Chapter 15

Baliyan finally hit the nail on the head this time. Although Guo Youdao still maintained a calm expression, the mentors of Zhaofeng Academy looked somewhat uneasy.

The freshmen were just beginning to get a feel for the Soul Force. With the level of the mentors on the examination platform, the gap between the freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy and Xiadong Academy was obvious.

Zhaofeng Academy was definitely going to be outshone, and it would be a terrible defeat. Even worse, there was a Lu Ping among them, whose level as a waste was simply a fatal blow.

At this moment, a mentor beside Baliyan leaned over and whispered a few words to him, and Baliyan laughed even more heartily.

"So he's Lu Ping! I've heard of him, the student who failed the major exams twice in a row and had to repeat the year. Why haven't I seen him before?" Baliyan laughed.

"Because he didn't take the exams the last two times," Guo Youdao said.

"Ha ha ha." Baliyan laughed even harder. "What you're saying makes it sound like he could pass if he just showed up. Old Guo, not to criticize you, but your school rules are too lenient. A student like this, and you're giving him a third chance? In our Xiadong Academy, I'd kick him out in a month, no need for an exam!"

"Dean, Dean..." The mentor beside him quickly pulled on Baliyan's sleeve; their dean was getting carried away and losing his composure.

"Cough, cough..." Baliyan immediately realized he was being too unstable, so he coughed a couple of times to calm himself down. Then, in a steady tone, he announced, "Shall we start?"

"Start!" The mentor by the Soul Tower announced the official start of the major exam.

"Starting with Zhaofeng Academy, students whose names are called will enter the tower for the exam. The content is to climb the tower, using any method. The time limit is 30 seconds for the first four floors, one minute for floors five to eight, two minutes for floors nine to eleven, and four minutes for the twelfth floor. Reaching the seventh floor is considered passing. Additionally, the total time taken will affect the final evaluation. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" The students responded in unison. They had already heard about the Soul Tower's examination method from their seniors and the academy mentors.

"Very good, then let's start. First candidate, Senan."

"Here."

The student whose name was called stepped out of the line, and the Soul Force of the two examiners immediately sensed him. They weren't checking his level but ensuring he wasn't carrying any weapons, medicines, or other items prohibited during the major exam.

"No problem." After the two examiners confirmed, Senan was allowed to approach the Soul Tower.

The tower door was tightly closed, with a sunken palm print on it. Senan slowly placed his right hand on it. Although he had heard from his seniors that this part was extremely simple and just required sensing Soul Force to pass, he was still nervous.

But soon he heard a light "click," like a key turning in a lock. The door of the Soul Tower quietly and slowly opened.

Indeed, it was very simple!

Without any active operation, just placing his palm on it, the Soul Tower automatically sensed the Soul Force he possessed, and he easily passed the first level.

Senan's nervous heart finally calmed down. He turned, waved to his classmates, and entered the Soul Tower, the door closing slowly behind him.

"Go, Senan!" The freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy cheered loudly.

"Ha ha ha!" But immediately, they heard a chaotic chorus of mocking laughter.

"Even freshmen need 'cheering' to pass the exam? How bad must they be?"

The freshmen of Xiadong Academy, who were waiting for Zhaofeng to finish before starting their own exams, found the cheering of Zhaofeng students laughable. To them, the freshmen exam was incredibly simple and didn't require such encouragement.

"A bunch of bumpkins," the students of Xiadong Academy sneered.

The students of Zhaofeng Academy were naturally very annoyed. Some immediately retorted, but before the argument could escalate, examiners sternly intervened.

"To be honest..." Morin whispered to Lu Ping at the end of the line, "I think they're right. This exam is so simple, and they still need cheering? I'm standing in this line and feeling embarrassed. Am I blushing?"

"No," Lu Ping replied calmly.

Meanwhile, Senan was making rapid progress in the Soul Tower, passing the first, second, and third floors. Each floor lit up as he passed, and the results were immediately visible.

Next, he quickly passed the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. He reached the sixth floor in just over a minute, with plenty of energy to spare.

The freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy were all very proud and couldn't help but send provocative glances towards Xiadong Academy. But at the end of the line, someone was pouring cold water on their enthusiasm. Morin, with a look of exasperation, held his forehead. "What's the big deal... They'll be the ones blushing soon."

Although Morin hadn't reached the Penetrating Realm, he could still sense the level of the freshmen. Like many mentors, he knew that the freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy were far behind those of Xiadong Academy. Unfortunately, the freshmen didn't realize this and were very competitive.

"Bringing shame upon themselves..." Morin sighed. On the other side, the students of Xiadong Academy ignored the provocations, acting as if the freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy weren't even worthy opponents. Morin knew they had every right to be so arrogant.

"Ugh, so frustrating." Morin clutched his chest. "I've only been in the academy for a few days, and I already have such a strong sense of honor. I'll go for a walk and come back when it's your turn. You're the only one who can save face, but this kind of test..."

Morin glanced at the Soul Tower and shook his head. The freshmen exam was too simple, and even a perfect score wouldn't be considered extraordinary. He saw at least three students from Xiadong Academy who had already reached the First Heaven Realm, which could earn them full marks in the freshmen exam. Lu Ping alone couldn't overshadow them, and in the end, the students of Zhaofeng Academy would be the ones embarrassed by Lu Ping's performance.

The poor freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy had no idea. They were still excitedly discussing Senan's performance and keeping their distance from Lu Ping, quickly turning any accidental glances into looks of disdain.

Morin wandered around and eventually found Xifan, who was seriously injured, not resting at home but being wheeled to the exam by the discipline team. He couldn't take the exam but was still concerned about the academy's performance.

"The future of Zhaofeng Academy depends on you excellent students," Morin stood behind Xifan, mimicking Guo Youdao's tone.

"What are you doing here?" Xifan asked, knowing that Morin didn't need to take the exam.

"Just wandering around," Morin said.

"How's it going over there?" Xifan asked about the freshmen.

"Internal and external troubles?" Morin said.

"What do you mean?" Xifan was confused.

"Externally, they're being crushed by Xiadong Academy, and internally, they're about to be embarrassed by Lu Ping. Isn't that terrible?" Morin said.

Xifan thought about it and realized it was true. He didn't know what to say.

"Who knows how that guy will perform. He's so calm. I've only been in the academy for a few days, and I already want to poison those arrogant brats from Xiadong. How did I get such a strong sense of honor?" Morin said.

Xifan ignored his nonsense and suddenly heard cheers from the freshmen side.

"What's happening?" Xifan asked, his Resonance Soul Force being at the base level, he couldn't hear much.

"They're discussing someone named Boyong," Morin, with his Resonance Soul Force at the Third Heaven Realm, immediately gathered the information.

"Oh." Xifan knew Boyong, the most outstanding student in this batch of freshmen, who had already sensed five types of Soul Force.

"Boyong, Boyong!!" The freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy chanted in unison.

Boyong raced through the first six floors at an even faster pace, but what truly excited the Zhaofeng students was that he breezed through the sixth floor as well.

Previous students had all passed the first six floors smoothly and with confidence, but they had all spent nearly a minute on the sixth floor. Clearly, the difficulty increased significantly from this floor, and reaching the seventh floor, the passing mark, required a different level of effort.

However, each student managed to reach the seventh floor, and none failed. But after the seventh floor, the momentum clearly waned. Some stopped at the seventh, some at the eighth, and the best so far had only reached the ninth floor.

Now, Boyong.

The most outstanding freshman of Zhaofeng Academy had effortlessly reached the seventh floor.

There was envy and jealousy, but in this exam where they were pitted against Xiadong Academy, there was more solidarity.

Amidst the cheers, Boyong had already reached the eighth floor. The sudden increase in difficulty made him spend more time, but he still managed to pass the ninth and tenth floors without much trouble, reaching the eleventh floor.

One minute, two minutes, two and a half minutes... three minutes...

Time was up. Boyong finally stopped at the eleventh floor, and when he was teleported out, his face was filled with frustration.

"Ah! Just a little more!" he said to the other students.

"Don't worry, that was already very impressive," a friend consoled him. Then, some of the more restless students provocatively challenged the students of Xiadong Academy again.

"Really can't stand you lot of frogs in a well," a student from the Xiadong Academy line stepped forward.

"Are you Boyong?" he asked, then pointed northeast, "Two hundred meters away, on the treetop, what bird is perched there?"

"What?" Boyong was taken aback, looking in the direction the student pointed. He saw the tree, but a bird on the treetop?

"Can't see it, right? So, do you know the difference now?" the student sneered.

"Anyone can talk nonsense. What bird is eight kilometers away? Please tell me," a Zhaofeng student called out.

"Ha ha, we can ask a teacher to verify. Is there a cuckoo on the treetop?" the student said confidently. The examiner he mentioned was from Zhaofeng Academy, eliminating any suspicion of collusion.

The mentor had already heard the argument and sighed, "There is a cuckoo. With the First Heaven Realm of Resonance Soul Force, you should be able to see it clearly."

"First Heaven Realm of Resonance Soul Force...???"

The faces of all the freshmen of Zhaofeng Academy changed.

(One week since the upload. Yesterday, I asked on WeChat what this day should be called as a memorial day, and most replies were: the seventh day... Can you think of something better?!)

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