Jiang Yun's aura of intimidation went far beyond this. Even after the second participant had completed their match against all others, the assessment personnel called out Jiang Yun's name to have him step onto the stage to face more challengers. This was when he realized the extent of his daunting influence.
"Number four, number four?"
Jiang Yun stood on the platform, waiting for the fourth participant to come up and face him. However, even after the assessment personnel called out the number four twice, no one stepped forward.
"Number four? Is number four here?"
The assessment personnel wore a puzzled expression, not understanding why the participants from Group A seemed so fearful of him, especially after he had injured the first participant.
In fact, Jiang Yun's intimidating presence was a result of the effects left behind during the selection matches. Almost no one could withstand his attacks for more than three seconds during those matches. Coupled with the dreadful state of the first participant and the example set by the second participant conceding, the fourth participant simply remained hidden within the crowd, refusing to step onto the stage.
The assessment personnel, unaware of these factors, found the situation strange. They reviewed the number of participants in Group A—excluding the first participant who had been carried away and Jiang Yun standing on the stage—and confirmed there were still eight participants remaining.
"One, two, three... seven, eight."
"Is the count correct?" mumbled the assessment personnel. After a moment, he firmly stated, "Number four, if you don't step up now, I'll consider you to have forfeited, including the upcoming matches."
A slim young man emerged from the crowd, looking timidly at the stage. He said, "Esteemed assessment senior, I am number four. Can I concede? I don't want to compete against him."
The assessment personnel looked down upon the fourth participant, then recorded a point for Jiang Yun, saying, "Alright, consider yourself conceding voluntarily. Number five, get ready to step up."
Number five was Chen Si. Chen Si had already been prepared to concede voluntarily, so he had no intention of going up on the stage. When his number was called, he stepped forward and said, "Assessment senior, I concede."
The assessment personnel stared at Chen Si, hardly believing his ears. Chen Si's strength and cultivation were high, almost on par with Jiang Yun. Based on his performance against the second participant, he was undoubtedly one of the strongest in Group A. The assessment personnel couldn't fathom why even Chen Si was voluntarily conceding.
"Are you sure? You don't want to compete against him on the stage?" The assessment personnel confirmed with Chen Si once again.
"I don't want to compete. Assessment senior, I'll concede directly."
With a smile, Chen Si directly admitted defeat and cast a proud glance at Jiang Yun on the stage, suggesting that he had seen through Jiang Yun's intentions and was not falling for his tactics.
Although the assessment personnel looked down upon Chen Si's voluntary concession, he couldn't do much about it. Chen Si had indeed given up willingly.
"Number six, get ready."
Judging by the enthusiasm displayed on the faces of both the sixth and fourth participants, the assessment personnel couldn't help but give himself a metaphorical slap on the face. He thought that the sixth participant would also follow suit and concede voluntarily. However, he was proved wrong again as the sixth participant, also from the same Heavenly Sword Sect as Jiang Yun, eagerly stepped onto the stage. This time, Jiang Yun delivered another instructional swordplay lesson to the participant.
"Number eight, number eight, concede."
"Number nine, concede."
"Number ten, concede."
With the assessment personnel's feeble announcements, Jiang Yun emerged as the first qualifier from Group A to the round of sixteen with a flawless record. He might very well be the only participant in the preliminary matches who only engaged in a single actual contest. What? You say the matches against numbers six and seven were real? Those were instructional sessions, not actual matches! At least, that's how the assessment personnel chose to see it.
After securing his advancement, Jiang Yun didn't immediately leave Group A. He departed alongside the sixth and seventh participants only after the results for Group A were announced. The outcome was hardly surprising; the two qualifiers from Group A were Jiang Yun and Chen Si.
Apart from his voluntary concession against Jiang Yun, Chen Si had completely dominated his other opponents during the preliminary matches, making him the second participant from Group A to progress.