Qi Lin's Devil Bone Test!

That's right!

Other people had big, bright eyes that sparkled like water.

Empress Huangxi's, on the other hand, sparkled like fire.

Her eyes were beautiful and full of life, yet they also held imperial majesty and domineering force.

Amid a multitude of gazes surging with icy hostility, Qi Lin was summoned to the very front of the seating area, before the young empress.

"Sit."

She spoke only that one word before taking her seat.

Qi Lin glanced at the place beside her...

He had come to the Divine Strategy Manor, only to find himself seated beside the sovereign of the Great Cang Kingdom?

Once he sat down, the young empress said nothing more. Like an ordinary student, she waited quietly for class to begin.

Qi Lin, however, felt a little uneasy.

After all, the two women, one in black and one in white, wrapped up tightly as though wearing mourning clothes, stood less than a foot from him and the young empress.

They were like two masses of deathly Yin Qi.

Were those two even human?

Qi Lin couldn't be sure.

Her Majesty was moved by what I told her about the Xiao Clan's treason, so she's treating me favorably.

Qi Lin knew full well that this was why he could sit in a place others envied.

If all were well in the Great Cang Kingdom, he could take the opportunity to say a few more smooth words to the young empress. If he could win her favor, he, his family, and Mystic City would have nothing to fear for their safety.

Unfortunately, Her Majesty is so young, her entire family has been wiped out, and she's alone and adrift. I'd better not trouble her further.

With that thought, Qi Lin sat in silence.

The young empress had merely asked him to accompany her to class and said nothing either.

They were both just thirteen, a young boy and a young girl, yet the chaos and calamity of the times had forced them to shoulder too much, wearing away the youth and passion that should have been theirs.

Just then!

A woman in a long, pale-yellow dress, with a crabapple blossom ornament in her hair, stepped out from the rear hall and came to the dais in the Hall of Law Enforcement.

"Lord Shen is here. Quiet, please."

Standing below the dais, Xiao Qian spoke gently.

Her voice was gentle, but it was effective. The Hall of Law Enforcement fell deathly silent in an instant, leaving only the sound of Shen Xintang's footsteps.

On the dais, Shen Xintang exchanged a glance with Xiao Qian below.

Though Xiao Qian wore a white dress today, she was adorned from head to toe with pearls and precious jewels, stealing all the attention.

Nine more Xiao Clan martial instructors and punishment masters stood below the dais in a row, putting considerable pressure on Qi Lin in the front row.

"Good morning, Lord Shen!"

The Three Stars Pavilion students of the Divine Strategy Manor greeted her in unison.

Shen Xintang nodded.

There was something slightly strange about her. Her eyes were somewhat dull, and her movements were a little stiff.

Her next words, however, immediately caught the attention of every Three Stars Pavilion student.

"Today's demon-slaying class will begin with a devil bone test, followed by the lesson."

The martial instructors, punishment masters, and students present were all slightly taken aback.

After all, in previous years' demon-slaying classes, there had never been a precedent for holding the devil bone test first.

Still, the order didn't matter.

In truth, the main event today was the devil bone test!

The students from the Divine Capital already knew roughly what the lesson would cover.

Only Qi Lin knew little about devils, that alien race and species.

"When your name is called, come straight up."

Shen Xintang brought out two things.

The first: a list of names.

The second...

It was a section of spine.

The spine had three vertebrae in all. It was rather thick and large, with numerous bone spurs and a savage shape. Dark red and covered in bloody patterns, it was clearly not human bone.

The instant it appeared, sinister baleful Qi arose and swept through the Hall of Law Enforcement.

Qi Lin was close to it and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

He felt mentally unsettled, irritable, and quick to anger!

"Is that a devil's spine?" he asked, staring at it.

Apart from him, the other Three Stars Pavilion students were unfazed.

Only the fire in the young empress's eyes beside him burned a little brighter.

"First."

Shen Xintang glanced at the list, then said respectfully to someone below the dais, "Your Majesty, please."

"Your Majesty... hasn't been tested for devil bone compatibility before?"

Qi Lin was somewhat surprised.

The young empress rose and stepped onto the dais. Her eyes fixed on the devil bone, she let a drop of blood fall from her hand into a gap in the broken bone.

The devil bone absorbed the drop of blood.

There was no reaction at all.

Shen Xintang pursed her lips. "Your Majesty, no compatibility."

"Mm."

The young empress gave the devil bone one last look, her eyes filled with intense unwillingness!

But she didn't linger. She stepped down and returned to her seat.

She must have been tested many times before, but she had no compatibility each time.

Qi Lin thought to himself.

If the humiliating deaths of the late emperor, his consorts, and the princes and princesses were connected to prison devils, she must especially want devil bone compatibility, shouldn't she?

Though Qi Lin didn't know the details, he had a vague idea that only someone with devil bone compatibility could possess a weapon called a Demon-Slaying Blade.

And it seemed only those with a Demon-Slaying Blade could slay devils.

Seeing that Her Majesty has no compatibility, those Xiao Clan elders must be laughing to themselves.

Though the ten of them appeared perfectly unruffled, Qi Lin could see through the looks in their eyes.

It wasn't hard to see through them, either.

"Second, Xiao Xuanxing."

After Shen Xintang called his name, a sunny-looking boy in white, about Qi Lin's age, rose, strode onto the dais, and quickly let a drop of blood fall.

Xiao Qian watched with a smile from below, her eyes full of pride.

Crack! Crack!

Two of the three devil vertebrae changed color, erupting with a surging rush of Devil Qi and letting out the sound of ghosts weeping and wolves howling.

"Medium compatibility," Shen Xintang said.

Xiao Qian and her son beamed at the news.

The other Xiao Clan members were all delighted.

Clearly, medium compatibility must have been quite good.

After all, Shen Xintang herself had medium compatibility.

"Thank you, Auntie Xiao Tang."

Rather than addressing her as Lord Shen, Xiao Xuanxing invoked their connection, then confidently stepped down.

Most of these Divine Strategy Manor students have already undergone devil bone testing in private. Today is merely a public announcement personally supervised by the Demon-Slaying Headquarters.

Watching everyone's expressions and mannerisms, Qi Lin arrived at that conclusion.

"Third, Xiao Su'e."

"Low compatibility."

Qi Lin noticed that even low compatibility was cause for celebration.

Clearly, as long as one had compatibility, one could become a devil-restraining master and enter the Demon-Slaying Headquarters!

"Fourth, Tang Biao."

"No compatibility."

"Fifth, Xiao Yunyi."

"Medium compatibility."

"Sixth, Xiao Chen."

"Medium compatibility."

"Seventh, Xiao Ningdie."

"Medium compatibility."

Time passed.

From up close, Qi Lin watched the more than three hundred Three Stars Pavilion students step onto the dais one after another.

"Three hundred and ninety-first, Xiao Yao'er."

A Xiao Clan girl in purple robes, cold as ice from head to toe, stepped onto the dais as well.

She was probably second to last.

She didn't greet Shen Xintang, instead letting a drop of blood fall straight away.

Hum!

All three devil vertebrae trembled at once. Devil Qi surged to the heavens, and the entire Hall of Law Enforcement seemed to sink into darkness.

"High compatibility."

Shen Xintang's voice trembled slightly as she announced the result.

The ten Xiao Clan elders below the dais exchanged knowing smiles.

They had long known the result and were merely taking this opportunity to announce it to the public.

"Congratulations. You may enter the Demon-Slaying Headquarters directly and choose a Division Saint as your master," Shen Xintang said.

"Oh."

Without looking at Shen Xintang, Xiao Yao'er stepped down from the dais and went straight back to her seat.

"Yao'er is wonderful!" Xiao Qian looked at Shen Xintang, beaming. "It seems our Xiao family will have another Division Saint in the future, one who will slaughter countless prison devils and accomplish great deeds!"

"It's too early, too early. Her realm is only Profound Sea, Stream Formation. She needs to raise it further," Xiao Yao'er's father, Xiao Mo, said with a modest smile.

He was one of the Xiao Clan's martial instructors, as well as a renowned martial arts teacher at the Divine Strategy Manor. Every one of his martial arts classes was packed.

"Xiao Mo, with a daughter like Yao'er, your standing in our Xiao Clan ought to rise as well."

The other Xiao Clan martial instructors all offered their congratulations.

In fact, they had congratulated him long ago, so they were putting on a show for the others now.

The children of the entire Divine Capital's powerful and wealthy families were gathered here. Once they returned home, they would naturally tell their elders everything that had happened today.

Of the entire Three Stars Pavilion, forty-one people passed this devil bone test, and the Xiao Clan alone accounts for twenty-seven. Their Lineage's bloodline really does have high devil bone compatibility.

Qi Lin frowned deeply.

The Shen Clan was said to be a great family of the Demon-Slaying Headquarters as well, yet not a single person surnamed Shen had been tested today.

And...

When Xiao Yao'er was found to have high compatibility, Qi Lin had clearly felt a surge of anger rise from the young empress beside him.

I suppose she must really long for that kind of compatibility.

In truth, having a Demon-Slaying Blade probably made little difference in martial battles between humans.

What the young empress longed for was simply to slay devils.

The Xiao Clan slays so many devils?

Qi Lin found it hard to believe that a clan like theirs had rendered such meritorious service to the Great Cang Kingdom.

"Three hundred and ninety-second, Qi Lin."

Just then, Shen Xintang suddenly called his name.