Chapter 1311: The Destroyer (Part 2)

"This..."

Chen Leyao's brow twitched, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.

It seemed that the Destroyer just now had only wrecked the formation, not demolished the hall where the elder resided...

"Huh?"

Her expression turned unnatural. Zhang Xuan scratched his head, equally puzzled.

What about the promised dragon-elephant strength?

What about the promised invincible power?

With just one palm strike... he was sent flying backward, even smashing through the wall. Wasn't he holding back too much?

"You..."

Struggling to fly out of the dust, Elder Su's face turned green, nearly losing his mind.

The elder in charge of assessing formation masters, suppressing his cultivation to fight, was sent flying with a single palm...

The key point was that he had just told the other party his palm technique was formidable... warning him to be careful.

Careful my ass!

This damn well should be me being careful!

"Um... Elder Su, should we continue the remaining two moves? I just now... used only half my strength!"

After hesitating, Zhang Xuan asked.

"Half?"

Elder Su swayed.

"Yes, when I executed the palm technique just now, I held back my strength..."

Zhang Xuan explained.

This wasn't a lie; he had indeed held back.

In battle, he never revealed all his cards. Although he had used the Great Compassion Demon Palm cleverly, his actual power was only about half.

After all, to maximize the power of the Great Compassion Demon Palm, one needed to descend from above, and with Traveler Without Bounds for parallel movement, speed was high, but the instant attack naturally weakened the power.

"..." Elder Su's mouth twitched.

Half strength nearly crippled him...

If he used full strength, would he not see tomorrow's sun?

Are you really at the initial stage of the Out-of-Body Realm?

Not a Saint Domain seventh-level powerhouse in disguise?

"If Elder Su feels my strength is insufficient, I can use full force!"

Seeing the other party silent, Zhang Xuan said.

"Cough, cough! Enough, no need to compare the remaining two moves. I already believe you have the strength of an initial Domain Realm!"

Elder Su quickly waved his hand.

As a formation master, though his combat power was inferior to that of a master teacher, after suppressing his cultivation, he was still stronger than most Domain Realm experts. With such strength, being sent flying by a single palm from the other party...

It already demonstrated his power. The remaining two moves, whether compared or not, didn't matter.

"Thank you, Elder!"

Zhang Xuan sighed in relief.

With his strength verified, he could proceed to the Eight-Star Formation Master assessment. If successful, after reading for a while, he should be able to contact Zhao Ya by evening.

"You're welcome!"

Rubbing his trembling hands, Elder Su took out a pill and secretly consumed it, unsealing his suppressed cultivation. Only then did he feel somewhat recovered. Looking at the cracked hall, his mouth twitched. He was about to go find someone to repair it when hurried footsteps sounded, and an old man rushed in.

"Old Su, let me tell you, this time we kept a close watch, and that kid didn't dare cause any trouble. He's obediently taking the assessment. Go take a look; he's being very well-behaved now..."

As soon as he entered the room, a boisterous voice rang out.

Crack! Crack!

Before the voice ended, the cracks spreading to the ceiling, under the vibration of the sound, continued to climb upward, growing larger.

Rustle!

Dust fell down.

"Ah... what happened?"

The old man who had just entered finally noticed something wrong. Looking up, he couldn't help but exclaim again.

But if he hadn't shouted, it might have been fine. His shout, louder, was like the last straw that broke the camel's back. The entire hall could no longer bear it and shook violently.

Boom!

The entire roof fell straight down.

Rocks and dust crashed down. Zhang Xuan and the others quickly circulated their true energy to block the falling stones, thus avoiding disaster.

When the dust settled, looking at the ruins all around, Elder Su's face twitched uncontrollably. He felt like crying.

It was just a test of cultivation strength, something that could be settled in three moves. How did it come to this?

Although this hall wasn't particularly sturdy, it had been built by skilled craftsmen over considerable time. He had lived in it for centuries without any problems, and even that Destroyer had come several times without damage. Yet after just one palm exchange with this guy, it ended up like this...

The more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt. He couldn't help but look at the young man not far away.

He saw him pointing at the old man who had just entered, looking utterly innocent: "It wasn't me who collapsed this... It was him! Nothing to do with me!"

Elder Su: "..."

Old man: "..."

Chen Leyao: "..."

After a while, the old man brushed off a brick that had fallen on his head and the gravel on his shoulders, unable to hold back any longer, and looked over: "Old Su, what... exactly happened?"

"Nothing, I was testing this Master Zhang's strength and momentarily couldn't control my power..."

Hearing the question, Elder Su's face flushed red, but in the end, he didn't reveal the specific reason.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but it was too embarrassing. Suppressing his cultivation, he was still sent flying by the other party's palm, even collapsing the entire hall. He really couldn't bring himself to say it.

If he did, this big-mouthed old friend would probably spread it all over the Saint Son Hall.

"Couldn't control your power?" The old man scratched his head, shaking off dust all over.

"Alright, stop asking. This Master Zhang Xuan is here to assess for Eight-Star Formation Master. Take him to the Formation Stairway!"

Afraid the other would keep asking and make him blush, Elder Su quickly waved his hand.

"Also assessing for Eight-Star Formation Master? Fine, follow me!"

The old man nodded and beckoned.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan and Chen Leyao followed closely.

After hesitating, Elder Su felt uneasy and also followed.

Leaving the ruins, after walking for a while, they saw a staircase standing not far away, stretching straight upward as if piercing the heavenly palace.

This staircase was very peculiar, with nothing supporting it above and nothing below, floating diagonally three feet above the ground.

"What is this..."

Zhang Xuan was full of curiosity.

Although he could tell that many formations were arranged around and on the staircase to keep it suspended, he was still astonished.

"This is the Formation Stairway, where formation master assessments take place!"

The old man smiled and explained.

"Formation Stairway?"

"Yes, each step contains a formation, involving illusion arrays, killing arrays, maze arrays, and many other variations. Some places even require setting up energy arrays to break through. This staircase has 90 steps, with every ten steps representing one star level."

The old man continued: "If you can reach the 80th step, it means you've passed the Eight-Star Formation Master assessment!"

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

This was somewhat similar to the formation passage in the Master Teacher Academy, both filled with various formations for the examinee to break.

Completing it signified the end of the assessment.

Of course, this seemed more difficult, involving not only breaking formations but also setting them up, as well as psychological tests.

Even for him, passing would not be easy.

Moreover, the grading here was more detailed. Each step tested one formation; being able to ascend meant sufficient skill, while failing meant having to retreat in disgrace.

For example, reaching the 75th step represented a mid-level Seven-Star, far more advanced than the Hongyuan Academy.

"Two elders, are the people standing on the stairway all taking the assessment?"

During their conversation, Chen Leyao couldn't help asking.

Zhang Xuan looked up and saw many people standing on the stairway, as many as six or seven.

These people weren't moving upward but stood on various steps, motionless, eyes tightly shut, as if in a daze, seemingly lost in thought or trapped by formations, unable to break free.

"That's right, they are taking the assessment!"

Elder Su nodded: "Two are assessing for Five-Star, two for Seven-Star, and one for Eight-Star!"

Zhang Xuan looked.

Indeed, he saw two youths standing above the fortieth steps, while others stood on the sixtieth and seventieth steps.

"The Destroyer you mentioned earlier should be the one at the very top, right?"

After watching for a while, Zhang Xuan asked curiously.

From what the old man said when he entered, the Destroyer hadn't finished the assessment yet, so he should still be up there.

And Elder Su had just said that the other party, like him, intended to assess for Eight-Star Formation Master, so he should be around the seventieth steps.

"That's right, it's him!"

Elder Su snorted coldly, displeased.

Facing someone who might cause trouble at any moment, no one would be in a good mood.

Zhang Xuan carefully looked at this Destroyer. He was a young man in his thirties, somewhat thin, wearing a light gray robe, with his back to him, so his face was unclear. His demeanor was somewhat cold and proud.

"He seems to be on the 79th step... I wonder if he can go up."

Counting, Zhang Xuan chuckled. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he suddenly felt the stairway shake violently, as if struck by some impact.

"Oh no... the Destroyer plans to wreck the Formation Stairway. Stop him quickly..."

An urgent shout rang out.

Following the sound, Zhang Xuan saw several old men standing beside the stairway, wearing the same clothes as Elder Su. They were likely the elders who had come to stop the Destroyer from causing trouble, as mentioned earlier.

The shouting old man, with a face full of anxiety, sent true energy shooting from his palm straight toward the stairway, seemingly trying to stabilize the entire Formation Stairway.

However, there were too many formations on the steps. Although his strength was considerable, he couldn't control it.

"Don't hesitate, act together..."

Elder Su and the others, no longer caring about Zhang Xuan, hurriedly flew up. In an instant, true energy surged, their aura like the sea.

Six powerful formation masters acted simultaneously, and the shaking stairway indeed stabilized considerably. But at that moment, the young man on the 79th step opened his eyes and lifted his foot, about to step onto the 80th step. The step beneath him could no longer bear it.

Boom!

With a loud crash, it collapsed in a roar. Countless formations flew everywhere, spiritual energy shooting in all directions.

"This..."

Zhang Xuan swallowed his saliva: "He really is a Destroyer!"