Authenticity Identification of 10 Strengths

  Ye Chen walked back to Beishan Academy from the northern mountain range, rested for several days, washed away the fatigue of three months of hard training in the deep mountains, ate and drank enough, and nourished his spirit.

  In June of the year, it was the day for assessment and evaluation at the Academy.

  "Today is Beilu Academy's mid-term assessment, whether I can pass or not depends on this one!"

  Ye Chen put on a brand new cyan robe, new linen shoes, tied his waistband, and wrapped his legs. He had already reached the sixth layer of Body Tempering, with enough strength to have a 70% chance of passing. His heart was calm and not anxious at all.

  "This coarse linen robe is still the attire I wore when I was in the Lower Court. Unfortunately, all my money has been spent on cultivation, and I don't have any spare change to buy better mid-grade martial robes, so for this important occasion today, I can only wear this best robe to attend."

  Ye Chen bitterly smiled.

  He tidied up his clothes and left the hut, arriving at the bustling martial arts training grounds of the Academy.

  The age difference of students in the upper house is relatively large, ranging from 12-13 years old to 20 years old.

  If you haven't passed the appraisal exam by the age of 20, then directly roll out from the book institute. Many students enter the upper house after reaching the fourth layer in the foundation building period, but they are unable to reach the sixth layer in the foundation building period and have to leave dejectedly at the age of 20.

  Ye Chen is fifteen years old this year and is considered to be of average age among the disciples in the Upper Court. However, he entered the Upper Court relatively late, so most people here are his seniors.

  The disciples of the Northern Academy gathered in groups, with the sons of wealthy and powerful families together, the sons of aristocratic families together, the sons of rich merchants together, and the ordinary commoner's children together, forming cliques on their own.

  Students of different social status naturally have a gap and generally don't mix together.

  Of course, there are also some lone wolves, such as Yan Han who is almost always alone at any time, extremely powerful and cold-blooded, with no one willing to stand within a few meters of him to feel that chill.

  Ye Chen was a commoner's son, and only when he met other commoners' sons would he put his hands together and exchange a few polite words. He wouldn't take the initiative to greet the young masters of wealthy families.

  When the first ray of sunlight shines on the school field, more than 200 students from the upper school have arrived.

  The chief examiner, Li Cang, the "Tiger-Subduing Fist" master of the Upper House, and more than ten other masters, arrived at the school grounds.

  More than 200 young men and women students in the upper house of Beifeng Academy quickly formed a large square array on the school field, silent and motionless, staring straight ahead.

  Li Cang came before the students with his hands behind his back and stood still, his cold eyes scanning over the students.

  "The Beifeng Academy conducts two assessments every year, one in the middle of the year and one at the end. The first assessment is the actual combat assessment, which requires reaching the 'Sixth Layer of Body Refining Period, Middle Rank Martial Technique' to be considered qualified."

  "Only disciples who have passed the strength assessment can proceed to the next step of the even more brutal graduation examination."

  "Once you pass the graduation assessment, our academy will recommend you to the imperial court of Wuguo, where you will be entrusted with important responsibilities. Later on, you will rise to prominence and become a renowned figure in the field of politics and military affairs, and it's not impossible that you'll become a high-ranking official or even a marshal! You should know that nearly half of the high-ranking officials and generals in Wuguo are from our Beilu Academy!"

  "Today, let's see the results of your six months of training! The power assessment is about to begin, who will go first?!"

  Li Cang said, and then drank.

  "Disciple Yan Han, willing to give it a try!"

  Yan Han stood at the forefront of the team, taking a step forward with a cold and stern expression. He was currently recognized as the strongest martial artist in the Upper House of Beimou Academy, and it was only natural that he would be the first to take the stage for the assessment of his abilities, and no one dared to compete with him.

  Beilin Academy

  Dean Tao of the Academy personally accompanied a young white-shirted man, walking on the stone path of the Academy, heading towards the martial arts training ground.

  Behind them, there were more than a dozen high-ranking officials from the Imperial Academy, such as Shi Geng, the Head of the Lower House. Judging from their facial expressions and tone of voice, they seemed to be quite friendly towards that young man.

  "Principal Tao, your academy's environment is quite serene!"

  The young man said.

  "What Zheng Gongzi said is right. The academy backs onto the northern mountain range, with green mountains and beautiful waters, it's quite peaceful, a suitable place for martial arts training."

  Dean Tao smiled and said.

  "Your academy is located in a remote corner of the Wuguo's rear, far from the war fire, it's quite relaxing. However, Wuguo has already reached the edge of crisis, with several surrounding countries constantly eroding Wuguo's territory. In recent years, the Wuguo army has been fighting continuously, and many mid-level generals have died or been injured, urgently needing a batch of mid-level military officers and national-level martial artists to stabilize Wuguo's territory. The burden on Dean Tao is not light."

  The young man sneered indifferently.

  "This is what Zheng Gongzi said. As the North Mountain Academy, we have a responsibility to cultivate outstanding disciples with all our might."

  Dean Tao was slightly sweating and somewhat embarrassed, but he did not refute it.

  As the head of Beifeng Academy, he was a 9th-level martial artist in the Refining Body stage, and his status in Wuguo could be said to be extremely high. Many generals in Wuguo came from the academy. When that high-ranking official saw him, he didn't even dare to consider himself as a junior!

  But facing this young man, he didn't have a bit of temper.

  Zheng Zicheng, the most talented martial artist in the imperial city of Wuguo. He was later taken as a personal disciple by Zheng Yuan, the current state master of Wuguo.

  When the national teacher Zheng Yuan of the morning dynasty, a true cultivator of the Xianmen Dapai sect, held an extraordinary position, even the emperor of the Wu Kingdom had to personally visit him with great courtesy.

  Zheng Zicheng is a direct disciple of Zheng Yuan, and there are rumors that the two have a blood relationship.

  As Zheng Zhicheng, he will soon become a cultivator and his future status will be far above that of Dean Tao, not even giving Dean Tao any face.

  More than a dozen senior members of the academy followed behind the two, facing Zheng Zhicheng's blatant ridicule, they looked at each other, but didn't dare to make a sound.

  "Zheng Gongzi, as far as I know, the ruler of Wu State, Wu Shi, is a descendant of one of the nine great immortal sects in Yunzhou, Jindengmen. With the support of Jindengmen, the position of Wu State's ruler should not be shaken, right?"

  Dean Tao thought for a moment and asked cautiously. As a secular martial artist, it was difficult to understand the dynamics of the Xianmen sect. Only Zheng Zicheng, the personally taught disciple of the national teacher, might have access to detailed intelligence.

  "Jin Ding Gate will not sit idly by. The Xian Men sent my master Zheng Yuan to garrison the Wu Kingdom's capital, precisely to prevent the Wu clan from being harmed. However, as cultivators, we cannot arbitrarily intervene in the worldly kingdom's wars, lest it lead to conflicts between the Xian Men. Conquering the battlefield still requires your efforts, you worldly martial generals! In the past, a predecessor of Jin Ding Gate established the Beilu Academy, precisely to cultivate more outstanding warriors in the Wu Kingdom!"

  The young man said with some pride.

  "Of course!"

  Dean Tao smiled, but in his heart he still muttered to himself, obviously still a martial artist in the Refining Body stage, yet claiming to be a cultivator.

  Dean Tao accompanied Zheng Zicheng and chatted along the way until they arrived at the martial arts training ground of the Academy.

  At this time, the head of the General Church, Li Cang, was conducting a power assessment for the students of the Upper House.

  Dean Tao and his group stood on one side of the playground watching.

  The students of the academy saw that Tao, the principal who rarely appeared, was accompanied by a young man to watch, and some were curious, with many people looking over.

  "My master has sent me to the Beilu Academy this time, to take a look at the situation of cultivating disciples in the academy. Among these students, are there any particularly talented and outstanding individuals who can be reused?"

  The young man said.

  "Of course!"

  Dean Tao finally said something worth being proud of, introducing the excellent disciples in the academy. "This year, our academy has several outstanding disciples, Yan Han, Ma Ruyu, and Wei Xiangyu. All three are at the sixth level of the Refining Body stage, with extremely exquisite martial skills. These three individuals are all children of the top ten families among the five major aristocratic families in Wuguo, and they have a great potential to become national-level warriors in the future."

  Dean Tao specially reminded.

  "Oh, really? Let's see about that."

  The young man smiled faintly, neither affirming nor denying.

  "Director Li is here!"

  Dean Tao took a sip of tea and nodded slightly at Li Cang.

  Li Cang knew that the principal wanted an outstanding student to come on stage and show off, to gain face for the academy, so he immediately shouted, "Ma Ruyu, go on stage!"

  Extremely cold and strongest.

  However, in terms of physical cultivation talent, the best is Ma Ruyuan. Eight months ago, he broke through to the fourth layer of physical cultivation and became an upper house disciple. In just eight short months, he rushed to the sixth layer of physical cultivation.

  The harsh environment took an even longer time, more than a year, but his knife skills were extremely overbearing, and his combat strength ranked first.