Chapter 42

Her loud voice was quite intimidating, and the heated discussions gradually quieted down under the weight of her words.

Then, the palace examination continued, and Chen Ding, who was behind Li Tianming, was directly called up.

After Mu Wan established her authority, the noise and discussions temporarily disappeared. However, when Li Tianming came down, most of the people around had already dispersed.

These young people knew he was a prominent figure and dared not approach him, lest they be seen as his kindred spirits.

Li Tianming was happy to be left alone, enjoying the peace and waiting for the second stage of the palace examination.

There were many people at the Phoenix Hall, so it was estimated that it would take some time to wait.

The first stage had ended, and over six hundred people had been eliminated just at the Phoenix Hall.

Occasionally, Li Tianming paid attention to the Beast Masters who had sixth-stage Companion Beasts.

He found that this palace examination was indeed full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. So far, there had been seven or eight high-grade sixth-stage Companion Beasts, equivalent to the Six-Star Radiant Lion.

Each of them came from top geniuses, descendants of noble families, some from the Vermilion Bird Royal Family, and others from the Heavenly Opportunity Palace, the Starry Sky Chamber, and other forces.

"Four years ago, Lin Xiaoting's Companion Beast was also a high-grade sixth-stage. This year, does the Thunder Venerable Mansion have no one?"

So far, the highest-grade Companion Beast from the Thunder Venerable Mansion was a mid-grade sixth-stage.

Then, he saw a familiar face from the Thunder Venerable Mansion—Liu Qianyang!

This young man, whose nose had been broken by Li Tianming, had lost his former sharpness and barely passed the test with his Lightning Leopard.

"Where did he get the Yanhuang Order? Now that he's back, has Liu Qing returned? Li Yanfeng, could he have followed?"

Li Tianming scanned the surrounding stands, but unfortunately, the stands were too large, and he found it hard to locate Li Yanfeng.

At that moment, he suddenly heard someone whispering.

"Lin Xiaoxiao from the Thunder Venerable Mansion is about to go up."

"Four years ago, her brother ranked first in the palace examination and directly entered the Heavenly Mansion. I heard she is the most promising one this year. Do you know why?"

"No."

"Allegedly, she and her brother are both rare Twin Beast Masters, born with two Companion Beasts, making them twice as strong as others."

"Really? Back then, Lin Xiaoting relied on his two Companion Beasts to rank first in the competition!"

"Twin Beast Masters are too powerful, and even more terrifying is that both of their Companion Beasts are top-tier."

"That's true. Many Twin Beast Masters have Companion Beasts of only two or three stages, which are useless."

"Speaking of which, the Thunder Venerable Mansion has a great chance this year. Now, Lin Xiaoting is the top genius in the Heavenly Mansion, and his sister has a good chance of becoming the top disciple."

"The Thunder Venerable Mansion is truly remarkable, with the top disciple for two consecutive sessions. Such an example is rare even in the Vermilion Bird Royal Family."

Li Tianming heard that there were quite a few people discussing this girl named Lin Xiaoxiao.

"Does he have a sister?" Li Tianming had not known that Lin Xiaoting had a younger sister.

However, he didn't have any particular thoughts.

There was a clear cause and effect; three years ago, Lin Xiaoxiao was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old child.

His matters naturally had nothing to do with this talented young girl.

As a competitor in the ranking battle, he had to pay attention to her, especially since he knew that Chen Yao could only be considered one of the top candidates for the top disciple.

Under his watchful eye, he finally saw a girl from the Ten Thousand Beast Hall make her appearance, drawing everyone's attention.

Although she was far away, Li Tianming was immediately captivated by this girl.

Beautiful girls always draw everyone's gaze, and this young girl named Lin Xiaoxiao was naturally stunning.

She was dressed in a light orange long dress.

She emerged gracefully from the crowd, with clear and bright eyes, arched eyebrows, long lashes fluttering, and fair, flawless skin with a hint of pink. Her thin lips were as tender and inviting as rose petals.

Her attire was not particularly luxurious, but a string of pearls around her neck emitted a faint glow, making her look even more delicate and refined.

This girl was probably no more than fifteen years old, but she had already grown into a graceful and beautiful young lady. With a few more years, she would surely become even more enchanting.

However, despite her youth, her face was serene and natural, her eyes calm like a lake, indicating a very peaceful and simple disposition.

This kind of temperament was not something that Chen Ying, who was beside Li Tianming, could compare to.

Her appearance drew extraordinary attention, but Lin Xiaoxiao had a calm and elegant demeanor, unaffected by the attention.

It was hard to imagine that she came from the flamboyant Thunder Venerable Mansion.

"Master, can I start the test now?" she asked politely and gracefully after stepping onto the stage.

"Please." The master smiled, not daring to be negligent.

It was said that Lin Xiaoxiao had two types of Companion Beasts: a flying creature and a land creature. Her choice to test at the Ten Thousand Beast Hall made the masters there secretly pleased.

With permission, Lin Xiaoxiao summoned her two Companion Beasts from her Companion Space.

The moment the two Companion Beasts appeared, they instantly became the focus of the entire venue!

"It's the Tri-Color Thunderbird, and the other one is the Adamantine Thunder Ape!"

"Both are said to be top-tier sixth-stage Companion Beasts."

Li Tianming's gaze first locked onto the Tri-Color Thunderbird soaring in the air.

It was a bird of moderate size but very well-proportioned, clearly very fast.

Its feathers were of three colors: blue, green, and red.

When these feathers rubbed against the air, they produced three-colored lightning, which wrapped around the Thunderbird.

When the three types of lightning collided, they made a sizzling sound, causing a tingling sensation.

This was the sixth-stage Companion Beast, the Tri-Color Thunderbird, a 'Lightning-type Avian' Companion Beast.

As the Tri-Color Thunderbird soared through the air, the other Companion Beast stood behind Lin Xiaoxiao, like a guardian protecting the young girl.

This was the Adamantine Thunder Ape.

It was a three-meter-tall giant ape with a body covered in golden fur, which was so dense it looked like armor.

Beneath the fur was the terrifying muscle of the Companion Beast.

Compared to the elegant Tri-Color Thunderbird, the Adamantine Thunder Ape appeared brutal and fierce.

Only when it looked at Lin Xiaoxiao did its eyes soften; otherwise, they were filled with surging golden lightning.

"Adamantine Thunder Ape? This is a dual-attribute Companion Beast."

Li Tianming remembered the description of this Companion Beast from the records.

Companion Beasts are classified by species and attributes. A dual-attribute Companion Beast has two attributes.

Dual-attribute Companion Beasts have dual abilities and are theoretically stronger.

For example, the Adamantine Thunder Ape is a 'Lightning-type Frenzy' Companion Beast.

It has both Lightning and Frenzy attributes. Lightning is a major attribute, and Frenzy is a special attribute.

Thus, this Companion Beast possesses the destructive power of lightning and the ability to frenzy, making it a formidable close-combat fighter.

But in fact, having two Companion Beasts, the seemingly delicate Lin Xiaoxiao was the most terrifying.

Because she combined the abilities of her two Companion Beasts, she must also possess the Frenzy attribute, making her physical form quite brutal.

Her Beast Essence was the combination of the Tri-Color Thunderbird and the Adamantine Thunder Ape.

The appearance of her two Companion Beasts immediately overshadowed many others.

Next was the grade test. Two drops of blood were placed on two Star Stones simultaneously, and the shining blue light instantly illuminated the Yanhuang Battlefield.

Each of these two beams of light was comparable to the Six-Star Radiant Lion, and in some ways, even surpassed it, almost indistinguishable from the Little Yellow Chicken.

But since there were two beams of light, together they were even more brilliant.

"Lin Xiaoxiao, with two high-grade sixth-stage Companion Beasts, the Tri-Color Thunderbird and the Adamantine Thunder Ape, is at the third level of the Spirit Source Realm. At just fifteen years old, achieving this level, and being a Twin Beast Master, is no small feat."

The master was slightly excited and deliberately praised her after announcing the results.

"Thank you, Master." Afterward, Lin Xiaoxiao took her Companion Beasts and quickly disappeared into the crowd, seemingly unwilling to draw attention.

However, her grand appearance provided a perfect conclusion to the first stage of the palace examination.

After that, most of the participants were mediocre.

In less than an hour, the entire venue had completed the test, and more than a third of the young people were eliminated, leaving with tears in their eyes.

Most people only had one chance, and once they left, they would have no further connection with the Yanhuang Academy.

Although it was just the first stage of the palace examination, there were still those who were happy and those who were sad.

Of course, the masters didn't care and immediately began the second stage of the palace examination.

"The second stage involves each person participating in a battle, which will be comprehensively evaluated by our ten masters."

"We will not only look at the outcome but also observe the talent, combat skills, and mental state you display in battle, and we will also consider age."

"If you gain our approval, you will receive a Disciple Order. If there are multiple Disciple Orders, you can choose your master."

"If you don't receive a Disciple Order, you will be put on hold, but if your performance is too poor, you will be asked to leave." The masters announced.

This rule was the same as last time, and Li Tianming was very clear about it.

In short, everyone remaining would participate in a battle.

The ten masters would comprehensively evaluate the combat performance, and those who meet their personal standards would receive a Disciple Order and enter their beginner class.

For example, if Master Mu Wan approved of Li Tianming, she would give him a Disciple Order, meaning Li Tianming would pass the examination.

Whether one master or all ten masters gave the Disciple Order made no difference; the only difference was that with more masters, the disciple could choose their master.

If the performance was average, they would be put on hold, but they wouldn't lose their chance.

The masters would continue to evaluate them to ensure fairness.

However, if the performance was very poor and showed no talent, they would be directly eliminated.

At the Phoenix Hall, there were still over a thousand people, and five hundred battles would need to be conducted, so the palace examination would last for several days.

Li Tianming was unwilling to waste so much time, so he planned to go up as soon as possible.

After all, his mother was waiting for good news at the inn.

At this stage, he was at a disadvantage only in age, but in other aspects, he was excellent, and Master Mu Wan would definitely take him.

So, for him, the palace examination was just a formality, and he needed to hurry back to prepare for the ranking battle.

"Li Tianming!" Just as Li Tianming was looking for an opponent, a huge shadow appeared behind him.

Turning around, he saw Chen Ding.

"Is there something?"

"I am at the first level of the Spirit Source Realm, and you are at the ninth level of the Beast Pulse Realm. You are four years older than me. I just want to ask you, do you dare to accept my challenge?" Chen Ding looked at him with a dark expression.

"Don't worry. As long as you perform well, even if you lose to Chen Ding, the masters might still take you."

"Of course, if they think your character is too poor and you are not worthy of being a Yanhuang disciple, then forget what I just said." Chen Ying mocked from the side.

Actually, they said so much, but their real intention was to beat Li Tianming and vent their anger.

"How about it, do you dare!" Chen Ding growled like a wild beast.

"I dare. Beating you, this big fool, is easy."

He was actually worried about not having an opponent who could showcase his strength and cover his age disadvantage.

First level of the Spirit Source Realm?

Perfect, it would be a good challenge to push his limits.