Chapter 175
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Chapter 175: Entering the Tower, the Assessment Begins!
Generally speaking, an individual’s capabilities are limited.
While this was a world where great power resided within individuals, Mu Lin was a genius—and so were his fellow students.
The confidence—or rather, arrogance—of Yuhu Academy’s Mountain Elder led him to believe Mu Lin alone couldn’t sway the Taoist Palace. Thus, he had no intention of recruiting him specially and didn’t place his hopes of crushing foreign tribes solely on Mu Lin. He simply stuck to tradition, letting his own students handle all challenges.
Under these circumstances, Mu Lin and the others entered the Tower of Illusions. Yet after entering, the Mountain Elder didn’t immediately teleport them in. Instead, he hovered mid-air and addressed them.
*In every world, leaders just have to give speeches during gatherings, huh?*
The scene felt oddly familiar to Mu Lin. Fortunately, this was an extraordinary world where time mattered. The Mountain Elder kept it brief, offering a few encouraging words and empty remarks about cooperation over competition before shifting to the assessment details.
What surprised Mu Lin was that Yuhu Academy’s assessment wasn’t a single decisive trial.
“This assessment uses a point system. You’ll enter a city overrun by monsters and evil spirits during a strange revival. Your task is to eliminate these evils. Each kill earns points, and the top ten teams will receive rewards from the Taoist Palace.”
“Remember: this assessment’s difficulty is classified as *lethal*. By the end, evil spirits at the Condensing Essence and Refining the Evil level will emerge. Before that, Spirit Sea and Spirit Pool-level evils will wreak havoc. You won’t be the hunters here—the monsters hold the advantage. This tests your survival skills. After all, staying alive means having a future…”
The Tower of Illusions truly lived up to its reputation as a divine artifact, allowing the Taoist Palace to craft intricate trial environments. Yuhu Academy’s assessments were always complex. Here, points came not just from killing evils but also from surviving each day and rescuing civilians. This multifaceted approach tested every aspect of their abilities.
The assessment wasn’t a single attempt because powerful evils might instantly eliminate unlucky talents. While luck mattered, this was a selection process, not real combat. To ensure fair evaluation, Yuhu Academy granted a second assessment—same difficulty, different scenario—preventing memorization-based clears.
The Mountain Elder explained the rules thoroughly. Thankfully, Qi Practitioners possessed extraordinary memories, absorbing the details effortlessly. When he finished, the students—including Mu Lin—grew eager rather than impatient. Their anticipation was understandable: next came the rewards.
Since this was a competition, prizes were inevitable. Yuhu Academy’s Mountain Elder proceeded to address this topic.
Mu Lin marveled at Yuhu Academy’s wealth. Even the tenth-place reward offered thousands of Spirit Stones. Naturally, higher rankings brought greater rewards from the Taoist Palace. Confident in his abilities, Mu Lin skipped fourth and fifth places entirely, focusing on the top three.
Third place granted free access to academy facilities. Team members could choose an Earth-level top-tier technique from the Scripture Pavilion, receive five thousand Spirit Stones, and obtain an upper-grade magical artifact.
Second place offered the same facilities and technique tier, but with eight thousand Spirit Stones, a top-grade artifact instead of upper-grade, and a portion of evil energy.
First place upgraded everything: techniques became Sky-level instead of Earth-level, Spirit Stones increased to ten thousand, artifacts became magical prototypes, plus vibrant energy, a house in Yuzhou, and one request to the Taoist Palace.
"The gap between first and second is huge… but understandable. Second place has limits, while first breaks them." The lavish rewards ignited Mu Lin’s ambition. He wasn’t alone – other students’ eyes shone brightly too, hands itching to claim prizes.
Yuhu Academy’s Mountain Elder nodded approvingly. "The assessment begins now!"
A resonant hum echoed as the Tower of Illusions trembled with magical fluctuations. Every student’s vision darkened instantly. When their sight returned, they stood in an unknown illusionary realm.
Danger struck Mu Lin immediately.
*BOOM*
"Help!"
"It hurts! Waaaah…"
"Kill them all!"
No time to adjust. Human-monster battles raged around him. Civilians wailed amidst burning buildings while evil spirits cackled. Thick smoke choked the air as bloodstained corpses littered the ground – an apocalyptic scene.
Mu Lin’s landing spot worsened matters. He materialized in a wealthy compound being overrun by monsters, its residents nearly slaughtered. Naturally, the evil spirits noticed him immediately.
"Terrible luck."
"At least we’re not alone."
Glancing sideways, Mu Lin saw neighboring teams materializing – the Merfolk and Fox Demons. Neither group looked friendly.
