Mu Qing went over to Ling Fei and the others. After a few pleasantries, they asked him what had happened.
"What exactly happened during the mock exam?" Jiang Yuanjie asked.
The spirit of a reporter burned within him. His eyes shone as he eagerly tried to learn every detail so he could write an article.
The others were curious too. Even Ling Fei, who knew Mu Qing best, regarded him with suspicion.
He'd always thought Mu Qing's father was simply a wealthy businessman.
How could Ling Fei have known that even Mu Qing had no idea what his mysterious father really did?
Mu Yu had once told Mu Qing he was a businessman who was often away on business trips. Mu Qing had assumed he traveled for work and had rarely questioned it.
Mu Qing thought for a while but didn't tell them about Ke Fei.
After spending some time with Ke Fei on Lake Heart Island, he had a general idea of his situation. Back then, Ke Fei had killed countless people because of his Bloodthirsty Personality. Even though more than a decade had passed, the old wanted notice might still be out there.
Mu Qing only told them that he'd had an unexpected encounter on Lake Heart Island and had taken a powerful expert as his master.
"There's actually an expert like that on Lake Heart Island?" The others were astonished.
They clearly remembered how shocked the principal and the others had been when the Dragon Clan No. 1 appeared.
Jiang Yuanjie pursed his lips. Evidently, the news he'd gotten from Mu Qing wasn't nearly as explosive as he'd hoped.
Teacher Qin began organizing the students and directing them toward the large machine in the center of the training grounds.
He'd left Mu Qing and the others until last, saving them for the grand finale.
Mu Qing and the others were all at Blood Qi Ninth Stage. With the principal and the other school officials present, having them show off their strength would make Teacher Qin look good.
Jiang Yuanjie left for the time being; he wasn't in Class 3-B.
Mu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. A few things had gone wrong, but he'd made it in time and hadn't missed the first stage of the College Entrance Exam.
The first stage was the simplest and didn't take long. It just tested the students' cultivation levels and recorded their information.
Mu Qing chatted with Ling Fei, Ji Jia, and Yang Shanshan. After hearing what they had to say, his face darkened.
Ji Jia told Mu Qing that after he'd disappeared during the mock exam, Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan had found them.
With Mu Qing gone, only Ling Fei—at Blood Qi Seventh Rank—had been there to face them. He hadn't been their match, and they'd ended up being eliminated.
Fortunately, Ling Fei had managed to save the dozen or so Vermilion Fruits. After eating them, the group had made rapid progress and all reached Blood Qi Ninth Stage.
"The whole city of Hangzhou is saying you're behind the Mummified Corpse Incident. The relatives of those who turned into mummies hate you!" Yang Shanshan came closer and lowered her voice.
Yang Shanshan came from an extraordinary background. She'd learned things even Jiang Yuanjie didn't know. According to her, the Wang Family was secretly behind all the rumors going around.
"Wang Haixuan?" A trace of murderous intent surfaced in Mu Qing's eyes.
His fists clenched, faint sparks of lightning flickering between them.
He and Wang Haixuan had been enemies, but Mu Qing had never wanted to kill him. After all, they were both students at West Lake High School.
But Wang Haixuan had provoked him again and again, stirring up a terrifying killing intent within him.
"Hmph, those two took all the rewards from the mock exam!" Ling Fei said, deeply displeased. After the mock exam, they'd been mocked, and he was still furious.
Ji Jia nodded hard. Dressed in a white casual outfit, she looked youthful and bright, and disgust for Wang Haixuan and the others showed on her pretty face.
"But we've all reached Blood Qi Ninth Stage now. When the battles in the College Entrance Exam begin, we'll make them pay!" Yang Shanshan declared proudly, giving her little fist a shake. A fearsome aura radiated from her.
Ling Fei told Mu Qing what had really happened: the dozen or so Vermilion Fruits had all been eaten by him and Jiang Yuanjie. Yang Shanshan and Ji Jia had generously given them up.
Ling Fei and Jiang Yuanjie were deeply grateful to the two girls. Though Ji Jia and Yang Shanshan had also relied on resources from their elders to reach Blood Qi Ninth Stage, they would never forget this kindness.
"By the way! Do you know if you have a blood-colored pearl inside you?" Mu Qing suddenly asked Ji Jia.
He'd seen a Blood Pearl appear inside Ji Jia in the Ape Nest, then burrow into the ground.
"That's a talisman my dad gave me for protection." Ji Jia wasn't surprised. She explained that the Blood Pearl had come from Ji Xiangfeng.
Mu Qing nodded, understanding at last, though for some reason, something still felt off.
"Next, Ji Jia!"
The first-stage tests moved quickly. There were thousands of students on the training grounds, after all.
A Federation expert with an eighth-rank bloodline called out. Ji Jia stepped forward.
The machine in the center of the training grounds was crystal-like, radiating brilliant white light.
Many teachers stood beside it, along with the principal and vice-principal. Ji Xiangfeng was the only one missing.
It seemed that ever since the mock exam, Vice-Principal Ji Xiangfeng had rarely shown up.
Ji Jia extended her hand, as fair as white jade, and touched the crystal-like machine. In an instant, wisps of Dawn Light welled forth and curled around her.
Barely ten seconds later, the machine projected a screen recording Ji Jia's information. It even included details about her Blood Spirit, strength, and martial skills—the device had detected everything.
This crystal machine was a precious piece of equipment used by the Federation. It had many limitations, but it was still extraordinary.
All the information on the screen was classified. Only Ziyue and the other Federation personnel could view it; even the principal and his colleagues had no right to see it.
A strange light flickered in Ziyue's eyes. She nodded, signaling for the next student.
"Looks like West Lake High School is a dark horse this year!" Ziyue murmured.
Ziyang scratched his head, then finally caught on.
He stroked his chin. "West Lake High School's performance in the College Entrance Exam has always been average. I didn't expect so many Blood Qi Ninth Stage prodigies to show up this time."
"Not necessarily. This year's exam won't be simple." Ziyue shook her head again.
"You mean..." Ziyang thought of something, but Ziyue immediately shot him a glare, making him swallow the rest of his words.
Next was Yang Shanshan. When she reached the machine, she started chatting with Ziyue instead of taking the test.
Ziyue pressed her lips together in a smile, gave Yang Shanshan's head a few vigorous ruffles, then pulled her into a tight embrace. "Aww, Shanshan's getting cuter and cuter!"
Yang Shanshan puffed out her cheeks and pushed Ziyue away. "Can you hurry up?"
Only then did Ziyue let her step forward for the test.
Mu Qing and Ling Fei stared in surprise. They hadn't expected Yang Shanshan to know powerful Federation figures like Ziyue.
"Yang Shanshan's family is extraordinary. She was supposed to be in Beijing City, but she came to our West Lake High School for some reason," Ji Jia explained.
After Yang Shanshan came Ling Fei. Less than five minutes later, someone called Mu Qing's name.
At once, countless eyes turned toward him.
Mu Qing had arrived aboard the Dragon Clan No. 1, startling the school's higher-ups and the Federation experts. Combined with the recent Mummified Corpse Incident, that had made him impossible to ignore.
The students' expressions were complicated. As far as they were concerned, Mu Qing was the culprit behind the Mummified Corpse Incident.
Wang Haixuan's methods were frightening. With the Wang Family's influence and his own strength, he'd built up enormous power within the school and formed an organization.
Through his covert machinations, one piece of negative news after another about Mu Qing had spread. The students didn't care whether it was true; they blindly believed Mu Qing was the culprit.
The main reason things had come to this was that the school's higher-ups had let it happen.
The school officials had investigated the Mummified Corpse Incident in secret without success. Even the principal had gotten nowhere after seeking help from the Federation experts. In the end, they'd had no choice but to pin all the blame on Mu Qing.
As a result, Mu Qing's reputation had been dragged through the mud throughout West Lake High School and even across Hangzhou City.
As soon as Mu Qing stepped forward, students started shouting.
"So that's Demon Mu? I heard he has all kinds of sick, twisted habits. He likes drinking human blood!"
"Why does he get to keep taking the College Entrance Exam? He did something like that, and he's still allowed to take it?"
"Are the principal and the others just going to sit there and do nothing?"
The students on the training grounds all roared, demanding that the school strip Mu Qing of his eligibility for the College Entrance Exam.
For a moment, the scene threatened to spiral out of control. Most of the students on the training grounds surged forward, though no one knew who had started it.
In the crowd, Wang Haixuan's lips curled slightly. This was exactly the result he'd wanted.
Before you continue