Chapter 111: Chapter 109: West Mountain Assessment

Time passed in a flash, and two days went by.

In the valley, apart from a few Eighth-Grade Demons who came to prepare for the Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers evaluation, nothing else of note happened.

However, Cao Li Heng, this Little Demon, was quite impressive. Every morning and evening, he would bring a basket of berries, which Wang Wu and Pork Belly enjoyed immensely. The other demons were envious, gritting their teeth angrily, but could do nothing about it.

Niu Aihua was initially dismissive of this until he tried one of the berries. Then, he immediately joined the scramble, saying that even though these finest berries couldn’t be considered Spirit Fruits, their value was still considerable.

Eating them frequently could enhance physical strength, refine the bloodline, and strengthen the bones, greatly beneficial.

So when demons reached the Seventh Grade, they typically wouldn’t eat ordinary food, as it would not only be unhelpful but even harmful to their physique.

The day of the evaluation arrived quickly. Early that morning, Niu Aihua, Pork Belly, and other Little Demons went out to bask in the sun.

Only Wang Wu stayed behind as usual, quickly enjoying a basket of berries, successfully gaining 500 points of satiety and 50 points of Spiritual Qi.

Until now, the satiety he gained from consuming the Acupoint Opening Demon Pill was nearly depleted, but he had successfully accumulated 300 points of vitality, giving him great confidence.

Not eating for ten days or half a month wouldn’t matter.

As for Spiritual Qi, he had accumulated a total of 210 points in recent days, not much but should be usable.

It’s worth mentioning that since the Hundred-Change Ruyi Leaf suppressed his Spiritual Essence Level by one, he could just use 20 points of Spiritual Qi to raise his Spirit Essence to Level 3.

Thus, his Spiritual Qi storage limit had already reached 400 points.

Not bad at all.

Shortly, Wang Wu awaited Niu Aihua and Pork Belly at the entrance to the valley. They, along with other demons participating in the evaluation, were led by a strange Little Tree Spirit to climb to the top of the West Mountain, where the evaluation would take place.

The evaluation requirements, how it would be conducted, and how many would be selected remained unknown.

Perhaps the other demons knew, but even the talkative Niu Aihua kept this strictly confidential, as if there were some taboo involved. Otherwise, Cao Li Heng would have informed Wang Wu early on.

In a word, there’s no shortcut.

Including Wang Wu and his West Mountain Three Heroes, there were a total of ten demons participating in the evaluation. Except for Pork Belly, the others were all Eighth-Grade in strength and all quite battle-hardened and elite.

Their goal was to obtain Grandpa Tree’s Spirit Pill to increase their chances of breaking through to the Seventh Grade.

Wang Wu, at the end of the group with the other two, noticed Niu Aihua’s apparent nervousness. In contrast, Pork Belly seemed suddenly indifferent and relaxed, as it already knew from the lineup that it stood no chance and was merely coming to gain experience.

Wang Wu remained silent, saying nothing over the past two days, except nodding, shaking his head, sleeping, and strolling, like air.

The path up the mountain was somewhat rugged, but it was nothing for the group of demons. Had it not been for the Little Tree Spirit deliberately moving slowly, they would have charged to the summit already.

In this manner, circling around, they actually wound up at the back of the mountain, and here they discovered that the so-called West Mountain was composed of more than a dozen peaks of varying sizes. These peaks undulated and were abundant with valleys, covered in dense forests, appearing beautiful, but one could imagine the complexity of the ecology within.

The Little Tree Spirit leading them stopped here, where there was a rough-looking platform, not large, with only a peculiar demon statue standing on it. Upon the statue were signs of countless years, with traces of moss spread across, weathered by wind and rain.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am called Grass Flying, the chief examiner for this evaluation. I thank you all for coming and hope you adhere to the evaluation requirements. Do not make it hard for us, or I will have the authority to permanently disqualify you from participating.”

At this moment, the Little Tree Spirit, who had been silent along the way, suddenly spoke loudly. Despite the sharp voice, it was extremely stern.

The group of demons quickly acknowledged.

“Very well. According to past practices, I will first routinely explain the reasons Grandpa Tree is recruiting Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers and the specifics of the evaluation.”

“Firstly, Grandpa Tree is responding to the call of the sages of the Four Seas and Eight Wildernesses, from all races of demons, spirits, and monsters thousands of years ago, aiming to break prejudice and establish great ecology of the Four Seas and Eight Wildernesses. Thus, it has publicly recruited Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers from the demon race.”

“For this reason, Grandpa Tree extended twenty-seven branches across the Western Wilderness over tens of thousands of years, providing unimaginable support to the ecological construction of the Four Seas and Eight Wildernesses, granting countless conveniences and development opportunities to the various races of Demon Spirit Monsters, and making outstanding contributions to the stability, peace, and commercial circulation of the West Wilderness.”

“Now, these twenty-seven branches have transformed into twenty-seven Divine Temples of Grandpa Tree. This West Mountain is the location of one such Divine Temple. If you can pass the examination and become Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers, you will need to serve here for ten years.”

“During these ten years, you may retain your original identity and are allowed, to a limited extent, to do things you want as long as they don’t interfere with the Divine Temple of Grandpa Tree. If your king declares the highest level of war mobilization, you may return to fight.”

“Besides, your daily duties involve patrolling an area within a thousand-mile radius centered around West Mountain, monitoring the water flows, vegetation, weather, and seasonal changes in this region, and assisting the Divine Temple Envoys to supplement the climate in the area to ensure favorable weather conditions, peace among vegetation, and steady development of various races.”

“Additionally, there will be designated tasks, and completing them will earn you extra generous rewards.”

“As for your salary, as agreed, you will receive a daily basket of premium berries as food aid, a Ninth-Grade Spirit Fruit each season, and a Ninth-Grade Spirit Pill every three years. There will be a twenty percent discount when purchasing supplies at the temple, and you will have three days each year to enter the Spirit Realm for training.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Wu was immediately tempted, and it goes without saying for the other Demons, who were all raring to go, eager to complete the examination right away.

Niu Aihua, however, felt more frustrated because they had participated three times, and clearly, since the benefits after passing the examination were so many, the difficulty of the examination must be even higher.

At this point, Grass Flying continued, “Our examination rules for this time are as follows: in front of you is a mountain range, extending north to Moyao Ridge, south to the Grass and Wood Tomb, east to the Great Sage Platform, and west to Dog Leg Mountain. You need to find these three locations and the three other chief examiners stationed there, besides the Great Sage Platform where you currently are.”

“Including myself, we will each give you a task. These four tasks are not difficult. If you complete them, you will pass the examination and become Ninth-Grade Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers. On top of that, within these four tasks, there is a hidden clue pointing to a fifth task with bountiful rewards. If you can achieve it, you will become Eighth-Grade Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers, with even better pay and treatment, regardless of whether you completed the first four tasks or not.”

“Also, this examination has no limits on the number of participants. You can form a team, or go solo to complete the tasks. How you do it is up to you.”

“Oh, and the examination duration is three days and three nights. If you can’t complete it within this time, then it’s unfortunate.”

“Now, make your choice.”

As soon as Grass Flying finished speaking, the Big Mountain Cat was the first to rush forward, receiving a silk pouch made from cyan grass. After opening it, there seemed to be vague sounds, but the other Demons couldn’t hear them clearly.

Then with a flash, the Big Mountain Cat darted out of the Great Sage Platform, appearing quite confident.

Other Demons quickly followed suit, stepping forward to collect the Cyan Grass Silk Pouch, promptly setting out, none of them forming a team.

When only Wang Wu, their group, was left, Pork Belly promptly said, “Big Brother, Third Brother, you two team up, don’t mind me. I’m just here to muddle through, gain some experience; don’t let me drag you down.”

Upon hearing this, Niu Aihua was about to say something when Wang Wu pulled in Pork Belly, and even though he didn’t acknowledge the title of the West Mountain Three Heroes, he took responsibility.

Seeing this, the previously somewhat downcast Niu Aihua burst into laughter, “Right, right, dragging us down, whatever! I really don’t have confidence to pass this examination, and Lianhua probably doesn’t have much chance either, it can’t even speak yet. But as they say, nothing beats having fun; it’s far more important for the three of us brothers to enjoy ourselves!”

“Come on, let’s form a team.”

“Are you sure?”

The Little Tree Spirit, Grass Flying, asked, but his eyes were on Wang Wu.

Wang Wu understood his meaning, but still nodded heavily, not for anything else. He wanted to repay the kindness of Pig and Cow, and though he didn’t want to admit it, mixing with these two dimwits was indeed quite happy and relaxing.

Grass Flying spoke no more, taking out a Cyan Grass Silk Pouch and handing it over. Wang Wu took it first, and in the next second, the Cyan Grass Silk Pouch opened automatically, with only a simple line inside.

“Find and kill three Grass and Wood Zombies within three days.”

——

“Oh, that’s easy. I know about Grass and Wood Zombies. My previous examinations all started with killing Grass and Wood Zombies, and I can handle five. Let’s go, I’ll lead the way.”

Niu Aihua rejoiced, prancing around energetically in place, full of spirit and strength.

Wang Wu didn’t detect any special meaning or clue in this simple phrase, so he didn’t object, following Niu Aihua down from the Great Sage Platform, while Pork Belly brought up the rear. Their battle tactics were still quite proficient.

As their figures disappeared into the dense ancient woods, the Little Tree Spirit, Grass Flying, left behind at the Great Sage Platform, then laughed, “Cao Li Heng, Grass Dance, the Xiong Lianhua you’ve been eyeing has set off, but it seems it took along those two lagging fools. Looks like I’ll win again this time.”

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