124: Chapter 124 [Anomaly Detected]

Seeing the prompt box, Hill also understood.

Why they weren't given the orbs to familiarize themselves earlier; it turned out they were meant to demonstrate on the spot.

Subsequently, they walked towards the rising platform.

Gu Changming also followed, his gaze sweeping across the figures of the Eclipse Clan ahead.

With just a sweep, he saw a familiar figure.

The female Eclipse Clan member he had let go, and then... following the direction of her intense gaze, Gu Changming saw another familiar figure.

The other Eclipse Clan member who had escaped.

Why haven't those two started fighting?

Are there restrictions here that prevent fighting?

Boring, I want to see rivers of blood.

Gu Changming walked to the front of the platform with some regret.

After standing still, a new prompt box popped up.

[Assessment Rules: When the number of Trial Takers who selected you passing the Assessment reaches half, you will be eliminated and return to your original world.]

Looking at this rule, the expressions of these Examiners became slightly more serious.

After they finished reading, a pillar of light first fell on the Examiner on the far left, a race with scales on its body.

The meaning was clear: he was chosen to demonstrate first.

However, the other party seemed to have never encountered a nianshu bead before. He picked up the silver orb and turned it over for a long time before injecting Mental Power into it.

Although he hadn't encountered it, as a B-rank, he wasn't a total rookie who knew nothing. After looking carefully, he generally knew how to use it.

Mental Power was injected, the orb floated up, and silently decomposed into hundreds of tiny components, scattered in the air.

The disassembly process was a bit sluggish, taking nearly two minutes.

Then he tried to reassemble it; his movements were even slower, and collisions often occurred between components. After another three-plus minutes, the orb returned to its original state.

The pillar of light moved away and fell on the next Examiner.

This one's movements were smoother, but the overall time was about the same, also over five minutes.

This was the characteristic of this nexus drive; the control for each disassembly and reassembly process was different, so no matter how many times one practiced, it was no different from a beginner.

The third Examiner had clearly encountered it before; the separation and combination of components were more decisive, but in the end, there wasn't much of a gap, still over five minutes.

Finally, it was the turn of Hill, who was to Gu Changming's left.

He picked up the nianshu bead and, with almost no hesitation, steadily injected Mental Power.

The orb instantly decomposed, hundreds of components scattering like starlight, arranged in an orderly fashion. During reassembly, the process was precise, with almost no errors as parts slotted into their proper places.

He was also the only one to break five minutes, entering the four-minute range.

Of course, there wasn't a huge gap—four minutes and fifty-seven seconds.

After Hill put down the orb, the pillar of light finally fell on Gu Changming.

As the light fell, Gu Changming naturally reached out his hand.

But halfway through, he paused.

Eh?

If the goal is to attract everyone to his side, then whether these Trial Takers pass the Assessment or not is under his control. At the same time, he can also control the duration of this segment.

Also...

Gu Changming glanced at Luo An.

This guy escaped from him last time; should he trick him into coming over and kill him too?

Thinking this.

Gu Changming had already reached out and picked up the silver-white nianshu bead.

Spreading his five fingers, he injected Mental Power.

Immediately, the patterns on the surface of the nianshu bead lit up slightly, and then hundreds of tiny components began to separate in an orderly fashion, like a school of silver fish swimming slowly between his fingers.

The process wasn't much different from Hill and the others, just slightly slower by half a beat.

Once disassembly was complete, the floating components trembled slightly and began to reassemble.

The fit between the components wasn't smooth, occasionally making a soft "click" sound, seemingly failing to align with the positions.

With a soft "click."

The last component snapped into place, the orb returned to its original state, and it fell back into his palm.

The whole process: seven minutes and twelve seconds.

At the moment of completion, Gu Changming also sensed many gazes converging towards him...

He put the orb back on the platform and looked up.

Below, many Eclipse Clan Trial Takers were staring at him, their scrutinizing gazes containing a hint of hard-to-detect eagerness.

Clearly, with this kind of performance, in a competition where opponents needed to be chosen, it was hard not to become the center of attention.

After withdrawing his gaze, Gu Changming also noticed Hill beside him, whose face was filled with obvious surprise and astonishment.

Hill really didn't expect Gu Changming's performance to be so much slower than theirs.

Among the three who had just demonstrated, two hadn't touched this thing before either, but after starting, their performance wasn't bad...

With this kind of performance, many people would surely choose him. If things went poorly, he might be unable to beat those Trial Takers and would be eliminated.

...

After the demonstration ended, the crowd of Eclipse Clan members below immediately became restless.

They gathered together, discussing rapidly in a language Gu Changming and the others couldn't understand, their gazes occasionally sweeping over them on the stage.

Before long, the discussion seemed to have reached a conclusion.

Subsequently, Gu Changming and the other Examiners sensed several lines of translucent light blue characters appearing above their heads.

The five were slightly stunned, then realized that this was likely a rule the Trial Takers could utilize.

Then, they extended their Mental Power to "look" upwards.

Oh, it was a rank indicator, a simplified display of four basic values: Power, Agility, Constitution, and Spirit. It was to let those Trial Takers see their strength levels more intuitively...

Hmm?

Almost at the same instant, Hill and the other three all turned their heads in unison to look at Gu Changming.

Their gazes locked onto the top of Gu Changming's head: C-rank?

Not only that, but among the four values, there was one that hadn't even reached the C-rank minimum of 200 points?

For a moment, they were all a bit dazed.

Wait, shouldn't they all be B-rank?

How did a C-rank manage to sneak in?

Hill was also a bit dumbfounded now, and suddenly understood Gu Changming's seven-minute performance earlier.

...

C-rank?

Luo An looked at the rank that was completely different from the other Examiners and naturally followed the crowd towards the far left.

With this rank and the demonstration just now, as long as one wasn't a fool, they would know which side to choose.

Only... these values were somehow familiar.

However, Gu Changming wasn't in his Nether Soul Clan form right now, and the values displayed now were more precise than his True Sight Eye, and the values weren't exactly the same.

So Luo An didn't connect the two, and followed the surging crowd to stand in the queue on Gu Changming's side.

Soon, almost all the Trial Takers had gathered on Gu Changming's side, and the remaining few were now looking conflicted and hesitant.

It worked.

Gu Changming looked at the crowd and Luo An within it, the corners of his mouth curling up imperceptibly.

However, it was at this moment.

Suddenly, he was enveloped by a red pillar of light falling vertically from above!

The light was striking, clearly separating him from the other Examiners.

Gu Changming's expression froze slightly.

A new prompt box jumped out.

[Anomaly detected in your Assessment...]