202: Chapter 202 First, play the sweet card, then trick them.

After his injuries had mostly recovered, Cui Jingming barely managed to stand up with someone's support.

He looked up at the people surrounding him, opening his mouth to say something, but in the end, he only pursed his lips and sighed.

He had done his best.

He was simply no match for that leopard-eared member of the Beast-Eared Clan; the opponent had completely overwhelmed them.

Everyone looked at him, yet no one spoke.

They all knew in their hearts that with Cui Jingming’s loss, the human side had already been defeated.

But no one took the initiative to state the obvious.

It was as if as long as no one mentioned it, the Assessment hadn't ended yet.

The atmosphere wasn't exactly heavy, but it was quiet enough to make people feel a bit uneasy.

This silence lasted for a short while before a notification box for the next round popped up in front of them.

It reminded them that it was time to send the next person up for the next round of competition.

Cui Jingming looked up, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.

"Who's going for this round?"

Everyone looked at each other, but no one said a word.

Cui Jingming was their trump card, the strongest among them.

Even he had lost; what would be the point of them going up?

Cui Jingming looked at their silent faces and opened his mouth, wanting to say something comforting to lighten the mood.

But before he could speak, a voice suddenly came from the side.

"How about me?"

Everyone was stunned and looked toward the voice with some surprise.

It was the young man who had been standing aside with little presence, the one who wasn't from their Stronghold.

Cui Jingming was also taken aback as he looked at Gu Changming.

After his eyes flickered a few times, he nodded and spoke to Gu Changming.

"Alright, then you go."

Since his own people no longer had the heart to go up, if this person was willing, then so be it.

Anyway... they had already lost.

Seeing how readily the other party agreed, Gu Changming felt a bit of regret.

They didn't even try to stop him?

What a pity.

He nodded and turned to walk forward.

But before he had gone a few steps, Cui Jingming's voice came from behind, "Hey."

"Hmm?" Gu Changming looked back.

"Just do your best," Cui Jingming consoled him.

Gu Changming looked at him, and after a moment, he turned his head and continued walking forward.

At the same time, his words drifted back.

"Actually, there's no need to do my best."

There were rules that could average out combat power; fighting would be much easier than in the second Assessment.

However, this response left Cui Jingming stunned, not quite understanding what he meant.

...

After walking forward a short distance, his body suddenly felt light, and the scene before his eyes changed. When he opened them again, Gu Changming, like those before him, had been teleported and was suspended in mid-air above the arena.

He glanced down, his gaze falling on that lean figure.

The Leopard-eared Man of the Beast-Eared Clan also looked up at him.

Gu Changming didn't look away; he stared for a few seconds and began to evaluate.

A-rank, with a combat power level of around 1,400 to 1,500.

This level would be considered a pillar-level figure in the mid-stage Assessments of various civilizations.

His combat power is quite good.

He withdrew his gaze and scanned the other side.

The leader of the Star-Gazing Clan had finally taken the field as well, currently suspended in the air on the other side. That body composed of energy fluctuated slightly, making it impossible to see his expression clearly.

Gu Changming sized him up for a few moments.

Hmm... he's just touched the edge of A-rank, a notch weaker than that Leopard-eared Man.

Both sides have A-ranks.

No wonder the human Strongholds in this region couldn't take down this Plane in his previous life.

While he was thinking about these idle thoughts, a new notification box suddenly popped up.

The second choice had arrived.

Gu Changming reached out and tapped the void.

The wheel began to spin, faster and faster, then slowly decelerated until the needle stopped steadily at his chosen direction.

Seeing this, the corner of Gu Changming's mouth curled up.

Ah, was that "+1" point of luck he got from the first Assessment finally playing a role?

Gu Changming opened the two options and, without much hesitation, clicked the one to pull the combat power of the other two to his own value.

Sweeten the deal first, then sabotage them.

After clicking the option, Gu Changming could clearly perceive that the auras of the two opponents were rapidly dropping.

A moment later, a white light flashed before his eyes.

He appeared on the arena below along with the member of the Star-Gazing Clan; the three sides stood in a triangular formation, separated by dozens of meters.

...

Feeling the power within his body, Noel immediately looked up toward Gu Changming.

His strength had indeed dropped significantly; he could clearly sense this.

But what surprised him was that the level it dropped to actually remained steady at B-rank, and it was even the kind of strong B-rank combat power close to the top tier.

He stared at Gu Changming not far away, his expression somewhat subtle.

During the last round, he thought the human race had already played all their cards, with their strongest being only a mid-tier C-rank.

Moreover, their quiet and somber atmosphere had even fooled him.

Yet he hadn't expected that the one who came up now would actually have strong B-rank combat power.

Noel's eyes flickered.

This human race is much more insidious than he had imagined.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly noticed the other party's gaze fall on him.

He looked up again and met Gu Changming's eyes.

Then, he saw Gu Changming raise a finger to point at the Leopard-eared Man on the other side of the arena and make a throat-slitting gesture.

The meaning was clear: the two of them would join forces to deal with the strongest one first.

Noel immediately nodded and agreed.

The Leopard-eared Man's performance in the previous round was truly outrageous; in a one-on-two, he had suppressed and killed the contestants of both their races from start to finish.

And this time, the combat power on their two sides was even weaker than the opponent's.

In this situation, joining forces was the wisest choice.

Even if this human race was extremely insidious.

After reaching a tacit understanding to team up, Gu Changming didn't waste any more words.

He flicked his wrist and shook it downward; night erosion slid out of his sleeve and was held firmly in his hand.

To show his "sincerity," Gu Changming tilted his head and glanced toward Noel as a sort of greeting.

Then, he suddenly exerted force with his feet, and was the first to charge toward the Leopard-eared Man on the other side of the arena.

Seeing him charge so decisively, Noel felt slightly relieved and stopped being distracted by guarding against Gu Changming, focusing all his attention on the Leopard-eared Man.

Immediately after, his body made of energy swelled by a circle and then turned into a streak of light, pouncing toward the Leopard-eared Man from the other side.

One from the left and one from the right, one in front and one behind, they charged to kill.

Meanwhile, the Leopard-eared Man's expression had turned serious. He slightly adjusted the angle of the short blade in his right hand, with the edge facing outward, adopting a posture that could both defend and strike at any moment.