100 Steps Beyond!

The room was noisy as countless children whispered to each other, eyeing Yone with a dissatisfied gaze.

Cough!

Cough! Cough!

 Stream village elder, Thomas, coughed multiple times in an attempt to take everyone's attention. Alas, the murmuring was so loud that it over shadowed it.

Bam!

Boom!

Multiple cracks appeared as Thomas stomped his feet on the floor. The sound generated by its sheer force and destruction reverberated throughout the entire room, capturing everyone's attention.

They all looked at their elder with complicated feelings.

They were fearful of the strength he just displayed, yet at the same time, they admired it and aimed to reach that level themselves.

"As for your fellow student's question right here, the children who go past the 100 steps will be invited to join the Million Steps Academy as an inner student without taking any tests or paying any fees!" Thomas said, his expression displaying a sense of longing, he then took a quick glance at a specific spot before he kept going.

The Million Steps Academy!

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing his words. They couldn't help but imagine the power and wealth they would have if they managed to be accepted into that academy, especially as someone who went beyond the 100 steps.

Unfortunately, the children's dreams were soon crushed as they faced the harsh reality of the world. Their gazes fell as they recalled their background.

" But there has never been any child who went beyond the 100 steps in this entire kingdom, so don't get your hopes up high for no reason. Am I clear to you?" His words immediately brought the children back to reality, dispelling their thoughts about dreams and goals they couldn't accomplish.

Even though his words sounded harsh and insensitive, Thomas knew better than this.

If he hadn't taken the role of the evil person who crushed the empty hope of these children without a well-known background who won't even reach high-grade talent, he would be doing them wrong in the future.

' Someone has to tell them, or else they might end up killing themselves in the future,' Thomas sighed as he looked at the kids in front of him who lost their spirit, he felt a stinging pain in his heart.

He had once been like them, in their same position even. 

Their village elders always gave them false hope about going beyond their current lives, families, and birthplace.

They filled them with groundless hope, talking about how an eagle can grow large enough without aid and talent to become a phoenix that soars the skies unhindered. 

In the end, he ventured to Elinar Kingdom with his head up high, only to be instantly crashed by the world the moment he entered the Million Steps Academy as an outer disciple.

Such as reality, since only a few in a million would go beyond the 100 steps. In such a case, only a handful managed to accomplish such a feat in the entire Empire, their names still resounding in everyone's ears.

Much less children in this village without a background or talented parents.

'It's better for them if they don't think about such things,' Thomas recited in his heart, hoping the uneasy feeling would be washed away as soon as possible.

***

At the end of the room, David scrutinized Thomas with a deep frown on his face.

'Damn it, half-step qi condensation realm as a village elder,' David cursed in his heart,' Someone must have supported him for sure, this place can't ever acquire that many resources without external aid.'

'This room is most likely a spider net created specifically for us David,' Lilia entered his sea of consciousness.

It was the ability of a Mystical Item in this world, called Mental-Pen.

Unfortunately, such an item was extremely scarce and available in very limited quantities. Furthermore, it was a consumable item that could only be used up to two times, so only those with a lot of spirit stones to spare would dare to buy it.

David solemnly nodded as he glanced at Yone and Tom sitting on the first two chairs, before turning his head to look at Daniel.

' We already knew such a thing might occur during this event, don't forget that we came prepared honey,' Lilia added on the side with a smile on her face,' Also, underestimating us will only lead to their death.

***

"Yes elder," The voices of the children resounded in union.

"Alright then," Thomas nodded his head with a satisfied expression as he took a paper out and placed it on top of his desk.

" I'm gonna start calling out numbers," He calmly announced," Those who are called out step forward and enter the room.

"Number 104."

"Here," A rather overweight kid came forward, standing at a height of 1-22cm around the same height as Yone and his brother. Alas, the twin brother's physique was beyond what the kid could attain in his next years.

This proved true especially for Yone since his daily meditation exercise particularly helped his physique grow at a stable rate with steady foundations.

Everyone in the room looked at the kid with expecting gazes, whispers filling the entire room once again.

" Isn't that Thoma's child? The one who's called Sun?"

"It is indeed him, it is said that his body is overweight due to special training he is practicing at home, and all of the current fat will be washed away later, turning into pure spiritual energy that he could freely use to fasten his cultivation speed by threefold!"

"That's insane, the foundation of our village isn't as shallow as it looks I guess."

"mhm, even my parents told me that an existence in the main city of Elinar is backing this region, so it is expected that such cultivation methods will reach the elder's hands."

" How many steps do you think he will take," a rather handsome kid with a rather muscular body asked from the side.

"Hmph, I'll say at least 54 steps like his father, given the cultivation method he currently preparing to use afterward, I'll gamble on 60 steps."

All the children nodded at his words, acknowledging it, all of their eyes curiously focused on the overweighted kid, waiting to see his results.