Combat Assessment

Zhang Su and his group moved with swift, decisive action.

They encountered several Outer Sect disciples along the way.

These Outer Sect disciples were all quite surprised.

After all, Zhang Su was currently the "Number One of the Outer Sect," and it was usually difficult to catch a glimpse of him.

"Senior Brother Zhang Su, and he's even bringing Chu Dachuan and the others along—where are they headed?"

"Senior Brother Zhang Su usually keeps to himself and stays on Jinyu Peak; he rarely comes down the mountain. Besides, rumor has it that he is currently hard at work cultivating a second peerless divine art, so why would he bother coming down?"

"This direction seems to be... toward the Inner Sect?"

"Is Senior Brother Zhang Su going to the Inner Sect? Could it be..."

Some Outer Sect disciples seemed to have guessed something, and their hearts were shaken.

Even more meddlesome individuals began to follow behind Zhang Su and his group.

Zhang Su did not care whether people were following him or not.

He headed straight for the Inner Sect.

The "Combat Power Assessment" was held in the Inner Sect Main Hall.

As soon as Zhang Su and his group entered the Inner Sect Main Hall, they immediately drew the attention of several Inner Sect disciples.

After all, the Outer Sect disciple uniforms worn by Zhang Su and his group were far too conspicuous.

It was not as if Outer Sect disciples never entered the Inner Sect.

But usually, it was only a handful of them at most.

And now?

Not to mention the four of them, there was a large crowd of Outer Sect disciples trailing behind.

This was extremely eye-catching.

"Who is this person? What a grand display."

An Inner Sect disciple frowned and asked.

However, Zhang Su's reputation was quite significant these days.

Even in the Inner Sect, there were people who knew of him.

"It's the newly crowned 'Number One of the Outer Sect,' Zhang Su! But his 'Number One' status is a bit special; he's already over the age limit..."

"Over the age limit... Is he here at the Inner Sect to take the 'Combat Power Assessment'?"

"The 'Number One of the Outer Sect' taking the Combat Power Assessment? That's rare; we have to go see this..."

Many Inner Sect disciples also became interested.

In the past, the "Number One of the Outer Sect" was basically a genius among geniuses.

As long as they cultivated Internal Force, they could be promoted directly to the Inner Sect; there were almost no over-age disciples, so naturally, there was no need to take the Combat Power Assessment.

Zhang Su was indeed very special.

In the history of the Guiyuan Sect, an over-age disciple being the "Number One of the Outer Sect" was also extremely rare.

"Elder, disciple Zhang Su requests to participate in the 'Combat Power Assessment'."

Zhang Su approached the Inner Sect Elder and spoke respectfully.

"Hand over your Identity Token."

The Elder glanced at Zhang Su and said indifferently.

Zhang Su respectfully handed his Identity Token to the Elder.

The Elder took the Identity Token and carefully examined Zhang Su's status.

"Oh? Still the Number One of the Outer Sect... but you're nearly seventeen, indeed over the age limit."

The Elder was somewhat surprised.

He had not expected this over-age disciple before him to actually be the Number One of the Outer Sect.

Zhang Su, however, remained calm and composed.

The Elder brought out the Force Testing Stone.

"Come, test your Internal Force."

This Force Testing Stone had nothing special about it; once Internal Force was imprinted upon it, its color would change.

Zhang Su placed his hand on the Force Testing Stone and gently channeled his Internal Force.

Sure enough, the color on the Force Testing Stone began to deepen slowly.

The Elder nodded: "Very well, you may participate in the Combat Power Assessment. However, you will have to wait for a moment; there are still three people ahead of you."

Zhang Su naturally agreed.

I didn't expect so many Outer Sect disciples to show up for the combat assessment today.

This was only natural.

There were over ten thousand disciples in the Outer Sect.

Naturally, there were quite a few overage disciples who also hoped to pass the combat assessment, ascend to the Inner Sect, and become Inner Sect disciples.

"Senior Brother, how did it go?"

Chu Dachuan asked with anticipation.

"Let's go, just head to the back and wait for the combat assessment."

With that, Zhang Su and the other three arrived at the Martial Arts Arena behind the Inner Sect main hall.

The space here was very spacious.

It seemed someone was currently undergoing the combat assessment.

There were also some disciples inside the main hall watching the battle.

However, the number was quite small.

For many Inner Sect disciples, they generally had no interest in watching Outer Sect disciples undergo combat assessments.

However, with the arrival of Zhang Su, everything changed.

He was followed by a large crowd.

Although most were Outer Sect disciples, there was no lack of Inner Sect disciples among them.

The crowd suddenly occupied all the space near the Martial Arts Arena behind the Inner Sect main hall, packing it to the brim.

Looking out, it was nothing but people.

Some of the Inner Sect disciples who were watching were a bit bewildered.

Why did so many people suddenly show up?

After asking around, they realized it was Zhang Su, the "Number One of the Outer Sect," who had come to take the combat assessment.

That was why it had attracted so many people.

Furthermore, as the news spread, more and more people arrived at the Inner Sect main hall.

Zhang Su, however, paid no attention to these spectators.

His focus was concentrated on an Outer Sect disciple currently undergoing the combat assessment.

That Outer Sect disciple was facing off against three puppets.

The three puppets were humanoid and appeared very agile.

Although they lacked the Internal Force or blood energy of a martial artist, the puppets were made of hard materials and possessed immense strength, with combat power truly comparable to a martial artist at the early stage of Mingjin.

In fact, one-on-one, a martial artist at the early stage of Mingjin might not even be able to win, let alone face three puppets at once.

"Bang."

One puppet landed a punch squarely on the Outer Sect disciple.

Instantly, the Outer Sect disciple was sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground.

Combat assessment failed!

"Failed..."

"That's normal. It's not that easy for overage disciples to pass the combat assessment."

"Out of ten overage disciples, it's good if even one passes. The rest who fail the combat assessment can only serve as deacons in the Outer Sect, be sent out to garrison various locations, and handle the most dangerous tasks."

Some Inner Sect disciples were already unfazed by overage disciples failing the combat assessment.

Failure was the norm; passing was actually quite rare.

"Next, Tang Rong!"

Soon, the elder called for the next disciple to participate in the combat assessment.

Tang Rong stood up immediately and walked to the Martial Arts Arena.

She was a female disciple.

Although her face wasn't stunningly beautiful, she had a tall figure and fair skin, and her youthfulness caused many hot-blooded disciples to cast glances her way.

Tang Rong's expression was solemn.

She used a light longsword.

Her swordsmanship wasn't particularly strong, but her movement technique was very agile; it must have been a superior movement technique mastered to perfection.

Yet, even with such agile movement, she only managed to circle the three puppets for a short while.

In the end, she was still defeated by the three puppets, and her longsword was even snapped into several pieces.

"Next, Zhou Tao!"

The third Outer Sect disciple stood up and entered the Martial Arts Arena.

This was a disciple who used a saber.

His saber technique was extremely violent.

It appeared to be a top-tier saber technique as well.

Zhou Tao spent the longest time maneuvering against the three puppets.

He even managed to destroy one of the puppets.

Unfortunately, he was ultimately defeated and suffered severe injuries, collapsing to the ground unable to rise; he was carried away from the Inner Sect by an Inner Sect elder, and it was unknown whether he would survive.

Many Outer Sect disciples watching the battle fell silent.

They had come specifically to watch Zhang Su.

Usually, they did not know much about the "Combat Assessment."

But having witnessed three Outer Sect disciples who had cultivated Internal Force fail to pass the Combat Assessment, they were stunned.

It was clear just how brutal this Combat Assessment truly was.

Passing the Combat Assessment was no easy task.

Zhang Su had also witnessed the entire process of these three Outer Sect disciples' failures.

Now he fully understood just how difficult it was for an "overage disciple" to be promoted to the Inner Sect.

Those three puppets were stronger than he had imagined.

Defeating these three puppets would be very difficult!

"Next, Zhang Su!"

The Inner Sect elder called out the name of the next disciple to participate in the Combat Assessment.

Instantly, countless gazes fell upon Zhang Su.

So many Outer Sect disciples, as well as some Inner Sect disciples, had come here for the sole purpose of observing Zhang Su.

Within the crowd, there was one special person.

Lu Tianqing!

He had arrived at some point, though no one knew when.

However, unlike the others, Lu Tianqing was full of confidence in Zhang Su.

After all, Zhang Su had defeated him back when he was in the Blood Qi Realm.

Furthermore, Zhang Su had even broken his limits twice, condensing a thousand strands of blood qi.

If even Zhang Su, who had broken his limits twice, could not pass the Combat Assessment.

Then what other overage disciple could possibly be promoted to the Inner Sect?

Under the gaze of the crowd, Zhang Su slowly stood up.

He paid no mind to the eyes upon him, instead leaping directly into the center of the Martial Arts Arena.

"Elder, you may begin."

Zhang Su said calmly.

The Inner Sect elder nodded, and then, the elder directly released three completely undamaged puppets.