Chapter 9: I really want go home

Most of the people who have passed the 2nd test of the examination were starting to rethink their careers. It seems that they were actually over-reaching their capabailities. Did they even have any talent at all in cultivation?

It was explained earlier that Viel scored 1st on the strength test because he had western blood. But what about the 2nd test? It was a test of willpower. Was Viel good at it too? Does he have to be so domineering?

An Da, who was about to open his mouth to once again come up with an excuse to encourage the other children, decided to just close his mouth.

What if the little boy shows extraordinary results in the next test again? He will just elevate Viel's status by doing so, and break the hearts of the other children.

"V-viel. You're not some son of a famous cultivator, are you?", Xiao Pei was adamantly curious.

"Eehh, I suppose you can say that?". Viel thought for a second before replying.

"W-what?! Really? What're they like? Are they as famous as Chen Fan, or maybe even the Hero of Freiden?!", Xiao Pei exclaimed.

[Soul 02 expressess interest]

Hearing the Hero of Freiden being discussed, some of the children turned their head to listen in on the discussion. The black and silver haired girl, Violet, also grew curious.

"Eehh?! Hero of Freiden, what's that? No… my Grandma Ling is famous amongst the other Grandmas for cultivating plants. Hehe. One time, when all the other Grandmas thought that the plant that Grandma was taking care of was going to die, she took care of it and then when tomorrow came, the plant was lively again.", Viel proudly boasted of her Grandma Ling while beating his chest, smoke almost coming out of his little nose in excitement.

The other children couldn't help but put their palms on their faces. They knew that Viel was probably the youngest amongst them, maybe only 4 or 5 so his childishness and naivete could be excused, but this child in front of them was a monster who could score the highest on the Strength Test with just a flick of his finger. They couldn't help but question what they have been doing with their short-lived existence.

"*cough* That's enough, children. Reaching this stage means that ALL OF YOU are already deserving and have a chance to become a famous cultivator in the future, maybe you can even become an immortal.", An Da motivated the children.

Hearing this, the examinees just let out a wry smile. Their previous liveliness could no longer be seen. Diao Mei was still currently staring at Viel as her face was starting to be filled with admiration, the previous look of suspicion can no longer be found.

Viel, noticed that Diao Mei was staring at her. He smiled at Diao Mei's direction and waved. Diao Mei couldn't help but redden and look away, pretending to be annoyed.

"Enough talking! I swear, you guys just love to bicker amongst yourselves in between tests. We shall start the final test, once you have passed this. You are officially a student of Taizhou academy, you may not have noticed; some of our academy's Elders from various sects have been watching you right at the very start of the test. If you are lucky and have done your best, there's a chance that one of them might choose to sponsor you, and once you graduate, you will be invited to their sect to become an outer disciple!"

The children were ecstatic when they heard this. They once again gathered their resolve and was back to their earlier liveliness. This was their chance to become someone in life and maybe even become a famous cultivator in the future.

They were children, they do not truly know the hardships and cruelty of the road ahead, they were just following on their idols' steps, not knowing the journey of every footprint was filled with blood.

"We will start the final test!".

The children's eyes were full of resolution, already forgetting the fact that they were amongst a monster called Viel.

Unlike the rest of the children, Viel's eyes didn't really contain that much excitement anymore; he was just here to make friends and play, after all.

"The final test will be a test of skill! Show me the mastery of your strongest technique!". As An Da said this, he went into a fighting stance and shouted.

"Twelve Palms of The Dirty Turtle!". An Da changed his stance simultaneously, every stance ending with him releasing his palms to the air. With each strike of his palm, the air in front of him seem to harden, like it was making a shield of air. Each shield harder than the previous one. He released his palms for a total of 9 times before he stopped.

"As you children may have seen, I have not yet to truly master this technique, but with enough time, practice, and repeatition, I know I can reach the pinnacle of this technique. And so will you, if you follow our teachings!", An Da had a serious look ij his face as he exuded utmost confidence.

The children nodded in admiration. Even Viel was smiling, even to the point of shaking. An Da puffed out his chest as he finally got through to the troublesome little boy. But alas, it was shortlived.

"Haha, Grandpa An Da is very funny… d-dirty turtle he said", Viel laughed as he held his stomach. He was not shaking in admiration, but was actually holding his laughter.

An Da reddened in shame but didn't respond to the boy's 'unintentional' provocation, he knew he would just embarrass himself if he argued with a child.

"I-it's your turn now. Diao Mei!", he pointed at Diao Mei who was currently deliberating on what technique she should show.

'..It has to be that!'. When she reached a conclusion, she bowed to An Da and once again climbed the stage.

She released a heavy breath from her mouth as she readied her stance.

"Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix!", Diao Mei raised her hand as streaks of electricity were released from her shoulders until it settled in to her palms. The streaks of lightning wriggled until they formed into a spear. Streaks of lightning can still be seen trying to come out of the spear, when Diao Mei saw this, she couldn't help but be disappointed. She has been practicing this technique ever since she was born, but even now she still couldn't fully control it yet. She sighed as she released the spear of lightning to the nearby boulder. When the spear hit the huge rock, it tore of a big portion the size of an adult male until the lightning spear fully dissipated and lost its strength.

An Da couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. "Very good! Although you are very young, you have succeeded in practicing Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix up to this point. You will surely bring this school a lot of merit in the future!".

"Yes, Teacher An Da!". Diao Mei nodded as she returned to her spot. With what An Da said, it was a sure thing that Diao Mei have already passed the exam and is now eligible to become a student of Taizhou Academy.

After Diao Mei, although not reaching her level, the students who went next could be said to be very talented and are sure to pass the examination.

Wei Song and Violet stood out as they performed a technique of the same element, fire.

Wei Song's technique focused more on the sudden release of power. He hugged the huge piece of boulder and shouted.

"Explosion!". Wei Song's body lit up as a sudden burst of flame came out from his body and tore of a huge chunk of debris from the boulder. The damage was almost as big as his ego. He panted heavily after he released his powers as he slowly walked back to his position.

The girl with jet black hair was the opposite.

"Dance of The Burning Fairy".

Violet gracefully moved as if she was dancing, smoke coming out from her body. At first, it might seem that she was just dancing, but when she touched the boulder, the part where her palm landed melted. Her body accumulated enough heat to scrape off and melt a part of the boulder. After her performance, Viel clapped and cheered loudly as if he just watched someone dance in a concert.

Seeing this, Violet smiled and bowed towards Viel.

[Soul 02 expresses shock]

Xiao Pei's technique was simple but effective.

"Talon of the Shadow Rooster…". He whispered as he disappeared from his position.

All the other students were at a lost as they suddenly saw Xiao Pei disappear from his spot.

Only Viel and An Da turned their head and looked at the direction of the boulder. The boulder's surface suddenly revealed signs of being scraped. The marks almost looked like it was scratched by a huge eagle.

Xiao Pei suddenly appeared again from his spot after a split second. Everyone was amazed when they realized that the boulder suddenly revealed signs of being attacked. Viel once again clapped and revealed a thumbs up expression.

"Woohoo! That's my bestfriend up there!". Viel shouted and cheered. Xiao Pei couldn't help but let out an awkward smile. He hasn't even known Viel for a day but he was already being labeled as his best friend. He just waved his hand like a celebrity before he returned to his position.

Finally, it was Viel's turn again. Everyone held their breaths as he walked up to the stage.

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In the 2nd floor of the examination courtyard, 5 elders were hiding in the shadows, discussing the test that was currently being held.

"General Diao's grand daughter is exemplary as expected. It's just a shame… She already belongs to the Lightning Phoenix sect.", one of the long-bearded shadows sighed.

"Hmhm, that other kid's technique was also very good. His speed was very exemplary and most of the students are probably slower than him.". The other elder praised Xiao Pei.

"Yes yes, but for me, the one with the arrogant attitude stands above all. I will invite him in my sect if he performs well in the academy."

"This Violet was very elegant. Her execution is the best amongst the student we have seen so far."

The Elders were discussing the most talented examinees they have seen. Out of all the discussions, not once did they mention the one that stood out the most out of all the children, Viel.

They were trying to divert the other Elder's attention to the other exemplary students. Perhaps by doing so, the other Elders will lose interest in Viel and they can snatch him up all for themselves.

One of the female Elder even started to salivate as soon as he remembered Viel's cuteness.

Their discussion only died down as soon as they saw Viel coming up to the stage.

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Viel stood on the stage, everyone was anticipating what kind of technique this little monster will do.

What they didn't know was that Viel was currently in the process of being bombarded by a voice deep in his mind. Viel has his eyes closed and was currently frowning, the voice in his mind doesn't seem to have any plan on stopping.

[Soul 02 recommends using Devil's Armageddon]

[Soul 03 recommends using Heaven's Blight]

[Soul 01 recommends using Palm of Karmic Judgment]

The voice in Viel's mind continued to ring, repeating the same words over and over again.

"M-mr. Voice, p-please stop. I can't concentrate", Viel shook his head.

Although he wanted nothing but to shock and startle the people watching him, the techniques that Mr. Voice was recommending was not something he should use. Viel had a feeling that if he uses even one of those techniques, Grandma Ling might get mad at him and not give him anymore gifts.

Suddenly, a sudden burst of inspiration came upon him as he pointed at Diao Mei. "You, Miss Mei!". Viel shouted.

Diao Mei was startled, not knowing why the biggest weirdo in the group was currently pointing at him. Her face revealed signs of panic and she couldn't help but exclaim. "Y-y-y-yes?!".

"Watch me!", Diao Mei blushed as the little boy on the stage was currently eyeing him out of all the other children.

But her expression turned into shock when she heard what came out of Viel's mouth next. "T-that?!".

"Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix", Viel exclaimed as bursts of electricity was summoned from his shoulder. The electricity wiggled as it went into Viel's palm.

"Miss Mei, this technique of yours is called Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix… but why... did you form a spear?", as Viel said this, the electricity in his palm formed into a saber.

"…". Everyone there couldn't help but look at Diao Mei. Some of the children revealing hints of pity. 'Poor her, being targeted by this monster'.

Diao Mei couldn't help but question herself, 'C-could it really be just that simple?!'.

If the Elders in her sect can see this situation now, they will certainly strangle Viel to death. Although it was called Lightning Saber of the Thunder Phoenix, the one who created the technique, their matriarch, always summoned a spear of lightning.

To everyone's surprise, Viel's lightning saber was still wriggling, it didn't stop until it was so concentrated it resembled sun light. There wasn't even a speck of electricity leaking from the saber.

Diao Mei's jaw opened in shock. She was finally convinced that this was the right way and that she had been practicing this technique wrong all along. Diao Mei's eyes shined as she concentrated hard on Viel, afraid that she will blink and miss even the tiniest of details.

"Hehe. Are you surprised, Miss Mei? Now… watch this!". Viel chuckled as he casually waved the saber on his hand.

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'N-not good!' A sudden premonition came upon examiner An Da as he dashed towards the other children. He quickly raised his palm and activated a shield array, protecting the other children.

Suddenly, all the children could see was a blinding light, followed by a loud howl of thunder.

The other children felt the ground shake, but they couldn't see what was happening as the courtyard was currently filled with light.

"W-what is happening?!"

"I-I can't see!!!"

"M-m-mommy?!"

The other students feared for their life, few of them already peeing their pants with the sudden turn of events.

Slowly, the blinding light that filled the courtyard started to dissipate.

When the children opened their eyes, 5 new people were standing in front of them. Their arms spread wide as they had their backs against the children. They were the Elders who were discussing from the shadows earlier.

"..T-this.. isn't this too much?". One of the Elder couldn't help but retort.

"An Da… is the old man hiring a new teacher?", the female Elder who salivated due to Viel's cuteness looked at An Da with eager eyes.

The children were confused as to what was happening right now, who were these new people that appeared before them?

But before they could ask, they were silenced by the scenery in front of them.

The huge boulder that was used for the test was split open in half. But this wasn't what shocked the other children, no.

The courtyard, that was once pristine and clean, was now cut in half as a huge crevice was formed along the boulder's position, the crevice continued through the courtyard and into the woods outside the city. It was a good thing that the academy was positioned in the corner of the city, if not, there may have been a ton of casualties.

"O..oh no!". Viel tilted his head and covered his mouth, his eyes wide opened.

All of the people present had their jaws opened wide in shock. What is happening in this world right now? Did an immortal walked by and decided to grace them with his presence? If not, where did this sudden crevice come from?

Diao Mei's eyes were full of admiration. She tried to remember everything before they were blinded by the bright light. 'S-so.. I can be this powerful if I fully master the technique?!'

Wei Song was currently embracing his head and cursing. Violet had her fists closed as she nodded.

Xiao Pei… Xiao Pei just wants to go home.

"Who in the world is that kid?!". One of the elders exclaimed.

"W-wait.. speaking of the kid..". Examiner An Da was the first one to recover as he turned to look at Viel.

"Where the hell is he?!?!"

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"G-grandma.. Grandpa, I am home!"

Viel shouted as he barged into his house. Yes, Viel was now back home.

"Viel?! Why are you back so early? What about the exams?!" Grandma Ling said in a worry.

"Eeeh, I failed. The others were really strong..hehe" Viel said as he knocked on his head with his tongue out, beads of sweat forming on his face.

"What.. ha.. I guess city people are really different from us" Grandma Ling was so sure that Viel was strong, but perhaps since she wasn't fully aware of what cultivators can truly do, she overestimated Viel's strength.

When she saw that Viel was revealing an uncomfortable expression, she immediately hugged him.

"Aw, that's alright, little Viel. There's always next year, okay?" Grandma Ling said as she tried to comfort Viel. "Is there something you want? Grandma Ling will give it to you!"

"Really!? Anything?!" Viel revealed an excited expression as he hopped up and down like a bunny. Grandma Ling nodded as she smiled at Viel.

"…then…hehe…

…can I have money to replace a courtyard?"

"…"

"VIEEEEEEEEEELLL!!!!!!!!!!!!"