Chapter 17: End-of-Month Test (I)

  A busy month has passed, and Zhan Qingcang has already flipped through all the books on the first and second floors of the Cangshu Pavilion. She still can't go to the third floor. Under her nourishment with good food and drink, Taoist priest Pao has gained a circle of fat, and his fur is even more smooth.

  "Are you ready, are you ready?" Song Duoduo came running again with a whoosh.

  "Ready? Ready for what?" It wasn't that Zhan Liang was arrogant and ignorant, but rather she simply didn't have the time to bother with such trivial matters.

  "Hey, are you really unaware or just pretending to be?!" Song Doudou glared at her with a mix of frustration and annoyance. "You've been here for almost a month now, don't you know that tomorrow is the monthly assessment for the entire hospital?"

  She suddenly realized, "The test, I know, isn't it only available at Lingyun Hall?"

  "Of course not, Lingyuntang, Lingyutang, Lingfengtang, oh my, anyway, they will all be tested! After all, it involves ranking! If you are promoted, then you can go to a higher-level academy."

  "Oh, I see, I'll go tomorrow."

  "Do you know where it is?" Song Duoduo rolled her eyes.

  "I don't know." I guess we'll just go where there are more people tomorrow!

  "I'm really impressed with you, is it at the school's plaza, do you know or not?"

  Yeah, Zhan Qing nodded to indicate that she knew, then continued to deal with the things in her hand. The things they bought back were all messy and disorderly, she had to clean them up. Song Doudou stomped her foot and walked away quickly, Zhan Qing looked at her back in confusion, then lowered her head again.

  The next day, she would make some hot steamed buns, add a bowl of hot white rice porridge and three small dishes of pickled vegetables, eat breakfast with the gourmet, and then head to the square.

  Along the way, many people were in a hurry, and by the time they arrived at the square, it was already packed with people. The square was similar to an ancient Roman arena, ensuring that everyone could see what was happening on the field. In the crowd, Song Duoduo pulled Chen Duo and others and squeezed over.

  "You're finally here! I've been looking all over for you!" The girl pouted, complaining nonstop.

  "I've had breakfast."

  "You're really in a good mood! Everyone else is so nervous, but you..."

  Song Duoduo and several others crowded around her, squeezing to the front of the viewing platform.

  "When does it start?" She wasn't quite used to so many strangers touching her.

  "It's almost time, just wait a bit, after the elders and mentors of the college arrive, it will begin." She stretched her neck to look around, and Warlight couldn't help but chuckle.

  "Why didn't the Dean come?"

  "How is that possible? The principal, such a big shot, would actually handle such a small matter. It's only during the year-end exams that the principal and vice-principal would show up."

  "What are the requirements for the test? Tell me." With hands clasped behind his back and rubbing the pastry on his shoulder, he asked nonchalantly.

  "Of course, the Spirit Masters are competing in spiritual power, the Beast Tamers are not participating, the Alchemists are competing in alchemy, the Artifact Refiners are competing in artifact refinement, and the Martial Cultivators are competing in martial skills."

  Zhan Qingkuang felt that saying this was no different from not saying it at all.

  Chen Duo couldn't help but explain in detail, "There are two ways to test our spiritual power. The first is for each student from different schools to release their spiritual power and see who can last the longest. That pillar over there is a Spiritual Absorption Pillar, it can absorb different types of spiritual power and emit colorful lights. The second way is through a challenge match, as long as you think your strength is sufficient, you can challenge anyone you consider to be a worthy opponent, if you win, you can take their ranking."

  "If everyone challenges the same person, won't that person have to fight multiple battles? And how long will it take for so many people to finish their matches?" Isn't this unfair?

  "It won't happen, everyone is clear about each other's strengths and won't do things that are beyond their abilities. Moreover, every time it's a competition among twenty groups together, with instructors supervising from the side, which saves a lot of time."

  After hearing his explanation, Zhan Leqiang understood, just like in a school, the last one would never challenge the first.

  "As for the Beastmasters, they tend to consume spiritual energy easily, so they won't participate in such tests. They have their own ranking methods. Alchemists compete on who can refine higher-grade elixirs with better effects within a short period of time. Artifact Refiners are similar. Cultivators and we are almost the same, it's also a competition."

  The rules are roughly understood, and the war is lightly and boringly watching the enthusiastic discussion of the students.

  Suddenly, the discussion came to a halt. It was the elders and instructors of the academy who had arrived on the scene. Four people wearing white robes walked in front, they should be the elders!

  A crowd of people walked to the front row, the elder at the forefront took a step forward, "It's time for the monthly test again, whether you're old students or new ones who just joined Yunshu Academy, I sincerely hope you all bring out your strength and achieve the glory you deserve! After all, this is an era where the strong are respected, and on this path to becoming stronger, I look forward to seeing your figures! The test begins now!"

  "Roar! Roar!"

  Listening to the inspiring words, looking at this group of energetic young men and women, Warlight seems to be able to feel the kind of pride, passion, and freedom they have. The stage of Yunshu Academy is too small for her, only by never stopping can she step onto the pinnacle of this world!

  After the announcement of the test, many people who were called out on stage walked up to the stage with great confidence. It turned out that it was from low to high, which means that there is nothing to do now. They managed to get some fruit, pastries and dried fruit from the greedy hands, eating while watching, and seeing Song Doudou's eyes shining with gold light, she didn't understand what was so good about this low-level competition.

  It's not that she's arrogant, but as a former warrior and head of the household, she naturally stands at a different height from others. The training she received is on a completely different level from what she sees now. Take martial arts for example, she wouldn't dare say she's proficient in all eighteen styles, but she's far stronger than those people on stage. Their movements look like slow motion to her eyes. Although she's now a spiritual cultivator, her ancient martial arts skills haven't declined, making her a rare spiritual and martial dual cultivator. Nobody knows this, but with her level of ancient martial arts, she's basically a Martial Saint!

  As for her spiritual power, it was originally transformed from the elements of life. The elements of life are infinite, so her spiritual power is also endless. Every time she fights, no matter how much spiritual power is consumed, it will not affect her. Moreover, she compresses her spiritual power like mental strength, so her spiritual power is more pure than anyone else's. She can feel that she is now at a bottleneck and has touched the shadow of promotion, but unfortunately, she is just short of that little bit...

  Song Doudou, who was sitting next to her, watched as she ate without a care in the world and couldn't help but feel envious. "Qing Kuang, hehe, I'm also feeling a bit thirsty, can you spare some for me?"

  Before she could respond, Xiao Bao tightly hugged the backpack in her arms, fastened the buckle, and even stuffed the ones in her paws into her mouth. Her face was distorted as she swallowed them all at once, gulping them down into her belly.

  "Look! It's not that I won't give you any, it's just that what I eat is also given by others. If you want some, go ask them, those are their snacks." Zhan Qingkong gave her a helpless expression.

  "Little glutton, you're so petty! After all these years of friendship, can't you spare me a little?" Song Dudu said with a pout, earning a toothy grin from the glutton.

  Actually, Song Doudou playing the emotional card was her biggest mistake. Who is a glutton? That's someone who eats excessively, and for the sake of food, they can even give up their life. You think taking food from a glutton's hands is equivalent to pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth? Zhan Qing sighed: Fortunately, her family's glutton was well-educated and didn't go up to give her a slap, it's all thanks to her good teaching!

  One person and one beast for the sake of eating, big eyes staring at small eyes. Chen Du saw that it would still take a long time to reach him, so he squeezed out of the crowd countless times, only to have people carrying large and small bags squeeze in again, handing food over to Song Doudou and others.

  Song Duoduo converted her grief and indignation into appetite, let out a grunt while eating, and continued to watch.

  Song Doudou VS Gluttony Food Contest, Gluttony wins!

  The little raccoon, seeing that no one was competing with it, carefully opened its backpack and took out a pastry to eat. It even generously offered some to the Warlight Crazy, then used one paw to hold the backpack and the other to rummage through it, still holding a piece in its mouth. As it ate happily, its big tail swished back and forth, making the nearby female companions go crazy with cuteness. However, having witnessed the He Lina incident, no one dared to approach and touch it, not wanting to be disfigured.

  After this brief interlude, Chen Duo and the others soon arrived. Song Doudou brushed off the dregs in her hand and walked up with everyone else. Everyone placed their hands on the Lingzhu Pillar, and in an instant, the pillar emitted a brilliant light of various colors. After a moment, some people couldn't hold on and placed both hands on it, while others turned pale and retreated. Song Doudou also abandoned her usual playful demeanor and waited with bated breath. Half an hour passed, and one by one, people began to walk down, until only five people she knew remained. One of them, Ma Rulong, couldn't hold out and reluctantly retreated, followed by Song Doudou, then Liang Yisheng.

  Against her expectations, Chen Du and Nan Gong Bing were still holding on, but from Chen Du's unsightly complexion, it was clear that he had given his all. In the end, the first place surprisingly went to Nan Gong Bing.

  It's coming soon, the Lingyu Hall challenge match, Nan Gong Bing once again made her look at him with new eyes, I don't know when Nan Gong Bing was promoted to a four-star great sword master, so she deservedly became the first place winner. I believe that soon after, she will enter the Lingfeng Hall. The second place is Chen Du, third place is Liang Yisheng, fourth place is Song Dudu, and there isn't much difference from the first round.

  They waited until they finished the test, then it was Lingfeng Hall. However, she didn't know anyone, so she wasn't very interested. What she was more curious about was whether anyone from the legendary Elite Academy would come and how they would be tested.

  She shifted her gaze back to the stage, refusing the snacks that Piao Yu had handed over again. They would be exercising soon, and eating too much wouldn't be easy to digest, which was bad for their health.