Peace in the fairyland (13): Assessment

Soon it was time for the semiannual outer sect assessment, and Qingyang Mountain became lively once again.

The most excited ones were the new disciples of the Yin class. They were previously strictly disciplined and rarely saw their senior brothers and sisters who came earlier. They heard that the senior brothers and sisters would organize exchange meetings every month, and the poor newcomers were completely excluded. This major assessment was a rare opportunity to see the performance of the senior brothers and sisters.

At the same time, news spread among the outer disciples of the Zi and Chou classes that two geniuses had emerged among the new disciples of the Yin class.

One month after entering the sect, they received private lessons from the immortals. Less than two months after entering the sect, they were accepted as registered disciples by the immortals. In their first major assessment after joining, they would compete on the same stage as the disciples of the previous years, directly surpassing the disciples of the current year. This news was simply astonishing!

For those disciples who had vaguely heard of the names of Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian earlier, they never expected that the two had disappeared for a long time and would quietly make big news again.

Amid everyone’s anticipation, the semi-annual assessment officially began, with the first item being the written test.

The assessment hall for new disciples was still set up in the Lecture Hall, but the brocade silk displaying their results was now fluttering in front of the main hall on Qingyang Mountain.

Before the assessment started, someone specially swept the entire lecture hall, but did not see Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian.

In the past few months, they would still come to take the monthly exams, firmly occupying the top two positions and vying for time to enter the library to read. But they were not seen in this major examination, and it seemed that they would not compete with them in the future.

After the written test was over, the newly dressed disciples walked towards the main hall.

Qingyang Mountain was very spacious. The area for the daily activities of the Yin-generation disciples could only be considered the outer area. Behind it were the activity areas of the Chou-generation and Zi-generation disciples, and further back was the main hall of the Qingyang Sect’s outer gate.

In front of the tall and majestic golden-roofed main hall was a vast square paved with white jade. The main hall was used by the immortals to discuss and handle external affairs on a daily basis, while the square in front of the main hall was used to hold grand collective activities.

At this time, more than 3,000 outer disciples gathered in White Jade Square.

These more than 3,000 disciples entered the outer sect of Qingyang Sect in three batches. The colors of the disciple uniforms of the three generations of disciples were different. The colors of the disciple uniforms of each generation of outer disciples and servants were also different. Therefore, there were six colors of disciple uniforms in the entire White Jade Square, and their identities could be seen at a glance.

The Qingyang Sect’s outer sect only trained disciples for ten years, and no classes were arranged in the last year, giving disciples time and opportunities to decide their future path.

Outer disciples who believed they had no hope in cultivation could apply to be sent out to become Qingyang Sect’s secular stewards.

Disciples who aspired to cultivate immortality could go out on their own to practice, constantly improve themselves, and strive for the opportunity to become inner disciples.

In short, those who participated in the outer sect examination at the same time were usually only outer sect disciples who had completed three terms.

A new batch of Yin-level disciples walked from the Lecture Hall to the White Jade Square. From a distance, they saw six huge brocade silks swaying in the air in front of the main hall, displaying the achievements of the three-level outer disciples and servants.

The names on the brocade silk were clear, and someone among the Yin-year disciples soon discovered that the names of Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian appeared on the brocade silk of the Zi-year outer disciples, firmly occupying the first and second positions.

In fact, the disciples of the next generation were watching in bewilderment as their ranking was taken over by two unfamiliar names.

It was not entirely unfamiliar, as many people had heard of these two names. And precisely because they had heard of them, it was even more unbelievable that they, the seniors who had been in the sect for six years, were being suppressed by the newcomers who had only been in the sect for six months

This news spread quickly again with the names of Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian. This time, everyone took it to heart. Some people even looked for them everywhere, wanting to see what Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian looked like. The training assessment for the disciples of the previous year was real combat, and they would be taught a lesson then!

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian were standing at the edge of the crowd chatting. They both felt that the written test for the previous year students was easier because they did not need to write anything at all, but instead used their mind to record the answers on jade slips.

With the speed at which the two of them accumulated knowledge from reading the jade slips, the knowledge accumulated in their minds had already surpassed that of the lower-level disciples who had practiced for six years. After completing the written test with ease, they were even more looking forward to the actual combat in the future.

The Qingyang Sect’s outer sect immortals, headed by the headmaster Dugu Shanhai, were sitting in the main hall at this time. After all the outer sect disciples gathered in the White Jade Square, they officially announced the start of the training assessment.

Amidst the crowd of disciples, the first to complete their cultivation assessment were the new Yin-generation disciples, as only a few of them had broken through to the Qi training stage. The method of cultivation assessment was for the immortals to take the pulse and judge their cultivation progress.

Including Headmaster Dugu, six immortal masters who were in charge of teaching the new generation of disciples took the pulse together. The assessment was very fast and soon the comprehensive scores of the disciples appeared on the brocade.

Li Shunchen looked at his name hanging high in the first place, but his expression was not very happy, and his mood was even more complicated. He knew very well that he could get this first place not because of his great progress, but because the two mountains that had been pressing on his head were removed…

After the final assessment of the Yin year disciples was concluded, the young disciples rushed to watch the assessment of the chou-year disciples.

Among the chou disciples, some servants had not yet broken through to the Qi training stage. In addition, the disciples below the third level of Qi training only needed the immortal to take their pulse and judge their progress in cultivation, so the assessment was carried out very quickly.

As for the more than 600 disciples who broke through to the third level of Qi training and above, the method of their cultivation assessment was actual combat.

The immortals just threw small cubes casually, and they grew in the wind. Soon, thirty arenas appeared on the White Jade Square. Thirty elders from the outer sect were responsible for maintaining order. The disciples started competing at the same time according to the results of the draw.

The Yin-generation disciples were extremely excited, watching their senior brothers and sisters on the stage fighting each other, some casting spells while some brandishing weapons, they were filled with longing, thinking that in three years they would also have such abilities.

However, probably only the Yin-generation disciples in White Jade Square would feel excited.

The Chou disciples’ fighting speed was very fast, because the total amount of spiritual power accumulated in their bodies was there, and the spiritual power would be exhausted after a short battle.

Moreover, after a round of fighting ended, a new draw would be held soon to start the next round. Many young disciples did not recover quickly enough, so the subsequent rounds of fighting ended faster and faster.

After an hour, the comprehensive scores of the Chou disciples were all announced.

Wu Wei was extremely excited to see his own results. Following Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian not only allowed him to break through to the fourth level of Qi training, but also allowed him to gain a lot of practical experience. In this major assessment, he ranked third among the same batch of servants, and his results were higher than the tenth from the bottom outer disciple.

This meant that Wu Wei could get rid of his servant status and be promoted to an outer disciple. This was his long-cherished wish, and it had finally come true. He was so excited that he wanted to run a few laps right away.

But just when he thought of this, Wu Wei was suddenly stunned again. If he was not a servant, it meant that he could not follow Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian. What should he do?

The excitement of being promoted to an outer disciple suddenly dissipated. Wu Wei was confused and couldn’t help looking around, trying to find Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian in the crowd, hoping to get some guidance.

At this time, the training assessment for the lower-level disciples who had entered the sect for six years had already begun. Among them, the disciples below the fifth level of Qi training were all scored by the elders based on their training progress.

More than 300 disciples who were at the fifth level of Qi training and above determined their scores by drawing lots for actual combat.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian also went to draw lots. The color of their disciple uniforms was different from that of the other disciples who drew lots together, which made them very conspicuous. Suddenly everyone knew their names.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian ignored the gazes of the people around them, and were only looking forward to passing the actual combat test to prove their success in the past six months of training.

Then Xia Ruize, who was full of expectations, was disappointed the first time he stepped onto the stage.

After Xia Ruize and his opponent stood still, his opponent took the initiative to report his name and realm, and he was a disciple at the fifth level of Qi training.

Xia Ruize saw that the other disciples on the stage all reported their names and realms first, and knowing that this was a custom, he also reported his own name and realm: Xia Ruize, the eighth level of Qi training.

What he never expected was that after hearing his level, his opponent gave up without even trying to compete.

Xia Ruize looked in surprise at Immortal Wang Teng, who was maintaining order on the stage. Seeing this, Immortal Wang Teng smiled and explained:

“Above the fifth level of Qi training, the gap between each level is huge. These young guys are used to reporting their realm first when they take a big test. If the gap is too big, they will just give up and preserve their strength.”

After Xia Ruize stepped down from the stage, he paid attention to the situations on other stages. As expected, when the gap between the two sides was more than two levels, the lower side would directly admit defeat and quickly end a round of competition.

Only when they were at the same level or one level apart would they try to fight each other, and this situation would generally contribute to a wonderful battle.

Especially for the Yin-year newcomers who had just seen the performance of the Chou disciples who had just entered the sect for three years, they realized that it was too early to yearn for it just now. This was the real battle between immortals.

With rounds of fighting going on quickly, it soon reached the fourth round. At this time, there were only thirty-two disciples at the seventh level of Qi training and above. They stood alone in an area waiting, attracting the attention of many immortals and more than three thousand disciples.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian standing among them were particularly conspicuous.

After the disciples who were eliminated in the previous rounds fought again to determine their scores, only 32 disciples were left whose cultivation scores were to be determined.

The fifteen arenas on the White Jade Square were rearranged by the immortals into four larger arenas, and four battles were then held simultaneously.

The thirty-two highly anticipated disciples drew numbers, and soon it was Cheng Huaiqian’s turn. Coincidentally, his opponent was also a disciple who was at the eighth level of Qi training and used a long sword as a weapon.

Cheng Huaiqian suddenly became more excited. At the order of the elder who maintained order, his sword flew out instantly. The opponent thought he had gone down the mountain to train and was experienced, so he resisted casually. He didn’t expect that Cheng Huaiqian had already completed the sword technique while his attention was distracted by the flying sword, and suddenly dozens of swords stabbed at the opponent.

The opponent was startled and quickly activated the shield talisman, trying to protect himself, but something unexpected happened again. His shield failed to block Cheng Huaiqian’s sword. The shield broke and the sword tip hit the opponent’s neck. The elder quickly took action to protect him and announced the end of the battle.

The fight ended too quickly. Not only did the spectators around the ring fail to react, but even the two fighters failed to react.