Selection

Early the next morning, the sun seemed not to have fully woken yet, casting a soft, languid light. The whole sky was still half-gray, and even the outlines of people in the distance were somewhat blurred, making it obvious that it was still very early. Yet the noisy clamor made it equally obvious that plenty of people had already arrived.

Hearing the commotion outside, Xia Mo glanced at the sky through the window and complained, "What's wrong with these people? If getting there early meant you'd pass, they should've lined up yesterday." Then he turned around, pulled up the blanket, covered his head, and went back to sleep.

After getting up and eating breakfast, Xia Mo was still lazily basking in the sun by the doorway. Xiao Yan passed by and said they would register later, so the two of them followed their usual routine and headed to the back mountain to train.

When Xia Mo and Xiao Yan reached the back mountain, they first practiced the basic saber forms: sweeping, chopping, deflecting, slicing, skimming, pressing, cleaving, and thrusting. After so long of unwavering daily training, both of them had developed their own styles.

Xia Mo relied more on force to break technique, his movements broad and powerful, simple and refined, with wide chops and fierce slashes—swift and valiant. Xiao Yan, meanwhile, preferred to use minimal force to redirect greater strength, avoiding solid attacks and striking at openings. This... was perhaps because Xia Mo had been his sparring partner.

After that, they practiced their various Dou Techniques. Before they knew it, half the day had passed. When Xia Mo and Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Clan, they looked at the empty courtyard and shook their heads. These people really loved joining in on the excitement. It was only that Jia Nan Academy's recruitment team had arrived—not like they had already been accepted.

Wutan City's recruitment team was responsible for several nearby cities. Wutan City was probably already packed to the brim, with even its gates blocked. That afternoon, Xia Mo and Xiao Yan brought Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Xun'er to the square where the recruitment team was stationed. Seeing the sea of people before them, they were instantly dumbfounded.

Wutan City's largest square was incredibly noisy at the moment. Countless young people were squeezing shoulder to shoulder toward the square. Thankfully, the empire's troops were maintaining order; otherwise, these youths would probably have gone completely mad.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan looked at the seemingly endless sea of people and fell silent. They had thought they had avoided the rush hour, but who would have expected every moment to be rush hour?

After watching for quite some time, the four of them realized they probably would not get a place in line today. Sighing, they decided to go back first and come early tomorrow.

Just as they were about to turn and leave, they heard someone call, "Cousin Xun'er." It turned out Xiao Yu had brought several of the Xiao Clan's "outstanding disciples" for the assessment, though no one knew why they had come so late as well.

After all, Xia Mo and Xiao Yan did not believe that Xiao Ning and Xiao Mei'er would not come to join in on the excitement. "Cousin Xiao Yu, why are you here?" Xiao Xun'er asked. Xiao Yan said nothing, since he and Xiao Yu had always found each other disagreeable. As for Xia Mo, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Yu, they simply were not familiar with one another. Thus, only Xiao Xun'er took the initiative to greet her.

"The Grand Elder asked me to bring Xiao Ning and the others for the assessment. They came very early, but they still haven't been tested," Xiao Yu said.

"With so many people here, do you have a way, Cousin Xiao Yu?" Xiao Xun'er asked.

"Yes. My instructor is the one recruiting in Wutan City this time. I'm her prized student, after all. You can come along too," Xiao Yu said with a grin. "Come on, follow me."

Upon hearing Xiao Yu's words, everyone followed her. After circling more than half the square, they arrived at the far rear of the plaza. Layer upon layer of fully armed soldiers stood guard there, giving the place the feeling of a military stronghold.

Xiao Yu took out a plaque, presumably Jia Nan Academy's student identification, and went forward to speak with the commander of the troops. After a while, she motioned for Xia Mo's group to come over.

The military commander swept his gaze across their group. He was somewhat surprised to see Xia Mo, a child, but said nothing. After all, these were people personally brought by a Jia Nan Academy student. Even if something went wrong, it would not be his responsibility. He waved a hand. "Let them through."

At the command, layer after layer of heavily armed troops opened up a narrow path. Xiao Yu thanked the commander, then followed him inside with the group.

As they entered the passageway, surrounded by expressionless soldiers, an aura of iron-blooded killing intent washed over them. A faint smell of blood hung in the air, making everyone visibly uncomfortable.

Xia Mo, however, felt nothing. He had truly killed people before, and when it came to ferocity, there was probably nothing fiercer than the magical beast Dragon Phoenix. Even some cackling fiend might not compare.

Xia Mo looked at the others. Though their reactions differed, Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Xun'er had all maintained calm expressions while quietly letting out breaths of relief. It seemed that unless one possessed overwhelming strength, encountering an iron-blooded army would still be stressful.

"Senior, why put us through this?" Xiao Yu asked the commander, her pretty face pale. It seemed this commander had once been a student of Jia Nan Academy as well.

"These were Instructor Ruo Lin's instructions. Since you're taking the back door, you need the strength to do so. These brothers of mine are men who sleep beside corpses. It's already quite good that none of you wet yourselves in fear," the commander said with a faint smile. He looked over the group, paused on Xiao Yan for a few seconds, and finally settled his gaze on Xia Mo. "Instructor Ruo Lin is about to get herself some good students."

Xiao Yu waved goodbye to her senior and led everyone toward the interior of the square. Watching their departing figures, he murmured, "Those few are all pretty good. But that child... is he fearless because he knows nothing, or...?"

At the center of the square stood a large four-legged tent, open on all sides. The noisy sounds outside carried in, while people occasionally passed through the various passageways after completing their tests, entering with excited faces.

The moment the group entered the tent, a woman threw an arm around Xiao Yu, gave her waist a squeeze, and teased, "Let me feel you up. Let's see if you've put on weight."

Watching her, Xia Mo thought, So this is that rotten girl Xue Ni. Her figure really is explosive, and her personality...

As Xiao Yu and Xue Ni laughed and played around, Xiao Yu introduced her to everyone. "This is my good sister from the academy, Xue Ni. A four-star Dou Zhe."

Then Xiao Yu affectionately linked arms with Xue Ni and introduced the Xiao Clan group to her. "This is Xun'er, this is my younger brother Xiao Ning, this is Xiao Mei'er... These are Xiao Yi Xian and Xia Mo. They have business ties with our Xiao Clan." When she mentioned Xiao Yan, she leaned over and whispered in Xue Ni's ear. It seemed that, having been back for so long and being part of the Xiao Clan's direct line, Xiao Yu already knew about Xiao Yi Xian and Xia Mo. After all, Xia Mo spent every day hanging around with Xiao Yan.

"Wow, your family has so many little beauties! Xiao Yi Xian is beautiful too. Once they get to the academy, who knows how many people they'll enchant," Xue Ni said exaggeratedly.

Then the conversation turned to Xiao Yan. Xue Ni loudly revealed that Xiao Yan had only reached the third stage of Dou Qi. Xiao Yu said Xue Ni had overheard her talking in her sleep, while Xiao Yan said that Xiao Yu still dreamed about him. Xiao Yu told Xue Ni to stop fooling around, and Xue Ni teased Xiao Yu for abandoning the old for the new.

"Stop playing around. I still need to take them for testing," Xiao Yu said to Xue Ni. Xue Ni immediately grew serious and said she would help. The group then headed farther into the tent amid laughter and chatter.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yi Xian followed behind them. Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Yu and Xue Ni with some envy, wondering whether she could have a friend like that at the academy. Sensing her mood, Xia Mo took Xiao Yi Xian's hand—though it looked more like an older sister holding her younger brother's hand...

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