You call this the way of the sword?

Having witnessed the death of a loved one firsthand, Yang Qingfeng knew that saying anything at this moment would be superfluous, even if it was fake and just a test.

Over the next few days, the names on the list kept turning gray, and more and more people were eliminated.

The candidates who returned to the square were either filled with murderous intent or hatred, but regardless of the type, they would eventually transform into a strong fighting spirit aimed at the third round.

In Qiao Lie's words, he had even "sacrificed" his family to get to this point, and even if the third round was to challenge Zhu Guo, he would find a way to kill Zhu Guo on stage.

Qiao Lie said this through gritted teeth.

Xiao Bingning was amused by him, while Yang Qingfeng knew he wasn't joking.

Finally, as the leaderboard was refreshed for the last time, the examiners' voices rang out: "The second round of assessment is over. After a 5-minute break, the third round of assessment will begin."

At this point, only a few thousand people remained in the stadium, making it seem very empty and the entire place quiet.

Compared to the bustling crowd of thousands when they arrived in the morning, everyone now seemed to be shrouded in the shadow of the Great Yu Heavenly Palace, and the atmosphere had become extremely heavy and oppressive.

Xiao Bingning unconsciously lowered her voice: "Only a very small number of people were eliminated in the first round, but the second round eliminated the majority. Many of those who were eliminated might be dissatisfied, right?"

"You disagree?"

Qiao Lie scoffed, "What do you think this big exam is? Hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people across the country are taking the exam at the same time, not just for your future."

"Although everyone is assessed separately, this is still a competition on the same stage!"

"This is going to be a tough battle!"

"The winner advances, the loser retreats; who dares to disagree? Who has the right to disagree?"

As Qiao Lie spoke, he became somewhat agitated, which startled Xiao Bingning.

Yang Qingfeng glanced at Qiao Lie, then turned to Xiao Bingning and said, "Ignore him, he's angry with himself. In his mind, losing one point already means defeat."

Xiao Bingning scored full marks in both rounds. She neither experienced death nor witnessed her relatives being torn apart by the alien demons. In her opinion, the second round of assessment was just very difficult, exceeding the normal level for newcomers.

If she is eliminated in the second round, she will feel very dissatisfied and think it is unfair.

"What does Senior Brother Yang think?"

Both of them received full marks, and Xiao Bingning was somewhat looking forward to Yang Qingfeng's answer.

Yang Qingfeng shook his head: "I don't know what they went through in there, so I'm not qualified to speak for them. But... if I were the one who got eliminated, I would probably come to terms with it afterward."

"What did you figure out?" Xiao Bingning asked curiously.

Yang Qingfeng pointed to the leaderboard and said, "Although the second round of the assessment is difficult, the rules are actually much more lenient than the first round. We already have a base score of 1000. As long as we manage to hold on for four rounds, we'll have 5,000 points in hand. Even if we give up on the rest, it won't be a problem; we'll still pass the assessment."

"If you use this method, you'll definitely have 500 points left in the end, but look at the leaderboard, no one has passed the game this way."

Seeing Xiao Bingning frowning in thought, Yang Qingfeng chuckled and said, "There's clearly a way to easily pass the level, but no one does it. Some even give up halfway through. Why do you think that is?"

The questions she had thrown out were like boomerangs, coming back to hit her again, leaving her stumped. Xiao Bingning's brows furrowed deeper and deeper as she fell into deep thought, unable to extricate herself.

Yang Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head to see Qiao Lie's scrutinizing gaze.

It's as if it's saying: You little brat, flirting with other girls right in front of me?

Yang Qingfeng didn't bother to read his eyes and accepted it calmly.

At this moment, the Great Yu Heavenly Palace gradually emitted a dazzling light, and the examiner's voice rang out at the same time: "Time's up. Now, the rules for the third round will be announced."

Everyone looked up and saw the radiant light of the Yu Palace shining down, gradually transforming into a hundred-meter-wide, thousand-layered staircase leading to the palace gate.

At the same time, a teleportation array appeared in front of the palace gate, its destination unknown.

"You will have to go to the final test on your own."

"After walking up the thousand jade steps and passing through the teleportation array in front of the palace gate, you will arrive at the final examination hall and become the most outstanding newcomer in this grand examination."

"Before that, there is some information I need to tell you."

"First of all, the teleportation array leads to the Pingchuan Battlefield, which is the real battlefield. If you unfortunately die in battle, the Empire will not be responsible for you, but it will be responsible for your families."

"Secondly, the Jade Steps will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of you. Only those who have passed through the Jade Steps are qualified to go to the battlefield. In short, not everyone can die, so you don't need to be too afraid."

"If you can't get up there, just come down."

"That's all. Good luck to you."

As with the previous two times, the content of the assessment was still not clearly stated.

The difference was that this time the examiner spoke a lot more, and his tone was clearer, full of temptation, threat, and even mockery.

At that moment, not only the few thousand remaining teenagers in Tiannan, but all the candidates across the country, truly felt that they were being looked down upon and insulted.

Although there were only two rounds of assessments, every candidate who has survived to this point has gone through a painful ordeal and demonstrated remarkable fighting spirit in adversity.

Even so, they are still regarded as cowards who are afraid of death. Who can tolerate that?

The boys, always rebellious by nature, were instantly enraged by the examiner's direct and blunt provocation, their fighting spirit breaking through its critical point.

"Damn it, isn't this just a battlefield?"

"It's not like we haven't died before!"

"Perfect! We didn't kill enough in the second round, let's wipe out those beasts on the battlefield!"

"Everyone knows about the Pingchuan Battlefield, but it's just a low-level battlefield. Those damned alien races are only level 29 at most. It's hard to say who will win!"

Amidst various curses and swears, thousands of candidates set off.

Song Yuanshan moved with lightning speed, taking the lead and stepping onto the jade steps ahead of everyone else.

His eyes were resolute, like a drawn sword, his gaze fixed on the finish line.

However, when he stepped onto the hundredth floor, an invisible pressure suddenly descended, as if a two-hundred-pound fat man had crashed down on him.

Song Yuanshan originally had to cross three steps with each step, but now he suddenly stopped, and each step became two steps, gradually shrinking to one step per step, until his speed completely slowed down.

Not only Song Yuanshan, but all the other candidates were the same.

Yang Qingfeng and Xiao Bingning lagged behind the crowd, walking at a leisurely pace, while Qiao Lie, with his fiery temper, had already rushed forward, like a hunting dog, biting Song Yuanshan's buttocks tightly.

Xiao Bingning also wanted to win first place, but Yang Qingfeng was too calm, and she was unconsciously influenced by him, gradually thinking about many things in her mind.

Especially when everyone started to slow down and they began to steadily catch up, her eyes secretly lit up, and when she looked at Yang Qingfeng again, there was a hint of admiration in her eyes.

Although Yang Qingfeng didn't say it explicitly, Xiao Bingning was already convinced that this senior brother Yang had seen through the essence of the jade steps, which was his trick to always take first place!

Little did he know, Yang Qingfeng wasn't thinking that much at the time; he was just a little conflicted.

The real assessment hasn't started yet, so there's no need to compete for rankings.

However, climbing these jade steps is not just for obtaining the qualification for the third round of assessment.

As the examiner just mentioned, these thousand jade steps will be used for a comprehensive evaluation of them.

According to past exam data, this step is usually the last to be conducted. It is a comprehensive evaluation of the candidate's performance in this major exam, and ultimately yields six scores.

Whether newly promoted practitioners can be selected for excellence is also determined in this stage.

In other words, these jade steps are for measuring one's spiritual cultivation.

Yang Qingfeng's expression remained somewhat unnatural throughout the journey.

Especially as he climbed higher, the other candidates around him were already carrying heavy burdens, as if every step was difficult, while he felt nothing at all…