Chapter 5

The girl's name is Shui Qingyan, from the Wei River Tribe, one of the thirty thousand tribes in the Great Wasteland. The Wei River is mostly marshland, so the Wei River Tribe is known as the Water Marsh Clan, and its people often take "Water" as their surname.

Zhong Yue and Shui Qingyan have known each other for a long time. Last year, when Zhong Yue returned home, he crossed the Great Wasteland alone from the Zhong Mountain Tribe to the Holy Sword Gate, where he met Shui Qingyan by chance.

Shui Qingyan's parents held a high position in the Water Marsh Clan, and she was escorted to the Sword Gate by over a dozen adult hunters. Unfortunately, they were attacked by a beast tide, and only Shui Qingyan survived. Just as she was about to be killed by the beasts, Zhong Yue saved her.

The scar on Zhong Yue's left arm was from a fierce beast that bit him while he was saving Shui Qingyan.

Zhong Yue escorted her to the Sword Gate, and because of this experience, Shui Qingyan called him "Brother Yue," showing great affection.

"Qingyan, have you already achieved soul separation?"

Zhong Yue was startled and said in disbelief, "You've only been cultivating for a year..."

At this point, Zhong Yue suddenly stopped speaking because he thought of himself. Shui Qingyan's cultivation speed was already extremely fast, and after only one year of joining the Sword Gate, she could already achieve soul separation to enter the Blue Sky Hall's assessment, which was incredibly rapid compared to many outer disciples!

However, in comparison, Zhong Yue, who practiced the Fire Age Palace Suihuang Visualization taught by the Fire Child, managed to achieve soul separation in just a few hours. This speed would be unbelievable if spoken aloud!

Of course, Zhong Yue had already cultivated for several years before, and now, breaking through to the soul separation realm, he was only considered to have upper-middle talent among the tens of thousands of outer disciples, which did not attract much attention.

The two had already entered the Blue Sky Hall, and indeed, the hall lived up to its name.

Beneath their feet was an invisible barrier, and below the barrier was a vast sky, with magnificent mountains stretching endlessly, offering a panoramic view of the Great Wasteland!

White clouds drifted past their feet, and looking out, he could see the strange scenery of the Great Wasteland, including snow-capped mountains, giant trees covering hundreds of miles, roaring rivers, and incredibly large lotus flowers, all vast and magnificent.

Above their heads, the sun hung high, and the moon was also visible, making the stars seem much closer than before.

At this moment, there were already more than ten people in the Blue Sky Hall, gathered in front of a high platform. The platform was a hundred feet wide, with a sword gate standing in the center, shaped like a sword.

The battle on the platform was intense, with a sixteen-year-old boy fighting a pitch-black demon.

The demon's arms were like the forelegs of a mantis, its legs bent backward, and it moved with incredible speed, darting around the platform like a black shadow, its arms swinging like scythes, constantly slashing at the boy!

The boy was struggling to defend himself, with blood flowing from his body, occasionally being hit by the demon, and was in a precarious situation!

An invisible barrier surrounded the platform, sealing it off, preventing the demon from escaping. The demon, being naturally bloodthirsty, attacked the boy on the platform with all its might.

On the other side of the platform, several white-robed examiners sat quietly, waiting for the outcome of the battle.

"This demon is a low-level demon raised by the Sword Gate for assessment purposes. It is fast and strong, with arms like blades, making close combat a sure loss," said a few outer disciples, dressed in fine clothing, clearly from prominent clans, discussing the demon. "However, the demon's weakness is its weak soul! During the battle, one only needs to achieve soul separation, enter the demon's mind, visualize the Sword Gate, and cut its soul with sword qi to win!"

"Sounds easy, but it's hard to do," another person shook his head. "The demon's attack speed is extremely fast and its strength is great, so close combat will definitely result in a惨败! But if the soul separates and is hit by the demon's arms, it will be instantly killed! Earlier, a disciple's soul was cut by the demon when it separated, causing his soul to dissipate on the spot, and even the examiners of the Blue Sky Hall couldn't save him! Only by seizing the fleeting opportunity to let the soul enter its mind and cut its soul with a sword can one win!"

"Indeed, the demon's speed is too fast, and its strength far exceeds that of ordinary people. It cannot be defeated by force, only by intelligence!" the assessment in the Blue Sky Hall tests both soul separation and combat awareness, both of which are essential!

Zhong Yue frowned slightly, looking puzzled, "The demon's speed doesn't seem that fast, and its strength doesn't seem greater than mine. Why do they all say it can't be defeated by force?"

In his eyes, the demon's speed was not particularly fast, and the force of its scythe-like arms was not that heavy. He could clearly capture every movement of the demon, and his limbs were eager to try, which was quite strange.

He didn't realize that his spirit was several times stronger than before, and the demon that others found too fast to catch was not so astonishing to him, only ordinary.

This was the benefit of a strong spirit!

Shui Qingyan took out a small totem pillar from her back, her eyes shining, and whispered, "In the Sword Gate, we have a senior from the Water Marsh Clan who gave me this totem pillar, which allows me to cultivate very quickly. Brother Yue, this assessment is very dangerous. You should use my totem pillar for the assessment, and once you pass, you can give it back to me. This way, we can both pass."

Zhong Yue was quite tempted, but he looked up at the demon on the platform and shook his head, "No, I want to try it myself."

On the platform, the boy was covered in wounds but still gritted his teeth and persisted.

Suddenly, a white-robed examiner pointed, and the demon exploded with a loud sound, dying a violent death. The examiner, expressionless, said to the boy, "You are no longer capable of fighting. Step down. Next, Jun Mountain Tribe, Jun Mountain Clan, Jun Shaofei."

Another boy climbed onto the platform. This boy was clearly from a prominent clan and immediately planted the totem pillar in the ground as soon as he stood on the platform. The totem pillar's strange patterns gradually brightened, emitting dazzling light.

The sword gate on the platform opened with a loud sound, and a black shadow shot out, rushing straight toward Jun Shaofei, its arms like scythes, reaching within three feet of Jun Shaofei in an instant, ready to cut off his head without giving him any time to react!

Suddenly, the demon's speed slowed down, still very fast but no longer impossible to see with the naked eye.

"The totem pillar is indeed wondrous," Zhong Yue's eyes lit up, and he marveled, filled with curiosity about the totem pillar, "Cultivators use spirit to refine the totem pillar. I wonder how they do it?"

Although the demon's speed had slowed, it was still very fast for Jun Shaofei. The battle lasted for the duration of an incense stick, and only then did Jun Shaofei seize an opportunity to achieve soul separation and shoot into the demon's head, cutting its soul with a sword, and finally winning!

Time passed, and one by one, boys and girls climbed onto the platform, and demons continuously emerged from the sword gate. Some of them didn't even last a single round, being cut down by the demons and saved by the examiners, while others fought hard but still couldn't hold on.

Only two boys with totem pillars managed to win with the help of the totem pillars, and none of the outer disciples from humble backgrounds managed to win.

Soon, it was Zhong Yue's turn, and Shui Qingyan couldn't help but look worried, taking off the totem pillar from her back and whispering, "Brother Yue, you should use my totem pillar..."

Zhong Yue's eyes grew brighter, and he shook his head, "No!"

The battle on the platform ended, and a white-robed elder looked at the roster without raising his head, "Zhong Mountain Tribe, Zhong Mountain Clan, Zhong Yue!"

"Disciple is here!" Zhong Yue responded, climbed onto the platform, took a deep breath, and fixed his gaze on the sword gate on the platform.

Below the platform, many outer disciples looked up, seeing this thin and ragged boy with a large medicine basket on his back, who didn't seem to be there for the assessment but rather to gather herbs.

Laughter erupted below, and someone whispered, "A disciple from a humble background shouldn't embarrass himself on the platform..."

Before the words were finished, there was a loud sound, and the sword gate, activated by a white-robed examiner, opened, emitting a soul-chilling roar from the demon inside. A black shadow shot out like a sword, rushing straight toward Zhong Yue, its scythe-like arms flashing on the platform, creating two streaks of light in the air!

The two streaks of light, one after the other, slashed down at Zhong Yue!

"Dragon Coiling the Body!"

Zhong Yue roared like a thunderclap, and at that moment, a low, deep dragon's roar seemed to echo in the Blue Sky Hall, and some people saw a fierce dragon faintly appearing around Zhong Yue, coiling around his body!

The two streaks of light from the demon's arms struck, and with a light sound, blood splattered, and a black shadow flew high, crashing into the invisible barrier of the platform, then falling to the ground, motionless!

On the platform, only one figure remained standing.

Below, there was complete silence.

The white-robed examiners looked up, their faces filled with disbelief, seeing the demon's corpse lying on the ground, its ribs shattered by Zhong Yue's fists, the broken bones piercing its heart, and it was already dead!

"He didn't use his soul, but killed the demon with his fists..."

An examiner's face was blank, muttering, "Senior brothers, does this count as passing the assessment?"

The other examiners looked at each other, and this was the first time they had encountered such a situation since they took charge of the Blue Sky Hall!

Killing a demon with terrifying speed and strength bare-handed was easy for cultivators, but for outer disciples, it was an impossible feat!

And now, this demon had been killed by Zhong Yue's fists, driving them all a bit crazy!

Earlier, they had been indifferent, but now they were extremely excited, but they had no idea how to judge this assessment.