Academy Monthly Exam, Xu Yuan's Little Scheme

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed by.

Ever since visiting a number of Spirit Hall's middle- and upper-ranking members half a month ago, Xu Yuan had remained at the academy and gone nowhere else.

His days consisted of cultivating, reading, attending classes, and making Happy Water for Hu Liena and Bibi Dong.

After half a month, he had not gained many other benefits, but his cultivation had reached a breakthrough first.

He had advanced to level thirteen.

At the same time, Spirit Academy's monthly student assessment quietly arrived.

This was Xu Yuan's first assessment since coming here. Thinking of everything that had happened over the past month, he could not help feeling emotional.

On his second day here, he had been kidnapped by Evil Spirit Masters.

At the time, he had thought Spirit Hall was rotten to the core. Even a place like the main hall could be infiltrated by Evil Spirit Master spies.

But events had unfolded completely differently from what he had imagined.

Judging from the final outcome, those Evil Spirit Masters had almost certainly been planted by Pope Bibi Dong.

In the end, he and Hu Liena had been accepted as Bibi Dong's disciples and risen straight to prominence.

Even now, when he thought about it carefully, Xu Yuan still found it surreal.

Shaking his head, Xu Yuan placed the freshly made Happy Water into a sealed box, then carried it in his arms as he headed for the academy's main field.

This month's assessment differed somewhat from those of previous months.

The difference was not in format, but in scale.

News had spread several days earlier that Pope Bibi Dong would personally visit Spirit Academy today to watch the assessment.

Everyone understood why.

She had taken on two disciples. It was perfectly normal for a teacher to want to see the results of her disciples' cultivation.

What people did not understand was that not only would Bibi Dong come personally, but all of the hall's middle- and upper-ranking members had also said they would attend.

From several Platinum Bishops at the top to the many Red-Clad Bishops below, not a single one was absent.

Everyone felt somewhat uneasy. The last time Spirit Hall's middle and upper ranks had gathered in such numbers was when the previous Pope, Qian Xunji, had passed away.

And this time, what was it for?

Ten in the morning.

The blazing sun poured down over Spirit Academy's field. Students from every grade stood in square formations according to grade, lined up from left to right.

Around them, sun umbrellas stood in neat layers. Red-Clad Bishops and Archbishops, rarely seen on ordinary days, sat calmly beneath them.

At the front viewing platform stood an enormous awning, its vast shadow covering the entire platform below.

Bibi Dong, dressed in a luxurious robe, sat in the center. Five Platinum Bishops sat to her left, while five Title Elders sat to her right.

The lineup was absolutely stacked.

The assessment soon began.

There were five Soul Fighting Platforms in total, one for each grade from second through sixth.

As for first-year students, their cultivation was too low, and they did not even have Spirit Rings yet, so they were not included in the assessment.

The so-called assessment was actually just a series of soul fighting matches.

The top ten students in each grade would receive extremely generous rewards. First place in particular would receive not only material rewards such as Gold Soul Coins, but also an Honor Badge for taking first in soul fighting.

For now, the thing seemed useless aside from showing off, but after graduating from the academy, it could save someone several years of detours.

It was not impossible to enter Spirit Hall's management directly.

To ensure the fairness and impartiality of the assessment, opponents would be determined by drawing lots.

Xu Yuan looked at the number he had drawn: number thirty-six, the same as the number of students in his class.

That meant he would have to wait until the thirty-five pairs before him had finished competing before he could take the stage.

There was still plenty of time.

So Xu Yuan took out the sealed box he had prepared earlier from his Storage Soul Tool, made a slight detour, and headed toward the viewing platform at the front.

The moment he moved, countless eyes immediately fell upon him.

It could be said that everyone present had come because of Xu Yuan. They had arranged it all half a month ago.

Xu Yuan quickly came before Bibi Dong and stopped. Setting down the box, he cupped his hands in salute.

"Teacher!"

"Little Yuan, do you need something?"

Bibi Dong gave him a calm glance, acting as though she knew nothing. Her posture was dignified and her manner elegant.

Opening the sealed box, Xu Yuan took out a cup of Happy Water and handed it to her with a smile.

"It is so hot and dry today. This student specially prepared some cool drinks to help Teacher ease the heat."

"How thoughtful."

Elegantly taking the cup, Bibi Dong sipped through the straw, and a pleased expression immediately appeared on her stunning face.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan thought, If I could capture this on camera, then add subtitles and voiceover afterward—'Immortal Happy Water: cool, thirst-quenching, heat-relieving, and delicious. Even the Pope says it's good.'

It was practically a ready-made advertisement.

If even the Pope loved this drink, who would not want to try it?

Unfortunately, this world had no cameras, television, or internet. Still, Xu Yuan had already achieved his goal.

He presented a cup to each of the Platinum Bishops and Title Elders as well, putting on a display of social finesse.

Xu Yuan placed the box and the remaining Happy Water beside Bibi Dong, then took his leave and stepped down from the platform.

Next, all he had to do was join forces with Spirit Hall's middle and upper ranks to spread word of this scene by word of mouth.

Once the news had fermented for half a month, he could begin producing and selling it.

Of course.

Before that, Xu Yuan still needed to hold a small meeting with these middle- and upper-ranking members to set a unified price and discuss the profit-sharing ratio.

Once it was recorded in the form of contractual agreements, the matter would be complete.

Only by becoming a community of shared interests with these people could Xu Yuan truly rise to the heavens in a single step and have whatever he wanted.

He returned to his seat below the platform.

The other students of Class Six looked at Xu Yuan enviously, their gazes carrying traces of awe and excitement.

All of Spirit Hall's upper ranks were present for today's assessment. As long as they performed impressively and those higher-ups remembered their names—

Even if they could not compare to Xu Yuan, they could still make something of themselves.

Thus, the vast majority of Spirit Academy's students were highly excited, each of them giving it their all to show themselves off on the Soul Fighting Platforms.

Unfortunately, the more they wanted to show off, the more likely they were to overdo it.

Problems that could have been settled with a single punch were instead dragged out with a string of flashy but useless moves. The result was that their opponents found an opening and knocked them out with one blow.

Forget standing out—even their own homeroom teachers covered their eyes, unable to bear watching.

The entire assessment was riddled with mishaps.

As the academy's vice principal, Yue Guan felt his cheeks burn. He secretly glanced at Bibi Dong, who sat in the center.

Seeing that she was merely holding her Happy Water and sipping it happily, he silently breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, anger welled up within him. What were these homeroom teachers doing? It would have been one thing on an ordinary day, but today, so many of the hall's upper ranks were present.

If such things happened during the assessment, did that not mean the academy's teachers had failed to teach properly and management was incompetent?

The Pope had only recently given him greater responsibilities, having him oversee the Law Enforcement Hall as well!

If he could not even handle his own work while taking on more responsibilities, would that not give others something to criticize?

Fortunately, only a small number of students were like that. The vast majority were still normal, and before long, it was Xu Yuan's turn to take the stage.