Chapter 41: Gray Dream Tapir

Ye Yuan felt his vision blur, and then he arrived in a colorful, dreamlike world.

Clearly, this was an independent space.

It seemed that each floor of the Illusory Spirit Tower was divided into many independent spaces, with each student placed in a different space.

Such a technique was hardly miraculous in the Divine Realm, but for a small sect in the lower world to use such means to train students was already quite remarkable.

Ye Yuan was somewhat bewildered, not knowing how the assessment would proceed in a space with nothing at all.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Welcome to the Illusory Spirit Tower for the first time. You are about to undergo the entry-level advancement assessment. I am the guide for this assessment."

Ye Yuan was not alarmed, knowing that this must be the tower spirit of the Illusory Spirit Tower.

However, what surprised him a little was that he had been teleported into the entry-level advancement assessment.

It seemed that the Illusory Spirit Tower automatically identified first-time entrants as entry-level candidates. This way, Ye Yuan was on the same starting line as Lü'er.

"What should I do now?" Ye Yuan spoke up.

The tower spirit seemed to hesitate slightly, somewhat surprised by Ye Yuan's calmness.

As the tower spirit responsible for advancement assessments, it had guided countless students, yet this was the first time it had encountered such a composed one.

"Sit in meditation right where you are, and I will guide you into the assessment. Whatever happens, do not resist, or you will bear the consequences." said the tower spirit.

Without another word, Ye Yuan sat down and began to meditate.

He was somewhat curious about how the Illusory Spirit Tower conducted its assessments.

After a moment, Ye Yuan felt himself becoming light and ethereal. In a daze, he arrived in an empty training room.

Seeing this, a smile curled at the corner of Ye Yuan's mouth.

"So that's it. The tower spirit of the Illusory Spirit Tower is actually a Dream Tapir. The Profound Cloud Sect certainly has good methods. A thirty-two-seal spirit artifact, it seems to be the lowest grade, a Gray Dream Tapir. Conducting assessments in dreams is safe and fair; the person who forged this Illusory Spirit Tower has some talent." Ye Yuan thought to himself.

Dream Tapirs are strange creatures that coexist with dreams. They have their own consciousness but no fixed form. They can stealthily infiltrate the dreams of humans or even beasts, growing stronger within dreams.

Ye Yuan knew that in the Divine Realm, there existed the highest-grade White Dream Tapirs, whose abilities were extremely powerful, rivaling Divine Kings. Their abilities were almost all related to dreams, making them hard to guard against.

The tower spirit Ye Yuan encountered now was likely only the lowest-grade Gray Dream Tapir.

They were probably willing to serve as tower spirits of the Illusory Spirit Tower to strengthen themselves through the students' dreams.

Otherwise, even the lowest-grade Gray Dream Tapir would not be something a small sect like the Profound Cloud Sect could capture.

After all, the Danwu Academy was not limited to the Qin Kingdom; other nations under the Profound Cloud Sect also had Danwu Academies. Their assessments of students must also rely on the Illusory Spirit Tower.

Capturing Gray Dream Tapirs on such a large scale would inevitably provoke retaliation from the Dream Tapir clan, unless these Gray Dream Tapirs willingly became tower spirits.

Ye Yuan knew that he was now in a dream.

The independent space from earlier was probably designed to assist the Dream Tapir in using the nightmare technique to lead students into dreams.

While marveling at this method, Ye Yuan also assessed his own strength.

"Being able to perfectly project real-world strength—the Dream Tapir clan's abilities are truly powerful! This way, there's no chance of cutting corners in the advancement assessment." Ye Yuan praised inwardly.

Suddenly, a middle-aged burly man appeared before Ye Yuan. He knew that this man was the Gray Dream Tapir in disguise. In dreams, Dream Tapirs could take any form.

"Now I will be in charge of your advancement assessment. The assessment is about to begin. Now, you may choose your weapon." said the Dream Tapir.

"Choose a weapon? Hmm... I'll go with a sword." Ye Yuan looked indifferent, clearly not worried about an entry-level assessment.

The Dream Tapir found Ye Yuan's attitude very strange. Other students, upon entering the dream, would ask all sorts of questions, confused about the situation.

When Ye Yuan entered, the Dream Tapir noticed that he showed no surprise at all. The expression on his face clearly indicated that he knew he was in a dream.

Ye Yuan knew about Dream Tapirs, but that didn't mean others did. In fact, Dream Tapirs were a very mysterious clan because they had no fixed form.

Even in a dream, you couldn't detect their presence unless the Dream Tapir actively revealed itself. Because it could be a little mouse in your dream, or a blade of grass.

The Dream Tapir naturally wouldn't tell the students its identity, only that it was the assessment guide of the Illusory Spirit Tower.

But Ye Yuan wasn't curious about anything...

The Dream Tapir waved its hand, and a sword materialized in Ye Yuan's hand—a most ordinary iron sword.

"Isn't this too shabby?" Ye Yuan said with a wry smile.

The Dream Tapir's expression was blank, and it said flatly, "To ensure fairness in the assessment, the academy requires us to treat every student equally. No matter what weapon you choose, I will only give you the most ordinary one."

Ye Yuan twirled the sword in a flourish and said helplessly, "Alright, I'll make do with it."

This was the first time the Dream Tapir had encountered such a carefree student, but it didn't think much of it. After all, he was just a rookie at the fourth level of Yuan Qi, not worth much attention.

For the Dream Tapir, its focus was still on those students undergoing Earth-grade advancement.

"Now tell me your name and background, and I will record your assessment results." the Dream Tapir said, still indifferent.

"Ye Yuan, from the Royal City's Medicine Fragrance Pavilion." Ye Yuan reported his name and background.

The Dream Tapir nodded and said, "The assessment begins now. They are your opponents."

The Dream Tapir pointed, and five black-clad martial artists appeared out of nowhere, also at the fourth level of Yuan Qi. Then, the middle-aged burly man transformed from the Dream Tapir vanished, leaving Ye Yuan to fend for himself.

An entry-level advancement assessment wasn't worth its close attention.

Ye Yuan glanced at the five black-clad martial artists at the fourth level of Yuan Qi and couldn't help but curl his lip. These five were the most ordinary kind of fourth-level Yuan Qi martial artists.

The minimum requirement for admission to the Danwu Academy was to break through to the fourth level of Yuan Qi before the age of sixteen and to be able to defeat five ordinary fourth-level Yuan Qi martial artists working together!

For ordinary people, this was an extremely difficult challenge. In the dream, no weapons, equipment, or pills could be brought in; one had to rely solely on one's own strength to defeat the opponents.

Challenging five opponents of the same cultivation level simultaneously was almost impossible for anyone but a genius student.

But... for Ye Yuan, this was a piece of cake.

After the Dream Tapir disappeared, the five black-clad martial artists moved simultaneously, attacking Ye Yuan from five different angles.

Ye Yuan sheathed his sword and gently struck out with a palm.

Overlapping Wave Heart Palm, First Wave!

A ripple of Yuan force spread out, and the five black-clad martial artists were sent flying backward...

These five black-clad martial artists clearly had no strength left to fight; the moment they hit the ground, they vanished. And the next moment, the middle-aged burly man reappeared, a slight look of surprise on his face.

Ye Yuan looked at the Dream Tapir and said with a faint smile, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you, I'm here for the Yellow-grade advancement."