The Art of Chaotic Divinity

Chapter 194: Youthful Companions!

"That young man's name is Ling Feng, right?"

The mentor with a square face and with his gaze fixed on Ling Feng, had a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he turned to the former students beside him and asked.

"Yes, Mentor Mu Ren."

"Good." Mentor Mu Ren lowered his voice. "When we record the results later, let's list Ling Feng and the youth who persisted until the end as tied for first place."

"Understood, Mentor!"

The senior student immediately nodded. Mentor Mu Ren was a Nine-Star Sky-Tier Mentor, second only to the director and the academicians in terms of rank. Nine-Star Sky-Tier Mentors held the most power among mentors and were often candidates for becoming academicians and even the director.

"This year has produced quite a few promising talents," Mentor Mu Ren said with a faint smile. "Perhaps, we might even see some figures who could influence the empire."

As soon as Ling Feng stepped out of the array, Ouyang Jing immediately approached him with a thumbs up. "You truly are a good person, Big Brother!"

On the sidelines, Liu Yunfei couldn't resist saying, "Brother Ling, during our time in the Heavenly Forest, I realized you were no ordinary person. I admire you!"

"Brother Liu, you flatter me," Ling Feng replied with a faint smile. He considered his actions insignificant, yet they could change Jiang Xiaofan's fate. Why wouldn't he do it?

"Brother Ling, I am Su Mu, a descendant of the Su family in Yunzhou. I must express my admiration for your ability to navigate the sword array with such ease, and for graciously giving up the first place."

The youth who left the sword monument after Liu Yunfei stepped forward and raised his sword to Ling Feng as a gesture of respect.

If all went well, they would all be classmates in the same year.

"Brother Su!" Ling Feng returned the gesture with a bow. They were both talented young talents of their generation.

As the saying goes, "Among classmates, youth flourishes, and spirits align. How wonderful it is!"

...

As dusk approached, the entrance examination finally concluded.

That day, nearly ten thousand young individuals participated in the examination. However, after the final selection, less than eight hundred were accepted for admission. This highlighted the rigorous and brutal nature of the selection process.

All of the young martial artists who were eliminated could only leave with dejection. Perhaps some of the younger ones would return after honing their skills, still holding onto the hope of joining the Tianwei Academy.

Finally, as the sun set in the west, the announcement area of the Tianwei Academy once again displayed the results.

Ling Feng's ranking, initially ninth, dropped to thirty-fifth in the end. This time however, instead of the top five, the top ten spots were covered.

According to Ouyang Jing, every year, ten peerless geniuses would be selected for direct admission to a secret team for a year of confidential training. Only after a year would they emerge. These peerless geniuses were the true "secret weapons" of the Tianwei Academy.

After Ling Feng was initially assessed to possess sacred-tier true qi talent, there was a strong possibility he would be among the top ten. However, his physique was measured to be that of a human spiritual body, ultimately leading to this result.

Nevertheless, Ling Feng didn't mind.

As the sky darkened, Ling Feng arrived at the predetermined meeting place with Mu Qianxue. Unfortunately, she didn't return as agreed.

"Could she have been eliminated, prompting her to leave early?" Ling Feng sighed lightly, feeling inexplicably melancholic. "She must be very disappointed."

"Big brother, we both made it!" Ouyang Jing approached joyfully, his face beaming with excitement. "I ranked in the six hundreds, but I still made it. Oh, and that guy named Jiang Xiaofan broke the record in the willpower test, earning admission against the odds!"

"That's good," Ling Feng said with a faint smile, thinking that it would be even more perfect if Qianxue could also be admitted.

In his opinion, Mu Qianxue's willpower was definitely not inferior to Jiang Xiaofan's.

Little did he know, Mu Qianxue wasn't eliminated; rather, she was taken away in secrecy because of her outstanding performance...

"Oh, and big brother, remember Qin Wanwan, who achieved twelve-star true qi talent during the test? Her results were impressive; she ranked just behind you, in thirty-eighth place!"

"Thirty-eight, huh? Quite crazy[1]..."

Ling Feng rubbed his nose bridge. He had casually glanced over the names earlier and had noticed some familiar ones.

Liu Yunfei ranked twenty-seventh overall, slightly higher than himself. This was mainly because his physique turned out to be a nine-star earth spiritual body, which was quite advantageous.

Su Mu, another individual who had been quietly competing with Liu Yunfei, achieved a comprehensive ranking of thirty-three, which was very close.

...

After a night spent in the woods outside the martial arts square of the Tianwei Academy, the following morning saw the arrival of over seven hundred newly admitted "yellow-tier students." These students, aside from the top ten peerless geniuses who had been secretly sent away for special training, were guided by senior students to the Internal Affairs Department. There, they received their yellow-tier student uniforms, badges, and a copy of the Academy Regulations. Subsequently, they were individually assigned to their respective dormitories.

In total, there were over seven hundred yellow-tier students, divided into five courts: North, South, East, West, and Central.

The allocation of living areas based on courts bore some resemblance to the quarters for outer disciples in the Wenxian Sect.

Interestingly, both Ling Feng and Ouyang Jing found themselves assigned to the East Court. During the dormitory allocation, Ouyang Jing discreetly spent some crystal coins to secure a spot in the same courtyard as Ling Feng.

"Tianshu East Court."

Looking up at the place where he would be residing for at least the next six months, Ouyang Jing couldn't help but laugh. "Big Brother, the conditions here are actually quite good!"

Ling Feng pursed his lips. The Tianwei Academy never ceased to impress. He hadn't anticipated that even yellow-tier students would be assigned individual bedrooms.

Entering the courtyard, it resembled a traditional quadrangle with lofts on the left, middle, and right sides, surrounding a spacious central courtyard where two lush pine trees stood.

The ground was paved with bluestone tiles, showing signs of frequent use, likely for weapon practice during morning exercises.

Near the right-side loft was an ancient well, accompanied by several old wooden buckets.

It was a simple and clean place.

"I'm in room number four, and you, Big Brother, are next to mine in room number five," Ouyang Jing accompanied Ling Feng to their rooms. With both of them having storage spirit rings, there was no need to carry luggage themselves, making it quite easy.

At that moment, another young man approached from outside the courtyard, carrying a tightly bound massive backpack taller than an adult, filled with various bags, in his hands. Each step he took into the courtyard was heavy and powerful.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As the dark-skinned robust young man placed his baggage on the ground, the ground trembled slightly.

Unable to resist, Ling Feng and Ouyang Jing turned to look. When they saw the young man's face, they couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh, it's you?"

1. In Mandarin, "sanba" literally means "three eight." However, it's commonly used as slang to describe someone as "crazy" or "foolish" in certain contexts. ☜