72: Chapter 72 Promotion! Chief Steward of the Mysterious Camp

"The... the stele is about to crack!"

Someone let out a terrified scream as if they had seen a ghost, instantly breaking the deathly silence in the assessment hall.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the black stele that was shaking violently, looking as if it would fall apart at any moment, their minds going blank.

The xuanjing power measurement stele was cast from ten-thousand-year-old xuanjing iron mixed with earth-vein strange stones; its hardness was enough to withstand the full-force strike of a Danyuan Realm expert.

Since its establishment hundreds of years ago, it had endured the "ravaging" of countless geniuses. Let alone cracking, not even a single scratch had ever been left on it.

But now, it actually...

Was being burst open by the True Qi of a True Qi Realm Martial Artist?!

"Quick! Stop quickly!"

Examiner Xuanjizi finally snapped out of his extreme shock. Terrified out of his wits, he shouted sternly, "Kid! Quickly withdraw your True Qi! Do you want to destroy this treasure of the division?!"

If this measurement stele was destroyed in his hands, he, as the chief examiner, would be unable to escape blame!

However, Lin Feng acted as if he hadn't heard his words, still maintaining that calm and indifferent expression. His palm, pressed against the stele, didn't even move a single bit.

It wasn't that he didn't want to stop, but...

He felt the Nine Yang Divine Fire within his body, upon contacting this stele containing strange energy, had actually produced a wondrous resonance. It became exceptionally excited, pouring in completely beyond his control.

Moreover, he vaguely felt that deep within this stele, something seemed to be hidden.

"Boom!"

Amidst the terrified gazes of the crowd, the golden light pillar representing True Qi purity, after breaking through the twenty-foot mark...

...still showed no sign of stopping. Instead, with an even more violent posture, it continued its mad upward surge!

Twenty-five feet!

Thirty feet!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The cracks on the stele grew more numerous and dense. Countless small pieces of stone began to fall rustlingly, and the entire stele let out a mournful cry from being overwhelmed.

"It's over... it's all over..."

Examiner Xuanjizi's face was ashen as he slumped into his chair. He knew it was all too late.

Finally, when the golden light pillar reached an absurd height of "thirty-five feet"—enough to be recorded in the annals of the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division...

Bang—!!!!

An earth-shattering loud noise!

The xuanjing power measurement stele, which had stood for hundreds of years, exploded with a boom in an instant, turning into dust that filled the air!

And amidst the brilliant golden light, a strange crystal about the size of a palm, fiery red all over and emitting pure Yang flame energy, slowly emerged from the remains of the stele and finally fell into Lin Feng's hand.

"This thing..."

Lin Feng's brow twitched, and the crystal was instantly stored into his Storage Pouch.

The entire process was silent. Except for himself, no one noticed.

When the dust settled, the hall returned to a deathly silence once again.

Everyone looked as if they were under a freezing spell, staring blankly at the man standing amidst the ruins, whose expression was so indifferent it was as if he had only crushed a piece of tofu. Their brains had completely stalled.

The record was broken.

No, "broken" could no longer describe it.

This was simply pressing the face of the record into the dirt, rubbing it back and forth a hundred times with a foot, and finally spitting a thick glob of phlegm on it.

The nine-foot-nine-inch record set by the Gold Rank Commander twenty years ago was simply a joke in the face of this absurd thirty-five feet!

The most crucial point was that he had also conveniently...

...broken the measuring tool.

In other words.

Thirty-five feet was only the limit of the stele, not the limit of Lin Feng.

"Ahem, that... Lord Examiner Xuanjizi, this first trial, does... does it count as passed?"

After an unknown amount of time, a brave deacon finally asked tentatively in a dreamlike tone.

"Passed... it's passed..."

Examiner Xuanjizi murmured despondently, feeling that his worldview had suffered an unprecedentedly violent shock.

He had originally wanted to use this opportunity to ruthlessly humiliate and suppress Lin Feng, making him lose face in front of everyone.

But the result?

Not only did the opponent not make a fool of himself, but in a way that could be called a miracle, he had ruthlessly given him an extremely loud slap in the face in front of everyone!

Just then, three figures with auras as deep as the abyss and as vast as the sea arrived together.

They were Gold Rank Commander Xiao Xuan, along with the two Silver Rank Demon Slayers, Po Jun and Hong Lian, who had been drawn here by the earth-shaking commotion.

"What happened?!"

Po Jun looked at the mess before him and the measurement stele that had turned into a pile of rubble. His tiger-like eyes widened in disbelief.

When he finished listening to the report from the deacon beside him, this iron-blooded general in charge of punishment actually let out a "pfft" and couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha! Good! Good kid! You've got guts! Domineering enough! I like it!"

He walked up to Lin Feng, patted his shoulder heavily with a palm as large as a cattail leaf fan, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

"Kid, are you interested in joining my Po Jun Battalion?"

Hong Lian's beautiful eyes also sparkled as she looked at Lin Feng as if looking at a rare treasure. She said in a seductive voice, "Little Brother Lin, why go to that place full of smelly men? Come to Big Sister's place. Big Sister will personally teach you what the true 'Path of Slaughter' is."

Xuanjizi watched this scene of public talent-snatching, his old face turning the color of pig liver, yet he didn't dare to erupt.

"All of you, shut up."

Commander Xiao Xuan spoke indifferently. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty.

He walked slowly to Examiner Xuanjizi, his deep eyes looking at him calmly.

"Examiner Xuanjizi."

"Your... your subordinate is here."

"Do you know your crime?"

"Subordinate... knows his crime."

Examiner Xuanjizi lowered his head, his voice trembling.

"As the chief examiner for the Silver Rank assessment, instead of thinking about selecting pillars for the division, you publicly made things difficult due to a personal grudge, almost burying a great talent. Considering your past hard work and achievements, the death penalty can be spared."

Commander Xiao Xuan paused, his voice suddenly turning cold.

"From today onwards, you are sentenced to three months of closed-door reflection, with one year's salary deducted. Your position will be temporarily handled by Lin Feng. Do you have any objections?"

Examiner Xuanjizi's face was ashen.

Closed-door reflection was a pretext.

Making room for Lin Feng was the reality!

The Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division stood in a tripartite balance, checking and balancing each other.

This was the structure Commander Xiao Xuan had spent a year creating after being promoted to Gold Rank Commander; he couldn't break it personally.

He wanted stability.

But he also wanted to absorb Lin Feng.

The only way was replacement.

He never expected it.

He considered himself a strategist and had long anticipated the result of choosing one of the three.

But in the end, his mind was clouded by interest, and he foolishly jumped out to take this blow.

Examiner Xuanjizi was not convinced; he did not admit he had lost.

But in the entire Qingzhou, no one dared to contradict Commander Xiao Xuan's words.

So he could only suppress the humiliation in his heart and nod silently.

"Subordinate... accepts the punishment."

After dealing with Examiner Xuanjizi, Commander Xiao Xuan turned his gaze back to Lin Feng. On that face which always held an air of natural authority, a gentle smile appeared for the first time.

"Lin Feng, you are very good. Even better than what Yan Cheng said."

Looking at the ruins on the ground, instead of any blame, he announced loudly:

"The xuanjing power measurement stele, though a treasure of our Demon Suppression Division, exists for the purpose of testing geniuses. Today, your ability to shatter it proves that your potential far exceeds the limit of this stele!"

"By my order, Lin Feng has broken the assessment record and achieved great merit. He is specially rewarded with two hundred thousand merit points! There is no need for further assessments. From today onwards, he is officially promoted to Silver Rank and will handle all affairs of the Xuanji Battalion!"