Chapter 3726 — No Confidence at All

Still, this was all for the best. The more he put on airs now, the more miserably he would die later—and that would be all the more satisfying to watch!

Once all the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers had finished registering, the second stage—the endurance assessment—began at once, starting, as previously announced, from the lowest tier: peak late Heaven-rank.

Under the mocking, amused gazes of every newcomer present, the three who had volunteered to admit defeat took the stage one after another.

Though they looked thoroughly flustered and embarrassed, they were, after all, Heaven-rank grand completion experts. Even without any defensive martial techniques, the sheer density of true qi in their bodies was more than enough to withstand an attack one tier below them.

The three finished their assessments in quick succession, and the process was utterly unremarkable. Each bore some injury, to be sure, but none were seriously hurt—by all appearances, they would recover within the hour.

That meant all three would likely earn five points of strength score and five points of recovery score, for a total of ten points in the second stage. It was barely enough to match the others' strength scores, but to have come through this trial unscathed was a reward in itself.

Had they chosen the full-power strike of a Heaven-rank grand completion examiner, they might well be lying on the ground as corpses by now. What good would extra points do them then? In the end, a person must know their own limits and learn to be content—only then can one live long.

After the peak late Heaven-rank came the Heaven-rank grand completion assessments, ten in total. Had the Pavilion Master, Hu Yunfeng, not had the foresight to arrange three examiners to rotate through the task, leaving it all to a single examiner would have half-killed the man and badly delayed the proceedings.

Compared with the dull spectacle of the first three, the Heaven-rank grand completion round proved far more eventful, twist following turn.

After all, even facing a full-power strike from one's own tier, a weak defense could still easily spell danger—not only serious injury, but even death!

And indeed, things went just as everyone expected. The first creature to step up was split into critical condition by a single palm strike from the examiner. Judging by that deathly pale look, he was lucky just to be alive; he would not recover for the next ten days to half a month—meaning that, barring some great mishap, his recovery score would be zero!

Add his ten points of strength score, and this creature's total would be exactly the same as the previous three. But those three had been wise, suffering only a few trifling light wounds; this one, by contrast, was in a sorry state—not only would he spend the next fortnight nursing his injuries, but it would even affect the next stage of the assessment. A clear case of losing more than one gained.

Truly, knowing one's own limits is a virtue! Watching this creature's wretched state, the three who had been so mocked earlier felt their spirits soar.

As for the other creatures waiting their turn, the sight set their hearts pounding—when all was said and done, their own strength was not much greater than this unlucky wretch's!

But the registrations had been publicly announced in advance; there was no room to back out now. However their hearts quailed, they could only grit their teeth and step forward.

Of the nine who followed, two more suffered severe injuries, four moderate ones, and only three escaped with light wounds—wounds, by the look of it, that would heal within the hour, earning them their full recovery scores.

And those three all had a direct connection to Wei Zhao: one was Xiao Che, one was Qiao Hongcai, and the last was Li Zhengming.

Among the three, Wei Zhao had assumed Xiao Che was the strongest—after all, they had come up from the mortal world together, and he knew the man inside and out. Xiao Che was restrained and steady by nature, the type to accumulate deeply and burst forth late; his defense was no weak point either, so this assessment should have been easy for him.

And so it proved. Xiao Che remained calm and composed from first to last. Qiao Hongcai, by comparison, though likewise only lightly wounded, came off a bit more bedraggled. What Wei Zhao had not expected, however, was that Li Zhengming would handle it even more easily than Xiao Che.

When the examiner's full-power strike came, a layer of frost congealed over Li Zhengming's chest in an instant, absorbing much of the damage for him. So it was that barely a moment after leaving the field, the creature had already risen unhurriedly to his feet—and after examining him on the spot, Zhao Hongbo declared his injuries fully healed!

Recalling how Li Zhengming had deliberately concealed his strength and kept a low profile in the past, Wei Zhao was certain the creature had held back just now as well. Had he gone all out, he could very likely have emerged without a scratch. Clearly, this creature too was a genuine powerhouse.

Had his strength not exceeded the other's by a full two tiers, Wei Zhao reflected, he might not have been able to bring this creature to heel at all, and would have had to keep a wary eye on him. But now that Li Zhengming had become his inside man, the stronger he was, the better.

Once the Heaven-rank grand completion assessments were all done, the eyes of the entire hall naturally settled on Meng Zhou and Wei Zhao. Every face wore a complicated expression—awe, envy, mockery, amusement, and all manner of deeper meanings besides.

As the only four early Foundation Establishment experts among all the Sanjie Pavilion newcomers, and with Kang Jingming and Zhong Yongliang yet to register, Meng Zhou and Wei Zhao were very likely the only two newcomers today to challenge the peak early Foundation Establishment tier above their level. Such a challenge was a rare sight not to be missed, and everyone meant to watch closely.

The examiner was ready. Under all those watchful eyes, Meng Zhou shot Wei Zhao a glance and said with a contemptuous smirk, "So, show-off, you first or me?"

"Doesn't matter." Wei Zhao shrugged indifferently.

"Tch—one look at you and I can tell you've got no confidence at all. Fine, this grand sir will be magnanimous and lead the way, so you can see what a real early Foundation Establishment expert looks like. A creature like you, who barely scraped into Foundation Establishment on a Foundation Establishment Pill and a streak of dog-shit luck—you're not even worth watching!" Meng Zhou gave a cold laugh and strode toward the examiner.

This was something they had planned long in advance. If Meng Zhou did not take the lead in facing the assessment, Wei Zhao might well back out at the last moment.

But if Meng Zhou went first of his own accord, then after Wei Zhao saw him successfully withstand a full-power strike from a peak early Foundation Establishment examiner, his guard would inevitably slacken, sowing a psychological illusion: if even Meng Zhou, who had always been inferior to him, could do it, then surely he could too. Only thus would he willingly step into the abyss of death!

"Heh... if you really had that much confidence, why secretly take a fourth-grade Great Return Pill?" Wei Zhao could not help laughing to himself.