A Tangled Web

The examination officially began! Huang Yao acted as if nothing had happened, as though he had never uttered a word earlier, and began presiding over the beginner class examination. The three Tengkong Realm experts were not far apart, each bearing a civilization chronicle. Wang Peiyuan organized the advanced class examination, while Liu Hong oversaw the intermediate class. Liu Hong also acted as if he had forgotten his earlier remarks and said, "These three civilization chronicles contain different divine characters and point in different directions, but they generally belong to the same lineage. Their primary purpose is to generate illusionary realms and mental pressure. "For today's examination, I hope no one feels treated unfairly. If anyone does, speak up now!" No one made a sound. "If there are no objections, then the examination officially begins! "Candidates, enter the field and wait within your designated boundaries!" The students filed into the marked areas. The three examiners stood at the center of their respective plazas, a book appearing in the hands of each. Civilization chronicles! When Shanhai Realm experts fell, the divine characters they left behind could not endure forever and could not form secret realms, but they could be passed down as civilization chronicles. "Begin the examination!" With Liu Hong's soft shout, the three civilization chronicles simultaneously burst with faint radiance, forming luminous canopies that enveloped all the students. *** There were no illusions! There was only pressure—a formless, crushing weight, much like the pressure inside the fragment chamber. When the radiance enveloped Su Yu, he had thought that monster phantoms would appear just like last time, but none did. There were only waves of invisible pressure eroding him! "Walk forward! "How far you can walk represents how strong you are!" Liu Hong's voice vaguely drifted past their ears. Su Yu was long accustomed to such pressure; at the start, it was not even as intense as that in the fragment chamber. Even before reaching the Yangxing Realm, Su Yu had been able to hold out for over forty minutes. That alone showed how much progress he had made during this period. Su Yu began walking forward! His steps were steady and completely unhurried. The pressure... was not enough! At this moment, he vaguely understood that the monthly exam was actually an opportunity—a chance for students to temper their willpower. This was an environment similar to the fragment chamber! Some students could not afford to cultivate in such secret realms. A monthly exam once a month was effectively helping students strengthen their willpower; the longer they held out, the better the result. *Not even any monsters to kill, just a tiny bit of pressure. It feels even weaker than last time...* Su Yu muttered inwardly. Who could this little bit of pressure possibly stump? He strode forward with ease. *** At that moment, over a thousand freshmen of the Divine Character College stepped forward. One minute, two minutes... Gradually, several beginner class students could no longer hold on. People began to drop out! Some were tossed straight out by the Tengkong Realm examiners. Dropping out signified a poor score. Most of those dropping out were from the beginner class, with very few from the intermediate class. The few who had to withdraw were thoroughly dejected. Not a single student from the advanced class had dropped out! Under the pressure of the civilization chronicles, the students could not see one another or communicate. Even so, that could not stop certain people. In the advanced class. Several old, trump-card geniuses began chatting idly again. "How far is appropriate for us to walk?" "Ours was left behind by that fellow back then, right? What a pity. Wonder which divine character I'll leave behind when I die..." "I'd rather leave a divine character that transforms into a secret realm to be passed down through eternity!" Trading remarks back and forth, they soon brought up Huang Yao. "What's the deal with Huang Yao?" "Just some people pushing back. Putting a bit of pressure on the academy, putting a bit of pressure on the Great Xia Prefecture. Don't worry about it. If they fight too fiercely, just throw them all into the All-Heavens Battlefield." "True. Toss them over there, and they'll all behave!" one old man chuckled. "Fighting here doesn't matter. Once they reach the All-Heavens Battlefield, hehe, those old bastards will teach them how to conduct themselves!" For even him to call them old bastards showed just how ancient they must be. Speaking of those people, someone shivered. "Those old bastards aren't human. Back when I went for the first time, didn't I just say a few extra words? They threw me into the Frigid Purgatory all alone. Damn it, thousands of demons came to slaughter me..." As he spoke, his voice trembled slightly. "I was nearly devoured alive by those demons. In the end, that fellow who'd insisted on arguing with me had to go rescue me... If he hadn't brought me back alive, he would've been the second to die... I still remember it to this day!" "You were considered lucky!" another elder sighed. "The old bastards over there are truly ruthless. Back then, our faction was at odds with the Divine Pill faction, so they threw a guy from the Divine Pill faction into our squad. One sentence: 'If he dies, the whole squad gets beheaded!' To protect that bastard... fuck, our entire squad was almost wiped out!" The few smiled bitterly, inevitably recalling the past. In the All-Heavens Battlefield, human infighting was exceedingly rare. One could even say it did not exist! As for the reason... anyone who had experienced it knew. You had bad blood with someone? Great! The two of you don't get along, right? The two of you go on a mission together. If one dies, the other must die as well! You're a genius? Think they wouldn't dare kill you? Keep dreaming! Would Invincible Realm experts care about some genius? Killing you was like slaughtering a chicken! Your two factions are at odds? That was easy too: still go on missions together. Whichever faction suffered more deaths, when the faction with fewer deaths returned alive, execute the difference! However many fewer deaths your side suffered compared to the other, that many would be executed upon return! Ruthless and iron-blooded to the extreme! That pack of old bastards did not care if people hated them or cursed them. Over there, you had to behave. If you wanted to fight, bottle it up yourself! The All-Heavens Battlefield was a war zone—the battlefield of the myriad realms—perilous beyond measure. Who had the time to indulge internal strife? The old bastards had no time to police your squabbles, much less comfort you. If you could endure it, you endured; if you couldn't, you died. It was that simple. Among the elders present, who hadn't suffered such bitter lessons in their youth? Without suffering, one never learned! As they conversed, more and more people gradually came to a halt. More and more people withdrew! Without reaching the Yangxing Realm, even walking ten meters was difficult. In the intermediate class, a large number of students also began to be eliminated. In the advanced class, still no one had stopped. "Xia Chan has reached fourteen meters. Pretty fast." "Wan Mingze isn't bad either, about the same. Looks to me like he's holding back." "The Zheng kid can manage. I thought he was a brute like his grandfather, but he's already reached twelve meters. This doesn't have much to do with physical cultivation realms..." The old men continued chatting, adopting the posture of mere onlookers. In the middle of their talk, someone suddenly barked, "You few, if you don't start moving, you'll all be thrown out!" The voice drifted over faintly! The men cursed inwardly. That kid Huang Yao had quite some nerve! Weren't they just unsure how far they ought to walk? Forget it, no need to bicker with him. They strode forward, and in a short while, caught up to Zheng Yunhui. The next moment, they paused again. "This examination isn't set up well. They need to see their peers' reactions so they can push further and compete against each other. Otherwise, unable to see anyone else, these kids don't know the situation of others and feel no pressure!" "Spot on!" "How about we tinker with it a bit?" "What if we're found out?" "Isn't that simple? One of us withdraws, restores his true form, and an elder personally comes forward to improve the exam format and boost the students' drive—how completely normal is that! We haven't participated in an exam in so many years that we forgot about this. In truth, it should have been reformed long ago. Sure enough, without experiencing it firsthand, one never remembers these small matters!" An elder sighed with emotion. It had been far too many years since he experienced this exam format; he had long forgotten about it. When he was young and taking the exams, he had thought about this very issue. Once he truly grew powerful, he ended up forgetting all about it. A moment later, they reached a decision. One elder ceased taking part in the examination—they did not care about rankings anyway—and quickly withdrew. *** After another while, more people were eliminated. Right at that moment, Liu Hong's brow suddenly twitched. In the next instant, a figure appeared in midair, looking as if he had just been passing by, and let out a soft exclamation: "A monthly exam? After all these years, why is it still using such an outdated method!" With those words, several golden rays drifted down from the sky! They sank into the three civilization chronicles! At that moment, the scenery before the examinees shifted. It was no longer empty before their eyes; figures appeared. They saw their classmates, the teachers in the center, and the civilization chronicles at the heart of the plazas. The pressure remained! Even the illusions remained! Yet now, they could see the others around them. The students were momentarily dazed. Liu Hong reacted swiftly, hurriedly calling out toward the sky, "Many thanks to Elder Zhang for improving the civilization chronicles..." "A minor matter!" The elder's figure in midair flashed and disappeared. A moment later, beside the students who had withdrawn on the advanced class side, where someone had noiselessly vanished moments earlier, another person reappeared, yet not a soul noticed anything amiss! Only then did Su Yu and the others understand that an elder had just passed by and improved the civilization chronicles for them. Once everyone saw their current standing, it was true—only with comparison came motivation and pressure! Su Yu had initially thought he had walked quite far, but now he realized he had only covered a dozen or so meters. Here in the intermediate class, several people were right beside him. Over in the advanced class, at least forty to fifty people had walked roughly the same distance as he had! Xia Chan, whom he had seen last time, had even walked nearly twenty meters! Su Yu immediately felt the pressure surge! Not just him—the other students' expressions changed as well. *There are still this many people left in the advanced class?* Some geniuses had originally been full of pride, believing they must have walked the farthest and that everyone else had likely been eliminated. But now, every single one of them felt immense pressure. In the advanced class area, several elders chuckled inwardly. This should have been done long ago! Without giving you a bit of pressure, how could you have any drive? While their pressure mounted, Liu Hong grew suspicious. The matter regarding the civilization chronicles had actually been submitted long ago. But chronicles were left behind by Shanhai Realm experts, so ordinary people could not alter them. The Shanhai Realm elders were elusive and had too many major affairs on their hands; even though it had been reported, no one had ever come to fix it. Now, a simple monthly exam had actually drawn out an elder! Was it truly a coincidence? Or was it... because of certain individuals among them? While he was still pondering, more and more people were eliminated. In the beginner class, the final student was still struggling onward! By this point, he had already walked fifteen meters, which was considered exceptionally strong—surpassing even the majority of the intermediate class students. Liu Hong glanced over and nodded slightly. This new student could enter the intermediate class after this. Advancing within a month was quite decent. Truly reaching twenty meters generally signified that one had reached the Yangxing Realm. Or, like Su Yu back then, even without reaching the Yangxing Realm, the coordination of two divine characters and great strength could allow one to walk a bit farther. *** Eighteen meters, nineteen meters... Su Yu also quickened his pace! The pressure grew heavier and heavier. It tested not only the intensity of one's willpower, but also its resilience. The longer it lasted, the greater the pressure became. Over in the advanced class, seven or eight people had already crossed twenty meters. The intermediate class students behind Su Yu also began to fall behind one by one. Gradually, there was no one left around him. Su Yu turned his head to glance at Plaza No. 1. Just at that moment, someone was looking back at him. Lin Yao's face was pale, his expression dark as he gritted his teeth and pressed forward! He discovered that he hadn't even walked as far as Su Yu yet. This gave Lin Yao an overwhelming sense of crisis, instantly erupting with boundless drive as he gnashed his teeth and forged ahead. Hu Zongqi was the same! These two probably felt the greatest sense of crisis. Hu Zongqi had previously believed Su Yu's top-high evaluation was fake and that he was definitely stronger than Su Yu, but right now, he was panicking as well. Among the advanced class students, if anyone seemed relaxed, it was that fellow Xia Huyou. The guy swayed as he walked, taking a step and wobbling, looking as if he couldn't hold on, yet remaining safe and sound every single time. He even glanced around curiously. One look made it clear he still had plenty of strength in reserve. Just as Su Yu and the others were gritting their teeth and pressing forward, a faint instruction sounded by Liu Hong's ear. Liu Hong promptly nodded. That was the voice of the elder from earlier. The other party hadn't left yet and was still observing in secret! The next instant, Liu Hong called out, "Advanced class current first place: Xia Chan, twenty-five meters! "Intermediate class first place: Su Yu, twenty-two meters! "Beginner class examination officially concluded: Sun Fei, sixteen meters! "Everyone, continue the examination. Among the Top 100 students, even the weakest can walk over forty meters. I hope you won't fall too far behind!" The moment those words came out, several students in the advanced class mustered all their strength to push forward! What an embarrassment! Su Yu had actually managed twenty-two meters! *** After about three minutes, Liu Hong spoke again: "Advanced class current first place: Xia Chan, twenty-nine meters! "Intermediate class: Su Yu, twenty-five meters. Aside from Su Yu, the intermediate class examination has concluded!" At this moment, only Su Yu remained in Plaza No. 2! Meanwhile, in Plaza No. 1, nearly fifty people remained, almost all of whom had reached twenty meters or more. Su Yu did not say a word. Sweat gradually dripped from his forehead; the difficulty was genuinely substantial. During the entrance exam, he had walked twenty-seven meters because his divine characters erupted, but today, he had not used a single divine character. Up until now, he had relied entirely on pure willpower! Of his three divine characters, the "Kill" divine character was still somewhat battered, but in an examination like this, it could still be utilized—it just wouldn't be as powerful as an intact divine character. *Twenty-nine meters...* Su Yu looked over at Xia Chan, who was striding forward with steady steps, feeling a measure of admiration. Her willpower was considerably stronger than his! He didn't know whether she had used divine characters or not, but Xia Chan had reached twenty-nine meters and looked fairly at ease. This woman truly was a stumbling block on his path of cultivation; he couldn't let himself be inferior to a woman! *** Another three minutes passed. "Xia Chan, thirty-three meters!" "Su Yu, twenty-eight meters!" Over there, Huang Yao suddenly chimed in: "Hu Zongqi, twenty-four meters, examination concluded!" "Wang Zhiqiang, twenty-five meters, examination concluded!" The moment those words fell, the faces of Hu Zongqi and the other student, who had just been eliminated, instantly flushed bright red! They were precisely the two who had been whispering snide remarks earlier, only to be fiercely berated by Wu Lan. If several researchers hadn't arrived, they wouldn't have been able to back down gracefully. Now look at this... slapped right in the face! Huang Yao had done it on purpose! Weren't you questioning things? Go on, keep questioning! Huang Yao said indifferently, "The civilization chronicles shouldn't be malfunctioning. If you two don't believe it, feel free to try over there!" No one spoke. Over by the intermediate class, a burst of jeers erupted after a moment. Scorn! Mockery! Although they were not as talented as these two geniuses, seeing them get slapped in the face suddenly felt immensely satisfying. Serve you right for acting so arrogant! The two felt utterly helpless and wronged. In truth, their progress this month had been quite good. Back during the Higher Academy Examination, they couldn't have walked this far at all, or they would have earned a top-high rating. But while they were progressing, everyone else was progressing too. Walking twenty-four or twenty-five meters now wasn't considered bad in the advanced class, but it wasn't particularly good either. No one noticed that in the advanced class, Wu Lan, who had been teetering on the verge of collapse, instantly grew fired up upon hearing Huang Yao call out those names! No way! She refused to suffer such humiliation! She was terrified Huang Yao would call her name too. She had only reached twenty-five meters right now. That was far better than before, but barely on par with Wang Zhiqiang. She had just bragged about beating them until they couldn't stand; if her result was the same as theirs... she would have no face left to show! And... Su Yu! Su Yu had actually improved again! Wu Lan gritted her teeth, instantly revitalized with boundless drive. Whatever happened, she could not make a fool of herself here, even if hardly anyone was actually paying attention to her right now. *** "Xia Chan, thirty-six meters!" "Wan Mingze, thirty-five meters!" "Hu Qiusheng thirty-four meters, Zhao Shiqi thirty-four meters, Zheng Yunhui thirty-three meters, Su Yu thirty-two meters..." The announcements rang out once more! This time, it was not just Su Yu and Xia Chan; everyone past thirty meters was announced by Liu Hong. Liu Hong said calmly, "Everyone is performing well. Continue. So far, I haven't seen any hope of entering the Top 100 among this cohort of students. The gap remains!" Among the Top 100 students, the weakest could walk forty meters. The weakest! And that was only in terms of willpower and divine characters; their physical bodies were generally stronger than the new students' as well, and their martial techniques were more formidable. Taken as a whole, not a single new student could break into the Top 100. As for Su Yu, Liu Hong wasn't particularly surprised. This kid... seemed to have stepped into the Yangxing Realm! It was unexpectedly fast! At this moment, Wu Lan, who had stopped at twenty-seven meters, wore a gloomy expression. She had lost again, and not just to Su Yu, but to many people. Trash! Perhaps that label belonged to her. In the eyes of these people, she was merely trash as well. *** *Pretty strong!* Su Yu's eyes shone brightly. The "Blood" divine character gleamed with radiance in his mind. He had already deployed the "Blood" divine character, and even reaching his limit, he had only walked thirty-two meters. Yet over in the advanced class, each person was more formidable than the last! *Good, this is how it should be. I was worried I wouldn't have enough motivation. Looks like there are plenty of geniuses!* The next instant, the "Thunder" divine character lit up! Su Yu took a step! His willpower surged and trembled, yet Su Yu remained completely composed. When it came to talent, he did not consider himself inferior to anyone. Right at that moment, Huang Yao's voice drifted over: "Lin Yao, halted at thirty meters! Not bad at all..." An extra word of praise! It was indeed considered quite good! However, Lin Yao could not bring himself to be happy. His face was dark. Back during the Higher Academy Examination, he had walked quite a distance—otherwise he wouldn't have earned a top-high rating. Reaching thirty meters today was progress, but not particularly great progress. If not for Su Yu, he would have been satisfied. Yet now, he had actually lost to Su Yu. Stepping out of the civilization chronicle's area, he looked toward Su Yu and saw radiance shimmering around him. Lin Yao frowned. *Has he entered the Yangxing Realm?* He could tell a bit! Not just him—almost all the students in the Yangxing Realm could tell that Su Yu had entered the Yangxing Realm! And at this moment, Su Yu seemed to exert force once more. The "Thunder" divine character erupted, and he strode forward again. Soon, the little "Thunder" brother began to flag. Su Yu cursed inwardly, and the next moment, the two divine characters fused! Su Yu had already attempted fusion several times without any mishaps. Even though he knew fusion carried dangers, he didn't care right now. With the two divine characters fused, Su Yu advanced several more steps! Liu Hong, who was maintaining the civilization chronicle, shuddered slightly and rejoiced inwardly. Fortunately, remembering how Huang Yao had been punished last time, he had been worried something might go wrong with the chronicle again and had deployed a great deal of willpower; otherwise, he would have embarrassed himself today. This kid... how had he suddenly grown so fierce again? Just a moment ago, it had clearly felt like he was about to give out! "Xia Chan, thirty-eight meters! Wan Mingze, thirty-seven meters! Su Yu, thirty-six meters!" Hearing this, Su Yu truly felt close to his limit. He began to set his sights on the "Kill" divine character. That character had been thoroughly battered yesterday and was somewhat damaged. Yet at this moment, Su Yu threw caution to the wind. It was too humiliating! Failing to beat a woman was something he refused to accept. He was a young man after all; being pressed down by a woman made him lose face. The third divine character trembled faintly. The next moment, a faint baleful aura emanated from Su Yu's body. The others did not sense it, but several elders and Tengkong Realm experts glanced toward Su Yu in unison. Liu Hong was secretly astonished. Was this a new divine character? Or a new trait? It felt remarkably potent! Su Yu took another step forward! This time, and for the very first time, Liu Hong called out hurriedly, "Su Yu, thirty-nine meters..." Having briefly surpassed Xia Chan for a fleeting instant, Su Yu could hold on no longer! The next moment, he staggered backward repeatedly, drenched in sweat! He had reached his limit—truly reached his limit! Unless all three divine characters could fuse. Back in Nanyuan, he might have given it a try, but this time he didn't dare. Knowing more sometimes made one a bit more cautious. "Xia Chan... forty meters!" Right at that moment, a layer of faint golden light appeared outside Xia Chan's body—exceedingly faint. Seeming to have heard the announcement, she gave a low shout, stomped forward heavily, stumbled slightly, yet still managed a few more paces! "Forty-one meters..." "Wan Mingze... forty meters!" In the blink of an eye, several monstrous talents fought with everything they had. Wan Mingze's hair whipped wildly as he rushed forward, charging to forty meters before his body began to spasm. By this point in the examination, everyone knew it was nearly over. Apart from Xia Chan and Wan Mingze, who had breached the forty-meter boundary, no one else had reached it. At this time, Su Yu ceased forcing himself and stepped out of the civilization chronicle, halting at thirty-nine meters. There was no sense of disappointment in his eyes. Having weaker willpower than them was completely normal. Those few individuals were indeed formidable; they might even be approaching the peak of the Yangxing Realm, and they had not necessarily outlined fewer divine characters than he had. *** In the advanced class area. Xia Chan and Wan Mingze both let out sighs of relief. Su Yu's name had been echoing in their ears, making them rather anxious. If they truly lost to Su Yu, it would be far too humiliating; after all, they had entered the academy as monstrous talents. At this moment, the two could barely hold on any longer. Just as they were about to withdraw... Wan Mingze's vision blurred. Suddenly, a figure appeared beside him. It was a chubby young fellow, currently eating something while turning his head to chuckle, "Keep going! I waited behind you for a bit, why aren't you walking anymore?" Wan Mingze's eyes widened! Impossible! How could this guy... how could he surpass him! His only opponent was Xia Chan! Over there, Liu Hong was also shaken and called out hastily, "Jia Mingzhen, forty-one meters!" The chubby youth chuckled and approached Xia Chan. Reaching out casually, he wiped his greasy fat hands against the corner of Xia Chan's clothes, grinning. "I thought the people from the Xia family were so strong. Turns out... hehe, haha, how boring..." Ignoring Xia Chan's murderous gaze, the chubby youth wiped his hands clean on her clothes, took another meter or two forward, his face flushing slightly, walked a few more steps, and then, panting, began to back out! "Jia Mingzhen... forty-five meters!" Liu Hong was equally stunned. Where had these trump-card geniuses popped up from! Could it be that these individuals were already near the peak of the Yangxing Realm before this—or were already at the peak? Besides Jia Mingzhen, there were four others. Three of them had also performed well, mostly in the thirty-plus-meter range, while the only one who scored poorly had stopped around twenty-five meters. Five people in total! All of them were exceptionally strong! *No wonder several elders came forward to take disciples. These guys... aren't inferior to those monstrous talents at all. And then there's Su Yu...* Liu Hong was inwardly astounded. Did this cohort really have so many monstrous students? Counting Su Yu and these five, there were a full fourteen! No, there were more! His gaze drifted toward Xia Huyou, who was swaying as he walked away. *Could the son of the Prefect truly lack ability?* Why did he look like he was merely going through the motions! Calculating it this way, there might be fifteen monstrous talents in this cohort! What was a monstrous talent? Someone with hope of advancing to the Tengkong Realm within three years. Could it be that over a dozen Tengkong Realm experts would emerge from this cohort within three years? Shocked though Liu Hong was, he suppressed his suspicions in the next moment and spoke: "Advanced class: Jia Mingzhen takes first in the civilization chronicle examination! Xia Chan is second, Wan Mingze third! "Intermediate class: Su Yu takes first! "Beginner class: Sun Fei takes first!" "..." After reading off several names in succession, Liu Hong announced the top ten lists for the three classes. In the advanced class, first place went neither to Xia Chan nor to Jia Mingzhen, but to Hu Qiusheng—he had actually scored the highest on the cultural coursework! Moreover, this exam measured improvement, deducting the initial entrance exam scores. Hu Qiusheng's score remained remarkably high, earning him first place overall. As for Jia Mingzhen... that fellow had been eating and sleeping during the cultural exam! Su Yu scored 130 on the cultural exam, and by walking thirty-nine meters this time, he earned 120 points, totaling 250 points. He ranked first! Second place went to Wang Yun, who had placed first in the cultural exam, with a total of 190 points. Wang Yun had earned 40 points in this round, walking four meters farther than at entrance, which was already significant progress. Just as the scores were announced, Su Yu glanced at Lin Yao, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. *He... isn't going to run, is he?* Why did Lin Yao look so wary and hesitant? Su Yu had walked so far, and Lin Yao wasn't stupid. At this moment, Lin Yao suddenly felt he might have walked into a trap, and was genuinely considering whether he should follow through. While Lin Yao was still hesitating, Su Yu suddenly spoke up: "Teacher, the top three have the right to challenge advanced class students! Advanced class's Lin Yao previously sought me out for a battle, spoke insolently, and insulted and bullied me. Today, I have entered the Yangxing Realm and wish to fight Lin Yao fairly!" Liu Hong said indifferently, "Lin Yao is not among the bottom ten. It depends on whether he is willing..." Su Yu replied directly, "If Lin Yao is unwilling, that's fine too. He only needs to apologize to me in front of everyone! I, Su Yu, am not an unreasonable person who refuses to forgive. But previously, he took advantage of the fact that I had not entered the Yangxing Realm and spoke insolently. As long as he apologizes today, I will no longer challenge him!" Su Yu spoke loudly and with open candor! Behind him, the crowd of students wasn't particularly surprised to hear that Su Yu had reached the Yangxing Realm; he had walked so far earlier, so he must have achieved it. While feeling happy for Su Yu, they also shouted in unison: "Apologize!" Over there, Lin Yao's expression shifted erratically! He felt he had likely been tricked. In a low, heavy voice, he said, "Su Yu, who bullied you? That day, you were the one who challenged me..." "Boo!" A chorus of jeers erupted. At this moment, even Xia Chan, who had been enraged by Jia Mingzhen earlier, could no longer be bothered to stay mad at Jia Mingzhen. She snapped furiously, "Useless trash, what an embarrassment! If you dare to do something, dare to own up to it! Su Yu is an intermediate class student challenging you, so you must accept! What excuse is there for such garbage!" She was already angry, and hearing Lin Yao's words made her feel thoroughly disgraced—the reputation of the advanced class had been completely dragged through the mud. Not just her, but Wan Mingze also furrowed his brows and said coldly, "Since an agreement was made, then fight! Such evasion is the behavior of a coward! Bullying the weak and fearing the strong, shrinking from battle just because his willpower reached the Yangxing Realm—Lin Yao, you aren't fit to be our classmate. It would be best if you dropped out on your own!" The two gave Lin Yao no face whatsoever, nor did they give Liu Hong any face! They had no fear of Liu Hong, nor did they even fear Zhou Mingren! It was simply too humiliating! The advanced class area was also in an uproar. Everyone looked toward Lin Yao, some frowning, some sneering in contempt. Truly trash. A top-high student—did someone like this even deserve it? Seeing that Su Yu had reached the Yangxing Realm, he didn't even dare accept the battle, even going so far as to deny his own previous words. Didn't he find it shameful? Lin Yao felt suffocated with rage. He truly felt he had been duped, yet at this moment, he was being roasted over the fire. Gnashing his teeth, he shot a glare at Su Yu. Fine, even if he lost, the worst that could happen was losing three hundred merit points. Su Yu, that bastard... was dishonest to the bone! "Fine! I was originally considering that you had only just entered the Yangxing Realm, but since you insist on challenging me... tomorrow, I will settle this with you on the arena stage!" Su Yu's eyes flickered. Tomorrow... he had originally planned to beat him to a pulp right now. It seemed this fellow had guessed something and insisted on stalling until tomorrow... Was he going to prepare some trump card? Yet Su Yu was completely unafraid and indifferent. He said, "Fine, then we'll see each other on the arena stage tomorrow!" Lin Yao said nothing more, turned around, and walked away! That damned bastard—Su Yu had probably reached the Yangxing Realm long ago and deliberately baited him! "The examination is concluded! Any other students who wish to issue challenges may approach the instructors afterward..." Liu Hong said no more, picked up the civilization chronicle, and left swiftly. Today's monthly exam had seen quite a few unexpected turns. The crux was not Su Yu, but Huang Yao, and those few individuals like Jia Mingzhen. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was all steeped in conspiracy! Furthermore, an elder had happened to pass by, which was also extremely bizarre. Liu Hong's mind was filled with conspiracies and schemes, but for the moment, he couldn't find a single clear thread.