"Fifteen years old, Houtian Eighth Layer!"
After hearing the examiner announce the results, Qin Shaofeng smiled faintly and walked over to Du Meng without a word.
The first and second tests were still underway, and the final strength assessment would take some time yet.
But Qin Shaofeng had noticed that, given the circumstances, quite a lot of people would be taking the third test!
When he later asked around, he finally understood that not everyone was allowed to take the final, third test.
First, anyone over eighteen was ineligible, because there was no need for them to take it!
By eighteen, anyone with even a little talent would have reached the Xiantian Martial Artist realm. Such people could become Formal Students at Lianyang Academy outright, and once their three-month probation ended, they might even be promoted directly to Star Students.
Second, there was no need for anyone below Houtian Fifth Level to take the third test, unless they were under fifteen.
This third test was for the students Lianyang Academy truly wanted. Those who were too old or too weak would all be eliminated.
Some people could still pass the assessment, but at most they would become Reserve Students at Lianyang Academy. Once their three-month probation ended, they had no chance of staying.
After learning this, Qin Shaofeng found himself looking forward to the third test more and more.
Time passed bit by bit. The tests had begun early in the morning, and it was not until after noon that everyone taking part had been examined.
During that time, Qin Shaofeng heard plenty of people discussing the various test sites at the city gates, talking about the powerful geniuses who had appeared there.
But the most talented of them all was still the tiny nine-year-old Xiantian Martial Master Qin Shaofeng had seen that morning.
Quite a few Xiantian Martial Masters under eighteen had appeared as well.
Qin Shaofeng truly realized then that, compared with the whole of Lianyang Kingdom, Lanjiang City was just a remote little corner, utterly insignificant.
After all, Lianyang Academy's admissions were a major event throughout Lianyang Kingdom, drawing countless geniuses from every corner of the country.
Even so, among all the geniuses in the kingdom, probably not many would ultimately make it into Lianyang Academy as students.
More than a hundred and fifty thousand people had taken part in this admissions assessment, but fewer than thirty thousand were eligible for the actual third test.
And of those thirty thousand, how many would pass was still anyone's guess.
The third test was a strength assessment.
Those taking part would enter a special area and defeat Lianyang Academy's puppets. The process consisted of ten stages.
Only those who passed the first three stages could be considered to have passed the assessment.
If you couldn't even clear three stages, then, sorry, you weren't even qualified to become a Reserve Student at Lianyang Academy. Stay for three months, then leave!
Those who passed seven stages could become Formal Students of Lianyang Academy outright.
Of course, clearing the seventh stage was no easy feat.
At every admissions assessment, only the top two or three hundred people managed to pass the first six stages. By the seventh, getting even a hundred people through was already a fine result.
As for the eighth stage, only the top twenty or thirty geniuses could manage it.
But that was usually as far as they got. Those who passed the ninth stage were few and far between. If three to five people managed it in a single cohort, that was already impressive.
The reason was that, before the assessment even began, some of the truly exceptional geniuses had already been taken away by powerful figures from Lianyang Academy.
In the eyes of those powerful figures, the geniuses they had their eye on didn't need to take any strength assessment.
That was why, since Lianyang Academy had been founded, fewer than a hundred people had passed the tenth stage of the third test in its admissions assessments.
Lianyang Academy had been around for over a thousand years.
Fewer than a hundred people in more than a thousand years—one could imagine just how extraordinary the tenth stage was!
After learning all this, Qin Shaofeng and Du Meng were both stunned.
Qin Shaofeng even found himself wondering how many stages he could hold out for.
In the end, he realized one thing: if he really wanted to come in first, he would have to pass at least the eighth stage—and probably take a shot at the ninth as well.
For the first-place reward, 1,000 Points, and a chance to draw a prize.
Qin Shaofeng was determined to give it everything he had!
The academy's admissions assessment mattered not only to the instructors, but to some of the students as well.
Where there were people, there was rivalry. Lianyang Academy was no different. Its students were divided into countless factions, and they all competed with one another.
The instructors didn't stop them. On the contrary, they were rather glad to see it.
After all, rivalry led to progress!
As long as no one was killed and no academy rules were broken, the instructors couldn't care less.
The admissions assessment meant new students would be joining Lianyang Academy. Naturally, the various factions sent people to watch and recruit fresh blood to strengthen their ranks.
At that moment, in a secluded area, quite a few students in Lianyang Academy uniforms were watching the candidates taking the third test, which had already begun.
Lianyang Academy had a standard uniform, though the colors varied.
Reserve Students wore white. Formal Students wore cyan. Those in the Xiantian Martial Master realm who were Star Students wore blue.
As for uniforms above blue, they were no longer called student uniforms. They were the Golden Student Robes of Lianyang Academy's Elite Students, whose status was already no lower than that of ordinary instructors.
In fact, many of Lianyang Academy's instructors were Elite Students wearing Golden Student Robes.
Of course, beings of that stature wouldn't show up here to watch the admissions assessment.
Most of the students in this group wore cyan uniforms and were Formal Students. Only seven or eight wore blue uniforms and were Star Students.
Three of those seven or eight stood out the most. On each of their blue uniforms were five shining gold stars.
That meant all three were Five-Star Students—Xiantian Fifth Layer martial masters.
The three of them, two men and one woman, belonged to Lianyang Academy's three largest factions: Tianwang Sect, Lone Wolf Gang, and Nine Phoenix Garden.
As he watched the candidates begin their strength assessment, the Five-Star Student from Tianwang Sect soon frowned and grumbled, "Weak! Weak! Weak! This batch of newcomers is far too weak. It's already been a quarter of an hour, yet not a single person has passed the fifth stage. What a disappointment!"
"Heh, Brother Lin, don't get worked up. It's barely started, and you're already impatient? If you really can't stand it, why not just leave?"
The speaker was a Five-Star Student from Lone Wolf Gang. He was short, barely five feet tall, but the constant gleam in his eyes showed he was no simple man. Anyone who judged him by his appearance would surely pay for it.
Brother Lin from Tianwang Sect knew that well. He shot the other man a hard look and snorted, but said nothing.
Leave?
What a joke. He had gone to great lengths to secure this recruitment post, all so he could bring in some capable newcomers and earn the favor of Tianwang Sect's higher-ups. How could he leave so easily?
For a moment, the man felt a little nettled by the Lone Wolf Gang student's remark.
But the other man had considerable standing, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, the only woman among the three suddenly smiled and said, "Why must you two act like this? We all know the truly talented newcomers were recruited long ago. This strength assessment is really just a hope. Whether someone shows up who catches the eye of the people behind us is still anyone's guess."
This woman was an external affairs supervisor for Nine Phoenix Garden, a faction made up entirely of women.
Though they were all women, Nine Phoenix Garden was certainly no weakling. Its several leaders, who all bore the name Phoenix, were among the very best of Lianyang Academy's students.
Even Tianwang Sect and Lone Wolf Gang, both famously arrogant and domineering, didn't dare look down on Nine Phoenix Garden.
At her words, the Five-Star Students from Tianwang Sect and Lone Wolf Gang finally fell silent.
The real test had begun!
When Qin Shaofeng saw someone enter the puppet assessment area, he paid close attention.
But what happened next left him dumbfounded. The first person to enter the test area where they were was back out again a minute later.
Qin Shaofeng also noticed that the person's chest was soaked in blood. He was clearly injured.
Though Qin Shaofeng didn't know what went on inside the assessment area, he was certain that the person hadn't even passed the first stage.
There were ten rings on the gate to the puppet assessment area.
Whenever someone passed a stage, the corresponding ring on the gate would light up.
The first person had made a disastrous start. He hadn't passed a single stage, and he was destined to have no chance of entering Lianyang Academy.
The second person did a little better. He passed the first stage, but was defeated in the second.
It wasn't until the thirteenth or fourteenth person had gone in that someone finally passed the third stage.
By then, half an hour had passed.
Half an hour after the test began, someone had finally passed the third stage.
As for someone passing the fifth stage, that didn't happen until an hour later.
Of course, that was only at the test site where Qin Shaofeng was. He didn't know how things were going elsewhere, but he figured they were much the same.
Qin Shaofeng couldn't help sighing to himself. As expected of Lianyang Academy! Getting in for real wasn't easy at all.
As he was reflecting on this, it was the turn of a boy around fifteen or sixteen.
But just as the boy was about to enter the assessment area, he frowned at the sight of him looking in their direction, a trace of provocation in his eyes.
At first, Qin Shaofeng thought the boy was challenging him, but he soon realized that the boy's gaze was aimed at Du Meng beside him.
Unfortunately, Du Meng was bound not to notice that challenging look.
After waiting for over an hour, Du Meng's patience had run out.
He was sitting there dozing off. How could he care about anyone's gaze?
Du Meng didn't care, but Qin Shaofeng did.
He knew Du Meng's temperament by now. Du Meng would never pick a fight on his own, so that meant the boy had started this?
But why?
Qin Shaofeng was puzzled, but he soon remembered.
The boy was clearly someone who had been taking the test alongside him and Du Meng from the very beginning.
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