Monster! Huo De: What the Hell Do You Know!

The test was held inside a room.

By the time Hun Cang arrived, a queue had already formed inside, which surprised him somewhat.

"Didn't expect there to be so many people, did you?" Huo De said with a smile.

Hun Cang nodded.

Huo De glanced around, then gave slight nods to several mentors he knew before explaining, "Since Jia Nan Academy was founded, it has followed a five-year system. New students join every year, so there's never any shortage of people challenging the Inner Academy."

Every mentor had the chance to recommend their own students, and the number of slots varied according to the mentor's rank, whether Black-tier or Yellow-tier.

For example, Huo De only had two slots each time.

Unfortunately, none of his students had shown particularly outstanding talent for a long time, so he had not recommended anyone to take part in the Inner Academy assessment midway through their studies for quite some time.

That was because the midterm assessment was far stricter than the annual assessment, accepting only ten exceptionally performing students each time.

Hun Cang took a rough look around. There were at least three hundred applicants, so the competition was indeed rather fierce.

"This round alone will eliminate at least half of them. Don't worry," Huo De encouraged him after noticing his actions.

Hun Cang paused. When was I ever nervous? I was just curious.

Soon, it was Hun Cang's turn.

"Old Huo, it seems you haven't recommended a student in half a year." A mentor sidled up to Huo De and deliberately puffed out his chest, as though afraid Huo De might miss the Black-tier Mentor badge pinned there.

Huo De snorted. "Xinuo, don't get cocky. I'll have one soon enough."

Xinuo smiled. "You're that confident in this student of yours? I heard he joined Jia Nan Academy less than two months ago."

"So what?" Huo De folded his arms and shot him a sidelong glance.

Xinuo choked on his words and simply fell silent, preparing to see just what skills the person Huo De had brought possessed to make him so confident.

"Just place your hand on it," the mentor beside him said when Hun Cang arrived before an unremarkable stone tablet.

He nodded slightly and placed his hand on it, then felt the Dou Qi within his body being stirred.

Should I suppress it a little? Hun Cang hesitated internally for a second before deciding against it. He still did not know what the earlier test results had been like. If he hid his strength and happened to get eliminated because of it, that would be quite a joke.

"Nineteen years old, Seven Star Grand Dou Shi. Not bad. You may leave now." After recording the result, the mentor handed Hun Cang a jade token and told him it was his pass for the assessment.

Knowing that he had passed, Hun Cang sighed in relief. He turned, waved to the dumbfounded Huo De in greeting, and left the scene directly.

"Old Huo, what's with that expression? It's just a Seven Star Grand Dou Shi. That's nothing remarkable in Jia Nan Academy, is it?" Xinuo's mood soured when he noticed Huo De's shocked expression.

After all, the three disciples he had recommended this time were all peak Grand Dou Shi, and one of them even showed faint signs of breaking through to Dou Ling.

Yet even so, he had not worn the ignorant, country-bumpkin expression Huo De had.

"What the hell do you know?" Huo De came back to his senses, glared fiercely at him, and left.

Once outside, Huo De could not help taking several deep breaths. He muttered under his breath, "Good heavens, what kind of monster did I bring into Jia Nan Academy?"

Searching his conscience, Huo De admitted that, now middle-aged, he did brew himself a cup of red jade goji tea after dinner every day. But that absolutely did not mean there was anything wrong with his memory.

The last time he had seen Hun Cang in Heping Town had been just over a month ago. Back then, Hun Cang had seemingly only been a Dou Shi, right?

What the fuck? In the blink of an eye, how had he become a Seven Star Grand Dou Shi? At this rate, if he participated next year, wouldn't he be at least a Dou Wang, or perhaps even a Dou Emperor?

"Something's wrong. This cultivation speed is definitely not normal." Huo De shook his head repeatedly. None of the past geniuses who had appeared in the academy had been like Hun Cang.

Report this to the academy!

The thought flashed through Huo De's mind. Just as he took a step forward, he hesitated again. "No, I'm only one slot away from becoming a Black-tier Mentor. If I miss such a good opportunity, how long will I have to wait for the next one?"

Better not meddle. There were so many old monsters in the academy. With them around, Hun Cang alone probably could not stir up much trouble.

Besides, Jia Nan Academy did not have any treasures worth coveting. If there was anything that had recently drawn attention, it was the Falling Heart Flame beneath the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower.

Even Han Feng, the Medicine Emperor of the Black Corner Region, had apparently failed to take that thing away. Could a Grand Dou Shi like Hun Cang possibly do it?

Huo De shook his head. The aftereffects of the wine at noon were a little too strong; it was already getting to his head.

Afterward, he eagerly went to share the joy of his impending promotion to Black-tier Mentor with his wife, completely tossing the matter to the back of his mind.

After leaving the test site, Hun Cang headed toward the small courtyard where he lived.

Although Jia Nan Academy was extremely famous across the continent, he truly had little interest in sightseeing.

Cultivating, increasing his strength, and taking the Falling Heart Flame were the most important matters at present.

Speaking of the Falling Heart Flame, Hun Cang did have one concern. If it sensed the several Heavenly Flames he had devoured, would it make some move in advance?

After all, the higher-ranked a Heavenly Flame was, the stronger its spiritual intelligence.

Especially since the Falling Heart Flame was imprisoned within the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower. According to the normal plot, by the time Xiao Yan encountered it a few years later, the Falling Heart Flame had already developed consciousness and a form. Even Han Feng, a half-step Dou Zong, had suffered greatly at its hands.

"It should be fine. I'll take things one step at a time. Once I've roughly recovered to Dou Wang, I can probably give it a try." Hun Cang was confident in dealing with the Falling Heart Flame. What concerned him more was how he would escape after obtaining it.

Just as Hun Cang walked while thinking, a figure came stumbling toward him from the distance behind him, followed by seven or eight vicious-looking people.

"Stop!"

"Don't run!"

Those seven or eight people shouted loudly, paying no attention at all to the other students passing by.

On the contrary, whenever the other students saw those people, they fled in other directions as if they had seen ghosts.

"Move! Move aside! Get out of my way!" Blood stained the corners of Xiao Ning's mouth and his nostrils, and his clothes were somewhat torn.

At that moment, he had only one thought: he had to find Mentor Ruolin immediately.

Tomorrow was the final day of the deadline he had promised that senior student. He had yet to obtain a Magical Core when he unexpectedly received word that Xiao Yu had been asked to go to the southeastern corner of the forest and fight Chen He. If she won, she would be given a Magical Core.

Moreover, she had to bring Xiao Mei with her.

Although Xiao Ning had done everything he could to stop them, it was useless. Xiao Yu insisted on going, determined to win back a Shadow Leopard Magical Core for her younger brother. Xiao Mei, filled with guilt, was also willing to help.

Unable to persuade them otherwise, Xiao Ning waited anxiously. When they still did not return after a long time, he went out to look for them, only to be blocked by several of Luo Ling's lackeys. From them, he learned that this was all part of Luo Ling's scheme.

Like a madman, Xiao Ning broke out of their encirclement and prepared to seek help from the academy mentors.

Mentor Ruolin thinks highly of my sister. She'll definitely be willing to help. Clinging to a sliver of hope, Xiao Ning crashed into someone and was sent heavily to the ground.

He looked up, abruptly froze, and blurted out, "King Cang?"