"Su Ye, since you've arrived, we can begin the assessment directly."
Elder Jin gave a slight nod towards Ye Yunfei and spoke.
"This palace contains many puppets.
After you enter, you will separately encounter five puppets with the strength of Minor Mystic Pill Realm, late stage.
Defeating these five puppets will qualify you to become Intermediate Students.
Take these two jade slips. If you encounter a fatal danger, or if you wish to abandon the assessment, take out the jade slip and activate it. The puppets will then cease attacking you."
Elder Jin waved his hand, and two jade slips flew out, landing before Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang.
"No problems?"
Ye Yunfei put away one of the jade slips and looked towards Da Di Daozhang.
"Don't worry.
Ten days ago, you imparted a rather advanced cultivation technique and several martial skills to me. In these ten days, I've desperately trained, and my combat prowess has improved greatly.
Battling five late-stage Minor Mystic Pill Realm puppets... I'll manage, barely."
Da Di Daozhang hesitated for a moment before replying.
"Good.
Let's go in."
Ye Yunfei raised his foot and walked towards the palace at a corner of the plaza.
Da Di Daozhang hurried to follow.
The two of them walked side-by-side into the palace.
The interior of the palace was extremely spacious. Rows of puppets stood lined up against the walls.
These puppets all had human-like appearances and looked jet-black in color.
As soon as Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang stepped into the palace, ten puppets emerged.
Five walked towards Ye Yunfei, and five walked towards Da Di Daozhang.
"Take this bottle of treasure pills. It can quickly replenish spiritual energy."
Ye Yunfei flicked his finger, and a jade bottle flew out, landing before Da Di Daozhang.
"Let's begin!"
Ye Yunfei moved, darting towards the five puppets.
Those five puppets also accelerated, charging towards Ye Yunfei.
Then, five different types of weapons appeared in the hands of these puppets.
A sword, a saber, a long spear, a pair of halberds, and a long whip!
Five puppets, wielding five different weapons.
In an instant, the five distinct weapons all attacked Ye Yunfei.
These five puppets were all at the late-stage Minor Mystic Pill Realm level.
However, with Ye Yunfei's current strength, a mere five late-stage Minor Mystic Pill Realm opponents were not worth mentioning.
Just as the attacks of these five puppets were about to strike Ye Yunfei...
"Dark Demon Fist!"
Ye Yunfei suddenly let out a soft shout, throwing a punch forward.
BOOM…
Before Ye Yunfei's fist, a black hole vortex appeared, spinning rapidly and generating a terrifying force of suction.
The weapons in the hands of the five puppets were being pulled, about to be sucked into this vortex.
The bodies of the five puppets were also jolted askew by the powerful fist force.
This was the eighth move of the True Demon God-Slaying Fist, the Dark Demon Fist!
BANG! BANG!…
As Ye Yunfei's fist pressed forward, the bodies of the five puppets were simultaneously sent flying backward, crashing heavily in the distance.
Victory!
An assessment like this was far too simple for Ye Yunfei!
"Come on!"
On the other side, Da Di Daozhang roared loudly, locked in fierce combat with his five puppets.
He was the Holy Son of the Houtu Sect, and his martial talent was quite impressive to begin with.
Ten days ago, Ye Yunfei had imparted to him a rather advanced cultivation technique and several martial skills. Combined with the various techniques of the Houtu Sect, his combat power was now quite decent.
BOOM! BOOM!…
Seeing Ye Yunfei subduing his opponents with one move seemed to have lit a fire under him. Like a man possessed, he fought intensely with his five puppets.
"He'll manage, I suppose.
But it'll likely be a pyrrhic victory."
Watching for a while, Ye Yunfei couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.
With Da Di Daozhang's strength, he could barely defeat these five puppets, but he would certainly have to pay a considerable price, possibly even sustain injuries.
Right at that moment…
BOOM! BOOM!…
Twenty puppets rushed out from the sides of the palace, instantly arriving before Ye Yunfei.
The energy these twenty puppets unleashed was all at the Great Mystic Pill Realm level!
"Something's wrong."
Ye Yunfei's expression darkened involuntarily.
According to Elder Jin, the Intermediate Student assessment only required defeating five late-stage Minor Mystic Pill Realm puppets.
Now, twenty Great Mystic Pill Realm puppets had suddenly charged out. Something had definitely gone awry!
"Someone has tampered with this to target me!"
Ye Yunfei's mind was exceedingly sharp, instantly deducing the truth.
Ye Yunfei activated his Heavenly Shadow Robe, achieving tenfold acceleration, and took a step back, instantly putting distance between himself and those twenty puppets.
However…
BOOM! BOOM!…
Another dozen or so puppets rushed out from behind Ye Yunfei, all at Great Mystic Pill Realm strength.
Twenty puppets in front, over a dozen behind—more than thirty puppets in total formed an encircling formation, pressing towards Ye Yunfei.
"Ye Yunfei, what's going on here?"
At this moment, Da Di Daozhang also noticed something was amiss.
"Someone wants to deal with me.
But don't worry about me.
You focus on continuing your own assessment."
Ye Yunfei said.
"Alright.
The ones surrounding you are all at the Great Mystic Pill Realm. I wouldn't be much help."
Da Di Daozhang replied.
"That's right!
Didn't Elder Jin say it?
If we encounter danger, we take out the jade slip he gave us and activate it. The puppets in the palace won't attack anymore."
Da Di Daozhang reminded him.
"Right.
Let me try."
Ye Yunfei immediately took out the jade slip Elder Jin had given him just moments ago and directly activated it.
But it was useless.
The puppets with Great Mystic Pill Realm strength were still charging from all directions, showing no signs of stopping.
Ye Yunfei unleashed his spatial energy, intending to slip into space.
However, he felt a heaviness in his body. Within the palace, there seemed to be a powerful energy that had sealed off space.
"In this palace, there are at least a dozen or more space-locking formations arrayed!
This was obviously prepared in advance, specifically to deal with me!"
Ye Yunfei's expression turned somewhat grim.
Swoosh!
Activating his Heavenly Shadow Robe for tenfold speed and unleashing the footwork of Spiritual Wind Steps, Ye Yunfei drifted about like a willow leaf, stepping with bizarre and unpredictable footwork. He brushed past several puppets, narrowly and perilously breaking through the encirclement of over thirty puppets.
This was Spiritual Wind Steps!
A footwork technique that relied on spiritual energy!
Back in Yuanyue City in the Great Qin Empire, Ye Yunfei had frequently used this technique.
Now, with his spiritual energy cultivation higher, the power he could unleash was naturally far greater.
However, the next moment…
BOOM! BOOM!…
Even more puppets surged out from the sides of the palace.
A full hundred puppets!
And every single one possessed Great Mystic Pill Realm strength!
"It seems whoever set all this up wants me dead."
A cold glint flashed in Ye Yunfei's eyes.
BOOM! BOOM!…
A hundred puppets simultaneously released vast waves of energy pressure as they pounced towards Ye Yunfei.
Even Ye Yunfei felt a headache coming on facing this many Great Mystic Pill Realm puppets.
"Ye Yunfei, with this many puppets, can you handle it?!"
Seeing this scene, Da Di Daozhang couldn't help but be shocked.
"Don't worry about me!
You focus on finishing your assessment quickly!"
Ye Yunfei shouted.
Swoosh! Swoosh!…
Ye Yunfei employed Spiritual Wind Steps, combined with the powerful leaping ability of his physical body, and augmented it all with the tenfold acceleration of the Heavenly Shadow Robe. His speed was simply indescribable.
Under these circumstances, it was already difficult for the naked eye to clearly track Ye Yunfei's figure!
One could only vaguely see the flickering trail of a phantom shadow constantly shifting within the palace.
Fortunately, the interior of the palace was spacious enough for Ye Yunfei to dodge and evade freely.
The hundred-plus puppets, however, were pursuing, intercepting, and encircling him, creating a scene of utter chaos!
"Ye Yunfei, I've defeated my five puppets! I passed the assessment!"
After a moment, Da Di Daozhang suddenly exclaimed excitedly.
He was covered in blood, his body riddled with wounds!
Clearly, he had undergone a fierce and bloody battle!
"Good.
We'll get ready to leave."
Ye Yunfei said.
Right at that moment…
"As expected, a young prodigy."
Suddenly, a voice echoed within the palace.
Then, a figure completely shrouded in black robes appeared at the palace entrance, its sinister gaze fixed intently on Ye Yunfei.
A Primordial Soul Realm expert!