132: Inner Gate Assessment

For the next five days, Lu Xingchen continued to Cultivate in the Spirit Gathering Pagoda.

It required 50,000 experience points to advance from an Eight-Star Martial Spirit to a Nine-Star Martial Spirit, and the third floor of the Spirit Gathering Pagoda was somewhat insufficient, but it was better than nothing.

Five days later, he emerged from the Spirit Gathering Pagoda and headed to the Inner Sect conference hall.

There, Lu Xingchen saw the long-awaited Li Fei, ranked second on the Earth List, and Long Chen, ranked first on the Earth List.

Li Fei was tall and robust, with a copper-skinned, iron-boned physique and a serious expression on his face.

Long Chen, on the other hand, was short and compact, only reaching Lu Xingchen's chin, and his physique was relatively lean.

Standing together, the two presented a contrasting cuteness.

Jiang E also stood beside the two.

Lu Xingchen looked at their heads; all of them had reached the cultivation Realm of One-star Martial King, fulfilling the conditions to participate in the Inner Sect assessment.

It seemed they hadn't wasted their time during these five days either.

Lu Xingchen cupped his hands to the three and smiled, "Greetings, three Senior Brother and Senior Sister!"

Jiang E nodded slightly, acknowledging Lu Xingchen.

Li Fei, however, spoke bluntly, "You're Lu Xingchen, right? Jiang E told me you have the ability to defeat Martial King expert and your strength is far above hers. I'd like to spar with you."

Lu Xingchen chuckled, "There will be an opportunity."

Long Chen quickly stepped between them, patted Li Fei's shoulder, and smiled, "Li Fei, don't be so hot-headed. We're all fellow disciples, and we might enter the Inner Sect together. We'll have plenty of opportunities to interact in the future."

Li Fei snorted coldly, turned his head, and no longer looked at Lu Xingchen.

Jiang E softly asked, "By the way, do you know what the content of the Inner Sect assessment is?"

Lu Xingchen shook his head slightly, "I'm not sure. I haven't been in the Cangxuan Sect for a full year yet."

Upon hearing this, the three looked at Lu Xingchen with surprise.

To participate in the Inner Sect assessment less than a year after joining the sect, he could indeed be called a Genius.

Even the three of them, despite having the strength to fight above their Realm, had spent three years honing themselves in the Outer Sect before raising their Realm to Martial King.

Li Fei said in a deep voice, "I don't know. Long Chen, I heard you have acquaintances in the Inner Sect; you should have some information, right?"

Long Chen nodded slightly, "My Senior Brother Long Yang Cultivate in the Inner Sect, and he told me that the Inner Sect assessment requires long periods of combat, carries the risk of injury, and ordinary Martial King cannot pass it."

"But the examination questions vary each year, and he doesn't know what this year's assessment content is."

Li Fei said in a deep voice, "Isn't that just stating the obvious?"

Long Chen: "Ah, this..."

Lu Xingchen was startled.

This Li Fei was truly straightforward, always contradicting people.

But there was nothing wrong with that.

Being outspoken didn't necessarily mean lacking intelligence; he liked such direct people.

A quarter of an hour later, an old man in green robes walked into the conference hall and loudly declared, "Greetings, three young friends. I am Inner Sect Elder Li Ya, in charge of your Inner Sect assessment."

Lu Xingchen looked at the top of his head, and it was conspicuously "???".

Needless to say, this Elder Li Ya must be a Martial Emperor expert!

The four simultaneously bowed and said in unison, "Greetings, Elder Li."

Li Ya smiled slightly and said softly, "You little ones are quite polite! Follow me!"

With that, he turned and left the conference hall, and the four followed closely.

Elder Li Ya led the group through five areas, using his Elder token to open defensive formations, taking a full half-hour before stopping in front of a lake.

He said to the four, "This lake is your assessment ground!"

With that, he threw four tokens to Lu Xingchen and the other three.

Lu Xingchen took the token and asked in a deep voice, "Elder Li, what are the rules for our assessment?"

Li Ya smiled and said, "In this lake, there are Water Beasts formed by the condensation of Spiritual Qi and lake water, all above the Martial King Realm. Killing Water Beasts earns points: a ten-zhang Water Beast is five points, and a hundred-zhang Water Beast is ten points."

"You need to obtain one hundred points within one day to pass the assessment. Of course, there are also Thousand Zhang Water Beasts in the lake. If you can kill it, it will be considered a successful challenge, and you will also receive extra rewards."

"Understood?"

"Understood!" the four replied in unison.

Li Ya nodded slightly, "Since that's the case, the timer starts now. Begin your assessment!"

"As for Lu Xingchen, you are participating in the assessment based on your identity as a Fifth-Rank Alchemist. Your strength has not reached the Martial King Realm, so you cannot condense Dou Qi Wings."

"You either swim across, or you can only forfeit."

Upon hearing this, Jiang E and the other two looked at Lu Xingchen with strange expressions.

Lu Xingchen softly said, "Although I cannot fly, I have a mount that can fly. I wonder if Elder Li would allow my mount to participate?"

Li Ya nodded slightly, "Of course. A mount is also part of a Martial Artist's strength."

Lu Xingchen smiled, "Thank you, Elder Li. Xiao You, come out!"

The Nether Dragon's massive body appeared by the lake, with purple flames rising from it, looking quite imposing.

Upon seeing the Nether Dragon, aside from Jiang E who remained relatively calm, Long Chen, Li Fei, and Li Ya were all somewhat shocked.

Li Ya said in a deep voice, "A Fourth-tier Dragon Clan Demonic Beast, Lu Xingchen, your luck is quite good! Taming a Dragon Clan Demonic Beast is not an easy feat."

Lu Xingchen chuckled, "Just a fluke."

Li Ya waved his hand, "Alright, the timer has already started, so hurry up and act!"

Upon hearing this, Long Chen and the other two retracted their gazes, summoned their Dou Qi Wings, and flew into the lake.

Lu Xingchen also mounted Xiao You and entered the lake.

The four went their separate ways, each hunting Water Beasts.

After all, the four were merely fellow disciples, not yet friends, so there was no need to stay together and cause trouble for each other.

Although it was called a lake, looking across it, one could not see its end; it was vast and boundless.

Lu Xingchen rode Xiao You at high speed, and a quarter of an hour later, he discovered the first Water Beast.

As one person and one Dragon were roaming, a water pillar suddenly shot out from the lake beneath Xiao You, carrying extremely strong Spiritual Qi.

Lu Xingchen, however, showed no panic. He took out the cold shadow shield, infused it with Dou Qi, and a sky-blue Dou Qi shield appeared beneath Xiao You.

The water pillar collided with the Dou Qi shield, erupting in a large splash. The water pillar instantly dissipated, while Lu Xingchen's Dou Qi shield suffered no damage, only becoming slightly fainter.

Lu Xingchen's lips curved slightly.

This cold shadow shield was truly a good item!

The power of that water pillar just now was equivalent to a full-strength attack from a One-star Martial King, yet he easily blocked it, and he hadn't even used the "Heaven Swallowing Art" yet.

The last time he faced Wang Jie, it was also the cold shadow shield that helped him block the first attack.

Yun Yun had really helped him a great deal!

Having failed in one attack, the Water Beast at the bottom of the lake summoned three more water pillars, each with the power equivalent to a full-strength attack from a Martial King expert.

Lu Xingchen held the cold shadow shield, enduring the Water Beast's attacks without any harm.