A Storm

The afternoon examination was not held in a classroom. The testing venue was in the Preaching Area. There were several massive plazas here, specifically built to accommodate students gathering to listen to lectures. The area was vast and open. Su Yu rarely had opportunities to come here. Although he had heard that researchers occasionally offered free lectures, he had been far too busy lately to find the time. For the afternoon exam, Liu Hong was no longer the only Tengkong realm expert present. When it came to examinations involving willpower and divine characters, instructors could not conduct them; only researchers were qualified. Moreover, this exam was not just for the intermediate class. *** Plaza No. 2. This was the testing site for intermediate class students. Right next door at Plaza No. 1 was the testing site for advanced class students. Of course, both were for this intake of new students. Other cohorts had examinations that differed from those of the freshmen, so they were not present here. Plaza No. 3 was the testing site for the beginner class. By the time Su Yu arrived, it was getting late. Everyone was understanding, knowing he was unwell today, so no one questioned why he had arrived so late. Seeing that Su Yu's complexion was much rosier, the students felt greatly relieved. He had finally recovered a bit! The moment he arrived, someone stepped forward and whispered, "Monitor, the advanced class students are testing right over there too. That guy Lin Yao will definitely come later..." Su Yu nodded and chuckled softly. "If he comes, so be it..." "No!" Liu Wu whispered. "Monitor, you're not feeling well. If today's test... ahem, if it's... negative points, those bastards will definitely mock you!" He was genuinely worried for Su Yu. Su Yu was unwell, and there had already been rumors questioning whether his top-high evaluation was truly legitimate. If he got negative points today, he would lose face. Back then, rumors spread that Nanyuan's civilization chronicle had malfunctioned, and today happened to be an examination using a civilization chronicle. Liu Wu was sweating on Su Yu's behalf. Young people cared about their dignity! "It's fine!" Su Yu replied, looking toward Plaza No. 1 not far away. There were not many people over there, far fewer than in the intermediate class. There were actually quite a few advanced class students in this intake—about a hundred in total. A hundred Yangxing students! For the freshmen of a single Divine Character College to have a hundred advanced class students was quite impressive. *** While Su Yu looked toward Plaza No. 1, people on the advanced class's side were also looking at him. There was hardly anyone in the intermediate class worth their attention, but Su Yu was someone they kept an eye on. "Today is the civilization chronicle test..." Someone murmured meaningfully, their face full of mockery. The top-high genius, Su Yu! A non-Yangxing student, the very first person to receive a top-high evaluation before reaching the Yangxing Realm—was that strange or what? And it just so happened that Nanyuan's civilization chronicle had run into a glitch back then. How strange indeed! Today, whether mule or horse, everything had to be brought out for a stroll! If he scored negative points, he would become a laughingstock. Back then, Su Yu had scored 270 points. Even among the advanced class students, many had not scored that high. Under normal circumstances, unless a Yangxing student was exceptionally brilliant, advancing twenty meters was considered very good. Wu Lan had only walked eighteen meters during her exam back then. Of course, she had just entered the Yangxing Realm at the time and her willpower had not been firm enough, so that only counted as an ordinary performance. While they were chatting in low voices, someone in the crowd was boiling with rage! Su Yu was still looking over from the distance... Over by the advanced class, Wu Lan suddenly barked, "You, get on the arena today! I challenge you!" "..." Her voice boomed! Students across all three plazas had their attention drawn at once. Wu Lan held her head high, looking down on the young man before her! It was none other than Hu Zongqi, who had enrolled alongside Su Yu and shared a carriage with him. With her head raised, ignoring Hu Zongqi's flushed face, Wu Lan snapped coldly, "Trash is trash, yet you make excuses for yourself! The civilization chronicle was broken? If it was broken, why don't you go earn a top-high score first!" "What right does a piece of trash like you have to look down on others!" "Get on the arena! If I can't beat you to death in three moves, I, Wu Lan, will drop out of the academy myself!" "..." The entire venue fell dead silent! Wu Lan was utterly arrogant! She was truly furious, because the Nanyuan examination... she had been there, she had been one of the examinees. These people kept talking about Su Yu, but in her eyes, they were also talking about her. What right did this trash Hu Zongqi have to look down on her! Although she looked down on this trash as well, it was only natural for her to look down on Hu Zongqi. She was top-high, while Hu Zongqi was only mid-high. What right did he have to make snide remarks! He wasn't worthy! Hu Zongqi's face flushed crimson with humiliated fury. Someone beside him tugged gently at his sleeve, snapping him back to his senses. Hu Zongqi gritted his teeth and said, "Wu Lan, I didn't say anything about you..." "Trash, you dare say it but don't dare admit it!" Wu Lan shouted, "You're a sinister villain who only dares fan the flames behind people's backs! Even if the civilization chronicle was broken, trash like you could never score top-high anyway. Denying it now? Shameless disgrace, you're not even a man!" Wu Lan looked around and snorted coldly. "Anyone who isn't convinced can come find me! I'll take on all of you! A bunch of useless trash who couldn't get a top-high score themselves, only knowing how to slander others to make excuses for your own incompetence..." As she spoke, she glared at another person and said disdainfully, "What are you staring at? Stare all you want, you're still trash! Don't think I didn't hear you! Dare to spatter your nonsense in front of me again, and I'll cripple you!" "..." How arrogant! The student she glared at looked completely mortified. Wu Lan was way too arrogant! No one had mentioned her. In fact, whenever the broken civilization chronicle was brought up, they usually ignored Wu Lan entirely... Ahem, little did they know that being ignored like that made her feel even worse! Could you at least mention me once in a while! You look down on Su Yu every day, so why don't you talk about me? I was there back then too. And my score wasn't even as high as Su Yu's! In Wu Lan's eyes, if they looked down even on Su Yu, didn't that mean she was completely beneath notice in their eyes? You look down on me? You're pushing it too far! These bastards were crossing the line. Today, saying all this right in front of her face drove her to fury! *** *Amazing!* Su Yu inwardly gave Wu Lan a massive thumbs-up! Dominant! Tyrannical! *This feels pretty great... I knew all along that this silly girl ignites at the slightest spark. I didn't even provoke her, yet she held a grudge against me.* *You guys talk every single day about the civilization chronicle being broken. Weren't you offending her to death?* *It's inconvenient for me to teach you a lesson, but now someone is doing it for me!* *"I said long ago that with just a little nudging, she'd dare go around picking fights with the entire academy... Sure enough, I didn't misjudge you!"* Su Yu gloated in his heart! If Wu Lan targeted him, it was truly miserable and aggrieved—*I didn't provoke you, why are you making trouble for me?* But when Wu Lan wasn't targeting him and treated others the same way... the sheer satisfaction was indescribable. That kid Hu Zongqi had sneered at him last time. Now look, he had been slapped right in the face. Did he dare take on Wu Lan in a duel? Her older sister was a genius assistant, now at Tengkong Realm Stage Nine. Her great-aunt was a Shanhai Realm powerhouse, a major figure in the Divine Pill College. Her sister's student was already on the Top 100 Rankings. Those on the Top 100 Rankings were also students, also in the Yangxing Realm. If you provoked Wu Lan, her sister and great-aunt might not bother dealing with you, but someone on the Top 100 Rankings certainly would. The atmosphere stiffened! Before anyone could react, a faint voice drifted down from above: "I served as the chief examiner in Nanyuan just once... Why am I being used as a negative example every single day?" "The civilization chronicle broke, so the exam was inaccurate... Does that imply that I, Huang Yao, engaged in favoritism and fraud?" In midair, a figure strode down through the sky. Examiner Huang! The chief examiner from Nanyuan! Huang Yao had been holding in his anger for a long time! *Damn it, that's enough from you lot.* *What the hell do you know!* It was one thing to be docked merit points, but having a bunch of little bastards whispering every day about the broken chronicle, claiming the Nanyuan exam was inaccurate, and pointing out that Assistant Huang had been punished— Huang Yao felt so suffocated he was about to explode! *You're questioning my character!* He was already furious over being docked merit points, and these bastards still prattled every day about unfairness. How could he not be enraged? Huang Yao strode through the air, his voice chilly. "When the exam begins shortly, I want to see what kind of scores you people who question others can produce! If you score well, that goes without saying. But if you score poorly, what right does a bunch of trash have to gossip behind people's backs!" Having reached middle age, he had thought his mind had settled like still water. Yet this year had been pure bad luck, one misfortune after another, and he had been bottling up his anger for too long. He was mad as hell! Was the Nanyuan examination false? Nonsense! He felt that no exam anywhere was more genuine than Nanyuan's. He had no personal connection to Su Yu, and Liu Hong had even asked him to suppress Su Yu. He felt that no one's score was more authentic than Su Yu's. Yet these bastards insisted on claiming Su Yu was inadequate. Wasn't that questioning him? "Assistant Huang, calm your anger!" Someone laughed. "They're just a bunch of kids who talk too much. Don't lower yourself to their level." Another person had arrived. A teacher from the advanced class, also a Tengkong realm expert. Some of the foundational courses in the advanced class could very well be taught by researchers. Huang Yao glanced back and snorted coldly. He had wondered who it was, but seeing the newcomer, he snapped bluntly, "Kids? Once they enter the Civilization Academy, they are high-level talents, favored prodigies, reserve warriors! Who treats them as kids! If anyone dares speak recklessly again and question the fairness of the Nanyuan exam... that is defaming my, Huang Yao's, reputation. When the time comes... don't blame me for being merciless!" With that, Huang Yao looked toward Su Yu and shouted, "Su Yu, step up when it's time to step up! Show these people what a true genius is! Don't keep hiding yourself. Keeping a low profile... won't silence the mouths of trash! Only by stomping hard on them can you make them understand that they are the real trash!" "Huang Yao..." The newly arrived Tengkong expert looked at Huang Yao with surprise. Huang Yao had always kept a low profile in the past. To flare up so fiercely today against a group of geniuses—wasn't he afraid they would seek trouble with him once they grew stronger? As if anticipating what the other man would say, Huang Yao looked indifferent and said calmly, "Today is the last monthly exam I will preside over. Next month, I will take up a post in the Yuqiang Department! Sorry, I forgot to tell you, all of this... is because I performed meritoriously as chief examiner in Nanyuan. The civilization chronicle broke, yet I was credited with merit... Heh, interesting, isn't it?" His tone was laced with mockery and sneering derision. Interesting, wasn't it? Amusing, wasn't it? *I got a promotion!* *I'm going to the Yuqiang Department!* Although Section Chief Sun had called him useless, they were alumni after all. Section Chief Sun felt somewhat guilty that Huang Yao had suffered an unwarranted disaster and been fined a hundred merit points, so he pulled strings to help him transfer into the Yuqiang Department. Though the Yuqiang Department was not as formidable as the Great Xia Civilization Academy, nominally it was still a superior governing organ over the Civilization Academy. Academy assistants were a dime a dozen, but once over there, he could become a minor official. When he returned to the academy later, even full researchers would have to treat him with respect. And his appointment to the Yuqiang Department had originated from that trip to Nanyuan. Now, having been repeatedly questioned, if he didn't stand up and speak out, people would think he was made of soft clay! "Congratulations!" Just then, another group arrived. Liu Hong came walking over together with several instructors. These instructors handled the menial chores, while the three Tengkong experts served as chief examiners for the three classes. Liu Hong chuckled. "Assistant Huang received a promotion and a raise—a truly joyous occasion. Let minor matters pass; the examination is what matters!" Huang Yao was somewhat wary of Liu Hong. He nodded and said, "I don't wish to lower myself to their level either, but when people provoke a stronger expert again and again, if I still stay silent, they will think I, Huang Yao, am easy to bully! Relying on a few elders in the academy, they act arrogant and lawless... Once I enter the Yuqiang Department, for the next Higher Academy Examination, I will definitely propose a thorough overhaul!" Huang Yao declared loudly, "When the time comes, let's see! For students from great clans who have used willpower texts and yuanqi liquid beforehand, I propose deducting fifty points from all of their scores!" *Boom!* The moment these words were spoken, an uproar erupted! Liu Hong's pupils shrank! The other researcher's face also changed, and he snapped, "Huang Yao, mind your words!" Huang Yao, however, seemed provoked today. He barked, "What is there to mind! When I enter the Yuqiang Department, I will definitely make this proposal. I will petition the Director of the Yuqiang Department, petition Marquis Xia, and petition the Manor Head! Break the monopoly of the great clans and give the children of commoners a chance to rise!" "With the great clans holding a monopoly, commoners languish. Yet a bunch of trash from the great clans still dares utter insolent words and question commoner geniuses. What a joke!" The sky had shifted! At this moment, Liu Hong was shaken. Huang Yao had definitely not spoken this in passing, nor had he uttered these words in a moment of rash anger! He was doing it intentionally! He had a purpose! To break the monopoly of the great clans. For Huang Yao, who hailed from a commoner background, to deliver such a speech here today was by no means an accident. Someone was definitely backing him, perhaps even deliberately testing the waters through him! Using Su Yu's situation as a pretext, they were preparing to make their move! A major incident was brewing! Troubled times indeed! The conflict between great clans and commoners had never ceased over the past several hundred years. In the past, the commoners had been weak. But in recent years, several strong experts had risen in the military, commoners had surged, and even among Civilization Masters, a group of commoner geniuses had emerged. These people were going to unite! The students might not understand yet, thinking he was merely angry about the earlier remarks. But Liu Hong knew that a massive upheaval was coming! Huang Yao was past forty; his sharp edges had been smoothed away long ago. This sudden transfer into the Yuqiang Department—for a commoner with no backing and merely Tengkong realm strength, entering the Yuqiang Department was not so simple. Furthermore, to deliver this speech right during the freshmen monthly exam showed clear premeditation. The commoners were fighting back! Next year's Higher Academy Examination might truly see immense changes. Over there, having finished his piece, Huang Yao looked toward Su Yu again and shouted, "The best way to respond to doubt is to slap their faces swollen! Go ahead and take your exam! Today, with me, Huang Yao, standing here, whoever dares cheat or show favoritism will have to see whether the Yuqiang Department agrees!" "Huang Yao!" "Wang Peiyuan!" Huang Yao barked back, "As an assistant who rose from commoner origins, a Tengkong Civilization Master, is this how you manage the advanced class students? Raising a bunch of trash with their eyes set higher than the sky—what use are they? Years from now, will they be willing to march onto the battlefield for the human race?" "When these people face setbacks, will they defect to the All-Races Sect?" "What is the difference between these people suppressing commoners and the myriad races?" "If this continues, rather than letting the great clans suck us dry, we might as well let the myriad races invade! We'd be slaves either way, so who cares whom we serve!" "The unity of the human race lies in the hearts of the people! The great clans do not hold up this sky alone!" Today's Huang Yao was entirely different from the man Su Yu had met in Nanyuan. When a person gained fighting spirit, a goal, a dream, and an ideal, many things changed. Huang Yao was still Huang Yao, but he was no longer the Huang Yao who simply drifted along waiting to die! At this moment, Huang Yao proclaimed loudly, "Civilization Masters of commoner birth are not inferior to anyone! We also contribute our strength to the human race! We also fight and kill on the All-Heavens Battlefield! We bleed, we sacrifice... Therefore, we too are the backbone of the human race!" "Do not feel inferior, do not be timid! Why fear the great clans!" "This sky has not yet turned dark!" "There is still justice in the Human Realm!" "Suppressing commoner children is destined to be nothing more than a joke! I only hope... that years from now, when you all grow strong yourselves, you will not forget what I said today, and that you do not become the next great-clan robbers!" Huang Yao called out, "Not everyone from the great clans is trash or evil; a few bad apples have become the parasites among them! The Xia family has governed Great Xia Prefecture for many years, yet I have never seen anyone from the Xia family act domineering, bullying the weak while fearing the strong!" "Principal Wan has governed the Civilization Academy for many years, yet I have never seen anyone from the Wan family look down on others or disregard the law!" "On the contrary, it is those pseudo-great-clans who, in their scramble to establish a clan name, bully the weak, oppress the people, and seize by force. Such people... are unworthy of calling themselves great clans! They tarnish the reputation of Great Xia Prefecture and freeze the hearts of humanity! They deserve to be killed! They deserve to be executed!" "..." This speech rang out like a great bell! At this moment, strands of willpower spread toward them. Silence! Dead silence! Huang Yao stood proud, his aura surging like a rainbow! At this moment, he felt relieved, he felt exhilarated. He felt that at this very instant, his life would have no regrets even if he died! *Boom!* A surge of momentum erupted, and his willpower underwent a transformation. At this moment, this middle-aged Civilization Master, who had previously drifted along waiting for death, broke through on the spot. His aura instantly surpassed even Liu Hong's! He had not reached Tengkong Realm Stage Nine, but in the blink of an eye, he advanced from mid-stage Tengkong to the late stage! Tengkong Realm Stage Seven! A smile appeared on Huang Yao's face. He did not look at the students; instead, he gazed deep into the Great Xia Civilization Academy, toward the Heart Cultivation Pavilion, laughing with open, honest pride! Among the crowd, several commoner students felt their blood boiling with passion! Most were from the beginner and intermediate classes! These two classes held vast numbers of students from ordinary backgrounds! "Well said, Teacher Huang!" "Teacher Huang is mighty!" "..." A chorus of cheers erupted! They wanted to vent, they wanted to shout wildly—this was how it should be! What was wrong with coming from a commoner background? From the very bottom, they had poured in several times the effort of clan children to enter the Great Xia Civilization Academy, only to be met with ridicule, disdain, contempt, and exclusion! The Civilization Academy was not the private backyard of great clans! A single monthly exam had sparked a massive storm! A clash between commoners and great clans! *** Standing in the crowd, Su Yu felt his heart surge with passion, but he quickly calmed down. He felt somewhat helpless! *Examiner Huang, say whatever you want, but don't bring me into it!* *I was hoping to keep a low profile!* *Now look at this—I feel like I've become a target!* As if knowing what Su Yu was thinking, Huang Yao, who had just been looking toward the Heart Cultivation Pavilion, suddenly sent a voice transmission: "What are you afraid of? By bringing honor to commoners, people will back you. Your Multiple Divine Characters Faction... has long been on the brink of collapse anyway. You've already offended plenty of people, so a few more won't matter. What's more, you can gain a massive amount of support, even the backing of Shanhai experts. If you're unwilling, then stay low-key, and treat what I said earlier as if it never happened!" "If you suppress the great-clan students and commoners rise, a massive amount of resources will soon be supplied to your Multiple Divine Characters Faction. Within the academy and outside it, you will no longer be fighting alone. If anyone wants to pry Chen Yong from his position, they'll have to see who is truly stronger!" "This isn't aimed at all great clans; we simply want to give commoner children a chance... The academy invests far too little in commoner students, so little it chills the heart. We struggle all the way, climbing upward, looking forward, only to have our hearts chilled by our own people in the end. Who would still be willing to fight for humanity!" Huang Yao's voice was emotional. "If worse comes to worst, we are already planning to establish a Commoner College! Admitting only commoner students. Those of us at the Tengkong realm and above will risk our lives on the battlefield once more, and what we earn will be used exclusively for our own people. You, Su Yu, can transfer to the Commoner College. I guarantee you will be a pillar of the college, and the college will support you with all its might so you can grow strong!" "We do not want the spoils we earned on the battlefield to end up benefiting those bastards, only to be mocked by them saying commoners are useless! They've crossed the line!" Su Yu was somewhat shocked! Planning to establish a Commoner College, or even an entire academy! This... shook him deeply! Once this news got out, Great Xia Prefecture, and even the entire Human Realm, would surely be rocked! This was no longer just the affair of a single academy, but a monumental upheaval involving the entire human race! Strong commoners could no longer endure it all. A single misstep here... and massive turmoil might break out within the human race. Su Yu felt his mouth go dry. He felt a measure of joy, a measure of excitement, and yet... a measure of unease. He was joyful because people from ordinary families would have a chance—a much bigger chance! He was excited because if the Commoner College succeeded, there would be even more strong experts among commoners in the future. He was uneasy because if things went this way, it might trigger a confrontation between great clans and commoners, causing internal strife, or even an outright rupture! "Su Yu, you don't need to carry any burden. Everything is only just beginning. Perhaps by the time you reach the Tengkong Realm, none of this will be settled yet. This is not something that happens overnight, but we must make our voices heard!" "Whether you are willing or not, you bear the imprint of a commoner!" Huang Yao's voice transmission came again. "Your father is in the military. Aside from a handful of strong experts, the vast majority in the military are commoners. This dissatisfaction is not just on our academy's side; the entire military is dissatisfied. They are dissatisfied that while they fight on the front lines, the rear... does not give their children equal opportunities!" "Therefore, we need to speak out and tell everyone that we need more support!" Su Yu took a deep breath, remaining silent without uttering a word. The next moment, Liu Hong seemed to receive an instruction. He smiled and said, "Alright, Assistant Huang, the monthly exam should begin. Some words... can wait for later discussion. Reforming the educational system requires more deliberation. Deducting points from clan students... might not necessarily be fair either. In pursuit of fairness, one must also look from the other perspective. We can discuss this slowly in the future, so let us not delay the students' exam!" Huang Yao also regained his composure and smiled. "Fine, then let the exam proceed. After the exam, I hear there's a good show. I will come to watch. Some people shouldn't think there is no one who can keep them in check. Justice still exists in this world!" Lin Yao, after all, was his, Liu Hong's, student. Liu Hong felt helpless, thinking himself entirely blameless. Lin Yao challenging Su Yu wasn't something he had ordered... Though he had dropped a hint, that kid Su Yu was no saint either; he clearly wanted to scam Lin Yao. Now, look at how things turned out. In everyone else's eyes, it was all Lin Yao's fault, Lin Yao coveting Su Yu's blood essence, while Su Yu was so innocent, so pitiful, so deserving of sympathy, so oppressed... *You little schemer...* Liu Hong glanced at Su Yu, seeing his anxious and uneasy expression, as if terrified of retaliation and oppression... Liu Hong was utterly speechless. *Your acting is over the top...* He wanted to warn him to tone it down. *Do you really think I don't know you've reached Qianjun Realm Stage Three?* *Do you really think I don't know you took the Sky-Breaking Slash?* Lin Yao was truly pitiful... At this moment, Liu Hong reflected on himself. *Have I been too cruel to this student of mine?* *Should I treat him a tiny bit better? For instance, after Lin Yao loses this time, should I comfort him with a few kind words?* *Might as well comfort him a bit; kind words don't cost any money anyway...* Liu Hong made up his mind, then looked at Lin Yao, who was arriving late. *My poor disciple, your master can only help you this much. Unless your family sends me some good stuff, I won't treat you well.* *Your master isn't a good person, and it isn't as if your family didn't know. Why did you insist on latching onto me in the first place!*