Magic Beast Mountain Range! Ambush!

Below the stage, a burst of laughter erupted.

"Hahaha! He really is a good-for-nothing!"

"He can't even light up a single segment? That's beyond useless!"

"And he still came to take the assessment? What a disgrace!"

"He's brought utter shame upon the Lin Family!"

On the stage, the five examiners exchanged glances, their expressions varied.

The white-haired examiner in the center sighed and waved his hand. "Go down. You have failed."

Lin Feng silently withdrew his hand and turned to leave the stage.

He did not look back.

But he could hear the whispers behind him—

"What a pity. I heard he was at the ninth stage three years ago."

"So what if he was at the ninth stage? His Dantian is ruined. He'll be a good-for-nothing for the rest of his life."

"The Lin Family is truly unlucky to have produced such trash."

Lin Feng walked down the steps, one step at a time, moving painfully slowly.

It was not that he did not want to walk faster. His legs were weak.

For three years, he had endured these looks, these mockeries, and the repeated cycle of arriving full of hope only to leave in despair.

But for some reason, today hurt more than usual.

Perhaps because today was his sixteenth birthday.

Perhaps because this was his last chance—according to the rules, once one turned sixteen, one could no longer take the Dou Zhe assessment.

Or perhaps because he finally had no choice but to admit that he truly had no more chances.

"Brother Feng!"

A crisp voice rang out.

Lin Feng looked up and saw a girl in a pale yellow dress running toward him.

Lin Wan'er, his childhood sweetheart, the daughter of the neighboring Chen Family, was fifteen this year and already a near-genius at the eighth