In just an instant, most of the bats that had swooped down from the air were already slain by Xia Yi.
As more and more four-clawed bats died, Xia Yi noticed faint air currents rising into the sky under the dim light. These currents gradually coalesced and then drifted toward the nearby holes.
Xia Yi turned his head and smiled. "Is that all?"
The major's lips curled slightly into a smile once more. "You're thinking too much."
Just then, a low growl suddenly rang out.
Immediately after, from a medium-sized cave, a massive bat abruptly shot out.
This bat was more than twice the size of the previous ones, and it had six claws on its underside. As its wings spread wide, it let out a sharp screech.
The air seemed to ripple in waves under its cry.
Xia Yi's eyes narrowed. A sonic attack infused with mental power?
His spiritual power, at the peak of the Lingyuan Realm, immediately surged outward. He knew very well that such soundwave attacks couldn't be blocked simply by covering one's ears. His immense spiritual force quickly formed a protective shield around the major.
As for himself, Xia Yi wasn't concerned at all. A spiritual attack of this level wouldn't affect him in the slightest.
The major felt as if she were covered by an invisible energy shield. The expected sonic impact never landed on her, as though it had been completely blocked by something unseen.
Seeing its sonic attack fail, the six-clawed bat suddenly folded its wings and dived toward Xia Yi like an arrow. Its mouth let out sharp, continuous shrieks, sending repeated soundwave assaults at him.
Xia Yi remained unfazed. With a simple motion, he lifted his Eight-Edged Plum Blossom Hammer and smashed it forward.
Boom!
The six-clawed bat, over two meters long, was sent flying upon impact.
Just like the four-clawed bats before, it showed no difference in resilience.
Before the stunned eyes of the female major, the bat's body exploded mid-air, bursting into countless fragments that scattered in all directions.
This...
Killing a six-clawed bat in a single blow without even using soul power?
The major felt as though her mind had short-circuited.
"Not bad!" She nodded approvingly. Given Xia Yi's current display of combat strength, his performance in the strength assessment was already a perfect pass.
However, the Blood God Legion's assessment wasn't just about strength—even more important was character.
The Blood God Legion had few members, but every one of them was a true comrade-in-arms, someone who could be trusted to guard each other's backs.
The reason the assessment required recruits to protect others was to test whether they could sacrifice themselves for their teammates in a crisis.
But such a test could only be conducted in dangerous situations.
Without danger, how could this quality be evaluated?
Thus, the major did not end the test—she chose to remain silent.
With the six-clawed bat slain, the four-clawed bats that had been emerging from the caves finally stopped appearing.
But after only a brief pause, three more enormous six-clawed bats crawled out of the cave.
Three of them. Their combined strength wasn't simply three times that of one.
These creatures didn't just resemble bats in appearance; even their combat tactics were similar. They possessed formidable combat abilities and, with their mental attributes, had developed a decent level of intelligence, making them highly adept at coordinated attacks.
How would he handle this?
Just as the major pondered in anticipation, Xia Yi made his move.
This time, he did not wait to be attacked.
With the four-clawed bats no longer harassing them, there was no need to worry about the major's safety anymore.
Thus, just as the three six-clawed bats were emerging from the cave, Xia Yi struck.
He hurled his pair of Eight-Edged Plum Blossom Hammers at two of the bats, then stomped the ground forcefully and leaped into the air.
With his right hand clenched into a fist, he smashed it straight toward the forehead of the third six-clawed bat.
At that moment, the bat had just fully emerged from the cave. Its body was still stabilizing, making dodging impossible.
It could only lash out with all six claws simultaneously, trying to counterattack.
Six versus one. A fierce direct confrontation.
But Xia Yi wasn't afraid at all—he went for a direct clash.
"Engaging a six-clawed bat in a head-on physical battle? How reckless!" The major couldn't help but frown.
Yet, the next moment—
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A series of shattering sounds rang out as all six of the bat's claws snapped at once.
Xia Yi's fist slammed heavily into its skull.
Boom!
The six-clawed bat exploded into fragments.
Using the rebound force, Xia Yi flipped backward in the air. As he descended, he caught his two thrown hammers mid-air.
It was only then that the major realized—
The other two six-clawed bats had also been struck in the forehead by the hammers and blown apart.
Seeing this, the major was left completely dumbfounded.
"I get it now—he used the first bat to gauge their physical resilience. Once he confirmed that their bodies were weaker than his, he dared to engage head-on!"
As someone who had reached the rank of major at a young age, she wasn't a fool. She quickly understood his reasoning.
However, at that exact moment, a dark shadow silently appeared behind her.
"Watch out!"
Xia Yi's peak Lingyuan Realm spiritual power immediately detected the anomaly.
Without hesitation, he hurled one of his Eight-Edged Plum Blossom Hammers in a curved trajectory around the major, striking the shadow squarely.
But—
The shadow only paused for a brief moment before the hammer passed right through its body, leaving it completely unharmed.
"What is that?" Xia Yi was stunned.
He didn't have time to think. Seizing the moment, he pulled the major behind him.
With an unobstructed view, he finally got a good look at the shadow—
It resembled a human.
What's more, it looked incredibly familiar.
Upon closer inspection, Xia Yi's eyes widened in shock—
The shadow looked exactly like the major standing behind him!
Its height and physique were identical.
However, it was completely pitch-black and had a transparent, ghostly texture, making its facial features indistinguishable.
"A Possession Demon… It's a Possession Demon?!"
Upon seeing the shadow, the major let out a terrified scream.
Without hesitation, she immediately pressed the button on the back of her hand, trying to end the test.
But the next moment—
Her expression turned to shock.
No matter how much she pressed the button, she and Xia Yi were unable to teleport out.
And while she was frantically pressing the button, the Possession Demon had already launched its attack.
It raised its hand, and a black hammer flew toward Xia Yi.
Xia Yi's gaze sharpened. His spiritual power surged forward like a raging sea, crashing toward the shadow.
But—
The Possession Demon only paused briefly before resuming its attack.
"Even spiritual power has no effect?"
Xia Yi's expression finally changed.
Physical attacks were useless.
Spiritual attacks were useless.
And he couldn't use his Martial Soul.
All he could do now was keep dodging.
"This is an Posession Demon, a terrifying existence from the Abyss realm. It's practically indestructible. Neither physical attacks nor mental or energy-based attacks can harm it. It can infect and control anything, especially attacks that release energy. Those only become part of its power. Once the Demon possesses someone, it controls them. How did such a thing appear here?"
The major's face turned pale. Although this was a virtual world and they couldn't die physically, if the Inhabiting Demon damaged their mental world, it would still have a significant impact on their real-world mental state.
"What do we do now?" Xia Yi's expression changed. Physical, mental, and energy attacks were all ineffective. How could such a monstrous creature exist?
No wonder it had been a challenge for the Sun Moon Federation for thousands of years.
No wonder it could form a black hammer.
Damn it, it's my hammer.
So, he still had a trick up his sleeve—mental power.
Xia Yi's face shifted. How should he fight this?
"Does it have any weaknesses?" Xia Yi didn't dare continue attacking. While constantly retreating through the tunnel with the major, he asked helplessly.
Fortunately, Summer Yi's speed was fast enough that he wasn't worried about being caught before he ran out of stamina.
"It's afraid of life energy. Only a rare life crystal can prevent it from possessing someone." The major's voice trembled.
She was clearly frightened.
The Posession Demon… even extreme Douluo couldn't deal with such an existence.
How could he find a life crystal here?
"Is that so?" Xia Yi stopped abruptly. He understood why the Demon had targeted the major first—she was the weaker target.
"This thing is probably not part of the assessment. It shouldn't count as a violation if I use other things, right?" XIa Yi asked in a deep voice.
"It's fine." The major nodded reluctantly.
"In that case, here." Xia Yi waved his hand, and his Creation Hammer appeared in his grasp.
The life energy in his Creation Hammer was even more intense than that in a life crystal.
Xia Yi tossed the handle to the major to ensure she wouldn't be possessed, then rolled up his sleeves and brandished his eight-pointed plum blossom hammer, charging toward the Inhabiting Demon.
He still had another Creation Hammer inside him, so he wasn't afraid of this thing possessing him.
Damn it, it chased us earlier, now it's my turn.
"Don't attack it! You can't kill it. Attacking it will only allow it to absorb and control your attacks. If it absorbs enough, we won't stand a chance even if we're not possessed," the major said, watching Xia Yi roll up his sleeves with a tough guy attitude. Her expression was one of helplessness, but she yelled out a warning, afraid that Xia Yi would act recklessly.
"Who cares about that! When it's time to strike, we strike." Xia Yi leaped into the air, bringing his eight-pointed plum blossom hammer down.
The Inhabiting Demon didn't even try to dodge, seemingly letting Xia Yi hit it on purpose.
Boom!
As expected, Xia Yi's eight-pointed plum blossom hammer passed through the Inhabiting Demon's body, causing it to freeze momentarily.
But Xia Yi wasn't concerned at all. Taking advantage of the Inhabiting Demon's pause, he immediately swung the hammer multiple times, hammering out dozens of blows.
"I'll smash, I'll smash, I'll smash!" Xia Yi didn't give the Demon a chance to react, hammering it relentlessly with over a thousand strikes.
"What are you doing?!" The major ran up to Xia Yi, unable to stop herself from asking.
"It chased us around like crazy earlier. I won't feel satisfied unless I smash it a few more times," Xia Yi grinned. His Earthly Cauldron suddenly appeared in his hands, and while the Demon was frozen, he immediately trapped it inside.
Ha ha, you can't be killed, but can't I still suppress you?
Xia Yi sneered. Though he didn't know what was going on, this virtual world should be similar to the Ascension Spirit Platform.
The Demon was so powerful. It was like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear in the Spirit Pagoda Tower in East Sea City. This Demon should contain something real inside it.
Although he didn't know who was trying to make things difficult for him by not letting him finish the assessment and releasing this creature, he figured that capturing such a peculiar Abyss creature for study wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Now, I've passed the assessment, right?" Xia Yi retrieved his Creation Hammer and picked up the eight-pointed plum blossom hammers he had thrown earlier. He looked at the major and asked.
"Passed," the major swallowed hard. She couldn't believe that the Demon, which even extreme Douluo couldn't handle, had been suppressed so easily by Xia Yi.
"You go ahead." Xia Yi looked at the major, remembering how many times she had pressed the button.
He didn't know if the people who had been making things difficult for them would now allow them to leave. If he left and the major was still stuck here, it wouldn't be good.
"Okay." The major nodded and pressed the button on her wrist. This time, her body instantly vanished.
After watching the major disappear, Xia Yi pressed his own button and vanished from this assessment world.
(End of Chapter)