The first ray of morning sunlight streamed through the carved wooden window and fell across the inn floor.
Lin Xiao sat cross-legged on the bed and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. It condensed into a faint white ribbon in the air and lingered for a long while.
After a week of secluded cultivation, he had not only stabilized his realm at the Body Refinement Third Level, but had also begun integrating the many techniques of exertion from the Cloak Axe Technique into his combat instincts. He could feel the Spiritual Energy within him brimming as never before, like an endlessly rushing stream.
"It's time."
He opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam flashed through them before vanishing.
Pushing open the door, he found Cloud Creek City already brimming with life in the early morning. As Lin Xiao walked down its broad streets, his state of mind was utterly different from when he had first arrived a week ago. Back then, his eyes had held caution and scrutiny; now, his heart was filled with confidence and anticipation.
He headed toward the city center. The closer he came to the heart of the city, the grander the surrounding buildings became, the more lavishly the pedestrians dressed, and the denser the Spiritual Energy in the air seemed to grow.
At last, a towering complex of buildings appeared at the end of his sight.
It was an academy whose magnificence defied description. Its enormous bronze gate towered a hundred zhang high, carved with totems of ancient exotic beasts and exuding an ancient, imposing aura. Beyond the gate stretched palaces and pavilions as far as the eye could see, shrouded in mist and accompanied by the cries of immortal cranes, like a paradise descended upon the mortal world.
A massive plaque hung above the gate, bearing four characters written in strokes that danced like dragons and flew like phoenixes—Cloud Creek Academy.
Simply standing here, one could feel an immense pressure, as well as supreme reverence for knowledge and power.
Before the academy stood an enormous plaza capable of holding tens of thousands. It was already packed shoulder to shoulder with people. Young men and women from all across the Skywind Kingdom had gathered here with their families, each wearing an expression of tension, excitement, or pride.
Today was the first day of Cloud Creek Academy's annual admissions registration.
Lin Xiao took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in his heart, and stepped into the crowd.
More than a dozen registration stations had been set up across the plaza, each with a long line stretching before it. Lin Xiao casually chose one and silently joined the end of the queue.
"Hey, did you hear? Even the young master of the Royal City Li Family came for this year's admissions! They say he's only sixteen and already a Body Refinement Fourth Level genius!"
"And that's not all! Miss Su Yue, the City Lord's Mansion's daughter, is said to possess a natural spirit body. Her cultivation advances by leaps and bounds every day, and she's one of this year's hottest candidates!"
"Sigh, compared to true favored children of heaven like them, we should count our ancestors' incense burning high if we can pass the test and enter the outer academy."
The discussions around him gave Lin Xiao a clearer understanding of just how fierce this admissions process would be. Nearly everyone here was an outstanding talent from their region, and neither talent nor background could be lacking.
Just then, a voice brimming with contempt and disdain rang out behind him.
"Where did this country bumpkin come from? Dressed in such rags, and he still dares register at Cloud Creek Academy? Why not piss in a puddle and take a good look at what you are first!"
Lin Xiao frowned slightly and turned around.
Three richly dressed youths stood behind him. The leader had fair skin and arrogant eyes, and he was sizing Lin Xiao up as though looking at trash. The two lackeys behind him wore obsequious grins as they pointed at Lin Xiao.
[System Notification: Scanning target: Wang Chen] [Realm: Body Refinement Second Level] [Technique: Tidal Wave Art (Beginner)] [Background: Direct descendant of the Wang family, cloth merchants of Cloud Creek City] [System Notification: Scanning target: Lackey A/B] [Realm: Body Refinement First Level]
Another one surnamed Wang. Lin Xiao's gaze turned several degrees colder.
He ignored the provocation, merely turning back around and continuing to wait in line. To him, a clown leaping about on a stage like this did not even deserve to make him speak.
Yet his disregard thoroughly enraged the youth named Wang Chen.
"Kid, this young master is talking to you! Are you deaf?" Wang Chen strode forward and reached for Lin Xiao's shoulder.
In Wang Chen's eyes, a poor boy of low birth like Lin Xiao should have dropped to his knees and begged for mercy the moment he revealed a little of his status and strength.
Yet before his hand could touch even the corner of Lin Xiao's clothes, an icy, bone-piercing killing intent instantly enveloped him!
It was a tangible killing aura that seemed as though it could only have been tempered amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
Wang Chen's body stiffened abruptly, and his outstretched hand froze in midair. He stared at Lin Xiao's back in horror as cold sweat instantly beaded across his forehead.
What was going on? That country bumpkin's eyes... why were they so terrifying?
"If you don't want to die, get lost."
Lin Xiao still did not turn around. He merely squeezed out those four words from between his teeth.
The voice was not loud, yet it struck Wang Chen and his two lackeys in the heart like a heavy hammer.
"Y-you dare threaten me? Do you know who I am?!" Wang Chen shouted fiercely, though an involuntary tremble had crept into his voice.
At that moment, two guards clad in the academy's standard armor strode over and barked coldly, "No disturbances are permitted before the academy gates! Anyone causing trouble again will have their registration qualifications revoked immediately!"
The auras of those two guards were both clearly above the Body Refinement Fifth Level!
The moment Wang Chen saw the guards, his arrogance deflated. He shot Lin Xiao's back a venomous glare and gritted his teeth. "Kid, just you wait! Once we enter the academy, I'll show you how I deal with you!"
With that, he led his two lackeys away and shamefacedly joined another queue.
A small disturbance had thus come to an end. Yet the people waiting nearby now looked at Lin Xiao differently. Some pitied him, some gloated over his misfortune, while a small number showed a trace of admiration for his composure in the face of danger.
Lin Xiao could not care less. His mind was already wholly focused on the upcoming registration test.
About an hour later, it was finally his turn.
The person handling registration was a middle-aged instructor with a goatee. Without even raising his head, he asked, "Name, age, hometown, cultivation."
"Lin Xiao. Sixteen years old. Qingyang City. Body Refinement Third Level," Lin Xiao answered calmly.
At the words "Qingyang City," the instructor's brush visibly paused. He lifted his eyelids and studied Lin Xiao with some surprise. "Qingyang City? A remote little place like that can produce a Body Refinement Third Level cultivator?"
His tone carried the innate superiority of a resident from a great city.
Lin Xiao said nothing.
"Do you have a letter of recommendation?" the instructor asked again.
"No."
The instructor curled his lip, and the contempt on his face deepened. He pointed at a black crystal more than a person tall beside them and said impatiently, "Go test yourself. Give the 'Stone of Strength' your full-force strike. Light up three segments, and you pass the preliminary test."
This Stone of Strength was a tool the academy used to test applicants' foundational strength. It was divided into ten segments. One segment represented the strength of the early Body Refinement First Level; three segments meant the peak of the Body Refinement First Level, and so on.
When Wang Chen had tested earlier, his punch had lit five segments, meeting the standard for the middle stage of the Body Refinement Second Level and drawing no small amount of astonished praise from the crowd.
Now, everyone's gaze focused on Lin Xiao.
"Hmph, a country bumpkin with no background dared offend Young Master Wang? I bet he can't even light up two segments!"
"Body Refinement Third Level? Anyone can brag. He'll show his true colors soon enough."
Not far away, Wang Chen stood with his arms folded, his face full of malicious delight as he waited to watch the show.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lin Xiao slowly walked before the Stone of Strength.
He did not spread his stance and build up power for a long time as the others had done. He merely stood casually, then threw an utterly ordinary punch.
The punch looked limp and weak, without the slightest force behind it. It did not even stir a whisper of wind.
"What the hell is that? Didn't he eat?"
"I thought he had something impressive. Turns out he's a silver spearhead with a wax shaft!"
Mocking laughter erupted from all sides.
Yet in the next instant, every laugh came to an abrupt halt.
Lin Xiao's fist landed lightly upon the black stone surface.
There was no earth-shaking boom, only an almost inaudible hum.
Then, from the bottom of the dormant Stone of Strength, the first segment, second segment, third segment... light began spreading upward in a crushing, withering sweep!
Four segments! Five segments! Six segments! Seven segments! Eight segments!
The light surged forward like bamboo splitting beneath a blade, racing all the way to the top of the eighth segment. Even the bottom of the ninth segment faintly glimmered!
Body Refinement Third Level Peak!
The entire registration station fell into dead silence.
Everyone seemed to have been struck by a body-freezing spell, staring dumbfoundedly at the dazzling crystal with blank minds.
The goateed instructor's brush fell onto the table with a smack. His mouth hung wide enough to fit an egg, and the expression on his face shifted from contempt to astonishment, then horror, before finally becoming profound shock!
Not far away, the vicious grin on Wang Chen's face completely froze. As if he had seen a ghost, he stared fixedly at the stone, his eyes full of disbelief.
Body Refinement Third Level Peak? How was that possible?! How could a country bumpkin from Qingyang City possess such terrifying strength?!
"Gulp."
No one knew who had swallowed so hard, but the sound broke the dead silence.
Immediately afterward, a tidal wave of shocked cries erupted from the crowd!
"My heavens! Nine segments! He almost lit up nine segments!"
"Body Refinement Third Level Peak! And he's only sixteen!"
"W-where did this monster come from?!"
In an instant, all mockery and doubt transformed into awe and shock. In this world where strength reigned supreme, Lin Xiao had answered every slight in the most direct and forceful way possible.
The goateed instructor finally came back to his senses, and the way he looked at Lin Xiao changed at once. It was the burning gaze of someone who had discovered an unparalleled treasure.
He hurriedly rose from his seat, his face piled with a warm smile as he personally handed Lin Xiao a bronze token engraved with a number. "Ahem... Student Lin Xiao, your talent is extraordinary, truly extraordinary! This is your registration token. Please keep it safe. In three days, bring this token to the inner plaza for the official entrance examination."
His attitude was completely different from before.
Lin Xiao accepted the token. A number was engraved upon it—"735."
He ignored the stunned gazes around him and did not look at Wang Chen, whose complexion had turned the color of pig liver. He merely nodded to the instructor before turning to leave.
He hid his achievements and fame deep within.
"Hey, classmate, please wait!"
Just then, a hearty voice called out to him.
Lin Xiao turned around and saw a burly, dark-skinned youth with an honest-looking face striding quickly toward him.
"Hello, I'm Shi Lei, from Iron Rock City." The youth scratched his head and flashed a row of white teeth, his smile utterly sincere.
"Brother, you were incredible! That punch got my blood boiling! How about being friends?"
[System Notification: Scanning target: Shi Lei] [Realm: Body Refinement Third Level] [Talent: Innate Divine Strength (Not Fully Awakened)]
Lin Xiao looked at him. In Shi Lei's eyes, he saw no trace of impurity, only pure admiration and goodwill.
He nodded. "Lin Xiao."
Just then, another voice rang out, crisp as a golden oriole's song.
"And me, and me! I'm Su Yue, a local from Cloud Creek City. Classmate Lin Xiao, how did you pull off that punch just now?"
"It clearly looked as though you didn't exert any force. Why was it so powerful?"
A girl in a pale yellow dress stepped closer as well. Bright-eyed and white-toothed, with a lively bearing, she studied Lin Xiao with large curious eyes that fluttered like butterflies.
[System Notification: Scanning target: Su Yue] [Realm: Body Refinement Third Level] [Talent: Primary Spirit Body (Cultivation speed slightly increased)]
She was actually the City Lord's Mansion's daughter.
Lin Xiao looked at the young man and woman before him. One possessed Innate Divine Strength, while the other possessed a spirit body. Both were genuine geniuses without question.
He knew that his academy life might not be as lonely as he had imagined.
"Just a little trick," Lin Xiao replied flatly.
Even in the face of two geniuses' enthusiasm, he maintained his own distinctive calm.
Shi Lei and Su Yue exchanged a glance. Both saw a trace of helplessness and even greater interest in the other's eyes. This Lin Xiao was not only unfathomably strong—his personality was this cool as well.
"Lin Xiao, how about the three of us form a team for the examination three days from now?" Shi Lei invited him. "I'm strong, and I can take hits. Su Yue is skilled in movement techniques and can support us. With you as our heavy hitter, our three-person team can definitely sweep through the examination!"
Cloud Creek Academy's entrance examination was not a matter of fighting alone. Many stages required teamwork.
Lin Xiao considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."
He had always been used to going alone, but he also understood that in a place like the academy, having a few reliable allies was better than being by himself.
Shi Lei and Su Yue both broke into happy smiles when he agreed.
The three chatted briefly, exchanged contact information, and agreed to meet again three days later.
After parting with them, Lin Xiao walked alone along the road back to the inn.
He could still sense many indistinct gazes spying on him from behind. The commotion he had caused at the registration station today had been too great; he had likely drawn the attention of quite a few interested parties.
The corner of his mouth lifted into an almost imperceptible curve.
This was precisely the effect he wanted.
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