Chapter 13: The Whole Assembly in Uproar—Bringing Shame Upon Himself!
Young Master Qilin, Zhao Yao, was the first to step onto the high platform.
Right behind him came Yan Shouxu, the eldest legitimate grandson of Academy Headmaster Yan.
At nineteen, already at Energy Condensation Seventh Tier, ranked second in every single subject, he was known as Young Master Tiger-Cub.
To all the onlookers around, there was no question that Yan Shouxu would walk away with one of the seeded spots!
A moment later, siblings Wei Yuan and Wei Xuan climbed onto the platform, and the rest of the Heaven cohort’s elite refused to be outdone, striding forward one after another to take their place.
Li Qingwu was among them.
In the distant crowd, Li Jisheng, head of Shiyang County’s Fisherman’s Guild, looked visibly thrilled—he was certain his daughter would shine brilliantly!
In the span of a single incense stick’s burning, seventy-eight students already stood upon the platform.
Within the Heaven cohort itself, a dozen or so still stood motionless, clearly having given up on the trials.
Knowing defeat was certain, why bother courting misery?
By not participating, they could at least preserve their status as elites of the Heaven cohort—if they showed a pathetic side of themselves in the trial, they’d become a laughingstock across all of Shiyang County!
Several instructors scanned the square, drawing breath deep into their dantians as they called out:
“Anyone else wish to register?”
The words had barely faded.
The Earth cohort remained utterly silent.
Not a single sound.
From that entire cohort, not one person stepped forward.
But then, the next instant—
“Zhu Yuting.”
A steady, composed voice rang out.
The crowd turned to look.
It had come from the Yellow cohort!
In an instant, the whole assembly erupted into an uproar, and the surrounding onlookers exchanged bewildered glances, some of them scarcely able to believe it.
All of Shiyang County knew that the students’ strength was clearly stratified.
Heaven, Earth, Mystery, Yellow, Universe, Vast, Wild, Wilderness—eight cohorts in total.
Even within the Heaven cohort, over a dozen hadn’t dared enter the trials.
And the Earth cohort hadn’t produced a single volunteer!
Yet from the fourth-ranked cohort, someone had actually registered?
It was absurd—was he just trying to grab attention and make a name for himself through sheer audacity?
Under the weight of every eye, from within the Yellow cohort’s ranks, a gaunt, dark-skinned student slowly stepped forward.
He said nothing, paying no mind to the mixed stares around him, simply walking step by step toward the platform.
The many elites already on the platform cast cold glances at this so-called washout.
In their eyes, anyone outside the Heaven cohort was beneath notice—and now even an ant dared to presume itself their equal.
“Interesting,” several Blade-Bearers murmured, exchanging glances, a flicker of genuine surprise passing through their eyes.
They had all cultivated the special secret arts of their bureaus, techniques that let them see straight through a person’s concealed cultivation at a glance.
This one, named Zhu Yuting, turned out to be at Energy Condensation Seventh Tier!
That would place him third overall.
Just imagine—a prodigy capable of ranking in the top three even against the Heaven cohort, someone who could have enjoyed renown across the entire county, yet had willingly buried himself in obscurity within the Yellow cohort.
What kind of iron restraint did that take?
What kind of terrifying, worldly-detached mind?
And most striking of all—as a member of only the fourth cohort, receiving vastly inferior training resources compared to the Heaven cohort, he’d still reached Energy Condensation Seventh Tier. His talent was simply frightening.
Had it not been for this fate-deciding opportunity, perhaps he would have kept lying low indefinitely.
Zhu Yuting paid no mind whatsoever to the mocking stares around him.
He took his place in a corner of the platform, closed his eyes to rest his spirit, and said nothing more.
He knew only one thing: this seeded spot was his to claim. No one would stop him.
“Anyone else?”
The academy headmaster swept his gaze across the square, landing on those dozen or so cowards still standing motionless within the Heaven cohort.
The academy had poured so many resources into cultivating them, and yet they lacked even the courage to compete.
Just as he was about to finalize the count at seventy-nine—
A steady, calm voice suddenly rang out.
It came from the most remote corner of the square.
“Gu Lin.”
For an instant, the students of the Wilderness cohort stood frozen, mouths agape.
They genuinely wondered if their hearing had failed them.
Chubby Wang Mu’s face was a mask of shock, his mind blank, staring at the speaker like a clay statue.
The square fell into a long, drawn-out silence.
Every onlooker across all of Shiyang County went dead quiet, staring fixedly at the youth in the blue robe, eyes regarding him the way one might regard a simpleton.
If that fellow named Zhu Yuting could be understood as chasing fame—after all, a young mind wasn’t always mature, and the Yellow cohort, however inferior, was still a legitimate hall of cultivation—then what was the Wilderness cohort?
A gathering of hopeless washouts who’d learned nothing and mastered nothing!
Where even Meridian Opening Fourth Tier was enough to claim first place in the whole hall!!
Where students had studied for years and still remained stuck at the level of theoretical cultivation knowledge!
For someone from the Wilderness cohort to want to enter the seed-selection trial was beyond absurd.
No one dared laugh, though. They genuinely believed the one who’d spoken must be a simpleton, and openly mocking a simpleton in public would have been beneath them—word would get around.
Instructor Zhao, snapping out of his shock, was frantic with alarm, thundering out in a furious roar:
“Gu Lin, Gu Jingming! Enough of this foolishness! Disrupt the order again and you’ll be expelled from the academy!”
What kind of occasion was this?
A trial that would decide fates!
A selection trial officially held by the Feathering Divine Dynasty itself, personally overseen by the Blade-Bearer Bureaus under the Four Great Sacred Grounds—solemn and sacred, allowing not the slightest disturbance!
On ordinary days, seeking attention might be tolerated. But disrupting order now—forget expelling the surnamed Gu from the academy, he himself might well be dragged down with him. At best he’d lose his position as instructor; at worst, he’d be cast out of the entire academy system!
Gu Lin’s expression remained utterly calm. He simply asked in return:
“Instructor Zhao, this trial is meant to uphold fairness and impartiality. Do I not qualify? I meet every single requirement.”
Instructor Zhao trembled with rage, yet found himself unable to refute it. However foolish and incompetent Gu Jingming might be, he genuinely did meet the qualifications to enter the trial.
He’d never been imprisoned. He carried no blemish with the authorities.
At that moment, every senior figure in the academy had gone livid with disgust, some so furious the veins on their foreheads bulged.
The trial was too sacred an occasion—no one would dare openly declare that the Wilderness cohort couldn’t participate. If word got out that the trial had shown unfair discrimination, it wouldn’t just be the academy that suffered; even the Blade-Bearer Bureau itself would face severe punishment from the Sacred Grounds!
So his name was Gu Lin, was it? After today, he’d be thrown out of the academy forever!
To cause such chaos without any sense of occasion—it was nothing short of the academy’s greatest disgrace!
The four Blade-Bearer Bureaus looked down upon the newcomer from above.
The Blade-Bearers’ faces remained expressionless, scanning him through the court’s secret techniques—yet they could see nothing of this youth’s cultivation whatsoever. He must not yet have opened his meridians.
This world never lacked for madmen driven to extremes. If one couldn’t make a name through genuine strength, then perhaps another method of seizing everyone’s attention would do.
And this youth had succeeded.
At the very least, everyone now knew the name Gu Lin.
“Gu Lin!”
Watching Gu Lin step onto the platform, Academy Headmaster Yan’s expression turned visibly pained as he pressed his brush down hard on the rice paper—the eightieth name.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao’s expression turned icy cold. The instant this Gu Lin caused any disturbance, he would have him thrown straight into a cell, punished with the utmost severity for the grave crime of provoking trouble and insulting the dynasty’s sacred trial!
As Gu Lin made his way toward the ranks, nearly every elite present broke into laughter—except for Li Qingwu, whose face had gone pale.
She knew exactly what the surnamed Gu intended to do!
She knew his true purpose!
At this moment of all moments, watched by all, to air his grievances publicly—to drag her, Li Qingwu’s, name and reputation through the mud in front of everyone!
‘That damned lapdog. That vile maggot!!!’
Li Qingwu felt as though she’d swallowed a fly, nausea rising in her throat—yet despite her mounting dread, the surnamed Gu still said nothing at all.
Outside the square, the chief escort of the Tongxing Escort Agency wore an expression of pure sorrow, grieving on behalf of his subordinate, Gu Changchuan.
Before, this son had merely been useless and foolish, squandering the family’s money—but at least he’d never caused any real trouble out in the world.
But after today, the Gu Family would be finished!
This wasn’t simple disgrace—this could count as disrupting the dynasty’s sacred selection trial, a serious crime. The entire Gu Family would pay a heavy price for it!
Li Jisheng, head of the Fisherman’s Guild, wore a stiff expression, his fingers twitching now and then, fear gnawing at him inside.
He had, of course, heard that this Gu Lin was one of his daughter’s loyal lapdogs, someone who’d spent no small amount of silver on her.
But Qingwu was a woman of extraordinary talent and unrivaled beauty—if the surnamed Gu chose to spend his money willingly, what did that have to do with her?
So why was he stepping onto the platform now?
‘If he dares ruin the single most important day of Qingwu’s life, I’ll have his worthless life!’
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