Chapter 27 - Approval Exam: Part 3

The excitement was tangible, and the vice-principal, who'd been watching the entire performance, even threw his cup of tea into the air.

"THAT'S IT! I WANT THIS BOY AS MY DISCIPLE!" he shouted grandly, immediately pointing at one of the teachers and ordering him to run and get the paperwork in order. "A diamond still covered in mud? I'll polish it with my own hands!" he murmured to himself.

Back down in the arena center:

Lu Piao held his hand over his mouth, barely suppressing a mischievous laugh as he realized everyone around him was singing his praises.

"And that's not even half of what I can do!" Lu Piao announced with a cocky pose, hands on his hips, sparking more cheers from the crowd. His friends, however, only rolled their eyes.

The young man with bluish-gray hair strolled pompously back to his group, watching as Zhang Ming approached the punching machine. The crowd's attention shifted back to Zhang Ming; the stir Lu Piao had caused hadn't faded, and now everyone was focused on every move the group made.

*BAM!* Another loud crash with a breeze, slightly less powerful than Lu Piao's but far more impressive than Shen Yue's. Scoring 350 points, the boy in the blue jacket was thrilled, looking at his fist in disbelief, as though shocked by his own strength.

Yet, his physical strength wasn't the most impressive thing—his spiritual power score was.

*BOOM!* The amazement from Lu Piao's score was blown away by the crystal's complete shattering as Zhang Ming's Soul Force reached over 600 points. His friends clapped, especially Zhu Xiangju, who shouted Zhang Ming's name for everyone to hear. To him, the often-overlooked Zhang Ming no longer existed—now, he was the mighty Ming.

Now Lu Piao crossed his arms, clicking his tongue at being bested by his friend, though clearly pleased for him.

He was destined for no other place than the geniuses' hall.

Next in line was the redhead, Wei Nan, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath before striking the machine. The crowd fell silent, waiting to see what would come next. But not even in their wildest dreams could they have imagined what they would see.

*FLASH!* A punch so fierce and swift that many didn't even see it land, and when it did, none could look directly at the gauge's pointer. A strong gust blew in all directions, sending dust flying almost as high as the judges in the stands.

When the dust settled, everyone's blood ran cold, seeing the measuring arrow embedded precisely at 725 points.

The first to react was Wei Nan himself, raising his hands to the sky and letting out a huge cheer. His friends were astounded; none expected that result, especially Zhu Xiangju, whose grin stretched so wide it hurt.

However, his Soul Force points weren't as impressive, marked at 297. Well above the standard level, but below the rest of his friends.

His fate was the same as Zhang Ming's—no doubt, he was going to the geniuses' hall.

High in the stands, Shen Xiu nearly tore her own hair out in frustration. She'd lost the bet. She knew it. Zhu Xiangju didn't even need to take the test; the general results from his group, not to mention the power she sensed coming from him, made it obvious.

It was as if waves upon waves of energy radiated across nearly the whole arena. He was trying to suppress it, but once he got excited, he couldn't hold it back.

The realization made Shen Xiu's legs tremble. She was a powerful spiritualist, had trained her entire life, receiving endless resources from her family, the second-most powerful in all of Glory City—so how, how could a brat who still smelled of milk possess greater power than she did?

She hurried off to meet with the vice-principal, who was now clapping and celebrating yet another extraordinary result.

Du Ze, the group's vice leader, had scored 690 points in physical strength, and his Soul Force was strong enough to shatter the measuring crystal.

With a smile stretched from ear to ear, he chatted with his friends and hugged them briefly, simply overjoyed at the thought of his city's future.

Shen Xiu, meanwhile, twisted her face in disgust, as if the mere sight of them made her stomach turn.

"Sir, I'd like to discuss something." Shen Xiu interrupted the vice-principal's celebration. Before he even looked at her, he made sure none of Xiangju's group was undergoing a test.

"Professor Shen, such a pleasure to see you here! We knew you were a great demon spiritualist when we hired you, but to think you'd produce so many geniuses! I'll discuss a promotion for you with the principal!" the vice-principal said, leaving Shen Xiu no room to respond.

She hesitated, her mouth opening and closing as she thought about what to say, but the words just wouldn't come out.

"A-a promotion, huh?" That was all she managed to say. It wouldn't be a bad deal—the bet was that she would quit as a teacher if something happened, but what if she left her position without leaving the school?

"Yes, yes! So keep that in mind and continue working hard, alright?"

As they spoke, two more explosions occurred almost simultaneously.

"Darn it! I missed those tests!" the vice-principal shouted in frustration, while Shen Xiu looked over at Xiangju and Nie Li, now with a smile on her face. Her biggest failures would be her golden pieces at this moment.

Down in the arena, Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er, responsible for the explosions, exchanged surprised glances, both thinking the same thing.

"She's strong!"

"That strength… could Nie Li have helped her, too..? No, no, it must've been Xiangju…" Ye Ziyun mused to herself, glancing at the redhead. The thought of Nie Li possibly helping another girl, for reasons she didn't quite understand, saddened her a little.

Xiao Ning'er, on the other hand, had a more annoyed thought.

"That strength of hers has to be because of Xiangju, right?! That idiot is going to hear from me!"

They both gave each other a forced nod and went their separate ways.

At that moment, everyone stopped again to watch the strength test. Nie Li was stepping up.