Chapter 23

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Xu Zhenyan entered the waiting room, giving the gathered students a once-over. Naturally, Leng Qiuyu caught his eye first, like a rose growing in a field of weeds.

The weeds in question were Lin Xi, as well as that pathetic piece of garbage, Zhang Ping.

'I really wonder if I should just off the guy when I get a chance.'

It wasn't that he felt threatened by Zhang Ping. Rather, he felt the title of 'demon king' was completely wasted on him.

'But if I do that, I won't get to see him making a fool out of himself in the future.'

Feeling conflicted on the inside, Xu Zhenyan looked for a vacant spot inside the spacious, grass-mat covered hall.

Many gazes were directed at him, the students having heard the discussion outside.

"Soul Expert, what's that…?"

Being a country bumpkin, Lin Xi wasn't familiar with cultivation levels, nor even how the process of cultivation worked. For clarification, he turned toward Zhang Ping, sitting next to him.

The older boy glanced from Xu Zhenyan to his friend, his expression a mixture of discomfort and disbelief.

"You really are a bumpkin among bumpkins. Though, I'm not much different from you, nor are most of the people here. As first years, we haven't even started cultivating yet…"

He turned silent, mulling over his next words.

"The first realm of cultivation is Soul Knight. However, getting there requires one to create a foundation first. Two minor realms need to be condensed—Qi Distribution Realm, as well as Enhancement realm. It's said that the most talented students complete this process in two years, a year for each minor realm."

He sighed deeply, leaving the rest unsaid. From his tone and expression alone, a sense of unfairness emanated.

Lin Xi pursed his lips.

"Soul Expert—is that the realm after Soul Knight?"

Zhang Ping nodded.

"Correct."

There was a moment of silence between them as they considered just how far ahead their competition was. And indeed, from their earlier interaction with Xu Zhenyan, it was clear their relationship was going to be antagonistic.

"…do you know how he did it?"

Lin Xi whispered the question to Zhang Ping, trying not to let anyone overhear.

Zhang Ping's eyebrows drew together.

"How else? As a golden spoon, he was likely raised on elixirs instead of mother's milk."

His tone was unmistakably sour.

However, despite their best efforts, Xu Zhenyan still overheard the conversation. Feeling his lips curved upwards, he opened his mouth, deciding not to let such a good opportunity go to waste.

"Oh, you think my cultivation comes from taking elixirs? It's funny that someone who knows nothing about me dares make such a claim. However, I suppose I can't blame you for wanting to think that way. It's certainly more convenient than admitting the truth—that the gap between me and you is just that wide."

He didn't even look at Zhang Ping while speaking, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Being caught gossiping, the drug-store owner's son felt his face grow hot. To make matters worse, the hundred-something students nearby all seemingly turned their attention to the three of them.

Feeling wronged, but unable to think of a way out of his situation, Zhang Ping simply shut his mouth and lowered his head.

Lin Xi's lips moved, about to say something defending the two of them when another uproar suddenly sounded from outside.

The timing was truly impeccable, distracting the group of kids. Their eyes collectively shot toward the door, suddenly opening to reveal the round figure of Meng Bai.

The fatty scanned the lot before locating his two friends, immediately heading in their direction.

"No way, don't tell me that guy actually…!"

The kids openly wore their shock on their faces. In fact, their reaction was even more extreme than when Xu Zhenyan's Soul Expert cultivation was announced.

For better or worse, the Xu clan's young master simply looked like a genius—handsome, well-dressed and with the bearing of a martial artist. The moment he stepped forward, people already had expectations for him. It was simply a matter of his performance being even more outstanding than anticipated.

However, Meng Bai was different.

Nothing about him suggested any sort of extraordinariness. Yet, this unassuming fatty actually had an aptitude of five! It made the students wonder if they somehow misheard, but after confirming with each other, they determined it was indeed the case!

Not even Zhang Ping or, more importantly, Leng Qiuyu were that talented. They only manifested an aptitude of four, or a red light from the soulstone.

"What…?!"

The room abruptly became noisy as applicants started gossiping among themselves. While this went on, Zhang Ping and Lin Xi were interrogating their friend about the details.

"It's true, when I put my hand on the stone, a purple light started shining from inside."

Meng Bai explained excitedly, waving his hands in the air. His disposition was like someone who half-heartedly bought a lottery ticket only to end up winning the jackpot.

And if this commotion wasn't enough, with Xu Zhenyan kicking up a fuss first and then the fatty Meng Bai, there was suddenly another ruckus outside.

The three boys looked at each other in dismay.

"Don't tell me… there's actually another person with an aptitude of five?"

It was Lin Xi who asked the question, his tone complicated.

At first, he didn't care too much about having an aptitude of two, but not only did he get shown up by Xu Zhenyan, but actually by his own friends. To make matters worse, it seemed the geniuses hadn't stopped coming yet.

His words were scarcely cold when the door opened and a tall, slender girl in white clothes walked in. The moment she did, everyone in the hall let out silent gasps.

'No way!'

Even Xu Zhenyan, having expected this to happen, couldn't help feeling his eyes widen. If he wasn't mistaken, this girl could only be Gao Yanan, Lin Xi's 'future wife'.

'But the novel didn't say anything about her looking like this…!'

His expectations suddenly subverted, he could only sit there and stare dumbly. White hair, a marble complexion and clear, icy blue eyes—a comparison to the mythical 'snow-woman' was unavoidable.

No matter how hard he racked his brain, Xu Zhenyan couldn't recall any specific description of her appearance. The novel only mentioned her being beautiful, but that wasn't much help.

'Wasn't she supposed to be inferior to Leng Qiuyu…?'

Alternating glances between the two girls, he simply couldn't agree with that claim.

'Perhaps people here prefer a more 'traditional' beauty?'

It wasn't unlikely.

Yet, setting that issue aside, he pondered this new, troubling development. Gao Yanan's appearance did make sense, given she had a special constitution related to frost and carried the blood of a spiritual beast, but if her looks actually did change…

'Could it be—is the world I'm living in different from the novel?'

Rather than it being probable, Xu Zhenyan felt an uncomfortable certainty that was indeed the case. Wasn't he, as an anomaly, already an example of this? Given a precedent was set, more changes appearing shouldn't be so unexpected.

He shook his head internally. If his memory was correct and the novel was sparse with information, then it was too soon to draw a conclusion for sure. He'd have to wait and see how things develop.

That being said…

'Birds of a feather really do flock together…'

Xu Zhenyan tore his gaze away from the gorgeous Gao Yanan, glancing at Lin Xi. Just like his friend Li Kaiyun, he wore a stupid look on his face, his complexion as red as a cooked lobster.

'Seriously, have some self control, you idiot.'

Shaking his head internally, he stopped thinking about the protagonist. He was going to have his girl stolen anyway—rather than being condescending toward him, it was better to pity him.

"Even a toad wants to eat swan meat?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded from the direction of the paper-sliding door. The spirit-stone testing, having continued despite the uproar outside, had brought another candidate into the waiting hall.

When he heard such a cliché line, Xu Zhenyan didn't know whether to laugh or roll his eyes.

"Her aptitude has reached five, entering the academy is but a trivial thing, yet trash like you who probably won't even get in has the nerve to be carried away by wishful thinking?"

This 'golden spoon', also possessing a good bearing and appearance, mockingly referred to Lin Xi's second-level aptitude.

Immediately, his friends jumped in to defend him and the lot of them immediately got into an argument. A bet was soon arranged between Lin Xi and this other 'golden spoon', setting up a future face-slapping event.

Xu Zhenyan paid little attention to this farce, instead reducing his presence through the 'ghost walk'. Despite the fact that he was the center of attention not more than ten minutes ago, everyone soon forgot about him. However, it wasn't just because their sixth-sense was being blanketed—there were simply too many extraordinary figures arriving.

"Zhang Ping!"

Suddenly, the future 'demon king' was summoned through an open door at the far end of the hall. Everyone immediately turned silent, realizing that the next stage of assessment had arrived.

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