Wang Haixuan's Schemes

Mu Qing arrived where Ling Fei and the others were. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they began asking about his situation.

"What exactly happened during the Mock Exam?" Jiang Yuanjie asked.

The soul of a journalist was burning within him; his eyes gleamed with excitement as he sought to learn everything to draft a news report.

The others also expressed their confusion, and even Ling Fei, who knew Mu Qing best, looked at him with suspicion.

He had previously only known that Mu Qing's father was quite wealthy, but he seemed to be nothing more than a businessman.

Ling Fei could never have imagined that even Mu Qing himself did not know the true identity of his mysterious father.

Mu Yu had once told Mu Qing that he was a businessman who often went on business trips. Mu Qing had assumed he was off doing business and rarely felt any doubt.

Mu Qing pondered for a moment, deciding not to tell the group about Ke Fei.

After spending time with Ke Fei on Lake Heart Island, he had gained a rough understanding of the man's situation. Ke Fei had killed countless people due to his Bloodthirsty Personality, and even though over a decade had passed, the old arrest warrants might still exist.

Mu Qing simply told the group that he had a fortuitous encounter on Lake Heart Island and had taken a powerful expert as his master.

"There's actually such a powerful expert on Lake Heart Island?" the group exclaimed in surprise.

They were well aware of how shocked the principal and the others had been when the Long Clan No. 1 appeared.

Jiang Yuanjie curled his lip; clearly, the news he got from Mu Qing was not as explosive as he had imagined.

Teacher Qin began organizing the students, making arrangements as they headed toward the large instrument in the center of the training ground.

He kept Mu Qing and the others for last, as they were the students meant to anchor the performance.

Mu Qing and his friends were all at the ninth stage of Blood Qi. With the principal and others present, Teacher Qin felt very proud to showcase them.

Jiang Yuanjie left temporarily, as he was not in Class 3-B.

Mu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. Although some accidents had occurred along the way, he had arrived in time and had not missed the first stage of the College Entrance Exam.

The first stage of the College Entrance Exam was the simplest and did not take much time; it merely served to detect the students' cultivation levels and record their information.

Mu Qing spoke with Ling Fei, Ji Jia, and Yang Shanshan. After hearing some of the things they mentioned, his expression turned grim.

Ji Jia told Mu Qing that after he went missing during the Mock Exam, Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan had tracked them down.

With Mu Qing gone, Ling Fei, who was only at the seventh stage of Blood Qi at the time, was no match for them and was ultimately eliminated.

Fortunately, Ling Fei had managed to keep the dozen or so Vermilion Fruit safe. After the group consumed them, their progress surged, and they all reached the ninth stage of Blood Qi.

"The entire Hangzhou City is now spreading rumors that you are the culprit behind the Mummified Corpse Incident. Those elders who turned into mummies hold a deep grudge against you!" Yang Shanshan leaned in and whispered.

Yang Shanshan's background was not simple; she had obtained information that even Jiang Yuanjie did not know. She said that the rumors outside were all being stirred up by the Wang Family behind the scenes.

"Wang Haixuan?" A hint of killing intent flickered in Mu Qing's eyes.

His fists clenched tightly, and faint traces of lightning flickered between his knuckles.

Originally, although he and Wang Haixuan were rivals, he had never harbored any murderous intent toward him, as they were both students of West Lake High School.

However, Wang Haixuan had provoked him one too many times, sparking a terrifying killing intent within him.

"Hmph, those two guys took all the rewards from the Mock Exam!" Ling Fei said indignantly. They had been mocked after the exam ended, and he was filled with rage.

Ji Jia nodded fiercely. Dressed in a white casual outfit, she looked youthful and beautiful, though her pretty face also revealed her disgust for Wang Haixuan and his cohorts.

"But we've all broken through to the ninth stage of Blood Qi. When the combat portion of the College Entrance Exam begins, we will definitely strike back!" Yang Shanshan said triumphantly, shaking her small fist, though a formidable aura that could not be ignored radiated from her body.

Ling Fei told Mu Qing the truth: those dozen Vermilion Fruit had actually been consumed by him and Jiang Yuanjie, as Yang Shanshan and Ji Jia had generously stepped aside.

Ling Fei and Jiang Yuanjie were very grateful to the two girls for this. Although Ji Jia and the others had also relied on resources obtained from their elders to reach the ninth stage of Blood Qi, they deeply valued this favor.

"By the way! Do you know if there is a blood-colored bead on your person?" Mu Qing suddenly asked Ji Jia.

He had seen with his own eyes inside the Ape Nest that a blood bead had appeared within Ji Jia's body before drilling into the ground.

"That was an amulet my dad gave me." Ji Jia did not feel surprised; she explained to Mu Qing that the blood bead had been given to her by Ji Xiangfeng.

Mu Qing nodded in sudden realization, though for some reason, he felt a bit strange about it in his heart.

"Next, Ji Jia!"

The testing process for the first stage was fast, despite there being thousands of students on the training ground.

A Federation expert with an eighth-rank bloodline shouted, and Ji Jia walked up.

The instrument in the center of the training ground, which looked like crystal, bloomed with a dazzling, brilliant white light.

Many teachers were beside the testing instrument, as were the principal and vice-principal, though Ji Xiangfeng was notably absent.

It seemed that ever since the Mock Exam, Vice-Principal Ji Xiangfeng had rarely appeared.

Ji Jia placed her slender, white-jade-like hand onto the crystal-like instrument. Suddenly, strands of morning light surged out, wrapping around her body.

In just over ten seconds, the instrument projected a light screen recording Ji Jia's information, including her Blood Spirit, strength, martial arts, and more—everything was detected.

This crystal instrument was a precious piece of equipment within the Federation. Although it had many restrictions, it was of great significance.

All the information on the light screen was classified. Only Ziyue and the other Federation personnel could view it; even the principal and his staff had no authority to see it.

Ziyue's eyes flickered with strange light. She nodded, signaling for the next person to step up.

"It seems West Lake High School is a dark horse this time!" Ziyue whispered softly.

Ziyang scratched his head, then realized what was going on.

He stroked his chin and said, "In the past, the performance of West Lake High School in the College Entrance Exam could only be considered average. I didn't expect so many geniuses at the ninth stage of Blood Qi to appear this time."

"That's not necessarily true; this College Entrance Exam is not simple," Ziyue shook her head again.

"You mean..." Ziyang recalled something, but Ziyue immediately glared at him, causing him to swallow the rest of his words.

The next one was Yang Shanshan. She walked up to the instrument but started chatting with Ziyue first.

Ziyue pursed her lips and smiled, vigorously ruffled Yang Shanshan's hair a few times, and then pulled her into an embrace, saying coquettishly, "Oh my, Shanshan is getting cuter and cuter!"

Yang Shanshan puffed out her cheeks, pushed Ziyue away, and said, "Can you hurry up!"

Only then did Ziyue let her go up to perform the test.

Mu Qing, Ling Fei, and the others were stunned; they hadn't expected Yang Shanshan to actually know these powerhouses from the Federation like Ziyue.

"Yang Shanshan's family is extraordinary. She was originally supposed to be in Beijing City, but she came to our West Lake High School for certain reasons," Ji Jia explained to them.

After Yang Shanshan came Ling Fei, and in less than five minutes, someone called Mu Qing's name.

Suddenly, the gazes of a large crowd were drawn over.

Mu Qing had arrived in a Long Clan No. 1, which had alarmed the school's top brass and the Federation powerhouses. Coupled with the Mummified Corpse Incident that had suddenly occurred not long ago, Mu Qing had inevitably become the center of attention.

The students' eyes were somewhat complicated; as far as they were concerned, Mu Qing was the culprit behind the Mummified Corpse Incident.

Wang Haixuan's methods were terrifying. Relying on the power of the Wang Family and his own strength, he held immense influence within the school and had formed an organization.

Under his secret manipulation, waves of negative news about Mu Qing were spread. The students in the school didn't care about the truth or falsehood of these reports; blindly, they all believed that Mu Qing was the murderer.

The main reason for this result was the indulgence of the school's top brass.

The school's leadership had investigated the Mummified Corpse Incident in secret to no avail, and even the principal seeking help from Federation powerhouses had been useless. In the end, they could only push all the blame onto Mu Qing.

This caused Mu Qing's reputation to stink throughout West Lake High School, and even within Hangzhou City.

As soon as Mu Qing stepped forward, some students began to make noise.

"Is that Demon Mu? It's said he has an extremely perverted hobby—he likes to drink human blood!"

"Why? How can he still participate in the College Entrance Exam? After doing such things, he's still allowed to take the exam."

"Don't the principal and the others care?"

The students in the training ground began to shout loudly, demanding that the school disqualify Mu Qing from the College Entrance Exam.

For a moment, the scene became somewhat uncontrollable. Most of the students on the training ground, not knowing who had started it, suddenly surged forward in a large crowd.

In the crowd, the corners of Wang Haixuan's mouth curled up slightly; this effect was exactly what he had wanted.