Chapter 157: The Assessment of the City-Crossing Grade

Cang Yuan was indeed feeling a bit dizzy.

No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not believe that Du Fang’s Dreamweaver booklet actually labeled him as a trainee Dreamweaver.

A trainee?

You are telling me that a genius capable of slaughtering City-Annihilating level powerhouses, and even holding his own against Nation-Destroying level entities, is a trainee Dreamweaver?

Du Fang had even beaten up Zhao Lingyin. How could such a monstrous talent be called a trainee!

"What kind of nonsense trainee is this..." Cang Yuan muttered under his breath.

Du Fang tilted his head slightly: "Captain Cang, is something wrong?"

"Nothing. When did you get this little booklet of yours? Why didn't you go for a re-evaluation and update it?" Cang Yuan closed Du Fang’s booklet, speaking with a peculiar expression.

Hearing this, Du Fang immediately smiled: "About half a month ago, I suppose. Right after I first became a Dreamweaver, back when I passed the evaluation for controlling taboo artifacts..."

"I was so nervous back then, terrified that I wouldn't make it as a Dreamweaver."

Du Fang's words echoed in Cang Yuan's ears like a sudden clap of thunder.

Cang Yuan's neck grew stiff and numb. Even as a National-level Dreamweaver, he was thoroughly shaken by the sheer flex hidden within Du Fang's casual words.

Half a month ago... he just got his certificate?

In other words, until half a month ago, Du Fang wasn't even a Dreamweaver?

Half a month...

To grow from an ordinary person into a genius capable of slaying City-Annihilating level powerhouses?

Damn it, he really managed to flex on me!

Cang Yuan cast a bizarre glance at Du Fang. Even with a Fallen God hidden inside his body...

Surely, that alone shouldn't be enough to achieve this, right?

Du Fang's innate talent must be extraordinary.

It wasn't as if Cang Yuan had never seen Dreamweavers who harbored Fallen Gods within them. In fact, hosting a Fallen God didn't offer all that much assistance when it came to becoming a Dreamweaver.

If anything, it tended to hold them back.

After all, some Fallen Gods were uncooperative. Sometimes, Dreamweavers harboring them found themselves at a greater disadvantage when it came to dream spirit control, requiring far more willpower and perseverance to achieve synchronization.

Cang Yuan led Du Fang to the end of the corridor, stopping in front of a door made entirely of a white substance.

After pushing the door open, Cang Yuan stepped aside first, allowing Du Fang to enter.

"Please."

Du Fang nodded slightly and stepped inside.

As he walked, Du Fang pondered what Cang Yuan had told him earlier—not to hide his strength and to give it his all.

Regarding this, Du Fang felt a bit hesitant because he was weighing the exact definition of "giving it his all"...

"Should I borrow the power of my family?"

"Or should I be evaluated purely on my own strength?"

"Well, the power of my family is also a part of my strength. If I don't use it, can that really be considered going all out?"

"Ah, whatever. Let's see what the actual evaluation entails."

Du Fang thought to himself.

Beyond the door lay a massive room, unimaginably vast, easily the size of a football field.

The floor was paved with thick steel plates, and the air was saturated with a rich, metallic scent.

It was sparse, devoid of even high-tech testing instruments. Apart from a dark-as-ink dream spirit sphere the size of a small cottage tucked away in the corner, there was virtually nothing else.

Compared to the Dreamweaver evaluation he had taken previously, the overall environment was far too crude.

Du Fang glanced around and almost suspected he had walked into the wrong room.

"Is this the evaluation room?"

Du Fang turned his head to look at Cang Yuan, who was closing the door behind them, and asked.

Cang Yuan seemed to notice the confusion in Du Fang's eyes and smiled, "It seems you aren't very familiar with the evaluations for Senior Dreamweavers and above."

"Unlike standard Dreamweaver evaluations, once you reach the Senior Dreamweaver tier, apart from the dream spirit detection, there are basically no evaluations involving simulated dream disasters. This is because simulating a dream disaster capable of containing a Senior Dreamweaver is quite difficult and prone to spinning out of control."

"Therefore, the evaluations for Senior Dreamweavers and City-Lord level Dreamweavers are essentially based on three aspects."

"Physique, dream spirit intensity, and... actual combat."

"For physique, the evaluation tests strength and speed; meeting professional standards is enough."

"The dream spirit intensity test is the same across all stages, conducted via the dream spirit sphere."

"Actual combat encompasses many things, such as combat experience and the release of special abilities during battle."

"For the combat evaluation, the Dreamweaver Association will invite Dreamweavers of the same rank to preside over it. Only by earning their approval can one pass the evaluation and obtain the official title."

Cang Yuan explained the rules of the evaluation to Du Fang.

Just as Cang Yuan finished speaking, a knock sounded at the door.

"Enter," Cang Yuan said.

As the door opened, several figures in black suits with badges pinned to their chests stepped inside.

They were all Dreamweavers. Du Fang sensed their auras and found that, without exception, they were all Senior Dreamweavers!

Du Fang took a deep breath.

As expected of the capital; it was completely different from a third-tier city like Jiangling. In Jiangling, the number of Senior Dreamweavers could be counted on one hand. But here in the capital, while Senior Dreamweavers weren't exactly common, they were certainly not rare within the Dreamweaver Tower.

"These few are notary officers. They will impartially and fairly monitor the results and process of the evaluation. If you have any objections to the outcome, you can appeal to them or submit a petition to the Grand President," Cang Yuan introduced.

The notary officers in black suits, both men and women, bowed slightly to Du Fang with smiles on their faces.

The female notaries, in particular, kept their eyes glued to Du Fang's face, effortlessly captivated by his striking appearance.

Meanwhile, the right wall of the evaluation room where Du Fang stood was actually a thick layer of one-way glass.

On the other side of the glass lay the monitoring room.

Inside the monitoring room, huge LCD screens hung on the wall, projecting the scene from the evaluation room where Du Fang was located.

The main LCD screen was divided into nine smaller screens, capturing every angle of the evaluation room with zero dead zones.

The normally spacious monitoring room appeared exceptionally crowded today.

Many figures in black trench coats had gathered here. Some looked at Du Fang in the monitoring room through the transparent glass, while others watched him via the LCD screens.

These individuals were all Dreamweavers, and their auras were immensely powerful. Unreleased dream spirits brewed between their brows, making the air feel somewhat heavy and oppressive.

The staff responsible for monitoring didn't even dare to breathe heavily.

Because these Dreamweavers were, without exception, City-Lord level and National-level powerhouses!

And the door to the monitoring room kept opening and closing as more people arrived.

"Yo, Old Zhou, you're here too?"

"I heard that genius from Jiangling City with the infinite dream spirit can slaughter City-Annihilating entities and even beat up Zhao Lingyin, so I specially came to take a look."

"Tch, you're probably just bitter that the kid got commended for assisting in the slaying of a Nation-Destroying dream demon, aren't you?"

"We're all City-Lord level, and we've all had experiences assisting in the kills of Nation-Destroying dream demons, so of course none of us are convinced."

"Shut your trap, Zhao Lingyin is here. Do you want to get entangled with her?"

"Look, Heavenly Sword is here too!"

"Not just Heavenly Sword, but Cao Kong as well! Hiss! Yan Fei is here too! These National-level Dreamweavers actually ran over to watch this kid's evaluation? What kind of magic does this kid have?"

...

Inside the monitoring room, powerful Dreamweavers all drew sharp breaths.

Their expressions were a mixture of excitement and oddity. They had assumed they were the strongest ones coming to watch the battle, only to find powerful Dreamweavers pouring in one after another—figures who usually spent their time entirely out of sight were now emerging from the woodwork.

A robed man carrying a giant sword that looked like a coffin plate walked in with a detached expression. This was Gong Chao, known as "Heavenly Sword," one of Great Xia's National-level Dreamweavers and the captain of the Super-Star raid team of the same name.

There was a handsome man wearing a sharp blue suit with a smile plastered across his face. His name was Cao Kong, another of Great Xia's National-level Dreamweavers and the captain of the Super-Star raid team "Moon Slayer."

Then there was Yan Fei, a burly man carrying a double-jointed iron spear.

These people were undoubtedly heavyweights.

Several other National-level Dreamweavers stepped in one after another, all wearing solemn expressions.

The City-Lord level figures, usually so full of themselves, promptly fell silent.

Zhao Lingyin carried her Vulcan spear, her exceptionally slender legs clad in a pair of black leather boots, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

The staff in the monitoring room were dumbfounded.

Trembling with nervousness, they had no idea what they should be doing; the only thing they could manage was hurriedly serving tea and water to these big shots.

In the process, several staff members cast curious glances at Du Fang inside the evaluation room, wondering about his identity and just who this young man was to attract so many heavyweights to observe him!

Just when everyone thought this was everyone...

The door to the monitoring room was pushed open once again.

Three figures in white lab coats stepped into the room.

The various City-Lord level figures were taken aback.

"Aren't these directors from the Research Office?! They usually couldn't care less about Dreamweaver evaluations. Why would they show up today to observe?"

Someone was completely stunned.

Even Heavenly Sword, Cao Kong, and the other National-level Dreamweavers couldn't help but cast a glance, clearly harboring some doubt.

After entering, the three directors crossed their arms, looking aloof and peerless, merely staring coldly through the thick glass at Du Fang inside the evaluation room.

Inside the monitoring room, with the arrival of the Research Office directors, the atmosphere suddenly turned somewhat eerie, plunging straight to freezing point.

...

"Du Fang, are you ready?" Cang Yuan asked inside the evaluation room, looking toward Du Fang.

Du Fang nodded.

The notary officers also picked up their pens and notebooks, fixing their gazes on Du Fang.

"Then for the first item, let's evaluate the physical strength category," Cang Yuan said, leading Du Fang to a wall made entirely of steel.

"This is meteorite steel, forged from meteors that fell from the starry sky. It's a special material—unimaginably durable and extremely sensitive to force feedback."

"Try pushing this wall. Based on the distance you push it, your strength can be measured. The baseline standard for a Senior Dreamweaver is ten centimeters, and for a City-Lord level, it's one meter." Cang Yuan pointed at the steel wall behind him and told Du Fang.

Du Fang looked at the steel wall and nodded.

In his mind, he was pondering whether he should go all out.

Suddenly, Du Fang turned his head to look at the wall on his side.

That was the one-way glass. From Du Fang's perspective, he couldn't possibly see that in the monitoring room behind the wall, powerful Dreamweavers were watching him one by one.

However, Du Fang had a vague feeling in his heart, and his dream spirit perception seemed to feed back that countless gazes were fixed on him from behind that wall.

Du Fang smiled.

This was the capital, home to the largest Dreamweaver circle.

If he made a fool of himself here, it would be equivalent to making a fool of himself in front of the entire Great Xia Dreamweaver community.

He could afford to lose anything, but he couldn't lose face!

With that thought settling in his mind, Du Fang's consciousness immediately connected with the small wooden cabin inside the dream space.

The Hand of the Wife, which had been crouching by the window of the cabin waiting for Du Fang's return, seemed to sense it and instantly drifted outward.

In the real world, in front of the meteorite steel wall, Du Fang's black trench coat fluttered without any wind.

The Hand of the Wife appeared out of thin air, perched on his shoulder, patter-patter, climbed onto his back, and embedded itself into him.

Boom!

On Du Fang's body, the hem of his black trench coat fluttered before transforming into a bloody crimson!

Red-Garment State!

Du Fang's gaze narrowed.

He raised both palms flat and pressed them against the meteorite steel wall.

Boom!!!

A muffled explosion echoed out!

The meteorite steel wall seemed to suddenly cave in!