Grouping

That afternoon, boys and girls climbed the Holy Academy's second peak one after another and quietly prepared themselves.

Shortly after noon, Hu Jun and the female teacher who had supervised the second-year students' exam arrived together. They approached Luo Ti and each gave their report.

"Beginner Class has 78 second-year students. All 78 entered the selection, and all 78 passed the written exam: 45 male students and 33 female students."

"Beginner Class has 80 first-year students. Of those, 52 entered the selection and 22 passed the written exam: 14 male students and 8 female students."

Among the newly enrolled first-years, some were still stuck at the threshold of comprehending their first Saint Soul. They lagged far behind one-star Tianshu cultivators in every respect, so they had not entered this selection.

Most of the others were merely joining in to gain experience for next year's selection. Probably only Shi Lai himself had come with the aim of succeeding. With a whole year less schooling than the second-years, more than half of the first-years had also been eliminated in the written exam, leaving only 22.

As for the second-years, this was their last chance. Even if they had to try their luck, they had to give it a shot. Naturally, every one of them had entered, and every one had passed the written exam.

"Go check whether everyone is here," Luo Ti instructed, then turned to Xia Yi. "Senior, if you have no further instructions, shall we begin?"

"Hmm? No one else is coming to watch? You only invited me?" Xia Yi asked in surprise.

"Of course not," Luo Ti said. "As customary, I sent invitations to all six Five-Star Jade Balance cultivators in the city. In previous years, two or three would come, but this year is rather unusual."

"Song Ziyu is the Xiyuan Marquis's son, Feng Mo is Feng Jiedushi's son, and Sun Xin is the daughter of Lord Sun Sheng, the governor of Zhi Prefecture. To avoid any appearance of impropriety-and presumably because they are confident their children will secure a place-none of those three will come. Of the other three, two are Feng Jiedushi's subordinates. The last, Senior Fang Yu, the Zhi Prefecture Count, is already nearly two hundred years old. He usually stays home enjoying his remaining years and attempting to break through to Six-Star Kaiyang to extend his life. He is even less likely to come."

"Oh," Xia Yi said with a smile. "I should have stayed away to avoid suspicion too, shouldn't I?"

Elsewhere, Zhou Xiaoxian, who had been resting her mind in preparation for the contest, faced the classmates crowding around her with some resignation.

A slightly chubby boy among them asked, "Second Senior Sister, that senior in the bamboo hat beside the Deputy Dean—is he the legendary one who, you know, sent Second Senior Brother's dad flying with one kick...?"

Smack!

A sudden heavy slap on his shoulder cut him off. Scratching his head, he turned around and made a show of looking around. "Huh? Who slapped me?"

Zhou Xiaoxian snorted with laughter, while the petite girl standing in front of the boy darkened slightly. The girl was less than a meter and a half tall, with delicate looks and small, pretty features, yet she carried a huge sword on her back that was utterly out of proportion to her build.

Slung behind her shoulder, the huge sword's tip almost touched the ground, and its blade was wider than a palm.

After a brief silence, she jumped!

Whoosh!

The wind howled. The surrounding students hurriedly backed away and dodged as the flat of the huge sword slammed straight into the chubby boy's face, knocking him flat with a smack!

"Everyone move back! Stop disturbing Senior Sister Xiao Xian's preparations! If she loses to me, whose fault will it be, mine or yours?" the girl shouted.

"Third Senior Sister is mighty!" The students scattered with laughter, and Zhou Xiaoxian smiled. "Thank you for getting me out of that, Junior Sister. But... Da Neng still has to take the martial exam. Hitting him like that..."

"It's fine, it's fine. This big oaf can take a beating."

The girl slung her sword back over her shoulder and waved casually. Stepping on the fallen chubby boy, she headed off in another direction. As she passed Feng Mo, who was sitting on a rock, she added in a low voice, "The big oaf didn't mean anything by what he said. Don't hold a grudge, you petty thing!"

Feng Mo smiled. "You misunderstand me, Third Junior Sister. Your senior brother isn't that sort of person."

The chubby boy lying on the ground twitched.

"The Giant Gate Sword Technique? Not many little girls comprehend that sort of sword technique," Xia Yi remarked in some surprise after seeing the commotion over there.

"You have a keen eye, Senior. Lü Ying did indeed awaken through the Giant Gate Sword Technique."

Flattering him had become a habit for Luo Ti. Only after doing so did he turn back to continue listening to the two Holy Academy teachers' reports. A little later, he nodded slightly and announced:

"All Holy Academy Beginner Class students! Male students, onto the left platform! Female students, onto the right! Spread out and stand apart. No gathering together!"

The boys and girls moved at his command. Shi Lai made no trouble either and obediently followed along. This contest concerned two major quests; he could not afford to be disqualified.

Soon, only three boys and three girls remained below the platforms. Besides Song Ziyu and Feng Mo, the boys included an honest-looking youth.

On the girls' side were Sun Xin, with golden bell ornaments hanging from both ears, Zhou Xiaoxian, and the petite girl carrying the huge sword, Lü Ying.

Once the students were in position, Luo Ti bowed slightly to Xia Yi, drew the saber at his waist, and pushed off the ground with both feet. He leaped up, stepping his left foot on his right and his right foot on his left, rising more than ten meters into the air. He briefly hung at the peak of his ascent, his eyes blazing with light!

Whooo-

Amid the whistling of his saber strike, a crescent-shaped blade of light shot out, slashing straight into several nearby trees! In an instant, a gale rose, and leaves fluttered through the air. Two distinct clusters were blown toward the two platforms!

"Take the nearest leaf! No fighting over them!"

As he gave the order, Luo Ti landed. Some students calmly reached out, while others did so in surprise, each plucking a leaf. Apart from Shi Lai's leaf, which had fallen to the ground, no leaves remained on the platforms!

Drawing everyone's attention, Shi Lai hurriedly bent down and picked up his leaf. He discovered two clear notches in the oval blade.

"The leaves in your hands have between one and five notches. Students with the same number of notches will form a group. Get off the platforms and wait together in your groups!"

After announcing the rules, Luo Ti turned to Xia Yi. "Forgive my poor display, Senior."

Though he said that, he was actually rather pleased with this feat. Xia Yi did not stint on praise either. "Your saber technique is exquisite, Deputy Dean."

When I beat him to death a few days ago, did he get off four strikes or five?

Meanwhile, Shi Lai followed the crowd off the platform in a daze. No, surely it doesn't mean what I think it means? Is he that strong?

"Hahaha! Thank you, Deputy Dean! I've got four first-years in my group!" A booming voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention.

The chubby boy, a bluish-purple mark on his face, held up a leaf with four notches and laughed loudly amid four bewildered-looking boys.

"That stupid big oaf. Just keep making people hate you."

Lü Ying muttered, a smile appearing on her face as well.

Among the boys, four others exchanged looks with far less pleasant expressions. In fact, sorrow welled up inside them, and they almost cried.

"Th-the four of us?"

"How did the Deputy Dean divide these groups?"

"That bastard Da Neng got lucky."

"If I remember right, in last year's year-end assessment, the four of us ranked fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth among the boys, right?"

"That's right. I was ninth."

"I was eighth."

The four talked while holding their two-notched leaves.

"Um..." Shi Lai approached, holding his leaf. "I think I'm in this group."

All four turned to look at him. After a moment's surprise, they gave Shi Lai "caring smiles."

Not understanding what they meant, Shi Lai hit them with four Detection Arts right away. "Level 91, level 94, level 97, and level 100, right on the verge of a class advancement? Wow, four big monsters!"

He immediately cheered up and reached for the leaves in their hands. "They really all have two notches, and the notches are identical!"

This feat of Luo Ti's completely changed Shi Lai's impression of him. "Looks like he wasn't too weak-the old gay guy was just too strong. He crushed him in less than two minutes. I probably haven't met an NPC stronger than the old gay guy yet. What Saint Soul will he teach me after the contest? I can't wait..."

His excitement was impossible to hide!

The "four big monsters" exchanged looks.

Had this new student been shocked silly?