Chapter 3723 — Challenging Above One's Tier

Before Wei Zhao could even respond, Meng Zhou threw his head back with a laugh, spun on his heel, and strode off without a backward glance. His mission had been flawlessly accomplished. Given Wei Zhao's inveterate habit of putting on airs, being needled and mocked to such a degree, it would be a wonder of the age if he did not now rack his brains for some way to slap them all across the face!

The gaggle of newcomers dispersed in Meng Zhou's wake. Qiao Hongcai, fists clenched in righteous indignation, sputtered, "Those bastards have gone too far! Senior Brother Wei, you've got to give a proper showing this time—take another god-tier perfect score, swell their faces up till they can't even take care of themselves anymore, then we'll see what cheek they have left for their snide remarks!"

"Wrong!" The long-suffering senior brother glanced at Wei Zhao's darkening expression and hurriedly cut in. "This lot is plainly using a provocation tactic—their whole aim is to goad Junior Brother Lin into a higher-tier challenge. The moment he actually does it, he's fallen right into their vile scheme. Junior Brother Lin, you must think this through. This is no joking matter!"

Xiao Che chimed in as well. "Indeed. These people are being far too deliberate. When something is this abnormal, there's a devil behind it. Senior Brother Wei, you mustn't act rashly."

Hearing the two of them, Qiao Hongcai finally grasped the trick. "My god, how insidious! Could Meng Zhou possibly have the brains for this? It's got to be Meng Jueming pulling strings behind the scenes. Everything I just said was nonsense—Senior Brother Wei, don't take it to heart. Safety first, after all! And with Meng Zhou's puny strength, he'd dare pick early Foundation Establishment peak? What a load of crap! He's only saying it to trick you into falling for it!"

Seeing the anxious faces of all three, Wei Zhao only gave a carefree laugh. "Put your hearts back in your bellies, all of you. Do I look like a man with no brains? It's fine. I know my limits."

The three exchanged glances. Seeing Wei Zhao still calm as ever, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told, they had genuinely feared Wei Zhao would be provoked past reason and, refusing to be outdone, choose an early Foundation Establishment peak trial. That would have been a real disaster.

After all, this endurance test was not like the last pressure-resistance trial. During the pressure-resistance test, one could observe one's own condition at any time and decide whether to withdraw. But this endurance test was different: once the tier was chosen in advance, there was no chance to change it whatsoever.

If someone let a moment's impulse drive them into a higher-tier challenge, the likely end was being struck dead by an examiner in a single blow. Even with Elder Zhao Hongbo present, there would be no opportunity to step in and save them.

While they were talking, Zhao Hongbo had finished sealing the strength of the Law Enforcement Hall examiners. One examiner each was set for late Heaven-tier peak, Heaven-tier Great Perfection, early Foundation Establishment, and early Foundation Establishment peak. And since the overwhelming majority of the newcomers were Heaven-tier Great Perfection, two additional Heaven-tier Great Perfection examiners were assigned so they could rotate among one another.

Then the second segment of the newcomers' assessment—the endurance test—officially began.

Somewhat to everyone's surprise, the order of assessment did not follow the long-standing tradition of Chongtian Pavilion leading and Qingyun Pavilion trailing. Instead, the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers were sent in first.

Wei Zhao smiled inwardly. To target him this time, Xu Lingchong and his crowd had truly expended a great deal of effort—they had even attended to such a small detail.

The logic was simple. Even with Meng Zhou and the others' mockery to provoke him beforehand, even if Wei Zhao momentarily lost his head, a long gap in between would inevitably let him cool down again. Without sufficient confidence, he might very well abandon the higher-tier challenge.

But with this assessment order, the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers led off right from the start. That would leave Wei Zhao no time to react, guaranteeing the scheme's success rate!

Seeing that Zhao Hongbo and the Law Enforcement Hall examiners were ready, Hu Yunfeng announced in a ringing voice to all the newcomers: "The second segment of the assessment officially begins now. We start with the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers. The two managing senior brothers will first organize everyone to register publicly, then assessments will proceed from weakest to strongest according to each person's registered strength tier. Junior Brother Kang, as the newcomers' steward, will keep the records."

As Hu Yunfeng finished speaking, Meng Jueming deliberately shot Wei Zhao a cold sneer, but he did not have Wei Zhao register first. Instead, he walked over to Meng Zhou's side, signaling that it should start with him.

Meng Zhou at once puffed out his chest and declared loudly and smugly, "Meng Zhou, strength: early Foundation Establishment. Challenging early Foundation Establishment peak!"

At these words, the whole hall erupted in an uproar. The newcomers of the other two pavilions, who had not been forewarned, now stared at Meng Zhou in utter disbelief!

After all, Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng had specifically emphasized moments ago that no one should choose a higher-tier challenge to play the hero—that was the act of an incurable idiot. Yet Meng Zhou, the very first to register, had directly chosen a higher-tier challenge, and the hardest one at that, early Foundation Establishment peak. It was truly jaw-dropping.

One had to understand a common consensus in the cultivation world: in higher-tier challenges, the higher the strength tier, the greater the difficulty. If higher-tier challenges still occasionally occurred among low-tier cultivators, then at the early Foundation Establishment tier and above, such cases were extremely rare.

Because at low tiers, the difference in strength was merely that between one and two—a bit of extra hidden skill was enough to bridge the gap, and the difficulty of a higher-tier challenge was not especially great.

But at early Foundation Establishment and above, the difference in strength became that between ten thousand and twenty thousand—a gap that ordinary hidden skills simply could not bridge. The odds of succeeding in a higher-tier challenge were practically negligible.

What was more, this was an endurance test. To attempt a higher-tier challenge in defense—the weak point of the vast majority of cultivators—was, in the eyes of ordinary folk, no different from courting death!

Yet seeing Meng Zhou's utterly confident expression, the newcomers, for all their disbelief, did not dare rashly voice any mockery, lest they be slapped in the face later.

This fellow was, after all, one of the outstanding few among all the newcomers to have succeeded in Foundation Establishment first. Perhaps he did have some formidable hidden skill to handle a higher-tier challenge. At this level, after all, no one was a fool who did not know what death looked like.