I Failed the Entrance Exam?

Ningdong Airport.

Luo Jun hummed a little tune as he walked out of the station, got into a taxi he had booked in advance, and headed towards the Ningdong Academy in the west of the city.

Why not go home and check on things first?

Luo Jun no longer has a "home".

Once he passed the exam, he could move into the dormitory at the Explorer Academy. So, before going to Lingyun Island, Luo Jun had already canceled his previous rental and packed all his luggage into his carry-on suitcase.

Anyway, he's a grown man, and besides the balance in his card, all his possessions are just a few sets of clothes and toiletries for all four seasons, so it's easy for him to pack. According to his previous plan, after returning from Lingyun Island, he could just go directly to the academy to check in.

The main gate of the Ningdong Explorer Academy is located on the main peak of Ningyuan Mountain. There is a fence at the foot of the mountain, and a guard post is set up at the entrance. The guard post is nominally a forest ranger, but in reality, it is the academy's security guard, responsible for stopping ordinary people who accidentally enter the area. Behind the guard post, there is a Concealing Barrier is maintained all year round. Only those who can use their Yuan Qi can see through the shield and see the steps leading to the gate halfway up the mountain.

The area around Ningyuan Mountain was all undeveloped wilderness, without even a dirt road. The driver could only drop him off nearby, and for the last part, Luo Jun had to carry his suitcase himself. With his current wrist strength, the weight was no different from a feather, and he walked briskly until he reached the guard post.

The entrance door was locked, so Luo Jun stepped forward and greeted him, "Master, I'm a freshman at the academy, here to register."

Inside the guard booth was a chubby middle-aged man scrolling through his phone. He glanced at Luo Jun, then gestured towards the access control gate next to the booth with his chin. "The candidates' information is all online; just use facial recognition..."

"Luo Jun, the 'Luo' in 'net' and the 'Jun' in 'precipitous,' the one with the mountain radical... This year's new student's ID number is..."

After confirming several times, the school indeed had no information about Luo Jun. Luo Jun himself also called, but to no avail...

Luo Jun was stunned. "No information about me? Impossible!"

He can't get in touch with his Master now, and he doesn't know anyone else in the academy. If there are no documents in the office, he really can't prove his identity.

"Uncle, please let me in. I need to check with the school teachers!" Luo Jun pleaded. "Teacher Yu, who taught me for the Subject Three, and Teacher Song, who did the final interview, will definitely remember me!"

Luo Jun glanced at the uncle and nodded, "Understood, thank you, Master!"

As he spoke, he picked up the landline phone in the guard booth and dialed the office number:

"Hey, this is the main gate guard post. One of my students keeps having trouble getting his face scanned. Could you help me check it out?"

"Kid, it's not that I don't trust you..." The security guard shrugged after hanging up the phone. "Anyone who knows about the academy must be in the circle. We're all cultivators; who could be stopped by such a barrier? You came here on your own initiative, so you're probably not lying."

The security guard peeked out and said, "Don't worry, kid, let me make a call and ask."

"Master, do you think this is broken?" Luo Jun frowned and said, "I've tried scanning several times but it still can't get it right..."

"So convenient?" Luo Jun walked to the machine, posed, and faced the camera, but after several attempts, it displayed "No information recorded."

As he spoke, Luo Jun picked up his phone, but the security guard waved his hand, saying, "Let me ask again..."

"But right now, I don't have your information, so as the gatekeeper, I can't let you in. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

The security guard reported the information to the office, and after a while, he frowned and looked at Luo Jun: "The office said they don't have your information? Kid, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I took four rounds of exams, and I can name the examiners in each round. Finally, the college notified me of my successful admission; I even have the call records..."

"What's your name, child?"

After saying that, Luo Jun turned and left the guard post. He walked around the railing for a while, found a blind spot without surveillance cameras, and lightly jumped over it.

The gatekeeper made it very clear: the fence couldn't stop Cultivators, but if they passed by, he would be implicated. That made things easier; Luo Jun could go up the mountain and ask him himself.

With his suitcase tucked under his arm, Luo Jun strode briskly up the mountain and soon saw the pavilions and towers built against the mountainside.

We're almost at the college campus.

Hmm? Someone's coming?

Luo Jun noticed that several figures in security guard uniforms were rushing in this direction, their target clearly him.

Were we discovered?

Sure enough, such a large Explorer Academy is definitely not just protected by a single fence; there are probably detection devices all over the mountain. Once an intruder enters from outside the main gate, it will alert the security department.

"Who goes there!" several security guards shouted, pointing at Luo Jun from a distance.

"I'm a student!" Luo Jun raised his hand. "The information might have been entered incorrectly. Could you take me to see a teacher at the college?"

"Okay, I'll take you there. Don't move, follow me..." the head security guard said, leading his men toward Luo Jun. But Luo Jun keenly noticed that Luo Jun was hiding something in his right hand.

An offensive Noble Phantasm! It's probably a uniform weapon issued by the academy, similar to a stun baton!

Luo Jun narrowed his eyes. They didn't have any internal energy, and their movements on the mountain path seemed clumsy. At most, they were at the Body Refinement Realm.

Luo Jun made his judgment and walked forward. The moment the security guards raised their magical artifacts, he preemptively struck, knocking several people unconscious with lightning speed.

They were all at the lower level of the Body Refinement Realm... These security guards responsible for patrolling the outer area mainly dealt with ordinary people and wild beasts who had wandered in by mistake, and their cultivation levels were not high.

After taking them down, Luo Jun continued heading towards the academy. Losing contact with these security guards would definitely attract the academy's attention, but Luo Jun wasn't afraid to escalate the situation. Being unjustly removed from his student status meant that the bigger the incident, the more likely he was to see a teacher or even the dean. As long as he didn't kill anyone or cause a major disturbance, things would be fine in the end.

Sure enough, before Luo Jun could even enter the academy area, several more figures rushed over and blocked his way.

These figures moved with incredible speed, and their bodies shone with the light of qi. Clearly, the academy realized that the intruders were not simple and was now serious!

"Halt! Who dares to trespass on the Ningdong Academy!"

The man in the lead was tall and had a hideous scar on his face. Upon closer inspection, Luo Jun realized that this was Zheng Hu, the examiner for the Subject One during the entrance exam!

I think he was a martial arts instructor, so why is he working as a security guard? Oh well... back in high school, the PE teacher would always step in if anything happened at school...

"Teacher Zheng!" Luo Jun shouted, "I'm a test taker! I took the Subject One) that you presided over!"

Zheng Hu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Since you failed the exam, try again next year. If you barge into the academy now and make a scene, you'll likely be disqualified from future exams!"

"I didn't fail!" Luo Jun explained, "I passed, but for some reason, the college doesn't have my information, the security guards won't let me in, and I don't know anyone there, so I had no choice but to resort to this!"

"Passed?" Zheng Hu frowned. His First Checkpoint task was simply to register the candidates. Among the thousands of candidates, he had no recollection of Luo Jun at all.

"Do you remember that guy with the White Wristband who was attacked by Fourth Division Prisoner during my Subject Three?" Luo Jun mentioned a news story from back then. "That candidate used a trap to Counter-kill the prisoner and passed the test. That person was me!"

"It's you?" Zheng Hu naturally knew this.

"I believe there must be some mistake. I'm willing to cooperate with the investigation!" Seeing that there was a chance, Luo Jun immediately put down his suitcase, raised his hands, and showed his sincerity.

Zheng Hu glanced at Luo Jun, took out a pair of handcuffs from his Hundred Treasure Box, and tossed them over. "If you're willing to cooperate, wear these."

Luo Jun took it and saw that it was a rare-quality treasure. Its effect was similar to Old Yuan's Sealing Necklace, capable of sealing one hundred breaths of vital energy, but it could also seal the Hundred Treasure Box at the same time. The material was extremely sturdy, making it very difficult to break free. Ordinary Cultivators would have virtually no ability to resist once they wore it.

Luo Jun didn't care at all and quickly put on the handcuffs. Zheng Hu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. Several security guards behind him walked up, two of them searched Luo Jun from the left and right, and another opened his suitcase to check it. After confirming that there were no dangerous items, they closed it, picked him up, and carried him into the academy.

(End of this chapter)