Those Who Passed

Long Jiu swatted a person away with its claw. At that moment, it sensed a crisis descending from its tail. Someone possessed the combat power to threaten it.

Long Jiu turned its head and roared angrily. In the void, a silver needle had pierced into the ball of flesh on Long Jiu's tail. In an instant, Long Jiu wailed in pain.

That person had not been wrong; the ball of flesh on its tail was indeed the weak point of the Great Underworld Netherdragon clan. Many powers in the Innerverse knew this, but very few experts of the same realm could actually break through the defense of that ball of flesh to harm the Great Underworld Netherdragon's true body. It had not expected to encounter such a person in the Outerverse.

Although the silver needle had harmed the ball of flesh on Long Jiu's tail, it had not caused too much damage. However, for the attacker, that was enough. She had no intention of truly defeating Long Jiu; she just wanted to break through the blockade.

Taking advantage of the moment Long Jiu was injured, a female cultivator jumped into the beam of light. In her hand, a silver needle glinted.

Long Jiu was enraged, venting all its fury on the others.

On the rain-drenched bluestone platform, Lu Yin looked at the rain in the distance. Listening to the sound of the rain, his heart grew increasingly calm. He had a faint feeling that this rain was not simple.

Lulu was also immersed in the rain, looking into the distance.

But at this moment, a figure descended. The few of them looked over, their eyes filled with surprise.

The newcomer was a man, with an ordinary appearance and ordinary clothes, looking very ordinary. But his black hair alone was enough to make it impossible for anyone to look away. It was truly too dark, without any luster—no, it could even be said to absorb the surrounding light, making the black hair look like a black hole, lending the man a rather bizarre appearance.

The man paid no attention to the others, just stood quietly in his original spot without moving.

Almost at the same time, another figure descended. It was a female.

"Ah... Sister Zahra!" Ke Ke shouted in pleasant surprise.

The woman's eyes lit up when she saw Ke Ke. "Ke Ke, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Ke Ke shook her head, looking excitedly at Zahra. "Sister Zahra, what about you? Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Zahra quickly shook her head. "No, I'm not hurt."

"Oh," Ke Ke was disappointed.

"Sister Zahra, let me introduce you. This is Big Brother Lu Yin, and this is Big Sister Lulu. Thanks to them, I was able to pass the assessment; otherwise, I wouldn't have made it here," Ke Ke said, pulling Zahra over to introduce her to Lu Yin and Lulu.

Lu Yin nodded at Zahra. This woman was also from Xuanfeng Hall.

Lulu's attitude was much more indifferent, but it was still considered polite.

Zahra said a string of thanks, then pulled Ke Ke aside to say something.

At the end of a Melting Realm path, under the scorching heat, was a deathly silence. The ground seemed to have been leveled by something; there were no living people. Even the master from the Ross Empire guarding the beam of light had been turned into scrap metal, covered in blood. This was a path of deathly silence, where all had been killed.

"So terrifying. That black-haired youth's talent is extremely terrifying."

"A pity his killing intent is too heavy."

"From my experience, that bit of killing intent is necessary. Our Academy lacks this kind of person."

In the starry sky, countless people waited. Light screens appeared on two of the Melting Realm paths. One screen wrote the name 'Zahra', from Xuanfeng Hall. The other screen had only two words—'Hei Xu', with no origin stated.

Time passed slowly. Another day went by. At the end of a Melting Realm path, before the beam of light, Asharom stood proudly. In front of him were more than a dozen Melting Realm experts who had been scorched by his high temperature.

He came from the Fire Domain and was in the top 5 of the Fire Domain's ranking list, not comparable to these pieces of trash.

Suddenly, all the suns were frozen, and the extreme cold once again descended, sweeping across the land.

All the Melting Realm experts scorched by Asharom were overjoyed. Without the environmental advantage, they believed they could challenge Asharom.

However, the moment the scorching flames spread from Asharom's body, everyone despaired again. This was a talent. This Innerverse elite possessed a fire talent, which, combined with the Fire Domain's combat techniques, was practically invincible. No one could resist.

Asharom loved to watch the expressions of these people change from hope to despair. This was why they looked down on the Outerverse, a place that produced only the weak.

Suddenly, a beautiful figure walked out of Asharom's flames. Her graceful figure formed an extremely attractive dance under the scorching flames. Many people were captivated, and as they stared, they saw an exquisitely beautiful face and dark red pupils, and that flowing white hair, as white as snow.

Many people swallowed, staring blankly at the beautiful woman. Her bare feet stepped on the flames, and she passed by Asharom, slowly walking into that beam of light.

Only after the woman disappeared did everyone react. Asharom hadn't stopped her?

Asharom stood calmly in his original spot. The moment he saw the woman, he had recognized her. Michelle, known as the Red Lotus Demoness, was the younger sister of Comilla from the Ten Arbiters Council's Red Lotus Demon Palace. This person was not to be provoked.

After waiting for a day, a new character finally descended onto the bluestone platform. The moment Michelle descended, everyone was captivated, including the man from Myriad Swords Mountain who had been quietly watching the rain and the black-haired man.

Michelle was too charming. Whether it was her appearance, her attire, or that intangible temperament, it was all intoxicating. Even Ke Ke, a girl, had stars in her eyes.

Lu Yin calmly looked at Michelle. For some reason, the moment he saw Michelle, he thought he had seen Comilla. The same charming beauty, the same white hair, and that pair of dark red pupils.

Michelle's appearance was fiery and charming, but her expression was indifferent. She glanced at the crowd and then looked into the distance, unconcerned.

No one went up to talk to her. Those who could pass the assessment were all of firm will and would not be easily seduced by beauty.

Not long after Michelle appeared, another person descended. It was Meng Yue, the young sect master of the Honghuang Sect, who had taken the same path as Lu Yin. Aquino, the guardian of Lu Yin's path, had been killed by Lulu with one punch. As long as one could reach the end, they could pass the assessment. Unfortunately, for now, only Meng Yue was here. The others before him had all been severely injured by Aquino's attack and had failed.

Meng Yue stared straight at Lu Yin, then looked at Lulu, his eyes wary. He didn't say anything and just went to one side.

Time passed again. At this moment, the ones waiting most anxiously were Dolan Yushan and his group. The path that all the Melting Realm cultivators from the Great Yu Empire had taken still had no one pass.

The cold night scene represented not only the environment but also the state of mind.

What Shuz and the others were feeling at this moment was an endless deep freeze.

In front of them, a half-man, half-machine man lowered his arm. At his feet were more than ten Melting Realm experts. These people had charged in together but had fallen at the man's feet.

"I told you, you're just making things difficult. The gap between the Innerverse and the Outerverse is like the chasm between heaven and earth," the man said faintly, his tone stiff, mixed with a mechanical quality.

The dozen or so Melting Realm cultivators were terrified. The half-man, half-machine monster's every attack was within the scope of the Melting Realm, but the terrifying power it stacked made them tremble. They were not on the same level at all.

Shuz gritted his teeth and stepped out. As the number one expert of the Great Yu Empire's younger generation and the only one to make it to the end, he could not retreat. He had to enter the Tenth Academy even if he died, so that Princess Wendy would no longer look down on them.

The machine man's gaze swept towards Shuz, his eyes impatient. "Step out, and you die." With that, he raised his hand and fired a shot, a series of light beams attacking Shuz from a bizarre angle.

Shuz roared, raising his blood-colored battle saber and slashing out fiercely. A brilliant slash cut through the sky, pressing down in all directions. The shockwave spread out behind him, shocking the dozen or so Melting Realm experts. This person's strength was not low.

However, Shuz's strongest slash was easily torn apart by the light beams. A series of light beams condensed, forming a terrifying force that they couldn't resist. It not only tore apart the slash but also advanced in front of Shuz, its target clearly his heart.

Shuz roared, his blood-colored battle saber blocking horizontally, but it didn't even last a second before breaking. In that instant, he felt the powerful, irresistible force from that man. That person was far stronger than he had imagined.

Just when everyone thought Shuz was certain to die, the light beams abruptly vanished.

Everyone stared blankly at Shuz. Not dead?

Shuz looked up at the half-man, half-machine man, his pupils suddenly contracting. Behind the man stood another person, smiling, his eyes gentle.

Shuz knew this person. He was one of the Melting Realm experts from the Great Yu Empire, but not from the Martial Hall. He had visited once, and Shuz hadn't asked much. But at this moment, it was this person who had saved him.

"Who are you?" the half-man, half-machine man's voice was icy.

"Xia Luo. I'm sorry, please let us pass."

"You may."

Xia Luo nodded at Shuz and turned to walk towards the beam of light.

Shuz's expression was complicated. That expert from the Innerverse had been intimidated, suppressed by this Xia Luo. Was this person from the Great Yu Empire?

Everyone watched as Xia Luo and Shuz slowly walked towards the beam of light. From beginning to end, the half-man, half-machine man did not turn his head, but his eyes were icy. In that instant just now, he had felt the chill of death and had subconsciously made his attack vanish, going on full alert. He was certain that person possessed the strength to kill him. How could there be such a terrifying person in the Outerverse?