Chapter 915: The Evaluation Begins

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Tang San said respectfully.

Crystalline had told him he could tell the Emperors that the power he had received from the Crystal Demon Emperor's Pillar was summoning. But Tang San wasn't planning to reveal that just yet. The less he said, and the more they speculated on their own before anything was revealed,

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor said, "Since you're done communing with the Celestial Pillar, the next step is your evaluation. You should be aware that there are three trials, right?"

Tang San nodded. "The elders of my clan have mentioned it."

"Then let us begin," said the Sunborne Nymph Emperor, turning his gaze toward the nearby Celestial Fox Demon Emperor.

Though the four Demon Emperors didn't really want to leave—obviously, they wanted to observe Jin Miaolin for a while longer—rules were rules. The city lord evaluation was a matter of national affairs, and Demon Emperors had no business interfering in the Solstice Empire's proceedings.

The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor nodded. "Fellow Nymph Emperors, we'll take our leave. Clan Leader Jin, best of luck in your evaluation."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Tang San politely nodded in return.

With the departure of the four Demon Emperors, only the six Nymph Emperors remained. The atmosphere became noticeably more relaxed.

Aside from the Sunborne Nymph Emperor and the Soul Capturer Nymph Emperor, who had met Tang San before, the others all looked at him with a trace of curiousity and even suspicion in their eyes. This was nothing abnormal; to the best of their knowledge, this young man had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, without warning, and suddenly stepped into the spotlight.

He had just popped up from somewhere, yet he had immediately earned the recognition of the Blue Gold Tree clan, becoming their new clan leader. Even the Ancestral Tree had awakened thanks to him. In all fairness, it was indeed also possible that, just as the Sunborne Nymph Emperor had said earlier, Jin Miaolin had only risen to prominence

because

the Ancestral Tree had partially awakened. But regardless of which was the cause and which the consequence, what this young man had done since his appearance had shocked the entire continent.

It had been no less than two millennia since an Emperor had last died of unnatural causes, yet this young man had managed to slay one. Although the Emperors believed that this feat was due to the Ancestral Tree's power, the result was the same: an Emperor was gone. This incident had stirred tremendous waves across the Daemon Continent and within the Ancestral Court.

For the Solstice Empire, the death of a Nymph Emperor was a tremendous loss. Even though the Adamant Nymph Emperor wasn't among the strongest, an Emperor was still an Emperor.

So, was the emergence of someone like Jin Miaolin good or bad? It was hard to say. But one thing was certain: the power of the Ancestral Tree was a formidable deterrent. No one knew its current level of strength, and none of the Emperors dared to investigate personally. After all, the one Emperor who tried was dead! Who knew how temperamental the Ancestral Tree had become upon its awakening? What if it attacked them during a visit?

Naturally, they were deeply curious about Tang San, especially since he had just completed the baptism of the Crystal Demon Emperor's Celestial Pillar, and even previously attracted the attention of all the Celestial Pillars, something completely unprecedented in the Ancestral Court. Every Emperor here had once been an exceptional being among exceptional beings, and they all knew that such phenomena usually signaled the rise of a monstrous genius, just like the Crystal Demon Emperor had been.

And if that was the case now as well, then losing one Adamant Nymph Emperor in exchange for someone with potential to become a new Crystal Demon Emperor was well worth it for the Solstice Empire.

"The first part of the evaluation is combat against an opponent on your level. Are you ready?" asked the Sunborne Nymph Emperor.

Tang San hesitated slightly and said, "Your Majesty, as you well know, we Blue Gold Trees are rather terrible fighters. Facing an opponent of the same level might not be very fair to me."

"Hmm?" The Sunborne Nymph Emperor was momentarily taken aback. He knew full well that the Blue Gold Tree clan wasn't combat-oriented, and this trial was originally intended to be a formality. Yet he hadn't expected Tang San to openly admit that he wasn't good at fighting. It was almost as if he didn't want to fight at all.

"This step is still necessary protocol. Prepare yourself," the Sunborne Nymph Emperor said with a meaningful look in his eyes.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Tang San replied with a nod.

With a wave of the Emperor's hand, a figure stepped forward from behind, already prepared. It looked like a human male in his thirties and it was calm and composed, exuding a dense and powerful aura.

Tang San immediately figured out what the opponent was: a member of the Scorching Sunflower clan. Was this really the Sunborne Nymph Emperor's way of "going easy" on him? The Scorching Sunflowers' bloodline power was the bane of nearly all plant-type nymphs. Their tremendously hot fire was not something easily dealt with.

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor, however, offered no explanation and simply gestured for them to move in an open space between the Celestial Pillars.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Tang San had no choice but to step back into the designated battle zone between the pillars. The Scorching Sunflower expert followed, nodding politely toward him.

"Clan Leader Jin, greetings. I am Rong Yang of the Scorching Sunflower clan. I am looking forward to exchanging pointers."

Tang San returned the nod. "Greetings. Likewise."

As expected, this man really was a Great Nymph King-level expert of the Scorching Sunflower clan, a truly formidable being. Even among other first-tier bloodlines, few could rival these nymphs; perhaps only the Great Nymph Kings of the Immortal Flame Phoenix line could compare.

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor gave Tang San no time to think.

"Begin," he declared in a low voice.

With his command, the battle officially began.

Fierce fire energy erupted almost instantly, surging like an explosion. The temperature in the Council Hall soared rapidly, making Tang San feel as though he had plunged straight into a magma hell. A moment later, Rong Yang's figure disappeared into a twisted halo of light.

A domain! And he's using it from the very start!

Tang San had fought members of the Scorching Sunflower clan a few times before, but most of his past opponents were below the tenth order. He had indeed faced the Scorching King, who was actually stronger than this Rong Yang, but back then, Tang San could freely use his full abilities and even make use of his god seat. Now, in front of so many Emperors, those powers were off limits. All he could rely on was life energy.

A moment later, Tang San understood the Sunborne Nymph Emperor's intentions. The Scorching Sunflower clan was his own clan; they would follow his orders to the most minute detail. The fact that he had brought such a powerful yet easily controllable opponent to test Tang San was clearly because he intended to probe Tang San's true strength.

In this situation, Tang San couldn't display overwhelming power; that would attract suspicion. But he also couldn't be too weak, because that would draw disdain instead. It was a delicate balance. In fact, it was no less troublesome than the trials Mei Gongzi had faced.

As these thoughts flickered through his mind, eight blue spikes extended from Tang San's back, and an intense life aura burst forth. Thanks to the chaos energy surreptitiously boosting it, his life energy reached an incredibly high level.

The moment his life energy appeared, the surrounding flames flared even brighter, as though he had poured fuel onto them. But then, something strange happened.

While the flames did burn hotter, when they approached Tang San, they seemed to grow... fond of him. Though the temperature was objectively infernal, it seemed as though the flames were embracing him rather than scorching him!