Chapter 5

Ye Fan let out a breath of pent-up anger in class, left Nanchen Martial Academy, and returned to his old residence in Luyang City.

This was a small courtyard passed down through generations of the Ye family, providing him a stable place to stay in Luyang City. Although the walls and houses were quite dilapidated, they were kept very clean and tidy inside and out.

There was not a speck of dust on the chairs, tables, and tea tables.

After returning home from the academy, Ye Fan sat at a desk by the window, took out an adventure-themed book, and continued to study diligently, trying to learn as much as possible about the nine major disciplines.

Before long, he felt extremely tired and drowsy.

Accessing the vast knowledge recorded in the divine book "Shang" required a price to be paid.

In the last class of the day, every time he opened the mysterious ancient book in his sea of consciousness, his mental energy was heavily drained.

To deal with Wang Mei, Zhao Xing, Jiang Wei Yun, and Cao Shanshan, he had to flip through the ancient book four times, completely depleting all his mental energy.

In the classroom, he managed to hold on to maintain his dignity in front of the other martial students. However, after returning home, he felt drowsy as soon as he started reading.

Ye Fan plopped onto the desk, falling into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long it had been.

Suddenly, Ye Fan woke up with a start.

He opened his eyes and saw that the sky outside the window was dimly lit, seemingly at dawn.

"I only came home at noon to rest for a while. How did it suddenly become early morning? Oh no, today is the joint examination of the ten academies in Luyang. Did I miss the exam time?!"

Ye Fan jumped up from the desk, looking somewhat flustered.

At that moment, a calm voice sounded in his mind, "You slept through the afternoon and the night. It's now the morning of the second day, and there's still enough time before your academy's assessment."

Ye Fan was surprised, "Why did I sleep for so long?!"

Shang complained, "I told you before, each time you flip through the 'Vast Ages,' it consumes a large amount of your mental energy. Unless it's necessary, don't use it lightly. Yesterday, you flipped the book four times just to deal with that group of waste in your class, severely depleting your mental energy. It took you half a day to recover!"

Ye Fan immediately remembered that this was the voice of the mysterious ancient book "Shang" that had intruded into his mind.

Hearing Shang's complaint, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He didn't want to, but Zhao Xing and his gang always bullied him. He couldn't bear it and retaliated, only to end up flipping the book a few times too many, causing him to fall into a deep sleep for the entire night.

Shang sighed, "Mainly, your mental energy is too weak! Your mental energy is probably less than half of a martial artist of the same level, incredibly weak. With your current strength, it's hard for me to get any nourishment from you. I don't know how many tens of thousands of years I'll have to stay in your sea of consciousness to recover my full strength."

"Do I really have that weak of a mental energy?"

Ye Fan felt a bitter taste in his heart.

Although he had a moment of glory yesterday, he was still that struggling young martial artist.

His martial talent and mental energy were less than half of others, no wonder he worked hard every day but still fell far behind others in martial arts, the gap growing wider and wider.

"By the way, if I use up my mental energy and overuse the divine book, what consequences will there be? Will I faint on the spot?"

Ye Fan wanted to know.

Shang shook his head, "You won't faint! After your mental energy is depleted, it will continue to drain your blood and qi. If your blood and qi are drained to the brink of death, it will then consume your lifespan until it's completely exhausted, and you will die and your soul will dissipate.

So I warn you, don't overuse 'Wushen Yanyu' and 'Vast Ages,' or you'll die faster! I don't want you to die early and drag me down with you."

Ye Fan was startled, "After losing my mental energy, using the book will also consume my blood and qi, and even my lifespan?"

Shang nodded, "Of course. Do you think flipping such a thick ancient book doesn't require energy?"

Ye Fan suddenly thought of a key question, "Is my mental energy enough to activate 'Wushen Yanyu,' and how many times can I use it?"

He was about to participate in the martial arts assessment.

The martial arts assessment wasn't just about flipping through the divine book and talking; he had to demonstrate real martial skills in front of the examiners.

His martial skills were too weak, and he needed to rely on Shang's power to have a chance of passing the assessment and entering the only high-level academy in Luyang.

Shang said indifferently, "Activating 'Wushen Yanyu' consumes more mental energy than flipping through 'Vast Ages.'

With your pitiful mental energy, you can probably use 'Wushen Yanyu' once a day at most, and only perform the most basic martial skills.

If you recklessly use advanced martial skills or techniques from other disciplines, it will directly drain your blood and qi, and even shorten your lifespan! You only have about a hundred years to live, and you can't afford to take such risks."

Ye Fan was somewhat surprised.

But at least he could perform 'Wushen Yanyu' once.

Although it was just basic martial skills, there might be a chance to pass the martial arts assessment of Luyang Academy.

However, among the thousands of martial students from the ten academies in Luyang, many were learning basic martial skills, and even the children of noble families were learning intermediate martial skills.

He wasn't sure if he had a good chance of passing the martial arts assessment.

"I won't talk to you anymore, I need to hurry to the exam site, don't be late!"

Ye Fan quickly washed up, bought a steamed bun on the way to fill his stomach, and rushed to the exam site.

Since it was a joint examination for the ten primary academies in Luyang, to advance to Luyang Academy,

The exam site was not in any of the academies but was set up in the famous Luyang Academy. All candidates had to go to Luyang Academy for the exam.

...

Luyang City.

Central Street, Luyang Academy, covering hundreds of acres.

When Ye Fan hurried to the academy, the entire martial academy was surrounded by thousands of martial students and even more parents and friends, with people standing on the two majestic stone lions at the academy's entrance.

Many civilians were watching the spectacle from nearby taverns, and the entire street was bustling with activity.

"Today is the most important martial arts assessment of Luyang Academy! I have a secret family recipe, the Great Strength Pill. After taking it, your strength will increase by several levels, helping you leap to success! Five taels of silver per pill, buy it and you won't regret it!"

"I have a secret manual, containing the insights of top candidates from previous martial arts assessments. Who wants it? Only ten taels of silver!"

"Scholars, I have been a master in Canglan for decades, with no mistakes in my predictions. I can predict your future and see which discipline you will pass!"

Stalls selling secret manuals, fortune tellers, and vendors were everywhere, creating a lively scene.

There were also carriages from noble families in Luyang, as many of their children would participate in this assessment. The joint examination would have a significant impact on the future of these families.

At the entrance of the academy, a large announcement board hung high. Once the assessment results were out, they would be publicly displayed on this board.

The results and some honorary titles of the thousands of young martial students from the ten academies would be announced.

Inside Luyang Academy, on the training ground.

A large crowd of martial students lined up in dozens of long queues, waiting for the martial arts assessment.

The joint examination covered nine disciplines: martial arts, runes, beast taming, sacrifices, commerce, alchemy, weapon forging, adventure, and city governance.

Among the nine disciplines, martial arts was the most important.

In the Divine Martial Continent, the strong are respected.

Martial arts symbolize the highest honor and are the core and orthodox power of the human race.

Any martial student in any academy on the Divine Martial Continent who wants to advance to higher ranks such as Martial Venerable, Martial Duke, Martial King, Martial Emperor, etc., must master this discipline.

Moreover, if one is not strong in martial arts, even if they have talent in the other eight disciplines, their achievements will be limited.

An ordinary martial artist has a lifespan of a hundred years, while a Martial Venerable has a lifespan of 150 years, a Martial Duke has a lifespan of 300 years, and so on. The stronger one is, the longer their lifespan. Without sufficient lifespan, even with astonishing talent, one cannot surpass others.

Of course, the other eight disciplines are also very beneficial for cultivation.

For example, the rune discipline can deepen the understanding of the essence of martial arts.

The alchemy discipline can use herbs to aid cultivation and earn money.

Martial cultivation is very costly, involving the purchase of weapons, martial skills, runes, and body-strengthening herbs, etc.

Cultivating other disciplines can earn a lot of money, which can be used for martial cultivation.

Of course, if a martial student has a wealthy family and doesn't worry about the cost of cultivation, they can focus on martial arts without taking other disciplines.

Such martial students, who are dedicated to martial arts, are called true martial artists, with no distractions and a single-minded focus on martial arts.

The joint examination of the ten academies would assess the nine disciplines in sequence. With so many martial students, it would take nearly a month to complete the entire examination.

The first day's assessment was for the martial arts discipline.

Ye Fan found his academy's instructor, received his identity exam card, and joined the queue on the training ground, waiting for the martial arts assessment.

All the young martial students were very nervous and serious, with many practicing their sword skills and muttering to themselves, making the most of the last few moments before the exam.

Some students who had already failed the assessment and been eliminated were leaving the exam site with sad faces, crying.

This made the students who were about to take the assessment turn pale and clench their fingers tightly.

The acceptance rate for the martial arts discipline at Luyang Academy was very low, with only about one or two out of ten students being accepted, almost making most students feel hopeless.

Among the thousands of candidates, only fewer than five hundred martial arts students would be admitted to Luyang Academy.

Ye Fan felt a deep sense of empathy for the students who had been eliminated.

His martial arts had always been weak, and among the thousands of young candidates, he was almost at the bottom, with a very low chance of passing the assessment and a bleak situation.

Fortunately, everyone was very nervous, and no one paid much attention to Ye Fan.

Some of Ye Fan's classmates, seeing him from a distance, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Look, it's Ye Fan!"

"He said he would come to the exam site yesterday, and he really dared to come! He's only at the first level of martial arts and only knows a few basic skills. With such meager strength, he can't even match my little finger. Can he pass the martial arts assessment?"

"He's definitely just boasting."

"Let's go and see how he performs in the assessment and watch him embarrass himself!"

Ye Fan's performance yesterday had shocked them greatly.

Although some suspected that Ye Fan had used underhanded tactics to gather their weaknesses, no one dared to provoke him without seeing his true strength.

Soon, a group of over ten classmates gathered near Ye Fan, occasionally glancing at him with nervousness and whispering cautiously.

"Hey, isn't that our class's famous Ye Fan!"

Ye Fan heard the familiar mocking voice and turned around.

Zhao Xing had a mocking smile on his face, walking arrogantly with a look of disdain and arrogance, accompanied by Jiang Wei Yun and a group of followers.

"Zhao Xing, what do you want? Still not satisfied with yesterday's humiliation?"

Ye Fan said coldly.

"Hmph, you're just devious and smooth-talking! Once the real assessment starts, you'll be like a grasshopper in autumn, jumping around for a few days before dying!"

Zhao Xing said fiercely, his heart filled with hatred as he recalled the heavy blow he suffered yesterday, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

The followers also flattered Zhao Xing while mocking Ye Fan,

"Exactly, anyone can boast! We'll see who's the real deal on the exam site."

"Xing's strength is unmatched. He has already mastered the seventh form of the intermediate sword skill 'Thirteen Slashes of the Slanted Moon,' which is incredibly powerful. One slash can cut down a large tree, far beyond what others can achieve!"

"Unlike some people, who have low strength and can't even master basic skills. They have delusions of grandeur, thinking they can enter the only high-level academy in Luyang. It's like an ant trying to shake a tree, not knowing their limits!"

"When they fail on the exam site, they'll have no face to show anyone!"

Zhao Xing held his head high, enjoying their flattery.

He had always been the top martial arts student in the class, and no one dared to challenge him in martial skills.

Yesterday, Ye Fan suddenly appeared and exposed his sword skill's weakness in front of everyone, which was the most humiliating moment for him.

But it's fine, revenge is a dish best served cold.

Today, he would use his true strength to crush Ye Fan on the exam site and regain his prestige as the top martial student in the class!

"Indeed, talking and boasting are useless. Let's see the real results on the exam site."

Ye Fan smiled faintly, completely ignoring their mockery.