Pits Everywhere

In the blink of an eye, June 25 arrived—the day of the higher academy entrance examinations.

The War Academy examinations were held in the morning.

War first, then Civilization. The examinations for the Internal Affairs and Research Academies would not take place until the 26th. Comparatively speaking, those two were much easier, and most students only applied to them when they had no other choice.

The examination venue was Nanyuan Academy.

Early in the morning, the area around the academy was already packed to the brim. The City Guards, Jifeng Hall, and Dragon Martial Guard had all mobilized, and Nanyuan Academy had entered lockdown.

Several thousand students were taking the examinations. They were Nanyuan's future, so the city attached great importance to them. On top of that, the Ten Thousand Races Cult's surprise attack had happened not long ago, and Nanyuan did not dare let down its guard.

Su Yu had come with Chen Hao. When they arrived, quite a few parents were waiting outside the academy.

The vehicles had nearly clogged the roads leading in and out of the academy.

Over by the Traffic Supervision Office, Su Yu even spotted Chen Hao's father directing operations.

At the academy gates, several unfamiliar staff members checked Su Yu and the others' student IDs and identification before allowing them inside.

"Ah Yu, what if I don't pass the examination?"

Chen Hao was rather nervous and kept asking.

Su Yu sighed. "If a Kaiyuan Fifth Stage cultivator can't get in, then there aren't many people in Nanyuan who can."

"But being at the Kaiyuan Fifth Stage doesn't mean I'll definitely get in."

"Contrarian!"

Su Yu cursed inwardly. It was not as though no Kaiyuan Fifth Stage cultivators had failed before, but this guy insisted on putting himself in that group. What could Su Yu possibly do about that?

The two headed toward the examination hall. Along the way, they ran into quite a few classmates.

Of course, most of them were strangers.

There were not only people from Nanyuan Academy here, but also students from several other academies in Nanyuan, as well as many outsiders.

The outsiders were actually easy to recognize. Nanyuan students generally wore academy uniforms, while outsiders mostly wore their own clothes. Their outfits were more refined—or rather, fashionable—and at the very least, much better-looking than what people in Nanyuan wore.

These outsiders also wore solemn expressions. Most traveled alone and had no interest whatsoever in looking at the Nanyuan students.

Even though quite a few Nanyuan students glared at them with hostility, they paid no attention.

They simply did not care. Nor did they regard Nanyuan's students as opponents.

Outside the academy examination hall.

Several young students gathered together, both male and female.

They seemed to have only just met up. Most of the other outsider students did not know one another, but these few appeared to be acquainted.

At the center of the group stood a tall girl with her long hair tied back, her face cool and aloof.

The boys around her were handsome, and the girls were beautiful.

At a glance, they stood apart from the surrounding crowds.

In the distance, people who recognized them pointed in their direction, seemingly discussing something.

The group ignored them. Having run into one another, they seemed somewhat awkward, as though they did not know what to say.

After a long while, a sunny-looking boy smiled and spoke first. "Everyone's here. What a coincidence!"

"Yeah, quite a coincidence. I thought you were all in Great Xia Prefecture!"

"You weren't confident about passing in Great Xia Prefecture either? I thought I was the only one lacking confidence."

"..."

Once someone started, the group quickly began chatting back and forth.

The girl in the middle could not help frowning. After they had talked for a while, she said unhappily, "Who are you all trying to fool? Even in Great Xia Prefecture, we'd get in for sure! Everyone knows why we came here!"

They were young, after all, and somewhat embarrassed. They had not yet become so worldly and calculating.

After a moment, another boy said sheepishly, "I never wanted to come to Nanyuan for the examination. It'd be embarrassing even if I got in. My second uncle insisted I come here and take a look at that Su Yu. Assistant Instructor Bai suddenly wanted to take him as a student..."

The moment he said that, everyone wore different expressions. Quite a few looked at the ponytailed girl. "Wu Lan, did you come for this too? Your overall rating was upper-middle, and now it might even be upper-upper. Did you really need to come?"

Wu Lan's expression turned icy. "I wanted to see just how outstanding this Su Yu really is! Outstanding enough that Assistant Instructor Bai Feng said at the admissions office that I, Wu Lan, was nothing special!"

Wu Qi's younger sister!

That day, when Liu Hong had recommended Wu Lan to Bai Feng as a student, Bai Feng had looked utterly disdainful. Wu Qi had not cared, but once word spread, it dealt Wu Lan a devastating blow.

Not only had it hurt her, it had also made the young girl feel too ashamed to face anyone.

It would have been fine if Bai Feng had said nothing. But he had insisted that he did not care, that upper-middle was nothing special. The moment those words left his mouth, they made the person involved unbearably embarrassed.

This time, she had come for a different reason than the others.

The others still held some faint hope. If they proved far more outstanding than Su Yu and created a contrast, might Bai Feng take them as students instead?

Wu Lan did not think that way. She simply wanted Bai Feng to see how worthless the student he had chosen was!

That person was not even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Wu Lan!

It was not that Bai Feng had refused to take Wu Lan as his student. Rather, she simply did not think much of Bai Feng, an assistant researcher. If not for Bai Feng's teacher, an assistant researcher was nothing remarkable within the academy.

Her sister was one too, and even closer to becoming an official researcher than Bai Feng.

Since the topic had been brought out into the open, no one bothered hiding anything anymore. Someone said quietly, "He applied for examinations at both major academies. The War Academy examination is probably just a formality. The important one is the Civilization Academy examination this afternoon. Do you think he's learned to outline divine characters?"

"Him?"

Someone laughed. "It's not that I look down on him, but he's a Nanyuan student. Leaving everything else aside, how many Willpower Scripts has he even read? How high could his Willpower fullness possibly be? Outlining divine characters? It's questionable whether he even knows what divine characters are."

The group began discussing it, but Wu Lan said impatiently, "The one we're competing against isn't him!"

Although they had come to Nanyuan, they were not truly here to compare themselves with Su Yu. The person they really wanted to compete against was Bai Feng.

Their purposes might differ, but their overall goal was the same: to let Bai Feng know that the student he had chosen was truly garbage, utterly terrible. Taking him in would be humiliating.

If they did not come, Su Yu might still take first place in Nanyuan, which would at least look good on paper.

But with them here, let alone first place in Nanyuan, he would not even make Nanyuan's top ten. And compared to first place, the difference would be as vast as heaven and earth.

That way, whether they held a grudge against Bai Feng or wanted him to abandon the idea, they would have a chance.

As they spoke, someone spotted Chen Hao and Su Yu in the distance and asked uncertainly, "Is that him?"

Everyone looked over. They had seen some of Su Yu's information before, and someone quickly confirmed, "That's him!"

"Should we go talk to him?"

"No. There's no point!"

Someone rejected the idea. They had no interest in speaking with Su Yu, though observing him was unavoidable.

Conversation would serve no purpose at all!

Su Yu could not change anything. Whether Bai Feng accepted a student or not, Su Yu had no say in it.

These people were not fools. Their goal was to show that they were more outstanding than Su Yu and see whether Bai Feng would take notice of them—not to go make friends with Su Yu.

The next moment, someone said, "He's inexperienced. He thinks Nanyuan is the whole sky. Should we knock him down a peg and let him know how weak he is, so he gives up on the Civilization Academy himself?"

"Then you go try it!"

No one paid the suggestion any mind. Everyone was taking the examination under the rules. If Su Yu performed brilliantly and then felt inferior on his own, that was Su Yu's problem.

Running over for no reason to undermine Su Yu—did they think Bai Feng was dead?

Did they think Liu Wenyan would not fly into a rage?

Their purpose was not to make Su Yu feel inferior. That would achieve nothing, other than drawing the hostility of several Civilization Masters, with no benefit at all.

They were all prospective Civilization Academy students. Those without brains had long since been eliminated.

The person who had proposed that idea was probably up to no good as well.

That person added, "So we just stand here and watch? The information says he's at the Kaiyuan Fifth Stage. Why don't we use Willpower to intimidate him? Make him perform poorly later and have him drop the ball in the War Academy examination too?"

"You go!"

Wu Lan suddenly said coldly from the crowd, "Go ahead and try! Don't just talk without acting! If you think Assistant Instructor Liu Hong can keep you from dying, then go! Say one more word to incite us, and believe it or not, even if I give up this year's examination, I'll make sure you never get another chance to take it for the rest of your life!"

The boy who had spoken earlier changed expressions and denied it, "Wu Lan, I'm not familiar with Assistant Instructor Liu Hong. Don't talk nonsense!"

"Yes, I was talking nonsense just now!"

Wu Lan snorted coldly. "I was merely testing you! Liu Hong and Bai Feng are engaging in fair competition, still within the rules. But now you want to break the rules, cover your tracks, and shift the blame! No matter who sent you, it definitely wasn't Liu Hong. Stop treating everyone in the world like fools!"

A boy beside her chuckled. "Maybe he's from the Ten Thousand Races Cult! Those people love stirring things up at times like this. Do they think everyone else is stupid? Are they trying to make Assistant Instructor Bai Feng and Assistant Instructor Liu Hong fight to the death? If he isn't from the Ten Thousand Races Cult, then he belongs to one of the other assistant instructors. Shut your mouth!"

"Say another word, and we'll have the Dragon Martial Guard investigate you. I refuse to believe they won't dig you up by the roots. We'll remember you!"

"..."

The person who had made the suggestion changed expressions again. Only after a while did he say, "I'm not from the Ten Thousand Races Cult. If you don't believe me, I can curse every race among the Gods and Devils of the Heavens. Don't frame me. Reducing the competition isn't done like this, and false accusations come with consequences!"

No one could be bothered with him. Whether he was from the Ten Thousand Races Cult or not did not really matter.

Even people from the Ten Thousand Races Cult would not dare show themselves openly. And if one did show himself, what was a mere Kaiyuan Realm cultivator worth?

As they discussed things, Su Yu, not far away, seemed to sense someone's gaze.

He turned and glanced in that direction. Those people were dressed in fine clothes and were obviously outsiders.

They were sizing him up. Su Yu swept the area with the corner of his eye and continued walking. Their gazes followed him, confirming that they were looking at him—though he could not rule out the possibility that they were looking at Chen Hao.

But the odds of them looking at Chen Hao were too low. Most likely, they were watching him.

"Did Bai Feng bring them here?"

"Or did news of my assisting in killing a Ten Thousand Stones cultivator leak out?"

Su Yu made a judgment but was not entirely sure.

He ignored them and pretended not to notice.

Just then, a man emerged from the examination building and shouted, "Line up and enter! The examination hall is divided into five sections, from the first floor to the fifth! Enter your assigned hall in order according to the examination number you received earlier!"

"No one may leave before the examination time ends!"

"No cheating! Anyone caught cheating will be barred from admission to all major academies for life!"

"Maintain order after entering the examination hall! Anyone causing disturbances will have their examination qualification revoked and will not be permitted to take another examination for three years!"

"Anyone scoring above 200 points will receive on-the-spot confirmation of admission. Those below 200 points must wait for notification!"

"Students taking the Civilization Academy examination this afternoon should manage your physical and mental strength properly. Otherwise, if you delay your afternoon examination and fail the War Academy examination, you will bear responsibility yourselves!"

The man announced a series of rules. Soon, the City Guards at the gates began letting people through.

Su Yu looked at his examination number: 5-101.

Fifth-floor examination hall, number 101.

Chen Hao was not assigned with him. His hall was on the third floor.

Chen Hao looked nervous at that moment. He glanced at Su Yu and whispered, "Ah Yu, we're not on the same floor. What do we do?"

"Were you planning to cheat?"

Su Yu said irritably, "Just take the test properly. What's so scary about it? You're nervous over an examination, yet you expect to go to the Battlefields of the Heavens? Wouldn't you piss your pants from fright there?"

Su Yu continued in a low voice, "We've even killed Thousand Jun cultivators before. The examination isn't asking you to kill anyone, so what are you afraid of?"

Chen Hao thought about it and let out a slight breath. That seemed right.

I'm a man who's done great things!

Why should I be afraid of an examination?

The students began entering the examination halls one after another.

Examination Hall Number Five.

Five examiners.

For the War Academy examination, one examiner each came from Great Xia War College, Dragon Martial War College, and the Yuqiang Department. Another was sent by the local government—Nanyuan City—to supervise.

Finally, there was also a military representative. He was not from the Dragon Martial Guard, but from the frontline Demon Suppression Army.

The Demon Suppression Army also maintained a small garrison in Great Xia Prefecture, mainly for recruitment.

Some people would fail to enter an academy during the examinations, or simply not wish to attend one. Afterward, the Demon Suppression Army would also issue invitations to recruit them into the military.

At that moment, all five examiners in Examination Hall Number Five had taken their places.

The representative from Dragon Martial Academy was none other than Old Xie.

Great Xia War College had sent a young man. Once the examiners were assembled, the young man asked in confusion, "Instructor Xie, weren't you supposed to supervise the five examination halls and join the inspection team? Why did you come here?"

Besides the on-site examiners, there was also an inspection team within the examination venue, responsible for resolving disputes and overseeing the examiners and halls.

Old Xie was leading the delegation this time. Logically, he should have been with the inspection team.

Old Xie smiled warmly. "I'm getting old. Running back and forth is too tiring. Let the others handle it. I'll stay here."

The young man could not be bothered to ask further. It made no difference who supervised the examination.

The Yuqiang Department had sent a middle-aged woman. No one knew her well, so there was no conversation.

Nanyuan had sent the deputy commander of the City Guards, also a Ten Thousand Stones cultivator. But compared to someone like Old Xie, who was in the Soaring Realm, the gap was enormous. Thus, he remained low-key and silent.

The soldier from the Demon Suppression Army did not speak with the others at all, making the examination hall rather quiet.

Old Xie looked around and smiled, saying nothing further.

They were competitors in a sense. Upon encountering a promising talent, they would inevitably have to compete for them.

It had not been easy for Dragon Martial Academy to obtain such a quota. In the past, Dragon Martial Academy had not even been qualified to send people as examination supervisors, so all the promising talents had ultimately been taken by Great Xia War College.

But ever since the Prefecture Lord had given them special treatment ten years ago and granted them supervisory rights, they too had been qualified to compete for talented students at the first opportunity.

After waiting for a while, Old Xie said, "If no one has any other issues, shall we officially begin the examination?"

"Begin!"

"No objections!"

"..."

Several people spoke up in succession. Old Xie looked toward the City Guard stationed at the hall entrance and said, "Let them through. Students may enter!"

The City Guard at the door acknowledged the order. Soon, the gates opened.

The next moment, students outside began entering the examination hall one after another.

Su Yu was among them. He looked inside. This building was normally closed to the public, and it was his first time entering. One glance told him it differed from the other teaching buildings. The entire floor was empty, consisting of only one vast open space.

It had been built specifically for student examinations.

There were five examination halls, each holding roughly six or seven hundred people. Everyone took the examination at the same time rather than in batches, so it proceeded quickly and could be completed within a single morning.

"Students, find your assigned seat numbers and take your seats!"

"No noise in the examination hall!"

"Examination content must not be leaked!"

"Remember, allocate your time, energy, and stamina wisely!"

"On the battlefield, analysis and decisiveness are also abilities. The War Academy does not train brainless brutes!"

The young man from Great Xia War College was speaking. His expression turned solemn as he said, "You have seen the examination process, but that is only the general outline. It does not mean that just because you are at the Kaiyuan Sixth Stage, you will definitely receive the 120 points for the Kaiyuan Sixth Stage. Whether you can earn them depends on your own judgment and ability!"

"Kaiyuan practitioners are not all the same!"

"At the same realm, it is not unheard of for someone at the Kaiyuan Sixth Stage to be inferior to someone at the Kaiyuan Three Stages!"

"We will only select the most outstanding talents to enter the War Academy for training. The rest of you... find your own way!"

Below, the students searching for seats suddenly grew somewhat nervous.

They had actually heard some things before. The examination broadly tested strength and accumulated knowledge, but the specific content sometimes differed. Some at the Kaiyuan Fourth or Fifth Stage had ended up with extremely low scores.

"The examination will last a total of four hours. It begins promptly at eight and ends promptly at twelve!"

"Remember, allocate your time, energy, and stamina wisely!"

The examiner was reminding them once again!

Su Yu's gaze shifted slightly. Allocate their time, energy, and stamina wisely—this was not the first time he had heard it. He had heard it several times already.

Below, someone among the students murmured, "Isn't it just a matter of weighing trade-offs? Why repeat it so many times? It's not like we don't know..."

The moment those words fell, Old Xie's eyes turned ice-cold. "Take him out. Put him in solitary confinement. Release him after four hours!"

As soon as he spoke, two City Guards walked directly toward the person. While that student stood there dumbfounded, they hauled him away from the examination hall.

"I... I didn't say anything... I didn't say anything at all..."

"Teacher, give me one more chance!"

Old Xie ignored him and said calmly, "No noise. Raise your hand if you have a question. Orders must be obeyed without question. This is the War Academy. Once we have said something, we do not wish to say it a second time! Would you behave like this on the battlefield as well? Five years at a secondary academy, and you still have not learned how to follow rules?"

"On the battlefield, infiltration and ambushes happen often. Your comrades may be right beside you, and when you are told to shut up, you insist on talking. The consequence could be the annihilation of an entire squad, even an entire army. Who would give you a second chance?"

"You are academy students, not idle rabble. Remember: follow the rules!"

Old Xie killed a chicken to scare the monkeys. In an instant, the examination hall fell silent.

Yet Su Yu and several other students in the hall wore rather strange expressions.

Just now... that had been a fake student, hadn't it?

They had deliberately arranged it to scare the students, right?

Most of the students had not noticed anything unusual, but Su Yu had sensed that something was off. When that student had been dragged out, he had looked nervous, but in truth, he seemed rather indifferent.

It was as though he had completed his task and no longer had to stay here suffering alongside everyone else...

Su Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. They were even pulling this stunt in an examination hall. Still, he had to admit, the effect was excellent. The hall was now so quiet that a falling needle could be heard.