Top Grade A Evaluation

"A full wisp?!"

Zhao Wu's cry exploded over the Martial Training Ground like thunder from a clear sky. It echoed for ages, leaving everyone's ears ringing.

On the high platform, Li Wenyuan, who had been sitting calmly over his tea and was known for his composure, could no longer stay seated. His teacup jolted, splashing tea across his sleeve, but he did not notice.

"Brother Zhao, what did you say? A full wisp?"

Li Wenyuan snapped his folding fan shut with a sharp crack. The next moment, he leaped lightly from the thirty-foot platform, robes fluttering, and landed steadily beside Zhao Wu.

"Let me see!"

Li Wenyuan could hardly wait to take the Jade Ring from Zhao Wu and send his Divine Sense into it.

Within the ring's tiny space, a visible wisp of spiritual energy slowly circulated.

Though pieced together from different attributes and somewhat impure, it was remarkably substantial and dense. It had indeed reached the standard for a full wisp, with a little to spare.

"Full, but not overflowing. It really is one complete wisp!"

Li Wenyuan took a deep breath and steadied his surging emotions.

He raised his head and swept his gaze across the grounds before it settled on Chu Bai's tired yet composed face.

"Candidate Chu Bai gathered one full wisp of qi."

His voice rang through the entire Examination Institute, carrying admiration and astonishment he could scarcely conceal. "Evaluation—Top Grade A!"

Grade A!

A perfect evaluation!

Deathly silence fell over the grounds. Then an uproar burst forth.

The candidates who had been sprawled on the ground, too exhausted to lift a finger, sat bolt upright like corpses springing back to life. They stared wide-eyed at the slender young man in blue standing at the center of the field.

Disbelief filled their eyes, as though they were looking at a monster.

This stage of the examination was extraordinarily difficult.

They had to contend not only with the drastic shifts in attributes caused by the Law Net, but also with foreign spiritual energy corroding their meridians.

They had only just experienced the pain of meridians clogged by foreign spiritual energy. It felt like hundreds of ants crawling through their blood vessels.

Li Han, who had placed second, had plenty of tricks at his disposal. Yet even after giving everything he had and using a secret art to stimulate his meridians, the spiritual energy in his Jade Ring had barely passed eighty percent.

Wang Teng, in third place, came from a family with a long tradition of cultivation and had a solid foundation. He had taken spiritual medicines to temper his body since childhood, yet he had only just cleared eighty percent.

Even after giving their all, the two had earned only an Upper Grade B evaluation.

Eighty percent and one hundred percent looked only twenty points apart.

But in such extreme conditions, every fraction was a chasm. The gap was not merely in the amount of spiritual energy gathered. It was an overwhelming difference in meridian resilience, strength of Divine Sense, compatibility with cultivation methods, and ability to adapt on the spot.

Chu Bai's efficiency, nearly twice that of an ordinary candidate, revealed a gulf in strength that left the others despairing.

"Top Grade A... How is that possible?"

Li Han stared fixedly at Chu Bai, the shock in his eyes deepening.

He had thought he would be the winner of this selection. Instead, a Cheng Yaojin had charged out halfway through—and this was an opponent he could not fathom at all.

Wang Teng shook his head with a rueful smile. The fighting spirit in his eyes had not faded, but it was joined by respect. "I never expected Anping County to have someone like him. I can't begrudge him the win."

"So this is what Grade A looks like..."

Gu Qinghe looked at Chu Bai with a wry smile, but more than that, he felt proud to know him.

He had long known his fellow student was a monster. He had never imagined he was this monstrous.

Brother Chu, you've outdone every last one of us, he thought.

Zhao Wu and Li Wenyuan exchanged a glance, each seeing delight in the other's eyes.

For examiners like them, the candidates' results reflected on their own performance.

"Old Li, they may have cut Anping County's allotment this time, but this young talent... We haven't seen one this good in nearly ten years." Zhao Wu lowered his voice, excitement filling his rugged face. "If he passes the next two stages, he'll claim a place for himself even in the Dao Academy, where geniuses gather."

"He is a pleasant surprise." Li Wenyuan nodded slightly, his gaze thoughtful. "The first stage tests Root Bone and aptitude. A Top Grade A result is enough to prove this boy is a cultivation seed found once in ten thousand. But this is only the first stage. If he performs just as well in Spell Arts and Heart Inquiry, then we'll truly have found a treasure."

A long, resonant bell rang out, formally ending the first stage of the examination.

By the time they left the examination grounds, the sun was sinking in the west.

As soon as Chu Bai let go of that taut inner string, utter exhaustion surged over him like a tide, battering every nerve.

His legs felt weak. Every step took tremendous effort, as though his feet were filled with lead.

The examination had not required him to refine spiritual energy as deeply as he did in daily cultivation, but controlling it with his Divine Sense at such intensity and repeatedly flushing his meridians with spiritual power had taxed his mind more than ten times as much.

He still looked calm, but his sea of consciousness had long since run dry and throbbed faintly.

Getting full marks in this stage took a little luck.

On the way back to the Zhang Residence, Chu Bai avoided the crowds and silently reviewed what he had gained and lost that day.

He kept a clear head. The dazzling perfect score had not gone to his head, nor had it made him underestimate his opponents.

The chief reason for his astonishing result was the [Proficient]-level Minor Qi Gathering Technique.

In ordinary cultivation, he could already gain one wisp of spiritual energy a day.

During the examination, he had only needed to move the energy, not refine it. Working at full strength, he could naturally go faster. One wisp in ten hours was by no means impossible.

Of course, I can't overlook luck.

Chu Bai recalled the final round.

If he had not secured that Attribute-less Spirit-Gathering Platform, and if his spiritual power had not been so effective at clearing impurities from his meridians, he could not have gone all out at the last moment. A perfect score would likely have been beyond him; at best, he might have earned a middle Grade A, or come close to a Top Grade A.

Still, even with a little less luck, I would have been ahead. I'm confident I could have taken first in this stage.

Confidence flashed in Chu Bai's eyes.

The boosts from the two Fate Destinies, [Food Injury Leaks Elegance] and [Relentless Toil], really are substantial. One improves conversion efficiency, while the other ensures there are no bottlenecks in cultivation. Together, they gave me today's overwhelming lead.

When Chu Bai returned to the Zhang Residence, Daoist Zhang was not there. He was probably busy with affairs at the Academy.

Chu Bai did not disturb his senior fellow disciples either. He went straight to the secluded Quiet Chamber in the rear courtyard.

Spiritual energy was abundant in the Quiet Chamber, where Sandalwood Incense burned to soothe the mind.

Chu Bai took the porcelain bottle of Qi-Replenishing Pills from his robe, tipped one out, and swallowed it.

As the medicine dissolved, warm spiritual power filled his parched meridians once more. Relief spread through him like sweet rain after a long drought, and his weary mind gradually eased.

Only when the moon stood high overhead did Chu Bai slowly open his eyes. The light in them was restrained, and most of his exhaustion had faded.

Tomorrow is the Spell Arts assessment.

Chu Bai looked at his right hand. His index finger twitched, and a wisp of deep-blue water vapor curled around its tip.

This stage will be somewhat difficult for me.

His Spirit Water Needle had reached the practiced level. It was powerful, could be released instantly, and was hard to detect—a deadly tool for assassination.

But opponents from Aristocratic Clans had generations of knowledge behind them. They were sure to have hidden tricks and secret arts. Some might even be seasoned fighters raised on sparring from childhood, with a wealth of methods for both attack and defense.

By comparison, Chu Bai had practiced Spell Arts for little more than a month. His methods were relatively limited: the Spirit Water Needle was the only trick up his sleeve.

If I face a puppet with formidable defenses, or if the assessment calls for a wide-area attack, my Spirit Water Needle may struggle. It only strikes one target at a time.

Chu Bai frowned slightly, but soon his brow smoothed out.

Still...

Whatever difficulties lie ahead, I only need to give it my all.