Chapter 150: Stun the Entire Audience (Part 1)

Although Yang Ze had only joined the War Hall a month ago, he still had some understanding of the internal affairs within the hall.

The War Hall did not impose rigid requirements on disciples for completing missions, but it did mandate that every disciple must participate in evaluations at least twice a year.

These so-called evaluations were conducted by the War Hall to keep a record of the disciples' strength. They took place once every three months, making it four times a year.

Each evaluation covered a wide range of content, extending far beyond combat prowess to include tests of speed, strength, and various other attributes. A War Hall disciple could choose to participate in only a single test or take part in all of them.

This was one of the methods the War Hall used to nurture its disciples, demanding all-around development from everyone. The rule requiring attendance at least twice a year ensured that every disciple remained actively engaged, preventing them from falling into complacency and intellectual stagnation behind closed doors.

Hearing the sound of the drums, Yang Ze pondered for a moment before deciding to step outside.

Ordinarily, he would not have wished to venture out so soon, but having just achieved a breakthrough in his Primordial Ethereal Breath Technique, he felt a stirring of interest and wanted to witness the scene of the evaluations.

Since he had to participate twice a year anyway, attending one session could certainly do no harm.

Disengaging the protective barrier that enveloped his courtyard, Yang Ze walked out and immediately noticed subtle changes in the surroundings.

The usually tranquil War Hall was teeming with people today, all heading in the exact same direction.

Yang Ze could not help clicking his tongue in surprise; it seemed the War Hall's evaluations were quite the attraction, or else so many people would not have turned out at once.

He vaguely remembered Chen Ye mentioning in passing that the quota for the Floating Cloud Peak War Hall was fixed at three thousand disciples, with three thousand being the strict upper limit. If the number of disciples ever exceeded three thousand, those with insufficient strength would inevitably be culled.

As for how such culling was carried out, the most direct method Yang Ze could imagine was none other than weeding out those who ranked lowest in the evaluations.

This factor was undoubtedly a major reason why the evaluations generated such immense interest.

The War Hall was no place to idle away one's days living off meager comforts. Though Yang Ze had spent a month here without encountering any apparent crises, he understood this was solely due to his newcomer status; his strength was not yet formidable enough, and many demanding duties had not yet fallen upon his shoulders.

Once some time passed and his cultivation deepened, he imagined easy days would become scarce.

The Jianghu of the Nine Provinces was far from a placid realm. Despite the surface appearance of the Tianwu Dynasty suppressing all corners of the world, countless hidden crises lurked beneath the surface.

Pusturing these thoughts aside, Yang Ze walked swiftly into the venue. The moment he stepped inside, he found the place packed to the brim with people.

The massive venue was partitioned into numerous separate testing grounds. Each area was guarded by enforcers maintaining order, with instructors presiding over the testing procedures inside.

Yang Ze had not traveled at a fast pace, nor had he arrived early. By the time he reached the location, every single testing ground was already surrounded by dense throngs of people.

Wandering near the entrance, Yang Ze looked toward the very center of the venue, where the largest testing ground was located. At that moment, the greatest concentration of disciples had gathered there as well.

With a sweeping glance, just as Yang Ze began to observe carefully, two distinct fluctuations of cultivation burst forth from within that arena, surging violently outward.

Yet, before these shockwaves could travel even halfway across the grounds, eight pillars of light suddenly flared up around the perimeter of the arena. At the summit of each pillar, a ball of light condensed. The eight luminous spheres radiated a dazzling brilliance, intertwining to form a gigantic light barrier that completely enclosed the entire arena.

The instant the light barrier took shape, an overwhelming pressure erupted from within it, instantly suppressing the two opposing surges of energy and preventing them from spilling outward.

All of this happened with astonishing speed. In Yang Ze's view, those suppressed auras collided fiercely once again the very next moment, producing a muffled boom that reverberated through the air.

"Judging by the intensity of those fluctuations, those must be two disciples at the middle stage of the Bone Tempering realm. That particular testing ground should be the martial combat arena."

Yang Ze stood at a distance, observing without stepping closer. There were simply too many people around the combat arena, and following those initial two auras, over a dozen more had erupted in succession, suggesting that numerous people were sparring simultaneously.

He had no desire to join that particular spectacle just yet. The time since his breakthrough to the first grade of the Bone Tempering realm was still too short. Although the Primordial Ethereal Breath Technique he cultivated was unfathomably profound, pitting himself against veteran disciples after such a short while was still somewhat ill-advised.

As sparring commenced in the combat arena, light pillars began to illuminate around the other testing grounds as well, descending to form successive layers of defensive barriers that contained the fluctuations of each respective test.

The War Hall evaluations had now fully commenced across the board. Outside every arena, a line of glowing text illuminated, indicating the specific test currently taking place within.

Yang Ze's gaze swept across the lines of text, finally coming to a halt on a venue bearing the characters "Strength."

With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Yang Ze strode toward the strength-testing arena. Ever since he began his cultivation journey in this world, he had never formally tested his own physical strength, which left him quite curious to see what level his power had reached.

Judging from his usual skirmishes, however, his physical strength was roughly on par with martial artists of the same rank, and likely held nothing particularly extraordinary.

While pondering these thoughts, Yang Ze had already stepped into the strength-testing venue. There were quite a few disciples inside, numbering at least a hundred or so.

Having arrived late, Yang Ze found himself squeezed toward the very rear. With disciples jostling against one another right in front of him, he could not see the scene ahead and could only hear occasional outbursts of noisy chatter from the front.

Noticing this predicament, Yang Ze shifted his footing, executing the Great Whirlwind Piercing Blade Step. He continuously threaded his way through the crowd, squeezing forward.

Yang Ze had long since mastered the Great Whirlwind Piercing Blade Step to the realm of perfection. Although this movement technique was not exceptionally profound, navigating through a crowd with it remained remarkably fluid. Before the disciples ahead could even react, Yang Ze had already flashed past their sides and drilled further forward.

In the span of just ten-odd breaths, utilizing the Great Whirlwind Piercing Blade Step, Yang Ze successfully squeezed into the very front row. No sooner had he steadied his footing than a resonant voice rang out.

"Pan Fang, late first grade of the Bone Tempering realm, left arm physical strength of eight thousand catties, right arm physical strength of nine thousand catties, total physical strength of seventeen thousand catties!"

Following the echo of this announcement, a thin-looking disciple retreated from beneath the stone tablet in the center of the testing ground, his gaze appearing somewhat dim.

The surrounding observing disciples let out slight sighs upon hearing this, shaking their heads in disappointment.

Yang Ze, who had just stepped to the front, was somewhat perplexed. He nudged a disciple standing beside him and finally learned what was happening.