Entering Class A

"Come on, let's try too."

Before the Wind Severing Fist stone stele, Li Yun suddenly rose and said to the younger sister beside him.

Li Zhining's gaze stirred slightly. She stilled her little hand, which had been turning faintly, and nodded.

In truth, she had already felt out a few threads of the true meaning just now and felt she had stepped through the door, but she had not immediately gotten up to take the test. Instead, she had been waiting.

Waiting for the older brother beside her to grasp it too.

Ever since she had become sensible, she had noticed that her brother was growing more and more impatient in matters of cultivation.

After spending so much time together on ordinary days, she could also faintly sense what her brother was thinking.

Among the three siblings at home, her talent and Eldest Sister's were both higher than her brother's. Eldest Sister went without saying; from childhood, she had been taken in by a famous master. But she and her brother remained in the residence, and inevitably, the people around them would always compare and praise them.

As the older brother, Li Yun had the worst cultivation talent among the three siblings. Because of this, in the Martial Arts Arena, every time her cultivation progress surpassed his, he would work especially hard, training madly through the night...

"Let's go."

Li Yun patted his backside and stood up. His gaze swept around, and he saw a familiar figure at another part of the stone stele. It was Li Yuanzhao.

But right now, the latter was wholly focused on comprehension and did not notice him, just as he himself had no idea when the other had arrived.

Almost instinctively, he glanced beside Li Yuanzhao, but he did not see Li Hao's figure, and could not help frowning.

But he did not pay it much mind. With a cold snort in his heart, he led his sister toward the center of the square.

"If your demonstration isn't up to standard, then go back and practice some more," Li Yun said to his sister.

Li Zhining nodded slightly.

In front of the middle-aged man, five people were currently demonstrating. Some onlookers were also standing outside, trying to find inspiration and lessons from the moves others displayed.

Suddenly, the siblings saw a familiar figure standing among them too. It was Li Hao.

"Him?"

Li Zhining was puzzled.

"He must have run over to steal a look and learn by watching."

Li Yun raised his brows, a sneer appearing deep in his eyes. Though he did not know when Li Hao had come over, it was definitely later than when they had gone up the mountain. Even he was not confident he had mastered it, let alone the latter.

Outside the field, Li Hao waited quietly. His extraordinary perception let him notice the people approaching behind him, but he did not turn his head, nor did he pay them any attention.

He had taken the initiative to greet them many times, only to receive distance and evasion in return. Back then, he had known that the pair of siblings who had once run happily into the courtyard every day to listen to stories were already gone.

Very soon, the demonstrations inside the field ended.

Of the five, only three passed. The other two were still short of the right degree of fire, unable to enter the door, their postures inaccurate.

"Let's go."

Li Yun brought his sister forward. Facing the middle-aged man who was a head taller than him, his expression remained proud. "What we comprehended is the Wind Severing Fist."

Seeing the two's identities from their attire, the middle-aged man nodded slightly and revealed a faint smile. "Please demonstrate."

The siblings immediately opened their stances and displayed it. Very soon, they finished one set of fist techniques.

When Li Yun turned, his waist did not move, and the strength throughout his body failed to reach his fist, causing its momentum to be somewhat weaker.

The middle-aged man was secretly astonished and asked, "How long have you been comprehending it?"

"Half a day," Li Yun said calmly, though there was a trace of pride in his eyes. He faintly felt that he seemed to have made a small mistake, and the result might not be too good.

But after all, he had only comprehended it for half a day.

The original Class A admission standard was three days of comprehension. His progress must already be extremely impressive.

"Impressive!"

Sure enough, just as Li Yun had expected, the middle-aged man before him let out a sigh tinged with amazement. This made the corners of the boy's mouth lift slightly without his realizing it...

"Little girl, you have already entered the door and passed."

The middle-aged man took a Waist Tag from his waist and handed it to Li Zhining beside him.

Li Yun was slightly stunned.

"Your fist technique is still lacking a bit of fire. Practice some more, and I estimate you'll master it very soon too," the middle-aged man said to Li Yun.

Li Yun's expression turned a little awkward. He turned his head to look at his sister. "When did you comprehend it?"

Li Zhining put away the Waist Tag and quickly said, "Just now."

In truth, she was not lying either. She had indeed comprehended it not long ago, at most half an hour earlier.

"To enter the door of a high-grade cultivation method in half a day—geniuses like you are rare even in the Class A Institute," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

"So that means there are others who can do it too?" Li Yun's expression changed slightly.

"There were a few yesterday," the middle-aged man said with a smile. The quality of the disciples recruited this time was excellent, quite a bit stronger than previous years.

Li Yun felt his cheeks burning hot, and his fists clenched unconsciously.

At this moment, the middle-aged man's gaze noticed the figure walking over. He looked up and saw that he was also from the Divine General Residence, and immediately smiled. "You've come to demonstrate too?"

"Mm."

Li Hao nodded.

Hearing this, the siblings could not help glancing at Li Hao. Li Yun's mood suddenly improved a little. No matter what, there was someone to cushion the bottom.

"Please," the middle-aged man indicated.

Li Hao was also very straightforward. He raised his hand and swung two punches. The force of his fists was like blades, with the faint ringing cry of iron edges cutting through the air.

The middle-aged man's expression abruptly changed, and he looked at Li Hao in shock.

Li Hao had already withdrawn his fists and said, "Is that enough?"

The middle-aged man came back to his senses and could not help saying, "You came yesterday?"

"Today."

"..."

The middle-aged man was slightly stunned. Another possibility could not help surfacing in his heart, making him suddenly turn cold with alarm. Not daring to think too deeply, he immediately took out a Waist Tag and handed it to Li Hao. "This is the Class A Institute Waist Tag."

The Waist Tag was white, but on one side was a black character: A.

Li Hao took it, glanced at it, casually put it away, thanked him, and turned to leave, leaving behind two slightly stunned gazes at his back.

"He, he counts as passing too?"

Only after Li Hao had walked far away could Li Yun no longer hold back.

The middle-aged man withdrew his gaze, looked at him, and nodded. "His Wind Severing Fist is at least at the nimble level, perhaps even... perfected."

Li Hao's display had been too brief, so he could not judge the exact level.

But without a doubt, he had absolutely entered the door.

"Nimble? How is that possible!" Li Yun stared wide-eyed.

He knew the other had only left the residence with them today and had gone up the mountain even later than he had. How could he possibly, in such a short time, comprehend it to the nimble level?! His own sister had only just entered the door! Thinking of this, he could not help looking back, staring at that figure in disbelief.

Li Zhining stared blankly at that receding back. In her mind, praises some of the adults in the residence had once given Li Hao suddenly surfaced. "That child is truly clever."

"That's right, terribly precocious. I've never seen such a clever child. Whatever you say, he understands with the slightest hint."

"A pity he can only temper his body. Otherwise, with such a clever mind, he would definitely become a top-tier prodigy in the future."

That was right... the adults had only ever said his upper limit in cultivation was low, but no one had ever said he was not clever enough.

The little girl gently bit her lip and slightly tightened her grip on the Waist Tag in her hand.

"I'm back."

Li Hao jogged quickly back before the two old men.

When the two saw the Class A Waist Tag in his hand, both understood. Shen Yunqing smiled and said, "Congratulations."

"You are too kind, senior." Li Hao smiled slightly, then said, "Shall we... play another game?"

This kid... The two exchanged a glance, both speechless inside. Why did it feel like this kid was even more addicted to chess than they were?

"Fine, one more game." Zhao Zongyuan had already reviewed the game just now and knew his own oversight, so at this moment he also had the courage to fight again.

Li Hao was delighted. He immediately sat down. "Senior, please."

The two once again slaughtered each other across the chessboard.

To avoid making the other side stop fighting, Li Hao was not too fierce either. He simply dragged things out slowly, then won by a slight advantage.

And so, an interesting scene appeared on the square. The other disciples were all comprehending and bitterly practicing before the stone steles, displaying fists and kicks.

In the corner, however, a young boy was fighting back and forth with two old men across a chessboard. From time to time came Zhao Zongyuan's annoyed shouts and Shen Yunqing's loud laughter, drawing many gazes from the other disciples who had entered the academy.

When they saw that peculiar sight, a strange look appeared in many people's eyes.

"You brat, were you playing chess from inside your mother's womb?!"

After losing until his eyes were red, Zhao Zongyuan was so angry he wanted to throw down his pieces.

Li Hao smiled.

Shen Yunqing asked curiously, "With your chess skill, you must have spent no small amount of thought on it. How do you usually cultivate?"

This is how I cultivate... Li Hao said in his heart, but on the surface, he only laughed foolishly.

As the two old men played chess, they chatted with Li Hao about some matters inside the academy.

"Boy, did you know? Yesterday, a Prince entered school, also into Class A. I heard he only used one hour to comprehend the cultivation method."

"That girl from the Nangong Family came too. Her talent is also quite terrifying. I heard she still isn't the strongest of this generation in her family."

"Boy, these are all your opponents in the Class A Institute from now on. You'd better pay attention."

Faced with the two old men's concern, Li Hao listened until his head felt swollen and said to them, "Can't we just focus properly on playing chess?"

"..."

Both old men stared.

They had quite a good impression of this kid, which was why they had gone out of their way to tell him. In the end, he was not even willing to listen?

Chess, chess. So you came to Tan Palace Academy just to play chess, did you!

Zhao Zongyuan grew so angry that he became serious again, wholly focused. But after a while, his face turned ashen, and he lost by a tiny margin once more...

As the sun leaned toward the western mountains, Li Hao was absorbed in the game when he suddenly heard a voice beside him. "Hao Ge?"

Li Hao turned to look. It was that kid Li Yuanzhao, who was looking at him cautiously.

"Mm?"

"I got the Waist Tag," Li Yuanzhao said. They had arrived late, and he had also comprehended for half a day.

"Oh." Li Hao nodded, not finding it strange. This kid's aptitude was about the same as Li Zhining's. Though he looked tiger-headed and tiger-brained, his little eyes were full of sly fox light. He was very clever.

"Well... they're waiting for us at the foot of the mountain so we can return to the residence together. Hao Ge, what do you think..."

"Let them go back first. We'll go back later," Li Hao said.

Opposite him, the two old men's faces darkened. This kid had gotten addicted to winning, hadn't he?

"No more, no more." Zhao Zongyuan waved his hand. "It's not early anymore. You go back first."

"It's fine. I can see."

"You brat..." The two were made unsure whether to laugh or cry by Li Hao. Shen Yunqing said, "That's it for today. If you want to play chess, brat, we'll compete again after school starts."

Li Hao still wanted to continue, but seeing that the two old men seemed to have lost all interest from losing, he could only avoid forcing others against their will. He said, "All right then. Many thanks to you two seniors for your hospitality today."

With that, he placed a piece, establishing victory in this game.

Looking at the experience now in hand, only then did Li Hao rise with a smile. He bowed to the two, then brought Li Yuanzhao with him and leisurely turned to descend the mountain.

"To think the Divine General Residence actually has a kid like that. Truly strange." The two watched the backs of the two boys leaving one after the other, both with strange expressions. They exchanged a glance, then both shook their heads and laughed.