Chapter 115: National Exam

"The elite disciples of the class A of Yellow Word Courtyard are actually indulging in mere pleasure?" When all the disciples dismissed, the crowd gathered at Lingyun Square erupted into a chaotic uproar.

"It's not just pleasure, haven't you heard? They only believed the gimmick that playing could also improve their strength." Someone still seemed to be arguing in their defense.

But it was quickly drowned out by a torrent of sneers and sarcasm: "What a joke! If they want to improve their strength, why don't they go to the Lingyun Martial Arts Tower? Don't tell me these class A disciples don't have enough academic credits!"

Several young men barked angrily: "Not enough credits is just an excuse for their own greed for luxury and enjoyment!"

"Fortunately, they have only just enrolled not long ago. By next year, with this kind of attitude, I'm afraid they'll be thrown into the trash classes at the back!"

"..."

Passing through the crowd, hearing the rustling murmurs behind him, the veins on Song Qingfeng's temples throbbed violently.

He clenched his fists tightly, martial qi gathering within his palms. If someone were to examine carefully, they would discover that it was a level of martial qi that only those at least in the late stage of an official martial artist could possess!

The advancement process of the official martial artist stage, although considered relatively fast, would normally take several years of tempering for an ordinary martial artist. Even for someone like him with excellent talent and resources, even with diligent cultivation, it should have taken at least half a year to reach this stage!

"Young Master Song, what do we do now?" Lin Shao asked, somewhat anxiously.

"You're asking me, so who am I supposed to ask!?" Song Qingfeng snapped ill-temperately.

As individuals who originally stood at the forefront even within class A, they never expected that in just a brief moment, they would become the laughingstock of everyone. Even the gaze of their mentors carried an air of resentment, a taste that was absolutely unpleasant.

"Ah...!" Xu Luo clutched his head in a sudden burst of headache and said, "We won't really be thrown into the trash classes at the back next year, will we?"

"That won't happen!" Song Qingfeng took a deep breath. With thousands of eyes staring, filled with mockery and disdain, for someone of his age to encounter such a thing, there was absolutely enough reason to feel deeply depressed.

"Then... are we still going to the internet cafe today?" Lin Shao asked again.

"...Go to hell! Didn't you hear just now that the mentors will investigate strictly?" Song Qingfeng thought for a moment, "I'll go clear my head first."

...

On the other side, watching the resentful silhouettes of Song Qingfeng and the others leave after shaking their fists, Lanyuan spoke with some worry: "Miss Nalan, the situation seems a bit unfavorable..."

"I know." Nalan Mingxue's expression was calm, "This time, the matter has blown up a bit too much."

"How about..." Lanyuan hesitated, "How about... we send the true situation to the upper echelon of the academy?"

"No." Nalan Mingxue shook her head, "A game in a small shop has an effect on improving strength even better than the Lingyun Martial Arts Tower. Who would believe this so-called 'true situation' if it's spoken out loud?"

"Taking ten thousand steps back, even if Qin Bing believes it, and most people believe it..." Nalan Mingxue looked at her with burning eyes and said, "At that time, the position of the Lingyun Martial Arts Tower would no longer be secure... Do you think Qin Bing would let such a thing happen?"

"..." Lanyuan was at a loss for words for a moment. This had already touched upon a level that shook the very foundation of Lingyun Academy.

"Then... what should we do?" Lanyuan said, "Should we request that senior in Boss Fang's shop to take action?"

Nalan Mingxue said, "Although that senior is indeed unfathomable, he is clearly restricted by something. Otherwise, why would he spend so much effort to nurture Boss Fang? He even used a method like 'imparting cultivation through the crown of the head'!"

Clearly, this was her understanding of why Fang Qi's strength improved so quickly.

With her intellect, some things were indeed worthy of suspicion, but when it came to harboring any wicked intentions...

She was a meticulous person, never liking to blindly touch completely unknown things, nor doing anything she was not certain about.

"Furthermore, now is not hundreds of years ago." If it were hundreds of years ago, powerful martial artists and great cultivators could completely act willfully and slaughter a whole city. But now, those who dared to do so were all suppressed beneath the ground of the Capital Imperial Prison!

That ancient clan, with its powerful martial might, forcefully suppressed a chaotic world into a peaceful era, and several centuries had already passed in a flash.

Nowadays, even the mighty figures who stood above ordinary mortals dared not act recklessly at will.

"Then aren't we just waiting to die right now?" Lanyuan said in confusion, "This doesn't seem like your style, Miss Nalan."

"This matter is indeed a bit tricky to handle." Nalan Mingxue knitted her beautiful, delicate brows while taking out two sets of pre-prepared black cloaks, handing one of them to Lanyuan, "We will change into this in a moment."

"What are we changing into this for?"

Nalan Mingxue said as if it were a matter of course, "To go to the internet cafe."

"Ah!?"

"Aren't we going to think of a solution first?"

"There will be a solution."

...

"What!?" Just at this moment, in the mentor's courtyard, when Mu Hongzhu received this piece of news, she was incomparably astonished, "The Lingyun Rank is going to be merged into the joint ranking of the three major academies of the Great Jin Kingdom? And they will jointly hold the Great Jin National Examination?"

"Intensify the training of all elite disciples?"

"In order to display the strength of Lingyun Academy, Chief Instructor Qin pushed hard to promote the fulfillment of this national examination? Anyone who enters the Lingyun Academy Examination and has a name on the Lingyun Rank can participate?"

"This national examination will be jointly supervised by multiple high-level members of various academies?"

...

And at this time, in the game cultivation room.

Amidst the bamboo forest, sword light surged violently, and the clashing sounds of metal were endless to the ear!

Parrying, piercing, slashing, blocking, cleaving... a series of movements, even when brandished from afar, the two refined iron swords entangled in mid-air were manipulated as smoothly as if they were extensions of the arms!

One of them looked like a roaming dragon, and the trajectory of every sword strike seemed to carry a wondrous rhythm that was as elusive as a deity.

While the other, though exhausted from holding its ground, also possessed order and technique, remaining in a deadlock for a time.

After a hundred moves, Fang Qi, gradually feeling unsupported, withdrew his sword stance.

Current Cultivation: Li Xiaoyao, Sword Controlling Technique

Synchronization Rate (Sword Controlling Technique): 70%

Total Synchronization Rate: 12.890%

Total experience gained for this skill and character cultivation: 2756486

Evaluation: You have mastered this sword technique

Fang Qi let out a long breath, finally training it to mastery. He clearly felt that the further he trained this Sword Controlling Technique, the harder it was to improve. To train from mastery to grandmaster, even with the assistance of the game cultivation room, it was by no means that simple.

Coupled with the fact that he had already reached the standard for cultivating the Thousand Sword Technique at this time, he intended to master the Thousand Sword Technique first, so that he could be considered to have mastered a high-power sword technique.

By now, more than two months had passed inside the game cultivation room.

Fang Qi quickly changed his selection on the system panel to the cultivation of the Thousand Sword Technique.

He saw Li Xiaoyao opposite him wave his hand, and the refined iron longsword returned to his front once more. The blade stood upright before him, and with one hand pinching a sword incantation, a sword shadow soared into the sky!

Right after that, in the sky above, the sword shadow split from one into two, two into four, and ultimately, the densely packed sword shadows in the sky resembled a cloud of swords!

"Holy crap!" Fang Qi cursed inwardly and hurriedly fled!

He was going to be thrashed again!