Chapter 9

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"Does Uncle mean that joining the inner hall all at once would draw attention from others?"

"Yes!" Xu Haoran nodded and said, "Suddenly a family member at the first level of the Qi Cultivation stage entering would certainly attract attention. If the Ninth Uncle and others were to investigate, it wouldn't be a difficult task."

"Then I'll start with the family academy." Xu Ziyang thought for a moment and said.

"That won't work," Xu Haoran smiled bitterly and said, "With your cultivation at the first level of the Qi Cultivation stage, entering the family academy would draw even more attention."

"I have my own way!"

Xu Ziyang was now standing behind a group of people on the square. This group consisted of Xu family disciples under the age of fifteen, the youngest being only three years old and the oldest not exceeding fifteen. Those over fifteen either broke through to the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage and entered the outer hall, or failed to break through and were expelled from the family to do menial tasks.

Xu Ziyang was now fifteen years old in nominal age, and she was two months away from her fifteenth birthday. She entered the family academy with a fabricated identity as a distant niece of a family manager. She created a concealment talisman to hide her cultivation, masking it at the fourth level of the Later Heaven stage.

Standing behind a group of mostly young children, Xu Ziyang followed the movements in a daze, punching and kicking...

When she first entered the family academy, due to her lack of knowledge about cultivation, she listened attentively to the teacher's lectures for a few days. However, after a few days, Xu Ziyang had fully understood the cultivation methods below the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage. After all, in Xu Ziyang's soul, there was a complete set of inheritance. Although it was only a water-based cultivation method, this water-based cultivation method was extremely complete and extensive in content.

In recent days, Xu Ziyang had been immersed in the water-based cultivation method, the Water Ice Sutra. She was cultivating a set of techniques called "Water Dragon Chant" within the Water Ice Sutra. The content was intricate and extensive, and for someone like Xu Ziyang who had never received cultivation training, it wasn't something that could be mastered from a single set of techniques. It required a solid foundation and broad knowledge. The knowledge she learned in the academy was clearly insufficient for her. As a result, she yearned even more to enter the family's library to read those secret manuals.

In recent days, Xu Ziyang had used the money given by Xu Haoran to purchase a large amount of herbs in batches. At night, she used the fire spirit talismans she made to refine many Spirit Nourishing Pills.

Every morning, after practicing with the teachers in the academy, Xu Ziyang would spend the afternoon alone in her room, taking the Spirit Nourishing Pills and cultivating the "Water Dragon Chant." She also had to find time to make five paper talismans for the family each day. Xu Ziyang's life was very busy but also very fulfilling.

Last night, Xu Ziyang finally broke through to the second level of the Qi Cultivation stage. So, today on the playground, Xu Ziyang was still immersed in the joy of her breakthrough, her mind continuously pondering the techniques of the "Water Dragon Chant."

With a command, Xu Ziyang snapped out of her thoughts. The teacher gathered everyone and stood sternly at the front of the line. He was called Xu Zhiyong, a martial artist at the twelfth level of the Later Heaven stage. He was the teacher for Xu Ziyang's class in the family academy. He scanned everyone's faces with a cold gaze and loudly said:

"There are only ten days left until the family test. Among you, there are eight fifteen-year-old disciples. If you do not reach the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage in the test in ten days, you will be the disgrace of the Xu family and will be expelled from the academy to do menial tasks."

Before he finished speaking, Xu Zhiyong's gaze swept over the eight fifteen-year-old disciples, including Xu Ziyang. Xu Ziyang quickly glanced at the seven other fifteen-year-olds. There were five boys and two girls. Three boys and one girl had a proud expression, indicating they had likely reached the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage. The remaining two boys and one girl had a clearly defeated look. The seven of them also glanced at Xu Ziyang. The four who had broken through had a faint look of disdain, while the three who had not broken through had a look of shared suffering.

Xu Ziyang smiled faintly, knowing that due to the concealment talisman, she appeared to be at the fourth level of the Later Heaven stage, causing everyone to look at her as if she were a failure. Even Xu Zhiyong's gaze was filled with disdain. Although the academy's classes were only in the morning, all the disciples would come to the playground in the afternoon and even at night to practice, but Xu Zhiyong had never seen Xu Ziyang come to the playground on her own.

Xu Ziyang had been at the academy for a month. When she first arrived, Xu Zhiyong was very pleased to see that she was at the fourth level of the Later Heaven stage, thinking that his class would have another disciple who could break through to the fifth level. However, as he saw Xu Ziyang's performance later, he became disappointed. He still tried to talk to her twice, but each time, Xu Ziyang remained unchanged, leading Xu Zhiyong from disappointment to anger and finally to disdain. In his heart, he had already labeled Xu Ziyang as a failure.

Xu Ziyang, however, had no time to care about their feelings and continued to do her own things in an orderly manner. On the ninth day, one day before the academy test, Xu Ziyang replaced the concealment talisman on her body, raising her apparent cultivation to the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage.

On the tenth day, all the disciples in the academy gathered on the playground. Over three hundred disciples stood there in neat silence, their expressions solemn. The test started with the youngest. There were ten testing pillars on the playground, each with twelve marks. The disciples just needed to walk up to a testing pillar and strike it with all their strength. The mark that lit up indicated their cultivation level.

Time passed slowly, and by noon, over two hundred disciples had completed the test. Only twenty-three had broken through to the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage, less than one-tenth of the total. There were now only about thirty disciples left, all of whom were fifteen years old.

In fact, even if someone broke through to the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage at fifteen, they would not have much future. Those who would become talented were those who broke through before the age of ten. They were the ones the family focused on cultivating. Therefore, the tests always started with the youngest and ended with the fifteen-year-olds. They faced only two paths: either break through and enter the outer hall or be expelled from the academy to do menial tasks. However, today was their last day at the academy, so it was called the "Fifteenth Birthday Farewell Day" by the academy's disciples.

A young man walked solemnly to a testing pillar, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He gathered all his strength, shouted, and struck the pillar with a powerful punch. The fifth mark from the bottom lit up, and the testing teacher said indifferently:

"Xu Yi, fifth level of the Later Heaven stage, passed. Enter the outer hall."

Xu Yi was so excited that his whole body trembled. He walked shakily to the testing teacher, bowed deeply, and said respectfully:

"Thank you! Thank you!"

The testing teacher's expression softened slightly and said indifferently, "Go to the gathering area!"

"Yes!"

Xu Yi bowed again, then left the testing pillar, secretly clenching his fists, and joined the group of disciples who had reached the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage, looking at the testing pillar.

At another testing pillar, a young man struck the pillar, and the fourth mark lit up. The young man's face turned ashen, and he swayed, fainting. The testing teacher frowned in disgust, waved his hand, and two disciples immediately ran over, roughly lifting the fainted young man and dragging him away. From now on, the young man would only do menial tasks for the family, living like a slave. His life had no hope, no dignity.

More and more people fainted at the testing pillars. Those who had not broken through by the age of fourteen were certainly not of good quality, so breaking through within a year was no easy task.

Soon, most of the remaining twenty-odd people were eliminated. When only three were left, it was Xu Ziyang's turn. Xu Ziyang slowly walked to a testing pillar, considering how much force she should use to exactly reach the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage. If she used too little force and did not reach the fifth level, she would be expelled from the academy, which would be a tragic end. However, if she used too much force and exceeded the fifth level by too much, it would draw too much attention. After all, she still needed to be low-key.

While thinking, Xu Ziyang had already reached the testing pillar. Xu Yi, seeing that Xu Ziyang was being tested, shook his head disdainfully and turned his gaze to the other two remaining disciples.

Xu Ziyang took a deep breath, controlled her strength, and struck the testing pillar with a punch. The sixth mark lit up. The testing teacher looked at Xu Ziyang in surprise and shouted:

"Xu Ziyang, sixth level of the Later Heaven stage, passed. Enter the outer hall."

"Phew~"

Xu Ziyang exhaled, thinking to herself, "I still can't control my energy precisely, I overdid it by one level."

She slowly walked to the testing teacher, bowed, and said softly, "Thank you!"

"Um, go to the gathering area!" The testing teacher's expression was clearly much warmer.

Xu Ziyang turned and walked towards the group of successful disciples, leaving behind Xu Yi's shocked gaze.