This villain is too popular.

Chapter 127 The Sudden Change to the 'Examination', Chief Examiner—Chen Xing

[Star energy scan complete, Star Source Ink Painting Control confirmed]

A cold, robotic electronic voice echoed in the scanning room.

The previously closed door to the scanning room was opened.

Tiandao put on the moon-white robe hanging beside him and slowly walked out of the scanning room.

The association staff, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately bowed slightly to Tiandao and said, "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Shuimo."

"It's nothing, but I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"You're too kind. It's just my duty."

As they spoke, the association staff member made a 'please' gesture.

"Please follow me, the Fifth Division of the Steam Branch is about to begin its assessment."

Tiandao nodded, then followed the other party with Danica.

After passing through a long, narrow corridor, the three arrived at a relatively open space on the fiftieth floor of the Gear Building.

Around this venue, seven people had been waiting for quite some time.

Without exception, these people all exuded the aura of a Star Envoy of Level Two or above.

One of the men, wearing a dark red cloak, exuded a particularly imposing aura, clearly indicating that he had reached the upper level of the second rank.

He was the strongest of the seven.

Upon seeing the unfamiliar face of the Heavenly Dao.

Several scrutinizing gazes immediately shot towards Tiandao and Danica, their wariness undisguised.

After all, they were all there to compete for the position of captain of the Fifth Division of the Steam City, and any potential opponent was someone they should be wary of.

Sensing the hostility of these guys, little Danica immediately gripped his trouser leg tightly, her little face filled with tension.

"Mr. Shuimo, everyone here looks so fierce."

Tiandao smiled and patted her head reassuringly.

"Don't worry, it's all minor."

Halfway through his sentence, Tiandao suddenly changed the subject.
"By the way, Danica, do you remember what I taught you these past few days?"

Danica peeked half her face out from behind his trouser leg and nodded vigorously.

This indicates that she has not forgotten the 'skills' that Tiandao has taught her these past few days.

Upon seeing this, a sharp glint flashed in Tiandao's eyes.

"That's good. Don't worry, things will go much more smoothly than you expect this time."

Although little Danica couldn't understand what the Heavenly Dao was saying, she instinctively felt that the Heavenly Dao wouldn't harm her.

All she had to do was obediently follow the will of Heaven and do as it said.

Just as Tendou was talking to Danica.

A clear voice suddenly came from beside them.

"You two look a bit unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting our Steam Chapter?"

Tiandao turned his head and saw a man with kind eyes, dressed in a silver-gray outfit, with two short guns at his waist.

Seeing that Tiandao was looking at him, the other party immediately introduced himself: "Nice to meet you. I am Yu Chen, a former elite member of the Second Division of the Steam Branch."

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Tiandao replied politely, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Shuimo from the Deep Blue City, an ordinary calligraphy enthusiast."

Are you a calligraphy enthusiast?

Yu Chen's seemingly perpetually half-closed eyes swept unnoticed over the long sword faintly visible beneath Tian Dao's moon-white robe, as well as the pale ink bamboo pattern embroidered on the cuffs, his expression quite intriguing.

How could someone who makes it to the squad leader assessment be truly ordinary?
Thinking of this, Yu Chen smiled and said, "Really? That's quite a coincidence. I'm also quite interested in calligraphy, so I'll definitely ask you for some pointers another day."

"There will be a chance."

Just as Yu Chen was about to say something, the crisp sound of gears turning came from afar.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the metal ground in the center of the arena slowly cracking open.

As steam rose, a huge metal arena slowly appeared before everyone.

At the same time, a huge, water-like stellar energy barrier stood between them and the arena.

The deep blue starlight flowed through the water curtain, as if it had crushed the entire starry sky into it, which was very beautiful.

However, everyone knew that this seemingly fragile water curtain was not simple at all.

Just as everyone was pondering the specifics of the assessment, an examiner dressed in a Second Division uniform walked to the center of the arena.

He looked at the crowd outside the Star Energy Water Curtain, his deep voice resounding throughout the entire venue.

"Everyone, the first stage of the assessment for the position of captain of the Fifth Division is called Star Energy Water Curtain."

"Only those who have mastered the art of controlling star energy and whose star energy value exceeds eight thousand points have a chance to pass."

"On the contrary, no matter what means you use, you will not be able to cross this barrier."

At this point, a mocking expression suddenly appeared on the man's face.

"Naturally, they wouldn't be able to step onto this arena called 'Assessment'."

Upon hearing this, a collective gasp rippled through the audience.

Because they didn't expect the first stage of the captain's assessment to be so difficult.

It should be noted that for most Star Envoys, developing Star Source alone already consumes a great deal of energy.

Therefore, apart from a small number of geniuses and those who have no hope of breaking through their own limitations.

Almost no one would bother to hone the seemingly insignificant ability of 'basic star energy control'.

Therefore, this assessment, though seemingly simple, actually contains hidden tricks.

"It's just a water curtain, why all this nonsense!"

Seeing that no one around them was taking any action.

The second-level high-ranking star envoy, wearing a dark red cloak, was the first to step forward.

He was engulfed in raging flames, and like a meteorite carrying magma, he crashed violently into the star energy water curtain.

However, just when everyone thought he would easily pass through the water curtain.

But then the red-cloaked star, who was caught in the trap, suddenly froze.

At the same time, the raging flames around him began to flicker erratically, veins bulged on his face, and his expression became extremely ferocious.

Fortunately, it was able to rely on its own star energy value of over 9000 points.

He finally withstood the interference and tearing of the 'three hundred kinds of star energy fluctuations' in the water curtain, forced his way through the water curtain, and staggered into the arena.

Although he had cleared the level, he was not only panting heavily, but also covered in a lot of cold sweat.

It's obvious that the consumption was quite significant.

This scene undoubtedly caused the expressions of most of the remaining examinees to change drastically.

After all, even the 'strongest' among them was struggling so much.

How much better can these people be?

"Brother Shuimo, I'll go in first then."

"Very well, I wish you every success."

Unlike the recklessness of the man in the red cloak.

Yu Chen's method of clearing the level appears to be more 'strategic'.

He stopped in front of the water curtain and intently observed the flow pattern of this star energy water curtain.

The instant that a stellar energy fluctuation was detected to have stopped.

Yu Chen took a step and stepped into the water curtain.

In an instant, an invisible ripple spread out from around Yu Chen.

He walked effortlessly into the assessment arena, as if he were simply passing through an ordinary water curtain.

Upon seeing this, the man in the red cloak in the arena was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

No, why!
He barely passed the test with all his might, so why could this mid-level Star Envoy pass it so easily?

He's only at the mid-level of level two, while I'm at the high-level of level two!
But soon, something even more incomprehensible to the man in the red cloak happened.

It was only shortly after Yu Chen passed through the Star Energy Water Curtain that things began.

Tiandao then led little Danica inside.

Like Yu Chen, Tian Dao and Xiao Danika enjoyed their time passing through the Star Energy Water Curtain as if they were on a leisurely outing, without even creating a ripple.

This scene not only surprised the other examinees, but even the captains of the Steam Branch Division on the stands couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"I'm not surprised that Yu Chen passed through so easily, but what's the deal with that guy from Deep Blue Metropolis?"

“I’ve never heard of such a person in Deep Blue Metropolis before.”

"Who knows? After all, the New Federation is so big and there are so many Star Envoys. It's normal for one or two monsters to pop up occasionally."

"Look, isn't that the monster among monsters who has recently emerged, the one being personally received by the president right now?"

The captain of the second squad of the Steam Branch looked up towards the VIP room and soon saw Chen Xing sitting inside with an expressionless face.

The other party is clearly much younger than them.

But everyone present knew it.

Her strength is already at the standard level of a vice-captain of a main squad.

After all, the vice-captain of a squad is usually only at the middle level of level three.

Among those who lost to that guy were quite a few experts at the upper level of the third rank.

[Fifth Division Captain's Assessment Venue, VIP Room]

"Miss Dust Star, look at the young men of our Steam City, aren't they all doing quite well?"

Liam, the president of the Steam Branch, looked down at Yu Chen, who had narrowed his eyes, and said proudly.

At this moment, Dust seemed to be thinking about something and did not respond to Liam at all.

Fox, who was next to her, couldn't help but cough twice, signaling Chen Xing to stop daydreaming and pay attention to her manners.

When Chen Xing came to his senses, he said something that shocked the two people in the VIP room and Tian Dao in front of the dimensional screen.

"President Liam, would you be so kind as to grant me a small request?"

"Oh? Miss Chenxing, please speak. As long as your request is not too unreasonable, I don't think I have any reason to refuse."

"I would like to serve as the chief examiner for your Fifth Division's assessment this time, and personally test these examinees."

"Ok?"

Liam raised an eyebrow in surprise, clearly not expecting her to make such a request.

And the one who didn't expect it either was Tiandao, who was standing in the arena at that moment.

He stared intently at Chen Xing on the screen, a sense of impending doom creeping through his mind.

Something's not right, Chenxing, why aren't you following the script?!

In the original story, Chen Xing was merely an observer, showing the entire captain selection process to the audience from another dimension.

This will also serve as a brief introduction to the audience of the second season about the main combat forces in the Upper City of Steam.

This allows viewers to gain a general understanding of the combat strength of the upper city of the steam city.

But now she's actually torn up the script and is saying she'll take the stage herself.

There is a problem, there is definitely a problem here.

And what that problem is, Heaven knows without even trying.

She must have discovered something about herself, and wanted to test it out for herself.

Thinking of this, Heavenly Dao was immediately in a real predicament.

Because if everything follows the original plot.

That assessment was a piece of cake for him; he could pass it with ease.

But if Chen Xing becomes the chief examiner, then the variables become much greater.

Especially when the other party has a terrifying, irrational "intuition" that is almost like a "rule".

Dust Star, we're old friends, you don't have to make things difficult for me like this!

As the screenwriter, I'll be angry if you change the script so abruptly!

However, no matter how much Tiandao lamented in his heart, he could only watch helplessly as the conversation on the dimensional screen continued.

"Well, Miss Chenxing's request is not unreasonable. Besides, it's not a bad thing for them to have an expert like you from the headquarters personally verify the quality of these guys."

"I agreed."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xing laughed, a rare occurrence for him.

"Thank you, Chairman Liam."

"Small things."

P.S.: That's all for today's update. I've been doing extra updates for several days in a row, so I'll give Fat Tiger a break and continue tomorrow. As usual, I'm asking for your monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)