Li Yun lay down on the boulder, waiting for the beasts he summoned to leave.
With only three hours remaining before the combat assessment ended, he was sure he would take first place in both the assessment and the overall selection. With that, he would earn the comprehension speed multiplier.
'Will it stack on top of my current five times one?'
Li Yun mused. He didn't know what would happen with the new system reward, but he hoped it would stack with his current five times multiplier.
'Wouldn't that make it a fifty times multiplier?'
It seemed unbelievable that he would gain such insane comprehension speed after just two missions.
'Are there vampires on Earth?'
Li Yun's mind drifted back to the incident that brought him here, remembering how his girlfriend suddenly bit him and how he ended up alone in this world of cultivation.
Time passed as he thought about random things, and soon, there were only minutes left until the end of the assessment.
'Ah, I forgot about the Lightning Hippophant's blood!'
Li Yun stood up, jumped down from the boulder, and walked toward the Lightning Hippophant's corpse.
Upon reaching it, he opened the cut he made earlier when he took out the core and collected the blood into the empty bottles he had.
"Nice."
Li Yun smiled in satisfaction at the four bottles of blood, not realizing he was now pleased with the very thing that had disgusted him a day ago.
After putting the bottles into his storage ring, he returned to the boulder and waited for the assessment to end.
Some time later, his body glowed with a blue brilliance, and he disappeared from the boulder.
***
Li Yun suddenly found himself standing in front of the cave where he had entered for the combat assessment.
Looking around, he noticed all the disciples who participated in the assessment had similar confused expressions. Among them were some disciples Li Yun recognized—those he had eliminated—and they were now glaring at him with nothing but hatred in their eyes.
'Did I become their father or something?' Li Yun thought and gave them a warm smile.
"The combat assessment ends here."
Elder Zhao's loud voice rang in everyone's ears.
"When your name is called, come forward and have your beast cores counted. After that, we will announce the combat assessment rankings as well as the overall selection rankings."
Elder Zhao pointed to ten deacons standing nearby with tables in front of them.
"Zhao Li."
A name was called.
"Ah, coming!"
A disciple shouted from the crowd, trying to squeeze through the dense throng of disciples.
"Here."
Zhao Li placed his cores on the table before the deacon.
The deacon meticulously counted each core, his fingers gliding over them as he tallied the points. His eyes darted between the cores and the points chart, ensuring every calculation was accurate. With each count, he jotted down the corresponding points on a neatly organized sheet, his handwriting sharp and precise.
The points earned from the Combat Pagoda had already been logged for every disciple, so these final tallies were crucial in determining the overall rankings.
"Zhao Li, 300 points."
Zhao Li nodded joyfully and took back his cores.
"Bi Ji."
Another name was called, and after the disciple placed their cores on the table, the deacon counted the total points and announced them.
"Bi Ji, 370 points."
.
.
.
Han Ju, 590 points.
Chen Zi, 760 points.
Fu Qiye, 800 points.
.
.
.
.
The counting process unfolded swiftly, with several tables working simultaneously. Each group moved with practiced precision, their coordination making the entire operation both fast and efficient. It was clear that this wasn't the first time they had done this—everyone knew their role, and the process flowed smoothly, minimizing any delays or confusion.
At this point, Xia Guo's name was called. He placed his cores, and as the deacon was about to announce his points, Elder Qin, a bearded elder, interrupted.
"Just note down the points of the top potential disciples, including Li Yun's, and announce them at the end."
The deacons understood the implication when Li Yun's name was mentioned and nodded.
Li Yun observed the scene and shrugged. As long as he won, nothing else mattered.
However, Xia Guo didn't share his nonchalance. Eliminated and humiliated by Li Yun earlier, he was already simmering with rage. The sudden shift in rules only deepened his frustration, and his narrowed eyes locked onto Li Yun, brimming with palpable killing intent.
Li Yun caught the venomous glare but responded with nothing more than a bright, almost playful smile. His father had always taught him that the best way to respond to hate was with kindness, and in his own way, he was doing just that. The more Xia Guo fumed, the more satisfied Li Yun felt, his smile widening like someone thoroughly enjoying the show.
One disciple after another went forward to have their cores counted. After Xia Guo, Mu Tai's name was called, but like Xia Guo, his points were kept secret for the final reveal. Similarly, Wang Min, Gao Zhu, and Lie Hua's points were also kept secret.
Finally, the name Li Yun had been waiting for was called.
"Li Yun."
A bright smile spread across his face as he walked toward the elder. He placed all the cores of the beasts he killed during the assessment on the table and waited for the deacon to count them.
After the deacon finished, he signaled Li Yun to take back his cores. Li Yun gladly did so, knowing their immense value to him now.
After his turn, many more disciples had their names called for another hour until the counting ended.
Elder Zhao held a piece of paper listing the top five disciples in the combat assessment.
"I will now announce the names of the top disciples, starting from the lowest rank."
Elder Zhao paused before calling names.
"5th rank with 890 points, Xia Guo."
"4th rank with 1200 points, Mu Tai."
"3rd rank with 1320 points, Gao Zhu."
"2nd rank with 5050 points, Lie Hua."
"1st rank with 20,300 points, Li Yun."