You call this the way of the sword?

Tiannan Prefecture is thousands of miles away from Youlong Town, yet the teleportation only took a few minutes.

Yang Qingfeng looked around and found that they were in an open-air square.

This square is enormous; you can't see the horizon in the distance, and you can't see any high walls up close, but underfoot it's paved with bluestone with exquisite carvings, exuding a subtle luxury.

The light from the teleportation device kept flashing.

New cultivators from all over Tiannan were constantly being teleported in.

They came from various blessed lands, sects, clans, the military, and even independent cultivators. They numbered in the tens of thousands, yet they were surprisingly orderly and not crowded at all.

Surrounded by such a spectacular sight, almost every newcomer couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"The sky is high, the earth is far, and the wonders within are endless..."

Yang Qingfeng suddenly remembered this sentence.

When his grandfather was teaching him martial arts, he would always use certain words to arouse his curiosity about the outside world.

He used to take it for granted, thinking that life in town was happy enough. But now that he has seen the vastness of the world with his own eyes, he has a real sense of longing.

A moment later, the teleportation ended.

The bell rang.

Everyone looked in the direction of the bell and saw the sea of ​​clouds in the sky burst into dazzling golden light. Then the sea of ​​clouds separated and transformed into auspicious clouds, which scattered with the shadows of cranes, revealing a magnificent and grand palace.

As soon as the palace appeared, it rapidly expanded until it covered the entire sky, as if a celestial palace had appeared on earth, instantly causing a stir among the crowd.

"With its glazed tile roof, carved jade lacquer, nine golden dragons coiled around it, and eight phoenixes casting their reflections, this is the Heavenly Palace of the Great Yu!"

"Seeing is believing! It's so beautiful and magnificent!"

"Hiss... It's actually the Great Yu Heavenly Palace!"

"It looks like this year's big exam is going to be tough."

Amidst the gasps of alarm, people gradually began to notice something amiss.

Qiao Wanyi looked around and saw that many people were starting to get inexplicably nervous. "Brother Qingfeng, what's going on? Is something wrong?"

Someone like her, who had completely failed in theoretical studies, couldn't even recognize which celestial palace was in front of her. But it didn't matter. She grabbed Yang Qingfeng's sleeve and asked him whatever she didn't understand.

Yang Qingfeng had done his homework for the big exam and noticed something was wrong early on. By the time Qiao Wanyi asked him, he had already figured it out.

"Our Yu Xia Empire has three legendary celestial palaces, known as the Great Yu Celestial Palace, the Divine Heaven Celestial Palace, and the Dao Inquiry Celestial Palace. For the past hundred years, the Xia Palace has been in charge of the grand examinations, but this year it is the Yu Palace that is taking the test, which means that the content of the examination has changed."

"Anyone who tries to take advantage of past experiences will suffer greatly."

Qiao Wanyi's poor grades didn't mean she wasn't smart. Hearing Yang Qingfeng's words, she immediately realized the key point: "The exam content... is it related to that Heavenly Palace? Brother Qingfeng means... the examiner has changed? Is this person difficult to deal with?"

Yang Qingfeng was immediately amused.

Which one who can control the Heavenly Palace is easy to deal with?

However, though the words may be rough, the principle is sound. He said in a low voice, "The Yu Palace is in charge of offense, and the Xia Palace is in charge of defense. The examiners who can control the Heavenly Palace must possess the same characteristics as the Heavenly Palace."

"Therefore, when the Summer Palace appeared, the assessment was relatively mild, but the major assessment led by the Yu Palace... was said to be extremely brutal every time."

"Tragic...?"

Qiao Wanyi's face paled, and a hint of panic had just appeared in her eyes when her hand was grabbed.

Yang Qingfeng looked at her and smiled, "It's alright. You have a support-type Dao Body, so the assessment content is different from ours. Besides, you have the talent of a little demon, so just perform as usual and you'll be fine."

As soon as the words were spoken, a voice rang out from the air: "Silence."

The voice was very deep, like a thunderclap drilling into everyone's ears.

The noisy examination room instantly fell silent.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the Great Yu Heavenly Palace, even though they couldn't see who was speaking.

"You're lucky to have been born in a good era."

"The burdens borne by the sages of the past have allowed you to travel light, from self-awakening to taking the first step in spiritual practice. I think you have all made a smooth journey."

"But I regret to inform you that the good days are coming to an end."

The voice spoke slowly and sounded heavy.

In just a few words, everyone's attention was completely drawn in, and they felt inexplicably tense.

"Those who pay attention have already noticed that this year's assessment is different from previous years."

"The Empire will not be responsible for your safety during this year's assessment."

Wow!

Instantly, the entire examination hall erupted in uproar, with everyone displaying expressions of disbelief.

Yang Qingfeng thought to himself, "Just as I expected."

There's always a reason behind unusual events.

If everything is normal, Yu Gong would not suddenly take over the Grand Examination. However, it is also unusual that he is not responsible for safety, which means that there may be casualties during the examination.

With hundreds of thousands of test takers nationwide, and the level of newly admitted students being roughly the same, the loss or injury of even one could result in the loss of hundreds of thousands or even tens of thousands of students. This cost is too high and unreasonable.

"quiet."

"From this moment forward, anyone who causes a disturbance will be removed from the examination room and disqualified from the examination."

"If anyone is afraid of dying and wants to leave, they can give their name within 20 seconds and then leave."

The examination room fell silent once again.

In a short moment, almost everyone's nerves were on edge.

The prevailing perception is that major exams are a place where they can give full play to their abilities, and no matter how difficult the content of the exam is, they have no worries.

It's quite confusing to suddenly ask them to be responsible for their own safety.

However, the big test is not only an assessment, but also an opportunity that everyone has been waiting for for years, which concerns their future. At this moment, no one dares to give up easily.

If I back down now, I might not have another chance next year.

"Time's up, the assessment will now begin."

"This year's major exam is divided into three rounds. The first two rounds are based on a point system, and scores are calculated separately for each round."

"The first round will now begin. Candidates, please enter."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a roar came from the sky.

The palace gates of Yu Palace slowly opened, radiating dazzling light from within.

As the light swept across, the newcomers in the examination room disappeared. When they opened their eyes again, everyone had already appeared in the assessment space.

The assessment spaces are not connected; each one is an independent entity.

With at least hundreds of thousands of test takers nationwide, this alone demonstrates the power of the Great Yu Heavenly Palace.

Yang Qingfeng immediately scanned the surroundings, then a strange look appeared on his face.

The assessment space is not large; it consists of a closed cube formed by six semi-transparent walls.

A vortex floats in the center, from which black mist overflows.

"I didn't expect it to be a demon..."

"Could the appearance of the Yu Palace be related to the Otherworldly Demons?"

Yang Qingfeng thought to himself while checking the properties.

As expected, the amplification effect of the Ghost King's jewelry failed.

The boost from this special equipment is too outrageous and will inevitably affect the assessment results. Banning it now saves a lot of trouble.

At that moment, the examiner's voice rang out in the space.

"The first round of assessment will be a step-by-step elimination process."

"This round of assessment will release 20 alien demons."

"The first 10 kills are the basic requirements. You will receive 10 points for each kill. You can pass the test by getting 100 points and continue to challenge."

"Starting from the 11th demon, the challenge mode will gradually increase its attributes. You will receive 100 points for each demon you defeat, with a maximum score of 1100 points."

"Defeat is not allowed during the challenge; if you are defeated, you die."

After patiently listening to the end, Yang Qingfeng was speechless.

This year's assessment is truly unreasonable; the rules for this round are even disgusting.

Which of the newcomers taking the big exam doesn't want to get high scores, and which doesn't want to go to a prestigious university?

The top 10 demons only give 10 points, but killing one in a challenge gives 100 points.

To get a high score, you must take on challenges that are higher level than you, and you cannot admit defeat during the challenge. A challenge that is higher level than you will inevitably be upgraded to a challenge that is higher rank than you.

The harder you work to level up during the promotion period, the more disadvantaged you will be in this assessment.

For example, when I was level 17, I started to climb the ranks when I challenged the fourth demon, and the difficulty increased sharply, but my score was not as high as others.

But the most important issue is that safety is not guaranteed.

To get a high score, you must take on challenges; to take on challenges, you must first risk your life.

Of the hundreds of thousands of test takers nationwide, how many can truly skip levels?

Examiners can't force everyone to die, yet they emphasize they're not responsible for safety. Besides putting pressure on the candidates, this might have other effects.

Yang Qingfeng had a feeling that failing the challenge wouldn't actually lead to death, but it would probably be worse than death.

"But... it has nothing to do with me."

Before the challenge even began, Yang Qingfeng already knew that this round of assessments would be... very boring.