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"Not bad, kid!"

"You've got some skills, kid!" a Night Patrol Team member teased.

"Enough nonsense. Next." Xin Yang was eager to get the Ironwood Art.

"Me, me. I'll give you a try." At that moment, a muscular man walked over.

They clasped hands, and the match began.

Amid the astonished expressions of the surrounding people, the outcome had already been decided.

Xin Yang won again.

The Dreamsource Ghost bounced about merrily at Xin Yang's feet, as though it were the one who had won the match.

"Even Li Ergou at Body Tempering Level Seven lost."

"Kid, are you hiding your true strength?"

"You're actually a Calamity Ghost Level Eight."

"Isn't my strength obvious?" As he spoke, Xin Yang pointed at his companion ghost, Dreamsource Ghost.

At that moment, the crowd suddenly parted, and a man covered in scars from head to toe walked up to the stone platform.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

Hearing how everyone addressed him, Xin Yang immediately understood the man's identity.

"This kid really is only Calamity Ghost Level Four."

"Kid, I'll have one final match with you. If you can beat me, I'll teach you the Ironwood Art right away."

"It's a deal!"

The match began.

Xin Yang and the captain exerted force at the same time.

Yet both of them discovered that neither was stronger than the other.

Ten minutes passed.

There was still no winner.

Xin Yang understood that unless he used a specter technique or activated his Drought Demon Form, it would basically be impossible to defeat this man.

The Night Patrol Team captain was equally surprised.

He had cultivated three martial arts techniques to mastery.

Though they were all unranked techniques.

The strength those techniques granted was real.

Both men knew they could not defeat the other.

"We can't stay deadlocked like this."

"How about we call it a draw?"

"Fine."

Their palms separated.

"Not bad, kid. Is your strength natural-born, or do you have some special curse ability?"

"What happens with the match if we draw?" Xin Yang did not answer the captain's question, instead changing the subject.

"Why the rush? The Ironwood Art isn't some rare treasure. Someone, go to the training room and get him a copied manual of the Ironwood Art."

"Captain, there are no copied manuals left. They've all been handed out to the different newcomers during this time."

"Sorry, kid! All the manuals I copied before are gone. I've had someone make another copy for you," the captain said apologetically.

Xin Yang had no time to wait. He quickly said, "Actually, I don't need a copy of the manual. Just teach me the chant and the key points."

"Are you sure? An ordinary person would need at least a few days to memorize the Ironwood Art."

"I'm sure!"

"All right, then. Everyone, follow me and demonstrate the Ironwood Art once in front of this kid." Upon hearing Xin Yang's firm answer, they said no more and directly began using the technique before him.

All the members of the Night Patrol Team demonstrated the Ironwood Art while reciting its chant.

Two hours later, Xin Yang had committed all the key points of the Ironwood Art to memory.

Afterward, he bid these men farewell.

The men of Bama Village were simple and honest people. If you had strength, you could earn their respect.

Xin Yang looked at the ring on his left index finger.

He roughly guessed that only a few hours remained before the freshman assessment ended.

Xin Yang did not want to waste those few hours.

He hurried out of the village.

He continued deeper into the mountains, killing ghosts.

[You have successfully learned the unranked technique: Ironwood Art]

[Current Ironwood Art Level: Beginner]

[Attribute gained: Physical Defense +1]

"Shangzhi, get into the Little Black Ball. I feel like the assessment is about to end."

"By your command, my lord."

After the Burial Temple Ghost entered the ghost space inside the Little Black Ball.

Not long after...

Xin Yang felt a wave of dizziness.

When he opened his eyes again.

He had already returned to Checkpoint 108 of Glory University.

The soldiers held loudspeakers and shouted at the students whose assessments had ended.

There was no helping it. There were simply too many students gathered before Checkpoint 108 after the assessment ended.

The scene reminded Xin Yang of the National Day crowds at Motherland Square in his previous life.

"Students, please leave in an orderly manner and return to your dormitories."

"The rewards for the freshman assessment and the class assignment ceremony will be held at your respective academies three days from now."

Xin Yang returned to the house assigned to him.

He kicked off his shoes and socks.

Then immediately burrowed into bed like a kangaroo.

He had gained quite a lot from this freshman assessment.

Not only had he subdued the Burial Temple Ghost, but his strength had also improved in all kinds of ways.

The only thing was that his brother had not emerged again since the moment they entered the village.

While Xin Yang was still pondering why his brother had not awakened, his brother's voice appeared in his mind once more.

"Brother, you're awake?"

"Why did you suddenly seal yourself away?"

"I thought something had happened."

"Little brother, ever since I entered that checkpoint, I felt the world's rejection of me. Though that force was not strong, I still noticed it," his brother said calmly.

"Then why did you suddenly seal yourself away at the village entrance?" Xin Yang pressed.

Seeing Xin Yang press the matter, "Brother" perhaps felt he had wronged Xin Yang and could not help saying, "It was my negligence not to protect you." "Brother" had sealed himself away without telling him. "It won't happen again."

"But the closer we got to the village, the stronger that force of rejection became. The ghost-testing stone the village chief took out gave me a bad feeling, so I sealed myself away."

"Little brother."

"Yeah?"

"If your brother isn't a normal person, what would you do?"

"Brother, we weren't normal people to begin with. We're mentally ill. Besides, no matter what, you're still my brother."

"Good!"

Glory University

Battle Academy

Office of the Director of the Specter Technique Combat Division.

Zhu Ende wore a black suit, sat cross-legged on a black leather sofa, and carried himself with confidence and poise.

Across from him sat a man dressed in a black traditional Chinese jacket. He had a small goatee, and his eyes gleamed with shrewdness.

"Old Zhu, let Xin Yang join our division."

"This year, we'll give your division thirty percent of our resources."

"No."

"Fifty percent..."

"No."

"He's already my disciple. No amount of your division's resources will make me give him up."

Beside the black sofa sat an elderly man whose face was covered in wrinkles. He wore a smiling expression, and the wrinkles on his face crowded together from his smile.

As he watched the two men argue, he idly played with the iron balls in his hand.

He was the dean of the Battle Academy.

Ge Shimin.

"What are you two fighting over?"

"The assessment results haven't been announced to the whole university yet."

"The teachers from every academy only know the first-round scores."

"Once the assessment results are out, every academy in the university will come fighting over Xin Yang."

"You should be thinking about how to make him stay at the academy..."