Capítulo 22: The Yearly Exam
The day for Holy Orchid Institute's exam arrived. This was a significant day for all the students because their performances would determine which classes they would be assigned to, which could further differentiate the more talented students from the rest. It was particularly important for the Apprentice Fighter Class that Xiao Ning'Er and the other first-year students belonged to because they would need to pass to even graduate from basic training, and if they went past the age of 14 without passing, they would not be allowed to continue at the institute.
Shen Yue, with his Sacred Family background, was at the forefront of the class in terms of cultivation speed and strength because he had access to the best resources and training compared to the others in the class. He proudly strutted into the vast area set aside for testing with his underlings beside him as he looked around in undisguised arrogance. When he saw Ziyun and their group, he sauntered over, overflowing with pride and confidence.
"Hi Ziyun! I haven't seen you for quite awhile in class. Have you been hanging out with these...low class individuals?" he remarked as he waved his hand towards the commoners in their group. Du Ze's chin tensed up as he clenched his teeth underneath his pursed lips when he heard these words, but he decided not to say anything, wanting to prove his strength with his actions later.
"Don't you know that when they fail today's exam to reach bronze star, they will have to leave the institute? You may have to find yourself some new friends soon..." Shen Yue continued, encouraged by their lack of response. If only he knew just how strong they were, he wouldn't know where to hide his face! He was completely sure that he would be the strongest of the class, or at least second strongest, if Ziyun had grown faster with her talent and the resources available as the City Lord's daughter.
Shen Xiu walked over to them, glancing at Nie Li with unmistakable contempt on her face. "Follow me, the exam for our class is about to begin. Nie Li, I hope you're ready to honour your bet when you fail like the trash you are." she said, as she laughed out loud in a high pitched tone obviously meant to provoke and unsettle him.
He looked at her with a cryptic smile, as though he knew something she didn't. "Teacher Shen Xiu" he replied while bowing in mock reverence. "I hope you don't count your chickens before they hatch. It would be an embarrassing thing indeed if you were to have to resign because of this trash..."
"Hmmphh, we'll see how you can keep boasting after you show whether you've reached bronze rank," she retorted, with a look of annoyance that this pesky insect would keep challenging her. She led the students of the Fighter Apprentice Class into the test hall, where there were some higher level examiners from the institute positioned at various locations around the hall.
"Who would like to go first?" she asked in a clear ringing voice.
Without any hesitation, Shen Yue walks forward declaring, "I'll be first!" A ripple of conversation breaks out among the observers and audience around the hall, curious at this boy from the apprentice class who seemed so confident. The examiner invited him to come up to the first challenge, the Strength Test Stone, to gauge the strength that he had been able to progress to.
The Strength Test Stone was a huge stone with a silver-grey metallic luster. Fighters up to silver rank would punch it as hard as they could, where the stone would then dent to a certain degree. The trained examiners would then be able to accurately read the strength of the examinee from the indentation which had been made.
Boom!
Shen Yue's fist smashed into the Strength Test Stone with a loud thud. When he stepped back, the others could see a small dent had appeared where he had punched. Several examiners walked up to assess the dent, before making their conclusion.
"Test result, 1-star bronze rank, 135 strength!"
Some of the students from the Fighter Apprentice Class exclaimed in surprise when they heard Shen Yue's score. Although they knew that he would have an advantage in cultivation, the strength of their physique would not usually increase as quickly because it required specific body tempering pills and training in order to achieve it. The strengthening of one's physique would slow down even further once their cultivation reached silver rank so an expert could not only rely on increasing cultivation levels when growing stronger in a well-rounded way.
As he heard the murmurs from the students and surrounding observers grow in admiration, Shen Yue's pride continued to bloat even more. As each student received three tries at the Strength Test Stone, he planted his feet more solidly as he prepared his next strike.
Boom!
"Test result, 150 strength!"
Boom!
"Test result, 160 strength!
Shen Yue turned away from the stone with a smug expression on his face, satisfied with his results, as he proceeded to the next test. He placed his hand against the huge soul crystal that he was directed to, and began channeling his soul force into it.
"Test result, bronze rank demon spiritualist, 130 soul force!"
He walked back to his lackeys, grinning broadly and shrugging his shoulders as though pretending that he didn't know that he would get such good results. His heart wanted to explode in pride as he heard some of the comments going on around him among the onlookers.
"Shen Yue's soul force is already at 130 so he's already a 1-star bronze-ranked Demon Spiritualist!"
"Such rapid cultivation, he is indeed a member of the Sacred Family!"
"How surprising that a Demon Spiritualist has appeared in the Fighter Apprentice Class!"
"It will be no problem for him to enter the Demon Spiritualist Apprentice class."
He looked over to Nie Li's group in complete disdain as crossed his arms and mouthed to them, "Your turn."
Shen Xiu calls out, "Who's next? Don't delay and keep going."
The others who remained in the class with Shen Xiu all volunteered one by one but apart from Shen Yue, none of them reached bronze rank although a few almost made the cut. There was an undercurrent of sneers as the crowd began observing the class with more and more condescension.
"Just like we've been told, this year's Fighter Apprentice Class is weaker than the past. Most of them possess red soul realms!"
"Apart from Shen Yue from the Sacred Family, they're all so weak. He gave us false hope by going first!"
"I heard that the only ones with talent apart from Shen Yue are the two most beautiful girls in the class, Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'Er!!"
They waited in anticipation for these girls to take the stage when only their group remained to be tested. The audience felt a sense of impatience when they saw Lu Piao step up first because all they wanted to see were the talented and beautiful girls since they thought no one else would have any chance to pass the exam this year.
Boom!
"Test result...5-star bronze rank, 510 strength!!"
"OK, hurry up, let Ye Ziyun ta...wait, what???"
There was an explosion of sound around the testing grounds as the observers exclaimed in disbelief.
"Who is this Lu Piao? I've never heard of him. 5-star bronze rank?? Is the testing stone broken?"
Shen Yue, in particular stood there with his underlings, his lower jaw hanging down in astonishment. He was convinced that the test was broken, if not, how could this lazy and playful idiot reach this level of strength at his age and with his background?
A moment later, they were even more astounded when Lu Piao placed his hand against the large soul crystal to test his soul force. The crowd saw the reddish glow continue to grow to an almost blinding light, and when the radiance settled, the examiner walked forward to assess him.
"Test result, 5-star bronze rank demon spiritualist, 530 soul force!"
The murmuring from the crowd rose in crescendo as this result was announced.
"530 soul force! This is simply too monstrous!!"
"Is he really a first year student? This is unreal!"
"I had thought that maybe the Strength Test Stone was broken but the testing soul crystal can't be broken too, right??"
The crowd's eyes remained wide open in bewilderment as Wei Nan, Zhang Ming, Nie Li and Zhu Xiangjun had similar results to Lu Piao, and over time, the voices and conversations died down as they continued observing, completely numb in amazement.
Soon, it was Du Ze's turn. As he walked up to the Strength Test Stone, Xiao Ning'Er turned to one of the examiners and whispered to him, "I think you'd better bring out a soul crystal that can handle a silver rank's soul force..."
Du Ze took a stable martial arts position with a serious expression on his face, as he gathered his strength, smoothly transferring the energy from his pivoting legs, hips and shoulders into his right fist in one practiced motion.
BOOOMM!
A sound louder than they had heard that day echoed through the hall and the audience could see the entire testing stone trembling in complaint to the impact.
"Six hun-hun-hundred and fif-fifty!!" the examiner could barely get the words out.
Although each star level of bronze rank only required an extra 100 soul force to reach, there was a fundamentally qualitative leap to silver rank, which would then require 1,000 soul force per star level! This was why so many cultivators would get stuck at the 5-star bronze rank bottleneck, unable to break through that final barrier to arrive at the next rank. Du Ze had made this critical breakthrough at only 13 years of age!
The examiners prepared a different soul crystal for him and found that he had reached silver rank Demon Spiritualist as well! The voices that had died down in shock rose again in volume as the crowd wondered what was going on that day. The results were absolutely unheard of in the Fighter Apprentice Class across history. Du Ze's talent even surpassed Lord Ye Mo at this age!!
They were to be even more unsettled as Ziyun and Ning'Er stepped up, confidently demonstrating that they had reached 2-star silver rank and 4 star-silver rank, respectively. A surreal atmosphere covered the testing area as the crowd pinched themselves wondering if they were part of a dream they had not woken up from yet.
In a VIP booth overlooking them, Ye Sheng sat with a few other old men with lofty airs of nobility around him. At this point, they were looking at each other in speechlessness. The results of the Fighter Apprentice Class were beyond what any of them could conceive even though they had all been through so many years of experience in Glory City. Three silver-ranked students in the apprentice class, it was unprecedented!
Ye Sheng finally said in a resigned tone, "I know this is the time we usually fight over who gets to train and mentor the most talented of the graduates from this class...but it's clear that none of us have the capability to handle such terrifying talent. I'll have to discuss this with the Principal and Lord Ye Mo to consult on how we can support the development of these incredible geniuses!
The rest nodded in silent assent as they turned their eyes back to this extraordinary group of eight individuals.
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