"Bang!"
One side of the alloy-built iron cage suddenly swung open. The monsters inside the ten cages all reacted differently—some stayed put, while others stepped out, letting out low growls at the martial artists inside.
Logan Long's voice suddenly rang out: "These monsters are called Dreadspike Wolves. Their attack power is only about peak Innate Third Layer, but their defense is extremely high and their speed is lightning fast."
As soon as Logan Long finished speaking,
Inside the coffin-shaped rooms, two Innate Sixth Layer martial artists sprang into action.
"Boom! Boom!"
The two dashed up to the Dreadspike Wolves at incredible speed, one throwing a punch and the other a kick, sending the wolves flying. Their bodies slammed into the walls and then dropped to the ground.
But to everyone's surprise, the two Dreadspike Wolves just shook their heads and got up as if nothing had happened.
Everyone could tell that the two Innate Sixth Layer martial artists hadn't gone all out, but even so, their strikes were enough to instantly kill an Innate Third Layer fighter and seriously injure an Innate Fourth Layer. Yet the Dreadspike Wolves weren't hurt at all. Clearly, their defense was absolutely monstrous.
"Roar! Roar!"
In the other eight coffin-rooms, everyone was already fighting their Dreadspike Wolves.
One Innate Fourth Layer fighter was caught off guard by a Dreadspike Wolf that struck first. With the wolf's lightning speed, he could only defend passively.
A few Innate Fifth Layer fighters could barely keep up with the wolves' speed.
Only the two Innate Sixth Layer fighters could fully suppress their Dreadspike Wolves. But with the wolves' insane defense, killing them quickly was still no easy task.
Watching the battles on the big screen, everyone was thinking hard about how they'd handle a Dreadspike Wolf if it were them.
Especially the dozen or so Innate Third Layer candidates—their faces had already gone pale.
High defense, crazy speed. Forget about killing a Dreadspike Wolf—they'd be lucky just to survive.
Five minutes later.
One Innate Sixth Layer martial artist finished first, smashing the Dreadspike Wolf's skull with a heavy punch and claiming victory.
Two minutes later, the other Innate Sixth Layer also finished, but he went for a brutal kill—breaking all four of the wolf's legs, then crushing its skull. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, all the spikes on the wolf's body shot out at once, causing him quite a bit of trouble. Luckily, his strength was overwhelming, and he blocked the spikes with his true-qi armor.
If it were an Innate Fifth Layer who couldn't form a true-qi armor, they'd probably die to that barrage of spikes.
Seeing this, everyone outside shuddered inwardly, thinking that if they had to go in, they'd need to blow the Dreadspike Wolf's head off as fast as possible—otherwise, once those spikes came out, there'd be nowhere to dodge in the cramped coffin-room.
"Ah!"
A shrill scream came from the big screen—it was the Innate Fourth Layer who'd been suppressed from the start, now run through the belly by a Dreadspike Wolf's razor-sharp claws.
The belly is where the dantian is. Once that's pierced, the dantian is damaged too, and the Innate Fourth Layer instantly lost all combat power.
With everyone watching, the Dreadspike Wolf didn't hesitate to devour the Innate Fourth Layer on the spot.
Seeing this, a chill ran through the crowd.
Half an hour passed, and the assessment for Group 1 was over.
Only four people passed: two Innate Sixth Layer, two Innate Fifth Layer.
One Innate Fourth Layer was killed and eaten by a Dreadspike Wolf, and two other Innate Fourth Layer only survived by dodging with movement techniques until time ran out, but they were both badly injured.
Three Innate Fifth Layer fighters barely made it through, all suffering heavy injuries in brutal fights with the Dreadspike Wolves.
When time was up, a group of elite martial artists in camouflage uniforms rushed into the coffin-rooms to rescue the wounded. As for the one who'd been eaten, there was nothing anyone could do.
Soon, the surviving Dreadspike Wolves were locked back in their iron cages and sent down to the basement of the coffin-rooms.
"Group 2, step forward!"
Logan Long seemed used to this kind of scene; he showed no surprise and coldly ordered Group 2 to enter the coffin-rooms for their assessment.
Half an hour later, Group 2's assessment was over.
Because Group 2 learned from Group 1's mistakes, six people passed this time. Still, not a single Innate Fourth Layer made it through.
Group 3 went next, with five passing and one Innate Fourth Layer dying.
Group 4's assessment ended with only three passing. Three Innate Third Layer were killed and eaten by Dreadspike Wolves, two Innate Fourth Layer were seriously injured, and two Innate Fifth Layer barely survived until time was up, but failed the assessment.
Group 5 finished, and seven people passed.
Finally, it was time for Group 9's assessment.
Of the first eighty contestants, not a single Innate Third Layer passed—the death rate was ninety percent. No Innate Fourth Layer passed either, with a sixty percent death rate. Only thirty-seven people cleared the assessment.
"Group 9, step forward!"
Seeing Ian among Group 9, Kyle "Madman" Lee narrowed his eyes and stared at Ian's back, thinking to himself: "Kid, I hope you survive—so I can kill you myself!"
Meanwhile, among those who knew Ian, Gavin Zhao was calm, Ray Zhao looked amused, and Kevin Zhao was outright gloating—after all, judging by the first eighty assessments, Ian as an Innate Fourth Layer had almost no chance of passing.
He couldn't help but think maliciously: hopefully the Dreadspike Wolf would kill and eat him.
Only Elaine Zhao showed a trace of worry in her expression.
Boom!
The heavy metal door slammed shut, and Ian felt as though he'd entered a world cut off from everything else.
The alloy floor panels retracted, and then a steel cage rose from below—a Dreadspike Wolf appeared before Ian.
Crack!
One side of the cage opened, and the Dreadspike Wolf inside glared at Ian with ferocious eyes, slowly stepping out.
"Kill!"
Instead of retreating, Ian advanced, activating Gravity Domain at the same time.
"Courting death! He actually wants to go head-to-head with a Dreadspike Wolf!"
Watching the big screen display Ian's battle, Kevin Zhao scoffed.
But in the next instant, his voice cut off abruptly—because the Dreadspike Wolf took Ian's punch head-on without dodging.
And then—nothing.
Because the Dreadspike Wolf's head exploded, and its headless corpse crashed to the ground.
Instant kill?
One-shot?
He actually killed a Dreadspike Wolf with a single punch—a feat even Innate Sixth Layer fighters couldn't pull off, but Ian did it.
"This kid's strength...!" Seeing this, Kyle "Madman" Lee's eyes flashed with jealousy. He'd thought that breaking through to Innate Fifth Layer would let him easily suppress Ian, but now Ian's progress seemed even scarier than his own.
Gavin Zhao and Ray Zhao were both shocked and regretful when they saw this.
As for Kevin Zhao, his face turned very dark.
Only Elaine Zhao couldn't help but smile: "He really didn't lie to me—he's incredibly strong!"