I started by slashing through the enemy's territory, and I drew so many affixes that my hands w

The examiners responsible for the formal assessment were two official investigators from the Spirit Suppression Bureau.

A middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman, exuding the aura of seasoned veterans, their sharp eyes seemed to keep them wary of everyone around them, even their colleagues.

Seeing that someone was still talking, the chief examiner shouted in a booming voice:

"Silence!"

The moment he spoke, the previously noisy venue fell silent.

The examiner nodded and then continued, "Next, I will explain the rules of this assessment, which consists of three stages."

"First, we'll begin the pressure test. If you can stand for half an hour under pressure, you pass; if you collapse, you're eliminated."

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw the female examiner throw out a small, antique-looking mirror.

The mirror continued to grow larger as it flipped in the air, until it could cover all the candidates present.

"The first test...begins!"

As the female examiner finished speaking, a powerful pressure emanated from the mirror. Everyone felt their bodies suddenly become heavy, as if they were carrying a huge boulder, and this pressure continued to increase.

A newly recruited investigator from Linghai, who was taking the official assessment for the first time, was caught off guard and was forced to fall to the ground.

The examiner glanced at them and said coldly:

"You've been eliminated."

Immediately afterwards, the man felt the pressure on his body ease, he got up from the ground, and then turned and left with a bitter expression.

Jiang Qin felt the pressure constantly building up on his body. At this rate, he could hold on for half a day, let alone half an hour.

He looked to his side: "How are you feeling?"

Su Lingwei nodded and replied, "There shouldn't be any problem, I can hold on."

Her foundation was incredibly solid, so although the pressure was somewhat uncomfortable for her, it wasn't difficult for her to endure it for an hour or two.

15 minutes passed quickly.

Fewer than 10 people were eliminated.

Seeing this, the examiner's eyes showed satisfaction, and he said, "It seems that the examiner's ability is quite good this time. Let's increase the pressure by two levels."

The female examiner responded and controlled the magical artifact to increase its spiritual power output.

The pressure on everyone increased again, this time not just a little, but as if the stone on their backs had suddenly been replaced by a solid iron block weighing thousands of kilograms.

"Holy crap..."

"No, no, I can't take it anymore!"

More than a dozen people couldn't withstand the pressure, their faces turned red, and they quickly said they would voluntarily withdraw from the assessment.

On average, several people would drop out of the assessment every minute thereafter.

By the end of the half-hour period, the number of people on the field had dwindled from over ninety to just over thirty, with half of them eliminated in just one round.

The female examiner retrieved the magical artifact that had been hovering above everyone's heads.

"Congratulations, you have passed the first test."

The examiner offered a curt congratulatory remark, then, with his hands behind his back, added:

"But don't get too excited yet, the next test is the second one, the strength test."

Soon, staff moved a device in front of the remaining people.

The examiner pointed to the black square area in the middle of the instrument, "No external force is allowed. Those who can leave a fist mark on it using only their own strength will pass."

"Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go first."

A short-haired woman with a cold gaze stepped out from the crowd. Her name was Yang Ningxue, and she was also a strong candidate for first place in this assessment, with a cultivation level of late-stage Spirit Sea Realm.

Yang Ningxue took a deep breath, then suddenly exerted all her strength and punched the instrument.

The test board, supported by a special black metal, trembled violently.

A fist print, two centimeters deep, was clearly visible on the test board.

"Not bad. Judging from your strength, you have reached the peak of the Spirit Sea realm. You have passed the second test."

Yang Ningxue ignored the examiner's words and returned to the queue with a cold demeanor.

The examiner wasn't angry; he had heard about the other person's temper before.

The remaining people were then tested one by one, and the pass rate was almost the same as the failure rate. Fortunately, Su Lingwei passed this test without any major incident.

Then it was Jiang Qin's turn.

He walked to the instrument, raising his hand as he went. Without any intention of gathering strength, he punched the instrument seemingly lightly, but his fist sank deep into it.

The candidates who passed looked shocked; they knew very well what this meant.

Even Yang Ningxue, who performed the best, didn't even reach half of Jiang Qin's level, and it seems that the other party hasn't used his full strength yet. Could it be that this young man has already reached the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm?

Jiang Qin concealed his aura very well, so these people couldn't see through his cultivation level.

The examiner was not surprised by the result; he had already seen Jiang Qin's information when he received the list of examinees.

Compared to Jiang Qin's astonishing record, his current performance can be described as mediocre.

"You've passed."

"Everyone, take a five-minute break. We'll prepare to begin the third speed test..."

Five minutes later, the third speed test began.

Unsurprisingly, even though Jiang Qin had toned down his performance, he still stood out the most, followed by Yang Ningxue.

After the examiners finalized the rankings, three more people left the room with regret.

Su Lingwei narrowly secured tenth place, with a negligible gap between her and eleventh place. However, the result was still good, considering she had only recently broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm.

Such results are already quite impressive.

The examiner put away the list, looked at the remaining ten people, and said, "Someone will take you to complete the relevant procedures later. The rewards for passing the assessment will be distributed according to the ranking. Jiang Qin and Su Lingwei, you two come with me. I will take you to receive your martial arts skills."

During the previous mission in Black Soil City, the two of them each received one opportunity to choose an S-rank martial skill.

The examiner left the venue with Jiang Qin and the other person.

Yang Ningxue walked up to the female examiner, looking somewhat unwilling and discouraged, and said, "Auntie, I've disappointed you. I didn't get first place."

"Don't look like that. Losing to that boy isn't shameful." The female examiner saw through her thoughts and also wanted to take this opportunity to put her niece down, so she said:

"Those two were freshmen at Zhenling Academy this year. It's been less than two months since they awakened their talents and started cultivating. The girl behind them is already a genius among geniuses."

"As for Jiang Qin, his talent is so great that even looking back over the past hundred years, no one can compare to him."

"He might become the only one of his kind in this era..."

A profound sense of defeat overwhelmed Yang Ningxue, who had never before so clearly recognized the gap between people.

It has reached this level in just two months.

If she and Jiang Qin were in the same year, let alone catching up... even seeing his back in the martial arts world would be a luxury.