Assessment

Only two months had passed since the Royal Academy's admissions uproar, and the Comprehensive Institute was already welcoming the assessment for inner disciples, which followed a three-round elimination system.

Dongfang Wanyu had remained in secluded cultivation in her room, leaving her door unopened for days.

Dongfang Minghui had also spent some time working as the dean's assistant, enduring his unique brand of "corporal punishment" every day.

"How many times have I told you? You never correct yourself." The dean picked up a long, slender switch. Whenever he spotted one of Dongfang Minghui's little movements, he lashed her with it, regardless of what she was doing.

"Ow!" Dongfang Minghui flinched in pain and flung the medicinal liquid in her hand. The liquid spilled, ruining it.

"Dean!" She pouted and glared angrily at the plump old man. After all these years since graduation, she was actually reliving the bitter experience of being physically punished by her teachers as a child. Just wonderful. And despite how thin that switch looked, the thinner it was, the more it hurt. Several welts already striped her arms.

The dean narrowed his eyes and glared back, looking quite stern. Admittedly, he was usually easygoing, but when it came to refining medicine, he refused to yield a single step.

Dongfang Minghui was ready to fall to her knees. "Dean, you frighten me when you suddenly jump out like that."

See? Another medicinal herb had been ruined.

The dean put away his switch and lifted his chin. He was so fat that his neck and chin looked almost fused together. "Clean up. That's all for today."

Dongfang Minghui had no way of dealing with this plump old man, who could sometimes be even more willful than she was. Still, his expression made her want to laugh.

"How is your seventh sister preparing for the inner division selection?" the dean suddenly asked.

Dongfang Minghui frowned and answered honestly, "Seventh Sister has been in secluded cultivation the whole time. I haven't seen her for days."

The dean stroked his beard. "There have been injuries and deaths during previous inner division assessments. While she's still in seclusion, you should prepare some pills for her protection."

"Dean, you're wonderful! Thank you for reminding me."

Since coming to work in the dean's office, Dongfang Minghui had learned a great deal. She had copied down almost every prescription she had read and secretly stored them in her spatial ring.

Because she was his assistant, the dean had also authorized her to carry a jade token granting access to the rear mountain grounds, allowing her to obtain medicinal herbs for making pills whenever she needed them. After hearing his advice, Dongfang Minghui refined ten pills from each of several prescriptions and placed them in porcelain bottles.

About five more days passed before someone knocked on her door early one morning. She got up groggily and opened it to find the heroine, whom she had not seen for over half a month.

"Seventh Sister, you're out of seclusion?" Still short on sleep, Dongfang Minghui's thoughts were rather muddled.

Dongfang Wanyu entered the room and first noticed the large egg of some unknown species nestled beneath the covers on her bed. She had previously thought Ninth Sister disliked it. But if she disliked it, why would she keep it with her at every moment, even putting it on her bed while she slept? Clearly, she had overthought things.

Then she noticed a large pile of clothes carelessly tossed onto the floor. They all appeared to be dirty?

"Ninth Sister, I came to tell you that I'll be leaving for a while."

"Oh, I know. Seventh Sister, you're going to take the inner division assessment, right?" Dongfang Minghui slapped her forehead as she finally remembered. She hurriedly pulled a heap of bottles and jars from her spatial storage. Labels bearing the pills' names were attached to them. If the porcelain bottles had not been so small, she would have written each pill's effects on them as well.

"These are for you."

Dongfang Wanyu was stunned by her generosity, but when she saw the expectant look on her face, she forcibly swallowed her questions.

"Seventh Sister, I have a sheet of paper here listing the effects of every pill. Keep it safe." Dongfang Minghui enthusiastically stuffed it into her hands.

Dongfang Wanyu unfolded it and saw densely packed writing-

The real question was, did these even count as words?

Dongfang Minghui blinked in confusion. "Seventh Sister, is something wrong?"

Then she pinched herself hard. Out of sheer writing habit, she had scrawled everything in her usual sloppy handwriting. Now fully awake, Dongfang Minghui hastily snatched the paper from Dongfang Wanyu's hands and gave a few dry laughs, looking for all the world like someone posting a sign declaring no silver was buried here. "Seventh Sister, I took out the wrong one. This is the dean's writing. I can't give it to you. I'd better explain everything instead."

"Seventh Sister, this is Seven-Star Grass. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants within a hundred miles avoid it like venomous serpents and scorpions. If you're out in the wilderness or a forest, crush it. Once its spiritual energy disperses, it will protect you for twenty-four hours. And this bottle..."

Dongfang Minghui spent a full hour explaining the effects of over twenty bottles of pills, talking until her mouth and throat were dry.

Dongfang Wanyu gently patted her little head. "Understood. I'm leaving now."

"But..." The heroine stepped back again, frowning as she pointed at the disorderly room. "A young lady should still tidy her room."

Dongfang Minghui, who had been eagerly waiting to hear what else the heroine might say, completely froze. All she could think was that the heroine disapproved of her untidiness. Her untidiness. Her untidiness.

The heroine would be gone for over half a month this time. She could use the opportunity to learn more prescriptions and refine more pills in preparation for future training trips.

The Royal Academy's Comprehensive Institute had nine great halls, though there should actually have been ten if they were divided according to spiritual attributes. Across the Seven-Colored Continent, however, there was a legend: anyone who awakened the dark attribute belonged to the Undead Legion and had to be killed. Otherwise, endless trouble would follow, bringing misfortune and utter catastrophe to the entire continent.

Most people who awakened Dark-Type Spiritual Power were suppressed by their Lineages and snuffed out before they could develop. Over time, Dark-Type Spiritual Power cultivators became a taboo throughout the Seven-Colored Continent.

It was a subject that could not even be mentioned within the Royal Academy.

Each hall had over fifty new students, totaling a little over five hundred. They were divided into nine groups and entered the trial grounds separately.

"The jade token in your hands is the only one you will receive. It represents your identity at the Royal Academy. Whether you enter the inner division or are assigned to the outer division, you will need it to receive spirit stones. It also serves as a counter. Now, drip your blood onto it to bind it to you."

Everyone was curious about the jade tokens they had received. How could something only the size of a palm be so important? Still, they obediently dripped blood onto them to establish ownership.

Seeing that it was nearly time, the examiner clapped again to regain everyone's attention. "Let me explain the competition rules. The first elimination round requires you to hunt Magic Beasts. The number you kill determines whether you qualify for the second round. A rank-one Magic Beast earns one point, a rank-three Magic Beast earns three points, and so on. The higher the rank of the Magic Beast you kill, the higher your score. The top three will appear on the leaderboard. There are currently five hundred of you, but only two hundred may enter the second round. In other words, more than half of you will be eliminated in the first round."

Some students froze. They had only just begun, and already more than half of them would be kicked out.

A clamor of discussion broke out, everyone talking over one another with considerable intensity.

"Examiner, I have a question. Can we form teams?" The voice was soft and delicate, like a little girl's.

Everyone heard it nonetheless. Those words certainly gave many of them ideas.

The examiner glanced at him and nodded. "No more than five people per team. You may form teams or find partners, and you may also withdraw voluntarily. Hunting Magic Beasts carries a risk of death. If you're frightened now, step forward."

After the examiner finished, a scattering of people really did step forward.

The one who had asked the question was Mu Sheng, a new student of the Wood Hall. His spiritual power was weak, so he wanted to find a partner. What he had not expected was that, after hearing his question, everyone would form small groups of two or three while refusing to let him join.

Everywhere he looked, he saw unfamiliar faces. Mu Sheng felt rather dejected. Should he leave the competition early, like those who had just stepped forward?

"Could I partner with you?" Just as Mu Sheng was losing hope, he suddenly spotted a young woman standing expressionlessly alone. Seeing the long whip at her waist, his instincts told him that she was powerful-at least stronger than a wood-attribute Spirit Master like himself. He thought he might as well try.

Dongfang Wanyu's unapproachable demeanor had driven away quite a few people who wanted to team up with her.

Mu Sheng was small and looked frail and delicate. Anyone who did not look closely would certainly mistake him for a little girl. Standing beside Dongfang Wanyu, he had to raise his head to meet her eyes.

"No," Dongfang Wanyu refused bluntly.

"So that's another no." Mu Sheng felt a little hopeless now. He was such a failure. No one wanted to partner with him. With his frail physique, even if he entered the trial, he would most likely end up being eaten by a Magic Beast.

Mu Sheng hung his head, utterly dejected.

Dongfang Wanyu suddenly felt that this looked remarkably like one of Ninth Sister's mannerisms. Whenever she did something wrong or felt unhappy, she would lower her head and stare at her toes.

"You're from the Wood Hall?"

Mu Sheng nodded, but even then he did not look at Dongfang Wanyu again. She had already rejected him, after all.

That manner looked even more like her own little Ninth Sister.

"What use are you?" Dongfang Wanyu asked with extreme indifference, surveying him with icy eyes as though appraising his worth.

Mu Sheng immediately raised his head and looked at her eagerly. "I can actually do lots of things. For example, I can handle all your support work. I can also release poisonous smoke to knock Magic Beasts unconscious for you..."

Dongfang Wanyu rubbed her brow. "Enough. Come with me."

"Have you gone mad? Taking along dead weight-do you think you don't have enough troubles already?" Qing Mo was finding Wanyu's thoughts increasingly difficult to fathom.

"If you partner with me, you must obey my orders throughout," Dongfang Wanyu said, her tone allowing no discussion whatsoever.

Mu Sheng nodded excitedly like a chick pecking at grain. Whether or not he was eliminated in the first round, keeping his life should no longer be a problem. His partner was so forceful.

The Magic Beast hunt officially began, with a time limit of three days.

Dongfang Wanyu set out with her dead weight in tow. She walked swiftly, and the person behind her scurried along at her heels. After four to six hours, however, Mu Sheng began to struggle. His stamina was nearly exhausted, while the person ahead seemed entirely unaffected.

"Can we rest for a while?" Mu Sheng asked laboriously.

"No," Dongfang Wanyu replied without turning her head.

Mu Sheng had the illusion that if he stopped to rest on his own, she would definitely leave him behind. No, not an illusion-an instinct.

Sensing the footsteps behind her slowing, Dongfang Wanyu made a rare effort to explain. "There aren't even any rank-one Magic Beasts here. This isn't a safe area. If you want to rest, you'll have to wait until we find somewhere safe."

Hearing that, Mu Sheng gritted his teeth and quickened his pace to catch up.

Dongfang Wanyu took a sprig of Seven-Star Grass from her spatial ring, crushed it, and scattered it into the air. Only then did she relax enough to rest, intending to recover fully before beginning the next day.

Mu Sheng sniffed. "That smells like Seven-Star Grass. How do you have some?"

Dongfang Wanyu took out some dry rations and ate a couple of bites. "Shut up and rest."

Mu Sheng immediately closed his mouth and obediently rested for a while. Just as he drifted into a hazy sleep, Dongfang Wanyu pushed him awake.

"Let's go."

Afterward, they encountered rank-one and rank-two Magic Beasts along the way, which Dongfang Wanyu dispatched with ease. Naturally, the points went to her.

"Two Magic Beasts are fighting?"

Just as humans often fought, Magic Beasts frequently came to blows over territorial disputes at the slightest disagreement. Their fights, however, always followed one rule: one side lived, and the other died.

Two rank-three Magic Beasts.

Mu Sheng whispered, "I can release a mist to put them to sleep for a while. Then you can kill them."

Dongfang Wanyu lowered her head to look at him. This little fellow's skill was releasing knockout smoke?

"Does your skill have a time limit?"

Mu Sheng glanced at her and said quietly, "I can release knockout smoke ten times within twenty-four hours."

"What's its range?"

Mu Sheng pursed his lips. Why was she asking for such precise details? His skill was meant to keep him alive. Unless absolutely necessary, he could not reveal all his secrets to someone else.

Seeing his hesitation, Dongfang Wanyu sneered. "Do you want to pass or not?"

Mu Sheng asked in surprise, "You can help me pass?"

"Do you think pies fall from the sky?" Dongfang Wanyu said with a smile. "Once my tally puts me in the top three, I can leave some Magic Beasts for you to kill."

Mu Sheng's first reaction was that she was outrageously confident. She actually intended to aim for the top three.

"Well? Have you decided?"

After a brief hesitation, Mu Sheng agreed. His dismay at having his skill exposed was immediately overwhelmed by the joy of being able to pass the competition.

The two promptly reached an agreement.

However, Dongfang Wanyu did not have Mu Sheng release his knockout smoke immediately. Instead, she suddenly charged out when both rank-three Magic Beasts were exhausted from fighting.

"Don't go!" Mu Sheng had meant to hold her back, but then he saw her fling out one earthen sphere after another. He had no idea what had been mixed into them, but they crackled as they struck the two Magic Beasts.

One rank-three Rampaging Bull Magic Beast was shocked straight to the ground, paralyzed. It struggled a couple of times before barely managing to stand again. Upon seeing Dongfang Wanyu, it immediately bellowed.

Dongfang Wanyu brought out her long whip. One end coiled around the Rampaging Bull's horn, and she forcibly dragged it toward her. A flying sword shot out of her spatial storage, spun once in midair, and plunged straight into the beast's chest. The Rampaging Bull crashed to the ground.

For the second one, she followed the same method and cut the Rampaging Bull's head off outright. With practiced movements, she opened their skulls and extracted two earth-attribute magic cores that glowed ocher.

Mu Sheng had never witnessed such an explosive, bloody scene. Watching her kill two rank-three Magic Beasts without so much as a change in expression, then cut open their heads, he felt as though he had found someone extraordinary as his partner.

The two earth-attribute magic cores were just right for her to absorb. Dongfang Wanyu appeared to toss them into her spatial storage, but actually held them in her palm, draining their spiritual energy completely in the blink of an eye.

Ding.

Dongfang Wanyu checked her jade token. The number displayed was now 27. An hour earlier, the person leading the top three had already reached a kill tally of 354.

Mu Sheng noticed nothing. He was still captivated by Dongfang Wanyu's stunning display in battle.

"You're amazing."

Dongfang Wanyu glanced at him, a bloodthirsty smile curling her lips. "Next, it's your turn."

"Huh?"

Mu Sheng soon learned what she had meant by that smile.

"Y-you, you..." Standing high up in a towering tree, Mu Sheng was so frightened that he could barely speak. Looking at the dense mass of rank-two fire ants below, he felt every hair on his body stand on end.

Dongfang Wanyu smiled and patted his little face. "Hurry. With so many of them, killing them will surely feel great."

Mu Sheng thought his partner was a devil. She had brought him right into a fire ant nest. If he accidentally fell, these Magic Beasts would surely devour him without leaving even a bone.

He swallowed and summoned his contracted magic plant, an Old Man White that was only rank two.

"Little White, it's all up to you."

Old Man White climbed down the tree, clinging close to the trunk, and began releasing a pleasant, delicate fragrance. As a breeze passed, the scent spread over an even wider area.

"I suddenly feel that I underestimated wood-attribute Spirit Masters before," Qing Mo could not help remarking. Wood-attribute Spirit Practitioners had little offensive power, but they could summon plants to help them. Sometimes they were skilled little helpers, and one careless moment was enough to fall into their trap. They could not be underestimated.

Dongfang Wanyu's lips curled slightly. She had never underestimated them. Sure enough, within moments, the rank-two Magic Beasts below could no longer withstand the knockout smoke, and a great swath of them collapsed.

"I'll lend you this sword."

After tossing him the sword, Dongfang Wanyu leaped down from the tree. Like someone harvesting stalks of grain, she went straight for the magic cores inside the fire ants' skulls.

Ding, ding, ding, ding-

By the end, Dongfang Wanyu had grown numb from harvesting them, and she was covered in blood. Still, she was very satisfied with the number on her jade token. It had already reached 207.

Mu Sheng stood stunned for quite a while before recovering his senses. He immediately scrambled down the tree and recalled his little companion before beginning the difficult task of digging the magic cores out of the fire ants' heads.