Chapter 254: Chapter 254 Wind Evil
The wee hours of the night.
A blind man walked into the temple as the sounds of a bamboo pole striking the floor echoed. He put down his clothes in his hand, declaring, "Don’t speak. Put on the clothes."
Shi Xiaole tensed up. For the first time, he truly felt the mystery of the Demon Alliance.
The blind man did not just arrive, but had circled around the area, entering only after his unique perception confirmed that there was no third person present. As he was blind, this assured that no one had seen Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole put on the hooded black robe and the facial mask, meandering inside the temple with the blind man. At one point, a sudden strike from the bamboo pole left Shi Xiaole unconscious.
When he came to, he found himself in a valley surrounded by mountains, his weapons nowhere to be seen.
There were many people around him dressed similarly, what shocked Shi Xiaole the most was that everyone seemed to have awakened at the same time. This indicated an extraordinary level of control by the person who had knocked them out.
The crowd gradually stood up, an estimate of a hundred people, glancing at each other, but unable to recognize each other’s identities.
Looking at the situation, Shi Xiaole thought to himself, perhaps the recommenders weren’t only from the top powers. Just how big was the Demon Alliance’s influence?
"Congratulations to all of you for joining the Demon Alliance."
A man clad in a silver robe and a silver mask walked up in front of the crowd.
According to Elder Rong’s introduction, the Demon Alliance was divided into eight levels, from bottom to top: common members, executives, incense masters, altar masters, hall masters, master, inspectors, and the alliance master.
Common members wore black, executives wore red, and the incense masters wore silver.
The man in front of them was presumably an incense master.
"All of you, the Demon Alliance is the pinnacle of power against the Devil Path in the Flying Horse Dynasty. Only the elites of the martial world can join. Standing here means that you all are the cream of the crop in the outside world. Does anyone dispute that?"
No one spoke.
"Very well, the Demon Alliance is divided into four parts: the Blood Slaughter Hall in charge of the battles, the Hidden Hall responsible for infiltration, the Feiyu Hall for the intelligence, and the Elder Hall in charge of the coordination."
"Now, each of you will undergo a test. Based on your unique abilities and performance, you’ll be assigned accordingly. Now draw your number plates first."
When everyone had drawn different numbered tokens from the wooden box, the incense master led them to the right side of the valley and stopped in front of two stone tablets.
"What is this...?"
Someone couldn’t help but exclaim.
There were two tablets, one red and one white.
On the red stone tablet, from top to bottom, different names were written. Next to each name was a long list of inscriptions.
"Lone Wolf, the first Hall Master of the Blood Slaughter Hall in Qingxue State. During the 13th year of the Flying Horse Dynasty, with his Xuan Qi at the first tier, he assassinated three brilliant prodigies of the Devil Path at the Fifth Tier. During the 16th year of the Flying Horse Dynasty, with his Xuan Qi at the sixth tier, he killed an eighth-tier demon lord..."
"Wei Luo, the second Hall Master of the Blood Slaughter Hall of Qingxue State..."
Beneath the names of the nine previous Hall Masters was a list of the present members of the Blood Slaughter Hall, divided into four levels: heaven, earth, mysterious, and yellow.
The white stone tablet was formatted similarly to the red one, detailing the identities and achievements of the elite members of the Feiyu Hall.
There was no stone tablet for the Hidden Hall, for obvious reasons. After all, these were the righteous elites embedded within the Devil Path. Their information could not be disclosed.
"In the Demon Alliance, only those who have proven themselves are granted code names. I hope that one day, all of your names will be inscribed on these tablets for the admiration of future generations."
The incense master continued, "Next, is the first round of testing. You must pass through the black hole ahead within a two-hour period. However, you are not permitted to use internal power."
At his command, the wall of the cave ahead suddenly lifted, revealing ten dark, gaping holes. Without any further words, the silver-robed incense master called out ten numbers.
Coinciding with this, ten black-robed individuals stepped out from the crowd, collected the distributed weapons, and entered the dark holes.
"I wonder if there is any promising talent this time."
As the crowd was being tested, two figures stood in a hidden spot on the opposite end of the black holes. Dressed in golden robes with golden masks, they were both Altar Masters.
"This first test is all about response speed and the ability to perceive danger. Lone Wolf’s record of fifteen minutes still hasn’t been broken."
"Lone Wolf was extraordinary, a legendary figure. Some even say he was Lu Jianli, once the top fighter in Qingxue State. He’s not someone just anyone can surpass."
"Even thirty minutes would be an impressive feat. I wonder if anyone can achieve that this time."
"I doubt it."
The discussion between the two went on as each individual’s state varied within the caves. Some screamed in fright, others howled in pain, and a few remained total silent.
About forty-five minutes into the test, three individuals emerged, drenched in sweat. The other seven were slightly slower, but they all finished within the two-hour period.
Those who had generally been recommended to join the Demon Alliance were all seasoned fighters, rarely failing such tests. The only concern was the variation in their performance.
Many eyes had been observing Shi Xiaole and others during this time, each pair of eyes monitoring a different individual, watching their every move.
By the fifth round, an individual who exited in under thirty minutes caught the attention of the two Altar Masters.
"I want this number forty-eight for the Blood Slaughter Hall."
"He would also suit the Feiyu Hall."
As the two Altar Masters debated, a third one arrived and stated, "What are you arguing for? The Hidden Hall is the crucial division; this person should be allocated there."
"Hold your horses and let’s wait until everyone finishes the test. We can decide then."
Being known for his domineering nature, the Hidden Hall Altar Master could only chuckle in response.
As the test proceeded, three more participants emerged from the dark hole in less than two quarter-hours, eliciting an itchy feeling in the hearts of the three hall masters.
Such accomplishments are seen once every decade, yet several appeared this year.
On the other side, it was finally Shi Xiaole’s turn to be tested.
As soon as he entered the dark hole, he felt a wave of gloomy energy rushing towards him. After walking a few meters, strange cries began to echo from the darkness.
"I don’t know what the best score is, nor do I need to show off. I’ll just maintain 80% of the speed."
His mind spread out, seeing clearly everything within several feet. As Shi Xiaole strode forward at a constant speed, he was unbothered by the restriction on using internal power, his physical strength far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Swoosh.
A flash of strange light. In a critical moment, Shi Xiaole drew his sword, piercing straight through the unseen adversary. Based on the sensation coming from the sword, it seemed to be some sort of bird.
Several unexpected incidences occurred throughout his journey such as collapsing boulders, cracking ground but each time, Shi Xiaole managed to avoid them in the cleverest manner.
At the very end, a formidable opponent attempted to strike him with a palm.
Whoosh!
Shi Xiaole staggered and dodged. If he hadn’t evaded in time, he would have been seriously injured without using internal power. Of course, this also had to do with the opponent not going all out.
"Terrifying."
Unbeknownst to Shi Xiaole, this formidable opponent rarely engaged, only under certain circumstances. Like if someone was going through the stages too quickly.
"Who is this person?"
"What’s going on?"
Upon seeing Shi Xiaole emerge, the eyes under the masks of the three Hall Masters in the darkness constricted, thinking they’d misinterpreted what they saw.
"How much time has passed?"
"A quarter-hour and thirty breaths."
The three Hall Masters looked at each other.
This score was almost as good as the record holder, Lone Wolf, far surpassing others.
The Hidden Hall Master’s chest rose and fell, declaring without doubt, "I want this person for the Hidden Hall."
"Hmph, with such quick reflexes, his combat talent must be extremely high. He should belong to my Blood Slaughter Hall."
If it were an ordinary person, the master of the Blood Slaughter Hall would have given way a little, but people like Shi Xiaole were too rare. To concede further would be absurd.
"The most important attribute for lurking is adaptability, don’t argue with me."
"I do want to argue."
The two Hall Masters refused to yield, a rift had begun. The Feiyu Hall Master simply shut his mouth. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Shi Xiaole, but if he joined in, things would become even more convoluted.
After the first round was over, the second round began immediately.
This round tested memory.
Each person had to remember thousands of strange symbols in a book within a quarter-hour, then write them out from memory.
Astonishingly, several people received full marks. Seeing this, Shi Xiaole did not hide his talents and also scored full marks.
The third round tested imitation abilities.
The fourth round tested observation and search capabilities.
...
The final round tested practical combat abilities.
In this round, each person had to suppress their cultivation at the first level of Qi Absorption and defeat a sixth-level Qi Absorption expert.
Shi Xiaole continuously held back, using one of the dozens of sword techniques he had learned in the past, and easily defeated his opponent.
Throughout the entire test, he didn’t feel any difficulty.
It wasn’t that the Demon Alliance’s test was simple, but that Shi Xiaole’s current qualities were too exceptional. Not to mention ordinary people, even the elite of the martial world were far surpassed by him on the same level.
Upon seeing Shi Xiaole’s scores, the three Hall Masters were dumbstruck.
They maintained high statuses that could scare a multitude of people, yet they couldn’t help but be astonished.
"Who could this person be?"
The information regarding Shi Xiaole’s identity was sealed by Elder Rong and reported to the Elder Hall, deposited in the chamber where it would take three or more senior Elders working together to break the Array System. In other words, apart from their own recommenders, even the Alliance leader does not know the identity of the members.
"I only want him from the top ten of this test, the rest you guys can split." The Blood Slaughter Hall Master declared loudly. He greatly admired Shi Xiaole, so much so he only had eyes for him.
The Hidden Hall Master wanted to retort.
He also desired Shi Xiaole, but according to the test analyzing qualities for lurking, a few others scored higher than Shi Xiaole.
"Fine, let it be so."
The Hidden Hall Master thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and made a decision. Seeing the unyielding manner of the Blood Slaughter Hall Master, the Feiyu Hall Master wisely stepped back as well.
The top ten in the test were given their own code names, and Shi Xiaole soon learned his - Wind Evil, symbolizing his movements as unpredictable and deep as the wind!
