"I"ve decided." Wu Yu weighed it out and made his decision.
It was just a few fights; they would not take up too much time. Besides, to be able to pit himself against the elite centurions of Yan Huang Imperial City was an opportunity that was no less valuable than fighting with the likes of the Black White Double Ghosts.
It could be even better.
After all, these elite 32 centurions would definitely be much stronger than the Black White Double Ghosts.
And they might even have the fighting ability of chiliarchs.
Qin Fuyao was probably around the second tier Violent Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm, so it would not be easy even for her to win. After all, this Trial of Yan did not consider one"s talent, only one"s fighting ability. Even if a centurion was 200 years old, they could still join, and they might not be weaker than Qin Fuyao.
The Trial of Yan had a cap on one"s cultivation level. Once one crossed the fourth tier of the Violent Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm, a fifth tier cultivator, one could not enter the Trial of Yan, but instead had to enter the Trial of Huang.
For the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm, the jump from fourth to fifth tier and seventh to eighth tier were deemed rather significant hurdles, and many found them difficult to overcome. This was the reason why Yan Huang Imperial City, the Shushan Immortal Sect, and other sects divided the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm into three different statuses.
At Shushan, Earth sword rank: Heaven sword rank, Shushan Sword Sage.
At Yan Huang Imperial City: centurion, chiliarch, general.
If he could stay at the City Lord Residence for half a year, then regardless of the instruction that he received from the City Lord, just getting to know this person would be a boon above all in itself. Many wanted to meet the City Lord of Yan Huang but would not ever have a chance.
The City Lord of Yan Huang, foremost in the world!
"If I choose to join, how do I become one of the 32?"
There were so many centurions that it was a huge problem in itself to even qualify as one of the 32 candidates.
Jiang Xuechuan said, "That will have to depend on your own efforts. I am not sure if you have reached the criteria to join. From the way you consecutively killed the Black Fiend and the others, it should be borderline satisfactory. Follow me to the Yan Palace then. The Trial of Yan and the Trial of Huang both have their registrations at the Yan Palace. There are three testers there. General Qin, General Gu, and General Murong. You have to conquer each, and they will give you an evaluation score. If your score is within the highest 32, then you may compete."
Wu Yu understood.
It was said that General Murong determined 40 points, while the other two determined 30 points each, for a total of 100 points. Each person"s score from the generals would be their final score when totaled. On the day of compet.i.tion, the highest 32 would be announced. If there were ties in the 30th places or lower, then there would be tiebreakers to determine who would be the candidate in the Trial of Yan.
"I will bring you to the Yan Palace. The Yan Palace is a busy place in these couple of days." Jiang Xuechuan was well satisfied with Wu Yu"s decision.
The two left the Heaven"s Equal Camp and quickly went to the Yan Palace. As predicted, the closer they got to the Yan Palace, the more the sound of the crowd could be heard. Many of the Yan Huang Immortal Soldiers were thronging around, vying for better angles to watch the show. They did not care about missions for now.
Inside and outside, there were tens of thousands of Yan Huang Immortal Soldiers.
Luckily, they were not in the way. All centurions who wished to register were readily let through. When Wu Yu arrived, there was already a queue with a few hundred people, and they were all centurions who were Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivators. At the front of the queue was the testing ground, where everyone was watching. There were quite a few chiliarchs here maintaining order, while the three elders were on a raised dais in front. They were General Qin, General Gu, and General Murong.
"Queue here." Jiang Xuechuan brought him here, while he himself prepared to head forward.
Wu Yu looked over. General Gu he knew, having met him last time before. General Qin looked slightly younger. His long, black hair was well-ordered, and there were two locks of white hair entwined within. He had the sharp look of an eagle, a fierceness devoid of anger. Wu Yu recalled that he had heard of him. He was Qin Fuyao"s adoptive father.
The other one, General Murong, was seated in the middle, and evidently was the strongest. He was an old man, his hair completely white. His face was wrinkled as well, but a pair of bright and cold eyes shone out from his weathered features. With him holding the ground, not even the tens of thousands of Yan Huang Immortal Soldiers dared to cause a ruckus.
Wu Yu was at the back of the queue, and behind him, centurions continued to file in. At this time, quite a few people had noticed him.
"Quick, look, that"s Wu Yu."
"He"s here to join the Trial of Yan too!"
"Ah, I heard that he consecutively killed two ghostly cultivators at the fourth tier of the Violent Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm. He must be very strong. If he joins the Trial of Yan, there"ll be a good show."
"It"s very likely that another strong contender has just entered the scene."
Many people were discussing the appearance of Wu Yu.
Wu Yu was concentrating in peace.
Suddenly, he felt a p.r.i.c.kle down the back of his neck. Ming Long coughed a few times, and Wu Yu turned back to see Luo Pin a few places behind him. She was in the same getup, covering herself well. Her eyes met Wu Yu"s, and he suddenly felt as though he were drowning in the wide, quiet ocean.
"Why has she come?" Wu Yu was shocked.
She was actually standing in the queue, evidently intending to enter.
But her current ability was at the third tier Violent Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm.
Ming Long was a little grouchy as well. "This girl is hiding her status and ability. Isn"t she afraid the City Lord will see through her? Why would she dare to enter the City Lord Residence?"
Ming Long had once said that perhaps only two people in the whole of Yan Huang Imperial City could see her true form, and that was the City Lord and the Imperial General. And if she was here in Yan Huang Imperial City in disguise, then she should keep as much distance from the two as possible.
"Could she be here to join the fun?" Wu Yu guessed. After all, all along the queue, there were not many who were at the fourth tier of the Violent Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm. Many were queueing just for fun, and to see how many points they could get.
"Given her personality and ident.i.ty, she would not bother. Although I don"t know why, I"m sure that this little female dragon wants to enter the City Lord Residence," Ming Long said with certainty.
Since she had come, Wu Yu allowed the few people behind him to go on ahead. He was not so afraid of this immortal beast now, and he scooted back until he was in front of Luo Pin. He said amiably, "Commander Luo is thinking of entering the Trial of Yan as well?"
Luo Pin looked at him and said, "I had nothing else to do, so I decided to try my hand."
"Oh." Wu Yu nodded. She probably wouldn"t tell him the truth anyway.
This woman was truly wrapped in mysteries.
At this time, Jiang Xuechuan had just reached his chiliarch friends" side. Suddenly spotting Luo Pin, he too was shocked, and hurried over. "Luo Pin, why have you come?"
Given his understanding of Luo Pin, he felt that her ability was insufficient, and therefore she would not be here to try her hand.
"Just to try," Luo Pin said neutrally.
Wu Yu noticed that her snow-white, shoulder-length hair was even sparkling like a jewel.
"Well then, I"ll look forward to the both of you." Jiang Xuechuan did not dwell on this, returning to his place with a smile for both.
Luo Pin"s face was indifferent, and she was unwilling to talk. Wu Yu had greeted her, but he did not take the initiative to pick up the conversation. Instead, he turned his attention back to the testing in front.
"Greenhorn, quick, think of a way to rouse her interest. Such a juicy piece of meat has fallen into your lap. Don"t let it fly away now." Ming Long nagged at him.
Wu Yu was too lazy to answer her. Nonsense always spewed from her one day after another....
From in front, the boom of drums sounded. As they neared, Wu Yu finally saw clearly that there was a war drum in front of the three generals. The war drum was black and gold, and it looked crude. There were more than 1,000 Immortal Treasure Spirit Designs on it, so it was extremely st.u.r.dy.
Each challenger had to use their immortal treasure to attack this war drum, and the three generals would give their score based on the war drum"s sound, as well as other supplementary areas.
"That"s the Yan Huang War Drum, a fairly good immortal treasure as well. It can complement the Yan Huang Wars.h.i.+p. It"s said that after one masters the drum, it can decimate one"s enemies. An offensive-type immortal treasure."
Right now, none of these centurions owned the Yan Huang War Drum, so there would be no offensive power generated when they hit the drum.
Otherwise, many of the Yan Huang Immortal Soldiers thronging around would die when the drum was sounded, because this Yan Huang War Drum did not differentiate its attacks and its deadly powers were extremely potent.
Of course, causing the war drum to sound was no easy task either. All those who had gone up before mainly only caused a slight thump, and General Murong"s final score rarely crossed the 60 mark.
Wu Yu took a close look.
Each time the score was announced, the crowd cheered.
Turning ability into a quantifiable number was indeed a cold process, but this was a fairly accurate judgment for the centurions. In this way, many centurions could also know their own level.
And this made Wu Yu curious. How many points could he score?
Not just him, but everyone queuing right now was a little jumpy. It was like when he was back in the royal palace, taking tests for history, politics, and governance. Back then, besides some talent in military matters, Wu Yu had pretty much proved his incompetence in the rest of the subjects....
Suddenly, from in front of the group, Wu Yu spotted Qin Fuyao.
He had not noticed her before.
Qin Fuyao was dressed as well as ever. Given her looks, she was naturally the center of attention. When it was her turn, there was an especially loud chorus of cheers. Everyone"s attention was drawn over. Because the generals were present, they did not dare to catcall, but they were eager with antic.i.p.ation.
"Aw, shucks. With so many people watching, I"ll get nervous." Qin Fuyao batted her eyelids at the crowd, and immediately all the Yan Huang Immortal Soldiers present were dazzled.
"Fuyao, stop it. Be serious." General Qin coughed a few times, embarra.s.sed.
"Alright, Daddy. You have to give me the full 30 points, or I won"t talk to you." Qin Fuyao gave a teasing laugh, causing General Qin to be even more embarra.s.sed, while his other two comrades laughed.
However, Qin Fuyao did not let him down.
Her long whip snaked out, snapping against the Yan Huang War Drum to produce an ear-splitting sound. Many of the spirit designs activated, bursting with radiant light that filled the skies.
"Not bad. Already a third tier Violent Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivator. But in terms of Violet Kingdom Primordial Energy, higher than most of the fourth tier of the Violent Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivators." This was the first time that General Murong had given praise.
When the final score came out, General Murong had given her 38, while General Gu had given her 29 and General Qin 27. A total of 94 points!
Wu Yu did not know how the rest had fared, but a score of 94 was definitely within the top 32.
In truth, Qin Fuyao was locked in as a hot favorite for top three in the Trial of Yan!
After a while, it was Wu Yu and Luo Pin"s turn.
When Wu Yu took the field, all eyes were watching with antic.i.p.ation.