Archean Eon Art

In the fog-filled canyon.

 “Take up formation!”

 “Take up formation!”

 The geniuses shouted one after another. They had a total of a hundred people, only ten people could match a demon commander! On the other hand, there were 135 demon commanders and over 1000 demon lieutenant commanders. If they didn’t join forces, they would probably be defeated very quickly.

 Eleven sharpshooters stood in the middle of the formation while the other geniuses protected them.

 Meng Chuan and Ji Yuantong were the only ones that dared to charge into the demon army, but that was only brute courage. Only by cooperating with their companions would their efficiency be higher.

 He had cultivated in a Dao Academy since he was young; thus he knew the need for cooperation.

 “They’re coming.” All the geniuses solemnly stared at the charging demons.

 “Scram!” Dong Fang—who was one of the strongest—wielded a large shield and a large axe. With a swing of his barbed shield, he sent a wolf demon flying. Its bones were fractured by the impact. Following that, Dong Fang swung his axe and cleaved a tiger demon lieutenant commander to death.

 “Block!” Many geniuses used their shields to block.

 One blade after another stabbed out from the gaps in the wall of shields, killing the demon lieutenant commanders sinisterly.

 At the same time, the eleven sharpshooters rapidly shot arrows. The geniuses who could enter the top hundred were the strongest mortal youths. Their arrows bombarded the demons at extreme speeds. The bombardment hit the demons while they were distracted by the other geniuses, reaping their lives. In the blink of an eye, dozens of demon lieutenant commanders died.

 In terms of killing efficiency, sharpshooters were the most terrifying.

 The human’s circular phalanx formation was like a meat grinder.

 Growl—

 Under the red-robed Godfiend’s command, the demons attacked madly. None of them were afraid of death. They constantly charged towards the shields! Flying demons also swooped down and attacked.

 As demon lieutenant commanders were slaughtered, demon commanders arrived at the formation.

 “The demon commanders are here.”

 “Everyone, be careful.”

 The geniuses were becoming more cautious. They also wished to kill the demons. This was Archean Mountain’s entrance examination—they naturally wanted to perform well.

 Demon commanders’ auras were even stronger, and they were all much larger!

 A rhinoceros demon commander—wielding two hammers—took wide strides. When it came close, it let out a furious grunt as the hammers slammed down.

 Bam. Chu Yong blocked one hammer head-on with his saber. Following that, his saber changed direction, and he slashed at the rhinoceros demon’s knee. As for the other hammer, it slammed into the ground.

 Swoosh.

 An arrow flashed past and pierced the rhinoceros demon’s face. It penetrated a foot deep, but the rhinoceros demon didn’t care about such injuries.

 Pfft. An arrow pierced the rhinoceros demon’s eyes and penetrated deep into its head. Only then did the rhinoceros demon tremble and collapse.

 Chu Yong held the demons back while Li Ying and Zong Sha killed a demon commander in quick succession with an arrow each.

 However, more demon commanders were here!

 The first wave of demon commanders caused the circular phalanx formation to waver. The geniuses were unable to stop the demon commanders.

 “Ah.”

 “Not good.”

 Suddenly, part of the circular phalanx formation began to collapse. A cat demon commander— who had transformed into a black stream of light—was fearless as it attacked. Geniuses fell to the ground. However, when the cat demon was about to tear the humans apart with its claws, an invisible force enveloped the youths and pulled them to the canyon entrance. Archean Mountain Godfiends had rescued the injured geniuses.

 When death was imminent, the Godfiends would save them.

 We were defeated the moment the demon commanders attacked? The geniuses, who had been rescued, felt mixed emotions. They watched the demons charge at the circular phalanx formation as they flew towards the canyon entrance.

 Meng Chuan ignored a demon commander and quickly went to block the cat demon commander.

 The two had a contest of speed. He used the incomplete Five Lightning Descent—his three-hit combo!

 The fastest strike of his combo was Swaying Moonfall. His saber struck the cat commander’s abdomen, leaving a gaping wound. Shortly after, an arrow pierced the cat demon’s head. The cat demon was fast, but its body was much weaker than a bear demon, or an ox demon.

 Meng Chuan turned his head and saw Zong Sha smile before he continued shooting.

 Meng Chuan also realized how easily he suppressed the demon commanders compared to when the demons had invaded Eastcalm Prefecture. In the past half-year, pushing his Saber Force to its limits had increased his strength. However, he would take at least ten strikes to kill a demon commander. Even then, some demon commanders would be unkillable for him. Fortunately, he had sharpshooters helping. A sharpshooter’s arrows were much faster than his saber.

 …

 Time passed.

 Many human geniuses struggled to hold on and had to be rescued after the demon commanders had charged into their circular phalanx formation.

 The trial ended.

 “Stop.” The red-robed woman’s voice resounded in the canyon. All the demons stopped fighting and became docile.

 “Return to your respective caves,” instructed the woman. The demons either ran, crawled, or flew. They obediently returned to their respective caves on the cliff walls. Affected by an invisible force, the demons were chained.

 There were only seven bloodied people left standing in the canyon—Meng Chuan, Yan Jin, Ji Yuantong, Chu Yong, Yan Feng, Sharpshooter Zong Sha, and Sharpshooter Li Ying.

 They stood there, breathing haggardly.

 “It’s over?” asked Yan Feng hoarsely.

 “Five minutes are up.” Chu Yong sat down in exhaustion.

 “Those demons were crazy.” Ji Yuantong was also exhausted.

 Yan Jin stood silently. His fingers—that were holding the two swords—had turned white.

 Meng Chuan heaved a sigh of relief.

 “Thank you, everyone,” Zong Sha said. “If it weren’t for you protecting us, we wouldn’t have been able to hold on.”

 “If you wish to thank someone, thank Meng Chuan. He did his best to protect the two of you,” said Yan Feng as he held his spear.

“Young Master Meng is indeed impressive.” Princess Li Ying laughed.

 Meng Chuan only nodded and couldn’t be bothered speaking. He was exhausted. He had been extremely focused for five whole minutes as he frantically tried to put out fires everywhere.

 He could easily assess the situation around him with his 100 foot domain. He could deal with any problems that arose. He also relied on his speed to protect the two sharpshooters. Of course, the others were also trying their best to protect the sharpshooters.

 Sharpshooters were much more efficient at killing demons. On a battlefield, the sharpshooters needed to be protected.

 “The two of you are really powerful. When the three demon commanders used the poisonous fog, the two of you charged into the demon horde and killed the three demon commanders.” Princess Li Ying felt even more poignant. It was a harrowing memory. If they hadn’t killed the three demon commanders, they wouldn’t be able to hold on for long.

 “The first trial of the final selection is over. The seven of you, hurry over,” ordered the blue-clothed woman.

 Meng Chuan and the others immediately headed towards the canyon.

 …

 King East River, the sloppy-looking man, and the blue-clothed woman accurately evaluated the geniuses’ performances during the trial.

“There are some geniuses who have high realms and strong Godfiend foundations. However, when it comes to intense battles, they are shocked. They can only unleash 70% of their full strength. They can even go into killing frenzies on the battlefield, destroying any combat formations set up. They then become counter-productive to what we want.” The cyan-clothed woman shook her head. “These are people with poor combat talent.”

 “Talent in cultivation doesn’t mean that one’s combat talent is high,” said the sloppy man with a smile.

 Combat talent was very important. A Godfiend with high combat talent could kill about five enemies that were of similar strength.

 “Of these hundred geniuses, seven are lacking in combat talent. What’s the point of nurturing such fools?” said the cyan-clothed woman. “Most geniuses performed as expected. They know how to cooperate and not burden their companions. Only twelve are truly talented in combat.”