"Come over here and show us your abilities. We'll re-rate you."
"The two of us won't participate."
Du Qingyi pulled Xi Er back.
Jun Youguang had no objections. Du Qingyi's ability was quite special. To test her, one would have to open up their spiritual sea and let her consciousness invade, at which point he would likely have no secrets left.
As for Xi Er, he was just an ordinary person with no abilities, and there was no need to test him.
"Alright, who's first?"
"I'll go first."
Yuan Qingqing stepped forward. Her fake ability was the least likely to be exposed. They had already discussed it during their mental communication, so she would go first.
"Name."
"Bai Xiaoqing."
Jun Youguang and the other person looked at Duan Chen as if he were an idiot.
Even if one were uncultured, they wouldn't give their own sister such a name.
Duan Chen remained unperturbed.
"Ability."
"Beast Taming."
"Up."
Qin Youliang beckoned, and a large hole opened in the ceiling of the training room. A lion was confined in a cage, its mouth wide open, with fresh blood and flesh still clinging to its teeth, looking incredibly ferocious.
Duan Chen recognized that this was no ordinary lion, but a bizarre creature.
"Are you ready?"
Since it was a test, Jun Youguang had prepared a bizarre creature of no low level. He wanted to see the upper limit of this Bai Xiaoqing's beast taming abilities.
Unfortunately, controlling a bizarre creature of this level was extremely easy for Duan Chen.
Yuan Qingqing's expression was solemn, and she nodded.
"Open the cage!"
"Roar—!"
For the bizarre creature, this was long-awaited freedom. Even its roar carried a hint of excitement. Without hesitation, it lunged towards Yuan Qingqing, who was closest to it.
"Beast Taming!"
Yuan Qingqing let out a low growl as instructed by Duan Chen. Duan Chen's pupils, on the other side, spun rapidly.
"Sequence 015: Art of Beast Taming!"
The bizarre creature, which had been emanating killing intent the moment before, now sat obediently in front of Yuan Qingqing like a well-behaved puppy. The latter bravely stepped forward and petted its head.
"Awooo!"
"Speed and strength are both good!"
Qin Youliang's eyes lit up, and he wrote an "S" in his notebook.
An S-rank was a relatively high evaluation in front of these two elders.
Yuan Qingqing felt the need to hone her acting skills.
Sometimes, acting was more important than strength.
"Next."
"Bai Xiaohei."
It was still the same bizarre creature, controlled by Duan Chen, rolling on the ground like a silly husky.
Jun Ci pretended to extend his right hand.
"Petrify!"
"Crack—!"
To avoid exposure, Duan Chen deliberately shortened the petrification time, maintaining it for only one minute before the stone on the bizarre creature's body shattered.
"Sorry, my ability depends on my own spiritual energy and the strength of the bizarre creature. I can't permanently petrify it."
It was evident that Jun Ci was trying hard to act, with faint sweat beading on his forehead.
"Pass." Jun Youguang hadn't expected her to maintain it for too long, and he jotted down an "A" in his notebook.
An A-rank was within Duan Chen's expectations.
"Bai Xiaobai."
Jun Youguang was really tired of these guys' names.
"Here." Yuan Yuan replied shyly. Coupled with the youthful appearance modified by Xi Er, it suited him quite well.
It was still the unlucky bizarre creature. Yuan Yuan gathered his strength and threw a punch!
"Bang!"
The bizarre creature was immediately sent flying backward, rolling several times on the ground.
The two old men watched in a daze.
It was over; he forgot to control his strength.
Fortunately, Yuan Yuan acted well.
"Uh... I wrapped my spiritual energy around my fist, that's why I had such great strength."
"Excellent, excellent!"
Qin Youliang could hardly imagine that these people were spiritual energy agents trained in a small, eighteen-tier city.
Yuan Yuan received an "S."
Next was Tu Feiyuan. His ability was too simple; he could only transform into a cat, which was quite fitting with Jun Youguang and the other's image of the Ice City Spirit Hunting Guild.
He received the only "D" rating of the day.
[Meow meow meow! I protest! If my sound imitation were to be unleashed, it would definitely be SSSS!]
He was indignant.
[Give it a rest. Where did all those S's come from? Are you dreaming them up?]
Jun Ci taunted him unceremoniously.
"Bai Xiaohong."
Qin Nanyuan almost gritted her teeth as she pronounced the name.
[Perhaps, Captain, you should really consider changing our names?]
[Huh? The signal was bad just now.]
She was lying.
Jun Ci rolled his eyes.
"Your ability is called Starfall. What does that mean?" Qin Youliang asked curiously.
"It means stars falling down."
Qin Nanyuan gave a playful smile and answered as instructed by Duan Chen.
"Oh?"
The two were surprised. If that were the case, even an SSS rating might not be impossible.
To be honest, Qin Nanyuan was also curious about what this ability truly was.
She made no flashy movements, merely uttering two words in a soft tone.
"Starfall!"
Since it couldn't be used in conjunction with Nightfall, the dry stars suspended on the training room ceiling looked a bit odd, but it didn't stop the two elders from exclaiming in shock.
"Is this an illusion?"
Qin Nanyuan also looked up at the ceiling curiously.
"Fall!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The hard training room floor was smashed into large pits!
This was still after Duan Chen had reined in his strength.
[This is too f*cking cool! Captain, give me this ability!]
[I wish I could...]
"SS! It's a shame. If more stars could fall, it might have had a chance to contend for SSS-rank."
No, that would be too suspicious.
Duan Chen shook his head in his mind.
"You're the last one. Come on, Bai Se."
"My ability is cloning."
Duan Chen walked to the center of the arena and smiled slightly.
Whoosh!
In just the span of a breath, five clones appeared around him.
"A bit too few."
It was evident that Qin Youliang was somewhat disappointed.
Jun Youguang nodded in agreement.
Duan Chen didn't want a high rating anyway. The lower the better, ideally so low as to avoid notice, as it might bring trouble.
In the end, he received a "B" rating, which made some of the team members indignant.
[Captain, why didn't you do an SSS! Scare them to death!]
[Exactly!]
[You guys... have you forgotten our purpose! We're not really here to be rated, you know!]
Duan Chen's forehead was covered in black lines.
"Alright, one SS, two S, one A, one B, and one D. Overall, it's not bad."
Jun Youguang was quite satisfied with this result.
"You can go back and wait. In a few days, we will formulate a training plan for you. A full week, and I believe you will gain a lot here."
Compared to Jun Youguang, Qin Youliang's tone was much more courteous.
"Thank you, sir."
Duan Chen expressed his gratitude and bowed slightly.
As soon as he walked out of the training room, he sensed a gaze. There was no hostility in the gaze, only scrutiny.
He was being watched.