"Elder Bai!"
That was right. This white-robed elder was none other than the chief supervisor of the Empire’s competition, Elder Bai Yansong. In fact, Elder Bai had single-handedly presided over Mu Chen’s entire run in the competition. Thus, Mu Chen was exceptionally familiar with him.
Seeing that everyone recognized him, Bai Yansong chuckled, stroking his beard. "I didn’t expect that we would meet again after only a dozen or so days."
As he spoke, Bai Yansong’s gaze fell upon Mu Chen, who was dressed in white. However, when he noticed that the attire worn by Little Tiger and the others was identical to that of the Flame Dragon Dynasty, a flash of confusion flickered in his eyes. Unable to figure out the reason, he let it go.
"Today, I meet you all in two capacities. The first is as your Guide. The second is as this assessment’s Envoy."
’As expected...’
Hearing Elder Bai mention the word "assessment," everyone’s expression unconsciously turned serious. They were the prodigies of their respective Dynasties and had faced countless trials and assessments, but never before had the pressure been so immense.
"Before we begin, we must wait a little longer. The other two Special Recruitment students should be arriving soon."
The words had barely left his mouth when the spatial ripples that had vanished for a moment reappeared on the mountaintop where Mu Chen had just landed. This time, however, two vastly different figures emerged.
One had a medium, somewhat slender build, but his features were exceedingly handsome. His black hair cascaded down like a curtain, framing sharp brows and starlike eyes. He exuded an unstoppably sharp aura!
Perhaps aside from Mu Chen, Long Xiaotian and the others didn’t even remember this person’s name. But when he had fought Mu Chen, the explosive Heaven-Covering Sword Intent he had unleashed was deeply seared into their minds.
"Liu Feiyuan..." A corner of Mu Chen’s mouth lifted as he murmured the name to himself.
The other, however, drew even more attention. His build could no longer be described as merely "sturdy"; he was like a towering mountain, forcing others to look up to him and exuding a sense of immense substance!
"The Giant Rock Race, Ta Shan..."
Whether it was his imagination or not, as Mu Chen was watching Liu Feiyuan, Liu Feiyuan was also looking back at him. His gaze held nothing but battle intent and reverence.
"Ta Shan, let’s go..."
"Oh~"
His simple and honest voice was just like Little Tiger’s. And so, on this occasion, Little Tiger and Ta Shan—two old rivals—met again...
"Heh... Ta Shan, Liu Feiyuan, with your arrival, all of this year’s new students are now present. Good. This old man can now tell you the details of this assessment," Elder Bai said with a smile.
"However, before I reveal the assessment’s contents, I will first share my own opinion of it." Elder Bai frowned and let out a sigh. "This year’s assessment is the most difficult in history, bar none. Even with talents as formidable as yours, I’m afraid none of you will be able to pass."
"Unable to pass?" Everyone was shocked to hear this.
Elder Bai nodded. "Once I tell you the specific details of this assessment, you will understand why I’ve come to such a conclusion."
"First, take these black Jade Tokens. Each is engraved with a number that represents your identity. This will play a crucial role in the upcoming assessment. If your Token is lost, you will be judged to have failed the assessment. You should all be clear on the consequences."
"Second, this assessment will take place directly within the Holy Tomb’s Outer Mountain, in the Mist Forest. That place is a severe test of courage, composure, and rationality. This is because even a powerful Martial Venerable will have their vision limited to a mere hundred meters in the Mist Forest. For an Emperor, it’s only thirty meters! Perhaps this could be considered a blessing for you, as you can at least use the environment to evade your enemies."
"Of course, the enemies I speak of are the ones who will be obstructing your assessment. The reason I believe you will be unable to pass is because of their identity... all the Basic Level members of Holy Tomb Mountain’s Outer Mountain! Remember, *all* of the Basic Level members!" Elder Bai’s tone grew heavy as he spoke this last sentence.
"What?!"
The ones who cried out in shock were, naturally, not Mu Chen and Liu Feiyuan, as their knowledge of Holy Tomb Mountain was practically zero. But unlike them, Long Xiaotian, Shi Mu Hua, and Guo Zijie understood all too well just how many Basic Level members there were in Holy Tomb Mountain’s Outer Mountain!
"Basic Level members? What are those?" Mu Chen’s curious question voiced the thoughts of Little Tiger, Liu Feiyuan, and the others.
But the one who answered him was not Long Xiaotian with his usual cheerful voice. Instead, there was only silence. Yes, they had fallen silent...
"This... is unfair." After a long silence, Shi Mu Hua tightened his grip on his Folding Fan and spoke with a frown.
Elder Bai stroked his beard and chuckled softly. "Unfair? Yes, I think so too. But there is no such thing as absolute fairness in this world. There are some inside details you are unaware of. Do you know what the assessment content the Dean originally set for you was?"
"It was *all* members of the Holy Tomb’s Outer Mountain! It might not sound that different from what I just said, but you can imagine what it means to be missing the ’Basic Level’ designation."
"In the end, the Dean felt that was indeed asking too much, so he lowered the assessment’s difficulty. Only the Basic Level members will be your enemies, and the others are not allowed to interfere. Furthermore, their method of obstructing you has been changed from trapping you to snatching the Jade Tokens from your hands."
"Therefore, when you encounter an enemy too powerful to defeat, handing over your Jade Token is the best way to protect yourself," Elder Bai said.
Hearing this, Long Xiaotian asked, "But if we hand over our Jade Tokens, doesn’t that mean we’ve failed the assessment?"
Elder Bai chuckled. "No, it wouldn’t be considered a failure. This assessment lasts for three days, and the Basic Level members obstructing you will also be holding a White Jade Token. If you can snatch a White Jade Token from one of them within these three days, it will also count as you having completed the assessment. Now, doesn’t that feel a lot fairer?"
"Er..."
After hearing about the original assessment from Elder Bai, Long Xiaotian and the others suddenly found that the current version was no longer so hard to accept.
"The above is everything I know. As your Guide, I have one more piece of good news for you. To prevent you from becoming too large a target by entering the Mist Forest together, I will use a Space Scroll to teleport you into the Mist Forest of the Holy Tomb’s Outer Mountain. This Space Scroll, apart from locking onto the destination, has no predictive qualities. You might be teleported to the entrance of the Mist Forest, or you might be sent to the very end of it! Regardless, the twenty-six of you will definitely be scattered.
"..."
"What the hell kind of good news is that?!"
But the moment Long Xiaotian’s voice rang out, Elder Bai, with a speed that left no time to react, whipped a Scroll emanating powerful spatial fluctuations out of his Storage Ring and tore it open.
In an instant, a massive spatial storm completely engulfed the platform. Half a second later, only Elder Bai remained, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. He smiled sheepishly, "Kids these days have such bad tempers..."