Tang Yi turned his head and saw that the speaker was none other than Fan Wei, a man quite popular with the ladies.
The first round of the examination was now underway, and with no one paying attention to their group of five, Fan Wei finally let his true colors show. He stared coldly at Tang Yi, as if Tang Yi had committed some unforgivable crime.
Hearing Fan Wei, the others nearby—Yuan Qiong, Su Four Sabers, and Mu Xianling—also turned to look at Fan Wei and Tang Yi, their expressions clearly anticipating some drama.
When Tang Yi didn’t respond, Fan Wei spoke again, his voice cold. "Tang Yi, do you really think you should be standing here, casually watching everyone else take the exam?"
"And why not?" Tang Yi glanced at Fan Wei in surprise, his reply indifferent.
When Wang Zongyao had first offered to exempt him from the first two rounds, Tang Yi had anticipated this exact outcome. He knew countless people would come looking for trouble, refusing to accept the decision.
He just hadn’t expected that even after Lord Wang’s forceful Suppression, there would still be people pestering him about it.
"You!" Fan Wei gritted his teeth, shocked that Tang Yi actually dared to talk back. A furious rage welled up inside him, and his voice rose. "You’re just a good-for-nothing who can’t even cultivate! What right do you have to stand here? What gives you the right to be compared to us?"
"Even if you can cultivate now and have a bit of power, you should still have to get on the stage and compete like everyone else! By what right do you get an exemption?"
Nearby, Su Four Sabers also found this amusing. He asked Tang Yi, "Tang Yi, I’m extremely curious. With the Tang Family’s standing, and with your own level of strength, how on earth did you get acquainted with the Chief Examiner, Lord Wang? And how did you manage to convince him to give you this exemption?"
"Well, I think that regardless of Tang Yi’s current power, being able to get an exemption from Lord Wang is a display of strength in itself," Yuan Qiong added sarcastically. "Isn’t that just another one of his Techniques?"
"It doesn’t matter what round he gets to. In the end, I’ll be the one to defeat him!" Mu Xianling declared.
She was far more direct. Her words were spoken with absolute confidence, showing she couldn’t care less whether Tang Yi had an exemption or not.
"Whether I’m qualified or not is none of your business. You should all just mind your own," Tang Yi said, completely unconcerned.
They were just a few Battle Grandmasters. He truly didn’t give them a second thought.
If this weren’t Fengyue City, he could have finished off nobodies like them with a Slaying Strike from a single finger.
Upon hearing Tang Yi’s words, the expressions of Fan Wei and the others turned sour. They were all the top talents of their respective Clans’ younger generations. When had a peer ever been so arrogant in their presence?
And yet, here was Tang Yi.
"How arrogant. Do you think you’re all that just because you have a backer like Lord Wang? Heh, you’d better pray you don’t run into me in the third round. Otherwise... Hmph," Fan Wei threatened coldly, his handsome face twisting with rage.
"You’d better not run into me, either. I might not be able to control my hands. If I happen to kill or cripple you, don’t blame me," Su Four Sabers said, raising a hand and examining it from side to side with an incredibly smug look.
"Hmph."
Yuan Qiong just let out a cold snort, apparently not one for verbal threats.
Meanwhile, Mu Xianling kept her chin held high, radiating immense confidence, paying no mind to anyone else at the scene.
Mu Xianling had an ethereal look about her, full of Immortal Energy, like a fairy from the heavens. Her current demeanor, however, was surprisingly grounded, like that of a proud little peacock.
Somehow, the two aspects coexisted within her without the slightest sense of contradiction.
"Heh," Tang Yi merely chuckled, ignoring these few small fry.
’These people can’t affect me in the slightest. Why should I care about a few ants I could crush underfoot?’
Being ignored by Tang Yi only made Fan Wei and the others even more furious.
However, despite their anger, they didn’t want to court another snub. The more they talked to Tang Yi, the angrier they would get, so they fell silent and turned their attention back to the stage to continue watching the examination.
’They would just wait for the third round. Then, they would personally teach Tang Yi a lesson and make him understand the gap between them. They’d show him that some positions weren’t for people like him to occupy just because he wanted to!’
"Whoa!"
Just then, a cry of astonishment erupted from the audience.
The first round’s test involved lifting a 330-pound boulder. It wasn’t impossibly heavy, but for a participant at the Battle Master Level, it was still a significant challenge.
Since the start of the first round, over a dozen participants had already attempted the test, but not a single one had managed to lift the 330-pound boulder. This just went to show how difficult a task it was for a Battle Master.
The audience’s gasp was because someone had finally managed to lift the boulder.
And he didn’t just lift it. With one hand on his hip, he effortlessly hoisted the boulder overhead with his other hand, looking incredibly relaxed and impressive.
"Incredible!"
"That’s one of the Mu Family’s young masters, isn’t it?"
"That’s the second young master of the Mu Family. Aside from their prodigy, Mu Xianling, he has the greatest Talent in the Mu Family."
"I heard he’s already a Nine-star Battle Master, just one step away from becoming a Battle Grandmaster."
"Looks like the Mu Family is poised to rise this year, producing so many young geniuses at once."
"Rise? What rise? Mu Xianling is just a girl, and this second young master still hasn’t reached the Battle Grandmaster rank. In my opinion, neither of them is a match for the Fan Family’s Young Master Fan Wei."
"Fan Wei is nothing special! Young Master Yuan Qiong is the one who’s truly powerful."
"Bullshit! The Su Family’s Young Master Su Four Sabers is the real deal!"
After showing off on the stage, the Mu Family’s second young master set the boulder down. He then glanced in Tang Yi’s direction, gave a thumbs-up, and pointed it downward in a clear gesture of provocation.
After making his disdain for Tang Yi clear, the Mu Family’s second young master finally stepped off the stage.
This provocative gesture immediately earned a wave of applause from the audience.
Tang Yi gave a wry smile. He had no idea when he’d offended this second young master of the Mu Family. He hadn’t done anything from the start except receive an exemption. He never thought he’d basically become a walking taunt magnet from a video game, with everyone and their mother coming to provoke him.
’Looks like the entire younger generation here has marked me as an enemy because of this exemption.’
"Hah."
Tang Yi couldn’t help but laugh. He had intended to keep a low profile, but by a strange twist of fate, this exemption had somehow turned into a huge point of contention.
’If I’d known this would happen when Wang Zongyao offered me the exemption, I would have refused on the spot.’
’But what’s done is done. The exemption is in place, the taunts have begun, and everyone already sees me as an enemy. No point dwelling on it now.’
’Besides, it’s not like I’m afraid. They’re just a few Battle Masters and Battle Grandmasters, after all. I can beat them whenever I want.’
"Meeow~"
Just as Tang Yi was lost in thought, a soft, adorable sound suddenly echoed in his ear.

Comments

Loading...