For a moment, everyone’s eyes fell on Ian Song and the six men led by Luke Lü.
Ian’s expression was calm, betraying neither joy nor sorrow.
But the six with Luke Lü were all visibly delighted. Clearly, they were confident about passing the assessment—and all six stood half a step behind Ian, faintly acknowledging him as their leader.
Since they were all certain of passing, then Ian Song...
With a swish, Leon Lee’s face darkened.
"Ian, how did it go? How many tokens did you get?" Zoe Zhao hurried over and asked.
Ian flipped his palm, revealing five tokens in his hand.
"Wow, five tokens! That should be enough to pass!" Zoe exclaimed in delight.
Hearing this, the others looked oddly at each other. Leon Lee had gone out of his way to target Ian during the trial, yet Ian still passed. That was a huge loss of face for Leon, and many in the crowd started gloating.
Frank Zhao, Hank Hong, and Elder Chi exchanged glances, all with knowing smiles.
Ian pointed to Luke Lü and introduced to Zoe Zhao, "By the way, Sister Zoe, these are friends I met during the assessment. This is Luke Lü, this is Peng Zhao, and this is Tie Dou..."
"Nice to meet you all, I’m Zoe Zhao from the Zhao Family Boxing Gym," Zoe greeted them with a smile.
Everyone smiled and returned the greeting.
"So, how many tokens did each of you get?" Zoe asked, her curious gaze sweeping over Luke’s six-man group.
Each of the six held out a hand, and every hand had five tokens.
"Five times seven is thirty-five—wow, you guys have thirty-five tokens just among yourselves! That means the others must be...!" Zoe called out loudly on purpose.
Leon Lee’s face turned even darker, almost dripping with gloom. In his mind, he cursed Gavin Lee and his brothers relentlessly—twenty-eight people couldn’t handle seven, what a disgrace!
Wait, there’s still one token. Maybe Gavin Lee still has his, so he could make it into the top ten. That way, I wouldn’t lose face quite so badly.
But as the assessment time was about to end, there was still no movement from the woods.
Just then, a thin figure darted out from the forest.
"Xiao Ming, did anyone take your token?" An elderly man with snow-white hair hurried over to ask.
"Grandpa, I hid from the very beginning, so nobody took my token. But... I didn’t manage to get anyone else’s token either," the thin youth called Xiao Ming said, embarrassed.
"Haha, that’s enough! Just one token is all you need!" The white-haired elder laughed heartily.
With only thirty-six tokens total, and Ian’s seven-man group holding thirty-five, the last token was unexpectedly in his grandson’s hand. That meant his grandson ranked eighth in the assessment—guaranteed to pass.
"Useless!"
Not a single one of the twenty-eight passed the assessment. Leon Lee was so furious he almost stormed off. He’d just become Hall Master, and this happened—his authority was trashed. He shot Frank Zhao a cold look, grinding his teeth: "I’ll remember this, Frank Zhao. And Ian Song, since you’re determined to side with the Zhao Family, don’t blame me for crushing you!"
Ian’s talent was extraordinary—he’d reached Late Postnatal at such a young age. If the Zhao Family elders taught him advanced techniques, he’d definitely become an Innate master within a few years.
Innate masters were the backbone. If the Zhao Family gained one more, their strength would increase; if the Lee Family lost one, they’d be weaker. Getting rid of Ian early would be a huge contribution to the Lee Family. With that thought, Leon’s killing intent surged, and his gaze toward Ian grew icy cold.
Experts were always sensitive to killing intent. Ian sensed the murderous look in Leon’s eyes, turned to glance at him, and saw Leon instantly switch to a smiling face.
"Smiling tiger."
Ian sneered inwardly but nodded to Leon Lee.
"The assessment time is up. Why haven’t the others come out yet?" a martial artist asked.
"Maybe their tokens were taken, and they’re too ashamed to show their faces," Luke Lü said with a mocking smile. If not for Ian, the six of them wouldn’t have passed, so he had no sympathy for Gavin and the others who tried to rob them.
"Send a few people in to check what’s going on," Leon Lee ordered in a deep voice.
A group of National Martial League members entered the woods.
About half an hour later, the League members finally emerged from the woods with Gavin and the others.
"Ian Song, I’ll never let you off!"
As soon as Gavin saw Ian, his eyes blazed with fury and he glared at him viciously.
"Brother Gavin, I’m truly sorry for any offense during the assessment. I hope you won’t hold a grudge," Ian said sincerely, cupping his fists in apology.
"Don’t even think about it! I’m telling you, this isn’t over between us." Gavin fumed. All twenty-eight had their tokens stolen and were knocked out by Ian, so his hatred ran deep.
"Well, if that’s how you want to see it, there’s nothing I can do," Ian said with a theatrical sigh.
Seeing Ian’s fake sincerity, Gavin felt his anger flare and snorted, "Hmph, Ian, don’t think you’re so great just because you joined the National Martial League. My uncle is..."
"Shut up, you fool!"
Leon Lee strode over, glaring sharply at Gavin.
"My uncle, huh?" Gavin’s face showed fear and guilt.
"A loss is a loss, a win is a win. After this, you three brothers will return to the Lee Family!" Leon said, barely containing his anger. The family had recommended these three branch disciples to him for training, hoping they’d serve the family in the future.
He’d had high hopes for the three, but they turned out useless. Even with twenty-five helpers, they were beaten by Ian and a handful of others. Totally unfit for use.
"Please, uncle, don’t! We know we were wrong!"
Hearing Leon was sending them back, the three Lee brothers turned pale and dropped to their knees. As branch disciples, the main family held all the good positions. Their parents had worked hard and paid dearly for them to follow Leon to Riverstone City.
If they returned in disgrace, not only would they lose face, but their parents would be furious. Worse, they’d become laughingstocks and never have another chance to rise. That made them hate Ian even more.
Seeing the three brothers kneeling in panic, Leon felt a twinge of pity and said coldly, "We’ll deal with this later. Get up now!"
The assessment’s outcome was now clear. Though Leon was unhappy, he grudgingly announced that Ian Song, Luke Lü, Ethan Xiao, and the other five had officially become new members of the National Martial League, and told them to report to the sub-hall within three days.
After making the announcement, Leon left in a huff, with the three Lee brothers trailing after him, all shooting venomous looks at Ian as they went.