Ranked First

What in the world was going on?!

Qin Shaofeng stared at the golden pillar of light in the distance, utterly baffled.

Just moments ago, the examiner had told him that people who could activate a Xiantian Golden Pillar were few and far between. If Lianyang Academy managed to recruit even one such person every hundred years, that was already impressive.

But the instant he finished speaking, a thunderous tremor rang out.

Another Xiantian Golden Pillar had appeared!

Qin Shaofeng looked uncertainly at the examiner, his eyes full of suspicion.

The examiner had just said they were few and far between, and now another one had appeared right away.

Sir, are you sure you're not pulling the wool over the eyes of an innocent young man like me?

Are you picking on me because I'm young and easy to fool?

But the examiner paid no attention to Qin Shaofeng's questioning expression. Staring at the golden pillar of light in the distance, he kept muttering, "How is this possible?!" "How is this possible?!"

Well!

He was even more clueless than I am!

Qin Shaofeng sighed inwardly. In the end, he stopped asking questions and went straight to Du Meng's side to wait for the assessment to finish.

The second Xiantian Golden Pillar lasted for a quarter of an hour before vanishing.

But it had stirred up quite a commotion throughout Lianyang Academy.

Qin Shaofeng had no idea that activating the Xiantian Golden Pillar had landed him in a whole heap of trouble.

At that moment, Qin Shaofeng stared speechlessly at the sky, wondering if another one of those Xiantian Golden Pillars might appear.

Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.

The assessment ended for every examinee, but no third Xiantian Golden Pillar appeared.

One person with a Xiantian First Layer cultivation level did make it through the tenth round, though.

If not for Qin Shaofeng and the other person who had activated a Xiantian Golden Pillar, that person would probably have drawn countless eyes.

Unfortunately, beneath the brilliance of those two Xiantian Golden Pillars, he could only fade into obscurity.

The final results were out!

Of the thirty thousand people who took the strength assessment, only a little over two thousand passed the fifth round—not even one in ten.

After learning that, Qin Shaofeng couldn't help feeling puzzled.

It was only the fifth round. How could such a simple assessment have so few people pass?

Qin Shaofeng remembered that he'd only thrown one punch in the fifth round.

Oh, right. Two punches. There had been two Assessment Puppets in the fifth round!

Fortunately, Qin Shaofeng didn't voice his doubts. If he had, he would've been cursed out.

The Assessment Puppets in the fifth round were usually at the examinee's own level, or at the peak of that level. And two of them appeared at once. How could an ordinary person possibly stand a chance?

More than two thousand people passing was already a pretty good result.

A little over two thousand had passed the fifth round, but by the sixth, that number had been cut in half, leaving barely a thousand.

Even fewer passed the seventh round: just over a hundred, most of them with Xiantian Realm cultivation.

Compared to those in the Houtian Realm, Xiantian Realm cultivators had an easier time in the seventh round.

But the eighth round was another story.

Whether they were in the Xiantian Realm or the Houtian Realm, the eighth round was several times harder. Only twelve people passed.

Among them were Qin Shaofeng and Du Meng, as well as Chen Yuanxin, who had cheated his way through the eighth round with pills.

As for the ninth round, only four people passed.

Qin Shaofeng, Du Meng, the other person who had activated a Xiantian Golden Pillar, and the one and only Xiantian Martial Master who had passed the tenth round.

That settled the rankings!

First place, naturally, went to Qin Shaofeng.

Second place went to the other person who had activated a Xiantian Golden Pillar.

The Xiantian Martial Master who had passed the tenth round came in third.

And fourth place went to Du Meng.

As for Chen Yuanxin, perhaps because he had cheated by taking pills to clear the rounds, the examiner had thought poorly of him. In the end, he didn't even make the top ten, placing twelfth.

The result dealt Chen Yuanxin a heavy blow.

He had prepared thoroughly to stand out in this Lianyang Academy entrance assessment. His father had even gone to great expense to get him an extremely precious pill that could boost his strength for a short time.

Yet in the end, he hadn't even made the top ten.

What a blow!

But Chen Yuanxin didn't reflect on his own failings. Instead, he glared furiously at Qin Shaofeng and Du Meng, blaming them entirely for his miserable result.

In his eyes, if Qin Shaofeng and Du Meng hadn't shown up, he could've at least placed tenth!

"Damn it! Where did those two lowlifes come from? They knocked me out of the top ten! Just you wait. I'm not letting this go!"

How did that make any sense?

He'd made the mistake himself, yet blamed everyone else. Chen Yuanxin's thinking was truly bizarre!

Qin Shaofeng had no idea that he and Du Meng had just acquired an enemy for no reason.

If he'd known, Qin Shaofeng would've cried foul.

Who did I offend? Even if I'm handsome, Heaven, you don't have to be this jealous!

"System Notification: Congratulations, player Qin Shaofeng, on completing the 'Assessment' quest and securing first place! Completion rating: Perfect!"

"System Notification: Congratulations, player Qin Shaofeng, your level has increased by one. Your current level is Houtian Ninth Layer!"

"System Notification: Congratulations, player Qin Shaofeng, you have earned 1,000 Points. Your current Points total is 1,000!"

"System Notification: Congratulations, player Qin Shaofeng, you have received one Normal Lottery draw. You now have 1 Normal Lottery draw!"

When Qin Shaofeng was announced as the assessment's first-place winner, he heard four System Notifications in a row.

His mouth stretched into a grin, and he smiled happily.

Why had Qin Shaofeng gone all out to clear the rounds? Why had he been willing to use up so many Qi Replenishing Pills to make sure he passed the ninth round, or even the tenth?

Wasn't it all to win first place, complete the system quest, and earn a pile of rewards?

After putting in so much effort, he was finally getting something back!

Of course Qin Shaofeng was happy!

While Qin Shaofeng was happily accepting his rewards, Lin Zhihao of Tianwang Sect arrived at a certain place within Lianyang Academy.

Lin Zhihao was incredibly excited. He hadn't expected that simply reporting someone's activation of a Xiantian Golden Pillar would catch this esteemed person's attention.

Just thinking about this person's identity—and the fact that he was being granted an audience—left Lin Zhihao so excited he could barely speak.

Led by a senior member of Tianwang Sect, Lin Zhihao arrived at a small room.

The room's door was tightly shut. Even when Lin Zhihao arrived, it showed no sign of opening.

Naturally, Lin Zhihao didn't dare complain. He stood respectfully outside the door and waited in silence.

It wasn't long—only about a quarter of an hour—before a voice came from inside the room.

"Someone activated a Xiantian Golden Pillar?"

The speaker wasted no words and got straight to the point.

"Yes, my lord. And there were two of them!" Lin Zhihao answered respectfully.

Even as he said it, Lin Zhihao couldn't keep calm.

One person activating a Xiantian Golden Pillar would've been remarkable enough. But two had appeared today. It was almost unbelievable!

The person inside the room paused, apparently surprised as well.

"Two? Add that Meng Family girl, and there are three. This is getting troublesome."

The person in the room murmured the words almost to himself. His tone carried a hint of concern; his brow must have furrowed.

Lin Zhihao was astonished. He knew exactly who the person inside the room was. For someone like him to be worried meant the situation was even more serious than Lin Zhihao had imagined.

"What are their exact cultivation levels, ages, and backgrounds?"

After a moment of silence, another question came from inside the room.

"To answer my lord, both are fifteen years old. One is at Houtian Eighth Layer, and the other is at Houtian Tenth Layer."

Lin Zhihao paused, then answered hesitantly, "My lord, there's nothing unusual about one of their backgrounds. He comes from a remote small town in Lianyang Kingdom. The other is harder to pin down. According to the academy's records, he seems to come from some tribe in the Black Horn Mountain Range region of Lianyang Kingdom!"

"Black Horn Mountain Range?"

The person inside the room murmured softly, his tone grave, as if deep in thought.

Lin Zhihao didn't dare interrupt. He stood with his back bent respectfully.

Only after quite some time did the person inside the room suddenly realize he'd forgotten about Lin Zhihao.

"All right, you may leave. Go to the Contribution Department and collect 1,000 Contribution Points."

The person inside the room spoke casually, but his words filled Lin Zhihao with delight.

He'd only investigated some basic information, yet he'd earned 1,000 Contribution Points. That was a windfall!

"Thank you, my lord!"

After expressing his gratitude, Lin Zhihao happily took his leave.

Once Lin Zhihao was gone, the voice of the esteemed person sounded from inside the room again.

"Two people. This is a bit troublesome, but fortunately they're only in the Houtian Realm. Even if they qualify to enter that place, it won't happen until they reach the Spirit Vein Realm. There's still some time. It's just that the person from the Black Horn Mountain Range could be a problem."

"If he's one of that clan, then we'll have a huge problem. No, I'd better talk to Imperial Brother, just in case something really does go wrong!"

With that, the door to the small room suddenly opened, and a young man who looked only twenty-one or twenty-two stepped out.

Though he looked young, the aura around him was astonishingly powerful. He was probably no weaker than Lian Chenghao.

That was enough to show that he held a high position in Tianwang Sect!

He took a step and blurred away in a few swift movements, vanishing from sight.

If Qin Shaofeng had seen that, he would've been so shocked he couldn't speak!

That was no longer human speed. Just what kind of cultivation did this young man have?

At the same time, something similar was happening within the Lone Wolf Gang. It wasn't just there, either; events were unfolding among the various factions of Lianyang Academy.

What was so special about those who activated a Xiantian Golden Pillar?

Judging by the reactions of the various factions' senior figures, activating a Xiantian Golden Pillar seemed to grant someone the right to enter a certain place.

And what was that place?

What did it have to do with Lianyang Academy?

There were just too many unanswered questions.

But Qin Shaofeng had no idea that, as soon as he entered Lianyang Academy, he had been swept into some of its internal struggles.

Sometimes, trouble really did come knocking on your door!