"Let's go and give it a try," Li Yun suddenly said, standing up in front of the stone tablet for the Wind-Slaying Fist. He turned to his younger sister beside him.
Li Zhineng's eyes flickered as she put away her slightly moving hand and nodded. She had just grasped some of the true meaning and felt she was on the verge of understanding, but she didn’t rush to test it out. She was waiting for her brother to catch up.
Ever since she became aware of things, she noticed that her brother had been getting more anxious about his training. After spending so much time together, she could sense his thoughts. Among the three siblings, both she and her older sister had better talents than Li Yun. Her older sister had been taken in by a famous master since childhood, but she and Li Yun were often compared and praised by those around them.
As the eldest brother, Li Yun had the weakest talent for cultivation among the three. This led him to work extra hard whenever she surpassed him in training, often practicing late into the night.
"Let’s go," Li Yun said, patting his backside as he stood up. He glanced around and spotted a familiar figure near the stone tablet—it was Li Yuanzhao.
At that moment, Li Yuanzhao was fully focused on his understanding and didn’t notice Li Yun, just as Li Yun didn’t know when he had arrived. Li Yun instinctively looked beside Li Yuanzhao but didn’t see Li Hao, which made him frown. However, he didn’t dwell on it and led his sister to the center of the square.
"If we don’t pass the practice, we’ll have to go back and train some more," Li Yun told his sister.
Li Zhineng nodded slightly.
In front of a middle-aged man, five people were practicing, while others stood outside, trying to find inspiration from their movements. Suddenly, the siblings noticed a familiar figure among the group—it was Li Hao.
"Is that him?" Li Zhineng asked, puzzled.
"He's definitely here to sneak a peek and learn," Li Yun raised an eyebrow, a hint of a sneer in his eyes. Although he didn’t know when Li Hao had come, he was sure it was later than them. If he didn’t have the confidence to grasp it, there was no way Li Hao could.
Outside, Li Hao was quietly waiting. His extraordinary senses picked up someone approaching from behind, but he didn’t turn around or acknowledge it. After several attempts to reach out, he had learned that the cheerful siblings who used to come to the courtyard to listen to stories had become distant.
Soon, the practice inside concluded. Only three out of the five passed; the other two were still lacking and couldn’t enter the door, their stances were off.
"Let’s go," Li Yun said as he stepped forward with his sister, facing the middle-aged man who was a head taller than him, his expression still proud. "We’re here to understand the Wind-Slaying Fist."
The middle-aged man, recognizing their identities from their attire, nodded slightly and smiled. "Please demonstrate."
The siblings immediately took their stances and performed the fist technique. Soon, they finished a set of moves. When Li Yun turned, he didn’t use his waist properly, and the power didn’t fully reach his fists, making his performance a bit weaker.
The middle-aged man was secretly surprised and asked, "How long have you been practicing?"
"Half a day," Li Yun replied calmly, though there was a hint of pride in his eyes. He vaguely felt he had made a small mistake and that the result might not be great. But after all, he had only been practicing for half a day.
The original requirement for entering A-Class was three days of understanding, so he thought his progress was quite impressive.
"Impressive!"
As expected, the middle-aged man expressed a hint of admiration, which made the corners of Li Yun's mouth lift slightly.
"Little girl, you’ve already passed the entry level," the middle-aged man said, pulling out a badge from his waist and handing it to Li Zhineng.
Li Yun was momentarily stunned.
"Your technique still needs some refinement. With a bit more practice, you should be able to master it soon," he told Li Yun.
Li Yun's face turned slightly awkward as he turned to his sister. "When did you grasp it?"
Li Zhineng put away the badge and quickly replied, "Just now."
She wasn’t lying; she had indeed just understood it, at most half an hour ago.
"Half a day to grasp a top-tier technique? Talents like you are rare in the A-Class," the middle-aged man said with a smile.
"So, there are others who can do it too?" Li Yun's expression changed slightly.
"Yesterday, there were a few," the middle-aged man replied, noting that the quality of the students accepted this time was much better than in previous years.
Li Yun felt a burning sensation on his cheeks and unconsciously clenched his fists.
At that moment, the middle-aged man noticed someone approaching and looked up to see another person from the Divine General Mansion. He immediately smiled and said, "Are you here to practice as well?"
"Yes," Li Hao nodded.
Hearing this, the siblings couldn’t help but glance at Li Hao. Li Yun felt a bit better, at least he had someone to compare himself with.
"Please," the middle-aged man gestured.
Li Hao was straightforward, raising his hands and throwing two punches. The force was sharp, creating a faint sound like a blade cutting through the air.
The middle-aged man’s expression changed instantly as he stared at Li Hao in shock.
Li Hao finished his punches and asked, "Is that enough?"
The middle-aged man came back to his senses and couldn’t help but ask, "Did you come yesterday?"
"Today."
"…"
The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned, and a different possibility crossed his mind, making him feel a chill. He quickly took out a badge and handed it to Li Hao. "This is your A-Class badge."
The badge was white with black lettering on one side—A.
Li Hao glanced at it, casually put it away, thanked him, and turned to leave, leaving behind two pairs of slightly astonished eyes.
"He… he passed too?"
Once Li Hao was far away, Li Yun couldn’t help but say.
The middle-aged man looked back at him, nodding. "His Wind-Slaying Fist is at least at the agile level, or even… perfected."
Li Hao’s display was too brief for him to judge the exact level, but there was no doubt he had passed.
"Agile? How is that possible!" Li Yun’s eyes widened.
He knew that Li Hao had only left the mansion today, later than them, so how could he grasp the agile level in such a short time?! His sister had just entered the door!
Thinking this, he couldn’t help but turn back, looking at that figure in disbelief.
Li Zhineng stared at the retreating back of Li Hao, and suddenly memories of the adults in the courtyard praising him came to mind:
"That kid is really smart."
"Yeah, he’s very precocious. I’ve never seen such a clever child; he understands everything right away."
"What a pity he can only refine his body. Otherwise, with such a smart head, he would definitely be a top talent in the future."
Yes… The adults only mentioned his low limit for cultivation but never said he wasn’t smart enough.
The young girl gently bit her lip, her hand tightening around the badge.
…
"I’m back," Li Hao said as he jogged back to his elders.
Seeing the A-Class badge in his hand, both of them understood. Shen Yunqing smiled lightly and said, "Congratulations."
"You’re too kind, senior," Li Hao replied with a slight smile, then added, "How about we play another game?"
This kid… The two exchanged glances, feeling speechless. Why did it seem like he was more addicted to chess than they were?
"Alright, let’s play another game," Zhao Zongyuan said, having already reviewed the previous game and knowing his mistakes. He was ready to face off again.
Li Hao’s heart lifted, and he immediately sat down. "Seniors, please."
The two resumed their chess battle. To avoid overwhelming his opponents, Li Hao didn’t play too aggressively, just slowly pulling the game out and winning by a narrow margin.
Thus, an interesting scene unfolded in the square: while other disciples were struggling at the stone tablet, practicing their techniques, a young boy was engaged in a lively chess match with the two elders in a corner. Occasionally, Zhao Zongyuan would shout in frustration, and Shen Yunqing would laugh heartily, drawing many curious glances from the other new students.
When they saw this unusual scene, many looked on with a hint of confusion.
"You brat, you must have been playing chess since you were born!"
Zhao Zongyuan was so frustrated he wanted to flip the board.
Li Hao just smiled.
Shen Yunqing asked curiously, "Your chess skills must have taken a lot of effort. How do you usually train?"
This is how I train… Li Hao thought to himself, but on the surface, he just smiled foolishly.
As the two elders played chess, they chatted with Li Hao about some things in the academy.
"Do you know, a prince enrolled yesterday, and he also entered A-Class? I heard he grasped the technique in just one hour."
"That girl from the Nangong family also came; her talent is quite impressive. I heard she’s not even the strongest in her generation."
"Kid, these are your future opponents in A-Class. You need to pay attention."
Hearing the elders' concerns, Li Hao felt overwhelmed and said, "Can’t we just focus on playing chess?"
"…"
Both elders stared at him.
They were only trying to help him by informing him, yet he didn’t want to listen?
Playing chess, is that why you came to the academy?
Frustrated, Zhao Zongyuan focused again, but after a while, his expression turned gray as he lost by a narrow margin…
As the sun began to set, Li Hao was deeply engrossed in the game when he suddenly heard a voice beside him.
"Hao Ge?"
Li Hao turned to see Li Yuanzhao looking at him cautiously.
"Yes?"
"I got the badge," Li Yuanzhao said. They had arrived late, and he also understood it in half a day.
"Oh," Li Hao nodded, not surprised. This kid’s talent was on par with Li Zhineng’s. Despite his rough appearance, his small eyes sparkled with cleverness.
"Um… They’re waiting for us at the foot of the mountain to go back together. Hao Ge, what do you think…"
"Let them go back first; we’ll return later," Li Hao said.
Across from them, the two elders’ expressions darkened. Was this kid addicted to winning?
"We’re not playing anymore," Zhao Zongyuan waved his hand. "It’s getting late; you should head back."
"It’s fine, I can see."
"You brat…" The two were left speechless by Li Hao. Shen Yunqing said, "Let’s call it a day. If you want to play chess, we can have a rematch after school starts."
Li Hao wanted to continue, but seeing that the two elders had lost interest, he didn’t push it. "Alright then, thank you both for your hospitality today."
With that, he placed a final piece on the board, sealing his victory.
Looking at the experience he gained, Li Hao smiled as he stood up, bowed to the two elders, and then slowly turned to leave the mountain with Li Yuanzhao.
"How strange that there’s such a kid in the Divine General Mansion," the two watched the two young figures leave, exchanging glances and shaking their heads with smiles.
(End of Chapter)