Chapter 117 — The Survival Trial Assessment Concludes

"Mm. When that happens, I definitely won't lose." Yin Huan clenched his fist and said with certainty.

He did not regret challenging Shi Jin; he only regretted underestimating his opponent, and failing to have all his beasts go all out from the very first battle.

He had lost...

"All right, then we'll battle again when the time comes." At this moment, Shi Jin, taking in Yin Huan's tone and watching his expression, felt a little panicked.

What the hell.

Just a moment ago it had been a genial smile, and now why was he so solemn?

Surely it wasn't that his mental fortitude was poor because he was too young? The way Yin Huan now struck Shi Jin, he looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment, making Shi Jin somewhat regret having fought this match.

"The examination is almost over—finally, we can leave this godforsaken place." Shi Qi glanced at Shi Jin and hastily changed the subject.

...

Yin Huan had lost.

Aboard the sky-mechanical airship, the master examiners and the Eye of the Firmament had never expected that the Legend Yin would run into such an explosive scene the moment he came to check on his son.

They secretly watched the Legend Yin, who was staring silently at the screen, and said nothing.

Until the Legend Yin spoke for himself.

"May I see this Shi Ying's trial performance?"

The Legend Yin seemed not much stirred; though Yin Huan had lost, he did not mind—after all, it was only a one-on-one, and a little setback might do the still-young Yin Huan good.

Sheltered under his wing, Yin Huan was destined never to know the kind of growth he himself had known in his day, and times had changed besides—the unrest at home and abroad, the factional strife, had all quieted for the moment—and this sort of competition among peers within ten years of one another struck him as well suited to Yin Huan's development.

"Ah, this..." At this, as the Legend Yin's words fell, the master examiners were once again at a loss.

Legend Yin, oh Legend Yin—best not to look.

But that was not the examiners' call to make. Hearing the Legend Yin's words, the Eye of the Firmament at once played its carefully edited "Shi Jin Trial Cut," overlaying the current feed.

The grave-faced Legend Yin looked back to the screen, wanting to see the hidden talents of this examinee who had handed his son a defeat.

Then, across the screen, there slowly emerged a youth riding a panda, wooden sword in hand, a gleeful look on his face, hacking his way from forest to lake, from lake to valley, in a blazing montage.

The Legend Yin could not calm himself for a long while.

"It seems," he said at last, "that the training tasks I set for Zhengfan are still too few."

...

Not long after, the three-day wilderness survival trial examination finally came to an end.

Once Shi Yun arrived, the Eye of the Firmament set about its old work.

One by one, it teleported the examinees on the trial island back into the aircraft that had come upon the sky.

In that instant, thousands of tiny black dots wrapped in blue light began to rise into the air.

Beneath the shroud of telekinetic power, some examinees howled with laughter, while others looked as though they had lost their own parents.

Shi Ying was in rather good spirits—after all, this time the haul had been no small thing.

Three space-type skills! Three Dragon Soul Grass! And Buggy had even awakened Intimidation!

Plus a whole bead's worth of junk resources that could still be traded for no small number of Divine Beans!

Of course, Shi Ying's good mood meant, by contrast, that some people's moods were ruined by Shi Ying.

Take Yu Shu, for instance, who had missed out on the Dragon Soul Grass—now that the examination was over, he looked not the least bit pleased, convinced he had been thoroughly unlucky this time, having run into a freak.

And there was the rather competitive Yin Huan—before he fought Shi Jin, things had been fine, the two of them chatting happily enough; but after the battle ended, oh dear, everything went to ruin, and Shi Jin felt he had lost Yin Huan's friendship outright.

What a damn mess—fighting really is pointless, Shi Jin couldn't help but sigh.

How was he supposed to copy skills after this—

"Forget it, forget it, no more thinking about all that—next up, I can finally get a good, sound sleep!"

Soon after, Shi Jin was teleported onto an aircraft—though what left him rather bewildered was that it did not seem to be the one he had been on at the start.

Besides Shi Jin, there were fifteen others, Yu Shu and Yin Huan among them, none other than the sixteen key examinees selected this time!

Now, seeing Shi Jin again, Yu Shu's expression darkened...