Pardon my poor showing

"Why should I be afraid?"

Yu Sheng looked at the burly man and asked, a little curious.

The burly man, who had still looked stern a second earlier, burst into hearty laughter. "Haha, Liu, this student of yours is interesting!"

"Not bad, not bad!"

As he spoke, the burly man gave Liu Qingfeng's shoulder another heavy pat, the third time now.

Liu Qingfeng frowned slightly and silently took two steps back.

These guys from Spirit Martial High School were all built like oxen. A bunch of brutes.

Seeing how friendly Liu Qingfeng and the burly man were, the teachers leading the other two schools frowned slightly and exchanged a glance.

With a connection like that...

Wouldn't Second High School have a firm advantage over their First High School and Third High School this time?

But they chose to remain silent about it.

These were the rules of the New World.

Even if the burly man really did pull strings for Second High School, that was something Liu Qingfeng had earned himself, fighting on the brink of death countless times on the battlefield.

They had never even been to the battlefield themselves, staying in humanity's rear and enjoying peace bought with other people's lives. What right did they have to talk about fairness when competing for benefits?

"Let's have a good drink tonight!"

The burly man seemed a little excited now. Seeing that bear-paw-like hand coming down toward him again, Liu Qingfeng, prepared this time, decisively shifted sideways, finally giving his poor shoulder a moment's respite.

"Tch, same as ever."

The burly man rolled his eyes and turned around without taking offense, his face already serious again.

"Kids!"

"Let me introduce myself. Captain of the Third Team, Jiangbei Province Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion!"

"Luo Tian!"

"Fifth-Generation Awakened!"

"I won't bother with my other accomplishments. Not much point, and there's no showing off to you little brats anyway."

"As for today's assessment..."

"Let me think."

With that, Luo Yun actually sank into thought and remained motionless for a long time.

It was as though... he really hadn't fucking decided what to test before coming.

The two people in the surveillance room looked as though they had been struck by lightning. They exchanged a glance, speechless for a long while.

"I knew it. The Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion is full of morons!"

Finally, one of them could no longer contain the impulse and said this with his head in his hands.

The other gave a weary sigh and quickly adjusted his mindset. "We should be used to it, shouldn't we?"

"Good point."

"We're used to it already."

They consoled each other, trying hard to keep their emotions at a steady level.

The next second, Luo Yun's booming voice came through the surveillance feed again.

"Hahaha, men!"

"Should always charge ahead!"

"Arena matches! Winners advance, losers step down!"

"It's settled!"

There was even a faint note of pride and self-satisfaction in his voice.

As though he was very pleased to have come up with such a good plan.

"This fucking assessment is supposed to test how they handle unexpected situations, how cautious they are, and their temperament!"

"This moron! I can't take it anymore!"

"Why did the higher-ups let him out? Where's their Third Team's Divine Strategist?"

The man who had just been consoling the other instantly broke down and launched into a tirade at the surveillance feed.

The Divine Strategist...

Generally, almost every team in the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion had one.

They were the team's real planner, usually the one who used their brains.

Of course, some team captains took on that responsibility themselves.

But Luo Yun clearly wasn't one of them.

The other man covered his face, looking somewhat pained. "Didn't something happen in Xinhai City recently? Their Divine Strategist took the team there to help."

"And here I thought he deliberately showed up late to observe their temperaments."

For a while, the surveillance room was filled with utter misery.

Liu Qingfeng had remained very quiet. Even after learning that his old comrade was the chief examiner for this assessment, he hadn't gone over to chat. Instead, he grew even quieter and stood in a corner.

Zhao Zicheng and the other two, however, looked somewhat delighted.

Their eyes shone as they looked at Liu Qingfeng.

Although Liu Qingfeng was a teacher at their school, he had always kept a very low profile, and none of them knew much about him.

They hadn't expected him to be so formidable.

"You're all clear on the assessment rules, yeah?"

"Then I'll get started."

The phantom of an azure wolf abruptly appeared behind Luo Yun, with four gems faintly visible set into its forehead.

The next second, the azure wolf vanished from where it stood.

Dust rose again, blocking everyone's view.

When the dust settled and they looked again, an enormous circle had been drawn on the ground.

"This is the arena."

"If you surrender or leave the circle, you lose."

With that, Luo Yun leaped onto the hood of his off-road vehicle and sat down, making one seriously wonder whether the hood would cave in beneath him the next second.

He lit himself another cigarette and casually pointed through the curling smoke.

"You two. Fight."

Fortunately, Luo Yun at least had some brains. He could still distinguish their different school uniforms and hadn't made students from the same school fight each other right away.

The two students looked rather solemn as they slowly entered the circle, each taking a deep breath to ease the pressure.

"First High School, Xiao Zifeng!"

"Please show me what you've got."

Seeing that the other student was about to attack outright, the boy named Xiao Zifeng rolled his eyes thoughtfully and suddenly shouted. Then, as his opponent looked somewhat bewildered, he charged.

The other student quickly caught on and inwardly cursed, preparing to shout something himself.

But it was already too late.

Xiao Zifeng threw a punch at his face.

The boy gritted his teeth and retreated two steps, barely avoiding the punch. Just as he was about to counterattack, Xiao Zifeng suddenly lifted his foot and kicked.

For a moment...

The battlefield...

Well, there was nothing deadly serious about it, nor was there any tension.

It was just two unawakened children fighting. What spectacular moves could they possibly pull off?

Besides, they weren't from a big city, the sort who started learning a little traditional martial arts practically from birth, so it was only good for a bit of amusement.

Luo Yun, however, watched with great interest.

He enjoyed it attentively.

Until Xiao Zifeng stood proudly in the arena, his face covered in bruises.

"First High School, Xiao Zifeng."

"Pardon my poor showing."

Shouting once again, he let his gaze drift almost imperceptibly over Luo Yun.

Luo Yun couldn't help chuckling. He said nothing more and simply pointed out another two students to enter the arena.

After Xiao Zifeng's shout, the atmosphere seemed to have taken on a slightly different flavor.

Every one of them seemed eager to use all their strength to announce their name.

They shouted at the top of their lungs.

One after another.

Meanwhile, Luo Yun gradually lost interest, yawning incessantly and smoking one cigarette after another.

Zhao Zicheng and the other two also took their turns.

Only Zhao Zicheng won.

A narrow victory.

His face was a little red and swollen as he stood at the back, constantly muttering something.