26 Fine, I'm a Monster

Alright, I'm a Monster!

That lecherous old man!

The new juniors of Azure Flame Academy condemned him in unison. Old Lan Ning was even more cunning and greedy than a goblin. After baiting everyone's interest, he actually had the nerve to start charging for his services!

Countless students despised him inwardly, yet they had no choice but to hand over their gold coins. After all, students who could attend Azure Flame Academy generally came from decent families, and what Lan Ning said was indeed tempting.

In this world, aptitude was generally tested with crystal balls. While they could determine each student's approximate aptitude range, they could not provide an exact answer like the Measuring Sky Ruler in old Lan Ning's hands.

"Sure enough, monopoly means wealth!" Xia Ming thought with an amused sigh.

Even with a fee of one hundred gold coins, people were still fighting to have a try.

A broad-shouldered, burly young man who looked like a warrior squeezed forward. "I'll go first!"

"State your name. If your aptitude is astonishing, it will surely be recorded in history!" Like a devil, old Lan Ning coaxed and tempted him, stirring up another wave of commotion among the freshmen below.

"My name is Sigru, a Level Four warrior!" The young man had been talked into a flushed face by Lan Ning's words and answered excitedly.

After the young warrior paid one hundred gold coins, Lan Ning smilingly stuffed the Measuring Sky Ruler into his hands. Under Lan Ning's guidance, Sigru fed a thread of battle aura into it, and one mark after another on the ruler lit up...

Everyone stared at the Measuring Sky Ruler, afraid of missing even the smallest thrilling detail.

"Level One, Level Two, Level Three..."

As the marks slowly climbed, the smile at the corner of Lan Ning's mouth grew ever more obvious.

"Level Seven aptitude strength! Young man, your talent is quite good. You already have the qualifications to vie for the summit among the strong. Most people only have Level Four aptitude, but you have Level Seven. Not bad, very good!"

Lan Ning patted the warrior Sigru on the shoulder, his face full of praise.

Sigru chuckled foolishly, quite satisfied with the result. After thanking Lan Ning, he went down happily. However, he did not leave, instead staying nearby to watch.

Many freshmen and senior students had also noticed the commotion here. More and more people gathered over, surrounding the place three layers deep and three layers outside, packed so tightly not even water could pass through.

Seeing how good business was, Lan Ning smiled even more broadly. "Students, who else wants to come up?"

"Me! Me!"

Several more people took the test afterward, but the results were somewhat disappointing. They were basically all Level Five aptitude strength; not even a single Level Six appeared.

"Hmph, and you call those shabby talents worth showing off? Better step aside and let me do it." A rather handsome young man with an arrogant expression stepped forward, dressed in an expensive mage robe and holding a gemstone staff.

This man disdainfully dismissed the test results of the previous freshmen, and he was extremely confident in his own aptitude. Every word he spoke dripped with pride.

"Solomon—he's Alpha Solomon of the Solomon Family!" A sharp-eyed student recognized the arrogant young man.

"He's Solomon? I heard he's one of the specially admitted students among this year's freshmen, and he's already a Level Five mage!"

"So impressive. As expected of a descendant of the Solomon Family. I heard the Solomon Family even has practitioners of profound magic..."

The crowd whispered among themselves, making Solomon even prouder. Yet he truly did have the capital to be proud. At such a young age, he was already a Level Five mage, and with his distinguished family background, he stood head and shoulders above the rest.

A flash of satisfaction passed through Solomon's eyes at the praise, though he concealed it well. He too paid one hundred gold coins, then took the Measuring Sky Ruler to test himself.

Everyone's attention focused on him once more.

"Level One, Level Two, Level Three..."

With every rise of the markings, everyone's breathing grew a little more hurried.

"Level Seven! His aptitude is even stronger than that Sigru's!" Someone nearby was already stunned.

"The Measuring Sky Ruler's markings are still rising!"

Cries of astonishment rose one after another. Solomon's aptitude had surpassed Level Seven and was advancing toward Level Eight. Even Lan Ning's eyes flashed with surprise. Aptitude exceeding Level Seven was not something seen often.

"Level Eight, and it's still rising!"

The freshmen were already dumbfounded. Quite a few senior students silently committed the name Solomon to memory. It seemed another formidable opponent would soon be added to their ranks.

"Level Nine!"

The markings on the Measuring Sky Ruler continued upward, barely crossing from Level Eight strength into Level Nine. The instant it reached Level Nine, it lost its momentum and stopped.

The ruler's markings rendered everyone speechless. Level Nine aptitude strength!

That lecherous old man Lan Ning was the first to recover from his shock. "Level Nine aptitude strength! Student, you truly are astonishing!" Lan Ning spared no lavish praise, extolling Solomon as rare in heaven and unmatched on earth. He flattered Solomon into such delight that Solomon generously tossed several hundred more gold coins to Lan Ning.

Xia Ming was also slightly surprised. For most people, the strongest possible aptitude was only Level Ten. Solomon's aptitude had merely reached Level Nine, but it was still terrifyingly high—one of the most outstanding aptitudes imaginable.

Xia Ming had already noticed that quite a few freshman girls around them were secretly sizing Solomon up, little stars practically sparkling in their eyes. To girls, a young man like Solomon—handsome, born into an exceptional family, and blessed with outstanding aptitude—was exactly the man of their dreams. What young maiden did not harbor thoughts of spring?

I wonder what level my aptitude is? Xia Ming thought. Judging from Anthony's and Bluebeard's reactions, his aptitude should be fairly good too, shouldn't it?

Solomon stepped down from the platform. He was rather calculating, doing his best to suppress the excitement and smugness in his heart as he descended at an unhurried pace.

"This student has Level Nine aptitude strength and already possesses the qualifications to contend with the continent's strong. Other students, what are you still waiting for?"

Lan Ning stirred up the crowd with great emotion. But this time, his efforts clearly had little effect. With Solomon's dazzling jade already before them, going up to test their aptitude now would be simply asking to be humiliated. Only a fool would do it.

"I'll do it." Xia Ming stepped out and walked to the front of the platform.

Everyone looked at Xia Ming strangely. Had this guy lost his mind? Wasn't he afraid of embarrassing himself? Did he think his aptitude was even better than Solomon's?

"Excellent! This student, your courage is commendable. Come, place your hands on the Measuring Sky Ruler and let us see your aptitude!" Lan Ning let out an exaggerated strange cry.

Xia Ming calmly gripped the Measuring Sky Ruler. After channeling a faint thread of magic power into it, the markings on the ruler began to slowly rise.

"Level three, four, five..."

"Level six! Student, your talent is quite impressive!" Lan Ning praised with a beaming smile.

The markings continued to rise, surpassing level seven. The surrounding students had already begun to look serious.

"Level eight intensity!"

Whispers began to spread through the crowd. The way they looked at Xia Ming had changed, and some were even quietly committing his appearance to memory.

"It's still rising—heavens, level nine intensity!"

Another genius with level-nine talent had appeared. Everyone cried out in amazement, disbelief in their eyes. Were geniuses as common as cabbages now? In the blink of an eye, there was another one...

"Student, your talent is like the brightest star in the heavens..." The shameless old man Lan Ning began another round of flattery, only this time, his target was Xia Ming.

"The Measuring Sky Ruler's markings are still climbing—damn, level ten!"

Level ten intensity! Even Xia Ming was somewhat surprised. So his talent was level ten intensity. It was said that the highest talent an ordinary person could possess was level ten. That explained why Anthony and Bluebeard had treated him so exceptionally...

The students around them sucked in sharp breaths. Good heavens, level-ten talent—an unparalleled genius even more terrifying than Solomon. The girls were practically shooting stars from their eyes at Xia Ming...

Solomon's face had turned green as he stared at Xia Ming. Where had this country bumpkin come from, to actually steal his thunder?

Just when everyone, Xia Ming included, thought it was over, the markings on the Measuring Sky Ruler rose again, suddenly shooting upward. They surpassed level ten and reached level eleven!

Level eleven!

"Gods above, am I seeing things? This... this talent level..." Everyone was so horrified that they could not speak.

For ordinary people, talent level generally topped out at level ten. Of course, there were exceptions above level ten. For example, the legendary Star Orlando had possessed level-eleven talent. But such talent intensity had already exceeded the bounds of mortals. Ordinary people simply could not possess it; it was known as god-tier talent!

This refined and handsome young man before them actually possessed god-tier talent comparable to that of the legendary Star Orlando!

"Student..." Lan Ning wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, about to offer a few polite words when his eyes suddenly darted back to the Measuring Sky Ruler. He discovered that its markings were still continuing to rise!

The Measuring Sky Ruler's markings effortlessly surged past level eleven, instantly reaching the maximum value of level twelve!

Twelve... levels.

"Damn it..." Lan Ning was so frightened that his soul nearly fled his body, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Gods, twelve-level talent intensity!