Chapter 32: Evaluation

Translator: GGP

“Whether it is really so will depend on his performance below,” Zhu Chi commented thoughtfully.

At that moment, in the distance, Liu Ming let out a low shout, as his arms suddenly thickened, lifting the iron lock over his head and seemingly with ease, threw it down.

This display by Liu Ming surprised many disciples around the square.

Since he had shown that he had mastered the first layer of the basic technique, it was not surprising to most that he could lift the lightest iron lock, but the way he did it with such apparent ease was indeed very rare.

Some disciples were even curious to find out if this new junior brother could lift the second iron lock.

But after taking a deep breath, Liu Ming’s arms returned to normal, and he walked straight towards the stele.

As the incantation was uttered, a similar azure wind blade shot out, leaving a pale white mark on the stele almost identical to that left by the red-haired youth.

This made Zhu Chi, the Daoist nun, and others who had some expectations of him somewhat disappointed.

“For the first two tests, one above average and one average,” the Confucian scholar considered for a bit before giving a fair assessment.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ming looked at the Puppet within the circle and, after touching the Tiger Bite Ring on his other wrist, he walked over without a change in expression.

The moment his feet entered the circle, the Puppet immediately and fiercely pounced towards him.

But Liu Ming, who was prepared, barely moved his feet and, with some devious angles, dodged the Puppet’s frontal attacks while flicking his wrist with the ring, uttering “Light Body Technique”.

With a flash of white light from the Tiger Bite Ring!

Liu Ming’s body became lighter by more than double than before, and his figure became even more agile as he dodged and weaved.

After the Puppet’s dozens of punches all missed, it suddenly spread its arms and started spinning like a top. In a crazy turn, it conjured up a dozen arms, which furiously pummeled towards Liu Ming.

For a moment, the space around was filled with flickering shadows of fists, blocking all directions of escape.

Seeing this, Liu Ming’s eyes flashed. Suddenly, a surge of black qi erupted from his body, and he twisted his body at an unimaginable angle to avoid the layers of punches, closing the distance to the Puppet.

He moved his arm, pressing the palm with the ring directly onto the crystal’s position on the Puppet’s chest, and let out a low shout, “Tiger Roar”.

The ring buzzed, and its surface suddenly revealed a fuzzy tiger head that opened its mouth and released a white sonic blast.

With a “bang”, at such a close range, the Puppet was blasted backwards several steps by the sonic wave and then abruptly stopped all motion.

It turned out that, although the Puppet was unscathed, the spirit stone, which was half protruding from its chest, had turned into a pile of fragments.

“Haha, good, not bad at all. In such a short time, you were able to find the weak point of this low-level Puppet. That’s really not easy. Looking at your agility and reaction, you must have quite a bit of actual combat experience,” Gui Ruquan said, laughing and clapping happily.

“The disciple has indeed practiced some mortal secrets and has had some conflicts as a result,” Liu Ming replied vaguely, standing with his hands folded.

“Very well, for the last test, I’ll give you an above-average rating. Thus, your overall assessment is above-average, and you’re most likely to be among those who receive special rewards this time,” the Confucian scholar said with a smile, his tone very congenial.

“Thank you, Master Gui!” Liu Ming naturally was delighted and quickly bowed again before returning to the ranks of the new disciples amid the astonished gazes of those around him.

“Senior Brother Bai, you’re so amazing to be able to defeat that Puppet outright. It’s truly unbelievable,” Wan Xiaoqian said as soon as Liu Ming returned, still somewhat incredulous.

“Yes, Senior Brother Bai, you must have cultivated the first layer of the Ghost Spirit Technique. If we hadn’t performed the spirit-opening ceremony together, we might not believe you possess the same tri-spirit meridians as us,” Xue Shan said with a tone of envy.

The red-haired youth beside him also looked at Liu Ming with a complex gaze.

“Didn’t you hear what Master Gui said? I just happened to find the Puppet’s weak point, which allowed me to defeat it with one blow. If I had been the first to go up for the test, it wouldn’t have happened this way,” Liu Ming replied with a slight smile.

Although these words sounded a bit hollow, disciples like Xue Shan and Yu Cheng finally found some justification for their own previous failures and felt a bit more at ease.

Only Wan Xiaoqian continued to stare at Liu Ming, then after a long moment, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, clearly not convinced.

However, Liu Ming at that time naturally did not care whether the girl believed him or not, and instead focused his attention on Xiao Feng, the last of the new disciples to take the stage.

Xiao Feng was rather handsome, albeit with a somewhat flattened nose. Even though he was a tri-spirit meridian disciple, he had already attracted numerous surreptitious glances before even taking the stage.

Though he had been standing amongst the new disciples earlier, he was aloof and did not speak to anyone. He further looked down on the test results of Yu Cheng, Xue Shan, and others with a hint of disdain.

Only when he saw Liu Ming defeating the Puppet in one strike during the test did a trace of solemnity involuntarily flash across his face.

And when Gui Ruquan called his name, he replied and also stood out.

He walked up to the iron chains and, instead of stopping in front of the smallest one, he went directly to the second chain. After taking a slight breath, a faint green glow emanated from his body, making him seem like a figure of pale green light.

“That’s the Withered Wood Formula, Uncle Master Gui really did impart this technique to him. It looks like he has even cultivated it to the first level,”

Inner door disciples watching from outside witnessed this scene and immediately caused a stir, with people instantly exclaiming in shock.

Although the Withered Wood Formula was a basic cultivation technique, its difficulty was among the top in the thirteen basic techniques, and it was impossible to cultivate without personal guidance or without a good aptitude.

After a flash of green luminescence on Xiao Feng’s face, he exerted force with his arms and indeed slowly lifted the second iron chain over his head.

At this astonishing scene, the murmurs around the square fell silent.

After tossing the iron chain aside, Xiao Feng didn’t leave; instead, he immediately started casting spells right where he was.

“Could it be he intends to…”

Many of the other disciples immediately grasped his intentions, and their expressions showed shock.

A moment later, a flash of blue light appeared, and an ice spike about a foot long emerged in Xiao Feng’s hand. With a flick of his wrist, the ice spike shot towards a stele thirty steps away.

Following a burst of explosive noise, the upper half of the stele was entirely covered with frost, and in the center, a small hole around half an inch deep appeared directly.

“He actually cultivated the Ice Spike spell, it’s unbelievable. Did he really start cultivating it just half a year ago?” The crowd erupted into a commotion once more.

Seeing this, the scholar’s expression showed satisfaction, and he nodded slightly while saying,

“Well done. I originally thought that since you’ve cultivated the Wood Spirit Decision, your spells would be weaker, but it seems I worried over nothing. Your comprehension is also excellent; for the first two tests, you get a high evaluation. But don’t disappoint me in the actual combat that follows.”

After Xiao Feng replied with an affirmative “Yes,” he reached into his chest and pulled out a pale green ring from his finger, then strode towards the circle.

With a whooshing sound, the Puppet, which had its spirit stone replaced, rushed towards him like a fierce wind.

But Xiao Feng didn’t dodge or evade, merely letting out a low shout as his skin suddenly turned an eerie greenish hue.

With a thud!

The Puppet’s heavy punch struck Xiao Feng’s shoulder, but besides causing his body to sway, his feet remained firmly planted on the spot, not moving an inch.

Not only that, Xiao Feng seized the moment the Puppet’s attack revealed a flaw; his arms swiftly moved, and “whoosh whoosh whoosh,” three consecutive punches were thrown.

With a boom!

The Puppet was struck and sent flying several meters away amidst a dull sound, falling to the ground without the ability to move again.

The spirit stone on its chest had also turned into a pile of fragments under those three blows.

“Haha, very good. Feng’er, you have played to your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses, using the Withered Wood Formula to protect your body, and you defeated your opponent in one strike, which is truly commendable. I give you a high evaluation as well. With that, your overall evaluation is high,” the scholar laughed heartily, full of praise in his words.

“This is all thanks to Uncle Master Gui and Uncle Master Zhu’s guidance; I dare not take the credit,” Xiao Feng replied, feeling extremely pleased, yet he did not forget to bow in humility and modesty.

“If it weren’t for your exceptional talents, no amount of guidance from us would have led to such results. However, you must not become complacent. You should observe the methods employed by your senior brothers and sisters later; they will be greatly beneficial. You may step back now,” the scholar said with a smile, and then turned to walk over to Zhu Chi and Aunt Master Zhong.

“Junior Brother Zhu, Aunt Master Zhong, what do you think of Feng’er’s performance? Do you think he can put up an outstanding performance in the next big competition?” As soon as the scholar came near the two, he asked directly.

“Feng’er’s performance was not bad, indeed not something other disciples can compare with, worthy of being a Nine Spirits Vein body. But hoping he will perform well in the next big competition may be a bit premature. Even if he cultivates quickly, he will only be at the mid-stage Spirit Apostle level by the next competition,” Zhu Chi nodded first, then frowned slightly as he spoke.

“I don’t expect Feng’er to win a core disciple position in the next competition, but he should at least make our lineage look a bit better. You should know that the disciples of the Jiuying lineage have been performing too poorly in the recent competitions. Not only are we missing in the top ten core disciples, but we also lack several promising seedlings who stand out,” Gui Ruquan sighed.

“Since Senior Brother thinks this way, then it’s fine. However, that direct disciple named Yu Cheng performed quite ordinarily; I’m afraid he’s not worth the effort of the two Senior Brothers. In contrast, that three-spirit vein disciple named Bai Congtian showed a noteworthy performance. However, I’m a bit puzzled by how, with his talent, he was able to cultivate the Ghost Spirit Technique to the first level so quickly. Could it be that he has some sort of hidden spirit body?” the beautiful nun finally spoke..