Chapter 200: Dark Horse, Ye Chen!

"I announce that the opening ceremony now begins!"

Accompanied by Zhao Tianxing's voice ringing out.

Instantly, an extremely terrifying pressure descended from above the heavens, spreading down in an instant.

Rumble!!!

The formidable pressure made the entire void tremble.

Even the surrounding void began to distort bit by bit beneath this formidable pressure.

Abruptly, one could see the cloud layers above the nine heavens being completely torn apart.

Dark clouds pressed down from above, and a breath that made everyone's mood oppressive spread out.

All the new students on the plaza collapsed flat to the ground beneath this formidable pressure.

Even Su Yu and the others were no exception.

Zhang Xiaobo immediately cursed aloud.

"Damn it, Marquis pressure! Is this Qianlong Academy sick in the head? What kind of opening ceremony is this?"

Zhang Xiaobo's voice had barely sounded when Zhao Tianxing, standing above the nine heavens, raised his brow slightly.

"The Sword Emperor's disciple sure has a loose mouth!"

Zhao Tianxing smiled faintly, and with a gentle wave of his hand, the pressure targeting Zhang Xiaobo instantly increased by a few degrees.

"Screw your grandpa!"

Zhang Xiaobo's face instantly became incomparably ferocious beneath this formidable pressure.

His entire body was as if suppressed by a massive mountain, his muscles constantly tensing, and even his blood vessels burst out visibly.

Clearly visible.

At this moment, Su Yu also felt a formidable force continuously pressing down on every part of his body.

And as time passed, this force became even more terrifying, as if it were about to ravage him.

The little green dragon crawled out from Su Yu's pocket, its dumbfounded eyes looking at Su Yu curiously, clearly unable to figure out why Su Yu had suddenly dropped to the ground.

Su Yu's heart stirred slightly.

The little green dragon actually could not sense this pressure at all.

Not only did Su Yu's heart stir slightly, but even Zhao Tianxing, standing above the nine heavens, looked at the little green dragon in surprise.

"This is... a spirit beast?"

"But why have I never seen such a spirit beast before? It looks like the dragon race, but also like a hybrid of the snake race and the dragon race."

Zhao Tianxing's eyes were filled with curiosity.

In this world, there were no azure dragons, so Zhao Tianxing naturally had no idea what race the little green dragon belonged to.

The dragon race in this world all had enormous fleshy wings, existing like dinosaurs, similar to the dragons of the Western world.

Rather than being like the totems of Huaxia.

This was the difference between this world and Huaxia.

"To be able to ignore my pressure means this little fellow's bloodline is very powerful. This little fellow looks to be around the Seventh Revolution Immaculate Golden Body, yet can actually ignore my pressure. How interesting!"

Zhao Tianxing murmured softly.

At this moment, all the new students on the plaza were pinned flat to the ground. It was as though an invisible giant hand between heaven and earth was constantly pressing down on them.

Stimulating them.

Some of the new students' faces instantly turned flushed red, a sign of blood rushing to their heads.

And the pressure Zhao Tianxing released was also relatively limited.

Depending on the different cultivation levels of the students, the pressure they bore was different, which maximally ensured that these students would not suffer any problems due to the pressure.

Of course, psychological suffering still existed.

But once they could persevere, the tempering of their mental fortitude would be exceptionally beneficial.

At the same time, around the edges of the training ground, figures stood quietly in place. Some had their arms crossed, some squatted on the ground, some leaned against trees.

Their gazes unanimously turned toward the training ground.

"Who do you think can hold on the longest among them?"

Someone said with a chuckle.

"Definitely Su Yu. That guy has the Arhat Golden Body, and it's said to already be at the Seventh Revolution Arhat Golden Body, comparable to a powerhouse at the early stage of the Flying Heaven Realm."

"Not necessarily. The principal's pressure is applied according to differences in cultivation. Being able to endure it relies entirely on one's own tolerance, and has nothing to do with cultivation."

Someone shook their head and said calmly.

"I think that Sword Emperor's disciple isn't bad. The principal is already making things difficult for him, yet he can still curse out loud. That shows terrifying resilience."

A tall, slender woman spoke calmly, "Wu Ling'er isn't bad either. As the disciple of the Charm King, the path of charm she cultivates already demands extremely stringent requirements on mental fortitude, so she holds a greater advantage in this regard."

Everyone nodded one after another.

Indeed, this test of tempering mental fortitude was simply a breeze for some people.

As time passed, students on the training ground began to be unable to endure it.

Zhao Tianxing directly lifted the suppression on them, but when this group saw that only they were the first to be unable to endure, their faces immediately turned somewhat ugly.

This time, there were at least a thousand people participating in Qianlong Academy.

Yet among those thousand-plus people, only they were the first to be unable to hold on.

It was undoubtedly a slap to the face.

Unfortunately, there was no chance to go back; they could only wait quietly.

"This batch of new students isn't bad. The first one who couldn't hold on still lasted three minutes. I remember that in previous years, only three-quarters of the students could hold on for more than three minutes."

At the edge of the training ground, a middle-aged man with bulging muscles gave a grin, his face completely filled with satisfaction.

And another gaunt, thin old man said calmly.

"This time, every candidate who participated in the practical assessment has seen an improvement in temperament. I have to say, the Martial King's move, though seemingly harsh, actually brought varying degrees of improvement to all the candidates of Daxia."

"True enough. Those who have experienced life and death are always much stronger than those who haven't."

They discussed softly, while on the training ground, more and more candidates could no longer hold on and chose to quit.

Soon, when the time reached ten minutes.

Only seven people remained on the training ground.

Su Yu, Wu Ling'er, Nan Shou Ren, Beichen, Tang Nian Bing, Zhang Xiaobai, and another new student named Ye Chen.

Ye Chen had also achieved a top-fifty ranking in this year's college entrance examination, possessing cultivation at the Golden Body Realm.

The seven continuously persevered under Zhao Tianxing's pressure.

It was as if a contest of strength had formed among the seven, each stubbornly holding on.

"What do you think — who among them will be able to last until the end?"

said the muscle-bound middle-aged man with a hearty laugh.

The old man was the first to speak: "I bet on Beichen!"

And that woman gave a faint smile: "I bet on Wu Ling'er."

The middle-aged man's eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Goodness, you all have your own picks. Old Song, what about you?"

The middle-aged man looked at another middle-aged man leaning against a tree.

Old Song, wearing glasses, pushed up his thick frames and said calmly.

"I bet on Ye Chen!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone was surprised.

They all looked at Old Song, clearly not expecting him to choose such a candidate.

Old Song smiled faintly.

"I know this child Ye Chen. His parents went to the Myriad Races Battlefield when he was young and never came back. He suffered quite a lot of hardship as a child, and was eventually discovered by the Martial Artists Association thanks to his own talent and cultivated. Although his cultivation is a bit lacking, in terms of mental fortitude, he is absolutely outstanding."

"At least... so far I have never seen anyone who can surpass this little fellow in resilience."

Hearing Old Song's words, everyone nodded one after another.

The muscle-bound middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders.

"Since you've all spoken, then I'll pick Zhang Xiaobai."

"Huh, why is no one picking Su Yu?"

someone asked curiously.

And right at this moment, a faint voice drifted over.

"I pick Su Yu."

Everyone looked over in unison, only to see that Li Zhangsheng had appeared on a tree branch at some unknown time. He lay on the thick branch, picked up a wine gourd, and guzzled it down into his mouth.

"Old Li, I didn't expect you to actually show up at an occasion like this."

the middle-aged man laughed loudly.

Li Zhangsheng said calmly.

"Just this once."

Then he spoke no further.

"Then let's wait and see!"

the middle-aged man shrugged and said nonchalantly.

As time passed, people among the seven gradually could no longer endure.

Nan Shou Ren's expression was incomparably ferocious, his face had already turned crimson red, and his body trembled incessantly. In the end, he still chose to give up.

Instantly, the pressure bearing down on him vanished.

Nan Shou Ren stood up, panting heavily, and looked at the six still persevering, a trace of regret showing in his eyes.

But there was nothing he could do; he could only quietly watch them.

After Nan Shou Ren, the one to give up was Tang Nian Bing, holding on until eighteen minutes.

"Eighteen minutes is decent. I remember the longest anyone lasted last year was also only eighteen minutes."

someone said with a nod.

And the third person to quit was someone no one expected — Zhang Xiaobai!

As a disciple of the Sword Emperor, he could only manage fourth place!

He had persevered for twenty minutes.

The middle-aged man's expression turned somewhat gloomy.

"That damn little fat guy, I thought he was something special!"

This remark drew roaring laughter from the people around.

The fourth to quit was Wu Ling'er, having held on for twenty-two minutes.

"Twenty-two minutes, not bad. Truly worthy of someone who cultivates the path of charm!"

the only woman spoke in praise.

In the end, only three people remained on the training ground.

Su Yu, Beichen, and Ye Chen.

The three maintained their composure as usual, while the pressure between heaven and earth continued to increase.

Soon, thirty minutes had passed.

At this moment, even Li Zhangsheng, who had been lying on a tree branch the whole time, looked over.

"Thirty minutes. In decades past, those who could last more than thirty minutes numbered no more than five, yet who would have thought that this batch alone would have a full three!"

Someone spoke up in admiration.

But the instant he spoke, Beichen's face contorted savagely; unable to hold on any longer, he chose to withdraw.

The old man said with some regret.

What a pity. This lad's mental fortitude should have been top-tier, but being able to last thirty minutes already counts as top-tier!

At this moment, only Su Yu and Ye Chen remained on the training ground!