章節 28: Mercenary Assessment.

The man stared at Raymond for a while with an inquisitive look; was this young man really in the 7th revolution of body-refining?

"Your name was Raymond right?"

"Yeah."

"Good, come with me, I'll assess you personally."

The voice of the man was both rough and imposing, but Raymond didn't care much for it, it didn't really bother him. This man was exuding a powerful air. Powerful to the point where Raymond just assumed that he had broken through from the body-refining realm and into the spirit-refining path.

The man led Raymond into a large and empty training hall on the other side of the building. The hall was spacious and the floor was made out of a dark grey wood, presumably a type of wood that was as hard as steel. The walls were lined with racks containing all kinds of weapons, everything from swords and sabres, to spears and halberds. One thing these weapons all had in common was that they had dull edges, they were not really meant to harm anyone after all.

"Pick a weapon of your choice so we can begin the assessment."

Although he said that, the man was certain that Raymond was going to pick a sword, he had a sword on his waist after all. Raymond played around with the sword for a little while before he picked up a rather ordinary short sword. The sword was not too long and not too short; it was neither too light nor too heavy. It was just about right.

The man watched Raymond with interest as he waited. A young man at the age of 16 had broken through to the 7th revolution of body-refining. This was the cultivation speed of a genius. However, those "geniuses" usually relied on their family's resources to achieve such a speed. This young man in front of him was just a blind rogue cultivator, or at least that's what he was on paper. The rough man had no way of knowing if Raymond actually had some sort of background.

"Since you've picked out your weapon, let's begin the assessment!"

Raymond was a little taken aback by the rough man's voice that resounded in the empty hall, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Alright, what are the rules?" He inquired pensively.

"Just attack me in whichever way you want, if I feel like your combat ability is on par with your cultivation, then you'll pass."

Raymond felt like this "assessment" seemed a little carefree, but since it benefitted him, he stopped thinking about it.

"Ready when you are."

"Just come at me kid!"

Since the rough man was ready, Raymond started attacking him immediately. His sword cut the air at an immense speed, yet strangely, there was almost no discernible sound. This was because Raymond had reached the transcendent realm in his Azure Wind Sword Art. His sword was a master of the surrounding wind, meaning it created no resistance at all whenever he swung his sword. Since there was basically no air resistance, the speed of Raymond's sword had become a lot faster than before.

The rough man seemed a little surprised by Raymond's unexpected speed and ferocity, but he had no trouble whatsoever dealing with him. Raymond had already shown that he had enough strength, but the rough man didn't say anything. He wanted to see how far Raymond could go, maybe he had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Whilst the rough man was thinking to himself, Raymond was beginning to set a plan in motion. Since he didn't know how much strength he needed to show, Raymond was planning on using everything except for his sword force. If he still couldn't pass the assessment after that, then he would consider using his sword force. For now, he wanted to be a little cautious. He had previously made some enemies, so keeping a card up his sleeve seemed like a wise move.

Whilst the rough man effortlessly defended against Raymond's attacks, Raymond was preparing to use something he had learnt in the past month. His eyes that were covered by the headband started to glow a little brighter, and the purple hexagrams started pulsating with a peculiar rhythm. The rough man suddenly felt like something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was. His senses were telling him that something was wrong, yet he had no way of seeing what it was.

This strange feeling was certainly annoying, but after a little while, he paid it no further heed. In front of him, Raymond suddenly retreated a few meters and raised his sword up high. Gripping it hard with both hands, Raymond took a deep breath before he suddenly lunged forward with extreme speed! The sword travelled in a horizontal arc, going straight for the rough man's neck.

Although it was certainly a fast attack, the rough man had no issues blocking the attack, but just before the attack made contact with his sword, the rough man felt a sense of impending danger. Subconsciously, he spread his spiritual energy defences across his entire body. A split second later, the two swords made contact with each other, but the expected collision never happened.

The rough man had no time to be surprised as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. As he skidded backwards across the floor, he noticed that his shirt was somewhat torn and that he had a large red mark on his stomach. Although the rough man was unsure of how Raymond had done it, it was a fact that he had managed to injure him.

"I don't know how you did that, but you pass."

"If you head over to the receptionist again, she will show you the ropes."

"Thank you for your guidance." Raymond gave the rough man a slight bow before he promptly left.

As he was walking to the reception, Raymond reflected a little on the fight he had just had. What he had used at the end of the fight was one of the ultimate moves of the Azure Wind Sword Art, the Subsonic Pierce! Although the move was certainly very fast, there was no way a cultivator in the spirit-refining realm wouldn't be able to dodge it. Since the Subsonic Pierce was a thrusting attack, how come the rough man saw it as a horizontal slash?

That was where Raymond's Heaven-Piercing Eyes came into play. Earlier in the fight, Raymond had stimulated his eyes with the help of his soul power, effectively confusing his opponent by creating an illusion. This was a move that Raymond had worked a lot on in the past month, and it was surprisingly effective. Although it didn't make Raymond stronger or faster, it was one of his most lethal weapons.

Especially if he fought an opponent that was of a higher realm. If it was a real fight, Raymond would've imbued his Subsonic Pierce with his sword force as well, which could easily kill a cultivator in the spirit-refining realm if they were not careful. Happy with the effectiveness of his newly invented attack, Raymond walked over to the receptionist and told her about the results of his assessment. The only thing left to do now was to accept a mission and earn some money!