Chapter 427 - 233: The Assessment Begins! A Peerless Demon Fiend Appears! Jiang Che Shocks Everyone

「The next day, at the crack of dawn.」

Xuanwu Plaza, a grand Martial Arts Arena located on the central axis of the Capital City and large enough to hold a hundred thousand people, was already a veritable sea of people. The din of the crowd pierced the clouds.

The young prodigies from the Forty-Three Prefectures of the Great Chu Dynasty had gathered here.

As far as the eye could see, there was a surging crowd, their combined Qi Blood roaring like dragons!

Waves of formidable auras crisscrossed the plaza, merging into a terrifying and suffocating pressure.

’So this is... all the talent in the world...’

Following behind Yue Lingfeng, Shi Poyue and the others looked at the peers surrounding them, all with unfathomable auras, and their faces turned a little pale.

He felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

There were True Master Realm masters everywhere!

Worse, they would occasionally spot a few with terrifying auras, suspected Demon Fiends who had already reached the Third or even Fourth Layer of the True Master Realm!

For those who had spent their whole lives in Cangzhou Prefecture, the scene was an incredible shock!

Following a Patrol Officer’s directions, the group found the registration area and filled out their information.

They were then led to a waiting area in the southeast corner of the plaza.

All the contestants gathered here were from Cangzhou Prefecture.

"Junior Brother Jiang! Dean Yue! Dean Xu!"

The group had just settled in when a cheerful voice called out to them.

Xiao Qingge, dressed in a fiery red martial arts uniform and shouldering her conspicuous Profound Iron Suona, strode over with Su Linfeng and the other disciples of the Profound Sound Sect in tow.

Qing Ling, a Long Spear on his back, also walked over from nearby.

Running into familiar faces so far from home, everyone’s frayed nerves finally relaxed a little. They began to chat idly, probing each other for information about the other prefectures.

Before long, a slight commotion rippled through the crowd.

A group from the Taiyuan Sect, led by Sect Leader Mad Lion Zhao Qingtian, had also arrived in their section.

The young disciple at the head of the group stood as straight as a spear. His golden martial uniform gleamed in the sun, and he exuded an icy, arrogant air that warned others to keep their distance.

It was none other than Qin Wuya!

His gaze swept over Jiang Che and the others. He gave a slight nod, a silent greeting, but showed no intention of coming closer.

He simply crossed his arms and stood alone in a corner, closing his eyes to rest, as if the surrounding commotion had nothing to do with him.

Jiang Che nodded in acknowledgment, then looked away.

However, while these key figures remained silent, the ordinary disciples accompanying them couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

Disciples from a few of the smaller sects gathered together, their eyes occasionally darting toward Qin Wuya and Jiang Che as they discussed in low voices.

"Hey, what do you all think? Did that guy, Qin Wuya, break through to the True Master Realm?"

"Is there any doubt? Look at his aura—it’s incredibly condensed, and you can faintly see the circulation of True Qi! I’d say it’s almost certain he’s broken through!"

"True. After all, he’s the Taiyuan Sect’s Qilin’Er, and with Sect Leader Zhao personally pouring all his resources into his training, it would be weirder if he *hadn’t* broken through."

The topic shifted, and the group’s attention turned to Jiang Che.

"Then... what about our new number one on the Hidden Dragon List, Jiang Che? You think he broke through?"

"Jiang Che? Doubtful!"

One person shook his head and began to analyze the situation quite reasonably:

"His combat prowess is astonishing, I’ll give you that. He can even fight above his realm. But don’t forget, how long has it been since he reached the Peak of the Refining Organ Realm? Not even three months, right?"

"Exactly! Breaking through to the True Master Realm is incredibly difficult. Without three to five years of patient, hard work, who could claim to be confident? Even with his Talent, the time is just too short!"

"I’d say he’s probably still at the Peak of the Refining Organ Realm. But even so, with his combat ability, he’ll still be more than enough to give those geniuses from the Outer States a run for their money!"

This was because Sect Leader Xu Zhouzi had given strict orders to classify the news of Jiang Che’s breakthrough as a top secret.

Furthermore, thanks to the disguise provided by the Concealing Breath Treasure Pearl, his aura appeared to outsiders to still be at the Peak of the Refining Organ Realm, with no giveaways whatsoever.

Listening to the surrounding chatter, Xiao Qingge suddenly turned her head and sized Jiang Che up suspiciously.

Then, she raised a fist and playfully thumped him on the chest.

"Hey, you. Level with me."

She leaned in closer and whispered, "Did you break through or not? Don’t play dumb with me!"

Jiang Che gave her a helpless look, rubbed his chest, and smiled mysteriously.

"Senior Sister Xiao, that’s the kind of thing... you’ll find out soon enough once we’re in the arena, won’t you?"

"Tch! So mysterious. How boring!" Xiao Qingge pursed her lips.

Although she acted nonchalant, seeing Jiang Che’s calm and composed demeanor, she already had an answer in her heart.

’This guy... he definitely broke through!’

As she thought of this, her feelings grew complicated.

Not long ago, Jiang Che was just a promising young junior brother.

But now, he had left her far behind, reaching a level where she could only look up to him in awe.

The feeling was truly... hard to put into words.

While everyone was chatting idly,

BOOM!

An incomparably powerful and terrifying aura, thick with Iron Blood Evil Qi, suddenly flooded in from the entrance!

The once-noisy waiting area fell instantly silent.

Everyone whipped their heads around in unison to look.

They saw a young man with a tall, imposing figure, clad in battle armor, striding toward them.

The young man had rugged features and a gaze as sharp as lightning. His aura was as deep as an abyss; just by standing there, he exuded the suffocating pressure of an entire army!