Just as Song Jun was taking Jiang Hao and Lin Qiu to the Assessment Room!
Meanwhile.
In another corridor leading to the Assessment Room.
Lin Fan walked with his hands behind his back, his posture proud and upright. Two students in Key Class uniforms followed behind him.
"Brother Fan, it's really generous of you to come watch the assessment in person today. You're giving those guys quite an honor."
One of his underlings, Zhao Kun, flattered him.
"Exactly!" His other underling, Sun Ping, hurriedly chimed in. "I heard your younger brother is taking the assessment today, Brother Fan. With your guidance and that bottle of High-grade Nutrient Solution, getting into the Key Class is practically a sure thing!"
Lin Fan's expression didn't change, but the arrogance in his eyes grew even stronger.
"That's not necessarily true!"
"We won't know until the assessment results are out!"
"I'm going over to see what the Jiang Hao who made my younger brother stumble is all about!"
The Assessment Room.
It was a spacious, multipurpose hall, larger than the Class 3-2 Training Room and equipped with better facilities.
Song Jun had just arrived with Jiang Hao and Lin Qiu.
Two groups of people were already waiting inside the hall.
One was Wang Tao, the instructor of Class 3-1.
The other was Liu Mei, the instructor of Class 3-3.
Each had a student standing behind them, brimming with energy and looking confident.
Clearly, they were the students from Class 3-1 and Class 3-3 who qualified for the assessment.
"Old Song's here."
Wang Tao greeted him first.
Liu Mei was a stern-looking middle-aged woman. She nodded at Song Jun.
Then both their gazes fell on the people behind Song Jun.
They weren't surprised to see Lin Qiu and the others.
But when they saw Jiang Hao, whose expression was calm, both of them froze.
"Old Song," Wang Tao said in surprise. "Who's this?"
Liu Mei frowned as well.
"According to the compiled information, Lin Qiu should be the only one in your Class 3-2 who met the requirements."
"Where'd this other one come from?"
For once, a mysterious smile appeared on Song Jun's usually impassive iron face.
"This is Jiang Hao."
"A newly risen genius in our Class 3-2."
"I have high hopes for him."
At those words.
Wang Tao and Liu Mei both looked shocked!
Everyone knew the name "Iron Face" Song Jun throughout Eighth Martial High!
He had an exceptionally discerning eye!
He was famous for being strict.
Not to mention the Ordinary Class—even among the Key Classes, there weren't many who could meet his standards!
And now he was saying "I have high hopes for him" about a student nobody had ever heard of?
Just then.
Several people walked into the Assessment Room again!
Lin Fan entered at an unhurried pace, with Zhao Kun and Sun Ping behind him.
"Director Song, Director Wang, Director Liu."
Lin Fan greeted the three instructors one by one, perfectly at ease.
"Ah, Lin Fan's here."
Wang Tao and Liu Mei, their sternness from a moment ago gone, smiled and nodded at him.
When Lin Qiu saw Lin Fan, his eyes lit up with excitement, but he forced himself to hold back and didn't rush over.
Jiang Hao's expression shifted slightly as he calmly sized up the newcomer.
His face bore five or six parts resemblance to Lin Qiu's.
He greeted all three instructors so familiarly. His status must be pretty high.
Could he be Lin Qiu's older brother?
Lin Fan?
As if sensing Jiang Hao's gaze.
Song Jun casually explained.
"That's Lin Fan."
"One of the top three geniuses in the Key Class, and Lin Qiu's older brother."
"He's already met the assessment standards for Key Martial Arts University."
Jiang Hao's heart jolted, and he nodded slightly!
So it was Lin Fan after all.
The assessment standards for Key Martial Arts University...
That meant a qi-blood level of 13 and two Martial Skills mastered to the great mastery stage.
That was indeed powerful. I couldn't take him on as I was now.
"All right, it looks like everyone's here."
Song Jun glanced at the time.
"Let's get ready to begin."
The Key Class assessments didn't prohibit spectators.
Of course, "didn't prohibit" meant that students from the Key Classes were welcome to watch.
However.
Just before the assessment was about to begin.
The Alloy Gate to the Assessment Room silently slid open for the third time.
Another person walked in.
Lin Fan, who had been getting ready to watch his younger brother's performance, changed expression slightly when he saw who it was!
It was a young woman.
She looked about seventeen or eighteen.
The moment she appeared, the light in the entire Assessment Room seemed to soften.
Her waist-length white hair, pure as snow, fell casually down her back, not a strand out of place.
Her skin was fair as snow, and her features were so exquisite she hardly seemed real.
What people remembered most were her beautiful eyes.
Clear and bright, like a deep blue sky stretching beneath ten thousand miles of cloudless skies.
She stood quietly, yet an icy aloofness that kept everyone at a distance radiated from her. She was like a snow lotus blooming atop a lofty peak, beyond all desecration!
"Su Qingning!"
Zhao Kun, behind Lin Fan, couldn't help exclaiming under his breath!
Senior Year Key Class!
Widely recognized as the Number One Genius!
Su Qingning!
Not only did she possess the rare Martial Body, one in ten thousand!
Her talent had also reached the terrifying Sun-level!
Even Lin Fan and the other Top Genius in the Key Class combined couldn't match her!
Lin Fan's breath caught slightly.
Why had she come too?
I only came to see how Lin Qiu would do... I never expected Su Qingning to show up as well!
What a pleasant surprise!
Lin Fan instantly straightened his appearance. The arrogant look he wore around others melted away, replaced by a warm, spring-breeze smile.
"Miss Su."
Lin Fan stepped forward first and greeted her warmly. "What a coincidence. I didn't expect you to come watch an Ordinary Class assessment too."
Zhao Kun and Sun Ping behind him snapped out of their daze as well.
They hurried forward and bowed respectfully.
"Hello, Miss Su!"
Su Qingning merely nodded at Lin Fan's greeting. Her gaze didn't linger on him for even half a second. Instead, it passed over him and the nervous Zhao Kun and Sun Ping behind him.
Her gaze swept over the teachers and students of Classes 3-1 through 3-3.
At last, it came to a stop beside Song Jun, the instructor of Class 3-2.
More precisely.
She fixed her eyes on the calm figure beside Song Jun, who seemed completely indifferent to everything around him.
Jiang Hao.
The reason Su Qingning had appeared here at all.
Was that her younger sister, Su Anan, had told her about him.
And Su Anan had gotten the information from her best friend, Jiang Keke.
Lately, Su Anan had heard plenty of "gossip" from Jiang Keke.
One moment, she was complaining that her big brother had turned into a cultivation maniac.
The next, she was bragging that her big brother had mastered a difficult Martial Skill in just a few hours.
Then she was marveling that her big brother's qi-blood level had soared from 8.1 to 9.5 in less than a month.
After hearing all that, Su Anan immediately sensed something.
This Jiang Keke's older brother, Jiang Hao, was definitely no ordinary person!
So she specifically reminded her older sister, Su Qingning, to keep an eye on him.
After all, once they entered a Martial Arts University, it wouldn't be like high school, where they could simply bury themselves in cultivation.
It was an entirely new beginning.
Cultivation and actual combat would advance side by side!
At a Martial Arts University, besides top-tier individual strength, having a reliable team was crucial too.
That was why many top geniuses began scouting suitable candidates and assembling their own teams even before the Martial Arts Exam.
If Jiang Hao really was as monstrously talented as the rumors claimed.
Then perhaps he could become a great asset to Su Qingning after they entered university.
Before you continue