"Of course, of course. You can count on me."
Qin Xuan readily agreed, thumping his chest loudly.
Hsss... Hou Qi felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
In truth, Hou Qi's Cultivation was weaker than Qin Xuan's. He had simply mastered a Breath Concealment Technique that made it difficult for others to gauge his true level.
The number of Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Cultivators on the field was dwindling.
In just two hours, over two hundred people had died.
The number of Demon Disciples had plummeted to just over four hundred.
As Qin Xuan silently looted the corpses, Hou Qi introduced another person to him.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, this is Fellow Daoist Yin Tu. He's also at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer."
Yin Tu had a hideous scar that sliced across his left eye. Right now, it was engorged with blood, turning a dark, purplish-red.
The knuckles of his clenched fists were white. He was clearly another practitioner of the Taotie Devouring Yuan Skill, but because he had been suppressing his Cultivation for so long, the violent, murderous urges buried deep inside him had no release.
'Looks like besides me, there are at least ten or so Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer Demon Disciples in this Fierce Soldier assessment.'
The light in Qin Xuan's eyes flickered.
Batu Wangsong, Blood Scab Luo Ze, and Gale Liu Chun were just the ones out in the open.
Hou Qi and Yin Tu were concealing their Cultivation, and Qin Xuan had also spotted two other Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer Demon Disciples hiding their strength just as he was.
'That makes seven of them right there. God only knows how many other rats are lurking in the shadows.'
Qin Xuan couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
This Fierce Soldier assessment was turning out to be absurdly difficult!
Just then, Hou Qi made his move!
He moved like a black shadow skimming across the ground, his target a Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer Demon Cultivator.
At some point, a sharp, broken beast bone had appeared in Hou Qi's hand. It gleamed with a dark luster as he silently thrust it toward the Demon Disciple's ankle!
The angle was cunning, the strike utterly vicious!
The Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer Demon Cultivator seemed to notice the attack. Terror filled his face, but his reflexes were too slow.
The instant Hou Qi struck, the man didn't dodge. Instead, he jerked his foot up, allowing the bone spike to plunge deep into his calf!
SQUELCH!
Blood spurted out, and a black toxin spread in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the potent venom covered the Demon Cultivator's entire thigh, causing it to wither at a visible rate.
"AARGH!"
The Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer Demon Cultivator let out a piercing shriek as the vitality in his body was abruptly drained away.
Having landed a successful blow, Hou Qi silently slipped away.
His gaze, like a poisoned dagger, swept across the nearby Demon Disciples as he began searching for his next prey.
Meanwhile, Yin Tu sank his teeth into the neck of another Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer Demon Cultivator.
"GUSH—"
The sound of his sharp teeth tearing into flesh was sickeningly clear.
Scalding blood sprayed out like a fountain, drenching his head and face!
The Demon Disciple's body convulsed violently, his eyes wide with disbelief and the light within them fading fast.
A bestial swallowing sound came from Yin Tu's throat as he greedily drank the hot blood and vital essence!
But Yin Tu's own body was covered in wounds; he was clearly a madman, trading injuries for kills.
"Good! Ferocious enough... Vicious enough!" Wang Song staggered, letting out a deafening, crazed laugh. "Now that's more like it! I'll be back in the next life!"
By now, Wang Song had been completely spent by the onslaught of Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciples, his Demonic Essence depleted.
The next moment, a bluish-black Lifebound Iron Sword plunged into his chest.
The wild laugh never left Wang Song's face, but his burly frame crashed to the ground. In the blink of an eye, he was sucked dry, becoming a withered husk.
"I... I did it!"
He Xu, the Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciple who had killed Wang Song in the chaos, trembled with excitement and couldn't stop himself from roaring in triumph.
GURGLE... The Lifebound Iron Sword drank in Wang Song's abundant life force. He Xu's Cultivation soared. With a sharp CRACK, the bottleneck shattered—he had reached the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer!
"White Bone Yin Talisman, heed my command! Go!"
Before He Xu could even process the excitement of reaching the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, several streams of cold, ghostly green fire erupted from above and rained down on him.
"I—" He Xu's eyes widened. He only managed to get out a single word before he was consumed by the endless sea of ghostly green flames.
BOOM!
As the pitch-black Demonic Essence slowly traced a skull-shaped Rune, the ghastly white skeletons burrowed back into the ground one by one, disappearing from sight.
From a corner, Qin Xuan recalled his Bone Shadow Soldiers.
'A pity. The Nether Flame incinerates everything. All that life force from a Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer... wasted.'
Qin Xuan clicked his tongue in regret, his gaze silently shifting to another Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer Demon Cultivator.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the smurfing trio, the number of the thirty-odd Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer cultivators on the field dropped sharply.
Gradually, it became impossible for Qin Xuan and the others to hide their Cultivation, and their true levels were exposed.
Fortunately, by this point, fewer than two hundred Demon Disciples remained on the field.
"Brothers, Batu Wang Song is dead, and Gale Liu Chun has been crippled."
Luo Ze said through clenched teeth, "Counting me, there are still eight people at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer and eleven at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer. The rest are all Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciples."
"Why don't we call a truce and clear out these Third Layer small fry first?"
Luo Ze was one of the original three strongest cultivators who had been identified at the start. Like Wang Song and Liu Chun, he had been swarmed by the Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciples.
Yet, unlike Wang Song who had been worn to death, Luo Ze only grew stronger the more he fought. A faint mist of blood steamed from his body, and a cracked, shimmering yellow shield enveloped him like a giant bowl.
His wounds were healing at an incredible speed.
At his words, the arena fell silent. The Demon Disciples seemed ready to halt the fighting, but at that moment, Wang Jian suddenly spoke up.
"Are you tired of having your Essence Blood depleted, your bones broken, your tendons torn, and your Divine Soul shattered in this assessment?"
"Do you watch in regret as your fellow disciples pop pills to regain their strength, full of life and vigor, while you can only struggle to survive?"
"The Inner Sect's Ten Thousand Laws Altar is now offering a single-use Protective Vajra Talisman! It can help you defy the heavens, change your fate, and maintain your peak condition!"
A smug smile played on Wang Jian's lips as he flung fifty pale-gold Magic Talismans into the air, scattering them to every corner of the arena.
"A limited-time special from the Ten Thousand Laws Altar! Only 38 Contribution Points apiece! To pass the Fierce Soldier assessment, make sure you get the official Ten Thousand Laws Altar brand Vajra Protection Talisman!"
FLUTTER!
The moment he spoke, the entire arena erupted.
The arena, which had been on the verge of calming down, once again burst into a clamor.
That son of a bitch! Is this really the time for a commercial?!
Moving with lightning speed, Qin Xuan was the first to leap out, snatching the five Protective Talismans nearest to him.
"Steward Wang, put it on my tab! I'll take all fifty!"
Qin Xuan's shout snapped Hou Qi, Yin Tu, and the others back to their senses.
'Isn't it obvious?'
Right now, whoever has the Protective Talismans is whoever gets to live longer!
A shallow crater was smashed into the hard ground, sending gravel flying. Yin Tu used the impact's momentum to roll.
Pushing off the ground with his toes, he shot forward like an arrow from a bow. He first punched the weak spot on Hou Qi's lower back, then, with his fingers formed into a cone, snatched the two Vajra Protection Talismans from beside him.
"Yin Tu, you dare to ambush me?!"
Hou Qi cried out in pain, blood streaming from his lower back.
Despite all his precautions—despite being wary of Qin Xuan the entire time—Hou Qi never expected that the one to betray him would be the seemingly honest, broad-browed Yin Tu.
He roared and spun around, his hands forming a seal. His face was a mask of venomous hatred as he opened his mouth wide and spat out a crimson arrow of blood.
"Blood Coagulation Needle! Go!"
The blood arrow solidified into a tangible, piercingly scarlet ray of Blood Fiend Sword Qi. With a shrill scream, it tore through the air, aimed directly at the space between Yin Tu's eyebrows!
It moved with the speed of lightning!