Mechanics? "Disaster"...

Xiao Chen stood where he was, his mind taking a long time to settle. Everything that had just happened had been so sudden, like a dream.

The divine consciousness avatar Sea God Tang San had left on the Douluo Continent had simply been converted into data by the Command Block and devoured completely, leaving not a trace behind.

This was a good thing!

But better still, the Golden Dragon King Divine Core had fallen into his hands-and an all-natural, harmless Golden Dragon King Divine Core at that.

Luckily, he had agreed to help Na'er back then, or this duck would have flown away.

Enormous delight washed over Xiao Chen's mind, but he did not relax because of it. Although Tang San's divine consciousness was gone, the Douluo Continent was full of contingencies Tang San had left behind.

He had to find a way to control the Command Block.

Considering the previous occasions when the Command Block had activated, Xiao Chen felt he had vaguely grasped its mechanics.

For instance, when he forged metal, merely wanting the forging to succeed was enough to activate the Command Block, but wanting an enemy dead in battle would not activate it.

Yet whenever he fell into danger and an extreme obsession arose in his heart, the Command Block would respond.

Just now, firmly restrained by Tang San's Unfixed Storm and facing the life-or-death crisis of having his soul brainwashed, his sole obsession had been to regain his freedom of movement and make Tang San die.

His powerful will to survive had probably spurred the Command Block into activating a command to clear the restraints.

To be honest, he was no saint.

When he saw Tang Wulin reveal his Golden Dragon Claw, a greedy desire had indeed arisen in his heart: he wanted to seize the Golden Dragon King Divine Core.

But the Command Block had not responded then. Instead, it had stripped away the Golden Dragon King Divine Core in passing after his will to survive had spurred it into action later.

Xiao Chen had roughly grasped a little of the Command Block's mechanics. For simpler things with low consumption, such as forging metal, the Command Block would activate even if his desire was not strong.

But for difficult things with high consumption, such as seizing the Golden Dragon King Divine Core, the Command Block would not activate unless driven by intense desire. Even seizing the Golden Dragon King Divine Core just now had been accomplished in passing.

And judging by how the Command Block had just devoured Tang San's divine consciousness, this Martial Soul of his, the Command Block, needed some kind of "energy."

In other words, as long as he supplied the "energy" the Command Block needed, he could use it at will to carry out his ideas.

Otherwise, he would truly have to use an exceptionally intense desire to spur the Command Block into helping him accomplish them.

To him, these mechanics were hardly an issue.

Compared with those heaven-defying Martial Souls that consumed enormous amounts, were riddled with drawbacks, and could easily backlash against their hosts, the Command Block not only had no side effects whatsoever, but could also trigger abilities at critical moments that could be called impossible to counter.

But never be deceived by the surface appearance of things...

The Abyss Plane.

A humanoid creature with a lizard's head stared at a strange red mushroom.

"Hmm? This is..."

The Spirit Ascension Platform.

Reining in his thoughts, Xiao Chen raised his eyes, his gaze falling on Tang Wulin, who lay unconscious on the ground before him.

At this moment, Tang Wulin's aura was steady, his breathing long and even. Apart from the superficial injuries left by their earlier head-on clash and a slight depletion of his blood essence, he was actually completely fine.

Who would have thought the Command Block was so considerate? It stripped away the Golden Dragon King Divine Core without even harming the host.

Wait, wasn't this the Spirit Ascension Platform? How had it stripped it away...?

Fine, the Command Block was fucking awesome.

When the Command Block acted, its methods were so perfect they defied comprehension.

Since he's fine, he can die now.

Xiao Chen's gaze was indifferent. Without the slightest hesitation, dark light gathered at his fingertip as his Wither Martial Soul quietly stirred.

A Wither Head formed in an instant and, bearing the power of destruction, landed on Tang Wulin with unerring accuracy.

White light flashed. The unconscious Tang Wulin's body turned insubstantial, and he was forcibly ejected from the Spirit Ascension Platform in an instant, bringing his assessment trial to a complete end.

At the same time, with Tang San's divine consciousness devoured and the Command Block falling dormant again, the Spirit Ascension Platform space, whose data had been thrown into chaos by Tang San's interference, instantly stabilized.

The disordered data returned to its proper places, the obscured observation feeds gradually returned to normal, and the entire Spirit Ascension Platform resumed operation without the slightest abnormality.

Outside the Spirit Ascension Platform, at the East Sea Spirit Pagoda.

The staff, who had been scrambling about with cold sweat covering their foreheads, watched the images become clear on the screens again and all let out long sighs of relief, their hearts finally settling.

The earlier spatial data disorder, black screens, and inability to observe had left everyone terrified, afraid that the Spirit Ascension Platform would be damaged or something would happen to the students. They would have had no way to account for it then.

And now, Tang Wulin emerged from his Spirit Ascension Pod.

Tang Wulin stumbled onto the ground and slowly opened his eyes, his face filled with bewilderment and his mind completely blank.

He remembered only the instant he had used his Golden Dragon Claw to clash head-on with Xiao Chen.

After that collision of strength, he had lost consciousness. He knew nothing of everything that followed: Tang San's divine consciousness possessing him and the Divine Core being stripped away.

"I... how did I get out?"

Rubbing his swollen, aching head, Tang Wulin looked around in confusion, completely unaware of what had happened.

A cool, even voice rang out just then. It was Wu Zhangkong, who stood quietly waiting nearby.

"You were defeated. You've been eliminated."

"Eliminated?" Tang Wulin's eyes instantly widened, his face filled with disbelief. He hurriedly pressed for an answer.

"Teacher Wu! What about our assessment? How is everyone?"

At this moment, his mind was entirely on Class Zero's assessment results, and he worried about his teammates' circumstances.

Wu Zhangkong's expression was cold, his tone utterly unruffled as he announced the results:

"Xie Xie, Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, Tang Wulin-all eliminated. This Spirit Ascension Platform assessment required you to last one hour. Apart from Gu Yue, who remains inside, the other four have all failed."

As his words fell, Xie Xie and the other two, who had long since been eliminated from the Spirit Ascension Platform, instantly turned deathly pale, looking as though they had nothing left to live for.

"No way! A total wipeout? Only Gu Yue's left?"

"We're done, we're done! We're completely sunk this time. Teacher Wu is definitely going to blow his top!"

The four exchanged looks, their hearts filled with despair, already foreseeing what would happen next.

Sure enough, Wu Zhangkong swept his gaze across the four, his tone icy and utterly merciless:

"All of you failed the assessment. A lax attitude, insufficient combat strength, and mistakes in coordination."

"Starting next semester, all four of you will undergo additional training, with double the special training. Barring exceptional circumstances, you may not ask for leave or slack off."

"No-!!"

The four instantly wailed, their faces crumpling. The intensity of Wu Zhangkong's special training was already downright demonic. Doubling it would be hell difficulty; the mere thought made their scalps prickle.

After wailing, they also came to a realization. Their gazes all turned to the Spirit Ascension Platform's screen, their eyes filled with surprise.

All of Class Zero had been eliminated; only Gu Yue still remained inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, not yet out.

On the screen, the battlefield in the forest clearing was clearly visible, with two slender figures panting for breath.

Everyone's attention instantly focused entirely on the final showdown between Gu Yue and Na'er.

Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Having dealt with Tang San's divine consciousness and seized the Golden Dragon King Divine Core, Xiao Chen did not linger there any longer.

Judging by the time, Na'er and Gu Yue had been locked in their back-and-forth stalemate for quite a while. It was about time a winner emerged.

The next instant, Xiao Chen moved. Soul Power erupted beneath his feet, and his figure became a streak of shadowy light, weaving through the forest as he sped toward the battlefield where the two girls were fighting.