(Owing 21 chapters from last month as a bonus for thanks, 11 chapters have been added already, and I aim to complete the rest next week! This chapter doesn't count towards last month's makeup because this week many stats have broken round numbers: over 2 million clicks, over 100,000 recommendations, over 30,000 favorites, over 6,000 subscriptions, and... well, monthly passes haven't reached 300 yet. I'm very grateful for everyone's support over time in various forms, here's a bonus update to express my gratitude. I will continue to work hard on writing. Please keep subscribing and supporting with monthly passes, thank you.)

Upon hearing Li Yan's words, Liu Xi immediately joined with several assassins who had trained here in the past to knock out the pleading Yuan Zhe and the already struggling God, dragging them out.

After they dragged the two people away, the others all turned their eyes to King, filled with excitement and awe.

Looking at everyone, Li Yan spoke again, "I haven't seen everyone for so long, of course, I wouldn't gather you all here just for a few words. I have another purpose, and that is to promote those who are strong enough to the next level!"

Promotion to the next level? This statement caused a low murmur, with some people not immediately reacting.

"This level is the internal ranking of Gun, Blade, Fist, and Flower assessed by Queen. It's just internal grading and a form of honor, but it will also relate to the priority of task assignments. Queen's rating is a comprehensive assessment on all fronts. Today's promotion is mainly about assessing individual combat capability, and if the criteria are met, it will be reported to Queen for record, and after completing the corresponding task, the recognition will be granted."

Hearing Li Yan say this immediately piqued some of the rookies' interest. After graduating from being a qualified rookie, they received a "Gun Level" assessment. Regarding the three levels above, they were thinking of conquering them in one go. But this level has always been comprehensively assessed by Queen based on their task completion status. There was never a chance for them to strive for promotion until now, which made these young people excited.

Some old hands, however, felt that such vanity was not the most important; tangible benefits were the key. But when they heard Li Yan say it would relate to the task acceptance priority and saw the eagerness of the rookies, they also couldn't hold back. They could disregard the fame, but they couldn't ignore the consequences. Besides, being surpassed by others would be a loss of face. Therefore, their hearts couldn't help but heat up.

"King! How can we earn your recognition, is it you personally assessing us?" Someone asked boldly.

This question immediately drew everyone's attention. Among them were assassins who regarded King as an idol, but the sentiment towards an idol was not entirely respect and veneration; more so, they were driven by the motivation to challenge the idol! That was for glory and to boost their self-confidence. Generally, King wouldn't give them a chance to challenge, so this was, of course, a rare opportunity. Just having a match with their idol, even knowing they might lose, was a huge temptation.

Li Yan glanced over, and with just one look, the person quickly lowered his head.

"The two who fought that foreigner earlier, you're the newly promoted Gun Level brothers, right? There is a gap between you and God, and there's a gap between God and me. Therefore, if I assess you directly, it might dent your confidence!"

A large batch of people hung their heads. They all saw what happened earlier. The God could be considered as almost instantly defeating, or injuring Zeng Zhezhi and Li Tianyu consecutively. But when Li Yan arrived, he easily defeated God in a flash as if playing around; the gap was self-evident.

"Today's mode is a rank-crossing challenge!" Li Yan continued, "Gun, Blade, Fist, Flower, we have only four levels, and there aren't many people. Just challenge level by level upwards, if a Gun Level defeats a Blade Level and completes a B-Class mission, they become a new Blade Level member. Similarly, if a Fist Level brother is confident, they can challenge me and then undertake an S-Class mission to ultimately become a Flower Level."

After saying this, Li Yan moved to the center, leaped up to a piece of abandoned machinery nearby. From above, he waved, signaling others to split according to their respective abilities and begin the challenges.

With Li Yan himself standing high above, he signified that he was the unique "Flower" Level. Below, over twenty assassins immediately divided into three parts. Including Liu Xi and the others who soon returned, having just killed and silenced without destroying the evidence. After inquiring about the situation, they immediately blended in. For someone like Liu Xi, who had been consistently training hard over the years, he eagerly awaited such an opportunity, because there had never been such a format before. He hoped for King's recognition, and now with the opportunity to cross ranks, he was naturally thrilled.

With Liu Yunqing and Peng Duandao taking the fall in the Fist Level, only Shi Jian'en and the returning Feng Wuqing remained, along with instructors Yan Ping and Qi Zhongtao. There are nine Blade Level assassins, and fifteen Gun Level ones. Not all Gun Levels are recent graduates; some are old hands with no significant strength improvement.

Seeing everyone eager and ready to go, up high, Li Yan addressed them first: "We can't drag on for long. Considering physical stamina, you're allowed to challenge one level up first, then take on challenges from the level below you."

In fact, regardless of who goes first, about half of them would end up fighting a few rounds. The first ones with the challenge rights are the four Fist Levels. However, Yan Ping and Qi Zhongtao stayed put, and Shi Jian'en and Feng Wuqing didn't move either. Originally, Feng Wuqing was keen to challenge King, because last time he lost too easily, leading him to not believe in King's true strength. But after seeing Li Yan face off against God just a moment ago, he was convinced—it was real, not fake. If he himself faced God, he'd have no chance of defeating that easily or quickly.

Seeing them relinquish the opportunity to challenge King, the others secretly regretted it. But since King had already said, if there is no close proximity in strength, others aren't qualified to challenge him, they had no choice but to resign themselves to it.

However, for Blade Level members like Liu Xi, they were quite excited. Because once they win, they could be considered as quasi-Fist Level, which might qualify them to challenge King. Out of the nine, four quickly came forward to challenge.

Yan Ping and Qi Zhongtao as instructors are also being challenged, including Shi Jian'en and Feng Wuqing. The four of them don't dare to be even a bit overconfident because they know they don't have the absolute advantage in close combat as King does. A slight slip, and they could be taken down by Blade Level brothers. That would not only be a loss of face but directly affect their status. Fist Level is second to Flower Level; their numbers aren't many, so they have a special reputation. If everyone became Fist Level, it wouldn't be as valuable. Just like how King is the only Flower Level.

Those stepping up to challenge first had suffered before because the Blade Level group has nine members; if they wait until later, they can at least have a physical advantage. Someone like Liu Xi is already late.

Standing atop the machine, Li Yan looked down from on high, observing each pair in the ring, his gaze capturing their every move. A keen observer sees subtle nuances; he wasn't merely looking for proof of their rank-crossing challenges but also analyzing their overall strength through observation, especially their adaptability.

In the first round, everyone's spirits were at their peak, and those daring to initiate an impact on Fist Level without concern for energy expenditure were the stronger ones with more confidence. When executing tasks, it's a competition of comprehensive strength; close combat is just one part, and the gap among them wasn't that wide. Once the competition started, there weren't any instant victory situations like before, and the four pairs were in a standoff.

Li Yan was watching for each one's merits, strengths not necessarily being absolute, and others were more analyzing and comparing themselves. Many initially confident Gun Level members, upon seeing the strengths displayed by Liu Xi and other Blade Level members, weren't so conceited anymore.

The four pairs currently sparring are almost the elite of the bunch, not only outstanding in skills and strength but also superior in reaction and experience over others. Three minutes later, Yan Ping and Qi Zhongtao were both defeated, whereas Shi Jian'en and Feng Wuqing managed to defend their dignity through grueling combat.

From the perspective of the crowd below, only the results were visible, but Li Yan saw their psychological changes! The success of Yan Ping and Qi Zhongtao being challenged was not due to issues with experience, skills, or reactions, on the contrary, they were superior in those aspects. However, long coaching work had left them with less edge and ferocity compared to the assassins! Just like they didn't challenge King, their desire for victory and promotion weren't as strong as Liu Xi and other Blade Level members.

Similarly, Shi Jian'en and Feng Wuqing did not have the psychological gap and faced greater pressure than the other two, thus withstood the challengers.

Having succeeded, Liu Xi and one other moved on to another side to take on challenges from Gun Level members. Then came another batch facing off against the four Fist Levels...

After more than ten minutes, everyone had a turn. Fifteen Gun Level members had six successful challenges against the Blade Levels, qualifying them for a B-Class mission examination, success in which would make them formal Blade Level members; out of nine Blade Levels, only two succeeded in challenges, giving them a chance to undergo an A-Class mission examination to become Fist Level members eventually. Originally, Shi Jian'en and Feng Wuqing, only pondering elevating further against King, currently with even confidence to challenge.

Liu Xi and the others wanted to challenge King afterward too, but after a hard battle challenging the instructor, they realized there was still a huge gap with King. After all, they achieved half their success by long hard training, already exhilarated, and weren't thinking to leap forward in one step.

After this round of cross-rank challenges, Li Yan could clearly feel that all members of 'their' organization underwent a significant change. Initially, everyone seemed lifeless, lacking passion and goals, almost as if discussing dissolution. Now, there's essentially a drive, with the successful and excited anticipating true task challenges and the unsuccessful ones believing they are just a bit short, holding back a steam from lagging behind others.

And this was exactly the effect Li Yan wanted... having said and done what was needed to be done, his purpose of showing up has been achieved. Certainly, there won't be any midnight snacks too, as this isn't a play environment, and everyone will disperse and leave individually. (To be continued, for more on what happens next, please log on to www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)

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