The sky opens and the mountains shatter, the clouds soar

The Saber Qi tore through the firmament, simultaneously shaking everyone's hearts. At that moment, Long Chen seemed to tower above the myriad Dao, becoming a monarch who dominated the ages.

Even the Elders stood up one after another, looking at the saber shadow in Long Chen's hand with expressions of shock.

"Slash!" Long Chen shouted, sounding like a Heavenly God passing judgment, as his long saber descended toward Gui Sha.

Gui Sha was terrified. He never expected that Long Chen would possess such a terrifying combat technique, so he could only use all his strength to defend.

"Boom!" It was like a heavenly saber slashing down upon a galaxy. Crumbled stones flew everywhere, the heavens and earth trembled, and waves of Qi surged into the sky, sweeping across all directions.

"Oh no." Tu Fang's expression shifted slightly. He stretched out his large hand, and an invisible hand appeared, shielding Tang Waner and Ye Zhiqiu, who were closest to the battlefield.

"Everyone be careful, lie down and defend together!" After protecting the two of them, Tu Fang shouted at the crowd.

Upon hearing this, everyone circulated their Qi to protect their bodies and scrambled to lie on the ground. However, some people looked unconvinced, thinking, 'It's just a small aftershock, is it really worth being this careful?'

"Boom!" When the terrifying storm swept over, those who were still standing were dumbfounded. Within the terrifying hurricane, mixed with crushed stones, they were instantly swallowed up.

Consequently, sounds of screaming echoed in harmony with the sounds of bones breaking and blood vomiting, performing an exceptionally heroic movement.

These people used their own bodies and blood to vividly interpret the principle that "a tree standing out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind" in a postmodern style.

After the storm subsided, some people crawled out from the dirt, their mouths agape as they looked at the scene before them.

More and more people crawled out from the dirt, but the expression on their Faces after seeing the scene before them was uniform: horror.

"Whoosh." The dirt on their bodies was shaken off. Tang Waner and Ye Zhiqiu were unharmed, without even a speck of dust on them.

The pair of transparent hands slowly dissipated. The two of them had no time to thank Tu Fang for his rescue, as they were stunned by the phenomenon before them.

A deep, bottomless trench extended into the distance, and the entire ground had deformed, making it almost impossible to recognize its original state.

Crushed soil and gravel had almost buried everyone. In front of the trench, which was several zhang wide, Long Chen leaned on his long saber, his chest heaving violently as he panted incessantly.

Not far from him, one of Gui Sha's arms and everything below his waist had completely disappeared, leaving him standing there like a wooden stump.

"He actually won?" Tang Waner was both shocked and delighted. She shouted aloud, "Long Chen, go cut off his head, and you will be a Core Disciple!"

Now that most of Gui Sha's body had disappeared, he was unable to resist. If it weren't for the fact that she and Ye Zhiqiu were both exhausted, she would have already rushed over to cut off Gui Sha's head.

A smile appeared on Tu Fang's Face. Although there was a suspicion of him giving Long Chen special treatment at the beginning, the difficulty of this assessment was enough to make anyone shut their mouth.

Long Chen's strength was unquestionable. If such a figure were not given a Core Disciple spot, it would truly be a pity.

However, giving away this spot was truly difficult. Several times, even Tu Fang thought they were going to fail.

Long Chen took a deep breath and, dragging his long saber, walked toward Gui Sha. Now was the time to harvest the fruits of his labor.

"Hehe, you want to use my, Gui Sha's, head to exchange for a reward? Keep dreaming."

Suddenly, Gui Sha let out a long howl toward the sky, and a violent Soul energy began to circulate frantically within his body.

Everyone was greatly shocked. He was already in this state, yet he could still resist? What kind of monster was this guy!

Long Chen was also shocked and hurriedly shouted, "Hey, hey, hey, wait, let's talk this over properly."

"Talk your ass off, you bastard, I curse you to die a horrible death!"

"Boom!" After Gui Sha cursed at the top of his lungs, his entire body suddenly exploded. Shredded flesh flew everywhere, scattering across the sky. He had actually self-detonated just like that.

For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded. His Soul was truly too powerful; he actually still had the strength to self-detonate at the end.

"Damn it, how does this count?" Long Chen was also dumbfounded. Without a head, what could he use to exchange for the reward?

He hurriedly ran to the place where Gui Sha had self-detonated to see if he could pick up some larger parts, to see if he could scrape together enough for the count.

Unfortunately, perhaps Gui Sha hated Long Chen too much; he would rather die himself than let Long Chen gain the slightest benefit from him.

He had actually paid the price of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering to blow his body into smithereens. The largest fragment was only the size of a finger.

Originally, if Gui Sha hadn't committed suicide, after his head was cut off by Long Chen, his Soul would have been detained and poured into the next corpse. In fact, he didn't have to die. For a villain who cherished his life so much to be this resolute, it showed just how much he hated Long Chen.

Looking at the corpse fragments all over the ground, Long Chen couldn't help but want to cry but had no tears. He tentatively asked Tu Fang, "Elder Tu Fang, look, can we not count by pieces? Can we weigh it by the kilogram instead?"

He knew that trying to piece together a complete head was out of the question, but if he tidied up those things, he should be able to make up the weight.

Tu Fang looked at Long Chen, unable to speak for a long time. Was this the fate of an anomaly? He had clearly given him a chance, so why did it still turn out like this?

At the same time, he remembered the Sect Leader's instructions not to try to change Long Chen's fate. Now he finally believed it. If he had forced a Core Disciple spot onto Long Chen, he feared it would bring great Karma to the entire branch sect, and the branch sect might even be destroyed.

"I am sorry, I cannot satisfy this for you," Tu Fang sighed. He also sympathized with Long Chen, but unfortunately, he dared not give him that treatment.

The other Elders couldn't help but sigh. They wanted to plead for Long Chen, but thinking of Tu Fang's impartial character, they shook their heads.

No one in the branch sect was unaware of Tu Fang's impartial character; sometimes even the Sect Leader would show him respect.

Hearing this, Long Chen's expression changed. Just as he was about to speak, Tu Fang waved his hand and said, "Don't be in a hurry. Although you didn't succeed, it doesn't count as a failure either. Tang Waner and Ye Zhiqiu's status as Core Disciples will remain, but as for you…"

"What about me?" Long Chen asked hurriedly.

"I can only follow the branch sect's rules and give you an Outer Sect Disciple position." Tu Fang himself felt his Face burning; doing this was truly wasting his talent.

Long Chen immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't get the Core Disciple status, which was a bit regrettable, becoming an Outer Sect Disciple was fine too. As long as he stayed in the branch sect, there would still be plenty of opportunities.

Furthermore, Long Chen didn't lose out. At the very least, he had tricked the Netherworld Ghost Shadow Steps from Gui Sha. From the resentment in Gui Sha's eyes, as if Long Chen had stolen his wife, Long Chen knew that this thing was definitely a treasure.

It was just that he didn't have time to cultivate it yet, but regardless, taking a risk and obtaining a powerful Cultivation Technique was still very worth it.

Hearing this news, Tang Waner and Ye Zhiqiu couldn't help but show a look of disappointment. Long Chen had been on the verge of victory, yet this ending occurred; it was truly regrettable.

However, Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin breathed a sigh of relief in secret. The confidence that had been battered to pieces by Long Chen slowly recovered.

No matter how strong a Genius is, without resource support, it is like cooking without rice or water from a dry source; they would soon be left behind.

"Long Chen, don't be sad," Tang Waner walked to Long Chen's side and softly consoled him.

Long Chen laughed and shook his head, saying, "Do I look like someone who would be sad? If I were sad over such a small matter, I would have died of sadness long ago."

Tang Waner's heart trembled upon hearing this. Indeed, Long Chen had experienced many unusual things; perhaps his strength was related to his experiences.

Among those present, only Tu Fang smiled slightly. Only he understood best just how much bullying and oppression Long Chen had experienced. Perhaps it was just as the saying went: either explode in suppression or perish in suppression.

Long Chen naturally belonged to the former. He had experienced too much bitterness; this little setback, to him, really didn't count for anything.

"Brother, thank you. Sorry, I chipped your heirloom saber," Long Chen handed the big saber to the big man, saying with some apology.

Only then did people notice that the originally fine big saber was now covered in thumb-sized notches. From afar, it looked like a saw, making people both shocked and amused.

"It's nothing. For this long saber to be of service to Brother Long, it is its life's honor," the big man took the long saber and said respectfully.

He had already planned that this long saber would be kept as a collection from now on; it was a witness to his friendship with Long Chen.

In the future, when Long Chen became a peerless powerhouse, he could very proudly take out the precious saber, pat his chest, and say to everyone: "I have a life-and-death friendship with Long Chen. See that? He once borrowed a saber from me."

Matters on Long Chen's side had come to a temporary end. Long Chen did not get the Core Disciple Nameplate and was only assigned an Outer Sect Disciple title.

Having seen that battle just now, everyone categorized him as a monster-level powerhouse, and he was even regarded as a monster among monsters.

After everyone returned to their own camps, Tu Fang stood before the crowd, and the entire scene immediately became silent.

Tu Fang looked at the crowd and said, "First, I congratulate you all here. You have become Disciples of the branch sect. From now on, all the resources of the branch sect will be open to you."

"However, how much you can obtain depends on your own abilities, and whether you are strong enough."

"So remember, entering the branch sect is just the beginning of your cultivation, because all the resources in the branch sect require matching strength to obtain."

Turning his head, he said to the applicants who did not get a spot in the assessment, "Although you were not selected, you didn't come in vain. Many people should have obtained quite a few things within the assessment map, so you didn't return empty-handed."

"Moreover, the branch sect has also reserved a path for you. You can choose to stay, but don't be too happy."

"You can cultivate in the branch sect, but you will not enjoy Disciple-level treatment. You can receive some meager resources every month, but you must also do a lot of work. To put it bluntly, that is a chore servant."

The crowd had previously heard they could stay, but upon hearing the latter part, they were like deflated balls and gave up completely.

They were all people who were used to being pampered; making them do chores was no different from killing them.

However, there were also some who cast aside their Face and decided to become true powerhouses, because here they saw a broader space and were no longer willing to be second-generation heirs. They wanted to be powerhouses, and even if they had to start as chore servants, they would not hesitate.

However, such people were very few. Out of more than ten thousand people, only fifty-odd remained. The rest were all led away to other places, presumably sent directly out of the branch sect.

Thus, after the originally massive crowd left the scene, only seven hundred or so people remained on the spot. Tu Fang waved his hand, and a dozen Elders slapped their hands on the stone pillars. The crowd suddenly felt their bodies lighten and disappeared from the spot.