Commotion

The long line ahead of Qin Shaofeng and Du Meng contained at least three to five hundred people.

However, the testing proceeded quite quickly.

In just half an hour, Qin Shaofeng caught sight of the testing device.

At the end of the line stood an enormous gate. Unlike an ordinary gate, it stood alone, with rings arranged on each side.

Whenever an examinee passed through the gate, the rings on both its left and right sides lit up.

Qin Shaofeng knew a little about the gate. There were ten rings on each side, and they would light up during testing.

The rings on the left represented age. If they glowed white, the person was under ten years old. Each lit ring represented one year. Once they passed ten, the white light turned silver.

Yet ever since seeing the gate, Qin Shaofeng had not seen a single white ring light up on its left side. Nearly all of them glowed silver, indicating that most participants were over ten.

No examinees younger than ten had appeared so far.

The rings on the right tested cultivation level. They had three possible colors: pale gold, gold, and purple-gold.

The lowest was pale gold. One pale-gold ring represented the First Layer of the Houtian Martial Artist Realm.

As for those whose cultivation had not even reached the Houtian Realm, there was no need to test them at all. Unless they were exceptionally gifted young children, Lianyang Academy would not accept such people.

Pale gold represented the Houtian Realm, gold represented the Xiantian Realm, and purple-gold represented the Spirit Meridian Realm.

Not to mention purple-gold—gold, representing the Xiantian Realm, had rarely appeared even during Lianyang Academy's admission tests in previous years.

It was not that such geniuses did not join Lianyang Academy. Rather, geniuses of that caliber did not need to take the admission test at all. They had long since entered the academy, perhaps even become disciples of powerful mentors.

Thus, from the beginning of the testing until now, no examinee at the Xiantian Martial Master Realm had appeared.

The occasional genius who lit all ten pale-gold rings still drew plenty of discussion.

Then, at a certain moment, the crowd suddenly erupted into noise.

"Heavens! What am I seeing?!"

"No way, is that golden light?"

"That's right! Golden light representing the Xiantian Martial Master Realm!"

Golden light?

Hearing the crowd's discussion, Qin Shaofeng's heart stirred. Had an examinee at the Xiantian Martial Master Realm finally appeared?

Following the crowd's gaze, Qin Shaofeng looked ahead.

At that moment, only the first ring on the gate's right side had lit up, but that ring was gold.

Gold!

That was right—it truly indicated the Xiantian Martial Artist Realm!

Qin Shaofeng nodded to himself. But in the next instant, once he saw the figure within the gate, his pupils contracted sharply, and stormy waves surged through his heart.

A short figure stood inside the gate, no more than 1.2 meters tall.

Upon seeing that small figure, Qin Shaofeng's heart jolted. He immediately looked toward the rings on the gate's left side.

White!

Nine rings!

A Xiantian Martial Master under ten years old!

Qin Shaofeng was stunned, then could only laugh bitterly.

A Xiantian Martial Master at nine years old—such a genius truly was...

Too damn incredible!

In Lanjiang City, such a thing was simply unimaginable.

Very soon, several powerful figures suddenly appeared beside the gate. After a brief exchange, they quickly took the nine-year-old boy away.

A nine-year-old Xiantian Martial Master no longer needed to participate in the admission test.

This scene drew countless envious gazes.

As though this had opened the floodgates, more people at the Xiantian Martial Master Realm soon appeared.

However, most of the Xiantian Martial Masters who appeared afterward were over eighteen, with nearly all of them stuck right at the twenty-year mark.

Examinees at the Xiantian Martial Master Realm of that age could not attract the attention of the academy's powerful mentors at all.

There were even quite a few Xiantian Martial Artists who were already over twenty!

Lianyang Academy gave such people no further thought and directly sent people to drive them out.

Even so, quite a few impressive geniuses still appeared.

"Age sixteen, cultivation at the Innate First Layer Early Stage!"

Hearing the voice of the person recording results beside the gate, Chen Yuanxin let out a breath of relief.

Excellent!

Setting aside that freak, he was currently the most outstanding examinee.

Excitement rose in his heart, and a trace of agitation appeared on Chen Yuanxin's face.

Although the first two tests of age and cultivation did not award points, standing out could still draw the attention of some powerful figures from the academy.

Then his father's tremendous expense to help him break through into the Xiantian Realm would not have been in vain.

Still, it was a pity that no academy powerhouse had taken a fancy to him and accepted him as a disciple!

As he stepped down from the gate, a trace of disappointment flashed through Chen Yuanxin's eyes.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done about that. After all, he had only broken through to the Xiantian Realm by taking pills, and he was already over fifteen. To some powerhouses, he still was not worth their attention.

But Chen Yuanxin was not discouraged. He was confident that if he could rise above the crowd in the third test, perhaps a powerhouse would take a fancy to him and accept him as a disciple.

As for whether he could achieve good results in the third test, Chen Yuanxin was not worried in the slightest. His father had once been a student of Lianyang Academy and knew its admission tests like the back of his hand.

To ensure that he achieved excellent results, his father had gone through untold hardships to find a treasure.

With that treasure, Chen Yuanxin securing one of the top three places in the test would be no trouble at all. Even first place was well within reach.

Whoosh!

Just as Chen Yuanxin was imagining himself taking first place, a burst of commotion suddenly arose behind him.

When he turned around, Chen Yuanxin smiled.

Because he saw an extremely burly man.

At such an age, he still came to participate in Lianyang Academy's admission test?

Another delusional fool hoping to stay at Lianyang Academy for three months and stumble upon a lucky encounter?

He lightly shook his head, but in the next instant, his eyes widened abruptly.

What did he see?

Four rings!

Silver light???

That burly fellow, who looked at least nineteen or twenty to him, was actually only fourteen?

How was that possible?

And the other party was at the Houtian Tenth Layer!

This...

Very quickly, Chen Yuanxin's expression darkened somewhat.

With such a physique, the other party clearly cultivated some sort of body-tempering technique, and he was also at the Houtian Tenth Layer.

Unlike the others, Chen Yuanxin understood extremely well what the third test was actually like.

It was precisely because he understood it so well that, upon seeing this fourteen-year-old with such an exaggerated physique, Chen Yuanxin suddenly felt a hint of threat.

A threat to his first place!

In a place ordinary people could not see, a group of powerful figures were currently discussing Du Meng.

A fourteen-year-old with an exaggerated build, a physique stronger than that of an ordinary adult, and cultivation at the Houtian Tenth Layer—who else could it be but Du Meng?

It was precisely because of this that such an extraordinary genius naturally caught these powerhouses' attention.

"Don't any of you try to snatch him from me! I've taken a fancy to this boy. His physique is best suited to my cultivation technique!"

A tower-like burly man suddenly stepped out from the crowd. With eyes wide as ox eyes, he said to the other powerhouses in a muffled voice.

The moment he spoke, someone immediately objected.

"What do you mean, best suited to your cultivation technique? You iron lump, don't even think about it. This boy should belong to me!"

"Bullshit! This child is obviously best suited to me. If he follows me, I'm confident I can make this brat an Elite Student of Lianyang Academy within five years!"

"Five years? Old Xiao, I only need three years, so this little fellow should belong to me!"

"He belongs to me!"

"No, he's mine!"

"..."

For a time, the previously quiet place became a noisy uproar.

If the students of Lianyang Academy saw this scene, their eyes would surely fall all over the floor in shock.

Since when had this group of lofty mentors become so excited and so lacking in poise?

It was no wonder. The moment anyone saw Du Meng's build, they knew he possessed some kind of special physique.

Otherwise, how could a fourteen-year-old child grow into this?

Suddenly, amid the quarrel, a voice of surprise rang out.

"Eh? Doesn't this boy look a lot like the kid Lian Chenghao brought here three days ago?"

The moment that surprised voice sounded, the entire place abruptly fell silent.

The two people Lian Chenghao had brought three days earlier had drawn plenty of attention.

The arrival of the White-clothed girl in particular had alarmed Lianyang Academy's entire upper echelon.

The Meng Family's Little Princess, and the niece of Lianyang Academy's Vice Principal's wife.

Either identity was enough to cause a considerable stir.

Especially since the White-clothed girl's talent had reached an extraordinary, near-saintly level. At merely fifteen, she had already reached that realm.

She truly was worthy of being the Meng Family's Direct Bloodline!

Du Meng's presence had been greatly overshadowed, but now that these powerhouses recalled his identity, their hearts also trembled.

After all, Du Meng was the disciple that person had already claimed!

The moment they thought of that person's temperament, these powerhouses immediately lost heart.

Snatch a disciple from him?

Were they tired of living?

"Ah, I never expected I would forget about that!"

"Ah, what a pity!"

"Yes, what a pity!"

Amid a chorus of sighs, the group of powerhouses looked at Du Meng with boundless regret in their eyes.

He was a genius with exceptional talent, but he had already been claimed!

Ordinary people knew nothing of what had happened in that place, and Du Meng, who was taking the test, naturally knew even less.

"Fourteen years old, cultivation at the Houtian Tenth Layer!"

Under the strange gaze and highly uncertain tone of the examiner recording the test results, Du Meng strode out of the gate and gave Qin Shaofeng a hearty grin.

Yet he did not know that, not far away, an unfriendly gaze swept back and forth over him several times.

Qin Shaofeng had long expected the strange thoughts Du Meng's appearance would provoke.

After all, the way Du Meng had grown was simply too unbelievable.

Without delaying any longer, Qin Shaofeng lined up behind Du Meng. Once Du Meng had finished testing, Qin Shaofeng quickly walked toward the gate.

Buzz!

The moment Qin Shaofeng stepped through the gate, it trembled slightly, and the rings on the left suddenly lit up.

Silver light!

Five rings!

Fifteen years old!

No problems appeared!

Qin Shaofeng glanced at them calmly, then shifted his gaze to the right.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the rings on the right side of the gate suddenly lit up.

From bottom to top, pale-gold light bloomed.

One ring, two rings, three rings...

In the end, eight rings on the right side of the gate lit up.

No cries of surprise arose from the crowd.

Compared to the other geniuses, Qin Shaofeng, a fifteen-year-old Houtian Eighth Layer Martial Artist, seemed rather ordinary.

But in truth, only Du Meng knew that his Brother Feng's strength was anything but ordinary!

The Houtian Eighth Layer?

Du Meng was full of disdain!

Even he was no match for Brother Feng, so what did the Houtian Eighth Layer matter?

Just wait until then—you'll be in for a shock!