In front of two large red doors stood two guards, armed with spears but wearing the attire of students. The guards were engaged in a quiet conversation.
“Do you think any of the six great families, young masters are going to show up?”
“Are you seriously so shut off from the world?”
“What are you talking about Bufhan?”
“You idiot! This year all six great families have sent their youngest lords to the academy!”
“No way! What’s so different about this year that all 6 great families would break the tradition of raising their younger generation on their own!?”
“How would I know you donkey! Now fix your posture I see someone approaching.”
As the two guards were engulfed in their conversation, a pair of youths, one with long tied up black hair, bark like skin and azure robes. Next to him a taller and with a more defined physique, his hair let down, hanging below his shoulders, paler and in emerald robes.
The two youths looked nothing alike, so in the minds of the guards they had crossed out the possibility of them being related. But just by looking at the two youths' appearances it was near impossible to guess what relation the two boys could have.
These two guards had seen thousands of cultivators in their time at Long Shui academy, and figuring people out had become their specialty. But for the first time in years, the two guards were stumped.
When the two youths arrived a step away from the gates, they stared in awe at just how massive the front of the academy was. It had to have been at least 20 feet tall! If the entrance was grand, just imagine how impressive the actual academy was!
As the two youths stared at the gates, the youth in the azure robes gaze fell on the two guards. He quickly palmed his fist, and the youth in emerald took notice of this and repeated the action.
“Greetings to senior guards. Us two martial brothers have come for the Long Shui academy's entrance exam. Here are our exam tokens.” The two youths were none other than Zhao Chen and Zi Qingyun!
The two had taken a short rest right where their battle with the two instructors had ended before rushing over to the academy once Zhao Chen had realized they were minutes away from being late!
Zhao Chen tossed the small metal token with his name and the words “Long Shui” engraved on it, and without a second thought Zi Qingyun tossed his own over as well. These two seemed to share the same brain!
‘So they were martial brothers eh? I wonder what sect they belong to.’ The guard who had caught the two tokens was a little dejected. Something so simple, and he couldn’t guess it? Truly disappointing.
But all of a sudden the guard's expression changed. An awkward smile appeared on the guard's face, and when he showed the tokens to the second guard, they both displayed the same expression. Zhao Chen picked up on the exchange and was slightly confused.
“Senior, is there a problem with the tokens?”
The guard holding the tokens took a breath before speaking up.
“Junior, are you by chance one of the 6 great families' youngest lords?”
“No, why does the senior ask?” Zhao Chen was rather shocked by this question. Though he carried the name of Chen, in his mind he was already detached from that family.
“Ah I see. Well the token that the junior gave to me is for the advanced test. And due to the advanced tests extreme difficulties, the only people who attempt them are the young lords of bigshot sects and families, as their the only one who have the proper training and strength.” The guard's words were soft and kind, simply trying to explain the situation to the youths but he might as well have pierced a sword through their hearts.
‘Those stupid instructor bastards! I knew there was something up with the test! No way they would go so hard from the beginning!” Both Zhao Chen and Zi Qingyun were exploding with anger as they exchanged glances with each other. They knew the other was thinking the same as them.
“Seniors, actually us two brothers didn’t mean to take this test. The instructors just showed up to our inn in the middle of the night and commenced the test without our knowledge. Is there any way for us to take the normal tests?” Zi Qingyun spoke with as much persuasion as he could muster in his tone.
While hearing the explanation, the guard had an understanding look on his face. But out of the blue the two guards roared with laughter. The pair of guards almost fell to their knees in tears of laughter.
Zhao Chen and Zi Qingyun exchanged glances again. Was everyone from this academy crazy?
When the laughter from the two guards had died down, Zhao Chen spoke up once more.
“Uh seniors, may this junior ask what exactly is so funny.”
“Oh nothing, nothing.” The guard didn’t even finish his sentence before chortling again, noticing trying to suppress his laughs, and failing.
“Actually junior, the inn you two stayed at was more of an unofficial agreement to the advanced tests. We can’t explain any further but you have nothing to worry about, unlike what the Instructor Yang and Yue told you, the remaining test will be the simplest.” This time the second guard spoke up. When the first guard had regained his composure, they both turned to open the doors.
Once open, Zhao Chen and Zi Qingyun felt a mysterious energy flow past them, as if beckoning them to enter. But the pair were rather hesitant.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
‘What the hell does unofficial agreement mean? And how does the guard know what instructors we had and what they told us? This academy is the strangest place I’ve ever seen.’ Zhao Chen held on tightly to his pouch, trying to ease his worry.
Slap!
Zhao Chen gave himself a tight slap to the face, leaving a very visible red handprint on his cheek.
‘What strange? Is an advanced test enough to stop me? Never! Let them try to stop me with these tests, I want to see how much they are capable of!’ Zhao Chen was disappointed in himself. In the few days he’d been reincarnated, he’d already almost faltered on his resolve several times. In that moment Zhao Chen vowed to never let that happen again, no matter what.
“Brother Qingyun, let’s go!”
“Of course, brother Chen!” Zi Qingyun was staring at Zhao Chen in awe. This guy was really something.
The guards watched as the two boys approached, and quickly made way to allow them to walk. In that moment the guard holding the two tokens threw them back to the two youths.
“I almost forgot. You’ll definitely need these.” The guard flashed Zhao Chen a wink before putting on his stern and serious guard expression.
“Many thanks senior.” Zhao Chen nodded his head and continued walking. Though he questioned the man's words, he wouldn’t break a vow he had only just made.
When Zhao Chen and Zi Qingyun stepped a foot through the gates, they felt their whole bodies become disoriented. It was as if they had unexpectedly stepped into a transportation circle.
When their vision was no longer blurry and their urge to violently vomit was gone, the two youths had pieced together what had happened.
It wasn’t as if they stepped into a transportation circle, but they really had!
The two youths were surrounded by hundreds of both men and women, all in around the same age range as Zhao Chen and Zi Qingyun, and each one with a rather strong aura.
In Front of the large ensemble of people, a long bearded man sat on top of a chair, which was situated in a tall watchtower.
The man swept his gaze over the crowd, and after muttering a few words under his breath he stood up and jumped from the watchtower.
The crowd of young cultivators gasped, was this guy crazy? He could die from that height!
But naturally to their further surprise, the man floated down like a single leaf in the wind, before his feet touched the ground gracefully.
Strong! This was the word floating around everyone's head. The man in front of them was stronger than anyone they had ever seen.
“Greeting young cultivators. This seat, I, name is not important, all you need to know if I will be overseeing this final round of the entrance exam. Unfortunately the advanced exam could not be taken fully, but luckily for those of you that passed the first round of the advanced exam you have been allowed to directly come and take the final test.”
Every word the man spoke carried a powerful energy. As if when he spoke it wasn’t to explain, but to command.
“I’m aware you all have questions, but those can be answered at a later time. Right now you must put your full focus onto this final test. Remember, should you fail, you’ll have to try again next year. There are no exceptions.” The old man placed his gaze on various individuals in the crowd. Zhao Chen assumed they were all young lords from important families and sects.
“Splendid. The final test is an easy one. In fact it may be the easiest you all have ever taken. Using any techniques, any means or any methods, all you must do is fight with each other until the top five of every minor stage is decided.”
….
The crowd of people went silent like cicadas in the winter. This was the final test? Thru had gone through serious testing prior to this, only to end in a free for all brawl. After minutes of silent murmuring among the crowd, a young woman spoke up.
The crowd continued to murmur, but no longer about the test. Everyone's gaze had shifted to the young woman who had spoken up.
“Isn’t that her?”
“Yeah you’re right, it is her!”
“Why is she here?”
Zhao Chen picked up on several conversations around him that greatly piqued his interest. It seemed that the girl was no regular cultivator. Zhao Chen did not however see anything special.
The young woman was naturally pretty, her hair long and dark black in color. Her eyes were the color of Zi Qingyun robes, but with a strange glimmer in them. Her skin was a light brown, similar to that of Zi Qingyuns. This interested Zhao Chen.
‘Could they possibly be from the same city? Or perhaps they might have a deeper connection.’
Zhao Chen pondered for a few seconds before shooting a quick glance at Zi Qingyun in an effort to discern his expression. But unsurprisingly, he was swooning over her much like every other man there. Had this been Zhao Chen in the past, he might have been a part of the lovestruck boys, but having lived for as long as he had, the young woman looked like a small child in his eyes.
“Who’s the girl in the yellow robes? The one that just spoke up.” Zhao Chen asked as if he was aloof from everything that was going on.
Zi Qingyun stared at Zhao Chen with his eyes wide and mouth drooping in awe. Was this guy an eunuch?
“How do you not know who she is?”
“I’ve got more important stuff going on in my life. Stop being long winded and just tell me.” Zhao Chen searched through his memories but there was nothing about this girl. Clearly she wasn’t as important as everyone was making her out to be.
Zi Qingyun regained his composure and cleared his throat, as if he finally realized how he was acting at that moment.
“I'm assuming you know who the 6 great families are so I won’t go too deep into the details. To put it simply, she is Mu Chaotian, the youngest and most promising member of the younger generation.” Zi Qingyun finished but muttered under his breath. “Not to mention the best looking.”
“Did you say something else?” Zhao Chen smiled playful, naturally he heard what Zi Qingyun said, but he didn’t know that.
“What, no, nothing! Focus on the test!” Zi Qingyun averted his gaze and looked towards the old man who was patiently waiting for murmurs to stop, slowly raised his hand and the murmurs ceased immediately.
“Young Miss Chaotian, it’s as I've said. From the first minor stage to the ninth, everyone must simply fight with others in the same minor stage as them, and once the final five from each minor stage are left standing, we shall conclude the exams.” The old man flashed the crowd a soft smile before turning to ascend to the top of the watchtower when suddenly a youth yelled out.
“Senior, can we fight with those in stages higher than ours?” Of course the youth was Zhao Chen, who’s heart was currently pounding with the excitement of the upcoming battles. As for his question, it was only natural. To Zhao Chen, fighting those of the same stage as him wasn’t much of a challenge, and in the future, even jumping a major realm wouldn’t pose much of a problem.
If he was only allowed to fight with those in the same stage as him, he was a hundred percent certain he would take the top spot, but it wouldn't scratch his itch. He wanted to experience a true battle. One that was no one sided nor one that could only be one by scheming. He was surrounded by the supposed greats of the younger generation, surely they could give him what he wanted.
The old man turned his head, with a slight fluctuation in his expression which was hastily reverted to the calm and soft smile.
“If a little friend wishes to push his limits, I see no problem. Should you manage to enter in the top five of stages higher than yours, I imagine the benefits will be much greater.” The old man turned once again but abruptly stopped before casting a gaze over several people.
“Should you, however, decide to go for those weaker than you, this old man will be forced to move. And I assume no one wants that, right?” The last few words emitted a hint of bloodlust which almost made several of the weaker people drop to their knees.
When no disagreements were spoken, the old man nodded his head and jumped back to the top of the watchtower. Several people started to speculate that the old man was an elder from the purple rain sect, or some ancient master, but no one voiced these thoughts.
When the old man sat down in his chair, he cast a gaze over the crowd.
“Begin!” This word rang through the entire space, and the old man closed his eyes to the sight of a peculiar scene.
Instead of the average reactions of people being confused, not wanting to hurt others, or rather the scene immediately turning into a bloody battlefield, dozens of people rushed over to one person. Some even at stages as high as the seventh stage of the qi gathering realm!
Surprisingly this youth was Zhao Chen, who of course welcomed the challengers and felt a little confused. He had been here no less than five minutes, so there's no way he could have offended so many people.
“May this Chen, ask why brothers are all ganging up on me? I believe some of you should be nearly four minor stages higher than me.” Zhao Chen spoke in a non provocative way. With his current strength fighting with people at the minor stages of 5 to 6 would pose a problem, but he knew he could not lose.
However, the seventh stage was a whole other level. For the current Zhao Chen who had yet to even reach the middle stage of the Qi Gathering realm, fighting a late stage was out of the question.
A rough looking young man with untidy red hair and dirty robes, which the color of could not be discerned spat on the ground in front of Zhao Chen.
“What brothers you bumpkin! You think because young Miss Chaotian has the ability to speak up you do? Come fig-”
Slap! Crack!
Before the boy could even finish speaking, Zhao Chen rushed him with a slap to the face, and the sound of the boy's skull cracking could be heard.
Everyone around Zhao Chen froze, not daring to make even a sound. This guy was too merciless!
“Don’t take me calling you brothers as an act of cowardice. It’s called respect. If you want to repay my respect with hostility, that will be your demise.” Zhao Chen released a murderous intent.
In reality even though he was a bit angered by the boy's roughness and disrespect, he couldn’t actually care enough to fight him seriously.
No. What Zhao Chen just displayed was to scare off all the small fry's who thought Zhao Chen to be an easy target. And to Zhao Chens delight his strategy worked.
“I'll fight you, you scheming bastard!”
A young man in dark black robes walked out from the crowd.