Apprentice Mercenary Assessment

Ten years into the grand competition, Yin Congyang took first place and earned a batch of points. After another year in the training camp, he completed the remaining steps of the Clone Secret Technique.

Calling it fully complete wasn't quite accurate. His soul separation went smoothly enough, and the separated soul fused successfully into the Soul Container he'd refined from a third of his liver. But Universe Crystals were insufficient—the thousand cubic meters Aulis had left behind didn't even cover a tenth of what was needed, leaving the clone not yet fully formed.

Another pleasant surprise: his earlier guess proved correct. After splitting off roughly a tenth of his soul, his soul power had weakened significantly.

But what delighted him was that not only did the mysterious fluctuation in his dantian immediately accelerate its flow toward his soul, but that miraculous seed also channeled most of its fluctuation toward his soul. In less than a year, Yin Congyang's soul not only recovered completely but grew even stronger than before.

As for the liver he'd used a third of to refine the Soul Container, after extraction, that miraculous seed likewise directed its fluctuation toward his liver, allowing it to recover fully in a short time—even feeling subtly healthier than before. Yin Congyang couldn't help but marvel: Aulis was a good man. Not only did he have the Clone Secret Technique, but he also had this miraculous treasure.

Advancing from Star Level seven to eight required considerable time. Yin Congyang decided to take a mission and travel through the universe. Staying in one place offered little benefit for comprehending laws or practicing axe techniques. Roaming around, witnessing the universe's various wonders, might prove more helpful for cultivation. After all, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.

So Yin Congyang applied to the training camp's intelligent system for a Trainee Mercenary assessment mission. After approval, he went alone to the spaceport and boarded a ship.

Many training camp missions allowed team formation, but the Trainee Mercenary assessment mission had to be completed solo. After all, if a few people from the Elite Training Camp teamed up, they could probably sweep through any other Star Level adventurers—such an assessment would provide no tempering for them at all.

He took the training camp's ship to Fengning Planet, the capital of the nearest mid-level civilization.

Fengning Planet was the capital of the Fengying Empire, incomparably prosperous, with a population in the tens of billions.

Walking along the crowded, shoulder-to-shoulder central avenue of Fengning City, Yin Congyang felt a strange sense of dislocation. Since arriving in this world, he'd spent most of his time alone. Partly it was his nature—naturally aloof, not good at socializing, others found it extremely difficult to enter his heart. People like Hong, Thunder God, Luo Feng, and Luo Hua—if not for their good impressions from the original story and prolonged contact on Earth, he might not have taken them to heart either.

Partly it was that after first arriving in this world, he always felt a sense of not belonging. It wasn't until he saw the bright moon in Earth's sky, identical to the moon in his memories, that his heart stirred, and he finally opened all his heart's doors, his soul fully integrating into this world.

Even so, aside from a few friends like Hong, other Earthlings rarely occupied his thoughts, let alone aliens who weren't Earthlings.

Thus, even now, Earth still circulated legends of the three heroes—Hong, Thunder God, and Luo Feng—but few knew the name Yin Congyang. Mostly because he'd contributed little to defending Earth. By the time he arrived in this world, the greatest calamity had already been resolved by Luo Feng; he had no place to exert his strength.

A small part was his own request. Hong and Thunder God, grateful to him for awakening them, always wanted to spread his name, but he refused every time.

This is what he told them: "It's good that Earth now celebrates the three of you. Earth needs spiritual leaders. What you've done for Earth deserves that status. But we can't put all our strength in the open. We need hidden cards—at least until we're strong enough to deter all forces coveting Earth, this concealment is necessary. And aren't I suited to staying in the shadows?"

He hadn't even asked Babata for a quick way back to Earth. He set a small flag in his heart: the next time he returned to Earth, he would rely on his own ability to crack the spatial secret technique Hu Yanbo left behind!

Arriving at the Universe Mercenary Alliance headquarters on Fengning Planet, he queued to register as an adventurer, then went to another window to apply for the Universe Trainee Mercenary assessment.

After paying the fee, he received the assessment mission. The Fengying Empire's Trainee Mercenary assessment took place on Jiaoshi Planet.

Jiaoshi Planet's World Lord realm was called Jianmu World, created by a World Lord whose Law of Wood was near mastery. That World Lord ultimately failed to fully comprehend the entire Law of Wood before his lifespan ended. Before dying, he gifted his created world to the Universe Mercenary Alliance in exchange for placing his family under the Alliance's protection. Several thousand epochs had passed since.

In Jianmu World, obtaining a unique Jianmu Heart and three horns from Jiaoshi Horses, then handing them to the assessment personnel at the exit, would complete the assessment and grant official Universe Trainee Mercenary status.

Afterward, Yin Congyang flew to Fengning Planet's outer space, retrieved a D-grade ship he'd previously captured, and flew toward Jiaoshi Planet.

After about a month, the ship approached Jiaoshi Planet's outer space. Yin Congyang exited the ship, stored it in his storage space, and flew alone toward the assessment location on Jiaoshi Planet.

In a massive palace, Yin Congyang stood before a door glowing with dark green light. A staff member verified his information, pointed at the door, and told him that entering would take him to the assessment world.

Stepping through the dark green door, space shifted. Yin Congyang appeared midair in a vast world, then was pulled by immense gravity, plummeting toward the ground. He slightly controlled the miniature star within him to counter the strong gravity, descending slowly to land.

He sensed his surroundings. In Jianmu World, gravity was enormous. Star Level cultivators could still fly, but extremely slowly. On the ground, using physical strength to burst forward was faster. The range of his telekinesis was also much smaller than outside.

Jianmu World's terrain was varied, with many high mountains and great lakes, as well as deserts and plains. But vegetation was extremely abundant, with tall trees growing in many places.

There were also many types of fierce beasts, all released by the Universe Mercenary Alliance. Among them were Jiaoshi Horses. These Jiaoshi Horses usually traveled alone, weren't very aggressive, but were extremely fast. In a high-gravity world like Jianmu World, they were much faster than ordinary Star Level nine cultivators. So obtaining three Jiaoshi Horse horns was quite difficult.

As for the Jianmu Heart, it was in the center of Jianmu World, where many towering trees called Jianmu grew. Some particularly massive Jianmu trees had a jade-green Jianmu Heart inside their trunks. But Jianmu wood was extremely hard, difficult to chop, and one also had to guard against other adventurer teams snatching it. So the difficulty wasn't low either.

Jianmu World had no sun, but the sky was always filled with silvery-white light. Thus, this world had no night.

Yin Congyang identified his direction and strolled leisurely toward the center of Jianmu World. Time was plentiful, and he was in a sightseeing mood, so there was no rush.

He was currently on a vast plain. Various fierce beasts appeared continuously, always in groups. Fortunately, the view was open, his physical quality was high, and his explosive power was close to Universe Level. His speed was far beyond ordinary Star Level nine cultivators, so he encountered no danger on this plain.

After walking for several days, he left the plain and entered endless mountain ranges. Trees hundreds of meters tall were everywhere.

Here, Yin Congyang became cautious and alert. After all, his vision was obstructed, and his telekinesis range was much smaller than outside. If he encountered a large group of fierce beasts or a natural disaster, he might not detect it in time.

Deep in the mountains, a black shadow flashed in the corner of his eye. He quickly turned to look and couldn't help but laugh. Lucky—he'd just entered the forest and already encountered a Jiaoshi Horse.

Watching the Jiaoshi Horse speed away, he pushed off the ground and chased like lightning. With his speed, the Jiaoshi Horse, famed for surpassing Star Level nine speed, was nothing. In a few seconds, closing within 500 meters of the Jiaoshi Horse, the Xinling Disk beneath his feet shot out a blade. Following a mysterious trajectory, it flashed to the Jiaoshi Horse's head in an instant. The Jiaoshi Horse couldn't react—the blade pierced its brain, brains splattering, and it fell dead.

He quickly approached. The blade flew up, cutting off the Jiaoshi Horse's horn. Just as he was about to store it, a loud shout came from afar: "Put that down..."

He turned his head. Several kilometers away, a group of ten Star Level nine cultivators, protecting a handsome young man, were rushing toward him.

Seconds later, the ten surrounded him. Yin Congyang weighed the horn in his hand, chuckled lightly, and stored it in his storage space.

The young man's face immediately darkened. "Toast rejected, you'll have to drink the penalty. I was going to let you live if you dropped it... Since you won't, kill him!"

The last sentence was directed at the other nine Star Level nine cultivators. Then he retreated with one of them.

"Yes."

The remaining eight acknowledged in unison. Three Spiritual Masters' telekinetic weapons shot forward rapidly, while the five martial artists drew their weapons and charged at Yin Congyang.

A Heaven-Opening Axe appeared in Yin Congyang's hand. He unfolded his domain, enveloping everyone. Under the domain's pressure, the telekinetic weapons and all the cultivators seemed to sink into a swamp, their speed instantly slowing to a crawl.

Clang, clang—he deflected the incoming telekinetic weapons. His feet moved like a ghost as he charged at them, one axe per person. None could dodge a single strike; they were slaughtered like chopping vegetables.

The young man and the remaining Star Level nine cultivator not far away were horrified. They frantically tried to flee, but within Yin Congyang's domain, they couldn't build up speed. Two seconds later, Yin Congyang was upon them.

"Spare—"

The young man didn't even finish shouting "spare me" before Yin Congyang severed his neck. The falling head's eyes still held lingering resentment...