In the astonished gaze of Ye Tian, Wu Dao cheerfully accepted a book and a white token from the hands of an inner disciple of the Shenxing Sect, leaving in a state of excitement.
"Does a seventh-level martial artist truly believe they can pass? What a delusion!" The inner disciple of Shenxing Sect snorted coldly, retracting his gaze from Wu Dao to face Ye Tian.
"Hmm? A peak tenth-level martial artist has likely already reached the threshold of a half-step martial spirit. Yes, indeed! Young man, you possess a significant chance of passing the assessment!"
The inner disciple, whose cultivation was at least at the martial spirit level, quickly discerned Ye Tian's prowess. Noting Ye Tian's relatively young age, a smile emerged on his face.
"Here are the assessment rules; be sure to read them carefully before the evaluation. Also, this is your temporary identity token—keep it safe. If you lose it, you will forfeit your eligibility for the assessment!"
After registering his name and age, Ye Tian received a book and a white token.
On the cover of the book, he saw several bold characters—Assessment Rules.
"Work hard! While your cultivation is commendable, do not become complacent. After all, there have been instances where half-step martial spirits failed the assessment!" Before departing, the inner disciple patted Ye Tian's shoulder as a reminder, clearly optimistic about him.
"Thank you, senior!" Ye Tian respectfully nodded.
...
The official assessment of the Shenxing Sect would commence in five days. In the meantime, all registered practitioners were to stay in the designated inn, sequentially arranged by the Shenxing Sect.
This inn was called—Stellar Inn.
The Stellar Inn boasted an expansive area, resembling the residential complexes Ye Tian had seen in his previous life on Earth, containing numerous tall lodgings—over a hundred in total—capable of accommodating thousands.
Ye Tian was the 37,823rd practitioner to register, and following this order, he quickly found his assigned room.
It happened to be adjacent to Wu Dao's on the left.
"Let's have dinner together tonight!"
"Sure!"
After exchanging pleasantries with Wu Dao, Ye Tian returned to his room, closed the door, and casually surveyed his surroundings.
A bed, a table, and three stools—an exceedingly simple arrangement, neither too sparse nor overly furnished, a quintessential temporary dwelling.
"It seems this inn is entirely designed for the convenience of practitioners participating in the assessment!" Ye Tian chuckled, shaking his head. If it were any other inn, it certainly wouldn't be organized this way; otherwise, how could they retain guests?
Boom!
With a loud crash, Ye Tian set down the Xuan Tie battle sword, but his expression shifted.
"Who's the idiot upstairs? What on earth are they doing?" He vaguely heard an angry shout from below, accompanied by a woman's curse.
Ye Tian couldn't help but smile wryly. Although he had placed it down gently, the wooden floors between levels, combined with the weight of the Xuan Tie sword, resulted in a loud noise.
However, hearing the woman's voice below, Ye Tian felt a sense of disdain. They were about to participate in an assessment, yet they were engaged in such frivolous activities, oblivious to the risk of exhausting themselves!
Gently placing the Xuan Tie sword, Ye Tian hurriedly washed his face, sat on a stool, and began to read the assessment rules.
"Shenxing Sect Assessment Rules—Below are the contents and important notes for this assessment. All participants must read them thoroughly and attentively."
Ye Tian immediately straightened his posture and continued reading.
"This assessment consists of three main components: protecting contribution points, retaliation from senior brothers, and arena combat."
"The white identity token given to you at registration records your contribution points. The number '10' on it indicates your current contribution points."
Upon reading this, Ye Tian quickly retrieved the white token and indeed saw the number 10 inscribed upon it. However, he then produced another token.
This token was light blue, displaying the characters 'Shenxing Sect' on the front, with a series of numbers—126735—on the back.
"Ah, so this number represents contribution points!" Ye Tian suddenly realized.
This light blue token was obtained from the corpse of Liu Yunfei, the first inner disciple of the Shenxing Sect, along with a book titled "Hand of the Stars" and a flower known as "Ocean Blue Tian Kui," as well as several pulse-opening pills that had aided him in enhancing his cultivation at that time.
"Truly worthy of being the top inner disciple, over a hundred thousand contribution points! I wonder what these contribution points are used for?" Ye Tian placed the two tokens down and continued to peruse the assessment rules.
"Each identity token is crafted by the martial ancestors of the Shenxing Sect. By merely dripping a drop of blood, you can recognize ownership. Before the assessment, you must bind your identity token. Once bound, even if you are killed, no one else can assume your identity token."
"The first assessment, protecting contribution points, requires you to safeguard your contribution points, as they can be stolen. Further details on how to seize them will be provided later."
"In the first assessment, all participants will be randomly placed within the Meteor Mountain Range. During this month-long period, you may seize contribution points from one another. After a month, the top 10,000 based on contribution points will pass the assessment; those without contribution points will be directly eliminated."
"Additionally, it is stipulated that you can only steal from the same person once, and only one contribution point at a time."
After reading this, Ye Tian thought to himself, "It seems the Meteor Mountain Range will be quite lively."
He could envision the bustling scene in the Meteor Mountain Range five days later, with tens of thousands of practitioners battling one another, and he felt a surge of excitement.
Continuing to read!
The second assessment content—retaliation from senior brothers!
"It is well known that the Shenxing Sect recruits a new batch of disciples every three years, but likewise, a group of underqualified old disciples will be expelled from the sect."
"When these old disciples are expelled, they will participate in this assessment, attempting to seize contribution points from you. Of course, as per previous regulations, each individual can only be robbed once, and only one contribution point may be taken at a time."
"However, these expelled old disciples often harbor resentment and will do everything in their power to seize your contribution points, so you must exercise caution. Nevertheless, you have an opportunity to reclaim their contribution points."
"According to the rules, new disciples can completely rob old disciples of all their contribution points and will receive a title known as 'Hunter.' Do not underestimate this title; possessing it grants you the right to seize all contribution points from new disciples."
"This assessment will also take place in the Meteor Mountain Range, lasting for a month. After the assessment, rankings will be determined based on contribution points, with the top 5,000 passing; those without contribution points will be directly eliminated."
"A friendly reminder: although these old disciples may lack talent, they have spent three years in the Shenxing Sect, so their cultivation is all at the half-step martial spirit level!"
Hiss!
After reading the details of this second assessment, Ye Tian finally grasped the cruelty of the Shenxing Sect's evaluation. The competition revolved around contribution points, and with the involvement of expelled disciples, it became even more brutal.
"What could the third assessment, arena combat, entail?"
Ye Tian continued to examine the assessment rules in his hands.
"Third Assessment: Arena Combat."
"Do not worry; having passed the previous two assessments, you are now an outer disciple of the Shenxing Sect. As for this third assessment, it is entirely designed for those extraordinary talents."
"The 5,000 outer disciples who pass the assessment will participate in arena combat three days later. Based on the rankings from this competition, the top ten geniuses will be directly promoted to inner disciples, while the top one hundred will receive valuable treasures."
"Lastly, a reminder: in this assessment, killing is permitted. Do not assume we will be unaware; during every assessment, we have ten martial ancestors monitoring the entire Meteor Mountain Range. Unless you can evade their watchful eyes, any practitioner daring to kill will face lifelong pursuit by the Shenxing Sect!"
The final few pages contained various notes, and after Ye Tian finished reading them, he gently closed the book.
"What a comprehensive assessment system! The Shenxing Sect truly deserves its reputation as a major sect. Compared to the simplistic evaluations of the Blood Cloak Guard, this assessment is the real deal."
Ye Tian silently marveled, while also feeling a vague anticipation for the assessment in five days.
"By the way, I wonder if I can utilize the contribution points on this token?" Suddenly, Ye Tian recalled an important question: he had obtained over a hundred thousand contribution points from the token of Liu Yunfei's corpse. If he could use them, he would have no fear in this assessment.
After some contemplation, Ye Tian followed the method outlined in the assessment rules and attempted to transfer the contribution points from the blue token, and astonishingly, it succeeded.
However, he soon transferred those points back.
"Wait a minute, some influential disciples are surely familiar with the disciples of the Shenxing Sect. If they use this method too, wouldn't passing the assessment be a breeze?"
Ye Tian felt that something was amiss. He was certain that if he used Liu Yunfei's contribution points now, he would be discovered and directly eliminated.
With that thought, Ye Tian secured the blue token, his eyes revealing a determined glint.
"It's just an assessment; I refuse to believe my strength cannot see me through!" Ye Tian chuckled to himself, a self-deprecating smile crossing his face as confidence returned to him.
With his current strength, he was more than capable of matching a first-level martial spirit, if not higher.
If such strength could not pass the Shenxing Sect's assessment, then who could?
Ye Tian smiled, realizing he had worried excessively. He decided not to dwell on it further and instead sat cross-legged on the bed, entering a state of cultivation.
At this moment, Ye Tian continued to practice the Condensing Acupoint Technique, increasing the false acupoints within his body.