Chapter 198: Chapter 199: Testing Platform

Ye Wushuang followed Skinny Monkey toward the testing platform.

Ye Wushuang wasn’t worried about whether Skinny Monkey would try any tricks. If Skinny Monkey dared to make a single move, he could kill him instantly.

A quarter of an hour later, Ye Wushuang passed through a dense forest, crossed a mountain ridge, and arrived at a Desolate Mountain.

The grass and trees on this Desolate Mountain were withered and yellow. It was desolate and silent, with nothing particularly special about it.

"Sir, the testing platform is up on the Desolate Mountain," Skinny Monkey said with a bow. He was extremely wary of Ye Wushuang and didn’t dare to be presumptuous.

Ye Wushuang swept his Divine Sense across the area, covering dozens of miles. He detected many figures on the mountaintop before finally saying, "Let’s go up."

With that, Ye Wushuang started walking up. He was quite curious about this testing platform. ’How exactly does it test one’s points?’

Figures moved about the peak of the Desolate Mountain. Many people had already arrived. Even before getting close, he could hear the clamor of discussion.

When Ye Wushuang reached the top, he found that the peak was like a flattened plateau. Many people stood upon it, gathered around a cyan jade stone in the center.

"Yo, isn’t this Skinny Monkey!"

As Skinny Monkey arrived at the peak, a young man at the True Essence Fourth Layer stepped forward. "Skinny Monkey, didn’t you go off to hunt for points? Why did you bring a piece of True Essence Third Layer trash back with you?"

Hearing this guy dare to look down on Ye Wushuang, Skinny Monkey’s lips trembled. He snuck a glance at Ye Wushuang and saw his brow furrow. His heart leaped into his throat, and he roared, "Get lost! Cut the crap! If you say one more word, I’ll turn on you."

After saying his piece, Skinny Monkey shooed him away, which made the young man very dissatisfied. However, in the Earth Palace, making one less enemy meant one more bit of safety.

He and Skinny Monkey were both Loose Cultivators with no Sect to back them. Thus, he didn’t dare to offend even someone like Skinny Monkey. He gave Ye Wushuang a curious look and then turned to leave.

"Sir, don’t lower yourself to this trash’s level. He’s just a snob who judges a book by its cover. How could he possibly know of your invincible Divine Power?" Skinny Monkey said as he turned around. His flattery was so blatant that even Ye Wushuang couldn’t bring himself to get angry.

"What a pity. A True Essence Eighth Layer expert, dead just like that!"

"It was his tragedy to have run into someone like that!" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

At the same time, by the cyan stone, a crowd was gathered in circles. The sounds of sighs and fearful whispers were endless.

Curious, Ye Wushuang ignored Skinny Monkey and walked toward the crowd. Following their gazes, his pupils contracted. He was utterly shocked.

In the void hung a cold corpse, pierced through the brow by a black spear and pinned in mid-air. Blood trickled down. The man had died with his eyes open, a truly tragic sight.

"True Essence Eighth Layer!"

Ye Wushuang couldn’t help but be stunned. The corpse belonged to a True Essence Eighth Layer master. Even he would have found such an expert difficult to handle, yet this man had been run through by a spear, his blood staining the air as he became a corpse. It was clear how terrifying his killer must be.

"Sigh, you can’t blame anyone. That guy dared to provoke Yang Dingtian. It’d be a miracle if he didn’t die."

"What provocation? This guy just found a treasure that Yang Dingtian took a liking to, so he was killed for it."

"The strongest geniuses are terrifying. A True Essence Eighth Layer expert, killed in a single blow!"

...

The crowd discussed among themselves, sighing endlessly with a deep sense of helplessness. So what if he was at the True Essence Eighth Layer? If you’re not at the Peak, you’re still just an ant, waiting to be crushed!

From their discussions, Ye Wushuang pieced together the sequence of events. The young man was named He Lin, a Loose Cultivator. He had been killed for his treasure by the Fiery Sun Sect’s number one genius, Yang Dingtian, who had pinned him here with a single spear strike.

The number one genius, Yang Dingtian!

Ye Wushuang mulled over these words, his heart heavy. It was obvious that Yang Dingtian was one of the strongest disciples. The ability to kill that young man with a single spear strike showed just how terrifying the strongest disciples were!

"Let’s go. Time to see how many points we have."

Everyone here was in the True Essence Realm. Their mental fortitude was extraordinary, and they quickly composed themselves. This incident served as a wake-up call for them all: if you weren’t strong enough, you would be killed. Your path would be cut short, and you’d become just another cold corpse.

Ye Wushuang also looked away and walked toward the cyan stone.

The cyan stone was cylindrical, with a smooth and translucent surface like jade. It stood in the very center of the plateau atop a nine-step platform.

One by one, figures ascended the steps and walked up to the cyan stone.

Ye Wushuang watched quietly. ’How do these people test their points?’

Many others also stopped, looking up with various thoughts in their minds. It was inevitable that some harbored the intent to kill for points.

Then, a young man stepped onto the platform. He placed a hand on the cyan stone, which then shimmered with a faint cyan halo. A single blood-red point of light appeared within the halo.

"One point!"

The crowd immediately began to mutter.

Right after, another young man went up to test his score. Four blood-red points of light appeared on the cyan stone, meaning four points.

Of course, this made him a target for many.

This young man was well aware of this. He left the crowd, wandered around for a few laps, and then his figure vanished.

’So the points of light represent the score. But how is it calculated?’

Ye Wushuang muttered curiously to himself.

"Sir, points are obtained through methods like killing people, robbing treasures, or finding fortunate encounters. As long as you obtain a treasure in the Earth Palace, this world can sense it. Then, through a special conversion, it forms points that are injected into the testing platform. The more valuable the item you get, the more points you receive," Skinny Monkey, who seemed to know all about this, hurriedly explained.

This was all very novel to Ye Wushuang. Killing, robbing treasures, and finding fortunate encounters could all earn you points, and these points could eventually be exchanged for treasures.

’Interesting!’

A glint appeared in Ye Wushuang’s eyes. He had quite a few enemies. At this moment, he was actually looking forward to someone coming to his door, offering up their head and their points.

The testing continued, revealing everyone’s scores. Most people had between one and three points, while a small minority had four or five.

"Fuck, I don’t have any?"

Suddenly, a young man on the platform cursed in frustration, drawing the crowd’s attention.

"Huang San, you fucking hide in your shell all day. How could you have any points? Idiot!"

"Trash! You have no fucking skills, but you’re better than anyone at hiding. Get down from there!"

"Damn it, this guy’s a moron!"

A torrent of curses rained down from the crowd, causing Huang San’s face to turn red with shame. He scurried off the testing platform in disgrace.

"Pathetic!"

A young man in the crowd spat contemptuously, then lifted his head and stepped onto the cyan stone platform.

Ye Wushuang’s interest was also piqued. He was curious about how many points he had himself. After all, he had killed two people and also obtained a Ghost Fruit and the corpse of a Blood-Winged Demon Tiger. ’I should have at least three points, right?’

"True Essence Third Layer. You’re even worse than that last guy. Scram now while you still can, before you make a fool of yourself."

Looking at Ye Wushuang, who was walking up alongside him, the young man gave a mocking smile. With a haughty and contemptuous gaze, he took a step ahead.

"It’s Su Mu! With his strength at the True Essence Sixth Layer, he probably has at least six points."

Seeing the young man go up, the crowd gasped and stared with curiosity. Of course, it was only curiosity; with Su Mu’s True Essence Sixth Layer strength, they wouldn’t dare do anything rash.

Ye Wushuang’s expression remained unchanged as he followed right behind him.

’He still dares to come up!’

Su Mu’s eyes narrowed into a cold sneer. ’Since he didn’t listen to me, Ye Wushuang is doomed to be humiliated.’

A moment later, he retracted his gaze, swept his eyes over the crowd, and revealed an extremely confident smile.

Then, he placed his hand on the cyan stone, and blood-red points of light began to appear, one by one.

"Ten points!"

Seeing the change on the cyan stone, the crowd was utterly shocked and surprised. They had expected six or seven, but never ten. It far surpassed everyone else.