Above the sky, five square boats slowly descended.
On the square boats, several elders and some outer sect disciples descended from the vessels.
Among the elders was the white-haired old man who had previously transported everyone to the deserted island.
He was also the chief examiner for this second stage of the assessment, the beast hunting assessment.
He jumped down from the square boat and frowned upon seeing the crowd that had gathered around.
Now, the crowd seemed to have around a hundred people, not even reaching two hundred.
Keep in mind that initially, there were exactly five hundred people delivered to this deserted island, not one more, not one less. Yet now, only so few remained.
Although it was common for some martial artists to lack strength and die at the claws of beasts during the annual hunting assessment,
there should be at least three hundred or more who could survive. The current number of just over a hundred was simply unbelievable to him.
However, since the real end of the assessment was still an hour away, he was not in a hurry.
After all, there definitely were some martial artists who had not yet returned, only at the last moment would all the martial artists be back.
Some martial artists, vying for the last chance, continued to hunt beasts until the very last moment.
Those martial artists who had now returned to the gathering point were either full of confidence, certain that they had made it to the top hundred like Lin Mozhu and Ao Wuming,
or they were among the ones who had no hope from the start and gave up early.
After a while, several figures burst out from the jungle and returned to the gathering point.
More martial artists came back from time to time.
A figure flashed by; Chu Fengmian leaped out from the jungle and landed, attracting little attention as he joined the gathering point.
He stood beside Qu Wuyin, Lin Mozhu, and the others.
"Chu Fengmian? You actually made it back alive?"
Ao Wuming was startled by Chu Fengmian’s sudden appearance.
He had speculated that Chu Fengmian might have already been killed on this deserted island by the Cheng family and the Chu family.
But now, Chu Fengmian’s sudden return had completely proven him wrong.
Chu Fengmian had returned, and it seemed that his strength had actually improved over these few days.
Chu Fengmian’s realm had reached the seventh level of body forging, the same level as his own.
To have advanced two whole levels within these seven days, Chu Fengmian was indeed extraordinary.
Seeing Chu Fengmian return, a smile of joy appeared on Qu Wuyin’s face.
She couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
"It seems that although the Cheng family and the Chu family can do whatever they want within the Wusheng College, they still dare not interfere with the clan entrance assessment."
"No, the people from the Cheng family and the Chu family are already dead," Chu Fengmian said, a slight smile on his lips.
Qu Wuyin was momentarily stunned upon hearing Chu Fengmian’s words.
She thought that maybe the Cheng family and the Chu family hadn’t sent anyone to deal with Chu Fengmian.
After all, for such an enormous family to deal with a new disciple like Chu Fengmian, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.
But now, according to Chu Fengmian, the Cheng family and the Chu family had indeed sent someone to deal with him, and yet they had been killed by him?
"That’s impossible. Both the Cheng family and the Chu family are filled with strong individuals. To deal with you, a body forging realm martial artist, would be a piece of cake," retorted Ao Wuming incredulously.
Their understanding of the power held by the Cheng family and the Chu family was far deeper than that of the ordinary disciples.
These two major families had joined the Wusheng College upon its founding.
Their strength was far beyond what most could imagine.
"If you don’t believe it, then just wait and see," said Chu Fengmian, who then closed his eyes to meditate.
Chu Fengmian had just made a breakthrough, and the spiritual power in his body was still fluctuating. The remaining hour was a good opportunity for him to get acquainted with the new power in his body.
The assessment had come to an end.
All martial artists had returned to the gathering point.
But now, counting them up, there were only two hundred and three martial artists.
Merely two-fifths of the original number; three-fifths of the martial artists had not shown up.
"Something’s wrong, where is Cheng family’s second young master?"
The white-haired elder took a look over the crowd and suddenly exclaimed with a shocked expression.
Among the candidates for this entrance assessment was a second young master from the Cheng family. He remembered that the Cheng family had specifically told him to look out for Cheng Kong, to prevent any accidents.
Naturally, the white-haired elder never thought that anything could happen to Cheng Kong, so he didn’t pay much attention.
But now, with Cheng Kong missing all of a sudden, the elder was thrown into panic.
If Cheng Kong truly had an accident during this second stage of the assessment, the Cheng family would definitely seek furious retribution against this white-haired elder.
Given the power of the Cheng family, dealing with an outer sect elder like him would be incredibly easy.
"Cheng Kong is really not here, and those disciples from the Qing Alliance seem to have not shown up either. What’s going on?"
Ao Wuming scanned his surroundings and also sensed that something was amiss.
Not just him, but almost all the martial artists noticed something.
That was that none of the Qing Alliance disciples, led by Cheng Kong, had returned.
Over a hundred Qing Alliance disciples had disappeared as if at the same moment.
"Could it be that what Chu Fengmian said is true? The people from the Cheng family and the Chu family came after him, and they were all slain by him? Did all these Qing Alliance disciples also die at the hands of Chu Fengmian?"
Thinking about Chu Fengmian’s earlier words, Ao Wuming’s thoughts couldn’t help but turn to Chu Fengmian.
Chu Fengmian said that soon everyone would know; was he referring to this matter with Cheng Kong?
"Chu Fengmian, do you know anything about this Cheng Kong?"
Ao Wuming whispered, asking. His curiosity was now piqued about what had happened to Cheng Kong.
Cheng Kong still hadn’t appeared until now; it was almost certain to assume that something had happened to him on the deserted island.
And it was very possible that Cheng Kong was already dead on this deserted island.
But who could have killed Cheng Kong while under the protection of over a hundred Qing Alliance disciples?
Neither Ao Wuming, Lin Mozhu, nor Qu Wuyin could achieve such a feat.
With their strength, at most they could only escape when facing the Qing Alliance disciples. The only one among those present who could possibly have defeated over a hundred Qing Alliance disciples was Chu Fengmian.