Song Yueyao shook her head slightly, not answering. She didn't have an answer in her heart either. The situation at Fengshan and Mohu was tough. If it were disciples from the Black and White Hall, there might be a chance, but for the outer courtyard disciples... unless the opponent had already reached the Soul Continuation Realm.
That scholar in the black robe was definitely in the Soul Continuation Realm, and his soul form was extremely fierce, making it feel like facing two Soul Continuation experts. The assessment for the outer courtyard disciples wasn't about killing the black-robed scholar; they only needed to achieve a completion rate of 50%. Killing nearly half the villagers would count as complete.
This test involved ambush, stealth, raw strength, and agility, making it very difficult. After all, slaughtering nearly half would easily attract the attention of the black-robed scholar. Once he took action, even disciples from the Black Hall would have to flee.
"I heard two members of the royal family have arrived. Could it be them? If they reach the perfect level of the Zhou Tian Realm, with their unique methods, there might be a chance to fight against the Soul Continuation Realm," Lin Feifei guessed. She could only think of this possibility; if the royal family couldn't do it, then it was even less likely for anyone else.
"Let's go take a look and see," Song Yueyao said.
Under the guidance of Huang Licai, the two arrived at the outer courtyard. Here, Su Yehua had already gathered everyone and was waiting. When the two women arrived with Huang Licai, many people stirred, standing on their toes to look.
"It's Song Yueyao!"
In the crowd, Du Qiuyue recognized Song Yueyao and Lin Feifei at a glance, her eyes showing a bit of admiration.
"Who are they?"
"That girl in white is Song Yueyao, the granddaughter of the palace master, one of the most talented geniuses in the Black and White Hall. I heard she’s not even twenty and is already in the God Travel Realm..." Du Qiuyue said enviously in a low voice.
This was a true genius, a top talent with a ninth-grade battle body.
Li Yuanzhao suddenly realized, his expression not showing much surprise.
Being in the God Travel Realm at twenty? He heard his mother say that his ninth uncle reached the God Travel Realm at thirteen, became a master at seventeen, and when he sacrificed himself at nineteen, he was already at the seventh realm, three not decaying...
Now that was a true, one-of-a-kind genius!
Having heard about his ninth uncle's achievements, Li Yuanzhao looked at the other talents and thought they were nothing special.
"Where's your brother Hao? Why isn't he here?" Du Qiuyue asked, looking around.
Li Yuanzhao shook his head, "Brother Hao probably went off to play chess with someone."
"Playing chess..." Du Qiuyue's mouth twitched.
At this moment, Song Yueyao and Lin Feifei were scanning the crowd.
"The palace master's granddaughter..."
In the crowd, Jiang Ye squinted, sizing up the two figures, a strange light flashing in his eyes. He thought to himself: "They look pretty good. If I can win her over to be my royal consort, then Song Yufeng might help me in the future because of his granddaughter. Too bad she's a few years older than me. Well, with the dowry from Tang Palace, I can take a little loss..."
As he pondered, Song Yueyao's gaze swept over the crowd and landed on him.
Even though everyone wore the same courtyard uniform, the strength of his presence made her guess he was probably from the royal family.
Ordinary Zhou Tian Realm cultivators didn't have such a strong aura.
Seeing Song Yueyao's gaze, Jiang Ye smiled slightly, showing a hint of his white teeth, and nodded in greeting.
But Song Yueyao's gaze moved on calmly; he wasn't the one.
She continued searching through the crowd, and as she looked, her brow furrowed.
None of them were the right person.
"Not here," Song Yueyao said to Uncle Huang beside her.
Huang Licai was taken aback and quickly whispered, "Did you look carefully?"
"Yes," Song Yueyao nodded.
Huang Licai then looked at Lin Feifei, who also shook her head slightly, showing a look of helplessness.
"Could it be that they’re not from the A Courtyard?" Huang Licai wondered and asked Su Yehua, "Are all the A Courtyard disciples here?"
Su Yehua also knew what he was looking for. She glanced around the crowd and noticed two or three people were missing. "Most of them are here."
The absent ones included a lazy playboy and two other average disciples from wealthy families. She felt it was unlikely they were the ones.
"Strange..." Huang Licai thought for a moment and whispered a few words to Su Yehua. She nodded slightly and then instructed everyone:
"Everyone, turn to the side."
The crowd was puzzled and looked at her in confusion.
Su Yehua didn’t explain, but her authoritative demeanor made everyone comply immediately.
They had experienced her strictness before.
Song Yueyao and Lin Feifei were forced to look again, both puzzled, feeling that everyone looked familiar since they all wore the same uniform, but upon closer inspection, they felt they didn't resemble the person they were looking for.
In his helplessness, Huang Licai said to Su Yehua, "Let the remaining people who didn't come find me later, so Yueyao and the others can see them."
"Okay," Su Yehua agreed with a nod.
Huang Licai left, taking the two girls to the B Courtyard.
On the way, a figure carrying a wild rabbit casually walked over; it was Li Hao.
"Which courtyard are you from?" Huang Licai called out as he spotted him.
Li Hao was surprised, looking them over and not recognizing them. "I'm from the A Courtyard. Who are you?"
"A Courtyard?" Huang Licai's heart stirred, and he turned to look at the two girls.
Song Yueyao and Lin Feifei were also looking at Li Hao. He had red lips and white teeth, a fair complexion, and was an extremely handsome young man.
However, the wild rabbit he was carrying and the wild grass on his uniform made him look a bit unkempt.
The two girls looked closely and then shook their heads slightly.
"Doesn't look like it."
Huang Licai waved his hand at Li Hao, "It's nothing, you can go."
Li Hao walked away, feeling puzzled as he passed them.
Suddenly, he felt that the aura of these two girls was a bit familiar, as if he had encountered them in the cave at Mohu Mountain before?
When he returned to the A Courtyard, Su Yehua saw Li Hao and immediately told him to find Huang Licai.
After inquiring, Li Hao understood the situation and recounted his encounter on the way. Su Yehua didn’t doubt he was lying; she also felt it was unlikely Li Hao was the person they were looking for. If it weren't for the fact that this kid was from the Li family, and he had been sleeping and slacking off for the past half month, she would have already given him a stern lecture.
"Brother Hao, where have you been?"
Back at his seat, Li Yuanzhao told Li Hao everything that had just happened.
Li Hao was surprised and a bit frustrated. At least it seemed the academy didn't plan to hold him accountable.
As for the reward?
That Chixiao Sword was indeed impressive; it could injure souls and was a rare weapon for the God Travel Realm.
In the Divine General's Mansion, they could only find a few thousand of them.
What a pity.
He was already at the Fifteen Li Realm and couldn't use it.
...
At the waterfall, Shen Yunqing and Zhao Zongyuan also received the news, both surprised.
"Who did it?"
"Could it be that kid? The place he went to earlier was near Mohu," Zhao Zongyuan speculated.
Shen Yunqing shook her head slightly, "Although there's Mohu over there, he could return to the academy; he just had to take a longer route. He might have taken a wrong turn."
"Hard to say. That kid quickly grasped your movement technique. I always feel like I can't see through him. He might not be in the Zhou Tian Realm."
"Even if he is in the Soul Continuation Realm, it’s still tough."
Shen Yunqing shook her head, "It's about passing the test, not destroying it. Who knows what the conditions are? Besides, I just received news that Yueyao witnessed it. Old Huang took her to the outer courtyard and checked, but the kid they found in the B Courtyard wasn’t him after verification."
"Strange. Could it be someone from the Black and White Hall?"
"Who knows? Anyway, this matter will have results soon; it can't be hidden." Shen Yunqing said.
"That's true." Zhao Zongyuan thought for a moment and sighed, "Fengshan and Mohu are quite suitable for new disciples to take tests. Now that it’s gone, they can only use that Mohu, but that’s much harder."
"Guess they’re just out of luck," Shen Yunqing said.
...
...
A few days later, the disciples of the A Courtyard gathered in the courtyard. Li Hao, who was planning to sneak out to slack off, was also called back by Su Yehua and returned to his seat obediently.
"Tomorrow is your first test since entering the courtyard. You will go out to slay demons!"
Su Yehua looked around at everyone, her expression calm as she said, "Warriors must experience the trials of blood and fire. We have arranged everything for you; you just need to report and participate personally. This way, you will understand the flaws in your martial skills when facing demons and how to truly fight to kill."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up slightly, and many were eager to try.
Slaying demons?
This was a dream that many present had been looking forward to.
Wielding swords across the world, slaying demons and eliminating evil was so cool!
"These tasks vary in difficulty; you should best assess your own abilities."
Su Yehua took out a stack of papers and said, "For each task, we will assign corresponding academy points based on the difficulty. These points can be exchanged for weapons, precious medicines, techniques, and ultimate skills in the Black and White Hall's Martial Arts Building!"
"But you must evaluate your own abilities and avoid greed; this is also a test for warriors."
As she spoke, she called over an older student and handed out the papers.
Li Hao also received a copy and casually looked it over.
It was full of demon-slaying tasks spread across different states and cities.
Being able to connect various states and cities showed the connections of the Tang Palace Academy.
Was this like sending students to big companies for internships?
Suddenly, Li Hao's gaze sharpened as he focused on one task on the list.
Demon Slaying Task 23:
Qizhou, enter the Demon Suppression Office, assist the local demon-slaying team in hunting demons, and receive a score from the local person in charge.
Full score: 10 points.
Qizhou!
(End of Chapter)