Has it snowed?
No, it hasn’t.
But to everyone’s eyes, it suddenly looked like snowflakes were falling.
These snowflakes were within three feet of Li Hao, right where his sword was.
Each snowflake was filled with a chilling aura, shining like sword light, just like the name of the sword technique: Falling Snow.
The layers were real…
In front of Li Hao, the burly young man’s pupils shrank quickly, standing frozen in place.
In his sight, countless snowflakes swirled like a storm, extremely fierce, but this storm was held in the young man’s hand, as if he controlled the power of heaven and earth!
The biting cold did not sweep over him; only… a single snowflake gradually flew out from the storm, gently brushing past his cheek.
It was a little cool.
The burly young man instinctively reached out to touch his face, feeling a sting, but there was no blood.
His gaze froze, his body tensed, holding his sword like a brave swordsman, but his arms trembled, unable to move.
Soon, in the blink of an eye, the illusion-like snowflakes disappeared.
Li Hao casually tossed the sword back onto the weapon rack, and it slid perfectly into its sheath. With a clang as the hilt closed, like breaking ice, the burly young man seemed to wake from a dream, shaking his body, and everyone present also snapped back to reality.
Just now, it felt like everyone had fallen into a dream.
But was it really a dream?
The scene fell into an eerie silence.
Until Li Hao’s smiling voice broke through, asking, “So, can I be considered to have passed?”
The burly young man came back to his senses, stunned, and stammered, “Y-you won.”
They hadn’t even fought because he wasn’t a match at all; he didn’t even have the courage to draw his sword. It was a complete loss.
The other students from the Tangu Academy looked at Li Hao in shock. They thought Li Yuan Zhao was already incredibly strong, but they didn’t expect there was someone even more extraordinary.
What kind of sword technique was this?
It was definitely top-tier, even reaching a perfect level!
No wonder they thought that. The Falling Snow sword technique was high quality, but under the power of the real state, even a perfect sword technique would seem a bit inferior…
“What an exquisite sword technique!”
“Oh my, it felt like I was seeing an illusion; I just saw snowflakes!”
“Me too, this is too exaggerated!”
“The sword techniques from the God General’s Mansion must be top-notch. He couldn’t have mastered it to perfection, right? How long would that take?!”
Everyone came back to their senses, looking at Li Hao in awe.
They had heard of the God General’s Mansion for a long time, but today they were truly amazed.
Si Xiaolan stared at Li Hao, and with such brilliant sword skills, there was no doubt he had the ability to pass the first two tests on his own.
Is this what the younger generation of the God General family looks like? Are they really all monsters?!
“Brother Hao!”
Beside him, Li Yuan Zhao was even more excited, not expecting Li Hao’s sword skills to be so profound. His vision was naturally broader than these noble kids, recognizing that this was the Falling Snow sword technique that Sister Xue had used.
But the level Li Hao displayed clearly exceeded Sister Xue’s level back then; he even felt it surpassed perfection.
Li Hao smiled at the excited Yuan Zhao but didn’t say anything.
He felt a bit nostalgic, wondering how that little girl in the sword hut had progressed with this technique.
Thinking back to the time he taught her to practice in the courtyard, a smile crept onto his lips, but he quickly focused again and asked the burly young man:
“So… what’s next?”
“Ah? Oh, just go straight this way; there’s a teacher waiting for you all over there.”
The burly young man quickly replied, his eyes showing a hint of respect.
The starting point of a noble family really is beyond what ordinary people can compare to.
Li Hao nodded and led Li Yuan Zhao around the burly young man, casually walking step by step down the small path ahead.
Behind them, everyone watched the two figures disappear, finally coming back to their senses.
At this moment, someone suddenly thought of a question:
“Why do they have invitations? Could it be that their strength doesn’t even need to be tested?”
As soon as this was said, the others realized and fell silent.
Earlier, they had thought it was because of the God General’s prestigious family, feeling a bit resentful, but now they all felt relieved.
Si Xiaolan’s face slightly changed as she gently bit her lip, realizing she had misunderstood them.
The Tangu Academy had stood for hundreds of years; how could it be a place that sought fame and fortune, using any means to cling to power?
…
Inside the Tangu Academy, in a large square with a stone tablet.
Many young figures gathered here, all focused on the stone tablet in the square, trying to comprehend the techniques written on it.
At the edge of the square, two old men sat in a corner, playing a game of chess.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, one short and stout old man, deep in thought, seemed to remember something and slapped his thigh: “I almost forgot, there are still two invitations I need to pick up.”
“Are you talking about the God General’s Mansion?”
The gray-robed old man across from him looked up in confusion: “It shouldn’t matter, the kids from the God General’s Mansion can easily pass the tests; even if you don’t pick them up, they can come.”
“If it were anyone else, that would be fine, but don’t you remember? The child of the Criminal Martial Marquis is a waste in cultivation, only able to refine his body. It caused quite a stir about ten years ago, but now it has quieted down.”
The short and stout old man hurriedly got up and said, “If he falls and dies in the second test, we’ll be in big trouble!”
“This…” The gray-robed old man was also startled. After all, he was the only son of the Criminal Martial Marquis, and he quickly said, “Then you should hurry!”
The short and stout old man nodded, then whistled. A large bird with a wingspan of seven or eight meters rushed in from a distance, catching the attention of many young figures in front of the stone tablet, who looked up. The bird slowly descended in front of the old man.
“I’ll wait for you…” the gray-robed old man said.
Watching his old friend ride away on the bird, his interest in chess was disrupted, and he couldn’t help but mutter, “If I had known it would be like this, I should have sent five invitations in the first place instead of adding extra pieces.”
As he spoke, he looked down at the chessboard.
Suddenly, the more he looked, the more he felt something was off, and he shouted angrily: “You bastard! If you’re going to lose, just run away!”
…
The short and stout old man was named Shen Yunqing, but he was anything but light. He rode the monster bird, hurrying to the second test.
Aside from escaping the chess game, he was genuinely worried about the situation in the second test, hoping that Old Tang there would know the child’s situation and send him over the cliff.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and he saw two figures walking together on the mountain path, dressed in luxurious clothes, with an extraordinary demeanor.
He recognized the patterns on their clothing all too well; they were from the Li family of the God General’s Mansion!
“Huh?”
Shen Yunqing was surprised and immediately lowered his mount.
The sound of the bird and the wind rushed in from above. Li Hao and Li Yuan Zhao both stopped and looked up to see a gigantic monster bird with three eyes, hovering several meters above the ground.
On the bird’s neck sat a short old man, who leaned over to look at the two, seemingly confirming something, and then smiled, jumping down from the bird’s back.
Waving his hand, he let the monster bird fly away and then smiled at the two: “You two must be the young masters of the God General’s Mansion. May I ask which courtyard you belong to and how should I address you?”
Seeing the other party so polite, Li Hao and Li Yuan Zhao weren’t too surprised. After all, their backgrounds were too prominent, and ordinary people were always very courteous to them, even the influential and powerful.
“This is my brother, Li Hao, and I’m Li Yuan Zhao.”
Li Yuan Zhao said, looking a bit silly but with a clever glint in his small eyes.
Shen Yunqing immediately glanced at Li Hao, and a long-lost memory surged back into his mind. The boy who was named by Emperor Yu over a decade ago from the Li family seemed to be Hao… Li Hao.
It’s him.
Shen Yunqing showed no change in expression, slightly nodded to the two, and smiled: “They didn’t make things difficult for you, did they? Let’s go, I’ll take you to gather ahead.”
He assumed the two had passed through smoothly with their invitations.
Li Hao and Li Yuan Zhao weren’t familiar with this old man, so they didn’t talk much on the way.
The three of them walked leisurely, and as Li Hao looked around at the mountain scenery, he thought that the environment of the Tangu Academy was quite nice. If he stayed here often in the future, at least it would be pleasant and refreshing.
Soon, they reached the end of the square.
There were hundreds of people gathered here, surrounding three stone tablets.
“This is…” Li Yuan Zhao looked at Shen Yunqing in confusion. Here, he also saw the Li Yun siblings who had come up the mountain earlier, both gathered around the stone tablet with the fewest people.
“Anyone who makes it here qualifies to enter the Tangu Academy, officially becoming a disciple,” Shen Yunqing said, stroking his beard with a smile. “But even among disciples, there are differences in talent. Our Tangu Academy is divided into four classes: A, B, C, and D, based on each person’s talent. This is to avoid mixing good and bad, so that those with lower talent don’t hold back those with higher talent, and those with higher talent don’t bully those with lower talent.”
“So, there are these three stone tablets. The techniques recorded on them are of three different levels: lower grade, middle grade, and upper grade!”
“The difficulty varies.”
“Within three days, those who comprehend the upper-grade technique can enter Class A. Those who comprehend the middle-grade technique can enter Class B.”
“Those who comprehend the lower-grade technique within three days will be in Class C, and if no technique is comprehended in three days, they will be placed in Class D.”
Shen Yunqing smiled and said, “In Class D, if a student ranks last in the exam each semester, they will have to take a retest. If they fail the retest, they will be advised to drop out.”
Li Yuan Zhao listened, feeling enlightened.
Li Hao asked, “What if they don’t listen to the advice?”
Shen Yunqing, still smiling, was momentarily taken aback. Not listening to advice after being advised to drop out?
(End of Chapter)