Traps Everywhere

In the blink of an eye, June twenty-fifth arrived—the day of the Higher Academy Examination. The morning was reserved for the War Academy examination. First came the War Academies, followed by the Civilization Academies. The examinations for the Internal Affairs and Scientific Research Academies would not take place until the twenty-sixth; those two were relatively easy, and most students only applied to them when left with no other choice. …… The examination site was set at Nanyuan Academy. Early in the morning, the surrounding streets were already packed with people. The City Guards, the Wind Arrest Hall, and the Longwu Guards were all deployed in force, placing Nanyuan Academy under strict martial law. Several thousand students were participating in the examination. These youths were the future of Nanyuan, and the city attached immense importance to the event. With the All-Races Sect's recent raid still fresh in everyone's memory, Nanyuan dared not let its guard down in the slightest. Su Yu arrived together with Chen Hao. By the time they reached the gates, crowds of parents were waiting outside, and vehicles had nearly choked off all access routes leading into the academy. Over by the Traffic Supervision Office's contingent, Su Yu even spotted Chen Hao's father directing the scene in person. At the academy gates, several unfamiliar staff members checked Su Yu and Chen Hao's student permits and identification cards before finally granting them entry. "Yu, do you think I might fail the exam?" Chen Hao was clearly nervous, pressing him relentlessly. Su Yu sighed. "If someone at the Kaiyuan Fifth Layer can't pass, hardly anyone in Nanyuan can." "But being at the Kaiyuan Fifth Layer doesn't guarantee admission!" "Contrarian!" Su Yu cursed under his breath. It was true that people at the Kaiyuan Fifth Layer occasionally failed, but why on earth did this guy insist on grouping himself with them? There was no helping him. The two made their way toward the examination building, passing many other students along the way. Most, of course, were unfamiliar faces. Gathered here were not only students from Nanyuan Academy, but also youths from Nanyuan's other academies, as well as many outsiders. The outsiders were actually easy to distinguish. Nanyuan students generally wore standard academy uniforms, whereas the outsiders mostly wore their own clothes—sleeker, more fashionable, and noticeably finer than anything worn locally. These outsiders wore solemn expressions and mostly walked alone, paying no attention whatsoever to the local Nanyuan students. Even when several Nanyuan students cast hostile glares their way, the newcomers couldn't be bothered to care. They simply didn't mind, nor did they view the students of Nanyuan as real competitors. …… Outside the examination hall. A few young examinees had gathered together, both boys and girls. They seemed to have just run into one another. While most of the other outsiders were strangers to each other, these few clearly shared an acquaintance. In the center of the group stood a girl with her long hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Tall and slender, she wore a frosty expression. The youths around her were equally striking—the boys handsome and the girls pretty. At a single glance, they stood apart from the crowd. In the distance, several people who recognized them pointed and whispered among themselves. The group ignored the chatter. Having unexpectedly run into one another, they seemed a little awkward, unsure of what to say. After a long pause, a sunny-looking boy smiled and broke the silence. "Everyone's here! What a coincidence!" "Yeah, quite a coincidence. I thought you'd all take the exam in the Great Xia Prefecture!" "So you guys weren't confident about passing in Great Xia either? And here I thought I was the only one without enough confidence." "……" With someone initiating the conversation, the others chimed in one after another, and the ice was quickly broken. The girl in the center frowned, listening for a moment before snapping in annoyance, "What's with the act? Even in the Great Xia Prefecture, all of us would be guaranteed admission! It's not like our reasons for coming here are a secret!" The youths were still young, after all, and lacked true worldliness, so her words left them looking rather embarrassed. A moment later, another boy said sheepishly, "I never wanted to take the exam in Nanyuan either. Even if I pass, it's humiliating. It was my second uncle who insisted I come down to take a look—to see this Su Yu guy whom Assistant Bai suddenly decided to take as a student……" At those words, different expressions flashed across their faces. Many turned toward the girl with the ponytail. "Wu Lan, are you here for that too? Your overall rating was mid-high, and it might be top-high by now. Did you really need to come?" Wu Lan's face turned icy. "I want to see just how outstanding this Su Yu is! Outstanding enough for Assistant Bai Feng to say right at the admissions office that I, Wu Lan, am nothing!" She was Wu Qi's younger sister! That day, when Liu Hong had recommended her to Bai Feng as a student, Bai Feng had worn an expression of utter disdain. Wu Qi hadn't taken it to heart, but the incident had spread, delivering a devastating blow to Wu Lan. Not only was it a blow, but it also left the young girl feeling too mortified to show her face. Had Bai Feng simply said nothing, it would have been fine. But he had gone out of his way to declare that he didn't care and that mid-high was nothing special—words that caused immense embarrassment to everyone involved. Her purpose in coming was different from the others. The rest clung to a faint hope: if they proved far more outstanding than Su Yu, creating a stark contrast, would Bai Feng reconsider and take them as students instead? Wu Lan, however, had no such illusions. She simply wanted Bai Feng to see what absolute trash his chosen student was! That boy wasn't even fit to be mentioned in the same breath as her! It wasn't that Bai Feng had refused her as a student; it was that she looked down on an assistant researcher like him in the first place. If not for Bai Feng's teacher, a mere assistant researcher held little weight in the academy. Her sister was an assistant researcher too, and far closer to becoming a full researcher than Bai Feng was. With the topic out in the open, the others stopped being evasive. One whispered, "He registered for both academy exams. The War Academy is probably just a formality for him, and the real focus is the Civilization Academy exam this afternoon. Do you think he's learned to outline a divine character yet?" "Him?" Someone scoffed. "Not to look down on him, but he's a student from Nanyuan. Setting everything else aside, how many willpower texts could he have possibly read? How high could his willpower accumulation possibly be? Outlining a divine character? It's a question whether he even knows what a divine character is." As the chatter continued, Wu Lan said impatiently, "He isn't the one we're here to compete against!" Even though they had come to Nanyuan, their true target of comparison wasn't Su Yu, but Bai Feng. While their personal motives differed, their overarching goal was the same: to show Bai Feng that the student he picked was absolute garbage—so utterly pathetic that taking him would be a disgrace. Had they not come, the boy might have claimed first place in Nanyuan, saving some face. Now that they were here, he wouldn't even make the top ten in Nanyuan, let alone first place, and the gap between him and the top scorer would be as vast as heaven and earth. Whether out of hostility toward Bai Feng or a desire to make him abandon his choice, this was their chance. As they were speaking, someone caught sight of Chen Hao and Su Yu in the distance and said uncertainly, "Is that him over there?" The group turned to look. Having reviewed Su Yu's profile earlier, someone quickly confirmed, "That's him!" "Should we go over and talk to him?" "No, there's no point!" Someone declined at once, having no interest in interacting with Su Yu, though observing him was another matter. Talking to him served no purpose! Su Yu couldn't change anything anyway. Whether Bai Feng took an apprentice or not wasn't Su Yu's decision to make. These youths weren't fools; their goal was to demonstrate that they were superior to Su Yu and catch Bai Feng's eye, not to build friendly ties with the boy. A moment later, another person spoke up. "He has limited horizons and probably thinks Nanyuan is the whole world. Why don't we knock him down a peg, show him how weak he is, and make him give up on the Civilization Academy on his own?" "Then why don't you go try?" The rest ignored him. Everyone was taking the examination under the rules. If they achieved stellar results and Su Yu developed an inferiority complex, that was Su Yu's own problem. To go out of one's way to harass Su Yu without cause—did that person really think Bai Feng was dead? Did he think Liu Wenyan wouldn't fly into a rage? Their objective wasn't to crush Su Yu's self-esteem; that would accomplish nothing other than earning the enmity of several Civilization Masters, offering zero benefit. They were prospective Civilization Academy students, and anyone truly brainless had long been weeded out. The one proposing such an idea probably harbored malicious intent. The same youth persisted, "So we just stand here and watch? The information says he's at the Kaiyuan Fifth Layer. Why don't we use willpower intimidation on him so he underperforms and drops the ball in the War Academy exam too?" "You go, then!" Wu Lan's voice suddenly cut in, sharp and cold. "Go ahead and try! Don't just talk! If you think Assistant Liu Hong can protect your life, then by all means, go! If you dare utter another word of instigation, believe me, even if I have to throw away this year's exam, I'll ensure you never get a chance to take an exam for the rest of your life!" The boy's expression shifted erratically at her words, and he quickly denied it. "Wu Lan, I'm not familiar with Assistant Liu Hong. Don't make things up!" "Right, I was just making things up!" Wu Lan scoffed coldly. "I was baiting you on purpose! Liu Hong and Bai Feng are competing fairly, strictly within the rules. But here you are trying to break the rules, cover your tracks, and shift the blame! Regardless of who sent you, it certainly wasn't Liu Hong. Stop treating the whole world like fools!" Beside them, another boy chuckled. "Who knows, maybe he's with the All-Races Sect! Those scoundrels love stirring up trouble at times like this, taking everyone for an idiot to make Assistant Bai Feng and Assistant Liu Hong tear each other apart. If you're not from the All-Races Sect, then you belong to one of the other assistant instructors. Shut your trap!" "Say another word, and we'll have the Longwu Guards investigate you. Don't think they won't dig up every last detail. We've got our eyes on you!" "……" The instigator's face drained of color, changing several times before he finally stammered, "I'm not from the All-Races Sect! If you don't believe me, I can curse every single god, demon, and race under the heavens right now! Don't frame me. Cutting down the competition doesn't give you the right to play like this—slander carries consequences!" The others couldn't be bothered with him. Whether he belonged to the All-Races Sect hardly mattered; members of the sect wouldn't dare expose themselves so blatantly, and even if he was one, what threat could a mere Kaiyuan Realm cultivator pose? …… While they were conversing, Su Yu, not far off, seemed to sense gazes fixed upon him. He glanced over his shoulder. The group was sharply dressed, clearly outsiders. They were sizing him up. Su Yu swept his peripheral vision across the surroundings and kept walking; their eyes followed. Su Yu was certain now: they were watching him—though, of course, the possibility that they were looking at Chen Hao couldn't be entirely ruled out. Still, the odds of it being Chen Hao were minuscule; in all likelihood, their attention was on him. *Did Bai Feng draw them here?* *Or did news leak that I helped kill that Wanshi Realm cultist?* Su Yu weighed the possibilities, uncertain. He decided not to pay them any mind, acting as though he hadn't noticed. Just then, a man stepped out of the examination building and barked, "Line up to enter! There are five examination halls, located on floors one through five! Enter your respective halls in order according to the hall numbers you were issued!" "No one is permitted to leave until the examination concludes!" "Cheating is strictly forbidden! Anyone caught cheating will face a lifetime ban on admission to all higher academies!" "Maintain order once inside the halls! Anyone causing a disturbance will have their qualification revoked and be barred from testing for three years!" "Those who score two hundred points or higher will be granted admission on the spot; those below two hundred must await notification!" "Students participating in the Civilization Academy examination this afternoon must manage your physical and mental stamina sensibly. If you fail to pass the War Academy exam and ruin your afternoon exam in the process, you will bear full responsibility for the outcome!" The man rattled off a string of rules and regulations. Soon after, the City Guards stationed at the doors began letting students through. Su Yu checked his assigned number: 5-101. Hall 5, Number 101. Chen Hao was not on the same floor as him; his hall was on the third floor. Chen Hao looked intensely nervous as he turned to Su Yu, whispering, "Yu, we're not on the same floor! What do we do?" "Were you planning on cheating?" Su Yu retorted in exasperation, "Just take the exam properly, what's the big deal? If you get this nervous over a test, how can anyone expect you to go to the All-Heavens Battlefield? You'd probably wet your pants!" Lowering his voice, Su Yu added, "We've even killed a Qianjun Realm fighter before. The exam isn't asking you to kill anyone, so what are you scared of?" Hearing that, Chen Hao thought it over and let out a long breath. That made sense. He was a man who had accomplished great things! Why should he be terrified of a simple test? …… The students began filing into the examination halls. Examination Hall 5. Five invigilators were present. For the War Academy examination, the invigilators included one representative each from the Great Xia War Academy, the Longwu War Academy, and the Yuqiang Department. In addition, the local government—Nanyuan City—dispatched one person to supervise. Finally, the military had a representative as well. This was not a member of the Longwu Guards, but an overseer from the frontline Demon Suppression Army. The Demon Suppression Army maintained small garrisons in the Great Xia Prefecture, primarily tasked with recruitment. During the academy examinations, some candidates failed to gain admission or chose not to attend; afterward, the Demon Suppression Army would extend invitations to recruit them into the ranks. Inside Hall 5, the five invigilators were already in position. The representative sent by Longwu Academy was none other than Old Xie. The Great Xia War Academy had sent a young man. Once the invigilators took their seats, the young man asked with some confusion, "Instructor Xie, weren't you supposed to oversee all five halls as part of the inspection team? Why did you come here?" In addition to the on-site invigilators, the testing venue had an inspection team responsible for resolving disputes and supervising the invigilators and halls. Old Xie was leading the delegation this time, so by right, he belonged in the inspection team. Old Xie chuckled. "I'm getting on in years. Running back and forth is too exhausting—let the others handle it. I'll just stay here!" The young man didn't press further; it made little difference who proctored. The Yuqiang Department had sent a middle-aged woman whom none of them knew well, so no one engaged her in conversation. Nanyuan's representative was a deputy commander of the City Guards, also in the Wanshi Realm. Compared to a Tengkong Realm expert like Old Xie, however, the gap was vast, so he kept a low profile and remained silent. As for the soldier from the Demon Suppression Army, he showed no interest in speaking with anyone, leaving the hall rather quiet. Old Xie swept his gaze across the room, smiled, and fell silent as well. In truth, they were competitors; whenever a promising seed appeared, they would inevitably vie for them. It had not been easy for Longwu Academy to secure such a quota. In the past, Longwu Academy lacked the authority to send invigilators to examinations like this, meaning top talents were invariably scooped up by the Great Xia War Academy. A decade ago, however, the Prefect had granted them special privileges and invigilation rights, finally allowing them to compete for top candidates on equal footing. After waiting a moment, Old Xie said, "If no one has any objections, shall we officially begin the examination?" "Let's begin!" "No objections!" "……" The others spoke up in agreement. Old Xie turned to the City Guards stationed at the entrance and ordered, "Open the doors and let the students in!" The guards acknowledged the command, and the heavy doors swung open. A moment later, the students waiting outside began filing in. Su Yu was among them. Looking around, he took in the space. The building was normally closed to students, so this was his first time inside. It was clearly different from the standard classroom blocks—the entire floor had been hollowed out into a single massive hall. It had been built specifically for administering examinations. Each of the five halls accommodated six to seven hundred students. The testing was conducted simultaneously rather than in shifts, allowing for rapid progress; the entire examination would be wrapped up in a single morning. "Students, find your assigned seats and sit down!" "No commotion in the examination hall!" "Examination content must not be leaked!" "Remember: allocate your time wisely, and manage your mental and physical energy with care!" "On the battlefield, analysis and decisiveness are vital skills. The War Academy does not cultivate brainless brutes!" The speaker was the young man from the Great Xia War Academy. His tone turned solemn as he continued, "You have seen the examination procedure, but that is merely a general outline. Being at the Kaiyuan Sixth Layer does not guarantee you will receive the full one hundred and twenty points for the Kaiyuan Sixth Layer. Whether you obtain them depends on your own decisions and abilities!" "One Kaiyuan is not the same as another!" "Even at the same cultivation level, instances where a Kaiyuan Sixth Layer falls short of a Kaiyuan Third Layer are not unheard of!" "We will select only the most outstanding talents to enter the War Academy. The rest of you…… will have to find your own way!" Below, the students searching for their seats suddenly grew tense. Many had heard rumors before: while the exam largely evaluated raw strength and knowledge reserves, the specific contents varied from year to year. Some students at the Kaiyuan Fourth or Fifth Layer had ended up with shockingly low scores in the past. "The total duration of the examination is four hours, starting promptly at eight o'clock and concluding at twelve sharp!" "Remember, allocate your time, energy, and physical stamina wisely!" This was yet another reminder from the invigilators! Su Yu's eyes flickered slightly. *Allocate time and energy wisely*—this wasn't the first time he had heard that phrase; it had been repeated multiple times. Down below, a student murmured under his breath, "Isn't it just about knowing what to give up? Why repeat it so many times? As if we didn't already know……" The moment the words left his mouth, Old Xie's gaze turned piercingly cold. "Take him out! Put him in solitary confinement and release him after four hours!" Two City Guards marched forward immediately. Before the stunned student could react, they seized him by the arms and dragged him toward the exit. "I…… I didn't say anything…… I didn't say anything at all……" "Teacher, give me another chance!" Old Xie ignored his pleas, stating calmly, "No disruptions permitted. Raise your hand if you have a question. Orders must be obeyed without hesitation. This is a War Academy examination; when we say something once, we do not intend to repeat it! Is this how you would act on the battlefield? Did five years of intermediate academy fail to teach you how to follow rules?" "On the battlefield, ambushes and covert operations are common occurrences. When your comrades are right beside you and you're ordered to keep quiet, refusing to hold your tongue could lead to the annihilation of a squad or an entire army! Who will give you a second chance then?" "You are academy students, not idle loiterers. Remember: obey the rules!" Old Xie had made an example of him, and the examination hall fell instantly dead silent. Su Yu, however, along with a few other students, wore strange expressions. *Just now…… was that a fake student?* *A plant meant to scare everyone into line?* While most examinees hadn't noticed anything amiss, Su Yu had sensed something off. When the student was dragged out, he had appeared panicked on the surface, but underneath, there had been an air of indifference. It was as if he had simply completed an assigned mission, relieved that he no longer had to sit through the agonizing ordeal with everyone else…… Su Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the stunt being pulled in the examination hall. Still, he had to admit it was remarkably effective: the entire hall was now quiet enough to hear a pin drop.