Deception and the Real Deal

During the age and cultivation assessment, aside from the nine-year-old boy, Du Meng was the most eye-catching person at Qin Shaofeng's testing area.

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

Not to mention Du Meng's exaggerated build.

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

The young man before them was precisely the one who had caused a stir before Du Meng by reaching the Xiantian Martial Master Realm.

Unfortunately, the commotion he had caused did not last long before Du Meng's appearance completely overshadowed it.

Qin Shaofeng remembered his name. It seemed to be Chen Yuanxin.

Could it be that Chen Yuanxin had seen Du Meng steal his thunder and was now looking at him provocatively, wanting to take it back?

The more Qin Shaofeng thought about it, the more he felt that was entirely possible.

It left Qin Shaofeng speechless.

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

Watching Du Meng draw countless gazes, Chen Yuanxin was consumed with jealousy. In his eyes, he should have been the one enjoying those looks, yet Du Meng had appeared out of nowhere and snatched them away. How could he possibly accept that?

Therefore, he planned to achieve an outstanding result in this strength assessment.

Chen Yuanxin was confident. With his strength, passing the Seventh Checkpoint should not be difficult. If he followed his father's method, even passing the Eighth Checkpoint was not impossible!

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

A few breaths later, the first ring on the testing grounds' gate lit up.

No one found this surprising. Chen Yuanxin was a Xiantian Martial Master, so such speed was nothing unusual.

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

Then the third and fourth rings lit up in succession.

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

The Fifth Checkpoint!

The onlooking examinees immediately began discussing it among themselves.

"He passed it! The Fifth Checkpoint!"

"Tut, tut, Chen Yuanxin truly deserves to be called a Xiantian Martial Master. He passed five checkpoints in only a quarter of an hour!"

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

"I'd say seven. Chen Yuanxin is only at the Innate First Layer. The Seventh Checkpoint is probably his limit!"

"Mm, more or less. But I think he might also pass the Eighth Checkpoint. After all, Chen Yuanxin is the most outstanding genius in our area!"

"Alas, whether it's the Seventh or Eighth Checkpoint, 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 Checkpoint.

For a moment, another wave of astonished cries rose from the crowd.

Among the examinees at this testing site, Chen Yuanxin was the first to pass the Sixth Checkpoint!

After the Sixth Checkpoint, a rather long time passed. Only after waiting a full two quarter-hours did the seventh ring light up.

"He passed! He passed! Chen Yuanxin passed the Seventh Checkpoint!"

Whoosh!

The crowd erupted into an uproar. Even the examiner guarding the testing grounds grew somewhat solemn.

Anyone who could pass the Seventh Checkpoint could be considered a fairly good genius.

Furthermore, Chen Yuanxin was only sixteen years old. If things continued this way, he had the potential to reach the Spirit Vein Realm!

The Spirit Vein Realm was where true experts began!

Naturally, those examiners would make note of a genius with the potential to reach the Spirit Vein Realm.

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

After all, he had spent a full two quarter-hours passing the Seventh Checkpoint. Under such circumstances, the Eighth Checkpoint would be somewhat beyond Chen Yuanxin's reach.

Everyone present thought the same.

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

This was unexpected.

Could Chen Yuanxin be planning to challenge the Eighth Checkpoint?

A doubtful thought surfaced in everyone's mind.

After a while longer, Chen Yuanxin still had not come out of the testing grounds, and everyone became certain that he truly was attempting the Eighth Checkpoint.

They patiently waited. In their view, Chen Yuanxin had already taken two quarter-hours at the Seventh Checkpoint, so the Eighth Checkpoint would likely take even longer.

But something that surprised everyone once again happened.

A quarter of an hour!

In only a quarter of an hour, the eighth ring on the testing grounds' gate lit up.

He had passed the Eighth Checkpoint?

For a moment, the entire scene fell abruptly silent. Everyone found it somewhat unbelievable.

In the distance, where the three Star Students from the Heavenly King Party, the Lone Wolf Gang, and Nine Phoenix Garden stood, Chen Yuanxin's passing of the Eighth Checkpoint finally caught their attention.

"Someone passed the Eighth Checkpoint?"

Brother Lin of the Heavenly King Party's eyes brightened slightly. The Lone Wolf Gang man and the woman from Nine Phoenix Garden also had a glint flash through their eyes.

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

"Brother Lin, can this one go to my Lone Wolf Gang? The next one will be yours!" the Lone Wolf Gang man said first.

"To your Lone Wolf Gang?"

Anger flashed through Brother Lin's eyes. Anyone who could pass the Eighth Checkpoint was a genius with decent potential. With a little cultivation from their Heavenly King Party, reaching the Spirit Meridian Realm would not be difficult. How could he simply hand such a person over to the Lone Wolf Gang?

But just as he was about to refuse, he suddenly saw someone walking out of the testing grounds where the Eighth Checkpoint had been passed.

At first, he did not pay much attention. Yet when he sensed that person's aura, he suddenly laughed.

"Since Brother Wu Lang has said so, I, Lin Zhihao, will not take what another loves. We shall do as you say!"

Hm?

Wu Lang of the Lone Wolf Gang was startled. He glanced at Lin Zhihao in surprise.

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

But he soon learned 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 man had actually relied on medicinal pills to pass the Eighth Checkpoint?

Outside the testing grounds, as Chen Yuanxin recalled what had just happened, his face was somewhat pale, and he wore an expression of lingering terror.

When he passed the Seventh Checkpoint, Chen Yuanxin had already unleashed all his strength, only barely managing to get through it.

As for the Eighth Checkpoint, Chen Yuanxin used the treasure his father had prepared for him—a medicinal pill capable of temporarily increasing his strength.

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

That was also why he had taken two quarter-hours to pass the Seventh Checkpoint, yet only a quarter of an hour to pass the Eighth.

After passing the Eighth Checkpoint, Chen Yuanxin still refused to give up and tried the Ninth Checkpoint. Yet after entering it, he lasted only three breaths before being forced to retreat.

Had he retreated even a little slower, he would likely have already been seriously injured.

Chen Yuanxin finally understood why so few people had ever passed the Ninth Checkpoint.

That kind of test was simply not something an ordinary person could endure!

Still, he had passed the Eighth Checkpoint in the end.

Chen Yuanxin was confident that his result was definitely among the top ten. After all, he had taken only a quarter of an hour to pass the Eighth Checkpoint.

And with the additional three breaths he had endured at the Ninth Checkpoint, Chen Yuanxin was extremely satisfied with his result.

Such a result, during his father's era, would have ranked seventh or eighth.

Thus, he cast an exceptionally disdainful look toward Du Meng.

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

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

Although the assessment did not prohibit taking medicinal pills, every genius capable of reaching the Seventh or Eighth Checkpoint was proud and arrogant. Who would rely on pills to clear the checkpoints?

Such results were utterly fake. They might look good on the surface, but in truth they would only earn contempt.

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

The Lone Wolf Gang was, after all, one of Lianyang Academy's foremost major factions. Although Chen Yuanxin was a genius, the Lone Wolf Gang did not want someone who resorted to such deception.

However, while the Lone Wolf Gang and Heavenly King Party were uninterested, some of the other factions showed interest in Chen Yuanxin.

Though he had falsified his results, Chen Yuanxin had still passed the Seventh Checkpoint with his own strength. He could be considered a fairly decent talent.

Qin Shaofeng had also sensed the abnormality in Chen Yuanxin.

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

But after Chen Yuanxin emerged again, Qin Shaofeng discovered that something was not right.

He activated his Fiery Golden Eyes once more, and Qin Shaofeng quickly understood why.

Person: Chen Yuanxin

Level: Innate First Layer Early Stage (Early Innate Second Layer)

Inner Qi (Innate): 10/1200 (2200)

...

There had not been much change in Chen Yuanxin's attributes. It was merely that his realm and Inner Qi attributes now each had an additional bracketed value.

Qin Shaofeng was no stranger to such bracketed attributes. They represented temporarily increased attributes.

Qin Shaofeng understood. Chen Yuanxin had definitely taken some kind of medicinal pill to pass the Eighth Checkpoint.

After seeing Chen Yuanxin's attributes before, Qin Shaofeng had felt that he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person—an ordinary Innate First Layer cultivator had 1,000 points of Inner Qi. But seeing Chen Yuanxin like this, Qin Shaofeng now thought even less of him.

A person like him, even if they were both at the Innate First Layer, could probably be exchanged with Mengzi for a few moves without gaining the upper hand. There was no need to care about him at all.

Thus, Qin Shaofeng had not planned to remind Du Meng of anything. Unfortunately, he had forgotten one thing: some people always looked for trouble when they had nothing better to do.

If you did not go looking for trouble, trouble would come looking for you!

Completely unaware that someone had provoked him, Du Meng, when it was his turn, rushed excitedly toward the testing grounds.

At the same time, not only did everyone at the scene watch him, but gazes were secretly cast upon him from certain places as well.

Du Meng was indeed Du Meng!

His personality and build truly were no joke!

Compared with Chen Yuanxin, Du Meng's advance through the checkpoints was ferocious!

Chen Yuanxin had taken roughly five breaths at the First Checkpoint, but Du Meng needed only three.

He took less than ten breaths at the second...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The moment Du Meng entered, the rings on the testing grounds' gate lit up at astonishing speed!

In less than a quarter of an hour, Du Meng had reached the Seventh Checkpoint.

In a quarter of an hour, Chen Yuanxin had only reached the Sixth Checkpoint.

The difference became obvious the moment they were compared.

Even Wu Lang, who had been watching Du Meng, could not help but sigh after observing for a while. "This is the difference between deception and real strength!"