Chapter 432 - 233: The Assessment Begins! A Peerless Demon Fiend Appears! Jiang Che Shocks Everyone

[Fifth Layer Peak of True Master Realm]

The moment these words appeared, the entire Xuanwu Plaza fell into a brief, deathly silence!

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the Heaven-Reaching Stele.

A moment later, the crowd snapped back to their senses.

An uproar like a tidal wave erupted across the plaza!

"Fifth Layer of the True Master Realm... Peak?!!"

"Is that even human? That’s a Primordial Fierce Beast in human skin!"

"A top-tier prodigy! This is what a legendary top-tier prodigy looks like!"

On the high platform.

Elder Su Wuming of the Haotian Sword Sect shot upright, his eyes blazing. The desire to snatch up this talent was practically written all over his face.

The other two Elders, though slightly more reserved, showed no less fervor in their gazes.

The atmosphere between the three instantly grew tense, as if they would come to blows over this disciple at any second!

In the crowd.

Jiang Che stared intently at the Demon God-like Xiong Tong, his pupils contracting slightly.

’He’s definitely fierce!’

Even from this distance, he could feel the terrifying Qi Blood within the other man’s body, like a volcano on the verge of eruption!

’This man... is strong! Incredibly strong!’

Jiang Che quickly assessed their relative combat strength in his mind.

’Even if I transform into my Black Armor Form and add a twenty-five-fold power burst... I’m afraid I still can’t win!’

’This oppressive feeling...’

The image of the long-dead Xie Songnian couldn’t help but surface in his mind.

’Xie Songnian was also at the Fifth Layer of the True Master Realm, but Xiong Tong’s overflowing Qi Blood and pure battle intent make him feel even more dangerous than that old dog!’

’Is this the strongest prodigy of the Forty-Three Prefectures of Great Chu?’

A glint of fighting spirit suddenly erupted in Jiang Che’s eyes!

Meanwhile, behind him, Shi Poyue, Wang Zhenhai, Fang Muye, and the others were already ashen-faced, their eyes filled with despair.

"How... how are we supposed to compete with that?"

"Are we... really in the same selection as him?"

This despair-inducing gap was enough to shatter the Dao Heart of any ordinary genius!

After that, the disciples from several more prefectures were tested.

Although a few more geniuses emerged, with the peerless prodigy Xiong Tong, at the Fifth Layer Peak of the True Master Realm, having come before them, they all paled in comparison and failed to cause any sensation.

Until it was the turn for the disciples from the Southern Wilderness.

Suddenly, a cool and detached aura, like a secluded orchid, silently spread and enveloped the entire plaza.

"Look! That’s..."

A woman in a light green dress, with a refined and otherworldly beauty and a gentle, water-like disposition, was seen walking slowly onto the high platform.

The Saintess of Medicine King Valley, Nalan Ruoshui!

As she passed by Xiong Tong, she paused slightly. In her seemingly gentle eyes, a sharp glint of defiance flashed as she shot the giant man a cold glance.

Then, she walked to the stele and tapped it lightly with a jade-like finger.

BUZZ—

A pillar of light on the same level as Xiong Tong’s shot into the sky!

[Mid-stage Fifth Layer of True Master Realm]

Everyone was shocked once again!

Another one at the Fifth Layer of the True Master Realm!

With the appearance of these two top-tier prodigies, it was as if two great mountains were weighing down on everyone’s hearts!

Those local geniuses who had been full of themselves, hoping to make a name for themselves in the Capital City, from this point on, they began to doubt their entire existence, their fighting spirit completely gone!

...

"Next, Cangzhou Prefecture!"

As the presiding official called out the name, it was finally the Cangzhou Prefecture contingent’s turn.

The group went up in order. After having their bone age tested and their age registered, they began to draw lots.

Jiang Che glanced at the number in his hand. His turn was rather late, so with a calm expression, he walked to the side, clasped his hands behind his back, and waited quietly.

The first to go up were a few ordinary disciples from Cangzhou’s smaller Sects.

Their performance could only be described as unremarkable. Most hovered around the Early Stage or Mid Stage of the Refining Organ Realm, with the best only reaching the Late-stage of the Refining Organ Realm.

Such results might be considered acceptable in Cangzhou Prefecture, but here at the Celestial Strategy Guard selections, where even True Masters were a dime a dozen, no one paid them any mind.

Soon, it was Qin Wuya’s turn.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

In truth, before coming to the Capital City, and even just after entering the plaza, his heart had been full of ambition.

After all, he had broken through to the True Master Realm!

As the Qilin’Er groomed with the full backing of the Taiyuan Sect, he had always held himself in high regard, possessing an arrogance that looked down on the world.

But just now, after personally witnessing Xiong Tong, Nalan Ruoshui, Long Yu’er, and other peerless Demon Fiends who were his age or even younger yet had already reached the Third and Fourth Layers, or even the Fifth Layer of the True Master Realm, his proud heart had been ground into the dust.

With a heavy heart, Qin Wuya pressed his palm against the Heaven-Reaching Stele.

BUZZ—

A light flared.

[Mid-stage First Layer of True Master Realm]

In the past, upon seeing this result, he would have surely lifted his chin and basked in the crowd’s cheers.

But now...

He subconsciously turned his head to glance at the ranking Jade Disc in the distance.

[Qin Wuya]

[Current Rank: 92]

Seeing this number, Qin Wuya’s tense body relaxed slightly, a sense of post-calamity relief washing over him.

’Thank goodness... still in the top one hundred.’

’As long as I keep a steady mindset and don’t screw up in the Divine Soul and combat assessments tomorrow and the day after, my spot in the Celestial Strategy Guard... should still be within reach!’

He said nothing, merely retracting his hand in silence. With his eyes downcast, he quickly walked off the high platform amidst a round of sparse applause.

On the Cangzhou Prefecture side, although a few people came forward to congratulate him, the expressions of most grew even more complicated and grim.

Their prefecture’s top prodigy, who had even broken through to the True Master Realm, had actually... only managed to scrape into ninety-second place?