Chapter 40: The Third Assessment

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Third Assessment

Upon hearing Cultivator Duan’s words, Lin Jie’s face, hidden beneath his long, disheveled hair, turned cold.

"Cultivator Duan, everyone in the Seven Kills Star Hall knows about the conflict between us. But for you to drag an innocent person into this is just going too far!"

"Hmph! Dragging an innocent person in? I suspect you were the one who had this brat kill my nephew, Qi Stone!" Cultivator Duan roared furiously.

Lin Jie frowned. Seeing that Cultivator Duan didn’t seem to be lying, he turned to Yi Xiaoyao and said, "Xiaoyao, what’s going on?"

Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze flickered. He thought to himself, ’Since killing Qi Stone is already a done deal, I can’t escape his enemies. It’s just a matter of sooner or later. I might as well be direct about it. Besides, Senior Lin Jie will help me.’

"That’s right! I killed Qi Stone," Yi Xiaoyao admitted. "He was just asking to die, so I obliged him."

Cultivator Duan was already seething with rage, and these words only added fuel to the fire.

"A fine ’asking to die’! We’ll see who’s asking to die in front of me!"

With that, Spiritual Power erupted from Cultivator Duan’s right palm as he viciously struck out at Yi Xiaoyao.

"Since you’ve delivered yourself to my doorstep, I’ll oblige you too and avenge my nephew!"

Lin Jie let out a heavy snort and, with a palm strike of his own, knocked Cultivator Duan back.

"Cultivator Duan, you dare touch my person while I’m here?"

Then, he asked Yi Xiaoyao, "Xiaoyao, tell me, how exactly was that Qi Stone ’asking to die’?"

Yi Xiaoyao stared coldly at Cultivator Duan and said, "Qi Stone tried to kill me, and I killed him instead. It’s as simple as that. Was I supposed to just stand there and let him kill me without fighting back?"

"I... We can all testify to that."

Yun Qian also stepped forward. The other seven people with her gave wry smiles. Although they didn’t want to offend Cultivator Duan, they had no choice but to nod in agreement at this point.

"You lot!" Cultivator Duan glared at them, frightening the eight until their faces turned deathly pale.

"What’s this? Cultivator Duan, what kind of skill is it to intimidate disciples?" Lin Jie chuckled. "Qi Stone was killed because he was weaker. Besides, here in the Seven Kills Star Hall, you don’t have sufficient reason to touch my person."

Cultivator Duan’s face twitched a few times. He stared at Yi Xiaoyao with eyes like a venomous snake and said in a frigid tone,

"Very good! I refuse to believe you can hide behind Lin Jie forever!"

Yi Xiaoyao met his gaze with an equally sharp, sword-like stare and replied, "Qi Stone wanted to kill me, so he died. Now you want to kill me, so your end will be the same as your nephew, Qi Stone’s!"

Hearing this, Lin Jie’s eyes showed a flicker of surprise.

Then, he smiled at Cultivator Duan. "Cultivator Duan, why would Xiaoyao need to hide behind me? Even without me, you still can’t touch him. Because from this day forward, he will be an official disciple of the Seven Kills Star Hall."

Cultivator Duan’s expression froze. Under normal circumstances, killing Yi Xiaoyao would be simple, but if he became an official disciple of the Seven Kills Star Hall, things would be different.

Within the Seven Kills Star Hall, killing fellow disciples was forbidden outside of special circumstances.

"Official disciple? What a joke! To become an official disciple of the Seven Kills Star Hall, one must pass four assessments!"

Cultivator Duan sneered, "Besides, the first two assessments have already been held. He’s no longer qualified. If he wants to join the Seven Kills Star Hall, he’ll have to wait until the next time the assessments are held."

Lin Jie smiled and said, "As long as he’s capable enough, and with me as his guarantor, he can participate directly in the third assessment."

"Hmph. It seems you have quite a bit of confidence in this brat, don’t you?"

Cultivator Duan didn’t object further, as if he had just thought of a way to deal with Yi Xiaoyao.

Lin Jie glanced at Yi Xiaoyao. This was the young man his own master had taken a fancy to; of course he had confidence in him.

"I am willing to take the assessment."

Yi Xiaoyao gave Lin Jie a reassuring look as he spoke.

"Heh heh, in that case, I’ll tell you the rules for the third assessment."

Cultivator Duan said to Yi Xiaoyao with a sinister gaze, "All participants will enter the Earth Star Forest to hunt Demon Beasts for training. Those who make it out alive will be ranked based on the number of Demon Cores they’ve collected. The best will be chosen, and the worst will be eliminated!"

"How long is the training period?" Yi Xiaoyao asked.

"Fifteen days," Cultivator Duan said grimly. "If you’re scared, then give up."

Yi Xiaoyao said indifferently, "I understand. You can leave now. I don’t want to see you."

"And I don’t want to see a living you," Cultivator Duan said, his gaze icy, before turning to leave.

Watching Cultivator Duan’s retreating back, Lin Jie frowned and said to Yi Xiaoyao, "Xiaoyao, Cultivator Duan is sure to cause a lot of trouble for you. You must be prepared."

"I know, Senior Lin Jie."

Yi Xiaoyao understood perfectly.

"Even without Cultivator Duan, you can’t let your guard down. the Earth Star Forest is overrun with Demon Beasts and is extremely dangerous."

Lin Jie continued to advise, "And don’t underestimate the other disciples taking the assessment. The Seven Kills Star Hall has extremely strict requirements for recruiting disciples. They are all geniuses who have been carefully selected. The weakest among them are inheritors of a Seventh Grade Immortal Soul, while the strongest few, inheritors of a Ninth Grade Immortal Soul, have even reached the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"Your cultivation at the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation, while enough to kill Qi Stone, can only be considered upper-middle among that group of geniuses."

Yi Xiaoyao continued to nod in agreement. He lamented internally, ’I never expected the standards for recruiting disciples at the Seven Kills Star Hall to be even higher than the Cloud Transformation Sect’s. No wonder they can rival them.’

’However, I, Yi Xiaoyao, am not someone these so-called geniuses can compare to.’

Gradually, Yi Xiaoyao found himself faintly looking forward to the upcoming assessment.

...

Far away, a young man stood before Cultivator Duan. His face bore a slight resemblance to the deceased Qi Stone.

"Uncle, you called for me?" Qi Yue asked.

Cultivator Duan’s expression was grim. He narrowed his eyes and said, "The third assessment is about to begin."

"Yes, it is. But at a time like this, Qi Stone still hasn’t passed the second assessment? With his strength, he shouldn’t be this slow, right?"

As he spoke, Qi Yue curled his lip. "If it weren’t for the rule that cultivation levels can’t be too far apart in the second assessment’s groups, I and a few friends at the Foundation Establishment Realm could have carried Qi Stone and helped him complete it easily."

"You don’t need to wait for Qi Stone. He’s already been killed."

Cultivator Duan said in a low voice, "The person who killed your brother is named Yi Xiaoyao. He will be participating in the third assessment with you. You know what to do."

Qi Yue’s expression froze, then twisted into a furious rage.

"He killed my brother? I want him dead!"

Cultivator Duan stared deeply at the bloodshot-eyed Qi Yue and said coldly, "If you fail to kill that Yi Xiaoyao during the third assessment, it will be very difficult to get revenge later."

"I WILL KILL HIM!!!" Qi Yue roared like a feral beast.

...

「Half a day later.」 The second assessment of the Seven Kills Star Hall concluded, and the third was about to begin.

All the disciples who had passed the second assessment had gathered in one place, waiting to set off.

Yi Xiaoyao did a rough count. There were several hundred genius youths from all over the Great Shang Dynasty participating in this third assessment.

"Yi, why don’t you come with us?"

Yun Qian and her group walked over and invited Yi Xiaoyao.

Yi Xiaoyao declined with a faint smile. "I’d better not. Someone has their sights set on me. It would be very dangerous for you to be with me."

Then, Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze turned cold as he looked into the crowd at Qi Yue, who was staring at him with a venomous look.