We're practicing all martial arts, so why did you switch to easy mode?

The ten-day assessment has ended.

The disciples of the Ziyang Sect also left Ghost Skull Land one after another, and Wang Man and others were no exception.

However, compared to the others, their faces looked rather grim. The group of several people was devoid of any laughter or cheerful conversation, and the atmosphere was heavy.

This assessment was fraught with difficulties.

First, Su Chen snatched the Soul-Slaying Whip that Liu Hong had given him, and then Su Chen also took away the Yin Souls they had hunted a few days ago, leaving them empty-handed.

They thought that with seven days left, they could make up for the three-day gap with their own strength and hunt down enough ghosts.

But things didn't go as planned. After seven days, they still hadn't gathered enough Yin Souls to advance to the level of a true disciple.

No one knows what happened in Ghost Skull Land. There are very few ghosts inside, as if it had been swept away.

They weren't the only ones to encounter this situation; other inner disciples also faced it.

However, these inner disciples were more fortunate than them, having already hunted down enough Yin spirits.

Unlike them, they couldn't gather enough Yin spirits if they didn't rob their fellow disciples.

In fact, they did just that in the last three days before the assessment. When they encountered a lone disciple, they would appear and plunder the Yin Souls that the disciple had collected.

This assessment explicitly forbids killing fellow disciples, but does not stipulate that one cannot plunder the spirits of the dead.

This kind of thing happened frequently in the past, so they did it with ease and didn't care at all.

Unfortunately, those lone disciples didn't have many ghostly spirits on them.

The disciples who possess a sufficient number of Yin spirits are not as powerful as they can be easily fooled.

Moreover, each of them carries a communication rune, allowing them to escape if they encounter danger. These martial artists may have already left once they have gathered the Yin Souls.

This resulted in Wang Man and his group wasting time and gaining little over the course of three days.

After one round, none of them had collected enough Yin Souls, and now that they had left the assessment area, their expressions were naturally not very pleasant.

"Damn it, it's all Su Chen's fault! If he hadn't stolen our Yin Souls, we wouldn't have ended up like this in this assessment!"

One person's dissatisfied complaint instantly ignited the anger of the crowd.

"That's right, this man truly deserves to die!"

"It's because he stole all our souls that we've ended up like this!"

"Senior Brother Wang Man, you must ask Senior Sister Liu Hong to teach him a good lesson for us."

"It would be best to cripple him and let him know the consequences of offending us."

"Damn it, it's because of him that we can't advance to the True Disciple level."

"What's even more upsetting now is that we didn't get promoted, but he did!"

"..."

Listening to the murmurs of the crowd, Wang Man felt a surge of anger rising within him.

Yes, none of them were promoted, so why was Su Chen promoted?
Without needing anyone to say anything more, Wang Man would not let the other party off easily.

He said to everyone, "Don't worry, Senior Sister Liu Hong will definitely uphold justice for us and teach Su Chen a lesson!"

As they were talking, Wang Man's eyelids twitched as he spotted a red figure not far away.

"It's Senior Sister Liu Hong."

Upon seeing Liu Hong, he disregarded everyone else and hurriedly stepped forward respectfully.

Liu Hong also noticed Wang Man, and a slight smile appeared on her pretty face. In her opinion, Wang Man's eagerness must mean that he had completed the task she had assigned and taught Su Chen a good lesson.

She never expected that the first thing Wang Man said to her was an apology: "Senior Sister Liu Hong, Su Chen snatched the Soul-Slaying Whip!"

"What?" Liu Hong was shocked upon hearing this, and then her face showed anger. "The Soul-Slaying Whip was stolen by Su Chen? Are you all useless? So many of you couldn't even beat him alone, and he even stole the Soul-Slaying Whip?"

Liu Hong was furious, her face turned icy, and she cursed Wang Man.

The Soul-Slaying Whip was a divine weapon she had worked so hard to obtain, and now it had fallen into Su Chen's hands so easily.

This is a complete slap in the face to him!
"Liu Hong, don't be angry."

Wang Man lowered his head and dared not speak.

At this moment, a man next to Liu Hong spoke up. He was Robin, also a true disciple. His strength was even greater than Liu Hong's, and his status was even higher. Among the thousands of true disciples of the Ziyang Sect, he was able to rank in the top fifty, which was enough to show his prowess.

Moreover, Robin, like Liu Hong, is a follower of Bi Tianyu.

Robin's words carried weight, and Liu Hong suppressed her anger and stopped blaming Wang Man, which relieved Wang Man.

“Wang Man, tell me what exactly happened.” Robin looked at Wang Man and asked for details.

He had already inquired about Su Chen's strength, which was at most a minor mastery of supernatural powers. Therefore, he was a little puzzled. Although Wang Man and the others were not strong, they should have been able to subdue Su Chen and have their Soul-Striking Whip taken away by him, even with the Soul-Striking Whip being enhanced by it.

There must be something fishy going on, but no matter what, the Soul-Striking Whip is not something Su Chen can touch. Neither he nor Liu Hong will allow the Soul-Striking Whip to fall into Su Chen's hands.

Wang Man nodded, and then recounted the events that had occurred in detail.

"His strength is very high. He doesn't look like a martial artist who has only achieved minor mastery of supernatural powers. Moreover, he also has a divine weapon, a sword. This sword is equally powerful. When they work together, they can unleash the power of someone who has achieved major mastery of supernatural powers."

Finally, Wang Man concluded with a sentence that served as an excuse for his failure.

After all, this matter wasn't exactly honorable, so he naturally had to exaggerate Su Chen's strength a bit.

Moreover, this is not fiction; he genuinely believes that Su Chen's true strength may be at the pinnacle of supernatural powers.

"Mastery of supernatural powers? How is that possible!" Before Robin could even speak, Liu Hong exclaimed in surprise.

Clearly, they didn't believe that Su Chen could reach the pinnacle of supernatural powers in such a short time.

Robin didn't believe it either; he was more inclined to think that Su Chen had used other methods.

"Su Chen is out."

Just then, Wang Man suddenly spoke, his gaze fixed on Su Chen, who had emerged from the Ghost Skull Land.

Su Chen didn't notice Wang Man's gaze, but instead took stock of what he had gained over the past ten days.

In fact, not only did Wang Man and others fail to hunt down enough Yin Souls, but Su Chen did as well.

Even until the end, Su Chen had not gathered enough Yin Souls to cultivate the Nine Elements Refining Technique to its limit. He hadn't even mastered the ninth level and was still at the eighth level, quite a distance from the ninth.

There was nothing that could be done; by the end of the assessment, the number of ghosts in Ghost Skull Land had become increasingly scarce.

The outermost ghosts had already been wiped out, and the middle ghosts were almost all gone. The innermost ghosts weren't stupid; they wouldn't just stand there waiting for Su Chen to kill them. As for the ghosts deep inside, they were either incredibly powerful or extremely well hidden.

If Su Chen were to run into the former, he would be courting death. Although these powerful beings had an agreement with the Ziyang Sect not to interfere, there was no guarantee that Su Chen would willingly offer himself up for death.

Su Chen couldn't even see the latter, let alone kill them.

So after three days, Su Chen only managed to gather enough Yin Souls to advance to the True Disciple level, and didn't have many Yin Souls left.

Naturally, there's no way to improve one's cultivation technique.

However, Duan Tian Dao has become even more proficient in the Nine Elements Refining Weapon Technique.

He was only half a step away from breaking through to the realm of perfect supernatural powers.

In terms of overall strength, the current Duan Tian Dao might not be weaker than Su Chen.

This made Duan Tiandao extremely proud; his luck had finally turned around, and he was finally stronger than Su Chen. From now on, he no longer needed Su Chen's protection, but could protect Su Chen instead.

When Su Chen learned that the other party was happy for this reason, he was speechless. He didn't expect this guy to be so considerate of him.

But at the same time, a sense of urgency arose in my heart. Being surpassed by my own divine weapon was somewhat strange.

He needs to improve his skills as soon as possible.

The front line is a vast stage, connecting countless worlds, where true geniuses abound and all races vie for supremacy.

He is still too weak; he doesn't even have the right to step onto the stage.

This naturally made him somewhat unwilling, and he was eager to improve his strength.

"Su Chen, you're in trouble."

Suddenly, Duan Tian Dao spoke up, reminding Su Chen that he had noticed Wang Man and the others' gaze.

Su Chen looked closely and saw Wang Man leading Liu Hong and the others toward him.

He suddenly realized that the others' intention was simply to take the Soul-Slaying Whip back from him.

But once the items were in his hands, they weren't so easily taken away.

Moreover, the Soul-Slaying Whip had already been absorbed by the Heaven-Severing Blade and turned to ashes.

Sure enough, upon seeing Su Chen, Liu Hong's first words were to demand the Soul-Slaying Whip: "Su Chen, hand over the Soul-Slaying Whip!"

Her tone was icy, and she spoke without the slightest bit of politeness.

Those around who witnessed this scene stopped in their tracks and stood watching, each with an expression of anticipation.

"It's him again!"

"Is this guy a troublemaker? First he offended the Holy Yuan Sect, then he offended Senior Brother Bi, and now he's getting into trouble with Liu Hong. He's really good at causing trouble!"

"I think his name was Su Chen?"

"Yes, he's been causing trouble one after another, I'm almost making a mental note of him."

"If it's for fame, I have to admit that his approach is very effective, but it comes at a price. Neither Senior Brother Bi nor Liu Hong are people that an inner disciple like him can afford to offend."

"Since Senior Sister Liu Hong has come knocking on his door, he's probably in for a lot of trouble."

"..."

Everyone recognized Su Chen, and after some discussion, they quickly identified him.

Unexpectedly, Su Chen caused a series of major incidents in less than half a month.

It seems that he has offended Liu Hong and others again.

Upon hearing this, Su Chen completely ignored everyone's attitude and said calmly, "You think you can just hand it over like that? Who do you think you are?"

One sentence completely enraged Liu Hong.

"What did you say?" Liu Hong glared at Su Chen, her face flushed red, her eyes almost spitting fire.

She never expected Su Chen to speak to her in such a tone; it was utterly presumptuous!
Su Chen ignored the angry Liu Hong and turned to leave. He was eager to complete his mission and become a true disciple.

"stop!"

Unexpectedly, when Liu Hong saw Su Chen leaving, she was furious and shouted to stop him.

Su Chen kept walking.

This attitude only fueled Liu Hong's anger, which was on the verge of exploding.

"I told you to stop right there!"

Liu Hong roared and could no longer hold back, so she took action.

Seeing this, Robin's expression changed slightly, and he quickly said, "Stop!"

However, at this moment, Liu Hong was not listening to his advice. All she could think about was Su Chen, and she wanted to beat him up.

When Su Chen saw Liu Hong rushing towards him like a madwoman, a cold smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

He was waiting for Liu Hong to make a move.

Faced with Liu Hong's attack, Su Chen quickly released his Hunyuan power, which transformed into a barrier and easily blocked her attack.

With a loud bang, the Yuan energy barrier stood firm as if it were made of rock.

This scene made Robin frown. He had thought that although Liu Hong was in a fit of rage and violated the sect's rules, she could at least teach Su Chen a lesson. Now it seemed that even he had underestimated Su Chen's strength.

"Oh no! Liu Hong, get out of the way!"

Soon, Robin noticed the smile on Su Chen's face and guessed Su Chen's plan.

Although he didn't believe Su Chen could harm Liu Hong, he felt uneasy for some reason.

So he tried to remind Liu Hong, but it was too late.

Su Chen had been preparing for a long time, and as he blocked the opponent's attack, he slapped out with his palm.

At first glance, the slap seemed ordinary and unremarkable. However, the force that erupted the moment it struck Liu Hong forced the surrounding disciples back. In the blink of an eye, everyone saw the once arrogant Liu Hong scream in agony as her body flew backward like a kite with a broken string.

Seeing this, Robin flashed forward and appeared behind Liu Hong, opening his arms to try to catch her.

However, Su Chen's strength was immense; the combined effect of his physical body and Yuan energy was something Robin simply could not withstand.

Instead of being able to use Liu Hong immediately after his attack, he was suppressed by the power emanating from Liu Hong and was sent flying backward along with her.

Fortunately, Robin was no pushover either; his strength far surpassed Liu Hong's.

Before flying more than 100 meters backward, Robin steadied himself and caught Liu Hong, effectively suppressing Su Chen's power.

Even so, his expression was somewhat unpleasant. No one would feel good about such a result after he had personally taken action.

Moreover, the other party was someone like Su Chen, whose cultivation level was inferior to his.

Robin's expression shifted dramatically in an instant.

Su Chen didn't care. Liu Hong had been injured by his attack and it probably wouldn't be easy for her to recover.

"No wonder he dared to steal Junior Sister Liu Hong's Soul-Striking Whip; it turns out he has such strength!"

Robin spoke coldly, staring at Su Chen.

"Snatch it?" Su Chen scoffed. "Putting aside the fact that Liu Hong's skills are inferior, I didn't snatch this Soul-Striking Whip from her, but from Wang Man. How can it be considered hers? Besides, it's in my hands now, so it's mine. How can it be Liu Hong's? You're supposed to be my senior brother, are you trying to snatch something from your junior brother?"

"Hmph, sharp-tongued!" Robin snorted coldly after listening to Su Chen's long-winded speech.

Su Chen didn't reply, but chuckled and turned to leave in front of everyone.

Watching Su Chen's departing figure, Robin's eyes instantly turned cold.

Wang Man and the others, who were watching from a distance, were stunned by what they saw.

Unexpectedly, even Liu Hong and Robin working together were no match for Su Chen.

For a moment, everyone looked at each other, speechless.

Su Chen had already arrived at the Mission Hall to submit his Yin Soul mission. (End of Chapter)