Chapter 28

The officer frowned slightly and blocked the charging unicorn horse, saying indifferently, "Please show your credentials."

The three people quickly pulled on the reins, barely managing to control the charging unicorn horse. The middle-aged man at the front casually threw a wooden token, "I am Liu Weihua, a mentor at Juxiang Academy."

The man beside him also threw a wooden token, "I am a mentor at the academy, Dick."

"The mentors from Juxiang Academy arrived at noon yesterday. Why are you just getting here? Who is she?" The officer checked the wooden tokens and threw them back, his attitude unchanged.

"Yang Ruyan from the Yang family." The girl's expression was cold, with a hint of arrogance.

Liu Weihua explained, "We encountered some trouble on the way, so we were delayed. The ceremony should not be over yet. Please let us in quickly."

"There are only two more left, but after you change your clothes and organize your belongings, I don't know if there will still be a chance."

"Please open the gate!!" Liu Weihua and Dick frowned deeply. Only two more? They were still a bit late. They had found Yang Ruyan five days ago, but her injuries were too severe, so they had to help her recover, which delayed them. They were able to arrive here in time only because they tamed three unicorn horses halfway. Otherwise, they might have been on the road for another two or three days.

"Mentor Liu Weihua, I am Tang Yan! Please take me in!" Tang Yan rushed to the three people.

"Tang Yan?" Yang Ruyan looked at Tang Yan with surprise and doubt. It really was him! How was he still alive!

"What is this... how... just you?" Liu Weihua carefully examined Tang Yan. He looked a bit disheveled and much thinner, but it was definitely Tang Yan.

"I'll explain once we're inside. Take me in!"

"This is the second young master of the Tang family, Tang Yan. Please allow him to enter with us." Liu Weihua, without time to think further, urgently urged the officer.

The officer gave Tang Yan a deep look and raised his hand to signal, "Open the city gate!"

"Mount up!" Liu Weihua didn't mind Tang Yan's dirty and smelly body, pulling him onto the horse and galloping into the city.

"Is that beggar really the young master of the Tang family?" The surrounding mercenaries looked at each other, some in disbelief, and others turned to look at Amra and his group, their mouths curling with a hint of mockery.

The town was bustling, but not noisy. After all, they were all elites from various academies and noble families, so they had at least some basic manners. Most people were enthusiastically exchanging information, discussing the details of this year's ceremony, and some academies and noble families were trying to poach talented individuals, hoping to bring the best into their ranks.

The most crowded area was the altar zone, where more than half of the remaining noble families and academies were gathered.

Boom!! A thunderous boom echoed from the altar, spreading throughout the town. The bustling town fell into a brief silence, and people's gazes focused on the towering altar in the central area.

The sound of the gilded bell indicated the end of a ceremony. It was unknown whether there would be another pleasant surprise this time.

"East Dawn Academy, student Kadass, ceremony failed."

"East Dawn Academy, student Leond, ceremony successful, spirit meridian activation rate 43%."

"Sky City, Qi family young master, Qi Luchang, ceremony successful, spirit meridian activation rate 49%."

"Juxiang Academy, student Sun Bin, ceremony failed."

...

A solemn voice from the top of the altar clearly reached everyone's ears. People listened intently, quietly noting down the results, but as the results were announced, sighs began to spread through the crowd.

'Failed ceremony' was a term no one wanted to hear. It was equivalent to declaring a young man's fate. In a world where spirit meridians were highly valued, those who failed to activate their spirit meridians were destined to have a difficult path in martial arts. The lucky ones might enter the Martial Master rank, while the unlucky ones would forever remain at the Martial Spirit level.

This term was enough to crush anyone.

For some young masters and misses of noble families, a spirit meridian activation rate below 50% also meant that their future status and treatment would not be good.

In the results just announced, not a single person had an activation rate of 50% or higher.

"Surprises kept coming yesterday, but today... sigh... five consecutive ceremonies, all with high failure rates."

"Could it be that the divine spring's spiritual energy was overused yesterday?"

"It seems there is a possibility. Tsk, tsk, it looks like those who are undergoing the ceremony today are destined to suffer."

"Heh, some people won't be able to sleep tonight."

"Only one more ceremony left. Are there any more people in the waiting area who want to undergo the ceremony?"

"A few, but..."

People whispered, some with worried expressions, others with a sense of schadenfreude.

So far, only one more ceremony remained before the altar closed. In the waiting area, there were three people left. The representatives of Tianchen Academy and Shuangtu City's Xu family both looked troubled. The altar had been acting strangely today, with five consecutive ceremonies bringing 'misfortune.' Some students who should have succeeded in the ceremony had all failed.

For anyone, the ceremony was the most important event in their life. If it was affected by external factors, it would be a great loss. As parents and mentors, they needed to be responsible for these children.

After a difficult struggle, the representatives of East Dawn Academy shouted toward the altar, "Tianchen Academy is giving up this ceremony."

"Wait two more years. If the kid hates me, let him hate me." Xu family's elder sighed and similarly shouted, "Xu family is giving up this ceremony."

"Final verification, are you choosing to give up?" A solemn voice came from the top of the altar.

"We are sure." The representatives of both sides looked somewhat awkward.

The altar showed no mercy or hesitation, announcing in a stern tone, "This ceremony is ending early. The divine spring town will... tonight..."

"Juxiang Academy is accepting the ceremony! The participant is Yang Ruyan from the Yang family!" A frantic shout came from the end of the street, and three unicorn horses galloped toward the altar.

"Yang Ruyan? They found Yang Ruyan?" The mentors of Juxiang City looked up, quickly pushing through the crowd to greet them. People who were about to leave also stopped, curiously watching the three galloping unicorn horses.

"Did we come too late?" Liu Weihua controlled the unicorn horse, dismounted, and rushed over.

Mentor Rachel said, "Just a little more. Why did you come so late?"

"We'll talk about it later. Ruyan, get ready quickly, follow this path..." Liu Weihua led Yang Ruyan inside.

Rachel quickly pulled him aside and whispered, "Don't rush. Something unusual is happening. Today, five consecutive ceremonies have had only a 40% success rate. Even those who succeeded had activation rates below 50%. The Yang family has high hopes for Ruyan. If there's a problem, we... can't afford the responsibility."

"Below 40%? How can this be?" Liu Weihua's expression changed.

Rachel shook her head and whispered, "Should we discuss it with Ruyan and wait two more years?"

"No, I must undergo the ceremony this year." Yang Ruyan walked over, her expression very determined.

"Ruyan..."

"They failed because they lacked talent, not me!"

"Huh? Why is this little girl so annoying?" A middle-aged woman in the crowd frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Little girl, can you explain what you mean by 'lack of talent'?" Some factions, already annoyed, glared at her coldly.

"Sorry, don't take it out on a child." The mentors of Juxiang Academy quickly apologized.

"I must go. I can't stay at the Martial Master level for two years!" Yang Ruyan did not accept the mentors' advice, pushing through the crowd toward the entrance. After displaying her Third Rank Martial Master strength, she was led to the altar by a servant.

"I will also participate." Tang Yan stepped forward.

"This is..." The crowd looked at Tang Yan in surprise, only now noticing the little beggar.

"Tang Yan?" Ailinda was the first to recognize Tang Yan.

"This is Tang Yan?!" The crowd's expressions changed simultaneously.

"Where did you find him? Thank goodness, you little troublemaker, you're finally back! Go tell Tang Qiong, he's been almost crazy these past few days." Rachel was somewhat surprised but also secretly relieved. If Tang Yan had really died in the Illusion Forest, Juxiang Academy and the Tang family would have had a lot of trouble.

Liu Weihua said with a strange expression, "To be precise, he found us himself. We just met him at the city gate."

"What? Himself? Are you kidding?" A spoiled young man, not even a Martial Master, could not possibly have crossed the Illusion Forest alone. Was this insulting their intelligence or the beasts inside?

"If you have no other business, I'm going in." Tang Yan didn't have time to deal with them, pushing past the two mentors with strange expressions and quickly heading toward the entrance.

"Tang Yan, wait! What are you doing? That's the ceremony altar. The conditions for the ceremony are..." Rachel was about to shout but was stunned by the next scene, her voice stuck in her throat.

Whoosh!! Tang Yan's right hand grasped the air, and a long sword made entirely of green flames suddenly formed. Although it didn't emit much heat, it was dazzling in the sunlight.

"..." All the mentors drew in a sharp breath, even Ailinda's small mouth opened in shock.

Transforming spirit energy into a weapon was a special ability of Martial Spirits and above. Additionally, during the transition from Martial Master to Martial Spirit, martial artists could also possess this ability.

In other words... Third Rank Peak!! Tang Yan's displayed strength indicated that he was at the peak of the Martial Master level.

"This... I... I... wait... I must have been seeing things?" Rachel rubbed her eyes hard, staring at the raised green flame sword, while the other mentors looked equally stunned.

It was no wonder they were so shocked. Over the past decade, Tang Yan had left a single impression on all the residents of Juxiang City—spoiled! Everyone knew he was a 'half-finished' product, unable to condense spirit energy, or simply a 'waste.' No one ever thought that such a spoiled child could become a Martial Master, let alone a Third Rank Martial Master!

After a while, a young mentor muttered, "The women of Juxiang City are in trouble!"

"Can someone tell me what just happened?" Even after Tang Yan passed through the entrance, several mentors were still in shock.

The crowd looked at each other, unsure what to say. At this moment, a female mentor suddenly whispered, "No wonder the Tang family insisted on Tang Yan participating in this ceremony, and no wonder his disappearance alarmed Martial King Tang Qiong. What if... inside..."

Hmm?! The mentors of Juxiang Academy all changed their expressions slightly, looking at each other but saying nothing. Rachel whispered, "Quickly inform Tang Qiong and Elder Wei that Tang Yan has entered the altar."

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