Chapter 429: The Assessment
Chapter 429: The Assessment
"I, Timekeeper, will now demonstrate a spear technique!"
A cold and stern man in black stood proudly in the void, and a long spear appeared in his hand.
His spear technique was swift, and even more dangerous!
Every inch of his spear was a risk!
Timekeeper's spear was long, yet he wielded it with extreme danger.
Moreover, within his spear technique, it contained various Time Doctrines, including acceleration and time deceleration against enemies... With the combination of secret arts, his spear move subtly carried a sense of 'Time Chaos'.
"This spear technique is called 'Moment of Time'... If one can master this move within ten years, they can continue to comprehend the secret manual; otherwise, it's best to give up..."
...
"Hmm..."
After his first attempt at comprehension, Fang Xing rubbed his eyebrows, "This Timekeeper... is very strong! Extremely strong! Even in the comprehension of the Time Doctrine, it seems to surpass Master Qing Hua... The subsequent spear techniques can even stagnate time, even if it's just a small area of time stagnation... That's truly remarkable."
With this thought, he immediately began to search for information about Timekeeper.
He found that even regular members and full members didn't have the access rights.
But as a core member, he was able to find it.
'Timekeeper, a human cultivator from Boundless Mountain, cultivates the Time Doctrine, and at the Ninth Level of the Essence Spirit Realm, he is comparable to a Celestial Immortal. He is a Soul Core Tyrant, but unfortunately, he couldn't fully comprehend the Time Doctrine. He passed away at the end of his lifespan of ten thousand years.'
'According to later evaluations, his talent was astonishingly brilliant. If he had chosen any other Doctrine, he would have undoubtedly achieved the Celestial Immortal Realm.'
'Alas, what made him great also led to his downfall.'
'The Time Doctrine is a top-tier Doctrine. Without fully comprehending it, he could match a Celestial Immortal in the Essence Spirit Realm... But the final step proved to be a challenge that countless geniuses couldn't overcome.'
"Is the Time Doctrine really that difficult?"
Fang Xing sighed softly, clearly aware that these top-tier Doctrines made achieving the Celestial Immortal Realm even more challenging.
However, for him, as long as he could enter the realm, the more difficult it was, the better!
After all, he could grind with his Attribute Panel!
And the higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards after success!
"Now, with the Azure Flower Scroll and the Moment of Time... I can fully focus on comprehending the Time Doctrine, and the remaining time can be spent on the Void Rule as well."
"Once I comprehend the Time Doctrine to the Third Level and understand the Time Heart, I can then work on breaking through to the Essence Spirit Realm and refine the Time Dragon Essence Spirit..."
Although refining the Time Dragon Essence Spirit was extremely difficult, with a strand of Time Dragon Essence Blood, it would be relatively easier for me.
Fang Xing didn't go to accept tasks or engage in social activities; instead, he devoted himself entirely to comprehending the Time Doctrine.
"Hmm? It turns out that using 'Time Acceleration' on oneself also has many tricks... and there are terrifying side effects."
"When one's own time is accelerated, aging will inevitably speed up as well... Even an Essence Spirit Realm expert, if their time is accelerated a millionfold, they will age to death within a year!"
Ten thousand years!
This was the limit of the Essence Spirit Realm, a restriction imposed by the rules of heaven and earth!
Regardless of mortals or demons, and regardless of lifespan, as long as one's realm was still in the Essence Spirit Realm, they could live for a maximum of ten thousand years!
This was vastly different from the lifespan of mortals and demons in the Mortal Realm.
"So... in Timekeeper's spear technique, there's a move called 'Time Acceleration', which actively accelerates the flow of time around the enemy by a millionfold, causing them to age to death in an instant... Even more terrifying than the Spring and Autumn Saber's life-taking ability."
"This move is considered invincible below the Celestial Immortal Realm, and encountering it means certain death... Alas, it requires a high level of comprehension of the Time Doctrine."
"Additionally, within the Moment of Time, there are several Time Secret Arts, all of which are quite remarkable... Among them is a technique called 'Life Force Loan Technique', which allows one to borrow Essence Energy from their future self for a period of time... When the time limit is up, for the same period in the future, a portion of their Essence Energy will mysteriously disappear... I'd call it the Essence Energy Borrowing Technique... It's said that when cultivated to a profound level, even injuries and states can be 'borrowed'..."
...
As Fang Xing immersed himself in cultivation, time passed by bit by bit.
Several years later.
Within the Vast Void Illusion, a hidden fluctuation suddenly startled Fang Xing, "Hmm? What's this...?"
He looked and found that he had received a notification to prepare for the core member assessment.
"Oh, is it already time for the decade-long grand competition?"
"This is quite important, after all, the last three will be eliminated..."
Fang Xing yawned and put away the Moment of Time.
At this moment, he still looked like a black-clothed youth, but in the next instant, he transformed into a black and red dragon several meters long.
"For the core member assessment, everything except treasure is considered one's own strength... Of course, it's best to use one's own template; otherwise, it's just asking for trouble."
He flew forward, and the world changed.
In the void, a cloud platform appeared, vast and expansive, spanning a hundred li.
Above the cloud platform, there were countless pairs of eyes, each one enormous, like the eyes of heaven.
Fang Xing mingled with a group of demon race core members, observing the human cultivators on the opposite side.
Among them was Fire Spirit Son.
"Ninety-seven people... For this kind of assessment competition, no core member would miss it, so there are still less than a hundred core members in Boundless Mountain?"
Fang Xing spoke to himself.
"Are you... Black Dragon Fellow Daoist?"
A white-haired ape beside him scratched his cheek and asked.
"Indeed..."
Feeling the gazes of the other demon race members, Fang Xing didn't say more.
He had been in seclusion for several years, focusing solely on cultivation and had no social interactions, let alone any feelings of rejection.
As for humiliating someone to their face?
Being shrewd individuals, no one would stoop to such a demeaning act, especially in front of the watching Celestial Demons and Celestial Immortals. To do so would only expose one's narrow-mindedness and inability to shoulder great responsibilities.
Even Huo Lingzi, with a smile on his face, approached and greeted him, "Black Dragon Fellow Daoist, after years of arduous cultivation, you must have made great progress..."
Fang Xing subconsciously glanced at his attribute panel:
【Space Law: 3497/20000 (Proficient)】
【Time Law: 5623/10000 (Skilled)】
...
"Indeed," he nodded, acknowledging that he seemed to have become quite powerful.
"Hehe, I hope to meet you again and witness your exceptional skills."
Huo Lingzi seemed even angrier, but his face was filled with a smile.
"You, Shi Longzi... Although your strength is not impressive, you sure know how to provoke. Even among humans, Huo Lingzi is renowned for his ability to infuriate others..."
The white ape beside him, Wu Qi, couldn't help but laugh, "My name is Wu Qi... We both serve under the Heaven-Defying Great Sage. We should get to know each other better."
"So, you're Brother Wu..."
After some casual conversation, Fang Xing asked the question that was on his mind, "Among us core members, who should we be most cautious of?"
"The first among the core members is naturally 'Jade White'... He possesses Imperial Bloodline, and in the Demon Race, he is revered as a 'Imperial Prince'. If we encounter him, we should just admit defeat..."
Wu Qi pointed to a white-robed youth with scales on his face and prominent horns.
Fang Xing looked for a long time but couldn't identify what kind of demon race he belonged to.
"As for the others, the human cultivator 'Cloud Pagoda' and the Flood Dragon 'Ao Xin' are both formidable... As for the rest, we'll only know after fighting them."
Wu Qi spoke with confidence, exuding an air of dominance.
After all, he was also a genius among the Demon Race princes.
"Brother Wu is indeed formidable."
Fang Xing nodded.
Rumble!
At that moment, the cloud platform spanning hundreds of miles suddenly split into numerous smaller cloud platforms.
The battle rankings of the Vast Void Illusion were simultaneously delivered to each core member.
Everyone was busy, especially the Celestial Immortals and Celestial Demons above, so all the battles commenced simultaneously.
There was no need to worry about the rankings, as the World Spirit of the Vast Void Illusion was impartial and would match each core member with the most suitable opponent.
On one of the cloud platforms, Fang Xing encountered his opponent, a humanoid snake-tailed snake demon.
"My name is Qing Wu... Are you Black Dragon?"
A trace of joy flashed across Qing Wu's face, "To have you as my opponent is truly... wonderful!"
Fang Xing secretly rolled his eyes, knowing that the core member rankings had an elimination system.
Meeting a weaker opponent and winning easily was indeed a good thing.
"But... I'm not weak."
With a low roar, his body pounced forward, and each scale on his body seemed to merge with the void, his movements exuding a unique elegance.
A twenty-meter-long black and red dragon appeared, soaring through the void, and suddenly lashed out with a claw!
Sizzle!
Silver-white void rule threads emerged, shattering the void.
"The third level of the Void Rule?"
Qing Wu's expression turned solemn as he wielded a pair of curved blades in his hands.
His weapons were a pair of curved blades, identical in design to his Soul Core Treasure, but their power was far inferior, only at the ordinary Mortal Realm's ninth level.
In the void, streaks of jade-green moonlight appeared, forming a continuous expanse.
Wind rule threads manifested, intertwining and transforming into a moon serpent.
Sizzle!
The moon serpent, entirely constructed from rule threads, seemed incredibly lifelike as it spat out a forked tongue. Its agile movements were astonishing, and it opened its huge mouth as if to swallow Fang Xing whole.
Whoosh!
Fang Xing executed a Sky Piercing Flash, dodging the giant serpent. His claws, emanating faint silver-white light, instantly broke through a certain limit, parried the two curved blades, and pressed against Qing Wu's forehead.
Puff!
His opponent's head exploded, and the headless corpse fell to the ground before quickly dissipating.
"How... How is that possible? How can the third level of the Void Rule defeat the fourth level of the Wind Rule?"
White Ape Wu Qi had just defeated his opponent and witnessed this scene, feeling a bit surprised.
"The Time Doctrine, 'Moment of Time'? That seemed like a claw technique, but it was actually a spear technique?"
Cloud Pagoda, already having defeated his opponent, smiled slightly upon seeing this, "It seems this Black Dragon has been hiding his true strength. Otherwise, Huo Lingzi wouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily..."
"Hmph, and you call that a dragon?"
A white jade-like flood dragon, Ao Xin, spoke, and surprisingly, her voice was that of a woman.
She looked at Fang Xing's black dragon with an enigmatic expression.
Although he appeared to be a mutated Shi Longzi, he had given her a heart-palpitating illusion.
'Just an illusion?'
'A pity... After all, this is just a pseudo-body constructed by the Vast Void Illusion... If we were to meet in the Qingyuan Great World, I should be able to sense it more clearly...'
Ao Xin glanced at the black and red dragon, memorizing its appearance deep in her heart.
(End of Chapter)
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