What a Bargain for Him!

"Damn it, the minimum requirement is actually Fifth Level Qi Condensation this year? Didn't previous county exams only require the Qi Condensation Realm to participate?!"

"Why has the threshold suddenly been raised so high this year? This is far too harsh!"

"I'm only at Fourth Level Qi Condensation. How could this happen..."

"Maybe it's because of this year's Five Prefectures Joint Exam that they raised the selection standards. After all, if the students they select are too weak, the county school instructors would lose face as well!"

On Martial Arts Field Number One, after Instructor Fan Suiyun's announcement, cries of shock and sighs rose and fell through the crowd. Many students were thrown into turmoil, as though they had lost their examination slips.

Shen Qinglan frowned slightly and said softly to Chen An, "This year's entry requirement is much higher than before. It seems the prefectural city intends to select only the elite and weed out a large number of students with mediocre talent."

"But that's fine. Old Yue has already secured you a special admission spot at the prefectural academy. If you're eliminated, you're eliminated—it just means you won't have to step onto the arena." Shen Qinglan smiled again.

Hearing Shen Qinglan's words, Chen An smiled faintly. He said nothing more and merely nodded.

Not far away, Liu Qingyun was dumbfounded upon hearing the rules.

He had never expected this county exam to adopt such rules. Yet his father, the chief instructor of Class Geng, had not even known about it.

Did he truly not know, or had he deliberately kept it from him?!

And yesterday, had Chief Academy Elder Wei Linyuan truly just happened to pass nearby before stepping in?!

At that thought, Liu Qingyun shuddered.

Then Liu Qingyun's gaze turned toward Chen An in the distance, his eyes flashing with resentment and unwillingness.

"Damn it, what a bargain for him!"

Originally, Liu Qingyun had planned to pretend to make a mistake and kill Chen An if they met on the arena.

But this county exam had changed. The first round would test cultivation, and with Chen An's Second Level Qi Condensation cultivation, he would be eliminated before even passing the first stage.

That ruined Liu Qingyun's scheme!

Hmph, let you live a little longer. Once the county exam ends and I enter the prefectural academy, your death day will come! Liu Qingyun snorted coldly to himself.

"Enough, silence!"

Fan Suiyun gave a low shout from the platform, and a fierce, mountain-like pressure abruptly erupted from him, instantly blanketing every student taking the examination.

The overwhelming aura made everyone's hearts tighten. The entire field immediately fell silent; one could hear a needle drop. No one dared to clamor or cause trouble again.

"All of you, form lines immediately and proceed to the Profound Light Stele for cultivation testing in turn!"

"Anyone who dares provoke trouble, make a public disturbance, or disrupt the examination order shall be expelled from the academy on the spot and never admitted again!"

"Begin!!!"

As Fan Suiyun's voice fell, all the county school students silently divided into five lines under the instructors' direction and approached the Profound Light Stele.

"Circulate your true qi and strike the silver-white area of the Profound Light Stele with your palm!"

A county school instructor stood beside each Profound Light Stele, patiently guiding the students who stepped forward and teaching them how to activate the stele with their true qi.

"Zhao Wenyuan!"

An instructor loudly called out the name of the first examinee.

The youth named Zhao Wenyuan was nervous as he walked forward trembling. Following the method taught by the instructor, he slowly circulated the true qi within his body and poured it into the Profound Light Stele.

Bzzzz—!!

A deep hum suddenly rang out. A layer of pale cyan radiance rippled across the surface of the Profound Light Stele, and then three marks on the lowest tier of the stele lit up.

The instructor glanced at the stele and immediately pronounced in a deep voice, "Zhao Wenyuan, Third Level Qi Condensation. Unqualified!"

The roll call continued at once!

"Cheng Lishan, Fifth Level Qi Condensation. Qualified!"

"Yuan Zongming, Fourth Level Qi Condensation. Unqualified!"

Standing toward the back of the third group, Chen An quietly watched round after round of testing ahead of him. A faint glimmer stirred in his eyes as he nodded to himself.

So that's how it is. Cyan light corresponds to the Qi Condensation Realm, and the marks on the stele are the standard for dividing the minor cultivation levels!

"Instructor Fan, is it not too harsh to eliminate students below Fifth Level Qi Condensation in the very first round of this county exam?!"

On the platform, County Magistrate Zhang Xuanming looked at the students below who wept bitterly after being eliminated. His gaze shifted as he said, "The path of martial arts has never judged superiority by cultivation alone!"

"Some students possess outstanding innate bones and advance a thousand miles in a day through cultivation. Yet many others are naturally stronger in comprehension, achieving profound insight into martial skills and cultivation methods, perhaps even gaining the ability to fight above their level. Judging them solely by cultivation may bury many talents."

"The County Magistrate speaks wisely!"

Hearing Zhang Xuanming's words, Fan Suiyun first cupped his hands, then looked down at the students being tested below and said slowly, "There are indeed people in this world whose innate bones are ordinary but whose comprehension is peerless, allowing them to fight above their level."

"However, no matter how high one's comprehension or how profound one's grasp of martial skills, without cultivation to support it, one may still contend with enemies of the same level. But when facing suppression from a higher realm, it is basically impossible to turn the tide!"

"Moreover, this martial examination is no ordinary matter. The selected students will not only compete on the same stage with students from the thirty-six counties of Chengtian Prefecture, but also contend with the geniuses of Qingyuan Prefecture, Myriad Peace Prefecture, Changgen Prefecture, and Zhaoming Prefecture!"

"The four prefectures are brimming with talent, and geniuses emerge in endless succession!"

"If we lower the threshold and admit a batch of people with low cultivation, it may seem as though we cherish talent, but in truth, we would only leave them helpless against students from other counties and prefectures in future competitions. We would squander Wurong County's reputation for nothing and delay their own martial futures as well."

"County Magistrate, this old man agrees with Instructor Fan's approach!"

At that moment, Zhou Tong, the Zhou Family's ancestor seated beside them in a gray robe, interjected, "Cultivation is the foundation of martial arts. Without cultivation, what use is even the strongest martial skill?!"

"Take this old man, for example. I am a Houtian Realm martial artist. So what if he has cultivated his martial skills to perfection? This old man could slap him to death with one palm!"

Hearing Zhou Tong's somewhat crude analogy, displeasure flashed through Zhang Xuanming's eyes. Yet he said nothing, merely nodded slightly and turned his gaze back to the testing ahead.

"Cai De'an, Seventh Level Qi Condensation. Qualified!"

"Deng Mingyuan, Fifth Level Qi Condensation. Qualified!"

The testing continued!

"Liu Qingyun!"

Very soon, it was Liu Qingyun's turn in the second group.

"Shen Qinglan!!!"

By coincidence, it was also Shen Qinglan's turn in the third group!

Liu Qingyun glanced at Chen An, then strode forward with a confident expression. Arriving before the Profound Light Stele, he took a deep breath and struck it with his palm.

Bang!!!~~

With a muffled boom, Liu Qingyun's palm slammed solidly into the Profound Light Stele.

The next instant, the entire Profound Light Stele erupted with cyan radiance, while a full nine marks lit up...