187: Chapter 187 Dimensional Competition: The First Test

Riding the flying magical beast transformed from the Mimic Beast, Gu Changming circled the vicinity for less than half an hour before finding the location of this trial.

After leaving the Jiwu Stronghold, he had headed straight for this place.

He knew from his previous life that there was a human Stronghold in this area, but they hadn't been able to conquer this plane.

So, by simply circling the current Stronghold, he would naturally discover the entrance.

Looking down from the sky, a plane entrance resembling a water mirror stood upright in the wilderness.

Its appearance was no different from the previous secret realm entrances.

Speaking of which, the other side of a secret realm also connected to other planar worlds, but those were larger worlds with complete civilizations.

Whereas this one was something ownership could be obtained over; it was either a lower-tier plane designated for resource extraction or other purposes, or a civilization that had already failed its Assessment and was being used as nourishment for others.

Gu Changming continued to look.

Hundreds of people had gathered at the plane entrance, forming a dense crowd.

Gu Changming didn't have the Mimic Beast fly over the crowd for a grand entrance from the sky; that would be too conspicuous.

Instead, after seeing it from a distance, he jumped down from the Mimic Beast.

After landing on the ground, he had the Mimic Beast, now transformed into a black crow, land back on his shoulder.

After confirming he wasn't too noticeable, Gu Changming approached on foot from a distance.

Walking into the crowd, just as he expected, he didn't attract any attention.

Then, after blending into the crowd, Gu Changming continued forward.

People around him had formed small teams and were chatting incessantly. Most of their topics were related to the Assessment; they were likely adventurer teams gathered from the nearby Stronghold, some nervous and others excited.

Gu Changming didn't pay much attention, passing through the crowd until he reached the very front of the plane entrance.

Then he raised his head and looked at the plane entrance.

After staring for a few seconds,

On the panel, the Assessment information slowly emerged:

[Plane Competition (Elimination-Promotion Type)]

[Description: Upon entering the plane, you will compete with participants from other civilizations. The Assessment will consist of multiple rounds of trials with round-by-round elimination until a final winner is determined. The winner's civilization will obtain ownership of the plane.]

[Note: This type of Assessment includes various tests aimed at evaluating the comprehensive capabilities of the participants' civilization.]

"Hmm?" Gu Changming's eyes flickered as he saw this.

Comprehensive Assessment? Multiple rounds of trials?

Wasn't that just like the previous inheritance Assessment?

That was quite advantageous for him.

After all, his cheat allowed him to see Hidden Rules. With multiple rounds of Assessment, it meant he could continuously see beneficial rules, making his progress much faster and smoother than others.

Of course, provided that an intrusion into the Assessment mechanism, like the one before, didn't happen again.

But then again, an intrusion might not be a bad thing; that last intrusion had allowed him to get excessive rewards.

Gu Changming was lost in thought.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone staring at him.

He turned his head.

A man around thirty years old stood a few steps away, carrying a greatsword on his shoulder that was wider than half his body.

He was tilting his head, curiously sizing him up.

He was tilting his head, curiously sizing up Gu Changming.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you looking at me?" Gu Changming asked directly.

"You're not from our Stronghold, are you?" the man said, his tone more of a confirmation than a question.

"Who says?"

"You are?"

"Of course," Gu Changming lied through his teeth without batting an eye. "I've been here since the Assessment began."

"I think you're the one who isn't. I've never seen you before," Gu Changming countered, turning the tables.

"Oh, right." The other party smiled and didn't press further. "Our Stronghold has many people; it's normal that we haven't met."

There was no hostility in his tone; it was more like casual small talk.

Gu Changming didn't respond further.

After a while,

A man who looked like an assistant trotted up from behind.

He stood before the man with the sword and lowered his voice, but Gu Changming could still hear him clearly:

"Reporting to the Alliance Leader, the Thorns Wolf Team has also arrived. All the adventurer teams in our alliance are now present."

"Good." The man nodded and waved his hand. "Have everyone do one last check. We enter in five minutes."

The assistant acknowledged and quickly turned to leave.

Gu Changming stood nearby, silent for two seconds.

"..."

He really hadn't expected that this person who casually struck up a conversation with him was actually the manager of this Stronghold.

This is a bit awkward...

He had just thought that with so many people in the Stronghold, he could just bluff his way through.

After a few seconds, Gu Changming decided to speak up. "Um... about that..."

The other party looked over.

Gu Changming said, "Uh... although I'm not from your Stronghold, my strength is actually quite decent."

The man was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and smiled while waving his hand.

"It's fine. This plane Assessment isn't restricted to just people from our Stronghold. It's actually quite good that you're willing to join in."

Since it wasn't mandatory, a large portion of people were unwilling to risk entering at the start, wanting instead to wait until the general situation inside was clear before deciding whether to move.

Out of these hundreds of people, at least nearly a hundred were those he had forcibly brought along.

So, having one more combatant wasn't a bad thing. Who knows, maybe that one person would make the difference at a critical moment.

Gu Changming nodded.

Then the other party extended a hand and introduced himself openly, "My name is Cui Jingming. How should I address you, little brother?"

Gu Changming shook his hand. "Chen Yiming. 'Chen' as in the surname, and 'Yiming' as in 'to amaze the world with a single feat'."

"Good name," Cui Jingming laughed.

...

About five minutes passed.

When it was time to depart, the crowd began to move.

Cui Jingming took the lead toward the entrance, not forgetting to remind Gu Changming beside him:

"Keep up."

Gu Changming gave a casual response and followed.

Perhaps because he felt a bit guilty about his earlier lie, Gu Changming spoke slowly as he walked closer to the man:

"My strength really is quite good."

Cui Jingming looked over, not understanding why Gu Changming was saying this; he hadn't doubted him.

Looking into his eyes, the moment they stepped into the plane entrance, Gu Changming spoke again:

"Once we're inside, let me handle the Assessment."

Cui Jingming glanced at him and smiled.

"Sure."

As the words fell,

Their figures flashed and vanished from the spot.

...

When they opened their eyes again, the world before them had changed.

The trees were lush, and the grass reached above their ankles.

Dozens of people stood scattered in the clearing, while new figures were continuously being teleported in behind them.

After the last person was teleported,

In the next instant, white text appeared out of thin air, suspended before their eyes.

[The First Assessment: Herbal Healing...]