66: Chapter 66 Sorry, it's my first time again.

Is he trying to interfere?

Is it intentional? Or is he just talkative?

Gu Changming's brow twitched almost imperceptibly as he turned his head to look over.

Despite the distraction, the model in front of Gu Changming continued its original construction rhythm without any obvious fluctuations or errors.

Upon looking, Gu Changming noticed the other party glancing at his model, though the gaze quickly returned to him.

Even though the other party was speaking, his own construction hadn't stopped either.

"I'm quite talented in this area," Zhou Qilin said.

"Is that so?" Gu Changming replied, which was rare for him.

Hearing the response, Zhou Qilin's brow quirked slightly, and a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes.

He turned his body sideways, almost fully facing Gu Changming, and completely moved his gaze away from the model in front of him.

However, after his gaze moved away, his model construction didn't stagnate or fail; instead, its speed increased slightly.

He looked at Gu Changming, his tone casual as if sharing idle gossip. "The previous reward, Intermediate Psychokinesis, was actually useless to me. I already had it before coming in."

"That's quite a pity," Gu Changming replied flatly.

At those words, the smile at the corner of Zhou Qilin's mouth stiffened slightly, but he quickly continued speaking.

"In the first Assessment, I got four hundred points and exchanged them for the Basic Psychokinesis ability. Later, I had good luck and found a special Silver-White Berry in a nearby Mystic Realm. After eating it, my Mental Power increased significantly."

"In the second Assessment, I got a thousand points. Then I had a new opportunity; after passing the Assessment, I received some inheritance regarding Psychokinesis..."

His tone was unhurried, as if he were narrating someone else's story.

Gu Changming just listened quietly, his hands continuing the construction steadily.

"And so?" Gu Changming's tone still lacked any ups or downs.

Zhou Qilin smiled, a smile filled with undisguised sharpness and certainty.

"And so?" he said. "When I came across this 'Mentalist Assessment Ground,' I knew..."

"This belongs to me."

As the last word fell, he raised his right hand and casually snapped his fingers.

Snap!

With the snap, the complex and precise dynamic model in front of him instantly solidified completely, perfectly replicating every detail of the holographic projection.

Ding!

The pleasant notification sound for success immediately echoed through the pure white space.

Zhou Qilin leisurely withdrew his hand, looked at Gu Changming, and smiled again.

"Sorry, I'm first again."

Gu Changming looked at the slightly superior Zhou Qilin and simply blinked once.

Actually, he wanted to say that this wasn't a competitive Assessment. Anyone who passed could get the reward.

Of course, seeing the other's current posture, Gu Changming didn't say it. He just calmly withdrew his gaze, letting it fall back onto the unfinished model before him.

Seeing that Gu Changming didn't dare to respond, Zhou Qilin finally felt a bit more satisfied.

Over a minute quietly slipped away.

Ding!

The crisp success notification followed.

Gu Changming had also completed his Assessment.

At the same time, at the top of the pure white space, pale blue subtitles appeared as expected:

[Sixth Assessment passed.]

[Reward: Telekinetic Shuttle.]

A Telekinetic Shuttle?

Gu Changming looked over. This was a standard-issue weapon for every Mentalist. Although nothing particularly outstanding, it was a specialized weapon for Mentalists, many times stronger than controlling other metal fragments.

In the later stages, basically every Mentalist would have several, but in the early stages, they were still quite rare.

This time, Gu Changming didn't claim it, leaving it temporarily in his panel's inbox.

[Please proceed to the next Assessment area.]

The subtitles vanished, and a new light-blue screen silently unfolded in front of the two.

One after the other, the two stepped into the light screen.

After a brief sensation of teleportation, it was another expanse of pure white.

But unlike before, the center of this space was not empty. There, a dark brown, ordinary sandbag about half the height of a person lay quietly.

When their gazes fell upon the sandbag, the subtitles overhead lit up right on time:

[Seventh Assessment: Use Psychokinesis to lift the sandbag and hold it for five minutes.]

With a thought from Gu Changming, a detailed rules panel unfolded before him.

[Mentalist Basic Assessment · Seventh Round]

[Content: Psychokinesis Resilience.]

[Description: After the Assessment begins, the sandbag's weight will continuously increase over time. The candidate must use Psychokinesis to steadily lift the sandbag and keep it off the ground. If any part of the sandbag touches the ground, it is considered a failure.]

[Note: This Assessment is a test of the candidate's Psychokinesis Power Level.]

"Lifting a sandbag?" Zhou Qilin looked at the ordinary sandbag, thinking this Assessment was a bit too simple.

Gu Changming first slowly spread out his Mental Power, locking onto the sandbag ahead.

Countdown numbers silently appeared and ticked away in mid-air.

Three, two, one.

Timing started.

Gu Changming's eyes narrowed. Invisible Psychokinesis, like an unseen palm, instantly wrapped around the bottom of the sandbag and lifted it steadily upward.

The dark brown sandbag left the ground in response, hovering at a height of about half a foot. It wobbled slightly before stabilizing.

Almost at the same moment, the sandbag on Zhou Qilin's side also floated up, its height nearly identical to Gu Changming's.

The moment it was lifted, both immediately felt a clear downward pulling force.

The sandbag itself was not light; based on the feedback from his Psychokinesis, it was likely close to fifty kilograms.

Fifty kilograms might not be much if they were to lift it with their hands.

But right now, they were using Psychokinesis condensed purely from Mental Power to lift it, and the feeling was entirely different.

It was like requiring a person to use a single straightened finger to steadily prop up a dumbbell of equal weight; the difficulty and consumption were on a completely different level.

Invisible Psychokinesis tightly wrapped around the bottom of the sandbag, countering the heavy downward pull.

Time passed second by second.

The weight of the sandbag began to increase.

Initially, Zhou Qilin didn't notice, but soon he realized his sandbag seemed to be getting heavier.

Zhou Qilin's eyes flickered slightly as he turned his head to look toward Gu Changming.

His gaze quickly swept over the sandbag floating in front of Gu Changming, seemingly comparing height and stability.

Gu Changming noticed this gaze but ignored it.

His attention was fully focused on the sandbag, controlling the stability of his Psychokinesis output to prevent any obvious downward trend in the sandbag's height.

Because even a drop of just one inch would signify the beginning of losing control.

The weight continued to increase as time passed. After only one minute, the sandbag's weight had already doubled, skyrocketing from the initial nearly fifty kilograms to at least one hundred kilograms!

The pressure on the Psychokinesis surged.

Zhou Qilin's heart sank as an ill omen quietly rose. The intensity of this Assessment... was a bit beyond expectations.

After another few dozen seconds, when the weight inevitably broke the one hundred and fifty-kilogram mark, Zhou Qilin gritted his teeth.

The ease on his face had long since vanished, replaced by the tension of struggling to support it. His expression even became slightly distorted due to the excessive effort.

The sandbag began to wobble, and he couldn't help but turn to look at Gu Changming.

The moment he glanced over, his anxious heart suddenly calmed down.

The other party's situation seemed even worse. His breathing had clearly become heavy and erratic, and even his posture was deformed, his back hunched as if he were using his entire body's strength to counter that invisible heavy pressure.

Seeing Gu Changming in a state even more strained than himself, Zhou Qilin's heart settled. His sandbag, which had been swaying and sinking, miraculously stabilized and even showed signs of being lifted slightly again!

Two and a half minutes.

Two hundred kilograms!

The invisible weight smashed down once more!

Zhou Qilin let out a muffled groan, feeling like he could hear the overburdened wails of his own Psychokinesis.

He forced himself to endure the dizziness and the surging pressure, quickly glancing at Gu Changming again.

He saw that the sandbag in front of Gu Changming had finally lost its floating power completely and was slowly falling toward the ground at an irreversible speed...

Zhou Qilin's heart pounded wildly as he quickly scanned the countdown floating in mid-air; there were roughly two minutes left.

As expected, just as he had predicted, the difficulty of this Assessment was too high; there was basically no possibility of passing.

But...

"It's okay..." he chanted in his heart, pouring all his Psychokinesis out to deathly hold up his own mountain-like sandbag.

Once the other party's sandbag hit the ground, he would only need to hold on for another dozen seconds or so.