Chapter Seventeen Annual Assessment

  Jiu heard someone ask if he was always so diligent and looked up with a slightly startled expression.

  Su Xingchen's delicate face showed a hint of curiosity, standing beside Zhu Jiu, although her voice was cold and clear, but in the past year, Su Xingchen rarely spoke to her classmates, now actively asking questions was enough to show that this girl was in an exceptionally good mood.

  Jiu's face broke into a smile as he replied:

  "I'm not diligent all the time, only when you might appear do I pretend to be diligent in order to attract your attention. See, isn't my method especially effective?"

  Su Xingchen blinked her beautiful, dreamy eyes lightly and muttered:

  "I knew you didn't have anything good to say. You're still a cultivator in the Bright Realm, and yet you're so foolish!"

  He immediately stopped paying attention to Zhu Jiu, sat down in his own position, and quietly waited.

  The young monks in the same group came in one after another, and most of the boys who came in would sneak a peek at Su Xingchen, then quickly turn their heads back, only to turn around again after a while to take another look, with some even blushing.

  It's interesting to think that in a past life, I was also a shy young boy who secretly admired the prettiest girl around.

  In fact, these young men are still young, and secretly looking at Su Xingchen is just a pure love for beauty, with no other intentions. The multiple uncontrollable glances are simply because they feel more comfortable doing so.

  Jiu Shou put down the book in his hand, and just then, the sound of footsteps echoed outside the door as the Dharma Master walked in.

  This time, the incoming Dharma Master was a middle-aged man with a robust build and a full beard that resembled fine needles. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, but unfortunately, one of his eyes was covered by a black eye patch, making him a one-eyed dragon.

  This Dharma teacher is the instructor who teaches Zhu Jiu and others how to cast spells, with the surname Li, extremely skilled in combat, and the combat techniques he teaches are mostly cruel and ruthless. He is especially strict with Zhu Jiu and others, so as soon as he enters, many young people immediately become quiet and still.

  Jiu saw this and thought it was a bit strange, thinking to himself:

  "Logically speaking, today shouldn't be a combat tactics class, how come it was suddenly changed? Is there some special situation?"

  As expected, Master Lishi said with a serious tone:

  "Today is the one-year anniversary of your arrival here, hey! It's also the day of the annual assessment. The reason I didn't tell you in advance is to keep you unprepared, and what we're testing is your real combat adaptability. Those who pass the assessment will not be rewarded, while those who fail will be expelled from the Refining Hall!"

  Strictly speaking, it shocked many young people at once, feeling the suddenness of the assessment and realizing that this assessment was not easy to pass. Losing would even lose the qualification to continue practicing in the cultivation hall, which is really cruel.

  Li Chuan's next words made many young people's hearts skip a beat, and they heard him continue:

  "You've been here for over a year, so you should know that your batch of cultivators was divided into twelve groups for assessment and selection into the sect a year ago. Each group had nearly a thousand people, and only those with exceptional talent would be selected to enter the Cultivation Hall. Some groups might not have anyone selected, while others might have more than one person. What you don't know is that the Cultivation Hall further divided you young people into four classes, studying in different locations, and when combined, there are a total of forty-six people."

  Pausing here for a moment, seeing many young people showing surprised expressions, he continued with satisfaction:

  "There are also those who were slightly inferior in terms of qualifications, young men who didn't get assigned to the Refining Hall at the time but still passed the assessment. There are over 490 of them. They were all taken away by the various outer halls. Heh heh! This assessment of yours is actually just a chance for those who didn't enter the Refining Hall to make up for it, letting them come back and challenge you by name after refining in an outer hall for a year. If they lose, they'll be eliminated from the Refining Hall and replaced by the winners from outside."

  More than a dozen young men had previously heard that there were more than 40 people in the Refining Hall, and they already felt that this assessment was difficult. Now, hearing that it was actually more than 400 people challenging them, their faces changed slightly.

  Lü Chuanfa smiled and continued:

  "I can also tell you that after a year of cultivation, among those who were initially eliminated and did not enter the Cultivation Hall, there is one who has risen to prominence, with rapid progress in his cultivation. He has now reached the peak of the Bright Realm. If any of you encounter him, it will be bad luck for you, and you may very likely be eliminated."

  Many young people were shocked in their hearts. These students of the Refining Temple were already far superior to other places just by studying the new talismans supplied by the Talisman Pavilion on a regular basis.

  That guy outside, without sufficient spiritual energy provided by the Sea of Consciousness, actually broke through to the peak of the Bright Realm within a year. This talent is truly above everyone else's, second only to Su Xingchen. How can this not make all the young people feel shocked and intimidated?

  Lü Chuan Fa suddenly raised his voice and shouted:

  "Alright, you now have a moment's time, go back and bring your own corpse, then gather here, we set off to the Dueling Hall, preparing for the challenge."

  More than a dozen young men stood up and hurriedly walked out, only Su Xingchen stood still on the spot. Li Chuanfa saw that it was Su Xingchen who was standing still, and temporarily withdrew his scolding words, asking in a gentle voice:

  "Xīng chén, how come you're not returning to your room to prepare? Are you planning on bringing the demon corpse with you? Although we cultivators have considerable personal strength, the demon corpse is also an important aid and should not be underestimated."

  He paused for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise: "Could it be...?"

  Su Xingchen's sweet and clear voice sounded at the right time, saying:

  "I broke through the Bright Mirror half a month ago, and now I'm in the Unity Realm's lower grade. The demon corpse can be stored in the Sea of Consciousness Symbol Talisman, so there's no need to return to the room to retrieve it, transmit the Dharma with peace of mind."

  Li Chuan Fa was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing and repeatedly said it was great.

  Zou walked to the door with a smile in his heart, envying the thought:

  "This little girl, last month's transmission class saw her about to break through, this time again, she has already broken through, it's really incredible." He immediately quickened his pace and quickly returned to his room.

  After a few minutes, Zhu Jiu and his group of over ten young men, along with three other groups from the Refining Hall, gathered together for the first time. With a hint of curiosity, they sized each other up before following behind Lian Chuan Fa and several other transmission masters, carrying their corpses as they walked out of the Refining Hall's main gate.

  Jiu followed the sunset, walking among more than 40 people. The sunset had an exceptionally strong aura of evil spirits, and with a skeleton in a pale green color, it was quite eye-catching. In a subtle way, he followed behind many young men, while the colorful ghosts kept a certain distance from the sunset.

  Half a time later, everyone arrived in front of a spacious great hall several miles away from the practice hall.

  This grand hall is an open-style building with no roof. In the middle of the empty space inside the temple, a stone platform was built in the shape of a Buddhist altar, surrounded by chairs on all sides.

  After entering the grand hall, Zhu Jiu looked around and found that this place was similar to a stadium he had seen in his previous life. The seats inside the hall were divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower.

  The three-layered auditorium has a total of over 10,000 seats. At this moment, the lower layer already had a small portion of seats occupied by many young men, and at a glance, it was clear that they were the students from various outer temples who would be challenging the Refining Hall this time.

  And on the top layer, there were many slightly older personnel from various sects, with different postures, who didn't recognize Jiu and guessed that they should be middle to high-level personnel from the sects who came to watch the assessment.

  Jiǔ and his fellow students were treated differently when they went to the law school. As soon as they arrived, they rushed straight to the second floor, earning them envious and resentful glances from the many young people sitting on the lower level.

  Zhu Jiu occasionally saw familiar faces among the first-year students, all of whom were young men who had taken the entrance exam with him. Some nodded lightly when they saw Zhu Jiu, while others turned their heads away, pretending not to recognize him.

  Jiǔ Xīn felt amused, discovering that more and more people's gazes were fixed on Su Xingchen in front of her. Indeed, this little girl was very eye-catching, wherever she went, she was the center of attention, just like a superstar.