“In martial arts, a difference in level by a minor layer is the gap between heaven and earth. The amount of resources possessed by the clans in the Imperial Capital is beyond your imagination!”
“Although talent is important, there are many treasures in the world that can improve one’s physique and battle prowess!”
“No matter how you put it, one’s background is the most important!”
“Uh huh!” Everyone nodded and agreed on this point.
Talent could make up for background to a certain extent, but the problem was that those people with a background would also have talent. How could one compare? It would be futile to put in tremendous effort—wouldn’t other people also work hard?
Observing the scene from one corner of the square, an elderly man in gray robes, who had his arms crossed behind him, said softly, “Everyone thinks that the thrio of Luo, Lin, and Ji can get the first place in this assessment. Haofei, do you have the confidence to defeat these three people?”
“Please be assured, Great-grandfather. I have been working hard for more than ten years, bearing with loneliness and austerity. Wasn’t all of that for today, to shock the world with an amazing feat?” Beside the old man was a young man who appeared to be no more than twenty years old, with a cultivation of the ninth layer of the Shattering Void Tier.
“Haha, then great-grandfather shall be waiting to see you shine!” The gray-robed old man laughed heartily.
Logically, “parents” weren’t allowed to enter the academy’s grounds, but this didn’t prevent some with certain privileges. For example, if the Left Minister wished to enter the academy, who would dare to stop him? However, the higher their position, the more they would pay attention to this aspect, and not easily give their political opponents a point that could be used to attack themselves. Therefore, few of them actually appeared.
The young man clenched his fists, and said, “Just you wait, today will be my day! Everyone can only look up to me, Cheng Haofei, from beneath my feet!”
***
In another corner, a young man with bare arms was concentrating on wiping a long saber. His eyes were extremely focused. Occasionally, when he raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the square would make others nearby go soft in the knees.
One should know that all the others were similarly cultivators of the Shattering Void Tier. Having the ability to make others cower with just a glance, how strong was this person?
“The first place shall belong to me, Ma Xing!”
Chapter 891 - A Very Slight Effort
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Let’s begin,” an important person of the Academy said. There were bright images of a sun and moon behind him, which meant that he was a powerful elite of the Sun Moon Tier. Though he was only in the minor levels, this kind of elite was more than enough to gain the admiration of others.
After entering into Immortal level, every minor level was akin to tall mountain that people would exclaim at, and there were pitifully few that could conquer one mountain after another.
The minor level of the Sun Moon Tier could be considered standing on the fifth tall peak, and this was an extremely tall peak. Climbing the previous four mountains could still be considered easy, but if one wanted to conquer this one, it was as difficult as touching the sky itself.
Everyone held their breath, not even daring to breathe too loudly. Even if many here had come from prominent background, respect for strength was basic manners, and only spoiled young masters would behave arrogantly, knowing they had the support of their clan and background.
“The White Star Tower can accommodate 10,000 people at once. Line up and enter in turn. Once full, the Tool Spirit will naturally stop others from entering,” this important person said. “Make the most of your time and try to complete the assessment by today, everyone.”
“Yes!”
Everyone could not help but nod. Influenced by the aura of an elite, their emotions were uncontrollably affected as well.
Everyone arranged themselves into lines, and entered one by one that nine-storied white tower. It was obviously a treasured Spirit Tool that possessed an independent space. Otherwise, it was definitely impossible that 10,000 people could enter at the same time to undergo the assessment.
However, this test was conducted really quickly. Without waiting for all 10,000 people to enter, there were people coming out already. The pace of exchange had even caught up to the speed of people entering into the tower.
Every time someone passed through the test on each floor, this treasured tower would correspondingly make that floor light up. The results would be recorded by the Tool Spirit—no one could cheat. If anyone really wanted to fool this God Tool, that was actually more difficult than passing through this nine-storied tower.
Those that were determined to aim for good results all tacitly stayed at the back, wanting to appear on stage as the climax.
“Blockhead, Luo Ba is right over there. Go and greet him!” Li Weiwei urged.
‘Is it really all right for you to act like that?’
Ling Han shook his head and chucked in spite of himself. This willful and unruly young miss was really bearing a grudge against him, tirelessly wanting him to be defeated.
He was naturally not going to go over, but the Luo Brothers had also spotted him. Luo Lie immediately looked furious, and spoke a few words lowly to the ear of a young man beside him. The two of them then walked over.
The other person was naturally Luo Ba. Now, this person did not just have an empty reputation. His body was as tall and sturdy like a tyrannical king’s, and his aura was even more incredible. There were halos of divine light flickering around him as if he was the son of a God.
“Greetings, Fourth Young Miss!” the Luo brothers paid their respects to Li Weiwei simultaneously.
Li Weiwei nodded back in an aloof manner. She was the daughter of the Left Minister, and the descendants of noble background in the Imperial Capital that could stand equal with her could be counted on one hand.
Luo Ba then turned to look at Ling Han, and said calmly, “This must be Brother Ling who has come from a small world, right?”
“I am Ling Han,” Ling Han replied, similarly very calm.
“Thank you for your guidance of my younger brother!” Luo Ba said darkly, flames of rage jumping in his eyes. Although the Luo Clan was not in the top tier of noble clans in the Imperial Capital, they were not an existence that could be humiliated by the likes of a lowly commoner from a small world, either.
Ling Han chuckled, and replied, “It was only a very slight effort, don’t mention it.”
F***!
The Luo Brothers were both thrown into a towering rage. They were absolutely not thanking him, all right? Luo Ba was obviously making an ironic remark, and you actually took it seriously. Luo Ba could not help but humph, and said, “No one can humiliate members of my Luo Clan!”
At first, he had wanted to beat down on Ling Han verbally, but he’d never imagined that Ling Han was not the type to react as expected, causing the strike that he delivered to have no effect at all. On the contrary, it was him who felt very displeased.
Hence, he directly revealed his violent nature.
“Oh, you want a fight?” Ling Han asked, smiling. In the Shattering Void Tier, there was really no one he was afraid of—not even the empress of Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire. Let’s see if he wouldn’t thrash her to the point of submitting and calling him big brother if she suppressed her cultivation level to the Shattering Void Tier.
“Fight, fight!” Li Weiwei, meanwhile, immediately began to wave her small fists around, wishing for the whole world to be in chaos.
Luo Ba sneered coldly, and said, “You are really quite crafty. This is the Scarlet Heaven Academy; who would dare to be impudent here? However, even if you enter into the Academy, I will still challenge you, and if you are unable to enroll into the Academy… then you’re dead!”
L
ing Han rubbed his chin with a smile, and said, “Is it really all right for you to threaten me like this? Aren’t you afraid that you are not my match, and instead will be beaten into begging for mercy from me?”
“Haha!” Luo Ba laughed coldly. What a joke, he was one of the well-known figures among the younger generation of the Luo Clan, and had extremely high expectations placed on him. How could he possibly be defeated by a lowly commoner from a small world?
If it were not for the fact that he wanted to attempt to reach the highest battle prowess of twenty Stars of Shattering Void Tier, with the resources of the Luo Clan, he would have long since been able to advance into the Immortal level.
But for a brighter future, he would not attempt to break through into the Immortal level before he reached a hundred years of age—unless he could reach twenty Stars of battle prowess first. That was a very common understanding. Everyone would attempt to reach the highest limit of battle prowess of twenty Stars of Shattering Void Tier before they were a hundred years old; they were still young anyways.
And if they broke through after reaching twenty Stars of Shattering Void Tier, they would be able to become a One-Star genius and possess the super battle prowess that could allow them to cross over a sub-minor level in battle to fight a stronger opponent.
“You, just, wait, and, see!” he said word by word.
“Do you have a stutter?” Ling Han said, making a pretence of being worried. “How pitiful. The younger brother is an idiot, and the elder brother is a stutterer, sigh!”
The Luo Brothers were both enraged, and felt an uncontrollable urge to rush over and make a move on Ling Han. They just barely managed to control this urge. If they rashly made a move in the Academy—especially on such an important day like today—then it would be useless even if they had the backing of the Luo Clan. The result would be a definite expulsion from the Academy, and them being eternally banned from entering it again.
“Let’s go, we’re going in to take the assessment!” Luo Ba held onto his brother so that the latter would not rashly make a move and in the end cause himself great trouble.
Power was the rule here. He wanted to climb to the fifth floor of the tall tower, and make everyone know that he, Luo Ba, was the only ruler of the younger generation.
After a while.
“What, the fourth level lit up!”
“If they could advance one more step and reach the fifth level, they would have hopes of becoming a One-Star genius!”
“Yi, is there something like that?”
“Of course. What do you think this assessment is for? This is a test of your future potential. The fifth level means you can become a One-Star genius, the sixth floor means Two-Star, the seventh level means Three-Star, the eighth means Four-Star, and the ninth level … Five-Star!
“Of course, this is only potential, and not definite. It will still depend on your own individual effort.
“Thus, those that had not passed the assessment previously can also come back to participate as long as they are no older than 100 years. After all, your hard work can produce a change in yourself. Furthermore, it is also possible that you encounter some kind of fateful opportunity too, letting you pass next time.”
“I see!”
The rookies all nodded, and looked at that nine-storied white tower simultaneously. Although the third level would light up occasionally, it was the first time for the fourth level to light up.
“Who is that fierce?”
“Who else? Didn’t you all see Luo Ba go in?”
“Hiss, so it was him. No wonder he could pass the fourth level. I don’t know if he will be able to make the fifth level light up as well.”
“That’s a bit difficult, but it is not impossible!”
Just as the spectators were talking, the fifth floor of the tower lit up.
All of a sudden, a stir was created among the crowd.
Chapter 892 - Fifth Level Genius
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Fifth level!”
“As expected of Luo Ba, someone who is highly likely to become a One-Star genius!”
“A genius difficult to encounter even in a hundred years!”
Everyone exclaimed in shock, their admiration and envy clear in their words and expressions. This was the best result so far.
“Hey, do you think that Luo Ba has a chance of advancing further, passing through the sixth level and becoming a Two-Star genius?”
“It’d be difficult!”
“The gap between One-Star and Two-Star genius is the gap of a sub-minor level, and apparently, this kind of genius would only appear once every thousand years!”
“It’s hard to say. After all, we are the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire; our territory is too vast, and the number of geniuses that appear is naturally much, much higher. In other Royal Empires, there may appear a few One-Star geniuses in one go, but for us, there can possibly appear a Two-Star genius.”
“Though that’s true, it is still more difficult for a Two-Star genius to appear. As far as I know, presently, there is less than 100 Two-Star geniuses in the whole Scarlet Heaven Academy, right?”
Even though this figure looked very big, what kind of entity was the whole of the Scarlet Heaven Academy? It was a place that had brought together all the geniuses of the whole Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire in the several thousand years past and present. Going by such calculations, a hundred was really actually not that many.
“Let’s see!”
Everyone was staring at the nine-storied white tower. If the sixth level of the tower also lit up, it meant that Luo Ba might become a Two-Star genius in future.
But after a long time, the sixth level still did not light up, and Luo Ba had already walked out of the tower.
He had not been able to pass through the sixth level.
This caused the higher-ups of the Academy to feel slightly regretful. At first, they had looked very optimistically on this young man, but Luo Ba was ultimately unable to perform a miracle. But this was normal. Two-Star geniuses were really much too rare. Even with the environment that was the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire, at most only one had appeared in this decade.
Furthermore, it was not impossible for Luo Ba to advance further in the future and become a Two-Star genius. Of course, it was also possible that he might not even reach the level of a One-Star genius. This assessment was only a test of potential, after all.
“Very good, very good. I asked Lord Tool Spirit just now; though Luo Ba couldn’t pass through the sixth level, he has still completed the tests on the first two stages of the sixth floor. This result is extremely good, and in previous years, he would’ve been able to rank in the top three. Even if he got the first place, it would not be strange.”
“Hoho, we finally got a good sprout.”
Several elites of the Northern Institution spoke amongst themselves. They could finally breathe in relief. Obviously, the more talented and excellent the students they enrolled were, the more they could hold their heads high in the Institution.
With how dazzling the spotlight was on Luo Ba now, it made the other geniuses restless. They all entered into the tower to undergo the assessment in turns, and all of a sudden, there were considerably many more people coming out of the fourth floor, but Luo Ba was still the only one who could pass through to the fifth level.
“Blockhead, are you feeling the pressure yet?” Li Weiwei elbowed Ling Han, and said, “As expected of a genius that can stand on the same level as Big Sister Yun; he actually managed to pass through the fifth level. Sigh, I can only pass through to the fourth level at most.”
Her expression was filled with disappointment. Although she had long since known that she was not as talented as the top-tier geniuses, she still felt down now that things had come to a head.
Ling Han smiled faintly, and said, “Then just wait and see how I will sweep aside all geniuses and proudly claim the first place.”
“Show
off!” Li Weiwei rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, and said, “I’ll go first. However, since you speak so confidently, then you’ll be the last to go on stage. Let me see how you amaze everyone, all right?”
“Fine!” Ling Han nodded. Looking at this rate, the assessment could definitely be completed today. Then, it was going to be a wait in any case, so there was no difference between going in earlier or later.
Li Weiwei ran into the tower, and spent about 30 minutes’ time before she finally completed her assessment.
The longer one took, the better the results should be.
Indeed, she had passed the fourth level, but lost on the tactics stage of the fifth level. There was nothing to be done about it. Spirit, and even talent itself, could be boosted with treasures, but combat tactics required understanding through personal experience.
“Look, the fifth level has lit up again!” Exclamations rang out. Everyone raised their heads, and saw that the fifth level had indeed lit up.
A sliver of darkness instantly appeared on Luo Ba’s face. A person that had passed through the fifth level could possibly become a threat to him, which made him feel much pressure.
“Brother, don’t worry. You have passed the first two stages; as long as this person can’t pass through the sixth level, then he would only be on the same level as you at most. Moreover, in my opinion, it is extremely likely for that person to be disqualified in the first two stages ahead,” Luo Lie said.
Luo Ba nodded slowly. He was very confident in himself, but still fixed his eyes on the entrance of the nine-storied tower, hoping that he could see that person exit quickly. The earlier he came out, the faster it implied he had been disqualified, and naturally the smaller the possibility he had of passing through the first two stages ahead.
Quite some time had passed, yet the sixth level ultimately still did not light up. A tall young man walked out, slovenly in dress and manner, unrestrained and careless.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 456