The fourth grade, Class 2, all passed with an excellent rate of 50%!
The fourth grade, Class 3, all passed with an excellent rate of 40%.
When it came to Class 4 of the fourth grade, Vixi showed a malicious smile, looked at Ge Zheng on the side, and pulled out a brand new dragon steel drum mallet.
"Bang!" With one swing of the mallet, a single-handed sword broke in two. Vixi sneered: "Unqualified."
"Bang!" Another strike and a flame-patterned shield had a large hole smashed into it. Vixi, as the chief examiner, sneered again: "Unqualified!"
"Bang, bang, bang..." Even miraculous magical weaponry couldn't withstand the "inspection" of a loli-like giant force. The works of Class 4 of the fourth grade were shattered one by one—except for a single person's work that passed with excellence. Unsurprisingly, that person was Miss Peirin Murphy.
The chief examiner kept shaking her head: "The only work to pass the examination of this chief examiner was from a student who lost sixteen credits. The level of darkness in the alchemy department has reached such a lamentable and pitiful extent. It's truly heart-rending and infuriating to cry three times for the sorrow of my Dongsheng Academy."
Dean Ramir looked at the little troublemaker with her hands behind her back, making an old scholar's appearance, couldn't help but want to laugh. Vixi really had no acting talent.
But now he couldn't laugh at all. Over two hundred students were held back a grade, and that was no joke. If word got out, it would be a disgrace to Dongsheng Academy. Ramir regretted how he could agree to let this fearless little troublemaker become the chief examiner.
He really didn't expect Vixi to act so excessively.
Without saying a word, Ge Zheng turned and left.
...
"Come on, come on! You worthless piece of trash, not even the courage to face me. Are all warriors like you?" Ahead of Ge Zheng, he propped up a Matrix Moving Shield and held an Alchemy Flying Sword, loudly shouting at a fully armed warrior.
The person in front of him was none other than Alanke, the number one master of the warrior department. When he first entered the school, some students had seen Ge Zheng's skills and privately discussed who was more formidable, the chief commander of the alchemy department or the number one master of the warrior department. The answer now lay before all the students of the warrior department.
Vixi sought personal revenge and it angered Ge Zheng, so he threatened to resign to Ramir and wrested the position of chief examiner for the fourth grade of the warrior department from the chief commander of the warrior department.
Ramir was overjoyed. With Ge Zheng taking action, he would be able to go between both sides and resolve the problem.
Dongsheng Academy's assessment was different from that of other academies and allowed warriors and mages to use their own equipment. This was because the Austadia Empire was engaged in constant warfare and a warrior's equipment was also part of their strength on the battlefield. It was necessary to be familiar with the performance of one's own equipment to maximize its power. So in the examination, the use of equipment was allowed.
When Ge Zheng took the stage as the chief examiner, he released the Matrix Moving Shield, held the Alchemy Flying Sword, and easily knocked down seven or eight warrior students who looked at him arrogantly.
Ge Zheng didn't even need to use his full strength, and by just luring his opponents into the Matrix Moving Shield, he could easily deal with most of them using the shield's speed and impact force alone.
“Unqualified!”
“Unqualified!”
“Unqualified!”
…
At this moment, the students of the Warrior Department panicked, and the mentors of the Warrior Department were even more flustered.
The top master of the Warrior Department, Alan Ke, was nominated to teach Ge Zheng a lesson and send this person who had "crossed the line" from the Alchemy Department back with tail between his legs.
Although Alan Ke was nominated, he had no confidence at all. His equipment, though purchased by his father at a high price as he was stationed at the front lines of the northern empire, was no match for Ge Zheng.
With all his effort, Alan Ke used the Matrix Shield and summoned his own mount, and even displayed three consecutive Beast Knight techniques, but still couldn't break through the defense line.
Ge Zheng opened the Matrix Shield to let him in, and casually sliced off the Knight's Spear in his hand with a light sword strike.
Ordinary students below couldn't see anything particular about this strike, but the mentors of the Warrior Department all changed their expressions.
The combat techniques in the Star Refinement World were very different from those on Earth. Their swords mainly employed chopping and thrusting skills, with heavy sword bodies and tremendous destructive power.
The ancient Chinese tradition of swordsmanship emphasized elegant and ethereal swordplay, with the occasional bold and overbearing sword technique, but they were still in the minority.
The sword strike from Ge Zheng, viewed by the experts on Earth, had many flaws, but the agile and graceful sword intent hidden within the strike fascinated the mentors of the Warrior Department. They looked at each other and although they had previously looked down on Ge Zheng for relying on his equipment, they now felt that Alan Ke's defeat was not without reason. However, they couldn't understand how a alchemist could possess such superb combat skills.
During his time at Gai Men, Ge Zheng had once spent several days studying swordsmanship to please his senior sister. It was an inverted beheading strike. Because his senior sister had seen a swordsman perform it and praised how elegant the move was, Ge Zheng felt dissatisfied, but after some effort, he finally mastered the move to a "similar form", eventually preventing his senior sister from mentioning that swordsman. Apart from this move, there weren't many sword techniques he could demonstrate. Regardless, he had managed to intimidate all the mentors of the Warrior Department.
"Ah!" Unable to stand Ge Zheng's taunting, Alan Ke threw away his Knight's Spear and drew his longsword from his waist. He spurred on his 4th level mount, charging fearlessly.
With a thought, Ge Zheng erected a shield with the Matrix Shield, and Alan Ke charged into it. Despite unleashing his strongest 7th level multi-colored fighting spirit, he was still knocked around by the collision. His mount let out a mournful neigh and collapsed to the ground. Alan Ke, still midair, unwillingly swung his sword twice.
The chief mentor of the Warrior Department stood up and reached out to receive him.
Alan Ke pushed the mentor away and attempted to charge forward, but was held back as the mentor said, "There's no need, you've lost."
Looking at Wei Xi sitting at the back of the Warrior Department mentors, Ge Zheng said, "So this is the strength of the so-called top expert of the Warrior Department? It's truly disappointing. It seems that the mentors of the Warrior Department have been lazy, allowing some incompetent teaching assistants to oversee the students, resulting in such a disastrous outcome! Ah, the darkness in the academic affairs of the Warrior Department has reached an abyss, truly saddening. I must lament for my Dongsheng Academy, feeling both sorrowful and resentful!"
Wei Xi's face turned red with suppressed anger, bursting out like a volcanic eruption. She jumped up from her seat, her big eyes glaring, full of the desire to crush Ge Zheng, "I will make you understand the prowess of the incompetent teaching assistants from the Warrior Department!"
Ge Zheng chuckled, "You've caused a scene in our Alchemy Department, and I was hoping for an opportunity to teach you a lesson. I wasn't afraid of you the last time, so why should I be now? I have the Matrix Shield in front, the Alchemy Flying Sword in hand, and Eternal Severance in my heart. If I can't defeat you, I might as well not call myself a disciple of Gai Men, to save Old Ancestor Ge Hong from losing face."
The two of them were about to start fighting when a cough interrupted them. Ramiel, the dean, walked slowly over and stood between them, "This time, let's consider it as an exchange between the two departments. I declare that the yearly examination results of the Alchemy and Warrior Departments are null and void, and both departments will rearrange and retake the exam on their own!"
Angered, Wei Xi hit the Stormwall with her mallet. Even with her strength, she was bounced back. Ge Zheng couldn't help but glance at Ramiel. The usually smiling title God of Seals indeed hid his true capabilities.
"Alright, I agree." Ge Zheng decided to respect the decision of the stronger party, especially since Ramiel was not only a strong individual but also had the power. After all, he was the dean.
Using a peculiar tone, he said to Wei Xi across the Stormwall, "Assistant Wei Xi, I will conduct a fair assessment and will not show any bias against Pei Lin due to your incompetence."
He didn't have to say that, but he chose to say it in that tone, which made Wei Xi feel instantly wronged, tears spinning in her eyes: she had only wanted to help Pei Lin get revenge, but now it made her feel responsible for her potential grade retention.
…
Unbroken mountains and ridges, ravines like the fierce claws of a demon tearing open the earth. This was the paradise of the beasts and the forbidden land of humans, but now, within the dark green giant trees where the Forest King, the Dark Tiger, used to roam alone, were inserted several rows of incongruous, low wooden houses.
Humans' pervasive footprint of invasion had extended even here.
Around the wooden houses, there were warriors clad in magical equipment, guarding against threats from deep within the forest. In front of the wooden house, a middle-aged man with a brown goatee was industriously keeping records with a quill pen. On the other side of the table, a long line was formed.
"Next," the middle-aged man called out, made a note, and handed three gold coins from a nearby box to the worker.
The line stretched and wandered, with the tail of the dragon inserted into a clearing in the forest. This clearing wasn't naturally formed; rather, it was forcibly dug out by human labor. It was surrounded by stumps felled by wind magic, and in the middle, a massive pit suddenly appeared, with a pile of red soil as if poking a deep wound into the earth!
"Three gold coins per month. Where else can you find such a great job, you lot? Work hard!" In the pit, the workers who received their pay were aggressively digging, while a group of supervisors shouted.
Even though the workers were being bossed around, the three gold coins they received each month made them quite content.
Baron, who spat into his palm and then resolutely swung the pickaxe in his hand, was digging hard. The three gold coins in his pockets weighed heavily, swaying with every movement, creating a noticeable sense of downward pull on his shoulders.
Baron's home was in a remote village, and a year's hard work had still not earned him much. Three gold coins per month now made Baron feel like he was dreaming. He calculated in his mind that with a few months of hard work, he could save some money for his son to marry, and if there was any left, he could also repair their leaky house...
Beside Baron, the young lad Green was daydreaming again. Baron gave him a kick, "Kid, stop daydreaming and get to work!"
Reluctantly pulling his gaze from the mountain peak, Green sighed in his heart; yeah, no more daydreaming.
But he couldn't help himself; as he worked, he would sneak glimpses of the mountain peak, where a remarkable figure stood.
Cloaked in a white windbreaker, Rong Chan stood on the nearby mountain peak. Surrounded by the prevailing green, she was particularly striking.
The unrivaled beauty, the frosty and icy temperament, seduced the young men who had never left the village into constant daydreams.
Rong Chan couldn't find anything to smile about. The plan in Delson's King City was nearly seamless, and she had invested a large sum of gold, but not only had she been uprooted from her commercial business in Delson, she hadn't found Klos yet.
Like a shadow, Little Sa stood behind her, being naturally ignored as long as Rong Chan was present.
The pit had been dug to a depth of 300 meters, and underground water kept seeping out, turning the red mud into what seemed like blood, which the workers scooped out with wooden buckets.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the pit, and the workers dropped their tools to run down. Without being ordered, Little Sa's figure flew from inside Rong Chan's body, straight into the pit. In just a moment, her figure was back, "Miss, we've found it!"
Rong Chan's face, like that of extreme northern winter, finally revealed a hint of a smile, "Good, take back the gold coins that these villagers have stowed temporarily in their pockets. They won't need the currency of this world on their way to the underworld."
Little Sa hesitated for a moment but said, "I'll take care of it."
A pale North Thunder Eagle flew over the deep pit, and as it looked down from high above, a huge metal wolf head appeared in its eagle eyes. Just as the metal wolf head's eyes suddenly opened, two beams of red light shot out with endless resentment, penetrating its brain like sharp swords. The eagle twitched its wings, and plummeted straight down from the sky.