by Dragon King
Hao Ren nodded back in response.
From such a simple gesture, Hao Ren knew that in the examination process, the official inspectors would favor assisting inspector. That was why when the cultivators at the East Ocean University knew that they could get the position of assisting inspector from Hao Ren, they desperately challenged him!
As for the two cultivators in the rooms beside Hao Ren’s, when they saw the official inspector nodding at Hao Ren, they were envious and jealous.
However, what could they do? They weren’t assisting inspectors!
The quota for assisting inspectors was limited. Basically, they were sponsored by official inspectors, and each official inspector could at most have one assisting inspector.
Assisting inspectors were usually very strong and had a high chance of passing the examinations at the Dragon God Shrine. Otherwise, the official inspector wouldn’t take such a burden!
That inspector flew away, and Hao Ren’s row of rooms fell into silence once again.
Time slipped by.
Although thousands were waiting for the examination to start, it was silent.
“Hu…” A burst of noise came.
Hao Ren looked up and saw Qin Shaoyang on his golden weaving shuttle, flying toward Hao Ren’s room.
The strong aura almost lifted a few tiles off the rooms!
Boom!
Qin Shaoyang suddenly stopped and hovered in front of Hao Ren’s room.
He was wearing a silver silk robe, but it had a bright four-clawed golden dragon embroidery on the shoulder!
The four-clawed golden dragon represented the status of Qin Shaoyang, a level 4 inspector!
Behind Qin Shaoyang, two accompanying inspectors had three-clawed golden dragons embroidery on their shoulders.
“A level 4 inspector with two level 3 inspectors came here only to see the cultivator in ‘Ren Yin 246’. Who is this assisting inspector!”
When the two cultivators who were sitting in the rooms beside Hao Ren’s saw this, they were so shocked that they couldn’t utter a sound from their throats.
They took part in a few general examinations and were quite familiar with the written exam. However, they had never seen and heard of anything like this!
Usually, the written examination area was patrolled by level 1 and level 2 inspectors. Level 3 inspectors were not required, not to mention level 4!
“Do you like this environment? Does it fit you?”
Hao Ren raised his head and looked at Qin Shaoyang as he snorted lightly and didn’t speak.
Qin Shaoyang was standing on his golden weaving shuttle, meaning that his natal dharma treasure had been returned to him. That was because Su Han, a level 3 inspector, didn’t want to fight with him in the Dragon God Shrine, so she returned his dharma treasure.
“Perhaps you don’t know yet, but I’m one of the four main examiners this year and is responsible for the east area.” Qin Shaoyang hovered in mid-air, staring at Hao Ren. “You happen to be in my area.”
The two cultivators who were in the two rooms to the left and right of Hao Ren’s listened as their ears turned hot.
“With the special care of a level 4 inspector who is one of the four main examiners, it seems like this cultivator is absolutely going to be an official inspector!” they thought.
If they had known earlier, they would not have cared about their faces and fawned over the assisting inspector Hao Ren!
“You arranged this deliberately, didn’t you?” Hao Ren asked.
“Yes, so what?” Qin Shaoyang sneered, staring at Hao Ren.
This time, he was chosen to be the main examiners responsible for the east area. As one of the four highest examiners, he had six level 4 inspectors as his aid. This made him immeasurably prestigious!
This meant that during the examinations period, Qin Shaoyang would be one of the four most powerful inspectors. Even Su Han couldn’t go against him during this time period as it would influence the main examiner’s decision.
“Since there are too few metal-elemental dragons, you are probably chosen because they want to balance everything out,” Hao Ren scoffed.
Qin Shaoyang was only at Kun-level, and there were more than a few level 4 inspectors in the Dragon God Shrine. Therefore, it did seem like Qin Shaoyang was chosen for other reasons other than pure strength.
Hao Ren pointed out the reality, and it made Qin Shaoyang burn with rage.
There weren’t many metal-elemental dragons, but they were far more powerful compared with other dragon cultivators. There were quite a few young metal-elemental dragon cultivators who reached Kun-level and even Qian-level, but their pride was way beyond the four ocean dragon clans. Therefore, metal-elemental dragons were never interested in taking part in the general examinations in the Dragon God Shrine.
Hao Ren’s words undoubtedly touched a sensitive nerve within Qin Shaoyang.
Qin Shaoyang seemed powerful, but he was barely in the mid-lower tier in the entire metal-elemental dragon clan. Becoming an inspector in the Dragon God Shrine was not something that a metal-elemental dragon should be proud of.
“Sir, please calm down!”
Seeing Qin Shaoyang’s twisted facial expression, the two level 3 inspectors hurriedly advised.
Qin Shaoyang was one of the four main examiners this year in the Dragon God Shrine. If he attacked a cultivator who was taking part in the exams, the consequences would be dire.
“You have guts. Su Han indeed taught you.” Qin Shaoyang gritted his teeth. “I’ll see how you do in tomorrow’s combat exams.”
The reason why the written exam was held at night was for the quietness.
If Qin Shaoyang couldn’t hold back and attack Hao Ren, resulting in loud noises, that would attract lots of attention.
By then, the scene would get ugly.
Hao Ren knew clearly that since he was assigned to Qin Shaoyang’s area, the latter would try everything to deal with him in various ways. Therefore, the result of angering Qin Shaoyang was the same as not angering him, so Hao Ren didn’t hold back at all!
At this moment, the two cultivators beside Hao Ren were so surprised that they didn’t even dare to raise their heads.
They were regretting not befriending Hao Ren a moment ago, and now they were afraid that Qin Shaoyang might vent his rage on them, thinking that they were together with Hao Ren!
“It turns out that the level 4 inspector is not this assisting inspector’s superior, but his enemy!!!” they thought.
It was common for grudges to occur between inspectors due to some conflicts. But a tiny assisting inspector dared to challenge the authority of a level 4 inspector? That was very hard to believe!
The two cultivators beside Hao Ren were scared and worried that Qin Shaoyang’s fiery glance would land upon them.
“Sir, the written exam is about to begin in half an hour officially,” a level 3 inspector reminded Qin Shaoyang.
“Tell the proctor of this area to keep an eye on him for me. If there is any kind of fraudulent behavior, kill him instantly!” Qin Shaoyang’s face turned green as he said ruthlessly.
“Understood!” The two level 3 inspectors hastily cupped their hands together.
In fact, they complained in their hearts. Before they came here with Qin Shaoyang, they were asked by Su Han to take good care of the cultivator in ‘Ren Yin 246’ room.
Everybody in Dragon God Shrine knew that Su Han had the highest chance of reaching the Heavenly Dragon Realm among the inspectors. Even though she fell from a level 4 inspector to a level 3 inspector, nobody dared to look down on her!
However, Qin Shaoyang had the support of the metal-elemental dragon clan, so he was also a hot potato.
Qin Shaoyang and Su Han’s attitudes differed on the treatment of this assisting inspector; one wanted to suppress him while the other wanted to pull him up.
“Humph!” Qin Shaoyang stepped on his golden weaving shuttle and flew away.
The two inspectors looked at each othe
r, quietly exchanged a few words before flying toward the Dragon God Shrine as well.
“‘Ren Yin 246’, the person in there is Su Han’s assisting inspector. Judging from Su Han’s attitude, she cares a lot about her assistant. This cultivator is a sensitive character!” they thought.
Dong… Dong… Dong… The bell sounded.
It was 11 at night!
The inspectors on standby immediately dashed through the alleyways and threw the test papers into the rooms.
Hao Ren picked up this long exam paper, saw the dense questions, and panicked a little.
All of them were short answer questions!
The time limit for the written exam was only two hours!
Hao Ren picked up his ink brush, infused it with nature essence, and dripped the words onto the paper like raindrops!
If it weren’t for the vague memory of painting with Su Han together, Hao Ren wouldn’t even know how to use an ink brush!
Swoosh! All the rooms emanated writing noises.
The written exam was not difficult, but it would eliminate a batch of cultivators!
This anxiety was not inferior to the feeling that Hao Ren had when he was taking his university entrance exam!
The inspector who received the order of keeping an eye on Hao Ren really sat in the path outside Hao Ren’s room and stared at Hao Ren!
It was commonly known that the most unpleasant thing when writing exam papers was being stared at… Right now, Hao Ren felt like rushing out and beating him…
“Dong… Dong… Dong… Time’s up!”
Hao Ren held the ink brush in his hand; he still had one more paragraph to finish.
The inspector sitting in front of Hao Ren stood up quickly and collected the papers!
“The combat exams would start five in the morning!”
An inspector announced loudly.
There were only four hours for the participants the rest before the combat exams began!
All the exam papers would be marked in two hours, and those who couldn’t pass would be directly kicked out!
For the vast majority of cultivators who were confident in passing the written exam, this time was for them to replenish their energy and stretch!
“Writing all night long followed by many battles. The examinations at the Dragon God Shrine is awfully tough…” Hao Ren thought as he went to the front of the room and was about to stretch.
Suddenly he saw a set of familiar boxing techniques being practiced in the alleyway in front of him.
The East Ocean Dragon Palace’s fundamental boxing techniques!!
406 Strongest Support Team
Hao Ren took a closer look and saw that it was the fundamental boxing techniques that the soldiers in the East Ocean Dragon Palace practiced each morning and each evening!
The familiar techniques and the burly body belonged to no one but Zhao Kuo!
Hao Ren’s heart lurched. Quickening his steps, he ran to the alley entrance hundreds of meters away from him.
The cultivators moving in the alley got angry when they were pushed aside by Hao Ren, but they held their anger when they saw that he was an assisting inspector.
After practicing the boxing technique, Zhao Kuo swung his arms around before walking into the alleyway to his right.
“Third Uncle!” Hao Ren called out immediately.
However, Zhao Kuo didn’t hear him since he had walked into the aisle between two rows of rooms.
“Who’s making such noise!”
A level 2 inspector who was patrolling nearby flew down from the sky.
Although the written exam was over and there was still some time until the combat exams, this time was for the cultivators to rest and replenish their energy; no noise was allowed.
When he saw it was an assisting inspector who made the noise, this level 2 inspector’s anger abated a little, but he still struck his dharma treasure on Hao Ren’s chest, forcing him back three steps.
“No noise is allowed in the area.” After giving him a warning, the inspector walked out slowly.
The nearby cultivators looked at Hao Ren and envied him.
If he were an ordinary cultivator, he would have been kicked out of the Dragon God Shrine by the inspector for yelling; he would be disqualified and probably be forbidden to enter the Dragon God Shrine’s general exams for the next three years. However, since he was an assisting inspector, he just got a warning.
That was why the identity of assisting inspector was an object of envy!
However, after this interruption, Hao Ren couldn’t see a trace of Zhao Kuo when he ran to the aisle.
It was early morning, and the sky was still dark; the light was dim in the area with many rooms.
The cultivators moving around the rooms were all wearing the same brown robe, and Hao Ren couldn’t find Zhao Kuo among them no matter how hard he looked.
With his identity as an assisting inspector, he dashed into this aisle, and no cultivator dared to stop him.
Hao Ren searched the rooms one by one, but he didn’t find Zhao Kuo.
He searched in the nearby aisles, and the result was the same.
Less than four hours were left before the combat exams which began at 5 in the morning, and many cultivators were taking this time to cultivate. The written exam area prohibited noises, so Hao Ren couldn’t call out, making it harder for him to find Zhao Kuo.
However, he was confident that Zhao Kuo was nearby.
This area was not far from Hao Ren’s ‘Ren Yin 246’ room, which meant that Zhao Kuo and Hao Ren belonged to the same exam area.
Since they were in the same exam area for the written exam, they would belong to the same area for the combat exams.
Hao Ren might need to fight with Zhao Kuo later on.
Hao Ren wondered what realm Zi’s Third Uncle had reached while he walked back to his room, Ren Yin 246.
In the two rooms next to his, the two cultivators were sitting cross-legged on their chairs cultivating. Sensing Hao Ren’s return, they opened their eyes and looked at him, but they didn’t speak.
Anyone who dared to confront a main examiner was undoubtedly a dangerous person, and they obviously didn’t want to get involved with him.
Hao Ren remained silent. After returning to his room, he also closed his eyes to cultivate as well.
The exam venue before dawn looked quiet and peaceful, but in fact, everyone was busy preparing for the exam!
This was the calm before the storm.
The cultivators who were chatting with each other at the entrance of the aisles probably would engage in life-and-death battles a few hours later in the arenas.
Dang! Dang… The bell from the Dragon God Shrine sounded again.
It was 5 in the morning!
Hundreds of inspectors came out together once again.
All the cultivators who had written the exam tensed up instantly.
Boom!
From one room in Hao Ren’s row, an identity token flew out into an inspector’s hand.
The owner of the token had failed the written exam and lost his qualification to enter the combat exams!
Swoosh! Another wooden token suddenly flew from the waist of one cultivator.
Swoosh… While the inspectors flew across the rows of rooms, wooden tokens flew up one after another.
It wasn’t easy to pass the written exam of the Dragon God Shrine!
Nervously, Hao Ren gripped the wooden token on his waist, afraid that it would fly out as well.
On the test papers, there were only the examinees’ numbers, and Hao Ren would fail the written exam as well if he got the answers wrong.
However, the level 2 inspector passed by Hao Ren’s room without taking his identity token.
Meanwhile, Hao Ren heard the sighs of relief from the cultivators of the neighboring rooms and knew they had been nervous, too.
The identity tokens that flew into the inspectors’ hands quickly turned black, which meant that those numbers were no longer valid, a
nd the dragon cultivators who corresponded to those numbers were disqualified from the next portion of the exams.
The cultivators who failed the written exam packed up and left sadly.
The dark red light surrounding the platform of the Dragon God Shrine suddenly vanished.
The Dragon God Shrine was open to the public again!
The failed cultivators could go back home or stay to watch the battles. Those cultivators who didn’t enter the Dragon God Shrine yesterday were able to enter now.
Following the crowd, Hao Ren walked to the arenas in the inner city and observed the Dragon God Shrine from close up.
In the white morning light, the Dragon God Shrine looked like a huge black city, giving people a sense of suppression.
The platform around the Dragon God Shrine, including the outer city and the inner city, was only open for three days each year for the general exams. However, the interior of the Dragon God Shrine was never open to the public.
No one except official inspectors and criminals who inspectors caught could enter the Dragon God Shrine.
This rule added mystery to the Dragon God Shrine.
Three level 4 inspectors walked out of the Dragon God Shrine and sat on the three armchairs on the watching stand which was slightly higher than the arenas.
In each of the four directions of the Dragon God Shrine, 24 small arenas surrounded one big arena. There were altogether 96 small arenas and four big arenas.
Hao Ren was in the east area which Qin Shaoyang was responsible for.
However, as one of the main examiners, Qin Shaoyang didn’t seem concerned about the preliminary battles since he didn’t come out from the Dragon God Shrine. Instead, he had asked three deputies to come out and keep order.
Besides the three deputy examiners who monitored the battles, there was a lot of level 1 and level 2 inspectors who were responsible for keeping scores and arranging competitions.
Since the general exams at the Dragon God Shrine was a grand event in the Dragon Tribe, the organization temporarily called back many inspectors. As a result, the number of inspectors back at the Dragon God Shrine reached a peak.
Standing in the crowd, Hao Ren looked around and didn’t see Su Han.