「Three days later.」
Second Uncle Fang's examination began right on time.
However, Second Uncle Fang didn't seem to be in a very good mood. He wasn't smiling as he usually did.
"This examination is divided into three parts: first, text proofreading; second, manual herb gathering; and third, a rapid-fire quiz."
"For these three parts, your performance will be judged first on accuracy, then on speed."
After speaking, Second Uncle Fang sat down at the examiner's desk by the hall's entrance. The carved red-flower chair groaned as if it couldn't bear his weight.
Across from him, at the candidates' desks, sat Fang Yang and Sen Hui.
While not many youths from the Changkong clan came to the Cangmu Banner, they weren't entirely absent.
Second Uncle Fang had gone to great lengths to arrange this opportunity for Fang Yang and Sen Hui to study and grow together, but that brat Fang Yang had nearly "screwed it all up." It was hard for Second Uncle Fang not to grind his teeth in frustration.
Fang Yang felt his uncle's gaze on him but pointedly ignored it.
He rolled up his sleeves, picked up his ink brush, and immediately began writing furiously on the test paper on his desk.
[Taste of the Cloud Sea Ganoderma? Pungent / Bitter / Sour / Sweet]
'Isn't this a freebie?' Fang Yang didn't even have to think, directly circling [Pungent].
[The supplementary ingredient for the Tier Three Harmony Pill is...]
[The primary ingredient for the Tier Four Blood-Tempering Pill is...]
For Fang Yang, a Transmigrator, written exams were a piece of cake. 'An absolute piece of cake~'
And so, Fang Yang scribbled away, his speed astonishing.
Sen Hui, on the other hand, hesitated and reconsidered each question, already breaking out in a nervous sweat.
When experts competed, the slightest gap could be fatal.
In a way, with this kind of test, Fang Yang was basically cheating.
At the front of the room, Second Uncle Fang, the chief examiner, narrowed his eyes, observing Fang Yang and Sen Hui.
Before long, Second Uncle Fang noticed that the boy was answering almost everything correctly, and at nearly twice Sen Hui's speed. He was leagues ahead!
Fang Yang's talent made Second Uncle Fang both happy and exasperated.
"Ahem." Second Uncle Fang coughed twice. He wanted to remind Fang Yang not to put too much pressure on Sen Hui, but simply telling him to go easy wasn't an option either.
But Fang Yang was lost in the joy of test-taking, a pleasure from his past life, and didn't notice his uncle's subtle actions at all.
Sen Hui, on the other hand, heard Second Uncle Fang's coughs and looked as if she was on the verge of tears from the stress.
Her eyes were slightly red, her slender, pale hands trembled, and the characters she wrote were crooked and listless.
Compared to Fang Yang, the difference was immense.
It was obvious that Sen Hui, the "top student," was feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from the "super top student," Fang Yang!
'It's good that he has the air of our ancestors, but it's also a bad thing,' Second Uncle Fang thought. 'Our Fang Clan is no longer at its peak. If you truly want to achieve sainthood, you can't be concerned with momentary bravado.'
Immediately after, Second Uncle Fang lightly clenched his right fist, and his Light Purple True Essence circulated secretly.
A cool breeze suddenly blew in from outside, flowing into the hall and bringing a refreshing chill.
The breeze eased Sen Hui's anxiety, but it put Fang Yang in a difficult predicament.
The ink brush in his hand had suddenly become as heavy as a mountain, preventing him from writing with his previous ease and fluidity.
This change immediately snapped Fang Yang back to his senses.
Fang Yang looked up at his uncle, only to see Second Uncle Fang shake his head slightly, signaling for him to restrain himself.
Seeing this, Fang Yang could only sigh in his heart. 'The path of cultivation isn't just about fighting and killing; it's also about navigating social complexities...'
Fang Yang put down his brush, pretending to grind his ink and think, but in reality, he was going easy and resting his mind.
Beside him, Sen Hui noticed that Fang Yang's answering speed had slowed. Her confidence immediately surged, and her fighting spirit gradually returned.
Standing by the examiner's desk, Lingfang, who had been observing, saw what happened. A thoughtful expression crossed her face, but she didn't dare to say anything.
Under these circumstances, the examination proceeded very quickly.
In the text proofreading stage, both performed almost perfectly, but Sen Hui narrowly won with the advantage of finishing nearly eight minutes faster.
In the manual herb gathering stage, both again performed almost perfectly, but this time, Fang Yang won by a narrow margin.
With Fang Yang and Sen Hui having won one stage each, the third stage—the rapid-fire quiz—became crucial.
During the rapid-fire quiz, the two were locked in a back-and-forth struggle that even Lingfang, the spectator, found thrilling to watch.
In the end, however, Sen Hui narrowly won because Fang Yang answered three questions "incorrectly," one more than she did.
After such a tense and stimulating examination, Sen Hui was completely drained, practically slumped flat against her desk.
All one could say was that the pressure Fang Yang had put on her was too intense, too stimulating!
At that moment, her heart was still pounding. A feeling she had never experienced before welled up inside her.
It was a mix of fear and excitement, and even a little bit of pride!
The jumble of emotions felt strange, almost making her dizzy.
But in her current state, she really didn't have the energy to shoot any harsh words at Fang Yang.
「As the sun set, leaving a twilight afterglow.」
Lingfang escorted a rewarded Sen Hui out of Hall Jia-Thirteen of the medicine hall.
Inside the hall, only Fang Yang and his uncle remained.
The uncle and nephew now stood side-by-side, gazing at the sky.
Fang Yang's posture was still ramrod straight, like a spear or a sword; he was not drained from the examination like Sen Hui.
Second Uncle Fang had a broad and healthy physique, but his back was slightly stooped. A faint medicinal scent constantly clung to him.
"Ah Yang, do you think I was being a bit weak?"
"No. A fledgling eagle avoids the harsh, cold wind so that it can soar through the heavens once it becomes a mighty eagle."
"A fledgling eagle avoids the harsh, cold wind so that it can soar through the heavens once it becomes a mighty eagle..."
Haha, good, good, good! Ah Yang, you truly are worthy of being the Qilin Child unanimously recognized by the clan elders.
It seems I underestimated you. You really are capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our ancestors!"
Second Uncle Fang said "good" three times in a row.
He looked as if he had drunk a pot of strong liquor, his face flushing red.
In truth, Fang Yang had been constrained and unable to act freely during the examination, but wasn't the same true for Second Uncle Fang?
But the fact that Fang Yang could understand his good intentions made Second Uncle Fang feel it was all worth it. Everything was worth it!
「That night, when the moon was high and all was quiet.」
Fang Yang shut his door tightly, recalled the White Feathered Eagle into a medium-grade beast pouch, and only then sat cross-legged on his bed.
A medium-grade beast pouch could hold a Tier Two Fierce Beast or anything below.
In terms of value, a beast pouch of the same quality was often three to five times more expensive than a storage pouch.
This was because a beast pouch could do everything a storage pouch could.
But a storage pouch could not do what a beast pouch could.
Typically, only powerful experts at the Tier Three realm possessed a medium-grade beast pouch!
And Fang Yang's reward for this examination was exactly that: a medium-grade beast pouch.
In terms of value alone, a medium-grade beast pouch could be sold for over ten thousand Yuan Stones. The reward was nothing short of generous.
Although, thanks to the examination, the number of Yuan Stones Fang Yang now possessed had increased to over three hundred.
But if he were to sell off his other assets, he could gather at least another thirty thousand Yuan Stones.
This was the top-tier treatment enjoyed by a talented disciple!
It was far beyond anything Sen Hui could compare to.
He, Fang Yang, was the true young prodigy of the Fang Clan!
The bedroom was dark, making it difficult to see.
Fang Yang closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his Void Acupoint.
His bronze True Essence Sea was at one hundred percent capacity, with a Fire Eagle Illusion presiding over it.
Within it, his True Essence had almost completely transformed from a pure bronze color to a jade green.
Once the color of his True Essence turned completely jade green, it would prove that Fang Yang's accumulation was sufficient, and he would be a Cultivator at the initial stage of Tier One.
This process didn't require breaking through barriers like light membranes or water membranes; it only required slow and steady accumulation.
The existence of the Fire Eagle Illusion both benefited Fang Yang and made him suffer.
He not only had to transform his True Essence but also strengthen the Fire Eagle Illusion, which was equivalent to consuming double the resources!
And this was also a major reason why Cultivators with a Spirit Body were stronger than ordinary Cultivators.
Otherwise, he would have already become a Cultivator at the initial stage of Tier One long ago.
'Good things come in pairs. I might as well do it all in one go.' The thought arose in Fang Yang's mind.
The next moment, within his Void Acupoint's True Essence Sea, the Fire Eagle Illusion opened its eyes.
The Fire Eagle Illusion flapped its wings and shrieked, stirring up wave after wave of fire that surged higher and higher.
ROAR...
The Fire Eagle Illusion's body gradually elongated, its fiery feathers growing more and more vivid. It was growing stronger!
'They're being consumed so quickly,' Fang Yang lamented. He immediately grasped a Yuan Stone in each hand and began extracting the True Essence.
Ten Yuan Stones.
Twenty Yuan Stones.
Fifty Yuan Stones.
With a BANG, the ceaselessly churning waves were instantly devoured by the Fire Eagle Illusion. The illusion's form, in turn, became even more valiant and profound...
Furthermore, the True Essence now being produced in Fang Yang's Void Acupoint was entirely jade green.
He had finally reached the initial stage of the Tier One realm!
Seeing this, Fang Yang was overjoyed.
He suppressed his excitement and began absorbing Yuan Stones again. After consuming nearly ten more, the True Essence Sea within his body was finally refilled.
And the white membrane of light surrounding the walls of his Void Acupoint was still there.
The moment Fang Yang completely broke through that white light membrane would be when he stepped into the middle stage of Tier One.
Fang Yang let out a long breath.
Because he was about to begin condensing the [Flame Skill] into his Lifebound Skill!