Assessment

In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had passed since he arrived at the elite training camp. This year, Yin Congyang had lived an incredibly fulfilling life, spending every day immersed in various forms of learning, cultivation, and combat.

His physical body had evolved to Planetary Level stage seven, and through all sorts of grueling training, he had grown even stronger. His current physique was dozens of times more powerful than an ordinary Planetary Level stage seven, enough to rival the physical foundation of a Star Level stage three or four. Such a foundation left even the several instructors quite astonished.

This year of cultivation had firmly solidified Yin Congyang's foundation from the inside out, and his soul power had grown increasingly formidable. Aside from necessary expenditure of points, he had not exchanged for any other treasures to accelerate his physical evolution. Instead, he saved up all his points, and finally, last month, he had accumulated enough to exchange at the training camp's intelligent system for the illusion technique cultivation secret method he had long coveted—[Shake God].

[Shake God] is an illusion technique cultivation secret method. Its main content consists of lethal illusion cultivation methods and soul defense cultivation methods, accounting for about 90% of the content, while also covering other types of illusion techniques, roughly 10%.

The [Shake God] secret method involves using one's Spiritual Force and soul power, through the secret method, to form various differently shaped weapons composed purely of Spiritual Force and soul power, breaking through a point to destroy the surface, thereby killing or influencing the enemy.

The key lies in using the secret method to cover this weapon with a layer of oscillating waves. This layer of oscillating waves can not only enhance the Spiritual Force and soul power but also superimpose the cultivator's comprehension of domains and laws onto it, making its power extremely formidable.

Once these oscillating waves enter the enemy's sea of consciousness, they can counteract the suppression that the enemy's sea of consciousness exerts on external Spiritual Force. If the domains and laws carried by the oscillating waves are strong enough, they can even suppress the opponent's sea of consciousness in turn.

With Yin Congyang's soul power, learning this secret method was like a fish in water; his progress was very fast. In one month, he had already reached the first layer's minor accomplishment.

This even made the Purple-Robed Dragon Lady sigh in admiration. She herself specialized in illusion techniques, and her teacher was also a powerful Illusionist who had imparted extremely advanced illusion secret methods. She had always considered herself a genius, but from Yin Congyang, she realized her own talent was not actually that high—at least at the Planetary Level, her soul power was far inferior to his.

This also gave Yin Congyang a tremendous advantage in daily sparring and combat. Among the over two hundred students in the training camp, only a handful could put any pressure on him; the rest were insignificant.

From the very first weekly sparring session, Yin Congyang had never tasted defeat, which was why he had been able to accumulate enough points to buy the secret method so quickly.

Unfortunately, over this past year, the Three-Law Domain had been polished to perfection, yet he still could not comprehend the Fire Domain. The Three-Law Domain is like three points of a triangle, extremely stable. Forcibly inserting a point into the triangle to form a quadrilateral is extremely difficult. So, although he had gained some insights and had simulated it several times within the Strange Light Point in his dantian, he had still been unable to form the Fire Domain.

Yin Congyang was not anxious, however. Since he was making progress all the time, he simply continued his training and combat step by step.

Soon, the day of the assessment arrived.

The four instructors were waiting in the massive training hall. Once all the students had assembled, the Purple-Robed Dragon Lady began explaining the rules: "You have all trained in the camp for a year. Today is your first formal assessment. The rules are: all students from Class D will draw lots for matches. The winners will then draw lots for two matches against students from Class C. The winners of those will draw lots for two matches against students from Class B. The winners will then fight every single student from Class A one by one. The top 10 in points will remain in Class A. Is that clear?"

"Clear." Many students were eager to try, feeling they had made great progress this year and hoping to seize a spot in the upper class.

"Then let the intelligent system draw the lots." The Purple-Robed Dragon Lady used her Optical Computer to start the match drawing.

"The results are out." Soon, the match schedule appeared on the screen. "First match, A78 versus A99. Instructor White Eagle will be the referee. Begin!"

A78 and A99 sparred on the five-kilometer-long and wide arena in the center of the training hall. One minute later, Instructor White Eagle's Spiritual Force weapon blocked a lethal attack aimed at A78. "A99 wins!"

The matches continued one after another, all very fast. The longest match lasted only five minutes.

Soon, the matches for Classes B, C, and D were all completed. Finally, there were 20 winners (including those who had byes), plus the 10 from Class A, making 30 people in total. Each person had to fight every one of the other 29, meaning 29 matches each.

Yin Congyang's first opponent was A13, a student from Class B. Using his stunning axe techniques and the Three-Law Domain, he finished the match in under 30 seconds, without even using the soul attack secret method he had just mastered.

The Purple-Robed Dragon Lady oversaw the entire venue, while the other three instructors acted as referees. Three matches could be held at a time, and the matches progressed quite quickly. With Yin Congyang's current strength, if he used his soul attack secret method, he basically had no opponent who could withstand a single encounter. He won first place in the assessment without any surprises.

"Alright, the assessment is over. The top 10 students in points will stay in Class A. Those ranked 11 to 30 will go to Class B. Class D is dissolved. Everyone else will be placed in Class C." The Purple-Robed Dragon Lady flew mid-air, looking down at all the students. "All students may rest for three days after returning to your quarters."

The first minor assessment took only a day or two to finish. All the students returned to their residences, rested for a few days, and then continued their respective cultivation journeys.

After returning to his residence, Yin Congyang contacted Hong, Thunder God, and Luo Feng. They had already been undergoing their probationary mercenary assessment in the Thunder World for several months and were currently exchanging treasures in the World within a World.

Virtual Universe, Black Dragon Mountain Island, Nine Star Bay.

Yin Congyang was having tea with the three of them. Thunder God smiled and said to Yin Congyang, "Congyang, you have no idea. That Thunder World was originally just an ordinary assessment world, but unexpectedly, the World within a World opened up. Hong, Luo Feng, and I have already dug up countless Universe Crystals inside. Guess how many?"

"Oh, the World within a World, that's a great opportunity," Yin Congyang raised an eyebrow, ignoring his boasting. "So, have all the Star Level participants in the assessment gone in?"

"Yeah," Luo Feng interjected, "a sea of people, and it's turned into a bloody storm. Countless Star Levels fall every day..."

Hong smiled from the side, "But this kind of life-and-death tempering is really effective. The cultivation over the past few months has been much faster than the previous few years combined..."

Yin Congyang nodded in agreement, "That's normal. It proves what Ming Yu said was right—tempering while walking the line between life and death is the fastest way to evolve. Speaking of Ming Yu, have you contacted him this time? With such a big event as the World within a World and so many treasures, there are probably a bunch of World Lords and Domain Lords waiting outside by now..."

At these words, the three of them were stunned. Indeed, they were free adventurers, but most Star Level adventurers had organizations and would inevitably report this. Even if the assessment world had rules preventing Domain Lords and World Lords above Star Level from entering, they would still have to leave eventually. If everyone was blocked at the exit, then no matter how many treasures they obtained, it would be useless—they would just be making a wedding dress for others.

The few of them frowned slightly. Luo Feng said with a troubled expression, "Others have organizations, but we don't. Wait, no—aren't we external members of the Virtual Universe Company?"

Hong said calmly, "Let Congyang contact Ming Yu. Tell him the situation truthfully. If he can solve it, we'll find a way to exchange for a treasure and give it to him..."

"Alright," Yin Congyang nodded. "I'll contact him now."

He immediately initiated a communication request to Ming Yu. Soon, the call was connected.

"Is that Yin Congyang? Let me think, it's been about a year since you entered the training camp," Ming Yu said on the other end, sounding in a good mood. "You should have passed your first assessment by now, right? What made you think to contact me?"

Yin Congyang stood as he answered, "Yes, Lord Ming Yu. I placed first in this assessment. I'm here to report the good news to you!"

"Hahaha," Ming Yu indeed laughed heartily. "I didn't misjudge you... You probably have something else to discuss, don't you?"

"Your insight is as sharp as a torch," Yin Congyang gave a small flattery, then pulled Hong and the other two over. "Lord Ming Yu, do you still remember my brothers? This time, they are undergoing their probationary mercenary assessment in the Thunder World..."

"Wait," Ming Yu interrupted urgently, "Are the three of you in the Thunder World right now? Inside the World within a World?"

The three exchanged glances. Hong replied, "Yes, Lord Ming Yu."

"Hahaha, it seems I'm in luck, and you're in luck too. Do you know that over 2 million Star Levels have already gathered outside the Thunder World? They will be entering the World within a World of the Thunder World soon..."

"2 million?" The few of them couldn't help but hold their breath.

"Yes. Outside, including my Three Axe Mountain and the Hundred Tiger Tower, two holy lands and four major organizations all have World Lords and Domain Lords waiting. As for all the adventurers who come out alive, if they have no organization, you can imagine what will happen to them..."

The few of them showed expressions of alarm, but they did not lose their composure, which made Ming Yu nod slightly. "You can use the name of my Three Axe Mountain. Say you are under my command. But there is a condition. After you come out, if you obtain a certain treasure, you need to sell it to me. Of course, I won't let you suffer a loss. How about it?"

The few quickly nodded. "No problem, Lord Ming Yu. We will do our best to obtain a treasure for you."

For Ming Yu, this was merely a favor done without much effort. He didn't hold high hopes for the three of them. He would also arrange for Star Levels from his own organization to enter. After settling the matter, Ming Yu ended the communication.

Yin Congyang said to them, "Brother Hong, Brother Thunder, Luo Feng, you still need to be very careful about safety. Among these two million Star Level entrants, there are probably quite a few at the Star Level peak. There might even be some on the verge of breaking through. Once inside the World within a World, there will still be a considerable amount of time. If someone breaks through to Universe Level inside, even if it's just Universe Level stage one, they would basically be an invincible combat force."

Luo Feng and the others felt a chill in their hearts. This possibility was quite high. They needed to make some preparations.

After exchanging words of care and agreeing on the next communication time, they parted ways.

After logging off, Yin Congyang didn't dwell on it. As long as they had contacted Ming Yu, the three of them should be able to get through with some scares but no real danger. Moreover, this time Luo Feng should be able to obtain his first pot of gold, becoming a three-star client of the Universe Galaxy Bank. Then, by participating in the Three-Star Auction, he would have the chance to buy the Yan God Weapon and the Mo Sha Race skin to begin nurturing his second Clone.