Era of Mist

Chapter 156: Chapter 155: The Golden Roll Ranking

”This year’s cohort from Mu Yuan District... They really are getting worse every year.”

The deputy director of the Municipal Education Department sat on the dais, watching the examination below with unconcealed disappointment. The director of the Mu Yuan District Education Bureau, accompanying him, looked embarrassed but had nothing to say.

Shi Tiexin, inside the Wenxin Secret Realm, couldn’t see any of this, but the people on the dais saw it all crystal clear. Nearly five thousand people had participated in the preliminary county exam, yet the first round eliminated over two thousand of them. It wasn’t just the sheer number of failures. Many of the young students stumbled about during the test, only to be taken down in a single blow by the brilliant humanoid figures. It was an absolute disgrace.

But the candidates weren’t entirely to blame.

Everyone on the dais had some level of cultivation; otherwise, they wouldn’t be sitting there in the first place.

”This wooden floor is too slippery.”

Someone stated it bluntly, making the director of the Mu Yuan District Education Bureau even more embarrassed. To make the venue look presentable, the director had specifically ordered it to be tidied up until it sparkled, which included waxing all the floors. He never imagined this vanity project would have such an impact on the preliminary county exam. ’Will I be held responsible for this later?’ he wondered.

”This cohort of students has a very poor foundation. The quality of our education really does need improvement. I’ll reflect on this, I truly will.” The director offered a quick explanation, hoping to move past the topic of the waxed floors. Just as he finished speaking, the second round of the exam concluded.

Of the two thousand six hundred who passed the first round, a mere four hundred made it through the second.

A huge number of candidates tumbled out of the secret realm, and the entire venue filled with their pained cries of ”Ouch! Ouch!” These two thousand two hundred bronze-ranked students could still pursue further education, but only at third-tier academies, which were essentially vocational schools. There was no chance for these bronze-ranked students to secure a good standing within the Student Union’s official hierarchy.

”Word has come from the South City District. They had one thousand four hundred people pass the second round.”

”News from the North City District, too. Their second round is also over, and they also had over one thousand four hundred pass.”

”The Upper City District has even more—over one thousand eight hundred passed the second round. Incredible!”

Every year during the preliminary county exam, the nine districts fiercely competed, with news flying back and forth even while the tests were underway. Hearing the numbers of silver-ranked students from the other districts while looking down at the paltry four hundred or so survivors from his own, the director of Mu Yuan District had to admit that his district’s educational standards were truly a disgrace.

And this was only the beginning of the humiliation, not the end.

”Whoa, the Upper City District is fast! The gold-rank placement has already begun, and over three hundred and thirty of their students have made it to the gold rank!”

”The South City District is right behind them. Their gold-rank placement has started too, with two hundred and eighty making it to the gold rank!”

”The North City District also has over two hundred and eighty. I wonder who will win the contest between the North and South districts this time.”

’Three hundred thirty? Two hundred eighty?’

The director looked down at the third round. The Wenxin Secret Realms were shattering one after another. CRACK. CRACKLE. SNAP. Those secret realms were like bubbles in a gale, popping rapidly along with the director’s pride, their numbers plummeting.

Before long, the third round was over.

”Fewer than thirty?” The deputy director was getting irritated. ”Not even thirty made it to the gold-rank placement? Old Wang, your district’s situation is truly far worse than the others. You need to step it up!”

”Yes, sir! Yes!” The director wiped the sweat from his forehead, completely speechless this time.

’More than ten times worse than the Upper City District? That damned waxed floor has doomed Mu Yuan District!’

The only suspense left was the gold-rank placement itself. He hoped for some brilliant performances to salvage a bit of Mu Yuan District’s reputation. The director glanced over the remaining contestants. It was pretty much as he expected; he recognized most of the students who would likely make it to the gold-rank placement—it was the usual suspects.

’Huh? Why is there a barefoot kid over there?’

’I’ve never seen him before. Who is that kid?’

”For the gold-rank placement, the top three shall be bestowed with a golden light.” The Dragon Map Scholar looked down at the twenty-nine remaining Wenxin Secret Realms, his gaze lingering for a moment on the barefoot Shi Tiexin. The Spell in his hands shifted, and he clapped them together. ”Merge!”

The twenty-nine Wenxin Secret Realms shifted randomly, performing a breathtaking dance across the spatial dimension before merging in pairs, two becoming one. The examinees inside the realms couldn’t see this. All they saw was the six-colored radiance of their realm’s boundary begin to flow and shift, and then, suddenly, they could see each other.

They could see not only their opponent ten meters away, but also the other secret realms, and the opponents within them.

’The Student Union’s exam system is so devious. Making everyone visible to each other at this moment... they must have done it on purpose!’

’That means I have to finish this fight as quickly as possible!’

Only by defeating their opponent first could they minimize the chance of being observed and analyzed by others, and perhaps even get a chance to observe other fights themselves.

Shi Tiexin’s gaze fixed on his opponent, and he was surprised to see a familiar face.

It was the last guy who had blocked his path when he’d pushed through the crowd of eight hundred people—the powerfully built trash-talker. Shi Tiexin didn’t know his name, but he knew he was the monitor of Class 2 and a skilled fighter.

”Shi Tiexin! I didn’t expect to run into you here! This is perfect. That day, you used your silver tongue to trick me into taking half a step back. But today, I will avenge that shame and show you that you’re not worthy of making me yield!” The guy strode forward, his expensive training shoes gripping the wooden floor, his footing perfectly stable.

Shi Tiexin, however, remained where he was, his gaze instantly locking onto his opponent’s shoes.

”Shi Tiexin, your fighting style is vicious, but your technique is garbage! It’s just basic boxing, and everyone has already figured it out!” The man seemed to be going for a psychological attack. ”Compared to my Ancient Boxing Skill, your style is crude, simplistic, and utterly lacking in killing power! I visited everyone you injured and now understand your weaknesses completely. Against me, you don’t stand a chance!”

The man’s arms became a dizzying blur. His Body Technique was nimble as he swayed left and dodged right. With a simple advance, he made it incredibly difficult to track his center of gravity or the path of his fists. It was the perfect style to counter someone like Shi Tiexin, who possessed great power but used simple, predictable moves.

’Looks like this guy really did his homework. He’s clearly studied my boxing style carefully.’

Shi Tiexin raised a hand to parry, but his opponent feinted and slipped past it. The fist twisted inward and slammed into Shi Tiexin’s shoulder.

CLANG! The punch landed squarely, its force completely undispersed.

The man’s lips curled into a smirk, confident of his victory. ’As long as I shatter his shoulder with this punch, he’ll be a toothless tiger. I’ve already won.’

But an instant later, his confidence turned to shock. The spot where his fist had landed... seemed completely unaffected.

’What the—?!’

’No way!’

’Am I seeing things?’

’No, if I look closely, there is a small effect. The layer of light at his shoulder seems to be slightly dented... Holy crap, a punch like mine only caused a slight dent? What level is this guy’s mental art?!’

While he was still in shock, with a sharp sound, Shi Tiexin’s left arm—the one that had missed the parry—shot forward and clamped down firmly on his opponent’s shoulder. Startled, the man tried to shrug him off. But Shi Tiexin’s five fingers squeezed down with immense force. His technique was average, but his strength was immense. With a series of CRACKLING sounds, the layer of light protecting the man’s shoulder was pierced and shattered.

The next moment, Shi Tiexin’s five glowing fingers tore through flesh and blood, digging deep into the man’s shoulder.