Novel Bin Chapter 194 - Monthly Assessment (II)
Chapter 194: Monthly Assessment (II)
However, what attracted the most attention in the civilian martial arts world was not the disputes between the various large factions, but the Hao clan, who had returned to Fragrance City.
Due to the fact that no one from the Yinfeng Sect was alive, only the Hao clan knew that they had made contact with the masked man. Furthermore, everyone who was present at the time was grounded as soon as they returned to the clan.
Back then, many factions had seen Hao Yuying lead the masked man over to the valley.
There were rumors that Hao Yuying’s situation was similar to Mo Yanfei’s. The Hao clan did not admit or deny it. Since there was a precedent, the outside world also tacitly agreed that this news was true.
Therefore, the Hao clan instantly became a rising power in Fragrance City. The various factions in the city quickly sent gifts to befriend them, and even the city guards held a banquet for the Hao clan.
Although this was a misunderstanding, and Chen Yiming had left after escaping from the willow tree king’s mist, the Hao clan didn’t dare to explain themselves.
The reason was that if the Hao clan revealed the truth, there were more than one or two factions that had a grudge against the masked man. They could not do anything to the masked man, but they could do something to the small Hao clan.
This was especially true for the Kunshan Sect. They had indirectly blamed Hao Yuying for Lu Zhenshan’s death and wanted nothing more than to wipe out the entire Hao clan.
Therefore, even though they knew that if the truth was exposed in the future, the entire Hao clan would fall from the clouds into the abyss, they had no choice but to hold on to the lie.
…
Another week passed.
In the concept diagram area in the library of the Mantis Snake Court,
all the true disciples and inner sect disciples were gathered. The monthly assessment for their concept diagram cultivation was underway.
Dozens of wooden tables were arranged in five rows. Stools, pens, and paper were already prepared.
Every disciple of the Mantis Snake Court was focused on copying the nine black fog concept diagrams hanging on the walls.
The nine black fog concept diagrams shared some similarities but also had many differences. If the concept contained within them was not truly comprehended, there would be many mistakes when copying them.
“It’s over.”
Some of the disciples’ faces were red. They had felt that the outcome would not be good even during the assessment. They would definitely not be able to escape from leaving the mountain to carry out missions.
“Stay calm,”?Dai Yuanhang kept telling himself in his heart.
After he copied the last concept diagram, he looked up at Chen Yiming and saw that he had a relaxed expression on his face. This made him feel indescribably envious.
Zhou Xuesheng stood close by with his hands behind his back. He could see the expressions in the disciples’ faces.
Generally, for disciples who had been in the sect for more than two years, their cultivation progress could be said to have stagnated. The purpose of the monthly assessment was to motivate the disciples and remind them of their own cultivation progress.
This was the conclusion that the various large sects had come to over the years. It could allow their disciples to maintain a determined heart even if they were at a bottleneck.
This was something that small sects in the martial arts world could not compare to. The environment in the small sects was not competitive enough. Those with outstanding talent often did not have any competitors. As time passed, they would easily become arrogant, causing them to slack off in their cultivation.
Before long, it was time for the judgment.
The disciples could not leave yet. Zhou Xuesheng started from the left and scored all the disciples on the spot.
The total score was 100 points, and 10% completion would be given 10 points.
“Xu Shang, 27 points!”
“He Yuexia, 33 points!”
“Li Minze, 72 points. Not bad!”
His score had increased compared to the last time, and he received a compliment from Zhou Xuesheng.
…
“Zhang Jianpeng, 87 points. Keep it up!”
Zhou Xuesheng reviewed it carefully before giving his score.
As soon as he finished speaking, many disciples took a deep breath.
Zhang Jianpeng was the strongest true disciple of the Mantis Snake School. He had scored 86 points in the previous month’s assessment, but in just a month, he had actually improved by one point.
This made many disciples find it hard to believe that they had been stuck at the level of 30 or 60 points. They had not improved at all for several months, and if they did not perform well, their points might even drop by one or two points.
Zhang Jianpeng had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. His long hair draped over his shoulders, and he was dressed in white robes. Just by standing there, he exuded the aura of a leader.
His gaze was as undisturbed as an ancient well, and he did not care about the quiet discussions happening around him at all. He had separated himself from the other disciples.
This was the truth. To achieve such results at the age of 20, he was almost certain to master the transformation of his internal force in the next five to 10 years.
This meant that even if he had not truly broken through, he was not on the same level as the disciples around him.
“The rest of you, don’t be discouraged. Remember to keep a pure heart as you progress along your own paths.”
Sensing that a few disciples had suffered a huge blow, Zhou Xuesheng reminded them and walked towards Chen Yiming.
As the newest inner sect disciple, Chen Yiming’s seat was placed at the end of the row.
“…Is this really a concept diagram you copied?”
After flipping through the nine pictures several times, Zhou Xuesheng suddenly asked.
The concept diagrams in front of him were no different from the ones on the surrounding walls. Even if it was him, he wouldn’t be able to do any better.
“That’s right.”
Chen Yiming almost rolled his eyes. The ink had not even dried yet. Was there any need to ask?
At this moment, his true combat strength was more than enough to protect himself. Therefore, in order to come into contact with the complete cultivation technique of the Myriad Phenomena Sect as soon as possible, he did not mind being viewed as a martial arts genius and becoming the center of attention.
“Could it be that the cloud mist fruit is hiding some kind of secret?” Zhou Xuesheng muttered to himself, ignoring the disciples around him.
He knew that Chen Yiming had accepted an escort mission and obtained the Xu clan’s cloud mist fruit as a reward.
“I don’t know about that.”
Chen Yiming laughed awkwardly.
“Wan Rong has really grown old. Back then, he was still a true disciple. Now, he can’t even do a good job of selecting disciples,” Zhou Xuesheng continued to mutter to himself.
Wan Rong had reported that Chen Yiming had broken through to the warrior realm in a year.
From the looks of it, he had wasted nearly a year of Chen Yiming’s time by keeping him at the small martial arts school.
“What happened?”
The surrounding disciples were all curious and focused their gazes on Zhou Xuesheng and Chen Yiming.
The court head’s shocked face was something that he had never displayed even when dealing with the best of the true disciples, Zhang Jianpeng.
Was he too bad? Or too outstanding?
For a moment, before Zhou Xuesheng gave the score, everyone still had some doubts.
A moment later, “Chen Yiming, 100 points!”
The results were blurted out by Zhou Xuesheng.
???
The surrounding disciples were all stunned, including Zhang Jianpeng, who had remained calm the entire time.
Most of the disciples had a feeling that this newcomer might be very powerful, or even at the level of a true disciple, but no one dared to guess that he would get full marks from the start.
This meant that he had mastered the transformation of the black fog internal force during the first assessment and was already on the same level as the court head.
How could anyone be like this?
Was the cultivation of the concept diagram that simple?
Was this talent at the level of the successor of the sect?
Could they really be disciples of the same generation as the future sect master of the Myriad Phenomena Sect?
Countless questions flashed across the disciples’ minds.
At this moment, Zhou Xuesheng had mixed feelings.
What he did not know was that Wan Rong had also faced the same predicament.
His disciple had just joined the sect, and in the blink of an eye, before he had given him any guidance, his disciple was about to move on to the next level. This made his master feel very uncomfortable and useless.
Su Mo’er was also paying attention to this junior brother who was still a newcomer.
At this moment, she was dumbfounded and could barely think.
The scene of her asking him for a solution suddenly appeared in her mind. Every word he said suddenly became extremely convincing.
He must be right.
Su Mo’er had no choice but to think so.
If they were to compare just their talent in cultivation of the concept diagram, one could easily conclude that even the court head, Zhou Xuesheng, was inferior to Chen Yiming.
She recalled that she didn’t have much confidence in Chen Yiming’s suggestion and had revealed her decision to him at the memorial service. Her face turned red and she wished she could bury her head in the ground just like an ostrich.