Chapter 507: Final Assessment

In his past life, Ye Xuan had risen to prominence in the Profound Domain and traveled to many places across the continent. But the places he went were almost all famous locations on the Celestial Profound Continent.

For example, the holy land of Artifact Refiners, Artifact City, located in the Sea of Time Sand.

Or the dangerous and treacherous forbidden land of Immortal Peak, a place that made even Martial Emperors tremble with fear.

And the vast, boundless, and perilous Endless Sea.

In fact, Ye Xuan had fallen in his past life because he was exploring a forbidden land. He had discovered a few clues before meeting an unexpected end.

But after his rebirth, the places he found himself in were all ones he had never even heard of in his past life.

The Thirteen Nations Alliance, the Dream Realm Plain... in his past life, his sights were set far too high to notice such insignificant places. As a result, he didn’t even have a clear understanding of his current location.

But now, finally hearing a familiar name, Ye Xuan grew instantly excited.

The Endless Mountain Range, one of the most treacherous mountain ranges on the Celestial Profound Continent.

It stretched across a quarter of the Celestial Profound Continent’s north-south territory—majestic and immense, its length spanning countless thousands of miles and cutting through several regions of the continent.

The Endless Mountain Range was fraught with danger, teeming with Demon Beasts and Profound Beasts. It was, one might say, the primary breeding ground for the Demon Race, as well as the best place for countless human Martial Artists to hunt Demon Beasts and obtain star rings.

Every year, countless human Martial Artists entered it to train and fight to the death.

It wasn’t just the ordinary Martial Artists from nearby; even the powerful experts who roamed the Profound Domain would enter the Endless Mountain Range to hunt formidable Profound Beasts for their star rings.

As the Tier Eight Carefree Soul Emperor who had dominated the continent and a leading figure in the Soul Refining Realm, the Ye Xuan of his past life was naturally all too familiar with the Endless Mountain Range.

’I’ve read the information on the Dream Realm Plain, and there was no mention of the Endless Mountain Range. That means it isn’t within the Dream Realm Plain’s territory. But since we can reach it in three days, the two must be quite close.’

’But I’ll need to see our exact position to know for sure where we are in relation to it.’

Ye Xuan thought to himself.

Aboard the Alchemy Flying Ship, countless students stared in awe at the sprawling mountain range outside, their faces etched with shock.

"Instructor Lu Jun, what is this Endless Mountain Range? Why have we never heard of it before?" a student asked in astonishment.

Lu Jun smiled. "The Endless Mountain Range. It’s located south of our Dream Realm Plain, over a million li from Gale Light Academy. It’s fraught with danger and teeming with Demon Beasts."

"It’s also one of the continent’s most fearsome forbidden lands for Demon Beasts. Its territory is vast, stretching across the continent from north to south for countless thousands of miles. Large numbers of Demon Beasts are entrenched in its depths, and the deepest reaches are a true forbidden zone. Legend has it that even Martial Emperors will perish if they venture inside."

The students’ eyes all went wide. ’Martial Emperors perish just by entering? Are we really going to be tested here? That’s just...’

"Haha," Lu Jun couldn’t help but laugh. "Don’t worry. While the Endless Mountain Range is full of danger, it’s also a paradise for adventurers. Besides, its outer regions aren’t that dangerous. The place where you’ll be training is in the middle section of the Endless Mountain Range, and the Demon Beasts that appear there aren’t considered particularly strong."

All the students breathed a collective sigh of relief. ’So that’s how it is.’

Looking out from the Alchemy Flying Ship, they could even see some massive Demon Beasts galloping by or letting out skyward roars, their power on full display.

Avian Demon Beasts also streaked across the sky from time to time. Each one was incredibly ferocious; upon spotting the Alchemy Flying Ship, they would immediately spit out Wind Blades and Fireballs, or even lunge forward to attack.

However, these Demon Beasts were mostly below Tier Five. The Alchemy Flying Ship was so fast that before their attacks could even reach it, the ship had already turned into a streak of light and vanished over the horizon.

"Your assessment site is tens of thousands of li from here. It will take us a little over an hour to get there," Instructor Lu Jun explained inside the cabin. "We might encounter some avian Demon Beasts along the way, but don’t panic. The beasts in these outer regions are generally not too strong. They can’t possibly catch our Alchemy Flying Ship..."

Before he could finish his sentence—

"ROAR!"

A series of piercing roars echoed as a dense, dark flock of eagle-like Demon Beasts suddenly appeared ahead. These creatures had the bodies of eagles, but their heads resembled those of Earth Dragons, covered in Scale Armor. Sharp horns jutted from the tops of their heads.

The eagle-like Demon Beasts were over ten meters in size, each one shrouded in a black aura and radiating an overwhelming demonic presence.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The numerous eagle-like Demon Beasts fixed their tyrannical, blood-red eyes on the rapidly approaching Alchemy Flying Ship. Letting out sharp, cawing cries, the flock of a hundred-plus beasts flew madly toward it.

"Those are... Tier Six Demon Beasts! Blood-Eyed Demon Eagles!"

Countless students gasped.

The Blood-Eyed Demon Eagle was a Tier Six pack Demon Beast. A powerful Blood-Eyed Demon Eagle King could even be a Tier Seven beast. They often traveled in howling flocks of a hundred or more. Ordinary Tier Six Demon Beasts on the ground wouldn’t dare to challenge them; they were incredibly ferocious.

Even some Tier Seven King Level Demon Beasts dared not clash with them lightly. They were the kings of the sky.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Before the Blood-Eyed Demon Eagles even arrived, they spat out streams of black whirlwinds. The countless whirlwinds converged, forming an overwhelming black cyclone that swept toward the ship.

"Punch through it,"

Lu Jun ordered, his voice grave. The Blood-Eyed Demon Eagles were directly in the Alchemy Flying Ship’s flight path, leaving no room to evade.

BOOM! CRASH!

A deafening roar erupted as the entire Alchemy Flying Ship began to shake violently. It was like a small boat tossed on a stormy sea, in constant danger of being capsized.

The many students inside the Flying Ship gripped their seats, bracing against the impact.

Finally, the Alchemy Flying Ship broke through the black curtain of wind and stabilized.

"ROAR!"

Just then, a roar like a clap of thunder echoed out. Among the hundred-plus Blood-Eyed Demon Eagles, there was a massive one, dozens of meters in size. Its demonic aura blazed as it opened its mouth and spat out a black hurricane a hundred meters long.

The terrifying pressure was undoubtedly at the Lord Level.

"Not good!" Lu Jun’s expression changed. "Activate the Defense Array!"

VMMMMMMMM!

A hazy white light suddenly flared up across the entire surface of the Alchemy Flying Ship.

BOOM!

This impact was several times stronger than the last. All the students’ faces paled as the violent shock rattled them to the core.

The Alchemy Flying Ship swayed violently, its white light flickering as if it would shatter at any moment.

After a moment, the Alchemy Flying Ship finally stabilized.

"ROAR!"

The Blood-Eyed Demon Eagle King roared and dove madly toward the Alchemy Flying Ship.

"Go!"

Lu Jun and the others immediately steered the Alchemy Flying Ship into a sharp turn, barely scraping past the Blood-Eyed Demon Eagle King before vanishing over the horizon.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

Behind the Alchemy Flying Ship, a large number of Blood-Eyed Demon Eagles gave chase, but they were quickly left far behind and eventually disappeared from view.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. That had been far too close. If they had been surrounded by that flock of Blood-Eyed Demon Eagles, especially with a king among them, a major battle would have been unavoidable.

Fortunately, the Alchemy Flying Ship was fast enough.

Over the next while, they encountered several more waves of attacks from Tier Five and Tier Six avian beasts, but all were easily outrun by the Alchemy Flying Ship.

Everyone was beginning to understand the terrifying nature of the Endless Mountain Range.

Only Ye Xuan knew the truth. ’This is just the periphery of the Endless Mountain Range, not even close to the deeper regions. In the true depths of the range, Tier Seven Demon Kings are a common sight.’

A little over an hour later, the Alchemy Flying Ship finally descended into a clearing.

Everyone disembarked from the Alchemy Flying Ship and gazed at their surroundings. Towering trees, hundreds of feet tall, stood like giants. The primordial aura of the mountains made every student’s heart tremble.

After stowing the Alchemy Flying Ship, Lu Jun said coolly, "Welcome, students, to the Endless Mountain Range. You are about to begin the final round of your assessment. The testing ground for this last martial selection will be the mountain range right in front of you."

All eyes turned to the deep mountain range before them. Back at the academy, these students were a fearless bunch, but now their faces were tinged with solemnity. Still, for quite a few, there was also a glimmer of excitement.

"I’ll dispense with the pleasantries." Lu Jun produced a square Crystal Stone, holding it high. It glittered brilliantly in the sunlight.

The Crystal Stone was square, and within it, an archaic-looking rune constantly rotated and flashed, brimming with Spiritual Qi.

"In the mountain range before you, there are a total of fifty Crystal Stones like this one. They have been placed in very secret locations, each accompanied by a certain degree of danger. Each Crystal Stone represents a spot in the inner courtyard. This assessment will last for half a month. You simply need to find any one of these Crystal Stones and hold onto it until the end to earn your place in the inner courtyard."

"This means that, in the best-case scenario, all thirty of you could enter the inner courtyard and become one of its members."

"But..."

At this, Lu Jun’s tone suddenly dropped, and a strange smile crept onto his face. "To increase the difficulty of your assessment, we’ve also placed some senior students from the inner courtyard here. Their goal is the same as yours—to acquire these Crystal Stones."

"Furthermore, there is no limit to how many Crystal Stones one person can collect. Find as many as you can! The rules for collection are also very simple: aside from a ban on malicious killing, any and all methods are permitted."

"You all should pay close attention to that."

All the new students present couldn’t help but gasp.

The fifty Crystal Stones were already in dangerous places. On top of that, senior students from the inner courtyard were also in these mountains, and their goal was to find these Crystal Stones too.

And the rules of Gale Light Academy didn’t prohibit them from snatching the stones from each other. And everyone knew that the strength of the senior students far surpassed that of the outer courtyard students.