Yun Tian had never had much interest in this grand Apprentice Recruitment Tournament. He had come purely to watch the spectacle. He had expected the entire proceedings to be nothing more than a routine formality, but just as boredom was getting the better of him, an unexpected figure entered his sight.
It was Huang Ying.
The girl who had once had eyes only for Xiao Yu, and who had accidentally collided with him while searching for her. He had not expected to meet her here again so soon. With a casual glance, Yun Tian could tell that her strength was fairly decent, placing her comfortably in the upper-middle ranks among the students. Her foundation was sound, and she had a lively disposition.
The tournament proceeded in an orderly fashion, with the senior disciples taking the stage first, followed by the juniors. Yun Tian gazed indifferently at the crowd below, his eyes drifting over familiar faces: Gu Lan, Ying Yue'ru, Huang Ying, Xiao Yu, and those few fellows he had no fondness for whatsoever-Hua Ling, Yan Hao, and their ilk. Nothing but a pack of capering clowns.
The matches offered little of interest, so Yun Tian simply paid them no attention.
Once the dust settled, the senior rankings hung high in the air, each placement clearly displayed:
First place, Ying Yue'ru
Second place, Gu Lan
Twentieth place, Xiao Yu
Forty-fifth place, Hua Ling
Fiftieth place, Huang Ying
Seventy-first place, Yan Hao
Quite a few names were absent from the rankings. Most belonged to people with powerful backgrounds, who had no need to seek a future through this tournament. Gu Heng of the Gu Family, for instance, now commanded abundant resources and basked in glory, so naturally he disdained joining the spectacle. Others had already become apprentices to