Outer Sect Assessment Begins

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Azure Cloud Sect's outer sect martial arts arena was packed with people, banners snapping fiercely in the wind.

Several outer sect elders sat upon the lofty viewing platform, along with a group of core outer sect disciples. Zhao Kun, dressed in a moon-white training outfit, sat among the core disciples, his gaze icy as his eyes swept toward the waiting area below from time to time.

In the waiting area, several hundred participating disciples were itching for a fight. Some had originally been outer sect probationary disciples, while others, like Shen Yuan and Wang Dong, had come out of the Servant Compound.

Wang Dong stood beside Shen Yuan, his palms clenched tightly, his chubby face full of nerves. He had signed up for the assessment as well, but knowing his talent was limited, he did not expect to get far. He had come purely to accompany Shen Yuan and broaden his horizons.

"Remember what I told you. Once the melee begins, don't fight to the death. Preserve your strength first. Zhao Kun's two lackeys, Iron Palm Li Mang and Staff-Hand Zhou Yang, are over there." Wang Dong lowered his voice and gestured toward the diagonally forward direction with the corner of his eye.

Shen Yuan followed his gaze.

Two broad, powerfully built young men stood there in training clothes, their auras steady. Both were at the Body Tempering Seventh Layer. Their eyes occasionally flicked toward him, filled with undisguised hostility.

Shen Yuan's washed-out gray servant robe made him particularly conspicuous among the participating disciples. Quite a few people pointed at him, and murmurs drifted endlessly into his ears.

"That's Shen Yuan? The servant who made a bet with Liu Er." "A cripple with shattered bones dares to join in? He probably won't last three moves." "I heard he even offended Zhao Kun. He's probably in for a disaster on the arena today."

Idle gossip filled the air.

Shen Yuan ignored it all. His mind sank into his sea of consciousness as he quickly reviewed the melee tactics he had simulated in the Martial Arts Simulation Space. Wang Dong had secretly prepared all his dried rations and water; he had not touched any food or drink distributed by the sect, eliminating any possibility of Liu Er poisoning him behind the scenes.

"The outer sect preliminary round—melee—begin!"

An elder on the platform gave the order.

Boom!

The enormous square arena, dozens of zhang wide, was instantly flooded as nearly a hundred participating disciples leaped onto it.

The preliminary round's rules were simple and brutal: fight in a melee. Anyone knocked off the arena, who voluntarily surrendered, or lost the ability to fight would be eliminated. The last fifty people remaining on the arena would advance to the next round.

The instant they stepped onto the arena, shouts of battle erupted like thunder.

Fists and feet collided, weapons clashed, and dust flew into the air.

From the outset, most people paired off and fought. Li Mang and Zhou Yang did not bother with anyone else. Their gazes locked onto Shen Yuan at once, and they directly abandoned their nearby opponents, moving in to encircle Shen Yuan from both sides.

"Shen Yuan, die!"

A faint red glow of blood and qi appeared around Li Mang's palm as his iron palm slammed out, a fierce gust rushing into Shen Yuan's face. Zhou Yang wielded a short wrought-iron staff, its shadow whistling as it swept out, sealing off Shen Yuan's paths of retreat to either side.

The two Body Tempering Seventh Layer cultivators joining forces carried tremendous force. Many disciples near the edge of the arena stopped fighting and looked over. On the viewing platform, Zhao Kun curled his lips into a cold smile, quietly waiting to see Shen Yuan grievously injured and carried off the arena.

Shen Yuan's heart tightened, but he did not meet them head-on.

A Body Tempering Sixth Layer fighter going head-to-head against two Seventh Layers was simply courting death.

He moved his feet in footwork derived from the Subduing Tiger Fist, his body nimble as a wildcat as he twisted aside and retreated sharply, evading the pincer attack of the iron palm and iron staff.

Bang!

Palm wind and staff shadows struck the arena's bluestone floor, sending shattered stones and fragments flying.

"Stop running!" Li Mang roared, pressing forward step by step.

"You think you can dodge? Let's see how long you can keep it up!" Zhou Yang's short staff came in an endless stream, his staff techniques so dense that not even water could pass through them.

Shen Yuan remained calm. In his mind, he replayed the countless encirclement simulations from the Martial Arts Simulation Space. Rather than tangling with the two head-on, he weaved through the chaotic arena, constantly using the bodies of other battling disciples to block their attacks.

The arena was full of battling figures. Li Mang and Zhou Yang wanted to focus all their strength on Shen Yuan, yet they also had to guard against sneak attacks from others, leaving them shackled at every turn.

"Bastard! What kind of skill is running all over the place?" Li Mang grew more irritable the longer they fought.

As Shen Yuan moved about, he observed the situation across the entire arena. Amid the melee, many disciples were rapidly exhausting their stamina, sustaining injuries, and exposing flaws everywhere.

He did not linger in battle. Only when he encountered an isolated opponent did he suddenly strike.

The Subduing Tiger Fist howled as it shot forth, every move targeting the enemy's flaws.

A Fifth Stage of Body Tempering disciple blocked his way, only to be blasted straight off the arena by Shen Yuan in three punches.

Another Body Tempering Sixth Layer disciple had a gap in his technique seized by Shen Yuan. His shoulder took a heavy blow, and he screamed as he fell off the arena.

In a brief moment, two people had already fallen to Shen Yuan.

"This servant's strength isn't weak!" On the viewing platform, an outer sect elder sat up slightly, surprise appearing in his eyes.

Zhao Kun's expression darkened slightly. He had originally thought Shen Yuan had at most barely reached the Fourth or Fifth Stage of Body Tempering. He had never expected the force of Shen Yuan's strikes and the refinement of his techniques to so vastly exceed his expectations.

"Li Mang, Zhou Yang, stop tangling with the others. End this quickly!" Zhao Kun lowered his voice, sending the words across the arena.

Having received the reminder, the two no longer cared about the people around them. They abandoned their other opponents without hesitation and pounced on Shen Yuan in a frenzy.

Seeing the two encircle him once again, Shen Yuan knew he could not keep drifting without fighting. If he continued dodging blindly, his stamina would be drained dry.

Now!

Shen Yuan deliberately revealed an opening at his shoulder.

Li Mang's eyes lit up. His iron palm struck toward Shen Yuan's shoulder with all his strength. Just as the palm wind was about to touch Shen Yuan's clothes, Shen Yuan abruptly lowered his body and drove off the ground, shooting forward like a fierce tiger.

Perfect Tiger-Subduing Fist—Tiger Crashes the Mountain!

His fist smashed heavily into the wrist joint of Zhou Yang's hand gripping the staff.

Crack!

The crisp sound of bone breaking rang out.

"Aah—!!" Zhou Yang let out a miserable scream, and the short staff flew from his hand.

Shen Yuan gave him no chance to catch his breath, driving his elbow into Zhou Yang's chest and abdomen.

Zhou Yang flew off the arena like a kite with its string cut!

A Body Tempering Seventh Layer cultivator had been eliminated just like that.

The entire crowd erupted in uproar.

Li Mang's pupils constricted sharply. He had never imagined his companion would be defeated in an instant. Rage surged through him as his iron palms launched a reckless barrage.

Without his companion, Li Mang alone could no longer suppress Shen Yuan.

Having gone through countless simulations in the Martial Arts Simulation Space, Shen Yuan knew the Iron Palm techniques like the back of his hand. He dismantled the moves, evaded, and steadily wore down Li Mang's stamina. After dozens of exchanges, Li Mang's breathing gradually became disordered, and the flaws in his techniques grew more numerous.

Shen Yuan seized the instant when Li Mang's old force was spent. Stacking both fists together, he slammed them heavily into Li Mang's chest.

Li Mang let out a muffled grunt. His huge body staggered back again and again, one foot landing on the edge of the arena as he nearly fell straight off.

Shen Yuan stepped forward, about to press his advantage.

From the side, two more figures suddenly charged over. They were two other outer sect probationary disciples under Zhao Kun, coming to support Li Mang!

One against three—the crisis descended in an instant.