Boom!
The metal door of the coffin room swung open. Ian Song stepped out at a calm, unhurried pace, his expression perfectly composed.
The other nine contestants were still inside, their battles ongoing.
"What's your name?" Logan Long looked at Ian Song and asked. He was clearly surprised—a mere Innate Fourth Layer, yet able to kill a Dreadspike Wolf with a single punch.
"Ian Song."
"So you're the Ian Song from the Zhao Family. Well done!" Logan Long gave him an approving nod. Seeing this, quite a few people looked jealous—especially Kevin Zhao, who clenched his fists in silence.
"Thank you."
Ian replied coolly and joined the group of those who had passed the assessment.
The twenty-four groups of martial artists finally finished. Out of 237 contestants, only 101 passed. Among the five Zhao Family youths, Derek Zhao failed to kill his Dreadspike Wolf and was eliminated with serious injuries.
Kevin Zhao scraped through with a lucky win, but was heavily injured.
Elaine Zhao also passed, suffering only minor injuries, while Ray Zhao killed his Dreadspike Wolf with overwhelming strength and emerged unscathed.
Of the nine Lee Family contestants, seven—including Kyle Lee—made it through, with only two Innate Fifth Layer members eliminated.
Those who failed the assessment were all sent away.
Logan Long addressed the remaining 101 participants loudly, "Next, you'll have three days of rest. After three days, the third round of assessments will begin!"
And so, everyone settled down in the fortress.
All those who were injured received treatment. The medical methods here were truly miraculous—internal injuries healed seventy percent after just a few hours with a special pill, and full recovery was guaranteed within three days.
As for external injuries, a special ointment was applied. Scabs formed within a day, and complete recovery was assured in three days as well.
Three days passed in a flash.
The 101 survivors gathered once again beneath the giant LCD screen used for the second round.
Logan Long was still the examiner.
Logan Long swept his sharp gaze over the crowd and announced, "Today's third round is the final assessment. It will be held in two phases. First, the War God Squad member test: as long as you survive half an hour against two Dreadspike Wolves, you pass. Of course, if you kill the wolves, that's also a pass."
The second test is for squad leader candidates. Again, you have half an hour—but this time, you must kill three Dreadspike Wolves to qualify as a squad leader!"
As soon as Logan finished speaking, the metal doors of all 101 coffin rooms swung open.
"Get in!" Logan urged.
The 101 candidates each chose a coffin room and entered.
Ian Song was perfectly calm—he knew that two Dreadspike Wolves posed no threat to him at all.
Two iron cages rose up from the floor.
Clack! Clack!
The alloy cages sprang open, and the two Dreadspike Wolves lunged out, leaping straight at Ian.
Gravity Domain!
Under the power of Gravity Domain, the two wolves had barely leapt before they crashed to the ground. Ian flashed forward and hammered two punches in quick succession.
Thud! Thud!
Both wolves' skulls exploded.
The member assessment was complete.
"This kid's strength is far above most Innate Sixth Layer experts! His potential is limitless! No wonder Edward Zhao values him so highly!" Watching Ian instantly crush two Dreadspike Wolves on the big screen, Logan Long couldn't help but marvel.
Boom!
The metal door swung open, and Ian stepped out of his coffin room—only to find that two others had exited almost simultaneously.
They were the two Innate Seventh Layer experts.
One was a man and the other a woman; it wasn't clear which family or sect they belonged to.
Both nodded to Ian in silent acknowledgment when they saw him.
Ian smiled and nodded back. If nothing unexpected happened, the three of them would all pass the squad leader test.
Half an hour later.
Of the 101 candidates, 88 passed the member test, while 13 were eliminated—including Kevin Zhao, who was knocked out this round.
However, the War God Squad only needed 72 members, so there were still sixteen too many.
"Step forward!"
Logan Long swept his finger across the group, picking out 32 who had performed poorly. He said gravely, "You will fight in pairs. The winners advance!"
Without hesitation, the thirty-two quickly found opponents and began fighting.
The matches ended quickly, and the winners advanced—including Elaine Zhao.
"Those who wish to compete for squad leader, step forward!" Logan called out again.
At his words, thirty-five stepped forward—including Ian, the only Innate Fourth Layer among them.
"Alright, let's begin!"
At Logan's command, Ian and the other thirty-four reentered their coffin rooms.
Facing three Dreadspike Wolves, Ian again unleashed Gravity Domain and instantly crushed them with overwhelming force.
When he stepped out, the two Innate Seventh Layer experts were nowhere to be seen—he was the first to finish.
About thirty seconds later, the two Seventh Layer experts emerged almost together. Seeing Ian already outside, both looked surprised and impressed.
"Ethan Ye of Daoist Sect greets Brother Ian."
"Tanya Tang of Tang Clan greets Brother Ian!"
The two stepped forward and offered respectful fist salutes.
"Ian Song greets Brother Ye and Sister Tang." Ian replied with a smile, and after a quick look, noticed Tanya Tang bore a resemblance to Tang Qingning, whom he'd met on the plane before.
In the following moments, others completed the squad leader test and exited as well.
In the end, twenty-two of the thirty-five passed the squad leader test—including Kyle Lee.
Logan Long looked over the twenty-two and said, "There are only nine squad leader slots, but now there are twenty-two of you! Here's what we'll do: pair off and fight—winners advance!"
As soon as he finished, a Lee Family Innate Sixth Layer charged straight at Ian.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Ian surged his true essence and unleashed the fourth form of Raging Tidal Surge.
Boom!
A wave surged forth, instantly engulfing the Innate Sixth Layer opponent. He was sent flying like a severed kite and, after barely regaining his footing, coughed up blood three times in a row.
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Kyle Lee's eyes narrowed. He struck down another Lee Family Innate Sixth Layer and won his own match.
The battles ended quickly, and eleven advanced.
"You three, step forward!"
Logan Long pointed at Kyle Lee and two others.
"You three will fight a free-for-all. The winner gets the final squad leader slot!" Logan said with a cold smile—he suspected these three had been scheming in the previous duels.
Kyle Lee flashed a look of annoyance, but there was nothing he could do.
He had no choice but to fight the other two.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the fight began, the other two teamed up against Kyle Lee and knocked him out. Then they fought each other for the last spot.
Getting ganged up on and knocked out, Kyle Lee was nearly driven mad with rage—especially seeing Ian Song actually become one of the squad leaders, which he simply couldn't accept.
"I hereby announce: you nine are the squad leaders of the War God Squad. Each of you may now select seven team members!" Logan Long declared to Ian and the other eight.