Chapter 87: 倒数第九

The scruffy man chuckled, "Sister Qingyu, don't set your expectations too high. These geniuses haven't served in the military or experienced combat. If they spent three to five years on the battlefield, their performance would likely improve significantly."

"We are cultivating geniuses, and their training time is precious. How can we let them slowly endure on the battlefield?" the woman in green said.

"Once the final selection concludes, we can take our time discussing and finalizing the rankings," said King Donghe. "For now, let's proceed with the last assessment. That's the most crucial one."

"Understood," the woman in green and the scruffy man nodded.

Now, only the final assessment remained. If 'slaying demons' tested the geniuses' true combat strength and talent, then this last assessment would determine their potential.

Meng Chuan and the other hundreds of geniuses were once again carried aloft, flying alongside a group of Godfiends. They soared over vast mountains until they finally landed.

"You have half an hour to rest thoroughly," King Donghe announced, looking at the weary geniuses, many of whom were blood-stained and had bandaged wounds. "In half an hour, the final assessment will begin! This is the last part of the entire Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination, and after it concludes, the final twenty spots will be decided."

Meng Chuan and the others immediately sat down cross-legged, circulating their True Essence to slowly recover.

"It's the final assessment," muttered one of the Godfiends. Marquis Nanyun and the other Godfiends chatted idly nearby. "For Godfiends of Yuanchu Mountain, the most basic goal is to reach the 'Great Sun Godfiend' realm. If they lack the potential to achieve this, there's no need to cultivate them." Although there were many Godfiends within the Great Zhou Dynasty, the vast majority had not reached the Great Sun Godfiend level.

The Great Sun Godfiend realm is considered the theoretical limit for body-refining Godfiends.

Individuals like Aunt Meng and Yun Wanhai, for instance, were merely outer disciples of Yuanchu Mountain who fortuitously became Godfiends. Most of them only cultivated to the second heaven's 'Indestructible Godfiend' realm. Even the Palace Master of Yuyang Palace in Dongning Prefecture was just an Indestructible Godfiend of the second heaven. As a product of Yuanchu Mountain, the Palace Master of Yuyang cultivated a powerful Godfiend body with a profound foundation, which allowed him to transcend his realm and withstand the siege of several demon kings, including a third-heaven demon king.

This is how disciples cultivated by Yuanchu Mountain are. With a strong foundation and powerful abilities, they can generally survive even when fighting against opponents of a higher realm! Moreover, reaching the Great Sun Godfiend realm is a fundamental objective.

After all, the Palace Master of Yuyang was still very young, his strength far from its peak. For now, he was only responsible for guarding an ordinary prefecture city.

Meng Chuan's spirit had recovered, and his True Essence was fully replenished.

"Half an hour is up," King Donghe's voice resonated.

The hundred geniuses, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened their eyes and immediately stood up, looking toward King Donghe. Their families and friends, along with the many Godfiends nearby, also watched with anticipation.

"The final assessment tests your inner self," King Donghe declared, pointing to a massive altar in the distance. The altar was a four-sided pyramid, with hundreds of layered steps leading to its peak. Constructed entirely of bluestone, it bore mottled marks, indicating its ancient history. "This is the Dark Altar. Stepping onto its stairs will feel like plunging into darkness... You must remain conscious within that darkness and ascend step by step. The higher you go, the more exceptional you are. If you succumb to the darkness, it signifies your failure."

"Alright, begin," King Donghe instructed.

Meng Chuan and the hundred or so individuals hesitated for a moment before fanning out to the four sides of the Dark Altar. With roughly twenty-odd people on each side, someone soon stepped onto the first bluestone step. A faint black mist immediately rose from the stone beneath their feet, permeating their body. The person trembled, hesitated, then continued to ascend. One by one, the others also stepped onto the stairs, with black mist rising and permeating their bodies as well.

*Boom.* As Meng Chuan stepped up, a faint black mist also rose from the bluestone step beneath his foot, permeating his body and rapidly spreading towards his mind.

At that moment, Meng Chuan felt a dizzying sensation, like being trapped in a nightmare. Numerous demon kings and fierce Heavenly Demon Gate cultivators surged towards him; their terrifying presence far surpassed that of the Poison Pool Demon King. Meng Chuan's body felt rigid, making even the slightest movement an immense effort.

"Keep going, keep moving, it's all an illusion, an illusion," Meng Chuan urged himself, forcibly commanding his body. Yet, his body was more rigid than that of a centenarian, making even a single step incredibly difficult.

With each step upward, more black mist permeated from the bluestone steps, continuously merging with his body, affecting his physical form, his soul, and everything else. The influence of the illusions also intensified.

The physical impact became stronger, and Meng Chuan struggled to control his body and move higher.

Every genius moved slowly, and the higher they ascended, the slower they became.

On the eighth step, one genius took a step and then stopped, motionless. After standing there for five full breaths, a black mist completely enveloped his head, and his eyes turned entirely black, with no white visible.

"They succumbed on the eighth step?" The woman in green frowned at the sight. "Their inner will is too weak. With such willpower, how could they possibly cultivate to the 'Soul Realm' or become a 'Great Sun Godfiend'?"

Regarding blade and sword techniques: the first level is 'Unity Realm,' the second is 'Force Realm,' the third is 'Intent Realm' (like the 'Blade Intent' Meng Chuan currently pursues), and the fourth is the 'Soul Realm.'

*Whoosh.* King Donghe waved his hand, and an invisible force enveloped the genius, moving him directly to the ground nearby.

As the genius left the Dark Altar, the black mist that had enveloped his head rapidly receded back into the altar.

Without the black mist, the genius regained consciousness and realized he was the only one at the base of the altar. He stood there in a daze, "For the final assessment, am I the worst one?"

Soon after, on the tenth step, two more geniuses halted, their heads enveloped in black mist, their eyes turning completely black without any white. They, too, were moved down.

"Godfiends from Yuanchu Mountain, unless they die in battle, can almost all become Great Sun Godfiends in their later stages of cultivation," said Marquis Xihai, observing. "When they participate in the assessment, they are almost twenty years old. They should at least possess thirty percent of the inner will required to become a Great Sun Godfiend, right? Without even that much, the hope of becoming a Great Sun Godfiend is slim."

"Their potential is too poor," the other Godfiends agreed.

No matter how strong a Godfiend's foundation or how high their combat talent, if they perform poorly in the final assessment, they are usually eliminated.

'Inner will' is a peculiar thing. Sometimes, a mere mortal can possess very high inner will. Other times, even a Godfiend's inner will might not be particularly astonishing.

One by one, the geniuses halted their ascent.

"They need to reach at least the thirtieth step. If they can't, their inner will is too weak," the Godfiends observed.

"Hmm?" The expressions of all the Godfiends changed, and the families and friends in the distance also looked astonished. Ji Yuantong, the scrawny individual carrying a pair of large hammers, had stopped on the seventeenth step. He stood there as black mist gradually condensed around his head.

"No way!""Ji Yuantong, he... he wouldn't, would he?"The group of Godfiends was shocked.

He was one of the two most dazzling geniuses in this Yuanchu Mountain assessment. His physical talent was absolutely unmatched, and his spiritual perception talent was exceptionally high, second only to Meng Chuan! He was considered a rare prodigy, seen only once in a decade at Yuanchu Mountain.

Yet, at this moment, he had stopped on the seventeenth step?

"Keep going up!" The scruffy man frowned, anxiety evident in his eyes.

Ji Yuantong stood there, his body trembling slightly, seemingly struggling. But the black mist continued to gather around his head, and his eyes gradually turned pitch black, eventually... with no white visible.

He stood there like a statue, unmoving.

"Ji Yuantong stopped at the seventeenth step?" The Godfiends felt a pang of heartache. They were always delighted to see an exceptional prodigy, as it meant a potentially powerful ally in the future. But with Ji Yuantong halting at the seventeenth step in the final assessment, they were filled with both disappointment and anxiety.

"Alas," King Donghe gently shook his head. With a thought, Ji Yuantong was lifted into the air and moved to the ground nearby. In this assessment, Ji Yuantong ranked ninth from the bottom.