Chapter 1268: Personal Assessment

The opponents intended to exert pressure, planning to strike at the moment the oppressive feeling was most intense. This tactic might have worked against Zhang Jiuxiao, but against him, it was far too weak! Not only had his state of mind already reached the mid-level of an 8-star master, but even if it were inferior to theirs, it couldn't be suppressed by such a simple technique.

Boom!

His movement was subtle, seemingly insignificant, yet to the two young men, it felt as though a colossal mountain was pressing down from above, causing them to panic and making it impossible to react. Immediately, a roar echoed in their minds. The pressure they had exerted on him instantly rebounded, leaving both young men feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if they might collapse at any moment.

"A Grandmaster of Awe?" Zhao Xingmo raised an eyebrow.

Though Zhang Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, he had, in an instant, unleashed a soul attack characteristic of a Grandmaster of Awe. Not only did he completely neutralize the two young men's mental assaults, but he also counterattacked, instilling panic in their hearts. With a single move, he had deciphered their attack's intent, simultaneously neutralizing and countering it, putting the auditor students from the Saint Son Hall at a disadvantage. This fellow was indeed formidable.

"Begin!" Zhao Xingmo declared. With a dismissive wave of his hand, his voice remained calm.

Boom!

While his voice might not have sounded particularly loud to outsiders, to the two young men, it was like a clap of thunder, instantly jolting them out of their dazed state.

"Damn it!" The two young men only then realized they had fallen for a trick. Their faces flushed red, and their eyes narrowed in anger. They had intended to teach him a lesson, but in the blink of an eye, they had been outmaneuvered and lost control of themselves. Intense fury threatened to consume them.

Whoosh!

True energy surged from their acupoints, sealing the space around Zhang Xuan. The two young men lunged, and their palms, one in front and one behind, simultaneously struck down. This coordinated attack was exceptionally precise. Both their true energy and physical strength were pushed to their limits; evading one strike meant being hit by the other. Even an early-stage Leaving Aperture realm expert would find it difficult to escape if caught in this move.

Unfortunately, Zhang Xuan was not merely an early-stage Leaving Aperture realm cultivator; his combat prowess was comparable to that of a late-stage Leaving Aperture realm expert.

A slight smile played in his eyes as he parted his lips. "You're striking incorrectly..." His voice carried a peculiar charm, like a lover's whisper, causing the two young men's faces to involuntarily flush crimson. In an instant, the palms that had been aimed at Zhang Xuan veered off course, just as he had suggested, landing instead on each other's chests.

Thump! Thump! With two muffled groans, they were both sent flying backward simultaneously. What was meant to be an attack on Zhang Xuan had, instead, become... a self-inflicted duel!

"Demonic Tone?" Zhao Xingmo stood frozen. "Is this fellow deliberately trying to provoke me?" Earlier, he had used a shout to rouse the two young men from the daze induced by the Grandmaster of Awe's attack. Though his action was subtle, the other party had clearly perceived it, and thus employed the same Demonic Tone technique to make them turn on each other. The message was simple: "I, too, can wield the Demonic Tone!" It was clearly a defiance directed at him, a warning, and an accusation of his interference in the trial.

"An interesting fellow indeed!" Upon realizing this, Zhao Xingmo wasn't angered; instead, he felt a surge of curiosity toward Zhang Xuan. Those admitted into the Saint Son Hall were either scions of prominent families or unparalleled prodigies, destined to guard territories and ascend to positions of ultimate power. If they dared not resist unfair treatment, how could they ever hope to command respect in their domains? Thus, his act of reminding the two combatants was, in fact, part of the assessment itself, designed to observe Zhang Xuan's reaction. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xuan immediately turned their own methods against them, showing no signs of being suppressed or aggrieved. With such a mindset alone, he would never be at a disadvantage.

"No auditor student from the Saint Son Hall is an easy opponent. Having suffered one setback and exposed their Demonic Tone and Grandmaster of Awe trump cards, it won't be easy to endure the remaining two moves..."

With a faint smile, Zhao Xingmo ceased speaking and continued to observe the scene. These two young men, despite their youth, had undoubtedly passed rigorous assessments to become auditor students of the Saint Son Hall. To defeat them relying solely on auxiliary cultivation like the Demonic Tone and Grandmaster of Awe would truly be to underestimate them. Indeed, as they flew backward, they regained consciousness mid-air. Their eyes simultaneously narrowed, boiling with murderous intent. They were here to conduct an assessment, not to be humiliated with parlor tricks. A mere fellow from a remote backwater had managed to ambush them twice in a row, humiliating them and making them explode with rage.

"Stabilize your souls and guard against his soul attacks!" the young man on the left bellowed. He lightly pressed a palm behind him, stopping his backward momentum, then fiercely clenched his fist, causing the surrounding space to instantly solidify. A mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm practitioner... actually exhibiting air solidification, a technique typically only executable by Leaving Aperture realm experts.

"Don't worry!" The young man on the right, having also reacted, pushed forward similarly. Their individual air solidifications immediately overlapped, making the surroundings even denser. It felt as though one had suddenly plunged into thick mud, severely impeding any movement forward or backward.

"Impressive!" Witnessing this, Zhang Xuan nodded inwardly. Under normal circumstances, if two individuals simultaneously employed air solidification, their techniques would often conflict, leading to spatial disruption and a reduced combined power compared to a single, unassisted effort. Precisely for this reason, the combined efforts of Leaving Aperture realm experts are not a case of one plus one equalling two, but rather one plus one equalling merely a fraction. However, the two young men before him unleashed something entirely different; their techniques merged perfectly. Even Zhang Xuan himself was witnessing such a feat for the first time. As expected of cultivators from the Saint Son Hall, their combat awareness and reaction speed alone were beyond compare.

Nevertheless, while such a restraint might seem inescapable to others, for Zhang Xuan, it was utterly simple. With a swift movement of his foot, he took two steps forward and pointed his finger.

Rip!

It was as if something had exploded on the spot. The solidified space shattered like a punctured balloon, and several powerful air currents surged violently outwards.

Thump! Thump! The two young men, one on the left and one on the right, were stunned. They had never expected their air solidification technique to be breached so easily, or for its power to backfire, sending them both reeling back two steps, their faces turning pale.

"That's two moves now... both of which were your attacks on me. It's time for me to make a move!" Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. The goal was simply to withstand three of their moves to pass the assessment. For the first two moves, he had passively received their attacks. For the final move, he would take the initiative!

"Come on!" Their eyebrows shot up. They overlapped their four palms, and an invincible aura immediately spread forth. It was clear they had realized the formidable strength of the person before them and dared not face him individually.

"I apologize in advance for any injuries you might sustain; I truly feel a bit remorseful about it!" Witnessing the combined might of the two, a force that even a mid-stage Leaving Aperture realm expert would have to temporarily avoid, Zhang Xuan clasped his fists, his face etched with sincere apology.

"Injuries?"

"You're courting death!" The two young men nearly exploded with fury. To apologize before even delivering the final move... "As if!"

"Win against us first before you talk!" Enraged, they unleashed their combined power without reservation. The aggregated force shot forth like a cannonball ripping through the air, threatening to shatter the entire hall. Even before it reached him, the air compressed and exploded, the fierce winds whipping around, threatening to tear their skin.

"So powerful..." Zhang Jiuxiao's face turned pale. At that moment, he finally understood why Zhao Xingmo was so confident that they would find it difficult to withstand three combined moves. Beyond anything else, this single attack alone was something he couldn't resist, even if he deployed every secret technique he had ever learned! He looked at Zhang Xuan with deep concern, only to see him face the ferocious attack with a calm demeanor. Zhang Xuan didn't dodge; instead, he simply flipped his palm, using no martial skill or specific move, and casually swatted it away as if it were a fly.

"This ends now!"

Whump! Whump!

With that soft utterance, the true energy projectile forged by the two young men vanished in the blink of an eye, as if it had never existed. The next moment, the two were sent hurtling backward like struck ping-pong balls, landing with two 'whooshes!' and sticking firmly to the wall, their faces ashen, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. The combined, accumulated power of the two Saint Son Hall auditors couldn't even withstand a casual slap from him!

"Have I passed?" Having casually slapped the two away, Zhang Xuan, as if having performed an utterly trivial act, raised his gaze to look at Zhao Xingmo.

"Under conditions of equivalent cultivation, to shatter the combined efforts of two with a single move, clearly still leaves you with reserves... You've passed!" Zhao Xingmo nodded and acknowledged, though a trace of doubt lingered in his mind. For the first two moves, Zhang Xuan had clearly held back. But why... had he inflicted injuries with the final one? Could it be that the combined power of the two was so immense that even he struggled to control it perfectly?

"Thank you! Jiuxiao, it's your turn. You should be able to withstand three moves!" Upon receiving his answer, Zhang Xuan turned to Zhang Jiuxiao and said.

"Me? Now?" Zhang Jiuxiao froze in surprise. With these two severely injured and plastered against the wall, it felt a bit inappropriate to simply step up now.

"Well, there are two of them, and two of us. I've had my turn, so it wouldn't be unfair for you to go up now!" Zhang Xuan chuckled.

"Understood..." Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiuxiao immediately understood. Zhang Xuan had deliberately injured the two young men to help him! This way, he would have a chance to withstand three moves.

Filled with gratitude, and knowing this was not the time for hesitation, he stepped forward, approached the two young men still stuck to the wall, clasped his fists, and declared, "Please enlighten me with your techniques!"

"Damn it..." Hearing their conversation and seeing Zhang Jiuxiao shamelessly rush forward to continue the challenge, the two young men felt their chests tighten with frustration, as if they were about to explode. They had seen shameless individuals before, but never one quite so brazen! "We're so injured we can barely stand... how are we supposed to fight you?"

"Teacher Zhao himself said that as long as one can withstand three of your moves, he will consider granting an additional spot to our Qingyuan Empire... If you cannot fight, it means you concede, and Zhang Jiuxiao wins!" Zhang Xuan stated.

"Win? Dream on!"

"Even if it costs us our lives, you'll never withstand three moves from us!" Gritting their teeth, the two young men struggled to tear themselves from the wall, ready to charge.

"Enough. You two, rest where you are!" Zhao Xingmo waved his hand and said.

"Teacher Zhao..." The two young men were filled with anxiety. It was entirely their fault; they had been injured immediately after assessing one person. Teacher Zhao's refusal to let them continue clearly indicated his displeasure.

"It's not your fault. Teacher Zhang had planned this all along." Waving his hand, Zhao Xingmo stood up, a faint smile on his face. "As for Zhang Jiuxiao, I will assess him myself!"