Chapter 68: Chapter 59 Final Exam

In the courtyard.

Huang Houqi and An Heng were sitting on the wooden chairs in the pavilion, with about four or five elite disciples standing behind them.

Around them were more than a dozen disciples, craning their necks to watch.

They formed a circle, with You Xiaozhong sprawled in the center, lying limp on the ground like a dead dog.

At this time, Ji Rucheng had interrogated You Xiaozhong and reported the results to both Huang Houqi and An Heng.

"You mean this fat man looks sly, but inside he has some backbone! He refuses to reveal the formula even if it costs his life?" Huang Houqi looked at the trembling Ji Rucheng, his face displeased.

Ji Rucheng had lost the Qi-Blood powder three times, not to mention he couldn’t extract any useful information from the defenseless You Xiaozhong.

"Enough. If you can’t get anything, just stop trying." Huang Houqi impatiently waved his hand, dismissing Ji Rucheng.

At this moment, his heart was filled with irritation, feeling embarrassed in front of An Heng.

Everyone frowned in unison, unable to think of any ideas.

"Senior Brother, I have a suggestion." At this moment, Jiang Hui seemed to have thought of a clue and spoke up.

"Speak."

Both Huang and An turned their attention to Jiang Hui.

"Senior Brother Huang, You Xiaozhong now insists the Qi-Blood powder came from Feng’s Pharmacy, thinking we have no leads."

"I believe there is a very important clue. And that is who brought about the change in You Xiaozhong."

"Explain in detail." Huang Houqi was intrigued.

"You Xiaozhong has been at the drying yard for almost three years, being quite unremarkable." Jiang Hui, after a moment’s thought, had organized her thoughts and continued, "But in the past half-year, his martial arts progress has been much faster than before."

"I checked the records of transactions and noticed that when he sold the ointments, someone happened to be working at the drying yard."

"Who is this person?" Huang Houqi, opening up his train of thought, awaited Jiang Hui’s analysis.

"Lin Yuan." Jiang Hui promptly responded.

She saw Huang Houqi frown, as if pondering.

"This person is quite ordinary, just a regular chores worker. But it coincidentally happened that the month he arrived at the yard, Ji Rucheng was intercepted." Jiang Hui knew that Huang Houqi had no impression of Lin Yuan, so she briefly explained.

Indeed, Lin Yuan had always been well-behaved and unremarkable, causing no ripples among the thousands in the Elixir Hall, so it was normal that Huang Houqi wouldn’t remember him.

"Are you talking about the one from Renxin Hall?" Huang Houqi suddenly remembered Ji Shengfang mentioning this person.

"That’s right." Jiang Hui was somewhat surprised that Huang Houqi remembered, "Since he arrived at the yard, You Xiaozhong’s skills have improved."

"Ji Rucheng, tell us about this Lin Yuan!" Huang Houqi shot a sideways glance at Ji Rucheng, speaking coldly.

"Uh!" Ji Rucheng, suddenly addressed, had a hard time processing his thoughts.

Recalling his interactions with Lin Yuan, he didn’t feel there was anything unusual, except for the extra two coins of Qi-Blood he handed over to him every month.

Of course, he wouldn’t dare to confess about the extra Qi-Blood collected from Lin Yuan.

"This person is ordinary, just like any other disciple, nothing special about him." Ji Rucheng spoke timidly, pretending to be honest.

"Hmph! Useless." Huang Houqi was increasingly dissatisfied, speaking coldly.

"Senior Brother need not be angry. I see that You Xiaozhong seems quite principled; such a person must value righteousness." Jiang Hui spoke with some confidence, casually.

"He is quite close to Lin Yuan; we might as well capture Lin Yuan to force You Xiaozhong to speak and expel Lin Yuan from the academy."

"Excellent, killing two birds with one stone! Junior Sister’s words make sense." Huang Houqi nodded and then added, "Since it’s decided, no need to wait any longer."

"First, go to Lin Yuan’s small house to check for evidence, then to Renxin Hall to capture Lin Yuan."

Speaking of this, a hint of satisfaction flickered in Huang Houqi’s eyes, feeling as if the bad luck brought by the three brothers of the dragon and tiger had dissipated somewhat.

"After obtaining the formula from You Xiaozhong, deal with Lin Yuan."

"Expel him from the academy!"

After listening, a few people, solving a big problem for Senior Brother Huang, couldn’t help but show smiles on their faces.

Huang Houqi immediately stood up and asked the nearby An Heng: "Senior Brother An, join me?"

"Haha, to rid the academy of such pests, I’m interested as well, naturally I’ll join." An Heng also stood up, laughing.

********

Lin Yuan walked slowly to the side of the stone, holding the handle with both hands.

"The weight of this stone is fine."

He was seen slightly lifting the stone about an inch off the ground, as if picking up a bag, feeling its weight.

Bang!

The stone fell back to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"Hmm?" The elite disciple responsible for the assessment was quite surprised.

"He can’t even lift this stone? In the first trial, his outburst of strength was far beyond this level."

The elite disciple was puzzled for a second.

The next moment, his expression suddenly changed, extremely astonished.

Lin Yuan, in an instant, had once again lifted the stone high, without a tremor.

The scene immediately fell silent.

Looking at that figure under the giant stone, like an ant lifting a grain of rice, small yet exceptionally astonishing.

"This, this." Needless to say, even the chores disciples around were too struck to speak, as was Lai Ke, silently observing from behind the folding screen.

"This guy." Lai Ke, amidst his shock, wanted to utter a few words of admiration.

Deacon White seemed prepared, knowing Lin Yuan to be surprisingly exceptional.

"Ahem, is this guy a skinny monkey?" Deacon White spoke teasingly, seeing Lai Ke’s shocked expression, feeling quite satisfied.

"He, this guy damn it, single-handed!" Lai Ke couldn’t help but curse.

"Single-handed!"

He had to admit, when he took the assessment and lifted this stone, although it was easy, doing so single-handedly was out of the question.

If you looked closely, Lin Yuan didn’t even use leg or hip power, relying solely on his shoulders.

Watching Lin Yuan, face unflushed, heart unperturbed, strolling casually as if lifting a feather, with his left hand resting on his waist.

If there were some music playing, he might start wiggling his waist.

"No, no. Originally planning to use only thirty percent power, now I need to raise it to fifty percent. Otherwise, it won’t push this guy to his limits."

Lai Ke felt his heart was provoked and decided to increase the difficulty for Lin Yuan.

"Haha, now you know why I asked you to come." Deacon White watched the murmuring Lai Ke, feeling smug, and immediately chuckled.

"Misjudged."

"Deacon White, your foresight is as sharp as ever, I truly bow to you." Lai Ke looked at Lin Yuan who had already set down the stone, then turned to look at Deacon White, a bit resigned in his speech.

In his heart, he couldn’t help but make a mental note of Lin Yuan, determined to settle all scores with him later.

Meanwhile, at the scene.

The disciple responsible for the assessment forced himself to calm his heart, which was about to leap from his chest.

"Lin, Lin Yuan, passed." The assessing disciple said through gritted teeth.

"Is he that wanton because he is powerful?" He looked at Lin Yuan with great envy.

He had been an elite disciple for five years now.

But he currently prided himself on not being able to reach this level.

Standing next to Lin Yuan, he naturally knew how terrifying Lin Yuan was at this moment.

Single-handedly lifting the stone up and down, not utilizing the curve of force.

The difference was several times, making chills run down one’s spine.

Lin Yuan’s keen perception naturally picked up on the shock in the assessing disciple’s eyes.

"Good! It seems my performance is somewhat better than that of an ordinary disciple."

Thus, his goal of appropriately showcasing his talent had been achieved.

If he were to progress as a normal elite disciple, without showcasing his talent, gaining resources or the recognition of others would come far too slowly.

Not that he didn’t want to act conservatively, but the situation was critical, contradictions brewing for a long time, not allowing him to take it step by step.

After all, he never knew when an unexpected occurrence could happen.

Only through participating in the roaring waves and building momentum could he find a place to settle in this chaotic world.

"Sigh." Upon thinking this, Lin Yuan couldn’t help but sigh, "I just want a peaceful life."

But his performance immediately left everyone, including the chores workers, finding him unfathomable.

The chores watching from the ground, seeing Lin Yuan’s calm and composure turn into a somewhat lonely demeanor.

"Could this be what is called the loneliness of a master?"

"A sigh from a master? This level, we cannot fathom." Even the registering elite disciple couldn’t help but have the notion.

People’s gaze toward Lin Yuan changed fundamentally without them noticing.

From calm to shocked, then to admiration.

At this moment, in their hearts, Lin Yuan had become that unattainable existence.

It was as if they could see, when conversing with their grandchildren decades later, with old and weary eyes this scene would replay in their minds as a legendary tale.

They would tell their grandchildren, sighing, "Back when Grandpa was assessed, there was a divine being, truly too powerful, too powerful."

******

Once everyone had completed their meridian examination, the assessing disciple instructed: "The assessments are complete; rest here and await the final test."

After the group rested for approximately the time of an incense stick.

Click-clack, click-clack.

Intense footsteps suddenly emerged from behind the folding screen.

Deacon White was seen leading, with about a dozen people behind him.

Each was dressed in black robes, their faces covered with black masks, with only their sharp, extraordinary eyes visible.

To ensure that participants in the assessment were not affected by different opponents.

Among the dozen figures, the leading one was exceptionally robust.

The elite disciples who followed were subtly standing behind this person, not daring to overstep.

Deacon White, bringing these elite disciples, stood about ten meters from the chores disciples.

All these people radiated strong Qi-Blood, their sharp eyes causing some fear among the present chores workers.

Especially the leading robust one, whose gaze seemed like a sharp sword, almost no chores worker dared to meet it.

This person, with bright eyes, after a few glances, finally fixed his gaze on Lin Yuan.

"This person’s Qi-Blood is very strong, a skilled fighter. However, he looks at me as if I owe him a Silver Coin, why is that?"

Lin Yuan vaguely felt the person’s pressure, pondering in his heart.

Yet this gaze, he was entirely unafraid.

With his strength at this level, even if the number in front of him doubled, to him, they would still be small fry, easily crushed.

"Deacon White, all fourteen present have completed the four-stage assessment." The elite disciple who had been leading the assessment stood by Deacon White’s side, respectfully speaking.

"I have been informed, tough job!" Deacon White slightly smiled, offering encouragement before continuing, "Next, I will personally preside."

"Yes." The assessing disciple paused slightly, then stepped aside, having understood: "Deacon White personally overseeing the assessment, it might as well be because of Lin Yuan."

Deacon White took two steps forward, cleared his throat, and said: "The final test, let it begin."

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