Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-Six: Final Rankings and the Inquiry of Heart

While Chén Chén's power amplitude made a name worldwide, the second round of testing here at Dragon Gate finally drew to a close.

Because Dragon Gate's appearance made all sides more generous in nurturing the new generation of martial artists.

Talents from all over the world displayed not-shabby strength; even those ranked last had a power amplitude of three point something, but compared to the godlike battles above, they seemed somewhat lacking.

Apart from the first-place Chén Chén, whose figure was beyond ordinary imagination, the name of the second place also exceeded the expectations of the vast majority.

Diwake, with a power amplitude of 13.9, ranked second; originally fifth in the power test, Diwake suddenly surged to second.

The reason was simple: Diwake used mental power during the test.

The appeal of mental power masters lies precisely here; in fact, mental power masters made up one-fifth of the examinees, but the foundation of mental power varies from person to person, and not everyone can gain a huge boost by using mental power like Diwake does.

Just as Diwake still achieved fifth place in power ranking without using mental power, the boost that mental power foundation gives to physique is indeed enormous; the stronger your mental power, the greater the feedback to your body, and your martial prowess will not be lacking.

Of course, Jiāng Jiāng, ranking below Diwake, still earned a 13.4 power amplitude score without using mental power, just as she had anticipated surpassing Ji Heng, who came to provoke at noon.

One can only say the slap came too fast; I don't know if that guy's face hurts now.

Although surpassed, Ji Heng did not fall further; she closely followed Jiāng Jiāng with a 13.1 power amplitude, ranking third.

After that, likewise a mental power master, Luo Fei surpassed Luofeng's hidden strength by a margin of 0.1; although both are from the Old Luo family, the two are unrelated, and this Luo Fei is also third in the World Tree, behind only Ji Heng and Chén Chén.

The power amplitude assessment ended; the remaining final assessment will be held tomorrow, but it no longer affects scores or rankings, so the final ranking is now confirmed.

No need to say more about first place; the true scorer is Chén Chén. Of course, it's not because Chén Chén can give scores, but because his strength absolutely overwhelms.

Second place, Jiāng Jiāng.

Third place, Ji Heng.

Fourth place, Diwake.

Fifth place, Luofeng.

Sixth place, Luo Fei.

Seventh place, Bùluósī Wēiyán.

……

Only after this assessment ended did the people from the World Tree learn that Chén Chén was actually also a member of the World Tree.

It wasn't that Chén Chén volunteered the information; rather, meticulous Ji Heng suddenly recalled that on the plane from Jiangnan to Fengdu for reporting, the fellow travelers had once mentioned a cheat in the practical assessment, a freak named Chén Chén.

After a phone call confirming with his master, Ji Heng also confirmed that Chén Chén was the person absent from that flight.

After the assessment, Ji Heng seemed not at all discouraged by being pushed to third; on the contrary, she was quite pleased and came over again.

"Chén Chén, I know your identity now; do you mind if I give everyone a proper introduction?"

Ji Heng didn't know whether Chén Chén planned to reveal his connection to the World Tree now, but if he intended to, she would be very willing to cooperate and help him integrate into this year's World Tree group with that identity.

Having already shown interest in Chén Chén earlier, coming over now to playfully tease a sentence naturally wouldn't raise suspicion; such a proactive kid like Chén Chén who volunteers for tasks naturally deserves encouragement.

"Sure, I also happen to be preparing to get to know everyone properly."

"Then come with me over there; many people are still feeling down because we almost dropped out of the top three in this assessment, so going over will give them a nice surprise."

"Cough cough." (Someone's throat seemed uncomfortable).

"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot the two of you—Jiāng Jiāng sis and Luofeng bro; come over, get acquainted, everyone's curious about you three, and besides, from now on in Dragon Gate we'll all be comrades; no matter which faction you come from, once you're in Dragon Gate you'll be friends."

Luofeng nodded; Ji Heng's words were indeed reasonable, but wanting to split the Jiāng Jiāng–himself CP that he had been shipping for a month or two, Luofeng still stood on Jiāng Jiāng's side.

Although Jiāng Jiāng was a bit unconventional, her thought process a little strange, even trying to find a little… for herself, but overall she's still a good girl.

Especially for someone like Chén Chén with extremely poor habits; Miss Ji Heng, who appears devoted to martial arts, would surely not tolerate Chén Chén's personality.

Jiāng Jiāng didn't nod, but at least she silently followed behind Chén Chén, occasionally glancing at Ji Heng with her eyes.

This woman is indeed formidable; after being slapped in the face, she acted as if nothing happened and launched another offensive, but she said she already knew what Chén Chén's identity meant?

It surely isn't just that Chén Chén is a World Tree member; there must be some hint.

Could it be… that this guy is actually Chén Chén's fiancée! Pah pah pah, the woman who wants to rope Chén Chén into obtaining his genes.

No, if Ji Heng were that person, she should know him, at least have seen Chén Chén's photo.

Thus the so-called knowledge of Chén Chén's identity can only be one thing; it seems this person knows about the bet (engagement) and knows the woman who has a bet with Chén Chén.

Although she had achieved second place in this assessment at the War God Training Camp, Jiāng Jiāng felt she had reached genius level, yet she utterly did not underestimate this unseen enemy.

Underestimating the enemy is the first step to seeking death, and it's a mistake Jiāng Jiāng will never make in her lifetime.

Seeing Ji Heng bring Chén Chén and the three over, the World Tree people did not reject them either, for as Ji Heng said, after coming to Dragon Gate everyone becomes comrades, at least for a long time to come.

Especially the members from the World Tree, who had told everyone this before arriving.

"Let me introduce these friends I just met; this is Luofeng of the Extreme Martial Hall, this little sis is Jiāng Jiāng of the Thunder Martial Hall, both are geniuses who made it into the top five."

"As for this last one, Chén Chén, he's also our comrade from the World Tree."

"Holy shit, really? Ji Heng, you wouldn't be colluding with new friends to deceive us, would you? \" a girl about the same height as Jiāng Jiāng said in disbelief.

"Little Xu, Ji Heng isn't like you, who loves spouting nonsense all day, and Chén Chén being our talent makes sense; this way it's three consecutive years."

Three consecutive years of first place in the entrance assessment, or rather since this ranking existed, the World Tree has been first, not just first but even sweeping the top three.

Originally, with Ji Heng this cohort everyone thought it was stable, but who expected so many monsters this year; if not for Ji Heng, the World Tree wouldn't have even made the top three this time, which is why everyone's enthusiasm couldn't be raised.

Hearing that Chén Chén was also from the World Tree, many people voluntarily came up to meet him.

Sixth place Luo Fei, seventh place Bruce Weiyan, and after that almost everyone was within the top thirty; this is why the World Tree's momentum gradually overwhelms the Two Great Martial Halls.

His social skills maxed out, plus his early familiarity with these kids' high spirits, Chén Chén quickly blended in with the World Tree crowd.

"You two might not know, but actually the Two Great Martial Halls and our World Tree are one family, and you're both friends of Chén Chén's older brother, making us even more closely kin."

Luofeng and Jiāng Jiāng were also mixed in, leaving no time even to get to know other martial artists from the halls.

Perhaps seeing the liveliness here, other martial artists of the same cohort also came over to make connections, especially those from the Two Great Martial Halls.

As Luo Fei said, the Two Great Martial Halls, as one of the main founders of Dragon Gate, have always had good relations with the World Tree.

Until the last martial artist walked out of the challenge room, the power amplitude test also came to an end. The assessment ranking was decided here; the final twelve people have been confirmed to leave, but those who will leave are not limited to these twelve.

And the reason everyone is lingering in the lobby is naturally that they are waiting for the imminent final assessment.

——Ask Heart

It is also called the Illusion Realm Trial, a concept introduced only after the appearance of the World Tree, and also a trial stage completely proposed and controlled by the World Tree.

It is also the assessment with the highest elimination rate in the Dragon Gate examination.

Although many forces have strong opinions about this assessment, because this final stage has an extremely high pass rate for the World Tree's own people.

But even if there are complaints, the forces are helpless, after all, who made them the big boss of Dragon Gate?

The final assessment no longer requires entering the challenge room, and this time it is no longer led by the guides like Wang Hou from the previous session.

Just as the final results were announced, at some point a person sat on the top of the central stele in the Challenger's Tower, but for some reason no one could see the person's appearance clearly, only roughly hearing that the voice sounded female.

"Congratulations to all of you for passing the combat power evaluation; this also means you have obtained the basic qualification to undergo the assessment."

"I am your guide and examiner for the final round—East Lord."

"You have all seen this thing that displays rankings, but you probably still don't know its name—it is called the Giant God Obelisk, and it is also the entrance to the Dream Realm."

As the female voice finished speaking, the stele seemed to release a dark force, and all the Spiritual Thought Masters present sensed something wrong and instinctively retreated.

On Earth, ninety percent of Spiritual Thought Masters walk the path of the Controller, but among those present only Jiāng Jiāng saw at a glance that this was an illusion technique, a large-scale illusion cast relying on that black stele.

Even knowing this, it was impossible to avoid being hit; Jiāng Jiāng only hesitated half a second longer than others before being dragged into the illusion realm.

In the 0.5 seconds before being dragged in, she thought: Everyone has been hit; if I weren't, wouldn't that expose the matter of the Spiritual Thought Masters?

……

"Has it started?"

"What are you saying, Jiāng Jiāng? It's already over." The voice speaking to her sounded somewhat unfamiliar.

Jiāng Jiāng carefully looked around; a completely unfamiliar face—who the hell are you?

Hiss, it seems like the person from the World Tree I just met?

Jiāng Jiāng felt a headache, as if she had forgotten something; wait, at this time the one calling her from the side shouldn't be Chen Chen, right?

"Where's Chen Chen?" Jiāng Jiāng straightforwardly asked a passerby.

Let me guess—next, this passerby will say, 'Who is Chen Chen?'

"Chen Chen… who is that?"

Alright (T_T), confirmed—I'm in the illusion realm.

Jiāng Jiāng looked around; it was no different from before she closed her eyes, and even the central obelisk still drew her spiritual power—just in terms of confusing her, it was still strong enough.

But this trick of making important people nonexistent, Chen Chen seems to have told me too many times; I seem to have become immune to it?

But if that stele is the base point, then it should be an external illusion realm, meaning the facilities around Dragon Gate are actually real, and perhaps I can use this opportunity to learn about them.

As for how to break the illusion realm, there's currently no good method; for now I'll just follow the 'plot' and look around.

In this illusion realm's plot without Chen Chen, Jiāng Jiāng instead became the person who has been crushing everything since her debut; she also ranked first in the combat power assessment's power fluctuation test, and the object of Ji Heng's sudden confession was also Jiāng Jiāng…

So the environmental trial not only gets rid of Chen Chen but also makes one suffer from this torment of being watched—indeed it is the final trial.

Next comes officially becoming a Dragon Gate member and beginning cultivation there.

Relying on her talent far beyond ordinary people, Jiāng Jiāng reached the War God Stage in just over a month.

Then, as long as she focused her spirit, her progress seemed unrelated to her training, because she had not done any physical training in those two months.

Because she knew from the start it was an illusion realm, those so-called trainings were naturally meaningless, whether physical, skill, or mental.

The so-called illusions, like flowers in the mirror and moon in the water, will shatter upon waking, and nothing can be grasped.

Jiāng Jiāng remained clear-headed at all times; the world rolled forward like an endless river, and she stood alone on a reef gazing far away, only to find the reef itself also moving forward.

Yet after standing so long, Jiāng Jiāng found no clue to break the situation.

The environment hasn't ended, meaning the assessment continues; how can it be broken? If this goes on, will we lose?

No, perhaps I'm mistaken; if even I, an illusion master, can't find a loophole, what about others? Jiāng Jiāng never looks down on opponents, but that doesn't mean she lowers herself without limit.

Among those undergoing the assessment, perhaps many have never even encountered an illusion realm, let alone broken it.

So the so-called trial is actually the plot within the illusion realm?

One's strength has gradually become the best in this world, meaning what awaits oneself in the future?