Selection in Progress

After circling half the enormous square, Xiao Ming finally stopped in the middle of it.

Originally, he had wanted to look for a less crowded weak point, but aside from the back of the square, where fully armed troops had formed two or three layers of encirclement and no one was there, every other place was about the same—packed with people.

Xiao Ming had no way to get those soldiers to let him slip through the back door, so he could only return to where he started.

"Fine, I'll just squeeze my way in honestly."

Relying on his height advantage, Xiao Ming squeezed through the crowd of people at least ten years older than him for quite a while before finally emerging, drenched in sweat.

"Phew, I finally got out. Good thing most of these spectators aren't stronger than me, or I would've been smothered in there." Looking at the Green Tent in the open area not far away, Xiao Ming let out a sigh of relief.

There was quite a distance between the crowd and the tent, with several passageways in between. Young men dressed like academy students stood in the passageways, holding fist-sized red crystals in their hands to test people.

Xiao Ming joined the line for one passageway, attracting the attention of a young man beside him.

Looking at the small Xiao Ming, he could not stop pondering inwardly.

This child looked no older than seven. Could he have come because he thought this was some kind of fun game?

Out of kindness, he opened his mouth. "Little friend, you've got it wrong. This isn't some fun game; it's Jia Nan Academy's recruitment. Leave quickly, or you'll get scolded later."

His words also attracted the attention of others, who all turned around.

"Whose child is this?"

"Wow, he's so cute!"

"Go on, go on. What is a child doing joining the excitement?"

"Little friend, be good and go home."

"Hahaha, look at how unmoved he is. He can't really be here for the test, can he? Dou Qi Power Stage Eight at such a young age—who does he think he is, Xiao Ming of the Xiao Family, Wu Tan City's number one genius?"

"...Wait, that's the Xiao Family's clothing!"

"He can't really be Xiao Ming, can he?"

"Who knows? We've never seen him before."

Xiao Ming did not care about the surrounding discussions. He had expected this situation long ago.

It was not strange that the people around him did not recognize him. Ever since his strength had been exposed, he avoided leaving the Xiao Family whenever possible. Even when he did go out, he disguised himself somewhat. As a result, his name was well known throughout Wu Tan City, but few people knew what he looked like.

That was exactly what he wanted.

But since he was going to Jia Nan Academy anyway, it did not matter if he was exposed now.

So Xiao Ming waved to the young man who had kindly warned him and thanked him. "Thank you for the reminder. I'm Xiao Ming of the Xiao Family. I'm not here to play; I'm here to take the test."

"Oh! It really is him! I guessed right."

"I didn't expect Wu Tan City's number one genius to look like this. He's kind of cute."

"A five-year-old at Dou Qi Power Stage Seven should be called the empire's number one genius!"

"I wonder how strong he is now."

"..."

Hearing the discussions around him, the young man realized he had made a fool of himself. His face flushed red. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were Xiao Ming. I caused you trouble."

Those who had spoken somewhat rudely just now also fell silent.

Xiao Ming waved his hand to show that he did not care.

After that small incident, Xiao Ming felt that more people in the line were looking him over.

Although there was a sea of people outside, Jia Nan Academy was not recruiting students for the first time. The requirements had already spread far and wide. There were not actually many young people of the proper age who were confident enough to come for the test. The crowd outside was really just there to watch.

"Didn't pass. Next."

Before long, it was Xiao Ming's turn.

Thanks to the earlier commotion, the female student conducting the test did not look down on him. Instead, she smiled and handed over the red crystal in her hand.

"Little brother, this Testing Crystal is very simple. Inject your Dou Qi into it. As long as your strength has reached Dou Qi Power Stage Eight, it will light up on its own. Then you will have passed the preliminary test."

"Mm." Xiao Ming nodded in understanding. He stepped forward and held his palm over the crystal ball for a moment. Once the crystal lit up, he withdrew his hand.

It really lit up!

Although the female student had already suspected it, she still could not help feeling a little shocked.

After all, Xiao Ming was simply far too young.

"I passed, right?"

Xiao Ming's voice jolted her awake. "You passed. Go in."

Xiao Ming slowly walked toward the tent.

As he approached the huge Green Tent, he saw more than a dozen men and women gathered in several small circles, chatting with one another beneath the tent's cool shade. Judging from their relaxed manner in this place, they were likely Jia Nan Academy students like those testing people outside.

Outside the shade, more than a dozen young men and women sat cross-legged on the ground beneath the blazing sun. Though sweat streamed down their faces because of the high temperature, their expressions were full of restraint. They seemed to be new students who had just passed the preliminary test.

Someone among the new students spotted Xiao Ming and called out in delight, "Cousin Xiao Ming, come over here!"

Following the gaze, Xiao Ming discovered a Xiao Family member, drenched in sweat, waving at him.

His shout undoubtedly attracted many other people's attention, especially the new students who were with him.

Ignoring the curious looks from others, Xiao Ming walked over to that Xiao Family member.

"Was he the only one from the clan who passed the test?"

It was not surprising that someone from the Xiao Family had passed the test. After all, they were one of Wu Tan City's Three Great Families. But having only one person made people care somewhat, because strictly speaking, the Xiao Family's coming-of-age ceremony required sixteen-year-olds to reach Dou Qi Power Stage Seven, which was no lower than Jia Nan Academy's requirement of Eighteen Years Old and Dou Qi Power Stage Eight.

Yet so few people met Jia Nan Academy's requirements. It could only be said that those people had been slacking off!

"I was the only one who came and passed."

Seeing that Xiao Ming seemed somewhat disdainful, the Xiao Family member hurriedly defended the others.

"Actually, some people met the requirements, but they didn't want to go to Jia Nan Academy. Like Young Master Xiao Ding."

Xiao Ming nodded in realization. Although Xiao Ding's talent was not as good as Xiao Yan's, he was still considered outstanding among the Xiao Family's young people.

Passing Jia Nan Academy's test was indeed not difficult for him.

As for why he did not enter Jia Nan Academy, only he himself knew.

Perhaps Jia Nan Academy held great appeal for many people, yet not quite enough appeal at the same time. It sounded contradictory, but it was not hard to understand.

Sitting cross-legged beneath the blazing sun, Xiao Ming continued chatting idly with this clansman.

After an unknown amount of time, more than a dozen people had joined those beside them.

Through their earlier conversation, Xiao Ming had learned that the clansman beside him was named Xiao Shan. Xiao Shan had thick eyebrows, large eyes, dark skin, and a sturdy build, yet he was extremely talkative.

The two had become fairly familiar. Xiao Shan complained somewhat, "This is ridiculous. We've been baking here for half the day, while those old students chat and laugh in the shade. No one has come to pay attention to us."

Xiao Ming glanced at the indignant Xiao Shan.

Whenever Jia Nan Academy recruited students, it would dampen the new students' spirit. This was practically an unwritten rule of Jia Nan Academy, because those who could reach the admission threshold were generally considered quite talented.

Such people were usually pampered in their own little corners of the world and rarely suffered ridicule or mockery. If they entered Jia Nan Academy, where outstanding people emerged one after another, with that mindset, they could easily come to blows over a disagreement and cause unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, during recruitment, making the new students clearly understand their own standing and grinding away their headstrong edge was a very practical and important matter.

Xiao Ming, Xiao Shan, and the people around them were undoubtedly going through this stage.

Xiao Ming personally did not feel much about it. Though this behavior was somewhat excessive, he was not Long Aotian. As long as no one openly targeted him, he could not be bothered to make a big deal out of it.

If someone suddenly jumped out and asked to be humiliated, he could reluctantly show off a little.

But so far, he had not encountered that kind of villainous character.

As soon as he entered, Xiao Shan had called him over, and they had been chatting for half the day.

The contract has already been sent out. Anyone who wants to invest can do so.