Provoking Gaze

"Fifteen years old, Houtian Eighth Layer!"

After hearing the examiner announce the test results, Qin Shaofeng smiled slightly and walked silently to Du Meng's side.

The first and second tests were not yet finished, so the final strength assessment would still take some time.

However, Qin Shaofeng discovered that if things continued like this, there would be quite a few people participating in the third assessment!

But after inquiring, Qin Shaofeng finally understood that not just anyone could participate in the final third assessment.

First, those over eighteen years old could not participate, as they were no longer needed!

At eighteen, if they had even a little talent, they would already be Xiantian Martial Artists. Such individuals could fully become Formal Students of Lianyang Academy, and after three months, they could even be directly promoted to Star Students.

Second, those whose cultivation was below Houtian Fifth Level did not need to participate in the third assessment, unless they were under fifteen years old.

This third assessment tested the students that Lianyang Academy truly needed. Those who did not meet the age requirement or had insufficient cultivation would all be eliminated.

Although some people could still pass the assessment, at most they would become Reserve Students of Lianyang Academy. After three months, they would have no chance of staying at Lianyang Academy.

Knowing this, Qin Shaofeng became more and more eager for the third assessment.

Time passed bit by bit, from early morning until the afternoon, when all the participants had been tested.

During this time, Qin Shaofeng heard many discussions about powerful geniuses appearing at a certain assessment location near the city gate.

However, the most prodigious among them was the young boy Qin Shaofeng had seen that morning, a nine-year-old Xiantian Martial Master.

Besides him, quite a few Xiantian Martial Masters under eighteen years old had also appeared.

Qin Shaofeng truly realized that compared to the entire Lianyang Kingdom, Lanjiang City was just a remote corner, not worth mentioning.

Indeed, after all, the recruitment for Lianyang Academy was a major event in the Lianyang Kingdom, gathering countless geniuses from all over the kingdom.

However, even among all the geniuses in the Lianyang Kingdom, the number who could ultimately enter Lianyang Academy and become its students was likely not very high.

This recruitment assessment had over 150,000 participants, but only less than 30,000 could participate in the actual third assessment.

And among these 30,000, it was still unknown how many would pass the assessment.

The third assessment: strength test.

Participants would enter a special area and defeat puppets from Lianyang Academy. This process had ten stages.

Only by passing the first three stages could one be considered to have passed the assessment.

If one could not even pass the first three stages, then unfortunately, with your level, you wouldn't even qualify to be a Reserve Student of Lianyang Academy. You would stay at Lianyang Academy for three months and then leave directly!

If one could pass seven stages, they could directly become a Formal Member of Lianyang Academy.

Of course, passing the seventh stage was not easy.

In every recruitment assessment for Lianyang Academy, only the top two to three hundred people could pass the first six stages, but reaching the seventh stage, having one hundred people would already be quite good.

As for the eighth stage, it was basically only achievable by the top twenty to thirty geniuses.

But that was the maximum, because the number of people who could pass the ninth stage was extremely small; if three to five appeared each year, it would already be considered very good.

The reason for this was that before the assessment, some true geniuses had already been taken away by the powerful figures of Lianyang Academy.

In the eyes of those powerful figures, the geniuses they fancied did not need to participate in any strength test assessment.

Because of this, since the establishment of Lianyang Academy, fewer than a hundred people had managed to pass the tenth stage in the third strength assessment during the recruitment drive.

Lianyang Academy had been established for over a thousand years.

Less than a hundred people in a thousand years, which showed the extraordinary difficulty of the tenth stage!

After understanding all this, Qin Shaofeng and Du Meng were both astonished.

Qin Shaofeng even secretly wondered how many stages he could last.

Ultimately, Qin Shaofeng realized that if he truly aimed for first place, he would need to pass at least the eighth stage, and even attempt the ninth stage.

For the level-up reward, 1000 points, and that chance to draw a prize.

Qin Shaofeng was determined to give it his all!

Regarding the academy's recruitment assessment, besides the academy's instructors and powerful figures, some students also took it very seriously.

Where there are people, there is conflict, and Lianyang Academy was no exception. Among the students of Lianyang Academy, there were countless factions, and these factions were constantly in conflict.

The instructors did not stop this; in fact, some were happy to see it.

Because progress comes from conflict!

As long as no lives were lost and the academy rules were not violated, the instructors would not care.

The recruitment assessment signified new students joining Lianyang Academy. Naturally, the various factions of Lianyang Academy would send people to observe and recruit fresh blood to strengthen their own factions.

At this moment, in a separate special area, many students wearing Lianyang Academy student uniforms were watching the participants who had already begun the third assessment.

Lianyang Academy had a unified student uniform, but the colors differed.

White was the uniform for Reserve Students, cyan for Formal Students, and blue was for Star Students at the Xiantian Martial Master realm.

Beyond the blue uniforms, there were no longer student uniforms; those were the Golden Student Robes of Lianyang Academy's Elite Students. Students wearing those robes already held a status within Lianyang Academy that was no less than that of ordinary instructors.

Even many instructors at Lianyang Academy, the elite students wearing Golden Student Robes.

Of course, such existences naturally couldn't appear here to watch the admissions assessment.

Among this group of students, most were wearing Cyan Student Uniforms, meaning they were regular students, and there were only seven or eight Star Students wearing Blue Student Uniforms.

Among these seven or eight people, three were the most eye-catching. These three Star Students' Blue Student Uniforms were each embroidered with five shining Golds.

This represented that these three people were all Five-Star Students, meaning they were martial masters at the fifth level of Xiantian.

These three, two men and one woman, represented Lianyang Academy's three largest factions: the Tianwang Sect, the Lone Wolf Gang, and the Nine Phoenix Garden.

Looking at the assessors who had begun the strength assessment, it wasn't long before the Five-Star Student from the Tianwang Sect frowned and said displeasedly, "Weak! Weak! Weak! The newcomers this year are truly too weak. It's been a quarter of an hour, and not a single person has passed the fifth stage. It's too disappointing!"

"Heh, I say, Brother Lin, don't be in such a hurry. You're impatient already? If you really can't stand it, just leave!"

The one speaking was the Five-Star Student from the Lone Wolf Gang. This person was not tall, only about 1.6 meters, but judging by the constant glint in his eyes, it was clear he was no ordinary person. If one judged by appearance alone, they would surely fall into his trap.

The Five-Star Student from the Tianwang Sect, Brother Lin, naturally knew this. He glared fiercely at the other person and snorted coldly, but had no intention of speaking.

Leave?

What a joke. He had finally managed to secure this recruitment opportunity precisely to absorb some strong newcomers and gain the favor of the Tianwang Sect's higher-ups. Why would he leave so easily?

For a moment, he felt a bit of shame and annoyance towards the person from the Lone Wolf Gang.

But unfortunately, the other person's status was not low, and he couldn't do anything about him.

Seeing the atmosphere in the venue becoming somewhat tense, the only woman among the three suddenly chuckled and said, "Why must the two of you be like this? We all know in our hearts that the truly talented newcomers have already been recruited. This current strength test is just a formality. Whether anyone truly emerges to be noticed by some of us behind them as a genius is still unknown!"

This woman was an external affairs supervisor for the Nine Phoenix Garden, and the Nine Phoenix Garden was a faction comprised mainly of women.

Although they were all women, the Nine Phoenix Garden's strength was indeed not weak. Especially among them were several leaders with "Phoenix" in their titles, who were outstanding among Lianyang Academy's students.

Even the Tianwang Sect and the Lone Wolf Gang, known for their arrogance and domineering ways, dared not underestimate the Nine Phoenix Garden.

When this woman spoke, the Five-Star Students from the Tianwang Sect and the Lone Wolf Gang finally fell silent.

The real assessment began!

Seeing someone enter the Puppet Assessment venue, Qin Shaofeng paid serious attention.

But what made Qin Shaofeng dumbfounded was that in the assessment venue where they were located, the first person to enter actually retreated within a minute.

Qin Shaofeng also noticed that the person's chest was covered in blood, indicating they were injured.

Although he didn't know what happened inside the assessment venue, Qin Shaofeng was certain that the person definitely hadn't passed the first stage.

This was because the gate of the Puppet Assessment venue also had ten rings.

If one passed the corresponding stage, the rings on the gate would light up accordingly.

The first person could be considered an inauspicious start. Having failed to pass even one stage, they were destined to have no connection with Lianyang Academy.

As for the second person, they fared slightly better, passing the first stage but failing in the second.

It wasn't until the tenth or so person went through that someone appeared who passed the third stage.

By this time, a quarter of an hour had already passed.

After the start, it took a quarter of an hour for someone to appear who passed the third stage.

As for someone passing the fifth stage, that happened a full hour later.

Of course, this was only in the assessment venue where Qin Shaofeng was located. As for other places, Qin Shaofeng didn't know, but he assumed the difference wouldn't be significant.

This couldn't help but make Qin Shaofeng sigh inwardly: As expected of Lianyang Academy. The difficulty of truly joining is indeed not small.

While sighing, it was the turn of a boy around fifteen or sixteen years old.

But what made Qin Shaofeng frown was that before the boy entered the assessment venue, he actually looked towards him, a hint of provocation in his eyes.

Qin Shaofeng initially thought the other person was coming for him, but he soon realized that the boy's gaze seemed to be directed at Du Meng beside him.

Unfortunately, the provocative gaze was destined not to be noticed by Du Meng.

Given Du Meng's personality, after waiting for over an hour, he was already bored.

He was dozing off at the moment, so how could he care about anyone's gaze?

But while Du Meng didn't care, Qin Shaofeng did.

He already understood Du Meng's personality well; he wouldn't initiate trouble. So, this meant the other party was the instigator?

But why?

Qin Shaofeng was confused, but he soon remembered.

This boy was one of the people who had been assessed with him and Du Meng from the beginning.