That night, Chen Mu thought there would be a fierce battle, but to his surprise, apart from some people who had mistakenly entered his talisman array, no one else attacked him.
However, he didn't have any ambition to begin with; he just wanted to do what he was supposed to do and get through the assessment by tomorrow morning.
Just as Chen Mu began preparing dinner, the same slovenly Daoist priest from yesterday ran out of the forest again.
Hey! Young man, I'm here again to do business with you!
He tossed out a bunch of nameplates, which Chen Mu caught in his hands.
"So much?"
Chen Mu was slightly surprised. There were actually thirty nameplates this time. It seemed that the other party really didn't take the nameplates seriously.
"Okay, wait a moment, I'll make it for you now."
Half an hour later, Chen Mu handed the three finished beggar's chickens to the slovenly Daoist priest.
"Hey, the money's all settled!"
The slovenly Daoist priest held the three chickens as if they were treasures and immediately put them all into his storage ring.
"Hehe, I'm just reminding you because your cooking is pretty good."
Having so many nameplates might not be a good thing. Ranking matches are just around the corner, so good luck to you! Haha!
After saying that, the slovenly Daoist priest disappeared into the depths of the dense forest with a few leaps.
Chen Mu didn't take the slovenly Daoist's words to heart. Anyway, at this point, he wouldn't offend others unless they offended him. If anyone thought he was an easy target, they would probably suffer a big fall.
The next day, in the morning.
At this final moment, many who hadn't collected enough nameplates couldn't contain themselves any longer, and assassinations and ambushes were happening everywhere.
Some groups are not performing well and have even started to have internal conflicts because these groups do not have enough badges to advance as a whole.
Some groups began to unite and launch a joint attack on the Yuan-Zhou Alliance, because many people knew that Zhou Yu had obtained a large number of nameplates.
However, the result was predictable. Zhou Yu's strength was unmatched, and with the amplification of Yan Yuandong's formation, almost all the examinees who rushed into the Yuan-Zhou Alliance's position were wiped out.
By nine o'clock in the morning, all the examinees were enveloped in a white protective shield, keeping the enemies at bay, and the battle finally ended.
"This second-round assessment is now complete! First, the candidate who lost their nameplate has failed the assessment and is to be removed from the Small World!"
A majestic male voice rang out in the air. As soon as he finished speaking, some examinees turned into white light and disappeared.
"So candidates without name tags just disappear? I thought if there weren't more than a thousand people here, they could just pass."
Chen Duo muttered to herself.
Chen Mu glanced at Chen Duo, then smiled and shook his head.
"There are now 574 candidates remaining. Congratulations! You have all passed this year's freshman exam! After participating in tomorrow's apprenticeship ceremony, you will officially become students of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion!"
As the sound from the air subsided, a murmur of surprise arose below, as people were astonished to find that there were no longer more than a thousand people in the valley.
However, this result was exactly what Chen Mu had expected. The Heaven-Questioning Pavilion deliberately gave out a quota of one thousand people so that these people would kill each other. But they didn't necessarily have to take in a full one thousand people. They would rather take in fewer students than those who couldn't survive and leave behind their nameplates.
Although in some ways this rule is unfair, many highly capable candidates fail simply because of bad luck.
However, there are countless geniuses in history, and those who reach the top are all people with great fortune. The Heaven-Questioning Pavilion tests comprehensive qualities, not just whether you are strong enough to be accepted.
"Alright, now we'll move on to the ranking competition! The three specially recruited freshmen may now enter the examination room!"
As soon as the voice in mid-air faded, three white lights appeared in the center of the valley. After the lights faded, two men and one woman appeared in front of everyone.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Apart from the three newly appeared students, all the newcomers on the field emitted a blue light, which formed pillars that shot straight into the sky, eventually forming numbers above each person's head.
"Huh? This... this is the number of nameplates I own?"
Many people realized that the number above their heads was the same as the number of nameplates they owned.
At that moment, the majestic male voice rang out again in the air.
"The duration of this ranking competition is one hour."
One hour later, the rankings will be based on the number of nameplates on each person. Those who die during the competition will be ranked based on the order of death and the number of nameplates on their body before death.
This ranking will affect the future treatment of all new students within the organization, especially the top ten, who will receive substantial rewards. We urge all new students to consider this carefully.
As soon as the competition rules were explained, a cacophony of discussion erupted in the valley. Clearly, many people hadn't expected the ranking tournament rules to be like this.
Chen Mu, who was originally carefree within the talisman array, felt a headache coming on when he saw the dense blue light emanating from his body and the number above his head that had broken into three digits.
With this azure light present, those with nameplates had nowhere to hide in the valley, especially since Chen Duo, A Huo, and Mingye were right next to him. Although they had fewer nameplates than him, their azure light was just as dazzling.
He now understood what the slovenly Daoist priest meant last night. Given the current situation, once the battle began, those special recruits would definitely not let them go.
However, he glanced in other directions and saw several other beams of light in the distance that were no weaker than his own. He finally breathed a sigh of relief; at least there were still people to share the burden with him.
"Now, I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to rest. After that, the protective white light around you will disappear, and the competition will officially begin. I won't give you any further notice!"
After saying his last sentence, the male voice in the air fell completely silent.
The new students immediately began their preparations. Some who were injured or whose Spiritual Power was depleted immediately took out pills and sat down to rest. Others who knew about formations began to set up formations.
Clearly, the examiners also gave these weaker freshmen a chance to get into peak condition in order to face the several powerful True Spirit Realm specially recruited freshmen.
"Haha! Don't bother! It'll be a piece of cake for me, Old Ox, to handle in a minute!"
Among the specially recruited students, a tall man spoke in a particularly arrogant tone. If Chen Duo were here, she would definitely recognize him. He was the specially recruited student that Chen Duo had told Chen Mu was impolite when he was queuing to register.
This man, named Niu Buqu, possessed immense strength from a young age, had exceptional Martial Dao arts talent, and was extremely powerful in direct combat.
"Alright! Stop yelling! Let's decide who goes first, Lao Niu, which side do you want?"
The girl among the specially recruited students was named Zhuang Linyi, and she took the initiative to ask Niu Buqu.
Niu Buqu glanced around and pointed in one direction.
"I'm going to that grove of trees over there!"
Zhuang Linyi glanced in the direction of Niu Buqu. Although there wasn't a particularly bright pillar of light there, there were several equally bright beams of light around it. If those beams were gathered together, their number would be quite considerable.
"Hmph! You certainly know how to choose!"
However, she didn't care; her weapon was better suited for attacking groups of enemies, so she chose a different approach.
"Then I'll go to the gravel area, Ji Ci, you go to the riverbank, okay?"
"Okay, I'm fine."
Ji Ci was dressed in white, with a long sword at his waist, and had an elegant demeanor, exuding the air of a young master from a noble family.
With the battlefield divided, the three parted ways.