Lin Xiaoxiao

When she raised her voice, she was terrifying as well. Under the suppression of that single sentence, the boiling discussions gradually quieted down.

After that, the hall examination continued, and Chen Ding, who was after Li Tianming, was directly called up.

After Mu Wan established her authority, the clamor and discussions temporarily vanished. Yet once Li Tianming came down, most of the people around him had already scattered.

These young people knew he was a notorious figure and did not dare approach him, lest others think they were birds of a feather with him.

Li Tianming was delighted by the peace and quiet. He could calmly wait for the second stage of the hall examination.

There were many people at Phoenix Hall, so he would probably have to wait for some time.

By the end of the first stage, more than six hundred people had been eliminated from Phoenix Hall alone.

Next, Li Tianming occasionally paid attention to beastmasters with sixth-order companion beasts.

He discovered that this hall examination truly hid crouching tigers and coiled dragons. So far, seven or eight high-grade sixth-order companion beasts comparable to the Six-Star Luminary Lion had appeared.

Their owners were all top geniuses, descendants of wealthy and powerful clans. Some came from the Vermilion Bird royal family, while others came from forces such as the Heavenly Mechanism Palace and the Starfall Chamber of Commerce.

"Four years ago, Lin Xiaoting's companion beast was also a high-grade sixth-order one. This year, does Thunder Lord Manor have no one?"

So far, the highest-ranked companion beast among the Thunder Lord Manor youths was merely middle-grade sixth-order.

Then he spotted an acquaintance from Thunder Lord Manor—Liu Qianyang!

The youth whose nose Li Tianming had punched crooked had lost his former sharpness. He took the stage with his Lightning Leopard and barely passed the test.

"Where did he get a Yanhuang Order? If he has returned, has Liu Qing returned too? Could Li Yanfeng have followed him here?" Li Tianming swept his gaze across the surrounding stands.

Unfortunately, the stands were too vast, making it difficult for him to find Li Yanfeng.

Just then, he suddenly heard someone discussing something in low voices.

"Lin Xiaoxiao of Thunder Lord Manor is about to go up."

"Four years ago, her brother ranked first in the hall examination and entered the Heavenly Court directly. I heard that she is the most promising one this year. Do you know why?"

"I don't."

"I heard that, like her brother, she is a rare twin beastmaster, born with two companion beasts. She is twice as powerful as others."

"Really? Back then, Lin Xiaoting relied on his two companion beasts to claim first place in the ranking battle!"

Twin beastmasters were too formidable. What was even more frightening was that both of their companion beasts were top-tier companion beasts.

"That's true. Many twin beastmasters have companion beasts that are only second or third order. Those are still trash."

"By that logic, Thunder Lord Manor has a great chance this year. Lin Xiaoting is now the number one genius of the Heavenly Court, and his younger sister has a strong chance of becoming the first disciple as well."

"Thunder Lord Manor truly is not simple. Producing the first disciple for two consecutive years—there are not many such examples even among the Vermilion Bird royal family."

Li Tianming heard that quite a few people were discussing this girl named Lin Xiaoxiao.

"He has a younger sister?" Li Tianming had not known before that Lin Xiaoting had a biological younger sister.

Still, he had no particular thoughts about it.

Every grievance had its debtor, every debt its creditor. Three years ago, this Lin Xiaoxiao had only been a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child.

His affairs naturally had nothing to do with this genius girl.

As a rival in the ranking battle, however, he had to pay attention to her. After all, he knew that Chen Yao could only be considered one of the favorites for first disciple.

Under his watchful gaze, a girl finally appeared over at the Hall of Myriad Beasts, drawing the attention of the entire crowd.

Though she was far away, Li Tianming was drawn to the girl at first glance.

Beautiful girls always pulled everyone's eyes toward them. This young girl named Lin Xiaoxiao naturally possessed beauty that could topple cities.

She was a young girl dressed in a light orange gown.

She drifted out from the crowd, her clear, bright pupils framed by curved willow-leaf brows. Her long eyelashes trembled faintly, her flawless fair skin carrying a delicate rosy tint, while her thin lips were as tender and dewy as rose petals.

Her clothes and adornments were not especially luxurious. She merely wore a string of pearls around her jade-like neck, giving off a faint halo that made her seem all the more delicately carved from pink jade.

The girl was not very old, at most fifteen, yet she had already grown graceful as an immortal maiden—a true beauty in the making. Given a few more years, she would surely possess an even more captivating charm.

Though young, her expression was tranquil and natural, her gaze as still as a lake. At a glance, one could tell she possessed an exceptionally peaceful and simple state of mind.

This sort of temperament was not something Chen Ying beside Li Tianming could compare with.

Her appearance drew extraordinary attention, yet Lin Xiaoxiao carried herself with an elegant air of remaining unmoved by favor or disgrace.

It was hard to imagine that she actually came from the flamboyant Thunder Lord Manor.

"Master, may I begin the test?" After taking the stage, she asked politely and appropriately.

"Please." The master wore a smile and did not dare slight her.

It was said that Lin Xiaoxiao possessed both avian and beast-type companion beasts. Her choice to undergo the test at the Hall of Myriad Beasts secretly delighted its masters.

After receiving permission, Lin Xiaoxiao summoned her two companion beasts from her Companion Space.

The instant those two companion beasts appeared together, they became the focus of the entire venue!

"It's the Tricolor Thunder Netherbird, and the other one is the Vajra Thunder Ape!"

"I heard they are both top-grade sixth-order companion beasts."

Li Tianming's gaze first locked onto the Tricolor Thunder Netherbird speeding through the air.

It was not a particularly large bird, but its body was extremely well-proportioned. At a glance, one could tell its speed was incredibly fierce.

Its feathers came in three colors: blue, green, and red.

As those three kinds of feathers rubbed against the air, they actually generated lightning of three colors, which coiled around the Thunder Netherbird's body.

When the three types of lightning collided, they gave off sizzling sounds that made one's scalp tingle.

This was the sixth-order companion beast, the Tricolor Thunder Netherbird! A lightning-type avian companion beast.

While the Tricolor Thunder Netherbird streaked through the sky, the other companion beast stood behind Lin Xiaoxiao, protecting the girl like a guardian envoy.

This was the Vajra Thunder Ape.

It was a gigantic ape three meters tall, covered entirely in golden fur. That golden fur was so dense that it practically resembled armor.

Beneath that fur were the companion beast's terrifying muscles.

Compared with the elegant Tricolor Thunder Netherbird, the Vajra Thunder Ape seemed brutish and savage.

Only when it looked at Lin Xiaoxiao did its gaze soften somewhat. At all other times, its eyes surged with golden lightning.

"The Vajra Thunder Ape? That is a dual-aspect companion beast."

Li Tianming remembered reading an introduction to this type of companion beast in the records.

Companion beasts were divided by species and attributes. So-called dual-aspect companion beasts were, in truth, companion beasts with dual attributes.

Dual-attribute companion beasts possessed two kinds of abilities and were theoretically indeed stronger.

For example, the Vajra Thunder Ape was a lightning berserk-type beast companion beast.

It possessed both lightning and berserk attributes. Lightning was its major attribute, while berserk was a special attribute.

Thus, this companion beast possessed the destructive power of thunder and lightning, while also being able to berserk its flesh and blood, granting it terrifying close-combat ability.

Yet in truth, with two companion beasts, the delicate-looking Lin Xiaoxiao was the most frightening one.

Because she gathered the abilities of both companion beasts, she surely possessed combat abilities of the berserk aspect as well. Her flesh-and-blood body should be quite brutal.

Her Beast Essence was also the combined strength of the Tricolor Thunder Netherbird and Vajra Thunder Ape.

The moment her two companion beasts appeared, they directly overshadowed many others.

Next came the grade test. Two drops of blood fell into two starstones for simultaneous testing, and dazzling blue light immediately illuminated the Yanhuang Battlefield.

Each of those two rays of light was about comparable to the Six-Star Luminary Lion, perhaps even slightly superior. They were almost no different from Little Yellow Chick's.

But after all, there were two rays of light. Gathered together, they were naturally even more dazzling.

"Lin Xiaoxiao possesses two high-grade sixth-order companion beasts, the Tricolor Thunder Netherbird and the Vajra Thunder Ape. Her cultivation is at the third level of the Spirit Source Realm. Having achieved such results at the age of just fifteen, and as a twin beastmaster at that, she is extraordinary."

The master was slightly excited. After making the announcement, he deliberately offered her some praise.

"Thank you, Master." When it was over, Lin Xiaoxiao took away her companion beasts and swiftly disappeared into the crowd, seemingly unwilling to draw attention.

Yet her finale-like appearance gave the first stage of the hall examination a perfect conclusion.

Most of those who appeared afterward were crooked melons and cracked dates.

Less than two hours later, the entire venue had finished testing. More than a third of the youths had been eliminated, and could only leave with tears in their eyes.

Most people only had one chance. Once they left this time, they would essentially have no further fate with Yanhuang Academy in this lifetime.

Though it was only the first stage of the hall examination, some rejoiced while others grieved.

Naturally, the masters did not care about that at all, so they immediately began the second stage of the hall examination.

"In the second stage, every person must take part in one battle, after which the ten of us masters will make a comprehensive evaluation."

"We will not merely look at victory or defeat. We will also observe the talent, combat techniques, and state of mind you display in battle, while placing special emphasis on age."

"Those who gain our recognition may receive our disciple tokens. If you receive multiple disciple tokens, you may choose your own master."

"If you receive no disciple token, you will be placed on hold for now. But if your performance is too poor, you may go straight home," the masters announced.

The rules were the same as last time, and Li Tianming understood them clearly.

In short, everyone remaining had to participate in one battle.

The ten masters would make a comprehensive judgment based on their battle performance. If someone met a master's personal approval, they would receive that master's disciple token and enter that master's beginner class.

For example, if Master Mu Wan approved of Li Tianming, she would directly give him a disciple token, which meant Li Tianming had successfully passed.

Whether one master gave him a disciple token or all ten masters did made no difference. The only difference was that with more masters offering tokens, the disciple could choose their master.

If one's performance was average, one would be placed on hold for the time being and would not lose the opportunity.

The masters would still conduct careful assessments afterward, truly ensuring fairness.

But if one performed terribly and showed no talent whatsoever, one would be eliminated directly.

There were still over a thousand people at Phoenix Hall, requiring a full five hundred battles. The hall examination would therefore continue for several days.

Li Tianming had no desire to waste that much time, so he prepared to go up as early as possible.

After all, his mother was still waiting at the inn for his good news.

At this stage, aside from being at a disadvantage in age, he was outstanding in every other aspect. Master Mu Wan would definitely take him.

Thus, to him, the hall examination was merely going through the motions. He needed to hurry back and prepare for the ranking battle.

"Li Tianming!" Just as Li Tianming was searching for an opponent, a massive shadow suddenly loomed behind him.

When he turned around, he saw Chen Ding.

"What is it?"

"I'm at the first level of the Spirit Source Realm, while you're at the ninth level of the Beast Pulse Realm. You're four years older than me. I only want to ask you this: do you dare accept my challenge?" Chen Ding stared at him darkly.

"Don't worry. As long as you perform well, even if you lose to Chen Ding, the masters might still take you."

"Of course, if they think your character is too poor and that you are unfit to be a Yanhuang disciple, then pretend I never said that first part." Chen Ying sneered from the side.

In truth, after saying so much, they had only one thought in their hearts: they wanted to beat Li Tianming up to vent their anger.

"Well? Do you dare?" Chen Ding growled lowly like a beast.

"Of course I do. Beating up a big fool like you couldn't be easier."

He had been worrying about not having an opponent who could let him display his strength and cover up his disadvantage in age.

First level of the Spirit Source Realm?

Perfect. He could challenge his limits.