Instant Kill! The Number One of the Outer Sect, Truly Deserving of the Reputation!

Zhang Su kept his gaze fixed on the three puppets in the distance.

He had already watched three battles prior to this, so he was naturally well aware that each puppet possessed combat power comparable to the early stage of Mingjin!

With the three puppets joining forces, they far exceeded the strength of an average early-stage Mingjin martial artist.

Even he could not afford to underestimate these three puppets.

At this moment, the originally noisy crowd in the Inner Sect Main Hall gradually quieted down.

Look at the three Internal Force disciples from before.

Not a single one of them had managed to pass the Combat Assessment.

This was enough to show just how strong these three puppets were.

Although Zhang Su was the "number one of the Outer Sect," could he really pass the Combat Assessment?

Zhang Su's hand gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

The three puppets moved.

They were as swift as the wind, crossing the distance of over ten zhang in the blink of an eye.

Furthermore, as the three puppets moved, they covered each other's flanks, coordinating closely and leaving Zhang Su with no opportunity to exploit.

Only by truly facing the three puppets head-on could one feel just how difficult they were to defeat.

The very instant the three puppets formed a pincer movement around Zhang Su.

"Clang."

Zhang Su drew his sword.

His state of mind was calm.

At this moment, the sounds of the surroundings seemed to vanish.

In his eyes, there were only those three puppets.

The blood energy within his body erupted with a roar.

It was not as if blood energy disappeared once one cultivated Internal Force.

Even after becoming an Internal Force martial artist, blood energy still existed.

It was simply that the blood energy would no longer increase.

Zhang Su still possessed only a thousand strands of blood energy.

These thousand strands of blood energy could continuously convert into Internal Force.

However, when facing three puppets with the combat power of early-stage Mingjin, a mere eruption of blood energy was not enough.

The Internal Force within Zhang Su's body erupted as well.

Zhang Su had forged a supreme foundation.

His early-stage Mingjin Internal Force was comparable to the Internal Force of the middle stage of Mingjin.

Moreover, it carried the characteristics of being "extremely rigid and extremely yang."

Therefore, with this eruption, Zhang Su's bodily reactions, strength, and speed instantly soared to an unimaginable level.

The crowd only saw a blur before their eyes.

Zhang Su's body seemed to leave behind afterimages.

As for Zhang Su's sword...

No one could see Zhang Su's sword at this moment.

Not even the Inner Sect disciples.

They could not see it clearly.

By the time they could see clearly, Zhang Su had already stopped.

The three puppets stood motionless.

"Clatter."

Following that, the three puppets shattered completely, scattering into a pile of rubble on the ground.

Silence!

The surroundings suddenly went quiet.

Many people widened their eyes, staring fixedly at the pile of puppet fragments on the ground.

Those were three puppets comparable to the early stage of Mingjin.

How did they end up shattered all over the floor?

Perhaps some had imagined that Zhang Su could defeat the three puppets and successfully pass the Combat Assessment.

However, shouldn't that have required a bitter struggle?

And yet, what about now?

One sword strike!

With just a single strike, the three puppets fell apart.

If those had been three martial artists at the early stage of Mingjin, they would have been dead from that one strike.

Instant kill!

This was a complete instant kill by Zhang Su!

"How is this possible? Of the three Internal Force disciples before, wasn't every one of them beaten miserably by the three puppets? Why does Zhang Su seem so relaxed?"

"A single strike! If I hadn't watched those three Internal Force disciples earlier, I would have truly thought the Combat Assessment was easy. But looking at it now, it's not that the assessment is easy—it's that Senior Brother Zhang Su is too strong!"

"In that strike just now, I seemed to vaguely see shadows of the Light Shadow Killing Sword, the Triple Wave, the Nine Shadows Sword Technique, and more. It is truly incredible that Zhang Su can fuse so many sword techniques into one."

"Is this the true value of the 'Number One of the Outer Sect'? It really is... well-deserved!"

"Who said that Zhang Su's title of 'Number One of the Outer Sect' was just an empty name?"

After the silence, the many disciples began to discuss it fervently.

This strike had too great an impact on them.

Many had only heard rumors about Zhang Su.

These rumors were varied, with all sorts of things being said.

But now, having witnessed Zhang Su's terrifying strike with their own eyes, they realized that rumors could not be trusted!

Where was there any exaggeration in Zhang Su being the "Number One of the Outer Sect"?

This was the genuine, authentic Number One of the Outer Sect!

In the crowd, Lu Tianqing smiled knowingly.

Perhaps he was the only one who knew just how strong Zhang Su's power was.

He was not at all surprised that Zhang Su could defeat three early-stage Mingjin puppets with one strike.

Zhang Su possessed that kind of strength!

"A supreme foundation forged by breaking the limits twice; what do a mere three early-stage Mingjin puppets amount to?"

Lu Tianqing muttered in a low voice.

If he didn't even have this much strength, then why would he have wasted six years in the Outer Sect, just to break his limits twice and condense a thousand strands of blood energy?

Lu Tianqing knew very well that a supreme foundation forged by breaking the limits twice had infinite potential.

Zhang Su had not yet cultivated any martial arts at the Internal Force level.

Once he did, his advantage would only grow larger and larger.

This was the power of a supreme foundation!

Unfortunately, Lu Tianqing had wasted six years in the Outer Sect, and even pushed himself to the absolute limit during his final battle with Zhang Su, yet he still failed to break his limits twice to forge a supreme foundation.

This was the lifelong regret of Lu Tianqing.

"Clack."

Zhang Su sheathed his sword.

His gaze turned toward the Inner Sect Elder.

The Inner Sect Elder immediately spoke to announce: "Outer Sect disciple Zhang Su has passed the Combat Assessment. Effective immediately, he is promoted to the Inner Sect!"

Hearing the Inner Sect Elder's announcement, many Outer Sect disciples looked on with a hint of envy in their eyes.

The Inner Sect!

It was the place they dreamed of ascending to, to become Inner Sect disciples.

Unfortunately, among the tens of thousands of Outer Sect disciples, those who could eventually be promoted to the Inner Sect were, in the end, only a minority.

"Congratulations to Senior Brother Zhang on your promotion to the Inner Sect!"

Many Outer Sect disciples bowed toward Zhang Su.

For a moment, the entire Inner Sect Main Hall echoed with sounds of "congratulations."

Just as Zhang Su walked out of the Martial Arts Arena and intended to leave, the Inner Sect Elder spoke up: "Zhang Su, in truth, there are distinctions even among Inner Sect disciples. Having passed the Combat Assessment now, you are merely an ordinary Inner Sect disciple."

"If you choose to face ten puppets and defeat them, you can be rated as a 'One-Star Disciple.' In terms of status, position, and treatment, you would be far superior to an ordinary Inner Sect disciple."

"Do you wish to challenge the ten puppets now?"

Hearing these words, Zhang Su stopped in his tracks.

Many Outer Sect disciples also wore expressions of bewilderment.

A One-Star Disciple?

They had never even heard of such a thing.

Actually, this was perfectly normal.

Outer Sect disciples were merely considered "expendable resources" within the Guiyuan Sect, not worth the sect's focused cultivation.

Only Inner Sect disciples received the sect's dedicated training.

Therefore, the Inner Sect disciples understood the significance of a "One-Star Disciple."

These Inner Sect disciples all began to wear solemn expressions.

"A One-Star Disciple... the elder is right, a One-Star Disciple truly stands above ordinary disciples."

"If being promoted to an Inner Sect disciple counts as being a genius, then a 'One-Star Disciple' is a genius among geniuses; the sect values them more, and their treatment is far better."

"But to defeat ten puppets of the same level... that is difficult."

Zhang Su frowned.

"May I ask, Elder, if I were to challenge ten puppets of the same level later, would I become a One-Star Disciple once I succeed?"

"Yes! As long as you defeat ten puppets of the same level and manage to fight ten as one, you can become a 'One-Star Disciple.' There are even higher-level ratings above that, though, of course, the difficulty is much greater."

Zhang Su understood.

Although he had defeated three puppets of the same level with a single sword strike just now, he hadn't even practiced any martial arts involving Internal Force, which actually put him at a significant disadvantage.

The difficulty of defeating three puppets could not be compared to that of defeating ten.

To challenge ten puppets now, even if he were to succeed by luck, would not be worth it; there was even a risk of failure.

Why be in such a rush?

Just to show off and earn the title of "One-Star upon entry"?

It sounded nice, but it was nothing more than an empty reputation.

There was simply no need!

"Elder, may I leave now?"

Zhang Su suddenly asked.

"Uh... of course you may."

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Su walked past the crowd and vanished from everyone's sight.

It was as if Zhang Su had turned a deaf ear to the Inner Sect elder's "suggestion," not even considering it for a moment.

The crowd looked at one another, and the entire Inner Sect Main Hall fell into a deathly silence.