Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 446 Assessment
The battle continued within the assessment area. A swarm of incredibly fast, six-clawed bats with sharp claws swooped out from the shadows of the forest, emitting piercing shrieks.

Tang Wulin wielded his long staff like the wind, smashing away the bats that attacked from the front, his staff shadows so dense they were impenetrable.

Bai Yuan, wielding a halberd, drew a cold arc with the blade, precisely deflecting the bats that attacked from the flank. His movements were extremely efficient, with almost no unnecessary flourishes.

Just as the bats were being wiped out, the ground suddenly shook!
A colossal creature suddenly burst forth from behind the dense, towering trees beside them.

It was over forty meters tall, covered in a thick, dark red carapace, with a ferocious appearance and an aura of nauseating evil. Its enormous fist slammed down with destructive force toward the location of the three people!

"Watch out! It's Ba'an!"

Major Long Yuxue, who had been acting "recklessly" all along, now spoke with a hint of seriousness in her voice as she quickly retreated and issued a warning.

"Roar!"

A golden light flashed in Tang Wulin's eyes, and his blood and qi erupted like a volcano. A golden halo emanated from his body. He did not dodge or avoid, but roared and charged upwards with the steel staff. With a simple and fierce upward thrust, he forcefully clashed with the giant fist that Ba'an was smashing down!

"boom!"

The air surged, and the ground beneath Tang Wulin's feet cracked inch by inch, but he only slightly sank his body, actually managing to block this terrifying attack with pure strength.

Almost at the same time, Bai Yuan also made a move.

He didn't have Tang Wulin's dazzling golden blood energy, but his blood energy roared like the ocean tide, and his skin faintly shimmered with a white jade-like luster.

He used a strange and unpredictable technique, his figure as close to Ba'an as a ghost. He wielded the heavy halberd in his hand as if it were his own arm. His halberd technique was cunning and ruthless, incorporating the power generation techniques of the Body Sect, and he specifically targeted Ba'an's weak points such as joints and gaps in his armor.

In an instant, relying on exquisite skills and powerful strength, and in conjunction with Tang Wulin's head-on confrontation, they forced the massive Ba'an to retreat repeatedly, roaring in anger!

However, the crisis has not been resolved.

A blurry figure, imbued with intense mental interference, silently appeared at the edge of the battlefield—a humanoid female creature with an eerie face and captivating eyes, none other than the Demonic Enchantress among the abyssal creatures.

The demon unleashed an invisible mental attack, while simultaneously waving its hands to condense shadow energy arrows, which shot towards Tang Wulin and Bai Yuan respectively.

"Humph!"

Tang Wulin groaned, his movements slightly halting due to the mental shock.

Seeing that Baan was taking the opportunity to counterattack, and the Demon's Shadow Arrow was also whistling towards him, he no longer held back. A strange golden soul ring formed by the power of blood and qi suddenly lit up under his feet.

"boom!"

The moment the golden spirit ring appeared, Tang Wulin's power and speed surged instantly. The long staff in his hand transformed into a golden lightning bolt, striking out continuously at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

"Pfft!"

With two soft sounds, the shadow arrows fired by the demon were detonated in mid-air. At the same time, he turned his body, and his long staff, carrying the force to shatter mountains and split rocks, struck Baan's knee joint hard.

"Crack!" A tooth-grinding sound of bones breaking rang out, and Baan's massive body collapsed to his knees with a thud.

On the other side, Bai Yuan, facing the mental attack from the demon, only frowned slightly, his eyes remaining clear. He possessed strong mental power, and the Abyss Gluttonous Martial Soul had a certain resistance to negative mental influences.

Seeing that Tang Wulin had defeated Ba'an, he focused all his attention on Mo Mei.

He doesn't have a Qi and Blood Soul Ring to unleash, but his bones, muscles, and blood, which have been tempered and refined by the Body Sect's secret methods, are his strongest asset!

"Clang!" He swung his halberd to deflect a shadow arrow, feeling that the halberd was somewhat of a hindrance when dealing with such a nimble and unpredictable enemy.

He simply shoved the halberd into the ground, clenched his fists, and his knuckles cracked!

"Roar!" He let out a deep roar, no longer a human voice, but instead carrying a hint of ferocity like a primordial beast.

With a burst of force, a small crater appeared in the ground, and the figure vanished instantly, reappearing in front of the demon!

Fists, palms, elbows, knees... every part of the body has been transformed into the most terrifying weapon!

He unleashed the Body Sect's close-combat killing moves to the fullest extent, without any soul power brilliance, only the purest and most savage power and speed.

That demon is skilled in mental attacks and ranged harassment; it has never seen such a fierce fighting style before.

Its mental impact was like a mud ox sinking into the sea; the shadow energy dissipated under Bai Yuan's violent offensive.

"Bang bang bang bang... Boom!"

After a series of heart-stopping sounds of flesh colliding, Bai Yuan delivered a powerful punch, imbued with explosive force, piercing through the demon's hastily formed shadow shield and slamming into its chest.

The demonic and eerie face instantly twisted, and the body flew backward like a rag doll. While still in mid-air, it exploded into a ball of pure abyssal energy with a "bang" and slowly dissipated.

The entire battle process seemed complicated, but in reality, from the appearance of Baan to the defeat of the two abyssal creatures, it only took a few dozen seconds.

Major Long Yuxue, who had been seemingly "protected" but was actually calmly observing from the sidelines, had now completely abandoned her previous contempt and indifference, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.

She looked at Tang Wulin, who had calmed down and regained his composure, and then at Bai Yuan, who had recovered from his berserk state and silently walked back to draw his halberd. For a moment, she was speechless.

She had never seen such a scene of directly confronting and even destroying abyssal creatures with pure physical strength during the Blood God Legion's recruit assessment.

Only when the time in the assessment space ended, and a flash of light sent the three of them back to the real world, did Long Yuxue take a deep breath and forcefully suppress the turmoil in her heart.

She paused for a few seconds, then resumed her icy tone, but a hint of surprise still lingered in her eyes: "The assessment is passed. The specific rating will depend on the decision from higher-ups."

She paused, seemingly hesitant, before adding, "My name is Long Yuxue." With that, she turned and hurried away, her retreating figure appearing somewhat rushed.

The middle-aged female soldier in charge of registration looked in surprise in the direction Long Yuxue had left. It was the first time she had ever seen her daughter, who was known for her aloofness, take the initiative to tell the new recruits her name.

She turned to Tang Wulin and Bai Yuan and began to formally enter the information.

"Tang Wulin, 21 years old, student of Shrek Academy's inner court, level 66 Soul Emperor."

He hadn't wasted three years in Dragon Valley, and his soul power level was even higher. The lieutenant read the information aloud and nodded. At this age and level, he was extremely outstanding. Long Yuxue was only a five-ring Soul King, but the soul power level of the Blood God Legion wasn't important, so she didn't ask any further questions.

"Doukai?"

"Dragon Dance," Tang Wulin replied, noting that the name of the battle armor differed from the original story.

A knowing glint flashed in the lieutenant's eyes. No wonder his daughter's attitude was different; she had seen the other's potential.

She continued reading Bai Yuan's information, her eyes widening instantly: "Bai Yuan, twenty-two years old, Shrek Academy inner court student, level seventy-eight Soul Saint?!"

She looked up at Bai Yuan in disbelief, then looked down to confirm the information. Reaching the Soul Saint level at such a young age, close to the Soul Douluo level, was definitely a monstrous genius!
Tang Wulin also looked at Bai Yuan in surprise, thinking of his blood and qi, which were no less than his own, and wondered for a moment who had the Golden Dragon King inside them.

"Doukai?"

"The abyss swallows it," Bai Yuan replied calmly.

The lieutenant's brows furrowed immediately, his tone serious: "'Abyss'? Why did you name your battle armor that?"

The Blood God Legion's duty is to stop abyssal creatures. This might not matter elsewhere, but here, being associated with the word "abyss" means they must get to the bottom of it.

Bai Yuan frankly stated, "My martial soul is a mutant, which inherently possesses a trace of strange abyssal attribute power. The person who recommended me here also hoped that I could find a way to control and even utilize this power here."

The lieutenant was skeptical, but he still recorded all the information and said he would report it to his superiors for a decision.

After completing the formalities, the two walked out of the cave at the registration office, only to find that Long Yuxue had not gone far and seemed to be waiting for them.

Tang Wulin quickly stepped forward and asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Sir, where is the canteen? We... are a little hungry."

Long Yuxue glanced at them and said indifferently, "In the Blood God Legion, everything is decided by military merit. New recruits without military merit will naturally not get food. However, you can borrow money from 'kind-hearted people'."

Tang Wulin smiled wryly: "Sir, then... can we borrow money from you?"

Long Yuxue seemed to have expected this, and nodded: "Okay. Interest, ten percent."

"Deal." Tang Wulin readily agreed. Bai Yuan also expressed the same intention.

The three arrived at the canteen and happened to meet a female officer who was also wearing a major's uniform, with a beautiful face and a lively temperament.

When she saw Long Yuxue, she greeted her with a smile: "Yuxue!"

“July,” Long Yuxue replied.

Jiang Qiyue looked at Tang Wulin and Bai Yuan curiously and laughed, "Yuxue brought in new people again? But everyone else is getting a 100% interest rate, and you're taking out a 30% loan. Others might have something to say about that."

Many newcomers are not used to fighting without their soul power, resulting in a high loss rate. A 100% interest rate is the norm, since many loans... are simply unrecoverable.

Tang Wulin then realized that the interest rate Long Yuxue offered was indeed a "friendly price," and he was grateful but didn't make a fuss.

"Rain and snow!"

A loud voice rang out, and a burly man with a lieutenant colonel badge on his chest walked over enthusiastically. It was Jiang Wuyue's older brother, Jiang Wuyue.

Long Yuxue gave him a lukewarm "hmm," then told Tang Wulin and Bai Yuan to "come with me," before heading straight for the food serving window.

Jiang Wuyue noticed that Long Yuxue's attitude towards the two new recruits was unusual, so she leaned over and asked, "Yuxue, are these the new recruits you're assessing? Are they classified as privates or privates?"

Without turning her head, Long Yuxue replied, "I am not qualified to make an assessment."

"What?!" Jiang Wuyue and Jiang Qiyue next to her exclaimed at the same time.

In the Blood God Legion, recruit ratings directly affect initial military merits and treatment. There is a huge gap between privates and privates, and only the legion's true high command has the authority to make decisions that require reporting if a recruit is deemed "unqualified."

Jiang Wuyue looked at Tang Wulin and Bai Yuan with disbelief, her tone provocative: "Just these two pretty boys?"

Bai Yuan was speechless: Sure enough, handsome men are always the target of jealousy. But calling Tang Wulin a pretty boy is one thing; he's trained and has a healthy tan.

Jiang Wuyue had been pursuing Long Yuxue for years without success. Seeing her showing such special treatment to the two newcomers, a surge of jealousy welled up inside her. She stepped forward, blocking their path, and said gruffly:

"Hey, you two, what are you good at? Dare to have a match with me? Don't worry, with so many comrades here, I, Jiang Wuyue, won't bully you. I'll beat you in what you're good at without using soul power or martial spirit!"

Tang Wulin's heart skipped a beat. He had been worried about not having enough military merits to earn a living, and now his chance had come! He stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:
"Commander Jiang, I'm better at strength, so how about we have a eating contest? Let's see who can eat more, and we'll bet military merit on a meal, how about it?"

Jiang Wuyue was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "A contest of eating? Okay! I'll bet with you!" He was confident that his appetite was among the best in the legion.

As a result... naturally, Jiang Wuyue watched as Tang Wulin devoured enough food for ten strong men in a whirlwind, her face turning green with embarrassment, and she painfully crossed out one-tenth of her military merits.

Seeing this, Bai Yuan stepped forward with a smile: "Sir, I am also quite good at 'strength'. How about we make a bet? We'll bet a meal on it too."

Jiang Wuyue was still angry, and when she looked at Bai Yuan's physique, which was more robust than Tang Wulin's, she saw that his muscles were still "thin"—the Body Sect's secret method tempered the density of tendons and bones rather than the volume of pure muscles, but there were still traces of training.

He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll take the gamble! I refuse to believe it!"

Then... he witnessed what a true "abyssal maw" was like.

Bai Yuan's eating manners were even more "refined" than Tang Wulin's, but his speed was by no means slow. Moreover, as if he were a bottomless pit, he managed to eat up all the food prepared at the cafeteria window that day, enough for a hundred people!

He even politely went to the kitchen to ask if there was any stock left.

When Bai Yuan finally patted his belly, which showed no signs of swelling, and felt the meager energy converted from the food he had consumed, he smiled at Jiang Wuyue, who was staring blankly and whose military merit account had shrunk considerably once again:
"I'm starting to get the hang of it, sir. Thank you for the treat."

Jiang Wuyue looked at the military merits she had painstakingly accumulated for her promotion to colonel, now nearly a third of which were gone. She was on the verge of tears, pointing at the two men, her fingers trembling, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

These two guys are his nemesis! He never wants to deal with these two good-for-nothings again!

(End of this chapter)