"Ma Ruyuan is the son of General Ma Bo, a member of one of the five great families of Wuguo, the Ma family. He has reached the sixth layer of Body Refining in just eight short months! Does he think he's more talented than Master Ma? Haha, what a joke!"

  "Yes!"

  Ma Ruyun stepped out at the sound of her name and stood up proudly.

  He was also fifteen or sixteen years old, but his physique was more robust and sturdy than that of his peers. He wore a high-quality martial arts robe, leather boots on his feet, a hard leather belt around his waist, and leather guards on both arms - the standard attire of a mid-ranking warrior.

  In the martial arts arena, Ma Ruyu knocked down a stone pillar with his fist.

  Then holding a steel knife in hand, his figure leaped and bounded, leaves hiding flowers, two butterflies dancing, one move linked to another, smooth beyond compare.

  The assessment of the North Mountain Academy only has two projects, one is to prove that you have a six-layer cultivation period, and the other is to prove that your martial skills have reached the middle rank. As long as these two points are proven, you can pass the assessment.

  Ma Ruyu's strength was evident and he quickly passed the assessment.

  "Ma Ruyuan! Strength of 600 jin, reached the sixth layer of Refining Body stage! 'Eight Gates Golden Lock Blade', knife technique reached mid-tier standard. Identified!"

  Li Cang said loudly.

  "Master Ma is too powerful! Good job!"

  "Master Ma broke through the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage in just eight short months and even cultivated the Eight Gates Golden Lock Blade. This is absolutely the fastest cultivation speed in Beimou Academy's history! Who can compare to this kind of cultivation talent?"

  Many young scholars who were on good terms with Ma Ruyu cheered loudly and gave a warm welcome.

  "Don't you know who I, Ma Ruyuan, am? It's nothing to cultivate from the fourth layer of the Refining Body stage to the sixth layer in just eight months. Before long, I'll be able to cultivate to the ninth layer and become a national-level swordsman. After this graduation exam is over, I'll return to Wang City. This Beimeng Academy is too small, it's hard to find a few decent opponents. Wang City is where I, Ma Ruyuan, can show off my skills. I, Ma Ruyuan, will eventually become the strongest martial artist in Wang City!"

  Ma Ruyu identified his strength and laughed loudly with a few close brothers, without hiding his arrogant expression.

  As soon as this remark came out, it immediately attracted attention and disgust among the more than 200 students. "Even if you are from the Wu Guo Ma Shi Hao Men family, there is no need to be so arrogant!" "Among our group of students, there are many who are also from other wealthy families in Wu Guo, but none of them have been as ostentatious and unrestrained as this."

  Ye Chen listened to Ma Ruyuan's words, but didn't have any special feeling. As a commoner, he was used to seeing the arrogance of the young masters from wealthy families in the academy, and had long since become accustomed to it.

  "What family is this Ma Ruan from? How can he be so arrogant? Are the students of Beilu Academy all a bunch of madmen?"

  Zheng Zhicheng's face changed slightly as he watched from a distance, furrowing his brow.

  Dean Tao was also anxious and didn't expect that Ma Ruyuan would speak without reserve, unintentionally offending Zheng Zhicheng, who had just come from the capital of Wuguo.

  "Ma Ruyuan is a direct disciple of the Ma family, one of the five great aristocratic families of the Wu Kingdom. His father, Ma Bo, is a first-class general and a top-notch martial artist. Ma Ruyuan was promoted from the lower house to the upper house seven months ago and has cultivated to the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage. His talent for martial arts is quite impressive. In our academy's recent decade, Ma Ruyuan should be the fastest cultivator among all martial artists. This young man is proud and arrogant, and it's inevitable that he's a bit impulsive."

  Dean Tao thought for a moment and said in a conciliatory tone.

  "It turned out to be a nouveau riche of the Ma family! The Ma family rose in Wuguo for only a few decades, and they dared to boast that they were the strongest. They really didn't know how high the sky was or how thick the earth was."

  Zheng Zicheng snorted coldly, not deigning to give him a glance. He was the youngest and most outstanding martial artist in the imperial capital of Wuguo, the personal disciple of the current national master, and would soon break through to become a cultivator and enter one of the great immortal sects. What's so remarkable about a mere general's son who has only reached the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage after eight months of cultivation?

  After Ma Ruyuan passed the assessment, more than a dozen students also passed the academy's strength assessment one after another.

  Of course, there were also many students who failed, either because they still had a way to go before reaching the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage, or because their intermediate martial skills were not up to par.

  Zheng Zicheng looked more and more unenthusiastic, shaking his head constantly.

  Until another powerful martial artist from the same school, Wei Xuan Yu appeared.

  Zheng Zicheng's eyes lit up and he nodded in praise.

  "Everyone's martial skills are really strong, and their moves change so many times!"

  Ye Chen's gaze was fixed tightly on each student who came on stage, seeing that the students of the academy rarely had the opportunity to bring out their hidden skills, this was a great chance to gain experience.

  Ye Chen has not yet entered the field.

  In the upper house, the vast majority of students were his seniors, and only after everyone else had finished their assessment did he have the qualification to go on stage for a strength assessment.

  Three hours have passed.

  "There are now forty-seven people who have passed the Academy's strength assessment, thirty-four failed assessments, and the rest have not been assessed. Is there anyone else to be assessed? If not, the North Slope Academy's mid-year strength assessment will come to an end..."

  Li Cang shouted loudly at his disciples.

  "Headmaster, I am Ye Chen, your disciple. I wish to give it a try!"

  Ye Chen stepped out of formation in the middle, interrupting Li Cang's words.

  "You?"

  Li Cang was slightly stunned and seemed to have no impression of Ye Chen. However, he quickly recalled that the young scholar who had come to ask for his advice a few months ago and gone to Beifeng Mountain was none other than this kid in front of him!

  "Aren't you supposed to be cultivating on Beifeng Mountain? How come you're back so soon? I remember it's only been five or six months since you advanced to the Upper Academy, what are you doing coming out?"

  Li's face suddenly turned gloomy and he sternly rebuked.

  This kid's failure in the assessment is a minor matter, but losing face for Beishan Academy in front of guests accompanied by Dean Tao is a big deal. Letting the guests think that Beishan Academy has no one, and having a lower-ranking disciple from the Lower Court come to make up the numbers.

  More than 200 students in the upper house looked at Ye Chen who stood up with puzzled eyes.

  Many students are very unfamiliar with Ye Chen.

  Ye Chen had only been promoted to the Upper House half a year ago and stayed in the Academy for two or three months. Then he went to the North Mountain Range, deep in the mountains, where he practiced for several months, and rarely interacted with these students from the Upper House.

  "He seems to have been promoted to the upper house six months ago!"

  "What!!! He just entered the Upper House half a year ago and he's already daring to participate in the graduation assessment! We've been cultivating for several years and haven't even reached the sixth layer of the Refining Body Phase. A commoner like him, with only six months of effort, thinks he can pass the North Mountain Academy's power assessment?"

  "Ma Ruyuan is the son of General Ma Bo, a member of one of the five great families of Wuguo, the Ma family. He has reached the sixth layer of Body Refining in just eight short months! Does he think he's more talented than Master Ma? Haha, what a joke!"

  "Master Ma, it seems someone wants to challenge you! He's only been practicing for six months, don't you feel any pressure?"

  Many young students burst out laughing.

  "This kid wants to make a fool of himself, so let him try!"

  Ma Ruyu didn't mind at all and instead burst out laughing with several close brothers beside him.

  The scolding from Li Cang, the head of the Upper House, did not make Ye Chen retreat.

  "Chief Instructor, disciple Ye Chen, I'd like to give it a try!"

  Ye Chen hung his head, clenching his slightly trembling fists, staring at the ground with a wooden expression, repeating what he had just said.

  No one could see it, but deep within his icy gaze, anger was burning.

  It's been ten years, and such disdain and ridicule have never diminished.

  He was just a humble commoner at the bottom of Beifeng Academy, silently and anonymously. In his ten years of cultivation in Beifeng Academy, he worked hard to make money for cultivation, earning a meager income of dozens of copper coins every year, doing the most tiring and laborious work while cultivating, competing with the aristocratic disciples of the academy.

  Like him, the lower-class martial artists in the Lower Academy of the thousand or so students were not a minority, and most of them were still struggling in the first to third levels of martial arts, yearning for the day when they could break through and become a more prestigious Upper Academy student.

  Those aristocratic family heirs will never understand the hardships and sorrow of this low-ranking martial artist, and his anger.

  But even so, Ye Chen did not complain about heaven and others. The hardships and hardships he experienced over the past decade have made him more strongly desire to catch up with his peers' strength with his own hands.

  Li Cang seemed to have sensed Ye Chen's unwavering determination in his words and couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, glancing at Dean Tao's expression.

  "Director Tao, since everyone has stood up, let him come on stage! Are you afraid he'll lose face for the North Hill Academy?" Zheng Zicheng waved his hand indifferently. He had been watching for several hours and was starting to feel bored; an unexpected twist would be a nice change of pace.

  Dean Tao reluctantly gestured to Li Cang, letting Ye Chen take the stage.

  "Ye Chen, begin the power assessment! The first project, shatter this stone stake. This specially made stone stake can withstand a basic force of 600 jin, only a cultivator at the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage can do it. If your strength is insufficient..."

  Li Cang's low voice explained word by word, but he hadn't finished yet.

  Ye Chen took a step forward, coming to the front of a hard stone pillar. Suddenly, one leg swept out horizontally, "Boom!" The stone pillar broke under the heavy impact and flew out four or five zhang away. Ye Chen knelt on one knee, slowly standing up.

  On the bustling martial arts training ground, there was suddenly a moment of silence.

  "Ye Chen! Basic leg technique, 600 jin of force, sixth layer of Body Refining Stage! Cultivation has reached the standard!"