Chapter 1249: Personal Assessment

The other party wanted to put pressure on him, intending to strike when the sense of oppression was most intense... This tactic might work against Zhang Jiuxiao, but against him... it was too weak!

Not to mention that his state of mind had already reached the level of an eight-star mid-grade; even if it were inferior to the other's, it could not be oppressed by such tricks.

Boom!

His movement was very slight, seemingly insignificant, but in the eyes of the two youths, it was like a giant mountain pressing down from the sky, causing them to panic and be unable to cope.

Immediately after, a roar echoed in their minds, and the pressure they had just exerted on the other rebounded, leaving both feeling dizzy and on the verge of collapsing.

Jinghong profession?

Zhao Xingmo raised an eyebrow.

Although this Zhang Xuan had his hands behind his back, he had instantly unleashed a soul attack from the Jinghong profession, not only completely neutralizing the mental attacks of the two youths but also counterattacking, instilling fear in their hearts.

With just one move, he saw through the purpose of the attack, simultaneously deflecting and striking back, causing the auditorium students of the Saint Son Hall to suffer a loss... This guy was indeed not weak.

Let's begin!

He waved his hand, his voice calm.

Boom!

To outsiders, his voice was not particularly loud, but to the ears of the two, it was like a thunderclap, instantly pulling them out of their dazed state.

Damn it!

Only then did the two youths realize they had been tricked. Their faces flushed red, and their eyes narrowed.

They had come to teach the other a lesson, but in the blink of an eye, they were the ones being taught, losing control of themselves... Intense anger nearly consumed them.

Whoosh!

True qi burst forth from their acupoints, sealing the space around Zhang Xuan. The two grabbed in the air, and two palms, one front and one back, struck down simultaneously.

This move was exquisitely coordinated, with both true qi and power at their peak. Dodging one meant being unable to avoid the other. Even an early-stage Soul Departure realm expert trapped within would find it hard to escape.

Unfortunately... Zhang Xuan was not an early-stage Soul Departure realm cultivator but a powerhouse whose combat strength rivaled that of a late-stage Soul Departure realm expert.

A smile in his eyes, he gently opened his mouth.

You've struck the wrong target...

His voice carried a special charm, like a lover's whisper, causing the two youths to blush involuntarily.

Instantly, the palms originally aimed at Zhang Xuan, just as he said, veered off course and landed on each other's chests.

Thud! Thud!

Two muffled grunts, and they both flew backward.

They had come to attack Zhang Xuan, but ended up... hitting each other!

Demon Sound?

Zhao Xingmo stood frozen: "Is this guy deliberately showing off to me?"

Earlier, he had used a shout to wake the two from the daze caused by the Jinghong attack. Although he had done it discreetly, the other must have noticed, so he used the same Demon Sound technique to make them fight each other!

The message was simple... I, too, know Demon Sound!

It was clearly a show of strength, a warning, and a rebuke for his interference in the match.

An interesting fellow!

Understanding this, Zhao Xingmo was not angry but rather curious about this Zhang Xuan.

Those who enter the Saint Son Hall are either descendants of great families or peerless geniuses, destined to guard one side and become pinnacle existences... If they encounter unfair treatment and dare not resist, how can they be said to deter others?

Thus, reminding the battling duo was actually part of the assessment, to see how the other would react.

Unexpectedly, he immediately returned the favor in kind... without any restraint or grievance.

With this mindset alone, he would not suffer losses.

Being an auditorium student of the Saint Son Hall, none are easy to deal with. Having suffered one loss, they have now exposed their Demon Sound and Jinghong profession trump cards. It won't be so easy to hold out for the remaining two moves...

With a light smile, Zhao Xingmo said no more and continued to watch.

These two youths responsible for the assessment, though young, had passed the assessment to become auditorium students. If they could be defeated by mere auxiliary skills like Demon Sound and Jinghong, that would truly be underestimating the opponent.

Sure enough, as the two flew backward, they had already regained their senses mid-air. Their eyes narrowed simultaneously, and killing intent surged.

They were here to conduct an assessment, not to perform acrobatics.

A guy from some backwater place had ambushed them twice, making them lose face, and they were about to explode with rage.

Stabilize your souls to prevent his soul attacks!

The youth on the left shouted, pressed his palm gently behind him, and came to a stop. He clenched his fist, and the surrounding space instantly solidified.

A mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm cultivator... had actually executed Air Freeze, a technique only Soul Departure realm experts could use.

Don't worry!

The youth on the right also reacted, pushing forward simultaneously.

Their Air Freeze techniques immediately overlapped, making the surroundings even more solid, as if they had fallen into thick mud, greatly hindering movement in all directions.

Impressive!

Watching this scene, Zhang Xuan nodded to himself. Normally, if two people used Air Freeze at the same time, it would easily conflict, causing spatial chaos and reducing the effectiveness compared to a single use.

For this reason, when Soul Departure realm experts join forces, one plus one does not equal two but rather a fraction.

But the two before him executed it completely differently, perfectly merging their techniques. Even he was seeing this for the first time.

As expected of people from the Saint Son Hall; just this combat awareness and reaction alone were beyond ordinary people.

However... this kind of restraint, though difficult for others to escape, was extremely simple for him. He slid his foot, took two steps, and pointed a finger forward.

Sizzle!

As if something had exploded in place, the stagnant space was like a punctured balloon, and several streams of air immediately surged fiercely in all directions.

Bang! Bang!

The two youths, one on the left and one on the right, had not expected their air-stagnation technique to be broken so easily, and even suffered backlash from the force. They both stepped back two paces, their faces pale.

"Two moves... You've both attacked me; it's my turn to strike!"

Zhang Xuan smiled lightly.

As long as he could withstand their three moves, he would pass. The first two moves had been him passively taking hits. Since this was the last move, he would take the initiative!

"Come on!"

The two raised their eyebrows, stacking their four palms together. An invincible aura immediately spread out. It seemed they realized that the person before them was extremely powerful and dared not face him alone.

"I'm sorry to trouble you with injuries. I apologize in advance!"

Seeing that the combined power of the two would make even a mid-stage Out-of-Body expert cautious, Zhang Xuan clasped his fists, his face full of apology.

"Injuries?"

"You're asking for death!"

The two youths nearly exploded with rage. Before the final move was even executed, he was already apologizing... Apologize your sister!

Win against us first!

Furious, they held nothing back. The combined power was released instantly, like a cannonball tearing through the air, as if it would shatter the entire hall.

Before it even reached him, the air was compressed and exploded. The wind howled around, making their skin feel like it was about to burst.

"So strong..."

Zhang Jiuxiao's face turned pale.

At that moment, he finally understood why Zhao Xingmo was so confident that it would be difficult for them to withstand three moves together... Not to mention anything else, just this one move—even if he used all the secret techniques he had learned before, he could not block it!

He looked at Zhang Xuan with worry, only to see him facing the fierce attack with a calm expression. Without dodging, he flipped his palm and, using no martial skill or technique, slapped it away like swatting a fly.

"It's over!"

Pata! Pata!

With a soft utterance, the true energy cannonball formed by the two youths vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed. The next moment, the two were like ping-pong balls that had been swatted, flying backward with two "whoosh" sounds, plastered against the wall, their faces pale, vomiting mouthfuls of blood.

The two auditors from the Saint Son Hall had combined their strength, yet they couldn't even block a casual slap from him!

"Do I pass?"

Having swatted the two away, Zhang Xuan acted as if he had done something trivial. He lifted his eyelids and looked at Zhao Xingmo before him.

"At the same level, breaking their combined attack with one move, and clearly holding back... Pass!"

Zhao Xingmo nodded and acknowledged, though a hint of doubt arose in his heart.

In the first two moves, this person had clearly shown mercy, but why... in the last move, did he injure them so severely?

Could it be that their combined power was too strong, and he lost control?

"Thank you! Jiuxiao, you go up. You should be able to withstand three moves!"

Hearing his reply, Zhang Xuan turned and said.

"Me? Now?" Zhang Jiuxiao was startled.

These two were severely injured and plastered against the wall. Going up now seemed a bit inappropriate.

"Well, there are two of them and two of us. I've already fought one round, so it's not unfair for you to go up!" Zhang Xuan smiled.

"Yes..."

Hearing this, Zhang Jiuxiao immediately understood...

He had deliberately injured the two to help him!

This way, he had a chance to survive three moves.

Filled with gratitude, knowing this was not the time to dwell on it, he stepped forward, came before the two youths plastered against the wall, and clasped his fists: "Please instruct me!"

"Damn it..."

Hearing their exchange and seeing this guy shamelessly charge over to continue the challenge... the two youths felt their chests tighten, as if about to explode.

They had seen shameless people, but never one so shameless!

We're injured like this, can't even stand... how are we supposed to fight you?

"Teacher Zhao personally said that if you can withstand their three moves, he will consider giving our Qingyuan Empire an extra slot... If you cannot defeat them, it counts as a loss, and Zhang Jiuxiao wins!"

Zhang Xuan said.

"Win? Dream on!"

"Even if we have to fight to the death, you won't last three moves against us!"

Gritting their teeth, the two youths struggled to jump down from the wall, ready to charge.

"Alright, you two rest where you are!"

Zhao Xingmo waved his hand and said.

"Teacher Zhao..."

The two youths were anxious.

It was all their fault. They had only finished assessing one person and were already injured... Teacher Zhao stopping them from fighting clearly meant he was angry.

"It's not your fault. This Teacher Zhang had already calculated everything."

Waving his hand, Zhao Xingmo stood up and smiled lightly: "I will assess this Zhang Jiuxiao personally!"