Chapter 680: Evaluation
At Sourcepeak Planet’s space station, there were countless people there waiting, and many of them were staring at the people arriving. Any random person here might be someone from one of the four conglomerates, someone from a great power, or someone who simply worked for an important person. Everyone present had come to observe the competitors for the upcoming competition. True Insight was too valuable, and whenever people felt like others might be able to threaten them, it was possible for them to use underhanded means; such things were very common.
Outsiders would not act against Lockbreakers, as they would face an investigation from the Lockbreaker Society if that happened. However, nobody would get involved in internal conflicts that occurred within the Lockbreaker Society itself. This was especially true since President Geoffrey was not around, and some Lockbreakers had become even more unrestrained than usual.
“It seems like there won’t be much worth watching during this season’s Lockbreaker Competition, as no Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers will appear.”
“It’s not just Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers—not even a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker has arrived yet.”
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, “Look over there! It’s Straight Metallic Man.”
The crowd gazed at the sky. “So it’s Straight Metallic Man. There’s finally going to be a show worth watching. It really is true that the important figures always show up last. Straight Metallic Man is a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. If it weren’t for the fact that he only unlocks sourceboxes that contain metal, then he might have already reached the Perceptive Intermediate level. This person is a worthy contender for the championship.”
“I’ve heard that Straight Metallic Man’s forcefield is actually able to cause the air to transform into metal! I wonder if it’s true.”
“He’s from Planet Ketan, and that place is full of metallic lifeforms, so that’s not completely impossible. He might not even considered as a pure human anymore.”
…
Before long, there was another outcry as a beautiful woman attracted the crowd’s attention. “No way, she’s actually here! Wasn’t she in the Innerverse?”
“Bro, you know that lady?” The crowd seemed doubtful, though there was someone who constantly seemed to be recording something.
“You guys might not recognize her by her appearance since she’s always stayed in the Innerverse, but you’ll definitely recognize her name! That’s Serpent Queen!”
“Serpent Queen?” The crowd was stunned, and many people turned to look at the beautiful lady.
The Serpent Queen was a very famous five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. She had obtained an ancient, multi-colored snake through an intense lockbreaking session, and such a beast had shaken the heavens. The multi-colored snake was a very precious astral beast, and it would become a Hunter once it matured, and it could even reach the strength of an Enlighter if it was nurtured well. Her possessing this ancient, multi-colored snake meant that there might be an Enlighter level astral beast protecting this woman in the future. In the entire universe, how many Enlighters were there?
After she had obtained the ancient, multi-colored snake, the woman had started to be known as Serpent Queen.
The beautiful lady glanced through the crowd, but her attitude was clearly quite arrogant, and she quickly moved on.
…
Some more time passed, and another spacecraft docked at Sourcepeak Planet’s space station. Inside, there was a youth waving fervently at the captain. “Thank you, all! You guys are really good people. Not only were you willing to send this bro to Sourcepeak Weave, but you also brought me all the way to Sourcepeak Planet yourselves! I will repay this gratitude in my next life. Thank you!”
Within the spacecraft, the captain and the others appeared to be crying, though there were no tears to be seen. The truth was that they had been forced to deliver this person! He was a devil, a scoundrel, and completely shameless.
“Isn’t that Brother Wei?” someone cried out. This person’s face was pale, and there was a black nose hair fluttering about in his nose. It looked very comical, but also disgusting.
A bystander was puzzled. “Who’s Brother Wei?”
“You don’t even know who Brother Wei is? He’s a very famous, five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. His real name is Ku Wei, but he likes to make others call him Brother Wei, and his personality is rather nasty. Anyway, just take a wide detour if you see him. If you get caught up with him, you’ll easily end up bankrupt, and you might even lose your life.”
“He’s that terrifying? He doesn’t seem like it.”
“He really doesn’t look like it, so you can go ahead and see if it’s true for yourself. I guarantee that it’ll be an experience you’ll never forget,” the man with the fluttering nose hair urged the bystander.
Ku Wei suddenly turned to look at the crowd, and the expression of the few people who had been discussing him all suddenly changed as they hurriedly tried to retreat.
Ku Wei smiled and raised a hand. “Nosehair Bro, come here.”
In the crowd, a group of people backed away to reveal the man who had one strand of black hair coming out of his nose.
The man pointed at himself as he looked at Ku Wei in terror. “Are you calling for me?”
Ku Wei smiled very brilliantly. “Yes, Nosehair Bro, it’s you! Come over here.”
The man was about to cry, but he was too afraid to not walk to Ku Wei. In hopes of improving his chances, he tried to curry favor. “Is there anything that I can help you with?”
Ku Wei hooked an arm around the man’s neck and passionately said, “I never would have thought that you actually know about Brother Wei. That means that we must be acquaintances! Come on, show Brother Wei someplace good to stay, and also take care of Brother Wei’s entertainment issue. You’re so good looking, so there’s no way you’ll say no.”
“Wha- what if I decline?” the nosehair man carefully probed.
Ku Wei’s smile grew even wider, to the point where his back teeth were exposed. “Decline? You wouldn’t.”
He raised a fist and clenched it with so much force that the space around it started to quiver and distort. This caused the nosehair man’s pupils to shrink. They were on Sourcepeak Planet, and the space on this planet was extremely stable, but Ku Wei was actually able to warp it so easily. The nosehair man’s small physique could not take such a punch, and Ku Wei’s eyes also glanced towards the man’s lower body. The nosehair man didn’t think twice, and he could only seriously reply, “Even if Brother Wei didn’t speak up, I still would have arranged for a good place for you to stay. Being able to meet Brother Wei can only be due to the luck from my past life. I will definitely cherish this moment.”
“Hahaha, you’re a good brother! Let’s go, Bro will let you play all across Sourcepeak Planet. Ah, right, Bro is broke, hahaha!”
The nosehair man was really about to cry at this moment.
Lockbreaker after Lockbreaker appeared at the space station, and aside from the most famous five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers, there were also a few two star, three star, and even the occasional one star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker who had come to compete.
Deng Pu stared coldly at a screen showing the space station. These people were of no threat to him, and not even the Serpent Queen could attract his attention. The ancient, multi-colored snake would indeed be powerful once it matured, but it was not actually that useful for lockbreaking, and it could not hold a candle to Xi Qi’s wretched fish. However, where was Xi Qi? Why hadn’t she appeared yet?
At this moment, Deng Pu’s gadget beeped with a notification, and when he glanced at it, his expression warped into a very ugly sight. Xi Qi had finally arrived, but she had already been taken away by Fiend Li.
Fiend Li was the honorary vice president, and he enjoyed the same status as Saul in the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.
“So what if we let you compete? You were only able to reach the Perceptive Intermediate level with the help of that wretched fish while I relied on my own, true capabilities,” Deng Pu coldly said to himself. He then turned to leave.
There were three mainlands that had been joined to Sourcepeak Planet, and each one of them was overseen by a different executive member of the Lockbreaker Society.
Even right as the Lockbreaker Competition was about to start, there were still countless people who wanted to undergo the Lockbreaker evaluation.
“Next,” a middle-aged man called out gravely while looking at the long queue in front of him. There were so many applicants that the end of the line couldn’t even be seen.
A youth stepped out from the crowd while nervously clenching his numbered plate. He swallowed his saliva and bowed to the man. “This student greets Mentor.”
The middle-aged man raised a hand. “Has your star energy control reached the realm of infinite changes?”
The youth nodded, and he raised his hand. The star energy over his palm then changed to simulate wind, water, and fire.
“Begin your evaluation. The starburst orb is in front of you. If you can settle all of the berserk star energy inside it within ten seconds, you pass.”
The youth appeared determined, and he raised his hand to cover the starburst orb that had been covered by a metal membrane. Star energy shot out of the youth’s palm, and his eyes went wide as he stared closely at the berserk star energy inside of the starburst orb.
One second, two seconds, even after eight seconds had passed there was no reaction from the berserk energy. The young man’s face had turned deathly pale, but even after ten seconds passed, the berserk star energy still had not settled down.
The middle-aged man waved a hand. “Unqualified. Next.”
The youth’s face was devoid of all color, and he knelt on the ground and looked at the middle-aged man as he pleaded, “Mentor, please let this student try once more! Just once more, please.”
The middle-aged man’s gaze was filled with loathing. “You don’t have the aptitude to become a Lockbreaker. Leave immediately or else you will be banished.”
The youth collapsed limply to the ground. He continued to plead in an unwilling tone, but it was useless. His only choice was to climb back up and leave.
Following him, dozens of other people attempted the evaluation, but not a single one was able to pass.
Lockbreakers held the most esteemed profession in the entire universe. Every year, countless people would be evaluated, but only a handful of them would pass. How many people were there in the universe? It was an uncountable number. Actually, forget the entire universe; even the population of a single weave could not be calculated. However, despite such enormous numbers, there were only 630,000 Lockbreakers, and the probability of someone passing the evaluation could be extrapolated from that.
The middle-aged man was already accustomed to this situation. Even if there was an endless line of people in front of him constantly attempting the evaluation, it was normal for several months to pass without anyone passing, so he did not carry much hope.
“Demonstrate your star energy,” he said.
A beautiful lady was in front of him this time. She had rather bright eyes, which caused people to be attracted to her whenever she blinked.
“Yes, Mentor.” The young lady raised a hand, and the star energy over her palm whooshed to form a hurricane, quickly returned to a calm state, and then formed a torrent.
There were some in the crowd who marveled at her skillful display, as only a few cultivators in the Outerverse could exhibit such excellent control over their star energy at such a young age. This was especially impressive because the rain that she had created had a light green color, which showed that she had reached the level where she could change the color of her star energy, which was above the realm of infinite changes. At that point, there was only a single step left before a person comprehended a domain.
The middle-aged man was also surprised, and he looked at the young lady with some appreciation. “Not bad, not bad. Begin your evaluation with the starburst orb in front of you. If you settle all of the berserk star energy inside it within ten seconds, you pass. Do your best.”
The girl acknowledged his instructions with a crisp voice, peeled the metal membrane away, and used one of her hands to cover the starburst orb. The berserk star energy quivered for a moment, but then it started to gradually settle down at a visible rate until it grew completely silent. The entire process only took five seconds.
The crowd went into an uproar: success! Someone had succeeded.
The middle-aged man was pleasantly surprised. Five seconds—this result could be considered outstanding, and he had not expected such an excellent Lockbreaker to appear on this day. “Young lady, what’s your name?”
She smiled at him happily. “Wei Xin’er.”
He nodded and then gently told her, “Next we need to verify your identity. There shouldn’t be any issues, right?”
Wei Xin’er stood there looking very lovable. She placed her hands together and stood still, allowing a beam of light to sweep over her. Her identity was immediately displayed on the examiner’s gadget. The examiner checked it, only to suddenly look back up in shock. “You’re from the Wei family.”
“Wei Xin’er greets Mentor.”
The middle-aged man raised a hand to stop her and then smiled. “I’m not the Mentor—I’m only an examiner. The actual mentor is Lady Felynn, and I will take you to meet her and let her make the arrangements for you.”
Wei Xin’er smiled sweetly. “Thank you.”
The middle-aged man looked back over at the crowd. “Everyone, wait here.”
After giving this order, he led Wei Xin’er away from the examination area.