Chapter 1290: Caged Fight

"Cage fight?" The crowd was in an uproar.

They were familiar with this type of competition. In ancient times, when the Spirit Clan ruled humanity, they often amused themselves in this manner. It involved locking a group of people in a single cage, forcing them to fight to the death. Only the victor would survive; otherwise, they would be devoured. It was extremely cruel, even a profound test of human nature. Close relatives and friends would turn on each other to survive... This method, considered evil and unorthodox, had always been rejected by the humanistic Master Teacher Pavilion... How could the Saint Son Hall's re-examination use it?

"Everyone, don't be nervous. This so-called 'cage fight' is not about bloody slaughter; it's an elimination process!" Seeing the change in their expressions, Zhao Xingmo waved his hand and explained, "You will all be simultaneously exiled to a secluded island. Within three days, you must find others and eliminate thirteen of them to pass! Of course, elimination means finding a way to crush the jade token they carry, not killing them! If anyone is found to have harmed a fellow participant, their qualification will be immediately revoked!"

"Not killing, but crushing a jade token?" "That's difficult..." Everyone's expressions turned serious.

They were all geniuses. Even if there were some differences in strength, their escape and survival skills were roughly equal. Ambushing and killing someone might be achievable, but simply crushing a jade token without harming their life? The difficulty was immense, as one could imagine! Sometimes, if they weren't careful, they might even be counter-killed!

"Of course, this island won't just contain you. There will also be sacred beasts, pre-laid traps, and unique natural dangers... While trying to eliminate others, you must also protect yourselves!" Zhao Xingmo's eyes gleamed. "If you intend to simply stay put and let others eliminate the required number, I can tell you that you will inevitably be eliminated too! The Saint Son Hall does not accept cowards or evaders. Furthermore, if you fail to eliminate thirteen people within three days, everyone... will be disqualified!"

"This..." "So, we *must* eliminate others, or we won't be able to enter the Saint Son Hall ourselves?" "This is a bit too cruel!" "If the continent's top academy were so easy to enter, it would probably be overflowing with new students every year!"

After the initial uproar, silence fell upon the group. This 'cage fight,' while sounding simple, was actually more brutal than being confined in a literal cage. It was a comprehensive evaluation of one's planning, strength, strategy, and various other skills, far exceeding mere combat. As expected of the Saint Son Hall's assessment, it immediately made them feel the challenge.

"These are jade tokens, representing each of your identities. You can carry them on your person or hide them anywhere on the island, but they must remain on the island. As long as a token isn't crushed, it means you haven't been eliminated!" With a flick of his wrist, over thirty jade tokens flew straight towards the crowd, one for each person.

"We can hide them?" "So... even if someone is captured, it's useless?" "Without the jade token, we can't eliminate them, and killing them is pointless. What... what do we do?" Stunned again, everyone looked incredulous.

If the jade token were on their person, defeating them, forcing them to produce it, and then crushing it would be simple. But... if this item could be hidden, say, on another part of the island, then capturing the person would be useless! It was already difficult, but with this new rule, the challenge instantly increased tenfold, if not more!

"This is also a test of character!" Unlike the general astonishment, Zhang Xuan's eyes flashed. With his elevated state of mind and less urgent need to enter the Saint Son Hall, he had the clarity of an observer and could easily see the underlying issue. The other party deliberately stated that the jade tokens could be hidden, which was, in fact, a test of everyone's character. Honestly, when it came to safety, what place could be safer than one's own body? Hiding it clearly showed a lack of self-trust, and doing so would undoubtedly result in a significant loss of points in the eyes of the assessors.

Of course, he wouldn't voice these thoughts. He extended his hand, and with a gentle clasp, the flying jade token landed in his palm. It was a special kind of black jade, with his name inscribed on the back and strange patterns carved on the front, seemingly indicating a communication function. Crushing it meant his identity vanished, and he was completely eliminated.

"Teacher Zhao, if someone uses powerful weapons, wouldn't we be eliminated directly without even a chance to fight back?" asked Ma Minghai, a genius from the Qianchong Empire. Upon hearing his words, everyone's gaze simultaneously focused on Zhang Xuan. When that fellow had fought Hall Master Yue, he had instantly unleashed hundreds of puppets, even beating a Half-Domain realm expert to a pulp. If he were to use them against them... they wouldn't be able to resist at all.

"The 'cage fight' assessment is fair and just. The use of weapons, forcible snatching of jade tokens, or any actions that give an unfair advantage in eliminating opponents are strictly forbidden. Any violation will result in immediate disqualification!" Zhao Xingmo stated.

"That's good..." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As long as weapons were disallowed, Zhang Xuan, though powerful in combat, wouldn't be so terrifying anymore! Even if they couldn't defeat him, they still had survival skills, and escaping shouldn't be an issue.

"Any other questions?" "No... Wait, Teacher Zhao, where exactly is this secluded island? How large is its area? And what are the power levels of the sacred beasts and traps you mentioned?" asked a Master Teacher.

"Those are secrets. You'll only find out by thoroughly exploring once you arrive. All right, if there are no more questions, let's depart now! Also, no communication is allowed among yourselves. If discovered, you'll also be eliminated!" Zhao Xingmo nodded. "Don't think about cheating or exploiting loopholes in the rules. Since I've said this, you can be sure I have a clear understanding of the entire island's situation!"

"Yes!" Everyone nodded in unison.

"Hall Master Yue, let them depart!" Seeing that everyone understood the rules, Zhao Xingmo said no more and turned to look at Yue Yiquan.

"Mm-hmm!" Nodding, Hall Master Yue waved his hand, and over thirty flying sacred beasts descended from the sky. Each had a martial artist on its back, who offered blindfolds to the participants before leading them onto the beasts. The blindfolds were similar to those used in the underground black market; once worn, they not only obscured vision but also prevented spiritual sense from being extended. Led by the martial artists, they heard a long cry, and the sacred beasts soared into the sky.

After an unknown duration of flight, Zhang Xuan's body swayed as his feet touched the ground again. Tearing off the blindfold, he found himself in a dense forest, with vast empty surroundings and no one else in sight. It seemed the blindfolds were not only to keep their destination a secret but also to prevent them from finding companions and forming alliances. Therefore, to pass the assessment, they would have to rely solely on themselves.

"Zhang Jiuxiao's strength has improved, reaching the late Nascent Spirit realm. Coupled with my guidance along the way, his understanding of combat and his power have significantly advanced... As long as he doesn't encounter Ma Minghai or others like him, he should be fine!" While the elimination process sounded brutal, it was actually quite targeted. Those who were too weak naturally wouldn't last, but at his cultivation level, there was no need to fear anyone. Although Zhang Jiuxiao's strength was far below his own, he was still a scion of a prominent family and had received his guidance... As long as he didn't run into anyone too monstrous, he should be able to handle it easily, or at least escape without issue, so there was no need to worry.

Dismissing further thoughts, Zhang Xuan's body flickered, landing on a treetop. He looked around and found dense vegetation stretching as far as the eye could see. It didn't seem like an island at all, but rather a mountain range of unknown depth.

"This is an isolated island? It's far too large..." He was inwardly astonished. At his current strength, he couldn't see its end. Just how big was it? Five hundred kilometers? A thousand kilometers? Or even... three thousand kilometers? On an island this vast, with just over thirty people, capturing and eliminating them within three days... It was indeed not that simple. It seemed that finding opponents was also part of the test.

"How can they have a clear understanding of an island this size?" Zhang Xuan pondered as he dropped from the treetop to the ground. His spiritual sense, due to cultivating the Heaven's Path Divination Art, reached a range of 2,500 meters, far surpassing the average person's 400. This island was so vast that even if Zhao Xingmo was extremely powerful, he couldn't possibly monitor the entire thing!

"Never mind for now. If I encounter a cultivator, I'll just eliminate them directly..." After pondering for a while without a clear answer, Zhang Xuan stopped overthinking. His continuous progress recently meant that even without using weapons, his combat power was comparable to an early-stage Domain realm expert. If he met any Master Teachers taking the assessment and found them displeasing, he would simply eliminate them. He had nothing to worry about; rather, others should be afraid of encountering him.

He walked along the mountain range for a while, realizing that wandering aimlessly like this might lead to not seeing anyone all day. With a flick of his wrist, a compass appeared in his palm. As a formation master, this item was essential. Although he had never used one, he carried several with him, none of them low-grade.

"The spiritual energy is dense in that direction... It seems the center of the island should be there. I'll go take a look!" Having pinpointed the direction, Zhang Xuan lightly pushed off with his toes and dashed forward. Sacred beasts were everywhere here. If he were to fly, he would easily become a target. Even with his strength, he preferred not to draw such attention.

He hadn't gone far when an angry roar echoed, and a massive Saint realm Tigerbone Beast charged towards him. This creature, like him, was also at the Nascent Spirit realm. Even before it reached him, it exuded a spiritual pressure that seemed capable of tearing any cultivator apart with ease.

"These are all medicinal ingredients..." His eyes lit up. He hadn't even gone looking for trouble with these sacred beasts, yet this one dared to charge at him. Zhang Xuan pressed his palm downwards.

*Splat!* The charging Tigerbone Beast immediately stiffened, as if immobilized, unable to move a muscle. Its massive eyes were filled with terror.

"Blame your bad luck for meeting me..." He curled his fingers, just about to flick it dead, skin it, bone it, and extract some medicinal materials, when the sky suddenly trembled, and a voice rang out.

"Zhang Jiuxiao, jade token crushed, first elimination. Remaining... thirty-two people!"

"What? Zhang Jiuxiao... was eliminated?" Zhang Xuan was stunned, his face filled with disbelief.