Wu Changkong drove everyone to the outskirts in a soul guidance car. A vast industrial park stood there, its entrance sign identifying it as the Eastsea City Soul Guidance Technology Park.
Wu Changkong led them inside and walked for another half hour or so before they finally reached their destination.
A small building.
Wu Changkong stepped forward. The main doors were made of blue glass, and he pressed his hand directly against them.
A light flashed, and a holographic projection appeared beside the doors. The projection spoke in a teasing tone. "Yo. Long time no see, Eastsea's Little Changkong."
Dark lines appeared on Wu Changkong's forehead. "Hurry up and let us in," he said coldly.
"Oh, come on. Can't I tease you a little? You've brought some adorable children, too. Are they your students?"
Wu Changkong did not answer. The holographic figure did not press his luck either. He snapped his fingers, and the doors slowly slid open to either side.
Wu Changkong turned around, about to tell them to stay close, only to see the muscles in their faces pulled taut.
They entered the doors. The lobby was exceptionally tidy, with polished floors, deep blue walls, and soft lighting.
No staff came to greet them. Wu Changkong seemed very familiar with the place. He walked to the reception desk, leaned half his body behind it, and pulled out five wristbands, which he handed to Jiang Mingyuan and the others.
"One for each of you. Put them on, or the defense system here will identify you as enemies. Stay close to me, and don't get lost."
Then Wu Changkong led them around several turns in succession. The building had not looked very large from outside, but its interior was unexpectedly spacious.
After passing through another glass door, Wu Changkong suddenly vanished, leaving everyone stunned. With his elemental affinity, Jiang Mingyuan faintly detected a ripple in space. Clearly, Wu Changkong had been teleported away.
"Keep moving forward. Face your assessment." Wu Changkong's icy voice sounded all around them. Without hesitation, they followed Jiang Mingyuan through the glass door.
His mind swam for an instant, and Jiang Mingyuan immediately felt himself become weightless.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in a strange space surrounded by deep blue on every side.
"Holy shit! Is this the legendary space teleportation?" Xie Xie exclaimed.
Wu Changkong walked over to a wall. A large LCD screen appeared before him, and he swiped his fingers across it. Whatever he had done, an electronic voice suddenly sounded.
"Identity confirmed. Eastsea's Little Changkong, welcome."
"Test difficulty selected: intermediate. Number of participants: five. Please prepare. The test will begin shortly."
As a countdown sounded, Wu Changkong turned around and instructed them, "Once you're inside, just give it everything you've got. It's fine even if you lose. I'll score you based on your performance. As long as you don't do particularly badly, I'll pass you."
Though he had no idea what they were about to face, all he needed to do was try his best. Xie Xie breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie Xie patted Zhang Yangzi on the shoulder. When it came to fighting head-on, the two of them were the weakest.
Three, two, one. As the countdown ended, a beam of blue light suddenly shone through the room. Their figures vanished instantly as they were transported into the special assessment space.
After Jiang Mingyuan silently counted roughly thirty-six seconds, the weightless sensation vanished. Gravity returned, pulling him toward the ground. He immediately released his martial soul, beat his wings, and slowly descended.
Jiang Mingyuan immediately surveyed his surroundings. The white ground stretched beyond the horizon. Though neither a sun nor any lamps hung overhead, a soft glow illuminated the entire space.
Suddenly, an electronic voice sounded from every direction.
"Welcome to the Hall of Heroes. The difficulty of this test is intermediate. The requirement for the first round is to withstand your opponent's attacks for thirty seconds."
A white light flashed, and a young man suddenly appeared twenty meters ahead of Jiang Mingyuan. His face was as fine as polished jade, his deep, alluring eyes lending him a rakish air.
"Test begins."
The instant the electronic voice sounded, two yellow soul rings appeared beneath the man's feet. He recited some indescribable incantation, and a Big Sausage appeared in his palm.
"Oscar?" Jiang Mingyuan recognized him the moment he saw that sausage. Seriously? Does two-ring Oscar have even a scrap of fighting ability? And I'm supposed to last thirty seconds? He'd be doing well to last thirty seconds himself.
Oscar shoved the Big Sausage straight into his mouth and chewed furiously. Then something unexpected happened: a pair of flaming wings grew from his back as well.
Jiang Mingyuan was dumbfounded.
He recalled that Oscar did indeed have a soul skill in the original story that could replicate martial souls, but wasn't that from his sixth soul ring?
Unbelievable. So we're cheating this hard, huh?
Soon, however, Jiang Mingyuan realized that the martial soul Oscar had copied was not his Phoenix. There was not a trace of light in it. Instead, it brimmed with pure desire. It was unmistakably Ma Hongjun's evil fire phoenix.
"Phoenix Fire Line!" Oscar opened his mouth, and a deep crimson pillar of fire erupted from it, shooting straight toward Jiang Mingyuan.
Jiang Mingyuan merely waved his hand lightly. As though Oscar's soul skill had fallen under his control, it followed the movement of his fingers through the air and actually curled into a ring. With a wave of Wu Changkong's hand, the ring of fire flew straight back toward Oscar.
The ring of fire passed through Oscar's body. Oscar stopped moving at once, specks of white light rose from him, and his entire figure disappeared.
"Congratulations. You have passed the first round. Preparing the second round now. Test difficulty: high tier."
The familiar white light flashed again, revealing a tall, handsome man with golden hair. Most striking of all, one of his eyes was red and the other blue.
Different-colored eyes? Jiang Mingyuan quickly guessed his opponent's identity.
Boss Dai when you need something, Dai Mubai when you don't.
Dai Mubai immediately activated Martial Soul Possession. His physique swelled, tearing through his shirt, and a huge character for "king" appeared on his forehead. Two yellow soul rings lit up simultaneously.
A white shield formed around him. He opened his mouth, and a laser beam blasted out.
Jiang Mingyuan neither dodged nor ducked. He swung his left arm in a wide circle before him, creating a barrier of flame that blocked the White Tiger Fierce Light Wave.
Dai Mubai drove off with both legs and charged forward, swinging his massive tiger claws down. The flaming shield had little energy left, and he smashed it apart with a single strike.
Jiang Mingyuan flew into the air to evade him. A fireball condensed in his hand, growing steadily larger and even beginning to spin under his control.
Jiang Mingyuan waved his hand, sending the fireball crashing down toward Dai Mubai. Dai Mubai abruptly rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the strike.
At that moment, the corners of Jiang Mingyuan's mouth lifted slightly. He extended his right hand and crooked a finger. Had his opponent been a real person, he would certainly have taken it as a taunt.
Dai Mubai seemed to sense something. He spun around, only to find the fireball already a hair's breadth away.
The first strike had missed. Jiang Mingyuan had guided the fireball through a wide arc behind him and brought it back around.
Faced with a fireball now taller than a person, Dai Mubai had no answer. As the spinning fireball drove forward, he was mercilessly crushed.