Qin Ming bowed and backed out of the room, gently pulling the door shut behind him.

Standing outside the door, he took a deep breath, trying to calm the fanatical palpitations in his heart.

In the lobby, everyone's gazes converged on him, filled with inquiry and tension.

"How is it? What is inside?" someone asked in a low voice.

Qin Ming raised his head, glanced around at the crowd, and a look of devout fanaticism surfaced on his face.

He did not answer, only nodding vigorously at everyone.

Afterward, he walked to the side, stood quietly, and held his body as straight as a board, like a most loyal guard.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, even more confused.

"I will go!"

Another young man stood up, gathered his courage, and pushed open the door to enter.

The assessment thus proceeded one by one.

Time slipped away in the waiting.

When some pushed open the door and came out, their faces bore the exact same fanaticism and excitement as Qin Ming's.

There were also those who walked out dejected, with faces as pale as death.

"Why? Why not give me another chance?"

A young man who failed the contract knelt on the ground, hugging Moli's lower leg, weeping bitterly.

"President! I beg you! Give me another chance! I am willing to do anything!"

Moli's face was expressionless, her gaze icy.

She raised her foot and kicked him away mercilessly.

"Sorry, those who fail the assessment must leave Eternal Night."

"Take your things and get lost."

In the end, out of twenty-eight people, twenty-six remained.

Those two losers were ruthlessly thrown out of the guild gates by Yasuo.

The twenty-six people who stayed all had faces beaming with irrepressible joy.

"My goodness! All my attributes increased by seventy to eighty points each!"

"Especially Agility... Directly gained two hundred points more! I feel like I can fly now!"

A burly Shield Warrior was currently moving around flexibly in place, his movements unimaginably light.

His face was filled with shock.

"As a tank, I run faster than an assassin now!"

This attribute surge, comparable to jumping eight Levels consecutively, made every single one of them feel a rebirth-like change.

This was the power bestowed upon them by the Lord!

However, this was not the end yet.

Moli clapped her hands, attracting everyone's attention.

Behind her, Yasuo silently held a huge box.

"Next, equipment distribution."

The box opened.

A brilliant radiance instantly gushed out from the box.

Purple and golden lights intertwined, dazzling people to the point they couldn't open their eyes.

"This... This is..."

"Epic-grade equipment?! Did I read it wrong? That entire box is full of Epic-grade equipment?!"

Bursts of cold breath-gulping sounds erupted from the crowd.

Moli began reading out names one by one to distribute the equipment.

"Qin Ming, Epic-grade dagger 【Night Shadow Fang】."

"Wang Dali, Epic-grade shield 【Heart of the Monolith】."

"Li Mei, Epic-grade staff 【Moon Whispers】."

...

In less than ten minutes, twenty-six members each held an Epic-grade piece of equipment.

The remaining slots were also all replaced with rare-quality equipment.

At this moment, the entire hall was pin-drop silent.

Everyone blankly looked at the gleaming equipment on their bodies, their minds completely blank.

In their entire lives, they hadn't even had the chance to witness an Epic-grade piece of equipment with their own eyes.

But now, not only did they have it, but everyone had one.

Is this the strength of the Lord?

Is this the foundation of the Evernight Guild?

"Thump!"

It was unknown who took the lead first.

All the members present dropped to one knee in unison.

Their movements were neat and uniform, their faces filled with fanatical worship.

"We swear our lives of allegiance to the Lord!"

"Eternal Night will not fall! We will not rest!"

...

Night fell.

A well-equipped team quietly left the guild base, blending into the boundless night outside Donghai City.

To other guilds, the wilderness was a forbidden zone fraught with danger.

But to the members of Eternal Night, this was their paradise.

"Night Demon" state activated.

Everyone's attributes surged by another two times.

Holding 【Night Shadow Fang】, Qin Ming's figure shuttled through the forest, as fast as a ghost.

He never thought that one day he could so easily harvest those exotic beasts that once made him terrified.

One slash, one kill.

Clean and neat.

After a whole night passed, every person in the team saw their Level increase by one to two Levels.

Such a leveling speed was something they wouldn't even dare to imagine in the past.

...

Meanwhile.

In a certain hotel suite in Jiangning City.

Gandalf, who was idling, suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Zhou Huai, having received the System notification, instantly crossed space with his consciousness to descend into this Avatar's body.

He opened his eyes and walked to the door.

Outside the door stood several familiar faces.

At the head was Li Gang, with a full face of smiles.

Behind him followed two men with an extraordinary aura.

One was Zhang Donglai, the person in charge of the National Examination back then.

The other was a burly, one-eyed old man wearing a black eyepatch over his left eye.

Zhou Huai had seen him on Triple Island, but didn't know his name.

"Student Gandalf, you've been kept waiting!" Li Gang greeted enthusiastically.

He stepped aside and began to introduce.

"This is General Zhang Donglai, who rushed here specially from the Imperial Capital."

"This is General Zhao Menghai."

Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf and slightly nodded to greet the two of them.

"Hello, two generals."

Several people walked into the room.

Zhang Donglai spoke first, a trace of apology on his face.

"Sorry Student Gandalf, kept you waiting."

"Recently, due to investigating matters concerning the Dawnbreaker Guild, some time was delayed."

Hearing this, Zhou Huai's heart stirred.

"How is the investigation going?"

Li Gang quickly gave a light cough and interrupted.

"That is a military secret, don't ask around blindly."

Zhang Donglai waved his hand, looking unconcerned.

"No harm, Student Gandalf is an eyewitness to the National Examination and has the right to know some of it."

He sighed.

"Through certain means, we found one of their temporary strongholds."

"Pity, we only caught some small fries."

"Those big fish were slippery after all, letting them escape by luck."

After hearing this, Zhou Huai spoke calmly.

"Could the interior of the military already been infiltrated by the Dawnbreaker Guild?"

"Otherwise, whether it's the National Examination or subsequent arrests, how can they always be a step ahead?"

As soon as these words came out, Li Gang's expression changed instantly.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

His heart was beating drums; wasn't this kid quite good at reading the room before? Why is he acting like a reckless youth today, daring to say anything.

Zhang Donglai and Zhao Menghai exchanged glances, both seeing a touch of appreciation in each other's eyes.

Zhao Menghai's single eye flashed with light, and he laughed.

"Student Gandalf's train of thought is very sharp."

"We are indeed considering from this direction and have already begun investigating."

"However, specific details are currently inconvenient to reveal."

Seeing that the two big leaders from the Imperial Capital were not angry, Li Gang breathed a sigh of relief and said no more.

Zhou Huai continued to ask: "Then when are we setting off for the Imperial Capital?"

Zhang Donglai smiled.

"Looks like you are in a rush?"

Gandalf nodded, a bit of sincerity showing on his face.

"Delayed for almost ten days, not a single level of EXP has increased."

"You guys also know, I might have been targeted by the Dawnbreaker Guild."

"If I don't enhance my strength as soon as possible, my heart feels extremely panicked."

The sense of appreciation on Zhang Donglai's face became even stronger.

Supremely talented, yet unarrogant and impatient, always thinking of improving himself.

Such a Genius is truly a pillar of the nation.

"We came this time specifically to pick you up."

"Since you are anxious to leave, we can set off right now."

Hearing this, Li Gang quickly stepped forward.

"Hey, there's no need to be in such a rush, right?"

"The Governor has already set up a banquet, preparing to wash away the dust for the two generals."

"At the very least, you two should eat a meal before leaving."

Zhang Donglai shook his head.

"No need, delivering Student Gandalf to the Imperial Capital earlier will let us rest assured sooner."

Zhao Menghai on the side suddenly burst into loud laughter.

He patted Li Gang's shoulder with a force big enough to make the latter stumble.

"Eat with your Governor?"

"Forget about it then."

Zhao Menghai grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"With your Governor's appetite, if we go over now, we'll probably only be left with a mouthful of soup to drink."