Assessment Begins

Having successfully drawn everyone's attention, the male disciple smiled in satisfaction. He looked toward He Tao and, after receiving his signal, spoke up. "This is Inspector He from the Martial Pavilion in the provincial capital. Welcome, Inspector He!"

With that, he took the lead in applauding.

The female disciple and Huang Bai quickly followed, and for a moment, applause filled the room.

Seeing that the four of them had no reaction and were looking at them as if they were fools, the applause gradually died away.

"Cough, cough." He Tao intended to break the awkward atmosphere. "Hall Master Huang, Hall Master Lin, Hall Master Chen, are all three of you here? Please step forward."

Huang Bai took a large stride forward and cupped his fists toward He Tao. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Huang Bai of Zhengxin Martial Arts Academy."

Lin Qi snapped to attention, startling everyone around him. Staring straight ahead, he said, "I am Lin Qi, the newly appointed hall master of Inquiry Martial Arts Hall. These two are my younger sister, Lin Xue, and my classmate, Yan Jiajia."

"Chen Xu, Chen Martial Arts Academy." Chen Xu rose from the sofa, sweeping his gaze across the room. He was the tallest person present, and he liked the feeling of looking down on everyone else.

He Tao walked to the center of the assessment room. "I assume everyone already understands the assessment. It is very simple.

First, the hall master must last thirty seconds against a Martial Pavilion inspector.

Second, they must possess at least one non-basic Martial Arts technique that can be taught to others.

Now, please have the three hall masters demonstrate the In-Ranked Martial Arts techniques you intend to teach.

Hall Master Huang is the eldest, so please begin."

Huang Bai cupped his fists to everyone around him and slightly raised one leg.

"Zhengxin Martial Arts Academy's kicking technique, Shadows Follow Form."

He suddenly raised his leg and unleashed dozens of kicks in succession. His legs alternated through front kicks, side kicks, back kicks, axe kicks, hook kicks, spinning back kicks, push kicks, and a whole series of other leg techniques.

"What a Shadows Follow Form. It truly is as fast as lightning." Having accepted benefits from him, He Tao naturally did not hold back his praise.

"Next, Hall Master Lin. Please."

"Inquiry Martial Arts Hall's Body Nourishing Fist."

Lin Qi began demonstrating it in a meticulous, proper manner.

"Pfft." The female disciple could not hold back her laughter and hurriedly covered her mouth.

As for the male disciple, he already considered himself superior to others, and his disdain was plain to see.

"You people!" Lin Xue's little face immediately fell. She hated people who looked down on her brother the most. Her brother was obviously amazing.

Yan Jiajia had never suffered a loss since childhood. Seeing the man she liked being mocked, how could she possibly remain seated? "When Inspector He chooses people, does he not care whether their Martial Dao is up to standard, or whether their character is?"

The male disciple was just about to snap back when He Tao stopped him. "Miss Yan, my disciple has behaved improperly. As his master, I apologize on his behalf."

When he turned around, Lin Qi had already withdrawn his fists and stood still.

"Hall Master Lin's fist technique certainly lives up to the name Body Nourishing Fist. Though it is somewhat lacking in offensive power, its effects in strengthening the body are enough to make up for that flaw. It qualifies as an In-Ranked Martial Arts technique."

"Hall Master Chen, please." He Tao took several small steps back.

"Chen Tiger Howl Fist."

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Xu threw a fierce punch.

The male and female disciples watching could not help retreating several steps. The roar of a tiger seemed to echo beside their ears, and they thought a ferocious tiger was pouncing on them.

He Tao closed his eyes for several seconds before slowly opening them and uttering three words. "Excellent fist technique."

A sharp gleam burst from Huang Bai's eyes. Only someone who practiced the Martial Dao could taste the unique charm contained within that seemingly ordinary punch.

Yet he could not help feeling waves of sorrow in his heart. "He is not even an adult, yet his strength already surpasses mine. This old man has truly been dealt a blow."

"Brother Chen, you're very strong."

Lin Qi's face was full of smiles. After only a few words of conversation, he had already classified Chen Xu as an ordinary friend. When his friend performed brilliantly, he was even more excited and thrilled than if it had been himself.

"Since it has been confirmed that all three of you possess In-Ranked Martial Arts techniques, let us officially begin." He Tao stepped onto the circular Martial Dao arena.

"The order will be the same as before. Hall Master Huang, please."

Huang Bai stepped onto the Martial Dao arena. After the two exchanged salutes, the male disciple announced the start.

"Ha!"

Huang Bai seized the initiative and charged forward. His fighting style had always been to drown his opponent beneath an unending stream of leg techniques. Otherwise, how could it be called Shadows Follow Form?

His offensive was fierce, yet He Tao showed no sign of being flustered, handling it with effortless ease.

After all, Huang Bai's strength was only somewhere between 0.8 Chang Weis and 1.2 Chang Weis. To put it bluntly, if he were truly strong enough, why would he need to shamelessly bring gifts to curry favor?

Under He Tao's ironclad defense, Huang Bai attacked continuously for nearly thirty seconds. After withstanding several symbolic attacks from He Tao, he passed the test.

As Huang Bai left, he was as happy as a big child in his forties.

Lin Qi leaped onto the arena and earnestly warned, "My Body Nourishing Fist is very powerful. Please be careful, Inspector."

After they exchanged several moves, He Tao only felt his muscles becoming somewhat sore.

It felt like the sensation of overtraining back when he had been young and ignorant.

"There is something wrong with his fist moves." He Tao had not expected to misjudge someone as well. This fellow's Body Nourishing Fist not only nourished the body; its killing power was not weak either.

Though his strength while barehanded did not even reach thirty percent of his usual level, he was only a sixteen-year-old student.

Considering that, he was already an absolute standout among his peers. In the future, he might not have no chance of reaching that level.

Thirty seconds passed in the blink of an eye. There was no surprise in the result; Lin Qi successfully earned the chance to establish a martial arts academy.

He still had homework to rush back and finish, so he did not linger. After greeting Chen Xu, he called his sister and left.

"Hall Master Chen, Deputy Pavilion Master Xu has praised you highly. Now that I have seen you today, you truly are extraordinary."

A few traces of a smile appeared once more on He Tao's cold face. Chen Xu was different from the previous two—not only in strength, but also in how much future benefit he could bring.

"Deputy Pavilion Master Xu?" Chen Xu nearly burst out laughing.

They had not even met once, yet Xu already praised him so highly. If they actually met, would they not immediately become sworn brothers of the opposite sex, lamenting that they had not met sooner?

They did not ask to be born on the same year, month, and day, but only to die on the same year, month, and day.

Chen Xu had more or less guessed He Tao's purpose. He was probably going to urge him to stay away from Deputy Pavilion Master Ling, or simply ask him to join Deputy Pavilion Master Xu's faction.

Sure enough, He Tao was in no hurry to begin the assessment. First, he lavishly praised Deputy Pavilion Master Xu, then seemingly casually revealed that Xu was very likely to become the next Pavilion Master.

In short, Deputy Pavilion Master Ling was a big fool with low intelligence, useless at everything except eating, where he ranked first; while Deputy Pavilion Master Xu was one of Jinning Commandery's ten outstanding talents, one of its ten most inspiring figures, and...

He was strong, handsome, and rich. If you did not follow him, who would you follow? When he became Pavilion Master in the future, you would be the brightest star in Jinning Commandery's martial arts academy world.

The flattery went on and on, but Chen Xu did not buy any of it. He was already planning to find an opportunity to head to Abyss Capital and seek resources. He had no interest in getting involved in the scheming of this tiny commandery city.

Moreover, he had already learned that their county could recommend only two people to Great Abyss National University. The Pavilion Master had not recommended anyone for several years; basically, each of the two Deputy Pavilion Masters recommended one person.

Unfortunately, Deputy Pavilion Master Xu already had a candidate: an outstanding member of the Xu Family. There was absolutely no way he would give that spot to an outsider like Chen Xu.

That point alone eliminated any possibility of Chen Xu joining Xu's faction and muddling along there.