True Strength

During the age and cultivation assessment, at the station where Qin Shaofeng stood, aside from that nine-year-old boy, Du Meng was the one who drew the most attention.

At fourteen years old, he had already reached the Houtian Tenth Layer. That alone was enough to prove Du Meng's talent.

Not to mention Du Meng's exaggeratedly huge build.

Because of this, Du Meng had utterly stolen the spotlight at that testing station, though he himself had no desire to do so.

And the youth before them was precisely the one who had caused a stir earlier with his Xiantian Martial Master cultivation, before Du Meng appeared.

Unfortunately, the stir he caused had not lasted long before Du Meng's appearance completely overshadowed it.

Qin Shaofeng remembered this person's name. It seemed to be Chen Yuanxin.

Could it be that Chen Yuanxin was glaring provocatively because Du Meng had stolen his spotlight, and wanted to take it back?

The more Qin Shaofeng thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

It left Qin Shaofeng speechless.

Qin Shaofeng's guess was correct. The person entering the examination grounds at that moment was Chen Yuanxin.

Watching Du Meng bathed in the attention of so many eyes, Chen Yuanxin was burning with jealousy. In his view, he should have been the one enjoying those gazes, yet Du Meng had suddenly snatched them away. How could he possibly accept that?

Thus, he intended to achieve an impressive result in this strength assessment.

Chen Yuanxin had confidence in himself. With his strength, passing the seventh stage should not be a problem. And if he followed his father's method, even passing the eighth stage was not impossible!

He touched the item in his robes, then stepped into the examination grounds with a confident expression.

Several breaths later, the first ring on the doors to the examination grounds lit up.

No one was surprised by this. After all, Chen Yuanxin was a Xiantian Martial Master; such speed was nothing unusual.

More than ten breaths later, the second ring lit up as well. He had passed the second stage.

Then the third and fourth rings lit up in succession.

A quarter of an hour later, the fifth ring on the doors lit up.

The fifth stage!

The onlookers taking the assessment began discussing it among themselves.

"He passed it—the fifth stage!"

"Tsk, tsk, Chen Yuanxin truly deserves to be called a Xiantian Realm martial master. He passed five stages in only a quarter of an hour!"

"How many stages do you think Chen Yuanxin can pass?"

"I'm guessing seven. Chen Yuanxin is only at the Xiantian First Layer; the seventh stage is probably his limit!"

"Mm, probably. But I think he might be able to break through the eighth stage as well. After all, Chen Yuanxin is the most outstanding genius in our region!"

"Sigh, whether it's the seventh or eighth stage, Chen Yuanxin is destined to go farther than us!"

Amid the crowd's discussion, the sixth ring lit up.

Chen Yuanxin had passed the sixth stage.

For a moment, the crowd erupted in gasps of amazement again.

Among all the candidates at this examination ground, Chen Yuanxin was the first to pass the sixth stage!

After the sixth stage, a rather long time passed. Only after waiting a full half hour did the seventh ring finally light up.

"He passed! He passed! Chen Yuanxin has passed the seventh stage!"

Whoosh!

The crowd burst into an uproar. Even the examiner guarding the examination grounds grew noticeably more serious.

Anyone who could pass the seventh stage could be considered a fairly good genius.

Moreover, Chen Yuanxin was only sixteen years old. If things continued like this, he had the potential to challenge the Spirit Vein Realm!

The Spirit Vein Realm—that was where true experts began!

Naturally, the examiners would make a record of any genius with the potential to challenge the Spirit Vein Realm.

However, in that examiner's eyes, the seventh stage was probably already Chen Yuanxin's limit.

After all, he had needed a full half hour just to pass the seventh stage. With that being the case, the eighth stage would be somewhat beyond Chen Yuanxin's reach.

Everyone present thought the same.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, dozens of breaths had already passed, and Chen Yuanxin still had not emerged.

That was unexpected.

Could it be that Chen Yuanxin intended to challenge the eighth stage?

A doubtful thought surfaced in everyone's minds.

After some more time passed, Chen Yuanxin still had not come out of the examination grounds. Everyone was certain now—Chen Yuanxin truly was attempting the eighth stage.

The crowd waited patiently. In their view, Chen Yuanxin had already spent a half hour on the seventh stage, so the eighth stage would likely take even longer.

But then, something that surprised everyone once again happened.

A quarter of an hour!

In just a quarter of an hour, the eighth ring on the gate of that examination ground lit up.

He had passed the eighth trial?

For a moment, the entire scene fell silent, everyone finding it somewhat unbelievable.

Over where the three Star Students from the Tianwang Sect, Lone Wolf Gang, and Nine Phoenix Garden were gathered, Chen Yuanxin's passing of the eighth trial finally drew their attention.

"Someone passed the eighth trial?"

Brother Lin of the Tianwang Sect's eyes brightened slightly, while the man from the Lone Wolf Gang and the woman from Nine Phoenix Garden also had a flash of sharp light in their eyes.

However, once she learned that Chen Yuanxin was a man, the woman from Nine Phoenix Garden flashed a trace of disappointment in her eyes and stopped paying attention to him. Instead, she watched the two people beside her with great interest.

"Brother Lin, this one goes to my Lone Wolf Gang, all right? The next one will be yours!" the man from the Lone Wolf Gang spoke first.

"To your Lone Wolf Gang?"

Anger flashed through Brother Lin's eyes. Anyone who could pass the eighth trial was a talented individual with considerable potential. With a little cultivation from the Tianwang Sect, reaching the Spirit Vein Realm would not be much of a problem. How could he simply yield him to the Lone Wolf Gang?

But just as he was about to refuse, he suddenly saw someone walk out of the examination ground where the eighth trial had been passed.

At first, he did not pay much attention. Yet the moment he sensed the aura emanating from that person, he suddenly smiled.

"Since Brother Wu Lang has put it that way, then I, Lin Zhihao, will not take what another man loves. Let us do as you said!"

Hm?

Wu Lang of the Lone Wolf Gang was startled and looked at Lin Zhihao in surprise.

Since when had Lin Zhihao become so easy to talk to?

But he soon understood why Lin Zhihao had acted that way.

At that moment, he too saw Chen Yuanxin. Yet upon seeing him, Wu Lang's expression immediately darkened.

That person had actually relied on pills to pass the eighth trial?

Outside the examination ground, Chen Yuanxin's face was somewhat pale as he recalled what had just happened, his expression one of lingering terror.

When he passed the seventh trial, Chen Yuanxin had already unleashed all his strength, only barely managing to clear it in the end.

As for the eighth trial, Chen Yuanxin had used the treasure his father had prepared for him—a pill that could temporarily increase his strength.

With the aid of the pill, Chen Yuanxin temporarily possessed the strength of the Xiantian Second Layer.

That was also why he had taken two quarters of an hour to pass the seventh trial, yet only one quarter of an hour for the eighth.

After passing the eighth trial, Chen Yuanxin still refused to give up and intended to challenge the ninth. But after entering the ninth trial, he could only hold on for three breaths before being forced to retreat.

Had he not withdrawn quickly enough, he would likely have already suffered severe injuries.

Chen Yuanxin finally understood why there were so few people who failed to pass the ninth trial.

That kind of examination was simply not something an ordinary person could withstand!

Still, fortunately, he had passed the eighth trial in the end.

Chen Yuanxin was confident that his result was definitely within the top ten. After all, he had passed the eighth trial in only a quarter of an hour.

And with the additional three breaths he had lasted in the ninth trial, Chen Yuanxin was exceedingly satisfied with his result.

Back in his father's generation, such a result would have ranked seventh or eighth.

Because of this, he cast Du Meng an extremely disdainful glance.

Yet Chen Yuanxin did not know that after he emerged, the examiner recording the results frowned and carefully scrutinized him several times. In the end, he lightly shook his head, took out the booklet where he had just recorded Chen Yuanxin's name, and crossed out the three characters Chen Yuanxin.

Compared to him, Wu Lang of the Lone Wolf Gang was far less composed than that examiner.

Though the examination did not prohibit the use of pills, among the geniuses capable of reaching the seventh or eighth trial, which one was not proud and arrogant? Who would be willing to rely on pills to clear the trials?

Such a result was neither real nor false; it merely looked good on the surface, while in truth it would absolutely invite contempt.

Wu Lang felt exactly that way now. Because of Chen Yuanxin, he had wasted an opportunity to compete with Lin Zhihao for a newcomer. As for Chen Yuanxin himself, he no longer intended to recruit him into the Lone Wolf Gang.

The Lone Wolf Gang was, after all, one of Lianyang Academy's foremost factions. Although Chen Yuanxin was a genius, their Lone Wolf Gang had no need for someone who falsified things in this manner.

Though the Lone Wolf Gang and Tianwang Sect were uninterested, some of the other factions did show interest in Chen Yuanxin.

Although he had resorted to deception, Chen Yuanxin had still passed the seventh trial with his own strength. He could be considered a rather decent talent.

Qin Shaofeng also sensed the unusual change in Chen Yuanxin.

Because the other man had provoked Du Meng, Qin Shaofeng had kept an eye on him. Before Chen Yuanxin entered the examination ground, he had activated Fiery Golden Eyes to inspect his attributes.

But when Chen Yuanxin emerged again, Qin Shaofeng discovered that something was wrong.

Activating Fiery Golden Eyes once more, Qin Shaofeng quickly understood why.

Person: Chen Yuanxin

Level: Early Xiantian First Layer (Early Xiantian Second Layer)

Inner Qi Points (Xiantian): 10/1200 (2200)

...

Chen Yuanxin's attributes had not changed much, but his realm and Inner Qi Points now each had an extra attribute in parentheses.

Qin Shaofeng was no stranger to such parenthetical attributes. They indicated temporary enhancements.

Qin Shaofeng understood at once. Chen Yuanxin had definitely taken some kind of pill to clear the eighth stage.

After looking over Chen Yuanxin's attributes, Qin Shaofeng had originally thought Chen Yuanxin was only a little stronger than ordinary people—an ordinary Xiantian First Layer cultivator had 1,000 Inner Qi Points. Seeing Chen Yuanxin like this now, Qin Shaofeng paid him even less heed.

A person like that—even at the same Xiantian First Layer, Mengzi as he was now could probably trade a few moves with him without falling behind. There was no need to care.

Thus, Qin Shaofeng had no intention of warning Du Meng about anything. Unfortunately, Qin Shaofeng had forgotten one thing: some people simply loved stirring up trouble when there was none.

Even if you did not go looking for trouble, trouble would come looking for you!

Completely unaware that someone was provoking him, Du Meng charged excitedly toward the assessment grounds when his turn came.

At the same time, not only did everyone present turn their attention toward him, but hidden gazes from certain places also fell upon him.

Du Meng was Du Meng indeed!

His temperament and build truly lived up to their name!

Compared to Chen Yuanxin, Du Meng's charge through the stages was nothing short of ferocious!

Chen Yuanxin had used roughly five breaths for the first stage, but Du Meng needed only three.

The second took less than ten breaths...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The moment Du Meng entered, the rings on the assessment grounds' gate lit up at a startling pace!

In less than a quarter of an hour, Du Meng had reached the seventh stage.

In a quarter of an hour, Chen Yuanxin had only reached the sixth stage.

The difference became obvious at once.

Even Wu Lang, who had been watching Du Meng, could not help sighing after a while. "This is the difference between falsifying things and genuine strength!"