CH 28

Xu Ning sat down and returned to a calm state.

Xia Yuanxing, who was watching Xu Ning closely, changed his expression from surprised to bewildered.

This young man obviously couldn’t bear the Source Breath Bodybuilding Tactic controlled breathing any longer, but he was still maintaining his composure.

‘Strange, really strange…’

As the captain of the Black Armored Guards, Xia Yuanxing knew about the weirdness of martial scars.

The so-called martial scars were imprinted by extraordinary means from transcendence realm martial artists, and the purpose of them was to teach the exercises more conveniently.

However, this method of teaching was a test of aptitude, and those with poor aptitude couldn’t withstand the force of the martial scars at all.

Like a poor student who reached the top of the class, even if he studied hard, he would still be left behind.

.

For those like Xu Ning, who had shown signs of giving up at the beginning, there was a high probability that he would not be able to keep up with the rhythm.

But now Xu Ning recovered after a short period of discomfort.

Xia Yuanxing had never seen anyone do this.

‘That kid seems to be stable again.’

Tao Jinglu knew of Xu Ning. At first, he thought that Xu Ning was about to be eliminated. He felt a little unfortunate, but after Xu Ning stabilized, he sighed in relief.

Tao Jingxing nodded silently.

Tao Jingxing also guessed that the liquid that was dripped into the eyes of the candidates allowed them to see a different scene.

Although he and the others only saw the static black lines, the younger generations of the Tao Village were seeing something completely different.

Tao Jingxing glanced at Xia Yuanxing, who was still watching Xu Ning.

‘Is this the secret of the Black Armored Guards…’

Tao Jingxing felt rather fortunate that he had never had any conflict with the Black Armored Guards over the years. ‘The martial arts methods displayed by the Source Faction are too advanced for me to understand…’

‘It is a blessing for these children to join them… If anyone can gain a higher level of talent and join the Source Faction, it would be a great honor to the village…’

Tao Jingxing’s gaze swept across the dozens of candidates, as if he was looking into Tao Village’s brilliant future.

The assessment was still going on.

Finally, less than a quarter of an hour later, someone finally couldn’t keep up with the martial scar’s force. They lost control and got up helplessly.

As time continued to pass, more and more people were unable to sustain much longer.

Even for the ones that held on, their expressions were obviously in pain. They seemed to be working strenuously.

Apart from Xu Ning, only Tao Qingyuan and Tao Jin seemed indifferent.

This basically confirmed the fact that the two were top geniuses of the Tao Village.

“That kid Xu Ning, he couldn’t hold it at first, I didn’t expect him to maintain it until now. His facial expression has not changed, and his state has become more and more stable.”

Tao Jinglu nodded in satisfaction.

Before teaching Xu Ning the Spring Breeze Tactic, he didn’t even know who Tao Yunchuan was. But after Xu Ning rose in popularity, and now that he would soon pass the assessment, in Tao Jinglu’s heart, he regarded Xu Ning as the future backbone of the Tao Village.

‘After Xu Ning passes the assessment, I have to ask the Clan Head to find a way to turn Xu Ning into a real Tao villager…’

4

Tao Jinglu thought, ‘After all, this kid is just following his brother-in-law. If one day he becomes the son-in-law of another village, it would be a huge loss to the Tao Village…’

There were fewer and fewer people being assessed in the venue. Even Tao Qingyuan and Tao Jin were frowning and becoming short of breath. They were obviously overwhelmed.

In contrast, Xu Ning was calm and relaxed, sitting there effortlessly.

‘Strange…’

Xia Yuanxing had been staring at Xu Ning.

The more indifferent Xu Ning was, the more curious Xia Yuanxing was.

‘Interesting, very interesting.’

Xia Yuanxing smiled as he stared at him.

Regardless of whether this kid’s talent was real or not, after he enters the Black Armored Guards in the future, Xia Yuanxing would naturally have time to figure it out.

“The assessment is over!”

The deputy examiner suddenly shouted.

At this moment, there were only 20 people left in the assessment venue.

After the announcement for the end of the assessment was issued, everyone in the venue seemed to be relieved at the same time.

The candidates who were still in the venue all smiled at the same time. If the clan elders weren’t sitting beside them, they would have started to cheer.

And those who were eliminated had a look of loneliness and regret.

The most unfortunate thing was that the goal was just right in front of them.

The people who were eliminated in the third assessment were more defeated than those who were eliminated in the first assessment.

“Is it over…”

Xu Ning rubbed his eyes and looked around.

Compared to the others, he was much calmer.

After upgrading his breath tactic to the beginner realm, he knew that he would definitely pass the test.

Tao Jin rubbed her eyes. She first glanced at Tao Qingyuan and saw that Tao Qingyuan was still there; he had not been eliminated.

After that, almost subconsciously, she looked at where Xu Ning was sitting.

Xu Ning was also there.

Tao Jin narrowed her eyes and looked away with a blank expression.

“Congratulations to everyone for passing the assessment. From now on, we are family.”

The deputy examiner, who was cold and curt before, actually showed a smile on his face.

“Okay, guys, take your forms and go see Captain Xia!”

The deputy examiner motioned everyone to line up.

Xu Ning got up and stood in the middle of the line.

‘Tao Qingping also passed the assessment…’

Xu Ning saw Tao Qingping at the end of the line.

Tao Qingping’s forehead was full of sweat, but he had a big smile on his face.

Xu Ning didn’t talk with anyone. He just followed the group and walked forward.

Tao Qingyuan was at the front of the line. He took the form and arrived in front of Xia Yuanxing.

“Captain Xia.”

Tao Qingyuan saluted respectfully.

He knew very well that being a so-called top genius in the Tao Village was a nobody in Xia Yuanxing’s eyes.

“Tao Qingyuan…”

Xia Yuanxing took Tao Qingyuan’s form, glanced at the information on it, and smiled slightly. “I have heard your name before. You are the pride of the Tao Village.”

After speaking, he also glanced at Tao Jingxing, who was next to him.

Tao Jingxing was also happy. He looked at Tao Qingyuan with eyes full of satisfaction.

He had already decided that Tao Qingyuan would be the next Clan Head of the village.

“From now on, you will be a member of the Black Armored Guards.”

Xia Yuanxing opened a wooden box that someone had put on the table previously.

He took out a palm-sized yellow metal plate from inside, which was engraved with the words “Black Armored Guard” and some decorative patterns.

Tao Qingyuan took it and saluted again.

Then, it was the next person’s turn.

Only this time, they received gray metal plates instead.

It was almost Xu Ning’s turn.

‘This metal plate seems to represent a certification…’

Xu Ning noticed that those who were recognized as excellent talents, like Tao Qingyuan and Tao Jin, received yellow signs.

Those with slightly worse talents, received cyan metal plates.

And the ordinary talents amongst the 20 candidates received gray plates.

‘It seems that the people who got into the Black Armored Guards are still treated differently…’

Xu Ning was curious what color plate he would get.

Finally, it was Xu Ning’s turn.

“Xu Ning…”

When Xia Yuanxing saw Xu Ning come over, he immediately became interested.

He glanced at Xu Ning’s information.

Muscle bone realm, intermediate realm external skill, age 17.

His talents were good, but compared to Tao Qingyuan and Tao Jin, there was obviously a gap in strength on paper.

However, during the final qualification assessment, Xu Ning had performed the best.

Tao Jingxing was sitting at his side and he glanced at Xu Ning’s information.

“Muscle bone realm?”

Tao Jingxing was stunned for a moment before he glanced at Xu Ning again.

He had only heard Tao Ye say in the past that Xu Ning was in the intermediate realm of his external skill.

When he saw him pass the assessments, he thought Xu Ning must have broken through the practice realm in less than two months.

But now, Tao Jingxing discovered that Xu Ning’s progress was beyond his expectations.

‘I have to find a way to make him stay in the Tao Village…’

At this time, Tao Jingxing had the same thoughts as Tao Jinglu.

“You are not from the Tao Village?”

Other than Tao Qingyuan and Tao Jin, Xia Yuanxing only gave a word of encouragement to others—he did not say much.

But now, he seemed to want to start a conversation.

“I’m from the Tao Village…” Xu Ning explained, “I just have a foreign surname.”

Tao Jingxing felt relieved after hearing Xu Ning’s answer.

Tao Jingxing smiled happily.

‘At least this kid holds the identity of a Tao villager in his heart.’