"Yao An, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and go," a voice called out.
"I'm so envious of Yao An. Every time a genius with Origin-grade talent comes for assessment, he's the one sent up to face them."
"Yao An has a high chance of becoming the first person to defeat all Origin-grade talents."
"A Grand Slam record, who else could it be but Yao An?"
"The designated challenger for Origin-grade talent assessments!"
"Yao An, go up and test the combat power of the Son of the Immortal Venerable."
"Don't bring shame upon our Earth Hall."
"Yao An, I'm so envious of you."
The mocking laughter of the crowd reached him. Yao An felt like crying but had no tears, and he cursed aloud.
"Envious? If you're so envious, why don't you go? Why is it always me who gets beaten up?"
Yao An stomped onto the stage, not even glancing at Xia Yubing above. He looked up at the officiating elder in the sky and shouted,
"Old man, what have I done to offend you? My injuries from Wan Lei's lightning strike last time haven't healed, and you made me face Fang Xiaoyu. Fang Xiaoyu's injuries from beating me haven't healed, and you made me face the Son of the Immortal Venerable. What kind of deep-seated hatred do you have? Huh?!"
Hearing this, the Four Little Ones understood what was going on and looked at Yao An with pity.
When others faced new disciples, they were there to stomp on weaklings. Yet, Yao An always faced inferno-level opponents.
There was clearly some personal vendetta between this old man and Yao An.
"Less nonsense. Are you ready?" Xia Yubing asked, swinging his fists at Yao An.
Yao An lowered his head, looked at Xia Yubing, and roared in anger,
"I surrender!"
As soon as Yao An uttered these words, an uproar of curses erupted from below.
"Surrender? No way! Do you look down on me, refusing to fight me?"
Xia Yubing was furious. He had already prepared himself for a tough fight, but his opponent was trying to escape.
"Eat my punch!"
Xia Yubing charged forward and unleashed a flurry of wild punches at Yao An. The arena was filled with Yao An's heart-wrenching screams.
Yao An's mentality had shifted three times in his three challenges.
The first time he faced Wan Lei, he didn't know how powerful Origin-grade talent was and had boasted and provoked him.
The second time he faced Fang Xiaoyu, he knew how formidable he was and directly begged him to go easy.
The third time he faced Xia Yubing, he was truly terrified from being beaten. He directly shouted surrender, hoping to save his life, but who knew he wouldn't even be allowed to surrender.
You damn elder, didn't you hear me surrender? Is this how you specifically target me? Isn't it because I took your favorite Xiao Li at the brothel last time? Isn't it because I made you wait an extra ten minutes? Do you have to hold a grudge against me until now?
Yao An was brutally beaten for a full two minutes before the elder finally announced Xia Yubing's victory.
Xia Yubing was careful with his attacks. After all, they were all fellow disciples, and he wouldn't directly cripple someone with a single punch like Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu.
The second person to come up was Wan Qianxin. Yao An wanted to get off the stage but was pulled back by the elder.
"Elder, I'll f*** your mother..."
Wan Qianxin grabbed Yao An's arm and slammed him onto the ground like a club. Soon, two minutes passed, and Wan Qianxin was declared the winner.
The third person was Han Xiaoyun. She didn't fight herself but released her Origin Fire Spirit, a little beast named Dun Dun, to beat up Yao An.
"You guys are not human!!!"
The fourth was Bao Bao. By this time, Yao An had completely given up on fighting. He lay on the ground, thinking, "Do whatever you want to me. Come on, trample me, you beasts."
Bao Bao, being the soft-hearted girl she was, couldn't bear to hit him further when she saw how pitifully Yao An was being beaten.
Bao Bao channeled her wood elemental power into Yao An's body, healing his injuries.
"Are you healing me because you're afraid you'll beat me to death later?" Yao An panicked.
"Oh dear, you're too pitiful. I can't bear to hit you. Just go down, okay? Be good, listen to me, and don't come here to watch the excitement anymore."
Bao Bao was relieved. Even if Yao An were tied up and brought here to watch the excitement, he wouldn't come. This place would become a haunting shadow in his life.
Yao An finally escaped the slaughterhouse. After he got down, he didn't even watch the subsequent battles, immediately piloting his airship back to his cave dwelling.
Next were the battles of Da Da, Fire Phoenix, and Qing Wu. Their opponents were ranked only in the hundred thousands in the Creation Tower. After all, they weren't peerless prodigies like Wan Lei and the other six. Even Yao An was ranked over ten thousand.
Even ordinary talents, if they were lucky enough to pass the first two rounds, would face opponents ranked outside the ten millionth place in the Creation Tower.
Giving them opponents in the hundreds of thousands was already quite good.
The battle scenes of the three were all different.
Qing Wu's was the easiest. She directly trapped her opponent in a魅惑 illusion. As a result, the opponent ran off the stage, hugged a large rock, and started kissing and touching it. This opponent would likely need a lifetime to heal from the trauma and embarrassment of that day.
Fire Phoenix's battle was the most intense. Her opponent was also a demon. Their fierce fight drew cheers from the surrounding spectators.
As for Da Da, he was purely tanking the opponent's attacks. There was no artistry to it; he just kept taking hits and dragging it out.
The final result was that Qing Wu passed first. Fire Phoenix, panting, defeated her enemy. As for Da Da, the officiating elder couldn't bear to watch any longer and gave him a passing score, out of respect for Wan Lei and the Son of the Immortal Venerable, allowing him to pass.
On the way back, the group chatted and laughed. The happiest among them was Da Da. He used to be very insecure, always feeling that his talent was poor and he would never be able to enter the Five Elements Hall, so he didn't even dare to try.
He never expected to pass this time, and Da Da was as happy as a two-million-pound child.
The Four Little Ones went to their respective halls to complete their procedures. Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu took Fire Phoenix and Yuan Jun to the Demon Hall. After all, the others were familiar with the way. Qing Wu had Xiao Yun to guide her, and Da Da had Xin Xin.
Upon arriving at the Demon Hall, Wan Lei, with practiced ease, helped Fire Phoenix complete her procedures and collected her small airship.
Fire Phoenix looked at the airship, lost in thought, contemplating whether the three to four-meter-sized airship could accommodate her ten-thousand-zhang body.
Suddenly, a fiery red figure appeared before them.
The figure wore a red robe, with heroic features, exuding a powerful pressure, and a smiling gaze.
"Greetings, King Fire Phoenix."
Everyone bowed.
King Fire Phoenix was the first Five Elements Hall expert they had met since arriving in the Immortal Realm, leaving a deep impression.
King Fire Phoenix nodded, looked at Fire Phoenix, and said with a smile,
"I noticed you last time in the Molten Death Zone. Our Fire Phoenix clan is already very few in number, and it's not easy to encounter a fellow clan member from another world.
Now that you have also joined the Five Elements Hall and come to our Demon Hall, would you be willing to take me as your master and cultivate with me in the future?"
Fire Phoenix was stunned, then overjoyed, and immediately agreed.
"Disciple greets master."