"Please select your assessnt focus," the official in charge of the assessnt said, having soone bring over a few forms to hand to the five of them.
"Attack Assessnt, Defense Assessnt, Speed Assessnt... For the special category, please provide details," Su Chen read, looking down at the form.
The combat assessnt didn’t involve them fighting each other, as that would be unfair.
Their ages, backgrounds, and access to resources varied, leading to imbalanced strengths. Pitting them against each other wouldn’t reveal how hard they had individually worked.
To maintain a degree of fairness, the Judicial Court had its own evaluation thods, conducting different types of assessnts based on each person’s specialty.
Su Chen thought for a mont. His developnt was very balanced, so any category would have been fine. In the end, he checked the box for "Attack."
When he looked up, the others had already submitted their forms.
"Oh..." The assessnt official looked down, a little surprised. "All of you chose the Attack Assessnt."
"This is going to be good," the group in the back said expectantly. "With everyone taking the Attack Assessnt, it’ll be obvious who’s better."
After so brief preparations below, the assessnt official waited for a hand signal before calling out:
"ng Qi!"
ng Qi, who had been looking down, flinched and shot his head up. "Here!"
A flicker of contempt crossed Pang Xingwen’s eyes. ’Country bumpkin.’
"...Your assessnt target is him." The Judge stepped aside, and a burly man walked up from behind him, stopping in the open area at the front of the training grounds.
His face had a waxy, yellow sheen. He stood a full two ters tall, with bulging muscles that exuded an oppressive aura.
"Tier Two Upper, Rock Guard," he said in a deep, booming voice. "Your task is simple. Make take a step back. Even a tiny bit counts as a pass."
As he finished speaking, an earthen-yellow glow emanated from his skin. He planted his feet wide apart, as if growing roots that connected him to the training ground itself.
’So solid...’ Su Chen watched, sensing the man’s life force, which was as heavy as a mountain. ’His profession developnt must be over 50%, maybe even higher...’
"ng Qi’s Tier One Profession is only Middle Level, and he just advanced to Tier Two not long ago. To send out a Rock Guard whose developnt is in the latter stages... the difficulty seems to have increased," Chu Yunze said, unable to stop his brow from furrowing.
Su Chen heard him clearly and glanced at the anxious ng Qi. ’So his Tier One Profession is only Middle Level.’
’That ans he’s inherently a step behind everyone else.’
ng Qi swallowed hard. Anyone could see he was incredibly nervous.
WHOOSH... He slowly exhaled, then gritted his teeth and roared. Green energy waves erupted around him as vine-like branches sprouted from his shoulders, creeping down his arms and wrapping them into wooden mallets.
"Break!"
With a great roar, he charged forward.
BOOM!
The wooden mallet slamd against the Judge’s earthen-yellow skin, sending out ripples as scale-like yellow protrusions erged beneath the surface.
The mont the mallet made contact, the keratinized defensive layer rang out with the sound of clashing tal.
A green shockwave erupted from the point of impact. It looked impressive, but the Judge didn’t budge an inch.
ng Qi gritted his teeth and let out another roar. Branches sprouted from his legs as well, rooting him to the ground.
Finally, the Judge’s body swayed, and he took half a step back.
"Pass. Eligible to be an ordinary mber of the Inner Courtyard," the Judge in charge of the assessnt announced.
"Holy shit, that’s insane! That was just a pass, and only good enough for an ordinary mber?"
Many in the back began to murmur amongst themselves.
But so saw the nuance. "His Talent is Red Gold, but his Tier One Profession is only Middle Level. That’s a huge disadvantage. Plus, his developnt level probably isn’t that high..."
"The Judicial Court already has all that information. The Assessnt Judge they sent out must be soone he could theoretically push back. The fact that he only barely managed it ans he hasn’t been working hard enough."
"There are more and more people with Red Gold Level Talents these days. If you don’t work hard, you get eliminated."
A Red Gold Level Talent is stronger than a Silver Level one. At the sa age, their profession developnt should be higher, and their strength should be greater.
Failing to et the assessnt’s standard proves that you haven’t been diligent in your profession’s developnt—that you’ve been slacking off, even. It shows your Heart isn’t resolute.
What’s the point of having a great Talent if you don’t use it?
"Pang Xingwen!" the Judge called out again.
Pang Xingwen’s expression turned gloomy. ’There’s a thod to this roll call. Based on the information the Judicial Court has gathered, they should be calling us up from weakest to strongest.’
’I thought I’d at least be called after Su Chen, or even Chu Yunze. But I’m second.’
The opponent was switched out, of course. Su Chen gauged from his life force that this new one, also a Rock Guard, was stronger than the last.
BOOM!
A wave of fire exploded in the center of the field. The Judge took two steps back, paused briefly, and then took another.
"Good... eligible to be an Inner Court Seed!" the assessnt official announced grimly.
Pang Xingwen’s face was dark as he glanced at Zhu Xuan, who was feigning sleep with his eyes closed.
’So shady...’ Su Chen observed carefully with his spiritual sense. ’That Assessnt Judge didn’t have to take that last step.’
A murmur went through the crowd behind them. So hadn’t noticed, while others who had didn’t dare to say anything.
"Chu Yunze!"
Chu Yunze shot Su Chen a surprised look. ’My Tier One Profession is Top Level! How can I be called before Su Chen? Even though he’s Tier Two in both spirit and body, my developnt progress should be far higher than his.’
’Could it be... his Tier One is also a Top-tier Profession?’
Zhu Xuan opened his eyes as well, his brow furrowing slightly.
’Even stronger...’ Su Chen thought, staring at the new Judge who had stepped up. It was another Rock Guard.
’Even if he also has a Tier One Top-level Profession, I’ve maxed out my resources and I train twelve hours a day. How could the Judicial Court possibly think he’s stronger than ?’
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