Genius? Mediocrity?

In front of the Flying Bird Academy gates.

After fifty or sixty students registered, they lined up to wait for the test.

The first test was of their martial talent.

An academy steward had someone carry out a stone tablet, on which was recorded a set of boxing forms for circulating blood and walking the stance.

Anyone who could gather their qi and blood and circulate it through their body within the time it took one incense stick to burn would pass.

Shen Zhou and the others stood at the back of the line. After hearing the rules, he clicked his tongue. "All we have to do is gather some blood and circulate our qi. It should be pretty simple, right?"

A Dai and Xi Mei were focused and serious, looking just like high school seniors facing a major exam in their previous lives.

San Mazi, on the other hand, looked completely unconcerned. In fact, he seemed to be thinking that if he failed the test, he could use it as an excuse to slack off and avoid learning martial arts.

Soon, it was the turn of Shen Zhou's group. More than ten people took part, including Dongfang Hongyu.

Once they stepped forward, they assumed their stances in front of the stone tablet and began practicing the forms.

The boxing forms weren't difficult. There were only a dozen or so movements, and it took barely any time to memorize them. The difficult part was stirring up the power of qi and blood while practicing, gathering it, then circulating it through the body's major acupoints and opening the many vital gateways.

Anyone with even a little insight quickly grasped the forms' true meaning and gathered their qi and blood.

After only a short while, red mist began to rise from the surface of someone's body in the line. It was a sign that they had stirred up their qi and blood.

A few breaths later, red clouds appeared around A Dai, followed by Xi Mei, Dongfang Hongyu...

As for Shen Zhou and San Mazi...

"Can this technique really stir up qi and blood? Could it be fake?"

"Uh... Boss, Second Brother and Xi Mei have already succeeded. There's no way this technique is fake."

"Then why haven't I felt my qi and blood yet?"

"Could it be that our talent's just too poor?"

"..."

Shen Zhou's breath caught. Then, stubbornly, he said, "Impossible. How could my talent be poor? This set of boxing forms must not suit me. Steward, I demand a different technique!"

The academy steward merely glanced at him, then gave him a look that said, "Figure it out yourself."

Just then, Dongfang Cheng stepped forward to advise him. "It's all right, young man. A little less insight is no big deal. There's still a bone-structure test coming up. As long as your bone structure is exceptional, the academy will make an exception and accept you."

Shen Zhou's expression eased. My talent might be poor, but my bone structure can't be. I ought to have at least one of the two.

In the end, twenty of the more than fifty applicants passed the talent test. A Dai, Xi Mei, and Dongfang Hongyu were among them.

Once everyone had finished the talent test, the academy wasted no time and immediately began the bone-structure test.

For the bone-structure test, the steward would give each person a Qi-Blood Pill. After the youths swallowed it, the pill would rapidly erupt and expand inside their bodies. The process would be extremely painful. The longer someone endured it, the better their bone structure.

One incense stick was the minimum standard.

Two sticks meant average.

Three sticks meant superior.

Five sticks meant exceptional.

Only those who endured three sticks qualified.

Those who had failed the first round's talent test had to endure five sticks to be admitted as an exception.

"When your qi and blood erupt, none of you may circulate your energy. You must rely solely on your physical constitution and bone structure to endure it. Anyone who disobeys will immediately lose their qualification to enroll. The bone-structure test begins now!"

Once the Qi-Blood Pills had been distributed, the academy steward gave the order, and all the youths tilted their heads back and swallowed them at once.

Soon after the pills went down, a warm current rose from their bellies.

At first, the current was like a stream, flowing along their meridians and through their limbs. It wasn't painful at all; in fact, it felt especially comfortable.

But gradually, the current grew more and more turbulent, more and more violent.

When it gathered into a river, their meridians could no longer bear it. Even their bones felt as if they were being roasted in a raging fire.

"Ah... It hurts so much! I can't take it anymore!"

"It feels like eight hundred knives are carving up my flesh. I'm about to give in!"

"My bones are going to melt..."

Not even half an incense stick had burned before groans of pain and shrieks filled the area in front of the academy.

Many students couldn't endure the agony of their qi and blood erupting, and collapsed to the ground, writhing.

At that point, young martial artists from the academy stepped in to circulate energy and calm the raging qi and blood in their bodies. But that also meant those students had lost their chance to enroll.

A Dai's forehead was beaded with sweat, and his face was red, but he still seemed able to hold on.

Xi Mei's little face was deathly pale, and she was in obvious pain. She looked like she was already struggling.

San Mazi, on the other hand, was surprisingly resilient. Even though an incense stick was almost burned down, his face remained rosy, and he showed no sign of pain. He seemed to be holding up just fine.

The most surprising person was Shen Zhou.

To this day, he hadn't even felt a warm current inside his body.

He turned to look left and right. Seeing the youths around him looking as if they were on death's door, he couldn't help questioning it again. "Could the pill they gave me be fake?"

"If it isn't, then what's wrong?"

"Why is everything always so abnormal when it comes to me?"

Soon, the steward noticed something was off about Shen Zhou. He walked over, looked him up and down, then asked coldly, "Did you take the pill?"

The steward actually suspected that he hadn't taken it and was pretending he could endure the pain.

Shen Zhou immediately straightened up and replied firmly, "Of course I did."

"Then you don't feel anything?"

"No."

The steward studied Shen Zhou's expression for a long time. Seeing no sign that he was lying, he had someone bring another pill, then watched Shen Zhou swallow it.

Shen Zhou was at a loss for words.

The guy still suspected he was cheating.

So, right in front of the steward, he popped the pill into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times like a candy bean, and swallowed it.

The steward watched Shen Zhou's reaction from just a step away, his face expressionless. But...

Shen Zhou still showed no reaction.

The pill was like a fake medicine. The moment it entered Shen Zhou's body, it didn't cause the slightest stir.

Shen Zhou even asked suspiciously, "Could your pills have expired?"

The steward's face darkened. He grabbed Shen Zhou by the shoulder and circulated his origin energy through Shen Zhou's body. A long while later, he knitted his brows and asked, "Has someone ever helped you cleanse your meridians and marrow?"

Shen Zhou straightened up again and answered firmly, "Of course not."

The steward stared blankly at Shen Zhou. "But your body clearly shows signs of having undergone marrow cleansing. Your meridians are wider than other people's, your qi sea is several times larger, and your bones are much denser than an ordinary person's. How do you explain that?"

At this, Shen Zhou immediately thought of how, yesterday, he had overused an Entry and nearly burst apart.

Could overusing an Entry have inadvertently helped him cleanse his meridians and marrow?

And in the past, he had activated Entries from time to time to fight people, unleashing power close to the Celestial Firmament Realm at the drop of a hat. It was hard to say those unintentional actions hadn't tempered his meridians, too.

It was like a new pair of shoes: they fit tightly at first, but after wearing them once, twice... over time, they slowly stretched out.

That was exactly what had happened to Shen Zhou's meridians and bones.

If that's the case, could I have failed the earlier talent test because my bone structure was too good, while the technique was too low-level to stir up the qi and blood in my body?

Shen Zhou pondered the possibility, but he wouldn't admit it even if it killed him. "Maybe I was just born with good bone structure. So what? Besides, whether anyone helped me cleanse my meridians and marrow or not, my bone structure is exceptional now, isn't it? Isn't that a good thing?"

The steward was briefly at a loss for words.

It was true enough, but he still felt it was a case of someone taking a shortcut. It couldn't count as the martial artist's own aptitude.

It was like a beggar being given a fortune. At most, he was rich for a while. Once he spent it all, if he lacked the talent to earn more and had no idea how to make money afterward, he'd end up a beggar again.

Just as the steward was debating whether to accept Shen Zhou, Xi Mei suddenly collapsed to the ground with a thud. She had finally reached her limit and spat out a mouthful of blood before passing out.

"Xi Mei..."

The moment Shen Zhou saw this, he forgot all about arguing over bone structure and hurried over.

A young martial artist from the academy came to help regulate Xi Mei's energy. She soon regained consciousness, then glanced at the time and realized that the third incense stick had almost burned down. If she could have held on just a little longer, she would have passed. Unfortunately...

Seeing how things had turned out, Xi Mei sniffled with a wounded look and asked in her clear, sweet voice, "Brother Zhou, I didn't pass, did I?"

Shen Zhou, A Dai, and San Mazi had always doted on Xi Mei. They hurried to comfort her. "It's fine. So what if you didn't pass? It's no big deal.

"Besides, to be honest, Brother Zhou doesn't think much of this place. They decide someone's future prospects based on just a few tests, as if you can only get ahead by cultivating here.

"We can learn martial arts somewhere else. As long as we're willing to work hard, there's no reason we can't do as well as the students at Flying Bird Academy. Right?"

Only after hearing Shen Zhou's words did Xi Mei start to feel better.

But the academy steward beside them let out a derisive laugh. "Young man, if you were talking about anything else, I'd have nothing to say. But when it comes to teaching people, no one in the Southern Prefecture would dare put themselves above Flying Bird Academy. And those who are eliminated by our academy have even less chance of cultivating elsewhere and surpassing our students.

"That's never happened before. It isn't happening now, and it never will!"

The academy steward's words, expression, and bearing all radiated absolute confidence.

The people around them seemed to agree.

Shen Zhou neither agreed nor disagreed. "Nothing is absolute. Just because it's never happened before doesn't mean it never will."

Thump...

Thump...

As the two of them argued, Dongfang Hongyu and A Dai both reached their limits and fell to their knees at the same time.

The third incense stick had just burned down.

Seeing this, Dongfang Hongyu shouted excitedly, "Hey, hey... See that? I passed! I made it by the skin of my teeth!"

But the academy steward merely glanced at him and replied with a single indifferent sentence, immediately dousing Dongfang Hongyu's excitement and almost making him want to die. "Just barely making it doesn't count. If students of Flying Bird Academy are to get in, they must leave no room for dispute. Only the truly outstanding are qualified to enter Flying Bird Academy."

As if deliberately flaunting the academy's distinction, the steward said this while looking at Shen Zhou, his expression arrogant and his gaze condescending. It seemed more like he was speaking directly to him.

Shen Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling an urge to pull out the Taixuan Sword and hack this damn steward to pieces.

But by then, A Dai had finished regulating his breathing and stood up. He came over, helped Xi Mei to her feet, and said calmly, "Boss Zhou, let's go back."

A Dai's calm attitude left Shen Zhou momentarily dumbfounded. He asked quietly, "A Dai, are you all right?"

A Dai smiled. "I'm fine. It doesn't matter whether we get into the academy or not. Just like Boss Zhou said, as long as we're willing to work hard, we can do it anywhere. Besides, the test just showed that my aptitude isn't all that bad. What is there to be afraid of?"

At that moment, San Mazi had somehow wandered over as well. He grinned broadly and chuckled. "That's right. The four of us either get in together or none of us do. I don't want to practice martial arts anyway. Now I can slack off for two more days."

Shen Zhou was taken aback, then laughed.

At first, he had chosen Flying Bird Academy because of its reputation.

It was like choosing a university in his previous life: of course you wanted to attend the best one.

But if the university wasn't right for you, then there was no harm in choosing another. After all, Shen Zhou had a "golden finger." He was only learning martial arts to make up for his weaknesses and temper his body. It wasn't as though he had to attend this academy.

With that thought, Shen Zhou no longer had any misgivings. He turned and left with the Three Little Ones.

Seeing them go, the steward hesitated, then called after him, "Young man, if you're willing to tell me who helped you cleanse your meridians and marrow, I can make an exception and let you into the academy."

Anyone capable of helping someone cleanse their meridians and marrow was definitely a Celestial Firmament Realm powerhouse. If he could earn that expert's favor, he didn't mind making an exception for Shen Zhou.

Besides, after having his meridians and marrow cleansed, Shen Zhou really did have an excellent bone structure. His future prospects would be promising!

Unfortunately, Shen Zhou didn't look back. He left the academy crowd with nothing but a carefree silhouette.

This sight made many of the parents look at him with newfound respect.

As they left, Dongfang Hongyu's voice rang out again from the academy gates, full of unwillingness.

"I clearly passed! Can't you make an exception and let me in...?"

"Bah! What's so great about Flying Bird Academy? If I don't get in, then I don't get in. I couldn't care less!"

"Just you wait! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river... Once I've made something of myself training somewhere else, I'll beat every last one of your Flying Bird Academy students flat, so everyone in the Southern Prefecture will know you're nothing special! Hmph!"