The commotion caused by Huang Nishang did not affect the progress of the Spiritual Mountain Sect's assessment. When she was taken away, everyone only whispered to each other for a while. After the venue was repaired, the assessment continued as usual.
On the last day, Li Chengfeng finished his last match and won an astonishing fifteen matches. His total points were tied with Huangfu Song, Li Xuanming and Ouyang Xiu, and he was ranked third overall.
According to the Spiritual Mountain Sect's assessment rules, if the scores were the same, the assessment criteria would be based on the time spent.
If the score was the same, the one who won in the shortest time would be ranked higher.
Therefore, Huangfu Song was ranked first because he used the shortest amount of time to crush his opponents. Second was Li Xuanming, who dominated most of his matches, but the rest were all one-sided fights. His opponents had no hope of winning at all. Li Chengfeng was ranked third. Although he also dominated many matches, his weaknesses were too obvious. Towards the end of the match, many cultivators targeted his weaknesses. Li Chengfeng had to spend a lot of time dealing with them to find their weaknesses and flaws.
Ouyang Xiu was ranked fourth. Other than the battle with Huang Nishang where she almost lost, she had crushed all the other matches. She had actually used less time than Li Chengfeng, but the battle with Huang Nishang had a huge impact on her. She should have lost, but she won instead. This seriously affected her ranking. She was proud and arrogant, so she took the initiative to ask for the bonus points for this match to be cancelled.
However, under Kong Yunzhen's mediation, she was allowed to win. After all, the rules were rules. They just adjusted the ranking.
After the four of them finished all fifteen matches, the first round of assessment entered the final stage. Hidden Brocade Court won. More than eighty percent of their disciples obtained enough points to enter the next round.
Hidden Brocade Court followed closely behind, with almost seventy percent of their disciples entering the second round. The elimination battle was even more intense. Hidden Modesty Court's winning rate was the lowest, only less than forty percent. However, in the assessment battles, many Hidden Modesty Court disciples used up all their resources. Some were even defeated in battle and eventually left the assessment battle. This caused them to enter the second round with only about twenty percent of their disciples.
However, with their huge numbers, they still had the highest number of disciples in the entire assessment battle.
Among the four heavenly courts, Hidden Sword Court's record was … too horrible to look at!
Other than Li Chengfeng, who had won all fifteen battles and stood out from the rest, everyone else's battle results … were terrible.
On the last day, Li Chengfeng was the only one who passed the assessment!
Qu Tongqiu and Zhao Yibai each won one match, so they had one win and fourteen losses. After Su You won the first match by cheating, he became a thorn in the eyes of the other disciples. Many male cultivators beat him up to please Ji Chunhua, so Su You won fifteen matches and thirteen losses. In the last fourteen matches, he only won one match!
On the morning of the last day, Annan, who was sleepwalking normally, was defeated again. He won four out of fifteen matches and lost eleven. This made many people who were optimistic about him surprised because Annan of Hidden Sword Pavilion was an opponent whose strength could not be underestimated. However, no one knew why he performed so abnormally this time.
Qiu Chuqiu, who was on good terms with him … also suffered the same fate. He also won four out of fifteen matches and lost eleven. He was eliminated, unable to enter the next round.
For disciples like them whose cultivation was considered good in Hidden Sword Court, this result was tantamount to a disaster.
Disciples who couldn't even enter the second round were basically labeled as "trash". Because they couldn't enter the second round, it meant that they couldn't enter the final ranking. If they couldn't enter the final ranking, they wouldn't be able to get any cultivation resources.
This was because the resources were distributed according to the ranking. Since the Spiritual Mountain Sect had come up with such a cruel assessment system, it was natural that they would not allow everyone to have a share of the resources. If they were eliminated in the first round, they would still be able to distribute the resources. This would make those who had no future even more lazy and less motivated to improve themselves.
These "losers" would always be the majority in a sect. If only a small amount of resources were allocated to each of these "losers", it would still consume a large amount of financial and material resources as the numbers accumulated.
When these resources were accumulated together, it was enough to make a talented cultivator become a great cultivator.
Therefore, if they did not pass the first round, what awaited them … was a cruel fate … a cruel fate of not having any resources for a whole ten years.
In the cultivation world, if they did not have any resources for a whole ten years … this meant that they were basically left behind.
Unless they risked their lives to complete the sect's missions, traded their lives for resources, or had an extraordinary encounter, otherwise … they would eventually become the lowest of the disciples in the cultivation sect. They could only complete some of the sect's chores, and those who worked harder would have to complete even more cruel combat missions.
The strength and prestige of a sect depended on the cultivators at the top, but the operation of a sect depended on these cultivators at the bottom. In the end, they would be reduced to inconspicuous soil fertilizer under the throne of those great cultivators.
Cultivation was like a battlefield, a general's success was built on the bones of thousands!
Just like that, Hidden Sword Court was slowly sucked dry. Their resources were reduced, and in order to fight for more resources, they had no choice but to participate in those cruel combat missions. But how could there be no casualties in battle?
Over the years, the constant deaths and injuries caused the towering tree that was the Hidden Sword Court to be hollowed out bit by bit over the course of a few decades. It became an empty shell that could topple with a push.
If An Nan and Qiu Chuqiu's failures surprised Li Chengfeng, then Ouyang Nan and the rest's results shocked him beyond words.
Other than the last battle, Ouyang Nan had only won four out of fourteen battles. If he did not win the last battle, he would be eliminated. Zhao Xiaobao and Han Tianxing also had four wins and ten losses. On the last day, if they could not win the last battle, it would mean … they would also be eliminated!
At this point in the assessment, there was no longer any hope of luck in anyone's heart.
This cruel fifteen rounds of continuous battles could strangle any hope of luck. The dark horses could take advantage of their opponents' unfamiliarity or carelessness to win one, two, or even three rounds.
However, after three rounds, they would definitely enter the eyes of those with ulterior motives. They would be studied and targeted.
Among cultivators of similar levels, there was no one like Li Chengfeng who had such overwhelming power. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses that could not be hidden.
As long as someone with a discerning eye watched one or two battles, their weaknesses would be exposed and targeted.
That was why Li Chengfeng had won three matches in a row. This could be considered a miracle. However, he had won fifteen matches in a row. Everyone knew that Li Chengfeng had the strength of a truly powerful cultivator. It was impossible for him to win all fifteen matches out of sheer luck!
However, what truly shocked Li Chengfeng and the other disciples was not Li Chengfeng's shocking fifteen consecutive wins, but … the previous acting Court Master of Hidden Sword Court, Grand Senior Brother's record.
This publicly acknowledged expert of Hidden Sword Court had only won four out of fourteen battles and lost ten!
This also meant that if he lost the last round … he would not even be able to enter the second elimination round. This would be the first time in the history of the Spiritual Mountain Sect that the acting Court Master could not enter the second elimination round!
This would be a humiliation for Hidden Sword Court and the Spiritual Mountain Sect!
This battle had not even begun but it had already attracted everyone's attention. Many disciples spontaneously gathered at the arena where Grand Senior Brother was fighting. They all saw this crucial battle as the final fall of Hidden Sword Court!
As for the traitors who joined Hidden Brocade Court and fought under the name of Hidden Brocade Court, they too looked at Grand Senior Brother with mixed feelings. They knew that if Grand Senior Brother lost, then Hidden Sword Court would really have no hope left!
= = =
Today, Master Jin Yong passed away … I will always remember the first wuxia novel I read, it was' The Legend of the Condor Heroes'. From then on, I could not stop myself. From wuxia novels to web novels, I finally embarked on this career path … Jin Yong could be said to be my guide …