The Azure Dragon Academy

The noise still rumbled. A hundred disciples of the Azure Dragon Academy ran down and lined up on both sides, followed by 50 outer disciples carrying strong stone pillars. Every footstep of the fifty men stomped on the ground until the dust spread into a white curtain. The parade of the Azure Dragon Academy disciples passed by the crowd that was densely packed and then split up to go to the 25 test stages. After that, all the pillar carriers waited for the signal before proceeding to set the stone pillar to the ground at the same time, causing the ground to shake all over the place. The people who had come to wait as the audience then made a cheering sound for the magnificence of the event.

After that, the examination supervisor—the Elder of Azure Dragon Academy—ordered the outer disciples to split up the group of more than 3,000 examinees into 25 groups according to the number of test stages. As a result of lot drawing, Xueming was in the twenty-fifth group, Zi Hui in the twenty-eighth, and the two Yong brothers in the third and twelfth, respectively. The last one was Mu Jinlan in the first test stage.

One of Li Biao's informers who was an outer disciple sent a signal to Li Biao that Xueming got Number 25. Li Biao smiled with malice and walked straight toward the outer disciple who supervised the twenty-fifth test stage before using his influence as an inner disciple and his father's charisma to change the examiner into his own ally. The outer disciple in charge was aware that he should not mess with Li Biao and his folks, thus agreeing to withdraw himself quietly.

After that, Li Biao told his lackey to use a magic item called the Power Armor—obtained from Jian Chen earlier—and seal it beneath the test post of the twenty-fifth test stage. This kind of magic item was often used as one of the war materials during the attack on another city or the defense of the City and was considered an expensive item. But more importantly, the Power Armor was a rare commodity as it was considered military equipment and not very useful in the battle of cultivators. Despite its rarity in the general market, for an old noble family like the Li family, there should be quite a few items like this in the family’s treasury.

... Hah, I'll see how you could afford to pass through the next round.

"Ping Xiu, Zhang Jin, you two follow me to the twenty-fifth test stage. I want to see his face when realizing that he could not pass the test. Scum like him should know his damn place, that he can only be low-class trash!"

When the examinees were dispersed to their own test stages, the Elder of the Azure Dragon Academy then walked forward to welcome all the examinees and announce the rules for the first round of the test: the test of strength. To be an outer disciple of the Academy, one must have a punch power of at least 1,000 Jin to pass the test criteria. Each examinee would have the opportunity to punch the stone located on all 25 stages 3 times. The punch that could make the most punch weight would be counted. Only those who could pass the first round would be eligible for attending the second round of the examination.

After announcing the test rules, the Elder of the Academy, therefore, ordered the start of the test. After his speech ended, the surrounding audience immediately shouted and made a cheering noise.

.

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"The eighth test stage, Examinee Zi Hui." When Zi Hui's name was called, the entire audience instantly turned their attention to this stage, as Zi Hui was considered the most talented among the youngsters of the same generation who took the test this year. In addition, Zi Hui took the position of the young master of the Zi family, the family of the Purple Jade City Governor, not to mention his handsome and elegant appearance. Zi Hui's stepping onto the stage was therefore welcomed by the cheering shout from the crowd matchlessly louder than the other stages.

When Zi Hui stepped up and stood in front of the test stone that was more than three meters tall, the test supervisor raised his hand as a sign that the examinee needed to concentrate. The audience became quiet, changing from making some noise into thinking about the upcoming test results with excitement.

Zi Hui closed his eyes tightly and concentrated, his two legs firmly set in a horse sitting position. He tightened his Qi until his chest gradually bulged a little. He then slowly exhaled until reaching the estimated point that his two closed eyes suddenly opened. His eyes shone brightly for a moment before he used the Mountain-Bombing Punch skill—one of the moves in the Purple Jade set of punch tactics (the Zi Family’s set of punch tactics). Underneath his two feet that touched the ground appeared the cracking sound of the stage stone floor. The right fist that was amassing the Qi energy was thrown out swiftly like an arrow. The whistling sound of the fist penetrating the air became so loud, causing some people near the stage to raise both hands to block their ears.

BOOM!!!

A loud explosion sounded as soon as the fist hit the test stone in the center.

The numbers on the punch power calculating pad ran quickly and continuously.

1,000…

2,000…

3,500…

4,000…

4,100…

4,200… Until finally the numbers stopped. A chatter appeared again because the number 4,200 was the fist weight of a cultivator with the third level of the basic Qi—almost breaking through to the fourth level (most of those who had broken through the fourth level had a punch weight. At 4,500 – 5,000 Jin). But Zi Hui was only 15 years old, if he could break through to the fourth level before he was 16, it was believed that the throne of the main disciples in the Azure Dragon Academy would definitely tremble.

In the past, the highest record that anyone had made was as high as 6,000 Jin, which Zi Hui did not think he could break. He, therefore, waived the right to continue testing for the remaining two fists and descended from the stage with a calm face and gesture.

"Hmm ..." Zi Zheng, who was sitting there watching, made a voice expressing his satisfaction with his son's development. "It looks like Zi Hui did better than Zi Jiang when he had taken the test last time..."

"Huh ... At that time, Zi Jiang hadn’t yet shown his true strength because he saw that this test was not interesting. But after entering the Azure Dragon Academy, that would be a real test.” Zi Liang Jin, Zi Jiang's father and also Zi Hui's uncle, spoke in a grumpy tone.

"..." Zi Zheng did not want to argue with Zi Liang Jin. Thus, he only gave him a faint smile before turning his head to continue watching the test.

After Zi Hui passed the test, Mu Jinlan who was assigned to the first stage also passed the test. She had a punch weight of 1,500 Jin, and two of the Yong brothers were able to pass with a punch weight of 1,100 Jin and 1,200 Jin. The test of all stages went smoothly. There were both those who passed and those who failed the test about half and half, except at the twenty-fifth test stage where 17 contestants had already taken the test but none of them could pass. Plus, their punch power turned out to be astoundingly low. Despite some contestants’ complaints and protests, but because Li Biao and his minions took control of the twenty-fifth test stage, the protest was covered up without leaking to the ears of the Elder of the Azure Dragon Academy.

Zi Hui knew that Xueming was going to test, so he went straight to watch him from the ringside. But when his eyes turned to see Li Biao and his minions near Xueming’s test stage, he felt worried. Yet, before he could talk with Xueming, the latter had already stepped up onto the test stage.

"Jian Chen, are you sure that the Power Armor you took from the warehouse will work?" Although Li Biao had seen how terribly low the test results of those who were disqualified earlier, according to the assassin’s report a month ago, Xueming had a strong attack power equivalent to a cultivator with the fourth level of the natural Qi, Li Biao felt unsettled because if the assassin's words were true, this would mean that Xueming's fist power would actually be at a level of 4,500 Jin.

"You can rest assured, Young Master. The Power Armor is not an ordinary magic item. Plus, according to my estimate, for the boy Xueming to pass the test, he would need to have a punch weight of at least 6,000 Jin.” Jian Chen said confidently.

(Jian Chen was so confident because that Power Armor had the ability to receive the attack power that exceeded 500 Jin and to reduce physical impact up to 11 times more than normal armor. Jian Chen had already explained its properties to Li Biao. However, the Power Armor also had its drawback. It would reduce the maximum durability of the original equipment. For example, this test stone had maximum durability of 15,000 Jin. Once the Power Armor was installed, its durability would decrease by more than five-tenths, thus making the test stone have the remaining maximum durability of 7,500 – 8,000 Jin only.)

"Well, hope it turns out that way," said Li Biao in a deep voice as he stared at Xueming's figure standing in meditation in front of the test stone.

Xueming stood still in front of the test stone. He did not dare to be careless. He knew that he had a punch power that exceeded 5,000 Jin, but he saw that many testers failed the test. In addition, a villain like Li Biao came to sit and watch the test from below, not far from the twenty-fifth test stage. Although Zi Hui didn't give a warning, Xueming could guess that there was something fishy at the twenty-fifth test stage, and it would have something to do with Li Biao and his folks. The reason for this strange incident would surely be Xueming itself.

"I can't be too careless," said Xueming as he pressed the left foot down firmly as a pillar and used his right leg to move toward the test stone before stomping until the stone floor broke with a loud noise. The right fist that had previously been bent inward was now spinning forward with a Gut-Piercing Punch move. But as soon as the fist hit the test stone, Xueming realized he chose the wrong posture. As his strong fist moved close to the stone pillar, its strength fell sharply as if the fist had hit a soft layer one stroke before. Then, the fist power was greatly compromised. Consequently, when the strong fist reached the test stone, there was hardly any weight left.

At first, the numbers on the punch power calculating pad increased quickly before they went down swiftly.

500…

600…

800…

900…

976…

Finally, the numbers stopped at 976. Li Biao vented air from his mouth and raised his hand to wipe off the sweat that oozed from his forehead.

Jian Chen looked at the punch power calculating pad with a pale face because at first, he thought that the surviving assassin said a lot of nonsense to cover up his own weakness that he had had to escape. But when he saw Xueming's fist power with his own eyes, he became speechless because the numbers confirmed that Xueming's punch weight was definitely at least 5,000 Jin, while the boy only had a cultivation level of the second level of the basic Qi. In his opinion, Xueming's punch weight was far beyond his comprehension and what he had learned for his entire life.

Seeing what just happened, Zi Hui’s face turned angry since he was now confident that Li Biao must definitely have used some dirty tricks on the test stone. This made Zi Hui unable to remain silent. He hurriedly disappeared from the twenty-fifth test stage and headed for the Elder of the Azure Dragon Academy. He intended to use the reputation of the Zi family to persuade the Elder who supervised this recruitment event to come and inspect the twenty-fifth test stage immediately.