The Splitting of Yucheng

"Excellent, excellent!"

Joyful laughter echoed continuously from within the Academy. This round of examinations had brought far too many surprises, making it impossible for them to suppress their mirth.

Everyone was jubilant; those who qualified to pass were exultant, but a few were far from pleased.

Among them were Xia Hou and Yi Hong. The two exchanged glances, and Yi Hong surreptitiously handed Xia Hou a medicinal pill, whispering, "The next round of examinations focuses on situational awareness, adaptability, and combat prowess. In the first round, you were inferior to Zheng Donglin; in the second, you were surpassed by Ding Buling. This is a Bloodburst Pill; using it will double your strength. You must seize first place in the third round!"

Yi Hong's expression was grave as he gave his instructions. In his eyes, only two people here were true rivals for Xia Hou. One was Hong Jiuyuan, and the other was Ma Teng. The former was one realm higher than Xia Hou, while the latter was his equal.

He believed Xia Hou’s talent was decent, but caution was paramount, especially regarding Hong Jiuyuan. That man's identity was far from ordinary; if he wasn't mistaken, the bamboo staff on his shoulder was the sect-protecting treasure of the Beggars' Sect, the Dog Beating Staff. Furthermore, from the phenomena he emitted during the examination, it was clear that Hong Jiuyuan was a natural genius regarding elements.

Elements had three distinct directions of development.

First was elemental fusion. In Hong Jiuyuan’s case, the Fire element was dominant, interlaced with a hint of the Poison element—that gray hue was the manifestation of the Poison element.

Second was elemental evolution. The Fire element could become the Lava element, Water could become the Ice Soul element, Earth could become the Great Earth element, Metal could become the Gengjin element, and Wood could become the Origin Wood element.

Third was the enhancement of elemental power. The element remained unchanged from its original form, but the internal energy within grew increasingly powerful.

Elements outside the five elements, such as the Poison element, were refined through specific fortuitous encounters and could not be forced.

Those who were natural elemental geniuses possessed extreme combat power, unlike Zheng Donglin, a natural genius of spiritual strength, who did not lean heavily toward combat. This time, Zheng Donglin was truly at a disadvantage.

Yi Hong thought to himself that the only other person to worry about was Ma Teng, whose Sword Intent was pure to the extreme. Everyone knew the terrifying destructive power of a Sword Cultivator. Yi Hong shook his head; Xia Hou, I have given you the Bloodburst Pill, the rest depends on your own efforts.

As for Ding Buling, Yi Hong didn't even give him a second thought. That person only had high aptitude, but that was a matter for the future; for now, his strength was insufficient. Zheng Donglin only possessed spiritual talent and could not cause any significant waves.

This time, one thousand two hundred people passed the examination, a decrease of eight hundred from before, but still a respectable number.

"All of you standing here have passed the examination and become official disciples. You have the right to choose to withdraw and not participate in the third round. The third round will be a test of combat strength," Lian Cheng announced loudly.

Combat strength?

They thought to themselves, some faces lighting up with eagerness. In the previous two rounds, they hadn't been able to show much, and a sense of frustration was inevitable. This combat examination truly played to their strengths, making them overjoyed.

Xia Hou looked toward Hong Jiuyuan and Ma Teng, silently marking them as his true opponents, then glanced at Zheng Donglin and made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Him!" Cheng Xiu looked at Xia Hou in anger, but was suddenly held back by Su Dongliu and the others. What a joke! If they really fought, the opponent was at the Late Stage of the Ninth Grade, while you were just a kid at the Late Stage of the Fifth Grade—how could you dare to be so aggressive?

Yi Hong looked coldly at Cheng Xiu. No matter how high one's talent or aptitude, an attitude of looking down on others would eventually lead to death. Yi Hong still harbored a grudge against Cheng Xiu’s group because they had rejected his offer to become his disciples. He looked over at Xia Hou, regained his composure slightly, and let out a cold snort.

This examination was grander than ever before, attended by all the Inner Sect Elders and even the Grand Elder. As the news spread, the citizens of Yucheng were shaken, and they gathered in increasing numbers, crowding against one another.

"Look, it really is the Grand Elder! He is standing next to a youth and giving him instructions. Could it be true that he is taking a disciple?"

"Oh my, they are all great figures with extraordinary status."

The Grand Elder, with a kind expression, said a few words to Ding Buling and then placed a talisman in his hand. Ding Buling shook his head; he wanted to rely on his own strength to fight and did not need any external assistance.

Seeing his reaction, the Grand Elder's face showed extreme satisfaction. A person must have character; combined with talent, only then could they go further.

Thinking of talent, the Grand Elder looked at Zheng Donglin with a hint of regret. This person's talent was unprecedented, not inferior even to a Di Huang, but unfortunately, his aura was not pure. Moreover, Zheng Donglin’s talent seemed to lean toward spiritual strength, and there weren't many in the Academy who researched that field. Teaching him haphazardly might ruin a piece of fine jade.

Although it was said that a warrior who reached the Martial Body Realm had crystallized their spiritual world, they weren't necessarily famous masters capable of teaching others. Only someone who specialized in spiritual strength could do so. After a moment of thought, the Grand Elder considered someone, then shook his head—how could that person ever agree to teach Zheng Donglin?

What a pity, what a pity, such a fine piece of jade.

"That guy, is his aptitude higher than mine?" Hou Xiaomei changed her gaze as she looked toward Cheng Xiu. "Could he really be the one I'm destined for?" His realm was a bit low, but his talent was very high. Her own talent was higher than her elder brother's, recognized by the clan elders as the highest aptitude ever seen. But she hadn't expected so many monsters to appear in this examination, even an aptitude like Di Huang, which usually only existed in legends.

Hou Yuan gave Hou Xiaomei a few meaningful winks. Hou Xiaomei glared back threateningly, and Hou Yuan whistled, feigning ignorance.

Cheng Xiu’s eyes suddenly met Hou Xiaomei’s, their gazes intersecting at a single point.

Silence—an absolute silence, with neither saying a word.

Suddenly, Cheng Xiu scratched his head and gave a foolish grin. Hou Xiaomei turned her face away, ignoring him, which made him feel incredibly embarrassed.

"The third round of the examination begins!" Lian Cheng declared.

Hou Yuan spoke respectfully to the group of Elders. Afterward, the Elders nodded and took out a strangely shaped piece of iron with a red jade embedded on top. A hand pressed down on the jade, and it sank deep into the iron block.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

A massive sound echoed throughout Yucheng. On both sides of the street, the citizens' eyes sparkled. It was coming!

The roads on both sides suddenly sank, and then, using the Academy as the center, they split apart—literally split apart.

Zheng Donglin and the others were shocked. The roads were being separated, undoubtedly due to a mechanism beneath. In an instant, a secret ground below was revealed. The roads of Yucheng only split halfway, but the secret ground revealed beneath was unimaginably vast.

The secret ground was divided into twelve areas, each separated by a layer of pale blue light. The scenery below was complete, with trees and rivers, no different from the landscape above ground.

"There are exactly one thousand two hundred of you, one hundred for each area," Lian Cheng instructed. "But you will not choose your own area; all will be distributed randomly. Now, the examination begins!"

As he finished speaking, they were swept away by an invisible flood. Their heads spun and their vision blurred; by the time they could open their eyes and see clearly, each person had landed somewhere within the secret ground.

The third round of the examination had begun!

Beside each person was a jade pendant with a score recorded on it. According to the rules of this examination, the more points one plundered, the higher their rank would be. The current points on each person's jade pendant varied, based on their rankings from the previous two rounds.

A leaderboard floated in the sky. Suddenly, Zheng Donglin’s name appeared at the top, Hong Jiuyuan second, Ding Buling third, Ma Teng fourth, Xia Hou fifth, and Jiang Nan sixth.

Zheng Donglin had been first in the first round, and although his talent in the second round was undetermined, it was not inferior to Ding Buling’s. His score stood at the top with two thousand points, followed by Hong Jiuyuan with one thousand nine hundred points, and then decreasing accordingly.

Zheng Donglin felt that something was wrong. This examination had no rules other than defeating opponents to harvest points. In that case, Zheng Donglin was certainly the most lucrative prey at the moment. As long as others joined forces to besiege him, his two thousand points would evaporate and be divided among them. Even when split, two thousand points was still a massive number that could not fail to stir the greed of others.

Looking at the terrain before him, there was nothing but trees, and Zheng Donglin frowned. The area was covered in dense forest, making it very easy to be ambushed; one lapse in vigilance and it would be over.

Suddenly, Zheng Donglin smiled. How could he have forgotten the Eye of Prestige? People could hide their aura and their realm, but could they hide their own providence?

The answer was no. The Eye of Prestige was even more heaven-defying than the Great Dharma of the Heavenly Demon's Heart Disruption, which showed how precious this pupil art was.

A golden light flashed in the corners of his eyes. The scene before him was still the same trees, but there was one difference: behind those bushes, a cluster of human-shaped green lights was lurking.