Time skip and Exams

Time skip, day of the Exams

As Chen Ren was getting ready for the day his mind drifted the events that had occurred since they returned from the ruins, it had been a little over a month since then, and various plans had been set into motion.

The primary moves they had made involved the suppression of the Sacred Family, which included but were not limited to, making any and all business that was owned by the family to experience problems and rumors flying about most of the famous members of the family, most being true, made these rumors gain more weight too.

The Alchemy Association would make sure that any and all orders placed by the Sacred Family would experience problems, from getting their orders last to losing the order forms and forcing them to remake the order, thus wasting more time. The Inscription Hall followed a similar path.

While they made the lives of the Sacred Family members hard, they also removed the members of their own families, who worked for the Sacred Family, from any and all positions of power. Mostly by creating small problems in any move said family members made and forcing them to quit their positions.

They had betrayed their families due to greed; they were lucky to be alive.

Other than that, they also contacted other Noble and Aristocratic families that they knew they could trust and added them into the plans, chief among them was the Huyan Family, seeing that Huyan Lanruo had been present during the interrogation, and the fact that her father, Huyan Xiong, who was the Patriarch of the family, was a good friend of Ye Zong, the City Lord.

The members of the families that were already in the Alliance, and every new family that entered it, that had made sure that they could be trusted, that did not possess a suitable cultivation technique, received one from Chen Ren.

That, along with the pills that the Alchemy Association provided, had caused a great increase in all their members fighting power, with quite a number of them reaching Black-Gold Rank.

Speaking of increasing in Rank, Ye Zong had finally taken Chen Ren's advice and changed his Demon Spirit from the Black Scaled Earth Dragon to one that was more aligned to his Attribute, it wasn't the Snow Wind Great Ape from canon, seeing that the Beast Hord hadn't attacked yet, but it was a suitable one.

Thanks to that he had managed to reach Legend Rank, now they just need him and Chen Zhenlong to reach a level of mastery over their new Rank and they would be able to have a better chance against the Dark Guild.

At least until they get the Ten Thousand Demonic Beast Array Book, which would allow Chen Ren to install the Ten Thousand Demonic Beast Array.

Chen Ren himself had reached 5 Star Silver Rank just yesterday, he couldn't wait for the exams to be over so he could finally intergrade the Void Dragoon he got from the Ancient Orchid City Ruins as his main Demon Spirit.

His fiancés had also grown more powerful, Ziyun having reached 2 Star Silver Rank and Ning'er reaching 3 Star Silver just a couple of days ago. Yang Xin, having learned how to cultivate the Power of Law, had achieved 2 Star Black-Gold.

His brother, Chen Linjian, had reach 1 Star Black-Gold just a few days ago, and was now trying to cultivate the Power of Law.

Over the years, Chen Ren had visited the Heavenly Marks Family, Nie Li's family, and using the fact that the Patriarch was quite fooling in how he used the family's funds he had managed to buy a number of family treasures from their vault, that included the Soul Weapon Katars, which in all honesty he got for a fraction of their actual worth, the blueprints of the Soul Puppet and even the Black Pearl.

So much for the Black Pearl being a treasure that the First-Generation Patriarch left for the family, Nie Hai was quite eager to sell it once the price was good enough.

About a week after they had returned Chen Ren had visited the Heavenly Marks Family once more, this time for the final treasure that said family had that he wanted, the Page of the Temporal Demon Spirit Book.

The reason he had left the Page last was because he wanted to place himself in the best position possible, now that the Heavenly Marks Family did not possess any other treasure worth a damn, he was able to use their usually bad financial situation to get the page.

It had not been easy, and he had to create a whole story about how he had found out that they even possessed said page, in fact he had been forced to show the Patriarch the page he had acquired in the Ruins.

Thankfully they were alone during their bargaining for the page so now else had seen them, and seeing that, like the Black Pearl, it was something that their ancestors had passed down, Chen Ren knew that Nie Hai wouldn't mention selling it to anyone. It had cost a pretty penny, but it was well worth the price in Chen Ren's opinion.

With that he had taken every resource Nie Li had acquired from his own family in canon.

He had also talked with Ye Zong and had restricted access to the Ten Millennium Spatial Array, that was located near the City Lord's Mansion, calming that he would like to study it during the break after the exams. He knew that the Abyss Prison Realm had a lot of resources that would be very beneficial for everyone in Glory City.

Plus, this way he removed another source of power from Nie Li's grasp.

He was doing something similar with the Heavenly Sacred Border, he had been in talks about with the Vice-Principal of the Holy Orchid Institute, Ye Sheng. His main goal was to put a new minimum in the Rank of the people that could enter.

Thankfully due to the rise of the Rank average of the Institute, mostly due to the students that had been sponsored by the Divine Family, they had agreed on the minimum Rank a student needed to have in order to enter the Heavenly Sacred Border to be 5 Star Bronze Rank.

Due to all the mishaps that Chen Ren had caused Nie Li, he was sure that at most the old geezer would be a 3 Star Bronze during the exams. That would give Chen Ren enough time to get in and acquire the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword, before Nie Li manages to get his hands on it.

Though he wasn't sure if he would put Ye Yan in a Soul Puppet or just let him pass on. (A/N: What do you guys think?)

Regarding the Younger Generation Tournament that would take place during the break, he had every intension in participating. It was chance to cement his position as one of Glory City's geniuses.

Maybe even beat the crap out of Shen Fei, if he is stupid enough to use the Tournament to fight him.

In other news, Chen Linjian's engagement to Huyan Lanruo had finally become official, causing another wave in the political sea of Glory City, and allowing the Huyan Family to openly become allies with the Alliance, instead of being discrete about it.

Also, a few days after they had returned from the expedition, Chen Ren granted Yang Xin's reward pampering, that she had requested after she had been so helpful with the potions, she had provided during the interrogation of the Dark Guild members.

That translated to a full day just the two of them. From a simple walk around the city, to shopping, to eating in a fancy restaurant, and even going to the theater to watch a play.

Funny story, due to the fact that the Glory City residents believed that they were the last bastion of humanity in the world, they had ignored quite a number of artistic revenues in the name of survival.

As a result, when Chen Ren had first been reincarnated into this world, he had discovered that there was no such thing as a theater, or even small plays performed in the streets.

Heck, there were barely any musicians around. This was the reason why the Younger Generation Tournament was seen as the city's greatest entertainment, there was barely anything else.

Where others so a waste of time, time that should be used for cultivation, Chen Ren saw opportunity.

After he had acquired sufficient funds, and had convinced both his father and the City Lord that the arts were as big of a mark in a civilization as written manuscripts, he had created the first ever theater in Glory City.

He had found quite a number of talented men and women from the city's normal population, even beggars. People that were hardworking, but were never given the chance to show it.

Many had come to watch the first play that the theater had ever put up, both commoners and nobles. As Chen Ren had expected they were hooked. Humans, no matter the world, always crave entertainment.

About a year after the theater had opened, and seeing the success of the dance and music shows that had been added in the theater's program, the Divine Family had opened an Arts Academy for those who had the talent and did not want, or couldn't, enter the Holy Orchid Institute.

After the play the sun had set, so Yang Xi had guided her fiancé to her personal courtyard, located inside the Alchemy Association grounds.

There she had guided him to a small stone table in her garden, next to a tree, and had brought alcohol for them to drink.

And seeing that there were no laws against 13-year-old's drinking there had been on problem with them enjoying a few cups and each other's company.

After talking and drinking for some time the two had gotten a bit tipsy, plus Yang Xin apparently got bolder when she had a few drinks, seeing as she decided to grab him by his arm and drag him in her bedroom.

WARNING SMUT FLASHBACK

(Will be uploaded as an auxiliary chapter in the near future)

END SMUT FLASHBACK

Of course, he spent time with Ziyun and Ning'er as well, it wouldn't be right to neglect any of his girls.

As he returned from memory lane and finished getting dressed, Chen Ren looked at his desk, there sitting right in the middle was the Nightmare Demon Pot. The expedition to the Dark Ruins had returned the day before, and the experts of the Divine Family had managed to successfully acquire it.

Along with numerous books and scrolls that were currently inside a few Interspatial Rings that could be seen next to the Pot.

He hadn't had the chance to use the Pot or look through the written works that they had brought, but he knew that he had time.

Before he left his room though, he decided to put both the Rings and the Pot, inside his personal Interspatial Ring for safe keeping.

Now finally ready he exited his room and went to get some breakfast.

----------------------------

The first-year students had all gathered in the main yard of the Institute, waiting for their teacher Shen Xiu to arrive and guide them to the testing yard of the practical test. They had just finished the written exam that tested their knowledge, now it was time to test their strength and Soul Force.

Chen Ren had arrived in the yard with Ning'er and Ziyun by his side, and was waiting for the exams to start like everybody else.

As they waited Du Ze all the boys that the Divine Family had sponsored approached him. Du Ze saluted and spoke.

"Greetings Big Brother Ren." He then turned to the girls and saluted each of them. "Big siter Ziyun, big sister Ning'er". The other boys copied Du Ze in greeting them.

The trio smiled at them. Over the past month Chen Ren had made a point to become acquainted with the boys of his class, both to made bonds with them and because it was always nice to have friends.

All of them had decided to show their respect from Chen Ren and his fiancés by referring to them as an older sibling. In the beginning they, and especially Du Ze, were far more formal with how they talked to the trio.

That was not what Chen Ren had wanted their relationship with the sponsored kids to like. He had tried to refer to them as brothers, and Lu Piao had even tried to go full informal, only to receive an elbow to the gut by Du Ze. In the end the compromise that was established was for the sponsored to address the trio as older siblings

"Brother Du Ze, everyone, how did you do on the written exam?" Asked Chen Ren. Most of the boys smiled, showing that they were confident that they did fine. Though Lu Piao did seem to sweat a bit, the awkward laugh he let out made all of them look at him and sweatdrop. The questions weren't all that difficult, how could he be this unsure about his answers.

The girls let out a small giggle before they all started laughing. The rest of the students looked at the group and could not understand how they could be so calm.

"I don't get it how come they aren't freaking out? This is an important exam." A random male student asked another who was standing next to him.

"Well, most of them have mediocre to bad talent, so maybe they aren't expecting anything to come out of the exam." Said the second student. He then gained a dreamy-perverted look on his face as his eyes fell on Ning'er and Ziyun. "The two goddesses are the exception of course."

The first one blushed a bit as his face also took a dreamy look. "You think if we manage to impress them, they would leave that Chen Ren for us?" He asked his friend, but got a sigh as a response.

"We aren't on their league man, but someone else is." The second guy said and looked to the side to see Shen Yue staring at the group, more specifically Ziyun.

'Just wait Ziyun, once I prove that I am superior you will see that I am the one who should be your husband.' Thought Shen Yue as he glanced at Chen Ren and gritted his teach.

Thanks to that low-talented brat of the Divine Family he lost his rightful place as Ziyun's husband. But he wasn't worried, once Chen Ren fails to keep his end of the bet with his aunt, he will have to leave the Institute in shame.

Another that was watching the group was Nie Li, he had trained as best he could with the limited resources, he had managed to gain over the two months since he came to the past. He will have to give it his all, in order to get into the Genius Class.

That was the first step he would need to take to show Ziyun that he was the one worthy of her love.

Just then Shen Xiu arrived and told them to follow her, as they walked Chen Ren approached her.

"I hope you remember our little bet teacher Shen Xiu." He said with a straight face, not showing any emotion. The woman gritted her teach and glared at him.

"Oh I do, and I hope you have the money and your resignation form ready." She said to him fully expecting that he would fail.

Chen Ren just hummed, but said nothing as they walked to the testing yard.

As they approached the testing area, Chen Ren looked around and was surprised that Shen Fei didn't come over to cause problems, it seemed that he was weary of the power of the Divine Family. After all no one knew Chen Ren true power, and due to his Yellow Soul Realm, they assumed that he was mediocre at best.

They finally reached the testing yard, like in canon the yard was quite large, with an observation balcony on the other side of the yard from where they entered, where all the teachers and any guests would be watching from.

In the center of the yard were two items, a punching machine and a giant Primary Soul Crystal, just like in canon. Everyone was looking at the punching machine, wondering what it was, it was new after all.

Chen Ren looked at the observation balcony and smirked he could see Yang Xin had come to watch the exam, their eyes met and he winked at her, she blushed a bit, but winked back.

----------------------------

Yang Xin smiled after she got the wink from her fiancé, she was very happy with her life. As an orphan she always wanted a family, and soon she would marry Chen Ren and gain her wish.

Plus, with the cultivation technique he gave her and the Power of Law she was also gaining more power by the day. After she reached Black-Gold Rank any man who used to try and get into her pants in the past had been trembling in fear. Not due to who she was connected or what power her position gave her, but by her own power.

It was a very liberating feeling.

She felt someone approach her and turned her head to her right, she saw the Vice-Principal walk towards her.

"Greetings Director Yang Xin." He said with respect, something that she returned.

"Greetings Vice-Principal Ye Sheng."

"Are you here to watch your fiancé's exam?" He asked getting a nod in conformation.

"Yes, his and my future sister-wives, Ziyun and Ning'er." The Vice-Principle nodded and left to return to his place with the rest of the teacher.

----------------------------

Then the blond teacher with glasses, the creator of the punching machine, came forward and moved towards said machine.

"The first test is the one of strength." He said with a bit of arrogance in his voice, more or less the same as any inventor who wants to showcase their invention.

When Shen Xiu asked about the machine, the blond teacher started talking on and on about how the old test was not precise enough and that his invention will allow to test the students accurately and safely.

Just as he was about to go into further details, Shen Xiu cut him off by asked who would go first.

Just like in canon, Shen Yue went first, he got 135 strength and 115 Soul Force. Somewhat impressive, but nothing to write home about.

He still walked away like he was king of the world though., with the kiss asses congratulating him about his great talent.

Lu Pion got pissed off when Shen Yue send them a smirk of superiority, and decided to go next. Due to the fact that he started earlier than in canon, and the pressure of the sponsorship making him train harder, his results were higher than in canon, 415 strength and 436 Soul Force.

These results caused an uproar from all the onlookers a 4 Star Bronze Rank Spiritualist at 13? It was a rare sight. The teacher immediately decided to place him in the Genius Class.

Wei Nan and Zhang Ming went next scoring in both strength and Soul Force close to the peak of 3 Star Bronze Rank, thus also getting in to the Genius Class.

The scores surprised Nie Li, he did not expect such results from people that did not have his help. Come on he was the one with the 300 years' worth of knowledge, only he should be able to guide people to such incredible development. Still the scores were there, and due to them he became a bit worried, if more people show such results, he will not be able to impress the teachers enough to enter the Genius Class.

With that in mind he stepped forward to take the test.

Chen Ren watched as Nie Li approached the punching machine, due to the fact that he didn't have any grievances with the Sacred Family Chen Ren knew that the geezer wouldn't hold back.

He did need to enter the Genius Class in order to regain some face after all.

His results were quite good for someone with limited resources, 211 strength and 205 Soul Force. In all honesty it surprised Chen Ren a bit, it seemed he had overestimated the old geezer a bit, he was sure that even with the roadblocks he had placed in his way, the time traveler would at least be close to 3 Star Bronze.

Oh well.

Nie Li sighed, from what he was able to see in the observation area, his scores seemed to have earned him a spot in the Genius Class. He sent a glance at Ziyun, hoping that his performance would at least spike her interest.

Unfortunately, she seemed to not be paying him any attention, with a sign he returned to the crowed and waited to see the rest of the exam. The days since that incident had been rather lonely ones, he hadn't really spoken with Lu Piao or any of the others since then.

But he still had hope that he could mend their friendship, as well as win Ziyun's love like he did in his previous life.

Zhu Xiangjun came forward next, and like the others did better than in canon, showing that he was a solid 4 Star Bronze Rank.

Now it was Du Ze's turn, he punched the machine once and made it reach its limit of 500 strength. The shock that came over the crowed was understandable, but Du Ze ignored them and moved to stand between the two devices.

Many were curious as to why he didn't go to the crystal.

"Du Ze please test your Soul Force with the crystal." Said the examiner that was next to said crystal.

Du Ze glanced at him, before his eyes turned to the observation balcony, he then did a couple of hand signs and a silver aura surrounded his body.

Fun fact, after someone reaches Silver Rank, in other words had a Soul Force of at least 1000, they could produce an aura that shows to the word their cultivation Rank.

"1 Star Silver Rank!?" the examiner exclaimed in disbelief as he dropped his writing utensils in shock.

He wasn't the only one, every person not in the know about the level of the cultivation techniques the Divine Family gave to their sponsored students were in shock.

The Vice-Principal just stared, what a find, he needed to inform the Principal about this student as soon as the exams were done.

Nie Li just stood there with a shocked expression, he knew that Du Ze was a hardworking individual, but to advance so mush in such a short time, was incredible.

Shen Yue had been staring in shock ever since Lu Piao's results came out. How!? How were these commoners able to score higher than himself? He had a better Soul Realm than them and better resources, this should have been impossible.

Chen Ren and his fiancés smiled at the results their friend had produced.

"Well looks like its our turn." He said to the girls, Ning'er and Ziyun smiled at him, before Ziyun decided to go first.

Like Du Ze she scored a perfect 500 in the punching machine, Chen Ren observed that the machine itself had moved a bit backwards from the punch, she then also released her aura for all to see instead of using the crystal.

"2 Star Silver Rank!?" The awed looks she received made her plush a bit, before she went to stand next to Chen Ren once more.

Ning'er was next her strength test was just like Ziyun's getting a perfect 500, and then like her sister-wife she released her aura.

"Th-three (3) Star Silver Rank?" As this point the examiner had become a bit lethargic, this was getting ridiculous, how was it possible for these children to have such high levels of strength and Soul Force?

Shen Xiu could feel cold sweat on her back, every single student that had exceptional results were connected with the Divine Family somehow, be it the sponsorships or, for the two girls, engagement.

Did that mean that Chen Ren had managed to reach Silver Rank!? Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about he bet, everyone knew about it and if she backed down her family would lose face. All she could do was hang in there and hope that he had failed.

As Ning'er went back, Chen Ren cracked his neck a bit.

"My turn." He said softly and stepped forward.

All eyes were on him as he approached the punching machine, as he stood in front of it, he turned and looked at the blond examiner.

"Tell me do you have a reserve machine?" His question confused the examiner but he answered.

"Yes, we do in fact have a spare." He said as he fixed his glasses.

Chen ren nodded before he turned his attention back to the machine and took a punching stance.

"Good then I suggest you get it ready. Now stand back." His statement confused everyone there. Why would they need another machine?

'Time to do a Vegeta.' He thought to himself as he punched the machine. As a result of the impact the punching machine was launched to the other side of the yard, landing in a pile of scrap.

The end result had left every single person observing still as a statue, with eyes as wide as they can be, they also seemed to have lost their ability to speak.

With the exception of his fiancés, in fact Yang Xin was giggling at stupefied expressions on the faces of the teachers around her.

Chen Ren smirked as he moved to the very center of the yard, his movement caused everyone there get out of their funk.

The fact that he did not move towards the crystal made what he was going to do quite clear, Shen Xiu's eyes opened in disbelief and dread, this could not be happening.

Chen Ren released his aura for all to see. The reading caused the examiner to fall on his ass, but he was able to declare the results.

"F-Fi-Five (5) Star Silver Rank!" He shouted in disbelief.

The shouting and talking of the observers were understandable, here was a guy with a Yellow Realm that showed he had talent equal to his older brother, who had a Green Soul Realm.

How was this possible? Didn't the Realm dictate your talent?

Both Shen Yue and Nie Li just stared in disbelief while thinking the same thing, the one who stole Ziyun was so much stronger than them, that they couldn't even compete.

Chen Ren turned and looked at Shen Xiu straight in the eyes, the disbelief in her eyes turned into dread as she realized that she had lost the bet.

He then turned around and returned to his two fiancés, who congratulated him for his scores.

End Chapter