Everyone took a short break.
From time to time, someone would turn to look at Wei Ziping, whose face was extremely ashen. Although many wanted to mock him, no one dared to add salt to his wound.
As a result, the scene maintained an eerie silence, even those who were excitedly discussing Mu Jinyu's performance spoke rarely.
Even though no one voiced their ridicule, how could Wei Ziping not see the mocking glances of those around him?
Wei Ziping's face was green with anger, his fists clenched, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him whole.
He never thought that the result of the strength assessment would be such a slap in his face.
Thinking about his earlier mocking words to Mu Jinyu, saying it was doubtful Mu Jinyu could achieve the Six Cauldrons Six Bells on his first try.
Looking again at the cleared space where the damaged red lines had been, Wei Ziping felt his face burning with shame!
Chen Qiuqiao shared the same feeling as Wei Ziping.
Chen Qiuqiao also thought Mu Jinyu might embarrass himself in the strength assessment, but the consecutive sounds of the Cauldrons and Bells Ringing Together, followed by the bells and cauldrons exploding, felt like Mu Jinyu had given him a hard slap.
It clearly told him that from beginning to end, they were not even on the same level.
Chen Qiuqiao felt extremely stifled.
Mu Jinyu was unaware of the frustration and despair these two were feeling; he was talking to Yun Ge.
"Junior Brother Mu, your performance just now was really impressive."
Yun Ge sat beside Mu Jinyu, looking at him with admiration.
Mu Jinyu smiled wryly, "What's so impressive? I felt so embarrassed, had I known it would turn out like this, I would have just casually thrown a punch like you guys did."
"Hmm? Junior Brother Mu, do you really think we were just casually throwing punches?" Yun Ge's eyes widened slightly with surprise at Mu Jinyu's words.
"Could it be..." Mu Jinyu's heart skipped a beat and he looked at Yun Ge.
Yun Ge sighed and shook his head, "Of course, we also gave it our all, it's just we've gone through these assessments many times and understand the techniques so even when we give it our all, it appears effortless."
Saying this, he smiled wryly and added, "Otherwise, do you think I would have almost achieved the Cauldrons and Bells Ringing Together and purposely hide my strength?"
"I really couldn't do it, it's a pity those Bell and Cauldron Treasures were destroyed by you, now this will be a lifelong regret for me."
Yun Ge sighed again, with a sense of loss.
Mu Jinyu's lips moved a few times and he said, "I'm sorry..."
"Haha, did you take it seriously? Don't apologize, I was just teasing you, there's no such regret." Yun Ge's expression instantly shifted from disappointment to a cheerful smile.
Seeing this, Mu Jinyu couldn't tell if his expression was genuine but he was relieved.
Then, he had a thought and turned to look at Wei Ziping, who still had an ashen face, and said, "Brother Yun, you said you gave it your all, so Wei Ziping must have done the same, right? But he..."
"His result was even better than mine, right?" Yun Ge said calmly.
Shaking his head slightly, Yun Ge added, "I'm not sure if his strength surpasses mine, but it doesn't matter, the better he performs, the more advantageous it is for our Heavenly Sword Faction in the upcoming Four Sects Martial Meeting."
Mu Jinyu observed Yun Ge's expression and saw that he was sincere without much disappointment, clearly he meant what he said.
At once, Mu Jinyu had mixed feelings.
"Alright, everyone, we've rested enough and shouldn't waste time. Next, we'll proceed with the speed test, follow me."
At this moment, the Examiner Elder stood up and loudly addressed everyone.
After speaking, he glanced at Mu Jinyu, then soared into the air, heading for a nearby peak of Tianlan Peak!
"Junior Brother Mu, and the rest, let's go."
Seeing this, Yun Ge stopped talking, got up, and smiled at Mu Jinyu and the others.
"Alright."
Everyone responded and followed Yun Ge, trailing behind the Examiner Elder.
Soon, they arrived at a desolate mountainside.
As soon as Mu Jinyu landed, he felt a pressing weight that almost knocked him off his feet.
Ahead, dozens of the Inner Sect Disciples stumbled and fell to the ground.
No one laughed at them, as those who remained standing were also struggling against the strange gravity!
Mu Jinyu then recalled that this peak was known as Zhongfeng, where the gravity was much greater than elsewhere.
So, some disciples frequently came here to cultivate their movement techniques and temper their True Yuan.
'It seems this test is held right here.'
Mu Jinyu thought to himself.
He now understood why the Examiner Elder allowed them to rest before coming here.
Considering they just completed the strength assessment, and with the mishap at the end, many had depleted their True Yuan. Coming here so soon would have exhausted a lot of people on the spot.
The Examiner Elder stood on a large rock, seemingly unaffected by the heavy gravity, and said, "The speed assessment is the same as previous years; you must reach the peak from the mountainside. The passing mark is within the time of three joss sticks. Let's begin!"
After saying this, he soared towards the peak of Zhongfeng!
"Charge!!"
As soon as the Examiner Elder disappeared from their sight, the participating Inner Sect Disciples shouted and each began displaying their movement techniques, sprinting towards the peak!
"Junior Brother Mu, let's hurry up!"
Yun Ge reminded Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu planned to wait for the others to go up first, but hearing Yun Ge's reminder, he suddenly understood the faster one reaches the peak, the better the assessment score and rewards.
So, he decided not to hold back and nodded, "Alright."
With that, he hesitated and looked at Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan.
Jian Ruyan said, "Don't worry about us, we won't be able to get a good ranking anyway, you go ahead."
"Alright."
Mu Jinyu gave them a deep look and decided not to bring them along, then immediately used the 'Ten Steps Move', leaving behind hundreds of afterimages, and in an instant, he caught up with Wei Ziping, who was currently in the lead!
Wei Ziping was feeling proud, thinking he would get first place in the speed assessment this time, when suddenly a white flash passed before his eyes.
"Hmm? What was that?!"
Wei Ziping was stunned, doubting his own eyes.
At this moment, Mu Jinyu's afterimages caught up, and several indistinct figures flashed before Wei Ziping's eyes.
"Damn! It's you again!!"
Wei Ziping instantly recognized the afterimages left by Mu Jinyu and was filled with rage!
"Whoosh!"
At this moment, another white flash passed before Wei Ziping's eyes.
This time, Wei Ziping didn't feel he was seeing things and immediately recognized the person.
He saw at a glance that it was Yun Ge who had just surpassed him!