his heart. No longer feeling any pain over the expenditure of Inner Qi, he continuously unleashed 100-point Wudang Long Fists, repeatedly sending the five Assessment Puppets flying.
At last, after taking three punches, the five Assessment Puppets did not rise again.
This made Qin Shaofeng breathe a sigh of relief.
But when he thought of how 1,500 points of Inner Qi had been consumed just like that, his heart ached again.
"Damn it, this is only the eighth trial!"
If not for the generous rewards for taking first place in the assessment—a one-level increase, 100 points, and a Normal Draw Chance—Qin Shaofeng would already have considered giving up.
Fortunately, Qin Shaofeng had quite a few Qi Replenishing Pills on him.
"Passed. Will you proceed with the ninth trial challenge?"
The aged voice came again, but this time Qin Shaofeng did not respond immediately. Instead, he pulled out a medicine bottle from his robes, poured out several Qi Replenishing Pills, and swallowed them greedily.
But Qin Shaofeng had no idea that the crowd outside had already erupted into an uproar.
Though Qin Shaofeng had unleashed a barrage of Wudang Long Fists, in truth, he had only spent barely a quarter of an hour on the eighth trial.
Clearing the eighth trial in a quarter of an hour was not only the best result in these assessment grounds—it was also among the very best across all assessment grounds.
Du Meng found this perfectly normal.
After all, he understood very well Qin Shaofeng's lightning-attributed attack ability. Du Meng himself admitted that, in terms of offensive power, he was inferior to Qin Shaofeng.
Du Meng was fine, but Chen Yuanxin was completely bewildered at this moment.
One Du Meng was one thing. After all, the other man was also a genius at the Houtian Tenth Layer.
But what was this situation before him?
Someone at the Houtian Eighth Layer had actually cleared the eighth trial in less than a quarter of an hour?
Although the Assessment Puppets would be somewhat weaker when someone at the Houtian Eighth Layer challenged the trials, Chen Yuanxin knew very clearly that no matter one's cultivation realm, the difficulty of the Assessment Puppets encountered during the assessment was the same.
After all, those Assessment Puppets had been created by a legendary great figure of Lianyang Academy. There could not possibly be any problems with them.
Could it be that the Assessment Puppets appearing this time had not been crafted by that person?
In the end, Chen Yuanxin could only make that guess, though deep down, he understood that such a possibility seemed unlikely.
The ninth trial began inside the assessment grounds!
Before agreeing to challenge the ninth trial, Qin Shaofeng had kept an extra card up his sleeve. He immediately activated Lightning Armor and even drew the longsword that had always hung at his waist.
This longsword was merely Qin Shaofeng's backup weapon, but given how things were going, he had no choice but to use it.
And the facts proved that Qin Shaofeng's caution had been incomparably correct.
Assessment Puppet Level: Houtian Tenth Layer Peak (strength restricted) ...
Ah, damn it!
After seeing the Assessment Puppets' attributes, Qin Shaofeng's mouth twitched. He did not even have the urge to curse aloud anymore.
This was too damn unfair.
Houtian Tenth Layer Peak!
Why not just throw five Innate First Layer puppets at him outright!
Qin Shaofeng felt deeply displeased, but the five Assessment Puppets did not care whether he was pleased or not. Each one lunged at him like a vicious beast.
"Hmph, so what if you're at the Houtian Tenth Layer Peak? This young master will chop you five heaps of scrap metal apart!"
Raising his right hand, Qin Shaofeng lifted the longsword in his grip and slashed several times.
Qin Shaofeng was not swinging wildly. Over this period of time, he had already mastered the Huashan Basic Swordplay Moves completely.
With that swing, he unleashed White Cloud Emerges from Cave, cleaving toward one Assessment Puppet.
Clang!
The longsword struck the Assessment Puppet, scattering sparks.
Not only that, but the Assessment Puppet was instantly forced back by Qin Shaofeng's White Cloud Emerges from Cave.
Qin Shaofeng did not rejoice. He had merely forced it back, and that was only one of them. Four still remained!
Whoosh!
Drawing back his sword and turning, Qin Shaofeng unleashed Phoenix Arrives with Grace toward his right.
Clang!
Sparks flew everywhere as another Assessment Puppet was knocked back by Qin Shaofeng's sword.
But at that moment, the remaining three Assessment Puppets charged him together.
Qin Shaofeng did not panic. Unhurriedly, he raised his sword and danced several sword flowers before suddenly shouting in a low voice, "Three Peaks of Mount Tai!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Following Qin Shaofeng's low shout, the longsword in his hand flashed like lightning as it slashed three times in rapid succession.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three black shadows instantly flew into the air and were hurled more than ten meters away.
Seeing this, Qin Shaofeng knew his opportunity had come.
Taking advantage of the three Assessment Puppets he had knocked back, Qin Shaofeng immediately spun around and rushed toward the first two Assessment Puppets he had sent flying.
"White Rainbow Pierces the Sun!"
"Green Pine Greets Guest!"
With two low shouts, Qin Shaofeng swung the longsword in his hand twice more. But this time, as he swung it, his Inner Qi instantly decreased by 400 points.
Two Huashan Basic Swordplay Moves consumed 400 points of Inner Qi. One could well imagine their power.
Bang! Bang!
The two Assessment Puppets were sent flying again, but this time, after landing, they did not move at all.
Solved!
Though he breathed a sigh of relief, Qin Shaofeng knew this was not yet the time to celebrate.
With a light flick of his right hand, he pointed his sword directly at the three Assessment Puppets opposite him and moved once more.
"Boundless Falling Leaves!"
"Unmatched Under Heaven!"
"Gold and Jade Fill the Hall!"
Following three low shouts, Qin Shaofeng also dealt with the remaining three Assessment Puppets.
"Passed. Will you proceed with the tenth trial challenge?"
The aged voice rang out again. Qin Shaofeng understood that he had cleared the ninth trial as well.
However, Qin Shaofeng still did not answer immediately. Instead, he took out the Qi Replenishing Pills he had prepared beforehand and swallowed several. Only after his Inner Qi had fully recovered did he nod and say, "Yes!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
To Qin Shaofeng's surprise, after he agreed to challenge the tenth trial, all five Assessment Puppets lying on the ground rose. Yet four of them actually returned to the wall, and when the wall split open, they entered it and left.
What was this?
Qin Shaofeng could not understand it, but then he discovered that something seemed wrong.
Crack!
The final remaining Assessment Puppet suddenly shuddered all over, and its aura surged sharply.
The moment he sensed that aura, Qin Shaofeng was left speechless.
Damn it, just as he had guessed, the final tenth trial was indeed against an Innate-level puppet!
Assessment Puppet Level: Innate First Layer Late Stage (strength restricted) ...
Damn it, it was actually at the Innate First Layer Late Stage!
Seeing the Assessment Puppet's attributes, Qin Shaofeng felt utterly miserable.
This assessment was clearly toying with him!
Houtian Eighth Layer against Innate First Layer—was that even the same level?
Though that was what he thought, Qin Shaofeng prepared to go all out.
Whoosh!
Worthy of being a puppet at the Innate First Layer, it was unbelievably fast. Qin Shaofeng could not see it clearly at all.
Bang!
The puppet's fist slammed into Qin Shaofeng's body. Electric sparks flickered, but they quickly vanished, and something very bad happened.
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound rang out as Lightning Armor was destroyed.
Just as Qin Shaofeng had expected, when his Lightning Armor encountered Innate Inner Qi, it could not defend against it at all.
But at that moment, a trace of triumph appeared in Qin Shaofeng's eyes.
Though it had shattered Lightning Armor, the puppet had still paused ever so slightly because of it.
And that was precisely the moment Qin Shaofeng had been waiting for. In that instant, Qin Shaofeng moved.
His left hand, which had long been poised and ready, shook lightly.
Whoosh!
Silver Light Saber Aura flashed, and a Space Breaking whistle pierced the air!
Bang!
The Silver Light Saber Aura shot straight at the puppet's chest.
After many exchanges, Qin Shaofeng had long discovered that the weakness of these Assessment Puppets was a spot on their chests, because the power that made them move came from there.
Qin Shaofeng had guessed correctly, and he had acted correctly as well.
Struck by the Silver Light Saber Aura, a hole opened in the Assessment Puppet's chest, and something inside seemed to have been shattered.
The Assessment Puppet fell in response. A moment later, an aged voice suddenly rang out.
"Passed. All ten stages cleared. Assessment complete!"
Before you continue