"You are called Fang Han right, not bad, you have a quota. Go in for the assessment, turn left, there is the assessment hall, everyone has gathered there."
Waiting at the doorway, Fang Han naturally knew entirely nothing about what some of the assessing officials inside the "Treading Immortal Courtyard" had discussed.
However, he waited very patiently.
After about half an hour, a young Daoist came out and, while speaking, opened the doorway to let him inside. This made him let out a sigh of relief. With one step through the gates of this "Treading Immortal Courtyard", an abrupt feeling arose in Fang Han's heart that his identity and status were different.
Indeed, even an Outer Court Disciple of the Ascension Sect, returning to the Dali Dynasty, would immediately become a feudal lord of a region.
Entering the "Treading Immortal Courtyard", Fang Han, following the directions, turned left, passing through a winding corridor stretching seven or eight miles long, with artificial rockeries and lakes, and abruptly arrived at a vast grand hall.
The princes and powerful family disciples who had gone in earlier were also gathered in this grand hall.
The grand hall was fully three thousand paces wide horizontally and vertically, capable of accommodating ten thousand people. Standing within it, a person felt particularly insignificant. Especially in the deepest part of the grand hall, there was a pitch-black doorway. Faintly inside, a pair of crimson-red eyes stared at everyone, revealing a fierce, domineering, cruel, and bloody aura.
The entire grand hall seemed like a hall meant for sealing a devil head.
"What is inside that doorway?" Fang Han startled in his heart, feeling that the thing within that doorway in the depths of the grand hall was absolutely not a benevolent being. Could it be the "Divine Force Puppet"?
Same as him, those princes and powerful family disciples also stared curiously towards the red eyes within the depths of that dark doorway.
Thump thump thump…
Several head examiners walked in. Immediately within the hall, the atmosphere underwent a burst of suppression.
"Good heavens, they are all experts at the master level, plus they might have formidable magical tools refined by blood drops, or even Spirit Artifacts on their bodies." Fang Han looked at the appearing examiners. Relying on his senses, he knew they were experts of Bai Haichan's level, individuals at the peak of the Physical Body Realm.
The complexions of these princes and powerful family disciples also became solemn.
Experts of the Physical Body ninth tier Spirit Communication, and tenth tier Divine Transformation, in any empire, could serve as frontier defending officials, State Preceptors, or Grand Marshals of the army.
"Hm, coming today to participate in our Ascension Sect's assessment, presumably you also comprehend what the content of the assessment is. It is exactly one Divine Force Puppet. As long as you defeat this Divine Force Puppet, you can pass the assessment and officially become an Outer Court Disciple of our Ascension Sect. However, I think you only know the name Divine Force Puppet, but do not know exactly what our Ascension Sect elders used to refine the puppet. Here, I must explain a bit, otherwise, you won't even know how you died later."
An assessing official said coldly.
"The prototype of the Divine Force Puppet is an Underground Demonic Person! Bloody and cruel, with powerful strength. After being captured by our Ascension Sect, its intellect is wiped away, refined into a puppet, possessing boundless divine force and a cruel nature. It is an ominous weapon of slaughter."
"What?"
"The Divine Force Puppet is refined from an Underground Demonic Person?"
"No wonder, those royal princes who came back defeated all trembled in fear, only saying the Divine Force Puppet was extremely formidable."
These powerful family disciples furiously began discussing.
Fang Han did not know what an Underground Demonic Person was, but relying on intuition, he felt that the "Divine Force Puppet" was absolutely not to be trifled with. He feared it was much more ferocious than fierce tigers or vicious beasts.
"Perhaps, you thought that the Immortal Path was riding cranes unfettered? Clouds pale and wind light?" Seeing this group of powerful family disciples discussing endlessly, an assessing official's expression became even colder: "The road of the Immortal Path is a road of no return. Cultivating the physical body, one must possess a powerful state of mind, only then can one develop the brain, cultivate to the Divine Ability Realm, and step onto the journey of the Immortal Path. Let me tell you first, the Immortal Path is not clouds pale and wind light, or riding cranes unfettered. The Immortal Path is fearlessness of the heart, executing ten thousand demons, inner demons and outer demons, all must be decapitated and killed. The road of the Immortal Path is a road of breaking through thorns and brambles, and it is a road of using the naked sword of the Dao to slay illusions and seek the true self. It is absolutely not simple and peaceful, but a road of vying with the heavens for life. Now, using your strength, decapitate the outer demon, and take the first step upon the long and vast immortal road. Liu Kang, you are the legitimate son of the Marquis of Zhenyuan from the Dali Dynasty, you step into the center first, and accept the assessment."
"Alright!" That powerful family disciple holding the purple jade folding fan, who had earlier complained about not having servants upon coming to the Ascension Sect, heard the assessing official's roll call, and with a few steps tread to the center of the grand hall, facing that pitch-black doorway, and those blood-red eyes.
"The road of the Immortal Path is not clouds pale and wind light, it is a road of breaking through thorns and brambles, vying with the heavens for life, truly well said! The naked sword of the Dao, slaying illusions, seeking the true self, this is the Immortal Path. The Immortal Path is absolutely not unfettered. Being joyful and happy and achieving immortality, practicing divine abilities, in all the world where is there such a good thing? One definitely has to experience ten thousand kinds of hardships, a thousand kinds of tribulations, to achieve it." Fang Han was also stimulated in his core by the assessing official's few words, feeling his entire body's blood boil.
"This person, turned out to be the legitimate son of the Marquis of Zhenyuan! The Marquis of Zhenyuan is a character possessing immense and prominent renown in our dynasty, holding the military power of eight hundred thousand troops right now, guarding the borders. Even more blazing and intense in influence than the Fang family."
Regarding a character like the "Marquis of Zhenyuan", Fang Han had also heard of him, the Grand Marshal of an eight hundred thousand grand army.
Serving as a slave in the Fang family, the legitimate son of this kind of character naturally sat high above, forever unable to be contacted. Yet now, he was actually participating in the assessment together with him, life truly was like an illusion or a dream.
"Open the door!"
Seeing the "Young Marquis of Zhenyuan" Liu Kang stand in the center, the several examiners exchanged a glance, and waved their hands simultaneously. From each of their hands, a ray of bright light emitted, shooting into that pitch-black doorway.
Huala!
The mist that originally locked the pitch-black doorway dispersed at once.
A demonic shadow fully a person and a half tall leaped out and landed on the ground, incomparably ferocious and tyrannical, shaking the entire hall. With a slight glance, Fang Han saw the appearance of this demonic shadow clearly.
It was of a human shape.
Its entire body was pitch-black, its skin like a layer of black shell, covered with scales. Two fleshy horns bulged on its head, and it had a wide mouth with fangs. The sharp claws on its hands were like hooks, its two eyes blood-red. The muscles beneath its scales bulged piece by piece like steel plates. With a slight exertion of force, its muscles and bones emitted crackling explosion sounds.
Especially this "Divine Force Puppet", its legs were extremely long, richly endowed with bouncing power.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!
The moment this "Divine Force Puppet" was released, its demonic might was ferocious, fast as a cheetah. With long sinews and great strength, only a flash of a black shadow was seen, as five fingers grabbed down right toward Liu Kang's head.
Puchi!
Liu Kang seemed to be intimidated by the ferocious and violent aura, his movements slightly sluggish. While dodging, the clothes on his shoulder were grabbed and torn apart in a flash, revealing five long blood streaks. If he had not dodged fast, his head would have been grabbed through, dying an unnatural death immediately.
"Ah!" Seeing such danger, many prominent disciples on the scene let out exclamations, and even Fang Han felt it was truly soul-stirring. That Divine Force Puppet was simply a zombie demon, an ordinary "Divine Force" realm expert would probably be instantly killed by it.
In an instant, the "Divine Force Puppet" chased Liu Kang, slaughtering wildly across the center of the full hall. Every move aimed to tear the belly open, dig out the heart, sever the intestines, and crush the brain.
The center of this hall was a circular field outlined by white lines, seemingly holding a kind of confinment ability. Therefore the "Divine Force Puppet" could not charge out, but the disciple undergoing the assessment was absolutely not allowed to escape either, otherwise it meant automatic surrender.
"Three Poses of Bloody Battle!"
Liu Kang hurriedly dodged. Relying on his long stamina, he finally seized a sliver of opportunity in his frantic rush. Shaking the purple jade folding fan in his hand, shua—a purple soft sword unexpectedly shot out from it. His body also emitted a tragic aura of a bloody battlefield struggle.
The soft sword was actually a divine weapon capable of slicing gold and breaking jade. It radiated a mysterious purple color, blooming strips of blood traces, puchi puchi, it actually chopped off one palm of this "Divine Force Puppet".
"Sword Qi Long River!"
Liu Kang let out another long cry. His sword moves were like the grand Yangtze River, rolling forward slicing away, aiming to chop at the "Divine Force Puppet's" head. His potential was unleashed to the ultimate limit.
Puchi! A sound. The soft sword pierced into the glabella of this puppet, but the puppet fiercely unleashed a punch, and also struck Liu Kang's body, sending this Young Marquis of Zhenyuan flying straight up, and landing outside the circle.
Subsequently, this puppet fell to the ground.
"Within the circle, killing the puppet, passed! Congratulations to you, Liu Kang, you have become an Outer Court Disciple of our Ascension Immortal Sect." A head examiner stepped forward, a white talisman appearing in his hand. With a slight wave, this talisman transformed into a trace of medicinal fragrance, winding entirely up and down Liu Kang's body. Only then did Liu Kang climb back up, wiping the sweat off his forehead, looking at the bloodstains all over his body, holding lingering terrors in his heart.
Seeing Liu Kang like this, many powerful family disciples seemed to draw back their footsteps.
"This Liu Kang was more powerful than me, but not as divinely brave as Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong, he should be in the seventh tier, Internal Strengthening realm. That soft sword was truly formidable, but I don't seem to have a handy weapon…"
Fang Han suddenly discovered that this Divine Force Puppet was completely covered in scales top to bottom, invulnerable to swords and spears; defeating it empty-handed was fundamentally impossible.
"Next!"
A young Daoist grabbed the killed Divine Force Puppet and threw it into that pitch-black doorway. Immediately from that doorway, crunching sounds of chewing and tearing transmitted out, making one's hair stand on end listening.
Following that, another pair of blood-red eyes appeared behind the doorway, evidently yet another Divine Force Puppet.
Another prominent disciple stood in the center of the grand hall.
The doorway opened, and the Divine Force Puppet lunged out killing. This prominent disciple hurriedly dodged, but seemed to be a step slow, and was actually grabbed up by this Divine Force Puppet in a single grab, about to be ripped apart!
Dare!
An examiner shouted explosively, raised his hand, and a streak of white sword light shot out intensely, directly chopping off the head of this puppet, which only then allowed this prominent disciple to escape the extreme peril.
"Failed!"
The examiner coldly announced the result.
Next, one prominent disciple after another was eliminated. Among them, some suffered varying degrees of injuries, some even had broken arms and legs, and were carried off for treatment.
"I won't test anymore!"
"I won't test either!"
"Too dangerous! Better to go back and enjoy wealth and rank."
…
Seeing such grave peril, some prominent disciples retreated one after another, stating they would not take the test anymore.
"These prominent figures can't even decapitate a single outer demon, how can they decapitate inner demons, expel sky demons, exterminate illusory devil heads, and seek the true self in the future?"
An examiner looked at the scene, and sighed.
"I will go!"
Right at this moment, that sword-bearing fifteen or sixteen-year-old young girl stood out and walked to the center of the grand hall's circle. It was exactly that "Commandery Princess Hongyi". Standing in the center, her breath steady and mind composed, she seemingly figured out quite a bit of experience from observing the battles just now.
"Release the devil head!"
The examiner nodded his head, and in an instant, another Divine Force Puppet was released.
"First dance of the sword qi moves the four directions, second dance of the sword qi mountain and rivers magnificent…" As Commandery Princess Hongyi wielded her sword, it was like a splash-ink landscape. Her posture was elegant, butterflies fluttering, incomparably tricky and crafty. After fighting for a few dozen exchanges, a sudden strike of her sword pierced into the puppet's throat, and this puppet fell straight down.
She was the person who passed the assessment the most easily.
"This Commandery Princess is quite厉害!" Fang Han said secretly, and subsequently, a voice reached his ears, "Fang Han, next!"
Fang Han quickly squeezed his hands into fists and stepped into the center of the field.
"Hm? You're not using a weapon?" The examiner saw he was actually completely empty-handed, and slightly paused.
"I do not have a weapon." Fang Han spoke the truth as it was, and was just about to open his mouth to borrow a weapon, but that examiner nodded his head: "Not bad, you have courage! Release the demon!"
Honglong!
The doorway opened wide. The Divine Force Puppet roared out, a black shadow flashed, and a giant azure fist whistled through the air, fiercely striking towards Fang Han's head.
"Hai!" At this moment, Fang Han also didn't have time to execute any move. He agitated the power of his entire body, meeting the punch head-on with a punch!
Explosion! The air between the collision of fists produced an explosion. Fang Han's whole body felt as if struck by an iron hammer, his chest suffocating, as if a mouthful of fresh blood was about to spray out.
But at this time, deep in his heart, the Nine Orifices Golden Pill moved slightly, emitting medicinal efficacy throughout his body, forcibly suppressing the churning vital blood, making his whole body comfortable.
"Hm?"
That Divine Force Puppet seemed to somewhat pause as well, never having expected someone to actually endure its fist head-on. But it was, after all, an emotionless puppet, and without halting, it pounced forward again.
"Your daddy will dismantle you!"
Seeing such a situation, Fang Han felt a fierce ruthelessness in his heart. Instead of dodging, he followed the momentum and ruthlessly struck a punch right at the Divine Force Puppet's waist, while his own chest took a punch again.
"Peng!"
Fang Han was struck almost flying out of the circle, sprawling on the ground, while that Divine Force Puppet, was also struck to step back a few steps!
"Such reckless brutality!" Liu Kang and Commandery Princess Hongyi, who had passed the assessment, seeing Fang Han act so recklessly, both looked at each other, feeling Fang Han was definitely dead.
But they didn't anticipate that immediately after, Fang Han executed a fierce carp kip-up, climbed back up again, bounded like a tiger, and ruthlessly struck a punch onto the Divine Force Puppet's chest.
Simultaneously, he also took a kick from the puppet!
One human, one puppet, in this flash of an instant, actually started exchanging blows head-on against head-on.
Fang Han was just like a wargod that would fundamentally never fall! Possessing inexhaustible, endless, far-reaching long stamina, the more he fought the more spirited he became, the more he fought the more formidable he was.
"Even an iron man would have been smashed to pieces!"
The several examiners were also shocked, "What martial arts did this Fang Han practice? Stamina and bones so formidable?"
"Peng peng peng…", peng peng peng!
For every ten punches the Divine Force Puppet struck Fang Han, Fang Han would return ten kicks! The Divine Force Puppet was incessantly knocked to the ground and climbed back up, and Fang Han was also incessantly knocked to the ground and climbed back up.
Finally!
That Divine Force Puppet seemed to have its stamina exhausted. With a stepping advance, Fang Han forcefully grabbed its body and lifted it into mid-air.
"Ao ao ao ao ao ao ao!" In this fight, Fang Han felt an unprecedented sense of uninhibited satisfaction. The Nine Orifices Golden Pill inside his heart had actually dissolved a great portion into his blood, penetrating deep into his bone marrow.
Lifting up the massive Divine Force Puppet at once, he let out a fierce howl, and ruthlessly slammed it down, smashing the Divine Force Puppet onto the ground.
This puppet was worn to death alive by him, beaten to death! Beaten to death empty-handed!
"Passed!" The several head examiners, looking at each other, couldn't conceal the surprise in their hearts.
"Brother, magnificent!"
As Fang Han walked out of the circle, the Young Marquis of Zhenyuan Liu Kang gave him a thumbs up.
"Very magnificent." Commandery Princess Hongyi looked at Fang Han as if looking at a monster.