NOVEL NEXT chapter 222 - Black Crow Mask Assessment Begins
The next morning, Oriental Bright Universe drove Qin Tian to a special building.
“This is where the examiners are selected.”
Oriental Bright Universe presented his family emblem and led Qin Tian into the open-air dojo.
The moment he stepped through the gate, a chilling, murderous aura assailed him, and Qin Tian’s pupils contracted slightly—nine circular arenas, like giant beasts, lay sprawled across the spacious grounds.
Each arena was several hundred meters in diameter, its surface gleaming with a deep purplish-black luster, and intricate patterns, like solidified magma, swirled with an eerie metallic texture in the morning light.
“These arenas are cast from Meteoric Profound Crystal,” Oriental Bright Universe explained in a low voice, seeing Qin Tian staring at the surface.
“They can withstand the full force of a Seventh-level Spiritual Energy User’s attack, and their inherent self-healing properties can repair any cracks within ten minutes.”
Before he finished speaking, a blinding flash of lightning suddenly erupted from one of the distant arenas, and two figures collided like meteors, the resulting shockwave sending Flying gravel, but the seemingly fragile surface only rippled like a spiderweb, recovering completely in less than half a minute.
Grotesque Taotie pattern were carved on the bronze pillars surrounding the arena, and at the top of each pillar floated a crystalline Spiritual Energy User crystal, whose faint blue light intertwined to form a dome, enveloping the entire dojo in a soft glow.
In the spectator area in the corner, dozens of gilded chairs were arranged in a staggered fashion, with runes carved on their backs flickering, clearly designed as protective arrays to ward off the aftermath of battles.
By the side of the arena, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) an old man in white stood with his hands behind his back.
When a man wearing a white crane mask on the arena fell to the ground, spitting blood, the old man instantly appeared between the combatants, his seemingly withered hand gripping the attacker's wrist like an iron claw.
“The battle is over, Fire Fox wins,” the old man announced the result of the battle.
The woman wearing the fire fox mask had a graceful figure.
After the old man announced the result, she took a half-step back, turned her head, paused for two seconds on Qin Tian and Oriental Bright Universe, then jumped off the arena and disappeared from their sight.
The old man raised his hand and waved out a green light of Spiritual Energy User energy, which, upon landing on White Crane, instantly healed his injuries.
“This is a Dragon-Elephant Seven-Leaf Pill, which can strengthen your physique and heal injuries, consider it a gift for participating in this assessment.”
The old man handed White Crane a pill.
White Crane held the pill, remained silent for a moment, then stood up, bowed to the old man, and left.
After the two left, Oriental Bright Universe stepped forward and greeted him warmly:
“Grandpa Yue.”
“Mingyu, why are you here?” the old man asked with a smile, clearly on good terms with Oriental Bright Universe.
“Grandpa Yue, let me introduce you, this is Qin Tian, invited by my grandfather to participate in the examiner selection for this Genius Battle,” Oriental Bright Universe said.
“Hello, Mr. Oriental Mountain.” Qin Tian bowed slightly to show respect.
“So, you were recommended by Eastern Yunhai,” Oriental Mountain said, sizing up Qin Tian, then asked, “Mingyu, did you bring the letter of recommendation?”
“I brought it.” Oriental Bright Universe pulled a letter from his embrace and said, “The Elder Council has already stamped and signed it.”
Oriental Mountain glanced at it and nodded.
“Good, then let’s officially proceed with the selection process, Qin Tian, what is your Spiritual Energy User level?”
Qin Tian truthfully replied, “Fourth-level, three-star.”
Both Fourth-level Oriental Bright Universe and Oriental Mountain felt a slight surprise.
One must know that among the geniuses in the competition, there were Fourth-level Spiritual Energy Users, but without exception, all examiners were Fifth-level or above.
After all, if one’s bloodline was inferior to that of a genius, to pose a threat to them and even eliminate them, the examiner’s Spiritual Energy User level absolutely could not be weak.
Fifth-level was the minimum standard.
However, Eastern Yunhai must have known this, yet he still recommended Qin Tian, which showed that in his heart, Qin Tian’s combat power was definitely not as simple as it appeared.
“Come over here and choose a mask first.” Oriental Mountain took out a box filled with various animal masks.
At this moment, Oriental Bright Universe’s eyes flickered.
Examiners were also categorized by rank, with C-rank being the lowest and A-rank the highest, and the examiner’s rank could be distinguished by their mask.
C-rank examiners’ masks were all animal-themed, such as White Crane, Fire Fox, fierce tiger, and so on, and they were the most numerous.
B-rank examiners wore special Zodiac costumes and golden masks, thus, there were only twelve B-rank examiners.
The number of A-rank examiners was even scarcer; in each annual competition, there would be no more than five A-rank examiners, usually just three.
A-rank examiners could almost crush every contestant in terms of raw strength, so contestants could only defeat A-rank examiners by forming teams and alliances.
The higher the examiner’s rank, the more precious the prize they guarded, and the more generous the examiner’s reward received at the end of the competition.
Grandpa Yue directly took out animal masks, indicating that he had categorized Qin Tian as C-rank.
Of course, this was also reasonable.
After all, Spiritual Energy User level was Qin Tian’s weakness.
Qin Tian’s mental power swept across the masks, and all their forms appeared in his mind.
After two seconds of thought, he picked out a black crow mask.
The black crow mask was shaped like a raven, its pure black metallic surface gleaming coldly.
The beak was sharply defined like a knife’s edge, and the eye holes were hollowed-out diamond grids, with edges slightly upturned, suggesting a hint of aloofness.
Narrow crow feather patterns extended from both sides of the mask, and three silver studs secured it at the chin, a minimalist design imbued with a sense of Kill.
After putting on the mask, his vision was surprisingly clear, not at all obstructed by the mask.
Not only that, but the mask’s surface also had a strange fluctuation that could block any mental probing, protecting the examiner’s true appearance from being revealed.
“Interesting~” Under the mask, Qin Tian’s lips curved into a slight smile.
“Next, you need to randomly draw an opponent.” Oriental Mountain projected a holographic page in front of them.
Names like Violent Ape, Blue Cat, Black Panther, etc., rapidly cycled in the center.
At the bottom of the page was a button-like symbol.
Qin Tian stepped forward and lightly tapped the symbol.
Almost instantly, the page froze, leaving only one name: White Elephant!
“White Elephant, I remember that young man.” Oriental Mountain recalled and said to Qin Tian, “Your luck is a bit poor.
White Elephant is among the stronger examiners, with great strength, though his flexibility is average.”
For the sake of his old friend Eastern Yunhai, he revealed a bit of information about the opponent to Qin Tian.
Logically, this was somewhat against the rules, but it wasn’t a big deal.
After all, victory or defeat still depended on the strength of both sides and wouldn’t be severely affected by a few simple words.
“Strength-type Spiritual Energy User.” Qin Tian nodded slightly.
Knowing his opponent’s characteristics in advance would allow him to make corresponding tactical preparations and slightly increase his chances of winning.
Next, Oriental Mountain notified White Elephant of the challenge and asked him to arrive at the dojo as soon as possible.
Half an hour later, an exceptionally tall and burly figure appeared in the dojo, at least two meters two tall, with extremely wide shoulders, bulging muscles, wielding two hammers, and wearing a White Elephant mask.
White Elephant immediately spotted Qin Tian wearing the black crow mask.
Instantly, a powerful aura surged forth, as if a mountain was pressing down on Qin Tian, and a deep, heavy voice resonated throughout the dojo.
“Are you the one challenging me?”
Clang~
Just then, an overbearing and unparalleled blade intent soared into the sky, cleaving through the heavy aura that enveloped the dojo.
Qin Tian stood on the arena, raised his battle blade, its tip pointing directly at White Elephant, and softly uttered:
“Come!”