Chapter 1330: Destruction King (Part 2)

"This..."

Chen Leyao's eyebrows twitched as an ominous premonition welled up inside her.

It seemed that the "destroyer" from before had only damaged the formation; he hadn't actually dismantled the elder's hall, had he?

"Huh?"

Her expression became unnatural. Zhang Xuan also scratched his head, full of confusion.

What about the promised Dragon Elephant strength? What about the unparalleled power? With just one palm strike, he was sent flying backward, and he even broke the wall. Wasn't that taking "going easy" a bit too far?

"You..."

Struggling, Elder Su flew out of the dust, his face turning green. He nearly went mad.

The elder in charge of assessing formation masters, fighting with his cultivation suppressed, was sent flying by a single palm strike... The crucial part was, he had just told the other person how powerful his palm strike was and warned him to be careful.

Careful, my foot! Damn it, I'm the one who should have been careful!

"Um... Elder Su, should we still compare the remaining two moves? I just... only used half my strength!" Zhang Xuan asked, after a moment of hesitation.

"Half?" Elder Su swayed.

"Yes," Zhang Xuan explained. "When I performed the palm strike just now, I held back some strength..."

He wasn't lying; he really did hold back. When fighting others, he never reveals all his trump cards. Although he used a trick just now and employed the Great Sorrowful Demonic Palm, his actual power used was only about half. After all, for the Great Sorrowful Demonic Palm to exert its maximum power, it needed to descend from the sky. As he was moving horizontally without limit, striking instantly at high speed, its power was naturally much weaker.

"..." Elder Su's mouth twitched. Half his strength had nearly incapacitated him... If he used his full strength, would Elder Su even see tomorrow's sun? Are you truly at the early Nascent Divinity realm? Or are you a disguised Saint 7-dan expert?

"If Elder Su thinks my strength isn't enough, I can use my full strength!" Zhang Xuan said, seeing that the other party remained silent.

"Cough, cough! Enough, there's no need to compare the remaining two moves. I already believe you have the strength of an early Domain realm cultivator!" Elder Su quickly waved his hand. As a formation master, although his combat power was inferior to that of a master teacher, after suppressing his cultivation, he was still significantly stronger than ordinary Domain realm cultivators. Being sent flying by a single palm strike from Zhang Xuan with such strength already proved his power. It didn't matter whether they compared the remaining two moves.

"Thank you, Elder!" Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. With his strength approved, he could proceed with the 8-star formation master assessment. As long as he succeeded and read for a while, he should be able to contact Zhao Ya that night.

"You're welcome!" Rubbing his trembling hands, Elder Su took out a pill and discreetly consumed it. He then opened the seal that suppressed his cultivation, and only then did he feel somewhat recovered. Looking at the hall, which now had cracks, his mouth twitched. Just as he was about to go find someone to repair it, he heard hurried footsteps, and an old man quickly walked over.

"Old Su, let me tell you, this time, a few of us went over to keep an eye on him, and that kid didn't dare to cause any more trouble. He's currently participating in the assessment obediently. You should go check; that guy is really well-behaved now..." As soon as he entered the room, his boisterous voice rang out.

Crack! Crack! Before the voice finished, the cracks spreading to the ceiling, under the vibration of the sound, continued to spread upwards, growing larger and larger.

Whoosh! Dust rained down.

"Ah... what's going on?" The newly arrived elder finally noticed something was wrong. He looked up and couldn't help but exclaim again.

However, it would have been better if he hadn't shouted. The moment he did, his voice grew even louder. The entire hall, like the last straw that broke the camel's back, could no longer withstand it. It violently shook.

Crash!

The entire ceiling came straight down. Rocks and dust rained down. Zhang Xuan and the others hurriedly circulated their true qi to form a barrier against the falling stones, thus escaping the disaster.

When the dust settled, looking at the ruins on the ground, Elder Su's face twitched uncontrollably. He felt like crying. It was just a cultivation assessment, something that could be resolved in three moves, so how did it turn out like this? Although this palace wasn't particularly sturdy, it was built by skilled craftsmen and took a considerable amount of time to construct. He had stayed inside for several centuries without any issues. Even the destroyer had visited several times, and it remained intact. Yet, after just one palm comparison with this guy, it ended up like this...

The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached. He couldn't help but look at the young man not far away. He saw the young man pointing at the elder who had just entered, with an innocent expression: "I didn't collapse this... it was him! It has nothing to do with me!"

Elder Su: "..."The elder: "..."Chen Leyao: "..."

After a while, the elder brushed off a brick that had fallen on his head and the rubble on his shoulders. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he looked over: "Old Su, what... what exactly happened here?"

"Nothing much, I was testing Master Zhang's strength and couldn't control my power for a moment..." Hearing the question, Elder Su's face turned beet red. In the end, he still didn't reveal the real reason. It wasn't that he didn't want to say it, but it was too embarrassing. He had suppressed his cultivation, yet was sent flying by a single palm strike, collapsing the entire palace. He really couldn't bring himself to say it. If he were to tell, his old gossipy friend would probably make sure the entire Sage Temple knew about it.

"Couldn't control your power?" The elder scratched his head, scattering dust all over the floor.

"Alright, stop asking," Elder Su quickly waved his hand, fearing the other party would continue to question him and make his old face flush. "Master Zhang Xuan is here to be assessed for 8-star formation master. Take him to the Formation Staircase!"

"He's also assessing for 8-star formation master? Alright, follow me!" The old man nodded and beckoned.

"Okay!" Zhang Xuan and Chen Leyao followed closely. After a moment of hesitation, Elder Su felt a bit uneasy and also followed.

Leaving the ruins, they walked for a while. They then saw a staircase standing not far away, extending straight upwards, as if piercing into a heavenly palace.

This staircase was very peculiar. It had nothing supporting it from below or resting on it from above. It floated diagonally three feet above the ground.

"What is this..." Zhang Xuan's face was full of curiosity. Although he could tell that many formations were laid out around and above the staircase to make it float, he was still very surprised.

"This is the Formation Staircase," the old man explained with a smile. "The formation master assessment takes place here!"

"Formation Staircase?"

"Yes, each step contains a formation. These involve various changes, such as illusion formations, killing formations, and maze formations. Some areas even require setting up true qi formations to break them. There are 90 steps in total on this staircase, with every ten steps representing a star level," the elder continued. "As long as you can reach the 80th step, it means you've passed the 8-star formation master assessment!"

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood. This was somewhat similar to the formation pathways at the Master Teacher Academy; both involved setting up various formations for the examinees to break. Successfully completing it meant the assessment was over. Of course, this one seemed more difficult; it not only involved breaking formations but also setting them up, as well as a psychological test. Even for him, passing might not be so easy. Furthermore, the grading here was more detailed. Each step tested a different type of formation. Being able to advance meant one's skill was sufficient; failing to do so meant regretfully retreating. For example, reaching the 75th step indicated achieving a Seven-Star Mid-tier level, which was far more advanced than the assessment at Hongyuan Academy.

"Elders, are all the people standing on the staircase currently being assessed?" Chen Leyao couldn't help but ask during their conversation. Zhang Xuan looked up and only then realized that quite a few people, six or seven of them, were standing on the staircase above.

These people weren't moving further up. Instead, they stood motionless on various steps, eyes closed, as if in a daze. They seemed to be deep in thought, or perhaps enveloped by a formation and unable to break free.

"That's right, they are currently being assessed!" Elder Su nodded and said: "Two are being assessed for 5-star, two for 7-star, and one for 8-star!"

Zhang Xuan looked. Sure enough, he saw two young men standing on the fortieth-something steps, while the others were on the sixty-something and seventy-something steps respectively.

"The destroyer you mentioned earlier, he must be the one at the very top, right?" After watching for a while, Zhang Xuan asked curiously. Based on what the elder said when he entered, the destroyer hadn't finished his assessment yet. If so, he should still be on the staircase. And Elder Su had also mentioned that the other party, like him, intended to assess for an 8-star formation master, so by estimation, he should be on the 70th floor or higher.

"That's right, it's him!" Elder Su snorted, his face full of displeasure. Anyone facing someone who could cause trouble at any moment would not be in a good mood.

Zhang Xuan carefully looked at this "destroyer." He was a young man in his thirties, appearing somewhat slender. He wore a light grey long robe. His back was to them, so his face couldn't be seen. His demeanor exuded a hint of cold arrogance.

"He seems to be on the 79th step... I wonder if he can go up further!" Zhang Xuan counted and chuckled. Just as he was about to speak again, he suddenly felt the staircase in front of him shake violently, as if it had been struck by something.

"Oh no... the destroyer is trying to damage the Formation Staircase, quickly stop him..." An anxious cry rang out.

Following the sound, Zhang Xuan realized that several other elders were standing beside the staircase. Their clothes were the same as Elder Su's. They must be the elders mentioned earlier who came to stop the destroyer from causing trouble. The elder who shouted was full of anxiety, and as he spoke, true qi burst from his palm, surging directly towards the staircase in front of them. He seemed to want to stabilize the entire Formation Staircase. However, there were too many formations on the steps. Although his strength was considerable, he couldn't control them.

"Don't hesitate, act together..." Elder Su and the others no longer paid attention to Zhang Xuan. They hurriedly flew up, and instantly, true qi surged, their aura like a vast sea. Six powerful formation masters acted at the same time. The shaking staircase indeed stabilized significantly. However, at this very moment, the young man on the 79th step opened his eyes. He lifted his foot, just about to step onto the 80th step, when the steps beneath his feet could no longer bear it.

Boom!

With a loud crash, it collapsed, sending countless formations flying everywhere and spiritual energy scattering.

"This..." Zhang Xuan swallowed. "He really is a destroyer!"