Chapter 220: Chapter 219: The 1st Comprehensive Assessment

All Stars Academy, before the Assessment Hall.

Today was the day of the quarterly assessment for new students at All Stars Academy.

This was also the first assessment these new students would face.

Pass the assessment, and you could compete for the position of Elder!

Fail the assessment, and you’d be eliminated—sent packing to go home and make babies!

The two outcomes were as different as heaven and earth.

Once eliminated from All Stars Academy, you would become a laughingstock in your clan, a source of shame.

This was something no youth could accept!

The square before the Assessment Hall was bustling with a jostling crowd. Some spoke loudly and debated, while others whispered amongst themselves.

Some appeared confident, while others were pale and fraught with anxiety.

Some had even fainted, while others stood ashen-faced and catatonic.

Everyone wore a different expression.

The students of Cyan Dragon Academy were the last to be tested. The results for Xuanwu, Vermilion Bird, and White Tiger Academies’ first assessment were already out!

The assessment for Cyan Dragon Academy was currently in full swing.

A large group of students had gathered outside, waiting for their results.

Whispers rippled through the crowd.

"Ji Huang’Er truly lives up to her title of Blazing Phoenix. Of the two basic skills from the Alchemy Hall, the Three Points Fire Control Technique and the One Element God Forging Technique, she mastered the former to Twelfth-Layer Great Perfection and cultivated the latter to the 11th Layer. She’s completely overshadowed everyone else in Vermilion Bird Academy!"

"I know, right? The points from those two basic skills alone add up to seventeen. She’s crushed all the other experts in Vermilion Bird Academy!"

"It’s a tragedy for the other geniuses of Vermilion Bird Academy. With such a dominant Elder, they’re completely suppressed and can’t even hold their heads up. I heard the second-place student only got fourteen points, a full three points behind her! It’s nothing like Xuanwu Academy; they had a real shocker!"

"I heard about that too. The Xuanwu Academy assessment was the real nail-biter. Their Elder, Zhao Sikong, apparently entered Taohua Manor, one of the Six Great Secret Realms. He cultivated the two basic skills, the Hundred Flowers Sword Technique and the Qu Yuan Secret Technique, to the 10th Layer and Great Perfection respectively, for a total of sixteen points!"

"Unfortunately, it seems Elder Zhao Sikong’s luck ran out. He ran into some nobody who was playing weak while being strong. This guy, Celestial Monarch Lu, supposedly entered Celestial Heart Island in the Profound Ice Sea. He cultivated the two basic skills there, the Profound Ice Sword Technique and the Ice Condensation Technique. He got the Profound Ice Sword Technique to the 12th Layer and the Ice Condensation Technique to the 11th Layer. The combined points were exactly seventeen, just enough to beat Zhao Sikong!"

"The Elder of Xuanwu has been replaced!"

"The new Elder of Xuanwu is Celestial Monarch Lu?" Du Pingxia, who had just arrived, looked slightly stunned upon hearing the news.

Lû Chunyang emerged from the crowd, his expression also exceptionally grave.

Nearby, Zhao Zhijing, Li Zhuang, Yu Yao, Yin Lihua, Zou Yuxian, and the others gathered, forming a small group.

Yu Hong stood in the distance, his expression cold and aloof. Ever since the incident at Spirit Sword Peak, he had grown distant from the group.

Beside him stood a silent youth with a sword strapped to his back, looking downcast and haggard.

It was none other than Ao Fang.

"The calm before the storm is truly upon us. So many chosen ones and geniuses are emerging one after another. To think that so many people scored as high as sixteen or seventeen points, and even the Elder of Xuanwu was unseated!"

The speaker was Li Zhuang. The young man was rather calm; he only hoped to pass the assessment safely and had no desire for the Elder’s position, so he was more relaxed about it.

However, Li Zhuang was a little worried for Qin Feng.

"Don’t worry! My brother is no pushover. He won’t be so easily pushed out of his Elder’s seat!" Lû Chunyang said with a wide grin, seeing the somber mood of the group.

Just then, Baiyun and Yun Mo also walked over from the crowd.

Du Pingxia’s expression turned a little strange upon seeing the two women.

Baiyun’s gaze fell on Du Pingxia. A faint smile played on her lovely face. ’It seems some people haven’t given up yet,’ she scoffed internally, her expression turning grave.

Baiyun brought some very bad news.

"The Elder of White Tiger Academy has also been replaced!"

The group was startled. Du Pingxia’s gaze fixed on Baiyun. "Who took Yang Cheng’s position? Was it the Sword King, Ling Du Xu?"

Hearing this, Zhao Zhijing, who was standing nearby, shook his head. "That’s unlikely. I know about Yang Cheng. That Elder entered the Sealing Demon Tower, one of the Six Great Secret Realms. He cultivated two basic skills, the Clear Heart Concentration Technique and the Seven Heaven-Defying Demonic Sabers, both to the 11th Layer, for a total of sixteen points!"

"Ling Du Xu entered Sword God Manor, another of the Six Great Secret Realms. The two basic skills he cultivated were the Three Elements Splitting Scene Sword Technique and the Invincible Sword Heart. He also cultivated both techniques to the 11th Layer, likewise earning sixteen points!"

"According to the academy’s rules, if the points are the same, the current Elder has priority. Therefore, Ling Du Xu couldn’t have shaken Yang Cheng’s position!"

Her beautiful eyes glancing at Zhao Zhijing, Baiyun nodded. "This junior brother is correct. The one who unseated Yang Cheng this time wasn’t Ling Du Xu, but an unknown, mysterious figure named Chi Ling’Er! This Chi Ling’Er comes from Divine Casting Valley. She scored seventeen points, single-handedly suppressing the countless geniuses of White Tiger Academy to become the new Elder!"

"Another unknown, mysterious person? First Celestial Monarch Lu, now Chi Ling’Er... both are nobodies, keeping such a low profile!" Li Zhuang’s jaw dropped. He suddenly recalled some rumors circulating secretly within All Stars Academy and gasped.

"Could these people all be from the Star Sect?"

Zhao Zhijing’s face filled with worry. "I’m afraid so. These people are here for the Elder positions of the four great academies!"

"Of the Four Great Academies, the Elders of Xuanwu and White Tiger have already been replaced one after another. Ji Huang’Er of Vermilion Bird Academy is simply too powerful, so no one is targeting her. I’m afraid the remaining challengers will set their sights on the Elder position of Cyan Dragon Academy!"

The group’s expressions turned grave. These elite disciples from the various peaks of the Star Sect had come specifically for the four Elder positions.

A trace of worry appeared in her beautiful eyes, and Baiyun sighed softly. "I once overheard some senior brothers from the Star Sect mention that it’s not just two or three of them who came to the Four Great Academies this time, but at least four or five!"

"And we’ve only seen two of them so far, in Xuanwu and White Tiger Academies!"

"The rest of them are probably all in Cyan Dragon Academy now. Many have their eyes on the Elder position there. After all, with his Martial Arts Eighth Layer Heaven cultivation, Junior Brother Qin Feng looks like a soft target to many people!"

Suddenly, a series of boastful-sounding announcements came from the entrance of the hall.

"Big news, big news! Young Master Wen Hong, the young prince of the Cloud Water Empire, has been assessed! Little Cloud Rain Technique at the 8th Layer! Geng Metal Breaking Killing Sword Technique at the 8th Layer! Total score: ten points! The strongest ’contributor’ has met his end, with results too tragic to behold!"

As the voice rang out, a roar of laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Who is it?! Who’s spouting nonsense?! Who dares to laugh at our Young Prince!" someone in the crowd roared, trying to silence them.

But it was impossible to stop the laughter from the surrounding geniuses.

Before the Assessment Hall, Wen Hong emerged, pale-faced, dressed in a purple Python Robe and wearing a Purple Gold Crown. He felt utterly lost and dejected. He had been certain his score would be enough to secure the position he coveted.

He never imagined that this year would produce so many geniuses.

Countless people had scored ten points, and those who surpassed ten were as common as carp crossing a river!

He, Wen Hong, was indeed a genius—but only a genius in the Cloud Water Empire. Here at All Stars Academy, he was just one of the most ordinary students!