Chapter 17

Time seemed to stand still. The deans and mentors on the examination platform, the invigilators maintaining order around the examination venues for the four grades, the students from grades one to four taking the major exams, and the members of various factions who had come to observe the exams to select talents—all were frozen in place, their eyes following a certain figure as it moved.

The major exam for the first-year students was not usually the focus of everyone's attention. The exams for the second, third, and fourth-year students were better indicators of the students' abilities.

However, at this moment, the first-year exam had captured everyone's attention. Some who had not initially paid attention were still unclear about what had happened, focusing on the collapse of the Soul Tower. But once they understood the situation, they, like everyone else, stared in shock at that figure.

The figure walked calmly, neither too fast nor too slow, as if it were just a person walking down a street, then returned to the line of students from Zephyr Academy.

The students of Zephyr Academy instinctively created some distance, but their gazes were no longer filled with disdain. Instead, they looked as if they had seen something terrifying, instinctively avoiding it.

Luping's expression remained calm, just as it had been for the past three years when he was despised and scorned by everyone.

The students looked at each other, and the invigilators were equally at a loss. The chief invigilator held the score sheet but didn't know how to record the score.

Reaching the top of the tower was a perfect score of 100. But how should the collapse of the entire Soul Tower be scored? There was no precedent for this, not even on the entire continent.

The chief invigilator thought about it again and again, but he couldn't make a decision. He decided to consult the higher-ups of both academies. However, when he tried to leave, the first-year students of Gorge Peak Academy immediately panicked and surrounded him.

"Teacher, what about our exam?" the Gorge Peak students asked.

The chief invigilator's head ached even more. Yes! The Gorge Peak Academy students hadn't taken the exam yet, but the Soul Tower was gone. The Soul Tower was specially designed and manufactured, and the towers for the second, third, and fourth-year students were not suitable for the first-year students. Using them could even be life-threatening.

"Everyone, please wait, I'll go ask..." The chief invigilator didn't dare make any promises and hurriedly left to calm the Gorge Peak students.

Where was the confidence and spirit of the Gorge Peak Academy students now? They were too preoccupied with the collapse of the first-year Soul Tower to think about how powerful Luping was. The tower was the only one in the entire Gorge Peak region, and Zephyr Academy had to take the major exam with Gorge Peak Academy because they didn't have their own Soul Tower.

"Maybe they'll use a different method?"

"I've never heard of any other way to assess students besides the Soul Tower, especially for first-year students. Sending them on a trial like the fourth-year students? They wouldn't know how they died!"

"Can't they just wait to rebuild the Soul Tower?"

"How long would that take?"

"Isn't that like being held back a grade?"

The first-year students of Gorge Peak Academy were in a flurry of discussion. Whether they had sensed five or six types of soul power or had even broken through to the first level, they all wore worried expressions, unsure if the collapse of the Soul Tower would have a negative impact on them.

The students of Zephyr Academy, seeing the panic of the Gorge Peak Academy students, felt a great sense of relief. As for Luping, their emotions didn't shift as dramatically as Xifan's. After all, Xifan had been fixated on Luping for three years, and his emotions were deeply rooted. As for these first-year students, many had only heard rumors about Luping and had no direct impression, so they quickly became indifferent to their previous feelings after seeing Luping's astonishing performance.

"Amazing, how did you do that?" Finally, a student approached Luping to start a conversation.

"Nothing much," Luping said.

"You're so powerful, why did you fail the previous two major exams?"

"Oh, because I didn't take them," Luping said.

"Why not?"

"Because it wasn't necessary..." Luping said.

"What about this time?"

"This time, if I didn't take the exam, I would be expelled," Luping explained seriously.

Molin and Xifan, who had come over, also heard this conversation.

"Such honesty!" Molin exclaimed. Luping's strength far exceeded the level of Zephyr Academy, and the biggest question was why he came to Zephyr Academy in the first place, not why he failed or didn't take the exams.

"Not necessary, that's a real and credible reason," Xifan had to nod in agreement.

"If I had known, why would I have made him take the exam! What a waste of money for the tower," Molin said.

Xifan was silent for a moment before finally saying, "The tower belongs to Gorge Peak Academy."

"Oh, I see," Molin looked relieved, "That's good, that's good."

Strictly speaking, the first-year major exam wasn't over yet, so Xifan and Molin couldn't get too close. They just watched from a distance. Then they saw Luping raise his hand to the invigilator.

"What is it?" an invigilator asked.

"Can I leave now that the exam is over?" Luping said.

"Uh..." The invigilator was speechless, looking at the ruins on the ground, the dust still settling. Luping's final score hadn't been recorded yet because they didn't know how to score it.

"Wait a moment, until the chief invigilator returns," the invigilator said.

"Okay!" Luping had to wait, glancing at the third-year exam area. But the focus of the entire venue was on the first-year students, and many soul powers were sensing Luping...

At the invigilator's platform, the chief invigilator approached the two deans. Guo Youdao of Zephyr Academy still looked relatively normal, but Balayan of Gorge Peak Academy, who had knocked over and shattered the table in front of him, was still sitting in his seat, eyes wide, staring at the ruined Soul Tower, his mouth twitching.

The chief invigilator looked at both sides and decided to speak to Guo Youdao first.

"Dean Guo, what score should we give to that student, Luping? I'm not sure."

Guo Youdao smiled slightly, "Of course, a perfect score."

"Okay." The chief invigilator had no objections. Originally, the scoring was the job of the Soul Tower, and his duty was just to record it. Now that the tower was gone, he needed someone with authority to score it, and he would just follow the decision.

Luping got a perfect score.

After getting this answer, the chief invigilator looked at Balayan, who still seemed to be in shock but had to ask.

"Dean Balayan, what about the first-year students of Gorge Peak Academy? How should we arrange their exams?"

Balayan was still dazed until his mentor called him a couple of times. He then remembered the chief invigilator's question and became even more troubled.

He had been so focused on the loss of the Soul Tower that he had forgotten about the first-year students. None of them had taken the exam yet. How should they arrange it?

"Why don't I write a recommendation letter and send them to Tensho Academy?" Guo Youdao suggested.

"No!" Balayan refused decisively. He knew Tensho Academy was the closest academy in the Spirit Region to Gorge Peak, and it had a close relationship with Guo Youdao. A recommendation letter from him would indeed save a lot of trouble.

But Balayan didn't want to owe Guo Youdao a favor. Did he think he could use a recommendation letter to resolve the issue of the Soul Tower being destroyed by a Zephyr Academy student? No way! He could find another academy to arrange the exam, and he had the connections to do so.

"These students, arrange for them to go to Bipolar Academy. I'll have someone take care of it," Balayan instructed.

"Okay." The chief invigilator just followed orders. Although the two academies took the exam together, they didn't interfere in each other's affairs, so he handled it according to their respective arrangements.

On the invigilator's platform, Balayan didn't think the matter was over.

"Dean Guo, what do you think we should do next?" Balayan asked.

"Oh? What next?" Guo Youdao said.

"Don't play dumb!" Balayan was already annoyed and had no patience for Guo Youdao's games, "The Soul Tower was destroyed by a Zephyr Academy student. I don't demand full responsibility, but you should at least give me some explanation, right?"

"Oh, do you want me to compensate for the tower?" Guo Youdao asked.

Balayan would have liked that, but he knew it was a pipe dream. The tower was indeed destroyed by a Zephyr Academy student, but this was unprecedented, and there was no agreement when Zephyr Academy borrowed the Soul Tower. Now, it was impossible to sort it out.

"Compensation for the tower is out of the question. No one expected this. Just leave the student who destroyed the tower to me!" Balayan said, gritting his teeth, as if he had a deep grudge.

"Oh, Luping." Guo Youdao smiled and nodded readily, "Sure!"

"Ah?" Balayan was taken aback. He was still thinking about how to negotiate, but he didn't expect Guo Youdao to agree so readily. Not only Balayan but even the mentors of Zephyr Academy were surprised. In the past, if another academy wanted Luping, they would have paid to get rid of him, but now, anyone could see that Luping was extraordinary. No academy would push such a person away. Guo Youdao's readiness to agree was surprising.

"Let's stick to our word!" Balayan, not wanting to think too much, quickly said.

"I stick to my word, but whether the student is willing is up to him," Guo Youdao said.

"Oh?" Balayan immediately sensed something. It was true that the student's willingness was important, but Guo Youdao's attitude suggested he was very confident that Luping would not leave Zephyr Academy.

(Just a little more to reach the member weekly points! Keep it up!)

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