As the group from Fengyue City boarded the Warship, a white-haired elder approached them.
Wang Zongyao hurried forward to greet him, saying respectfully, "Elder Lu, it’s been a while."
The man known as Elder Lu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, exuding an air of authority. He merely nodded in response to Wang Zongyao’s greeting before sweeping a stern gaze over the candidates from Fengyue City.
"These are your candidates from Fengyue City?" Elder Lu asked with a frown.
His inspection revealed that Fengyue City had only five Battle Grandmasters among its candidates, and the most outstanding of them was merely a Three-star Battle Grandmaster. Compared to the other cities, this was a massive disparity.
Moreover, among these twenty candidates, there was one whose Level he couldn’t discern?
’What’s going on?’
’I’m a mighty Battle Emperor Powerhouse, yet I can’t even discern a candidate’s Level?’
’This person is either no ordinary commoner, or he’s carrying some item that conceals his Level.’
’But he’s just a candidate. Why would he need to carry an item to conceal his Level? If he’s truly powerful, wouldn’t it be better to display it?’
’That way, he could attract the attention of the Elders, and if he were lucky, he might even be accepted as a disciple.’
"Yes, these are the candidates from our Fengyue City who earned their spots. All twenty of them are here," Wang Zongyao replied respectfully.
"Nephew Wang, talent is abundant this year. Every city has dozens of candidates at the Battle Grandmaster Level, but your Fengyue City..."
"It’s not my intention to belittle Fengyue City’s candidates, but the entrance exam for the West Mansion is incredibly difficult. Even for cities with dozens of candidates at the Battle Grandmaster Level or higher, the pass rate is less than ten percent. Therefore, I fear for Fengyue City," Elder Lu said slowly. His expression made it clear he was extremely dissatisfied.
The Western Domain is vast, divided into five regions: the Central District, East District, West District, South District, and North District.
The North District lies on the edge of the Western Domain. It is a Barbaric Land, and its level of Martial Dao is the most underdeveloped.
Fengyue City, Wind Rain City, and thirty-four other cities like them fell under the jurisdiction of the North District.
Elder Lu, who had come to receive the candidates from the Thirty-six Cities of the North District, was the one who held authority over the entire North District.
The performance of the candidates he escorted to the West Mansion Headquarter directly affected Elder Lu’s contribution score within the West Mansion.
The better their results, the higher his contribution. Conversely, poor results would not only yield no contribution but also earn him criticism from the West Mansion’s higher-ups.
Thus, seeing the candidates from Fengyue City with such low average strength, he was naturally quite displeased.
"Ah." Wang Zongyao was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that deliberately concealing Tang Yi’s strength would arouse Elder Lu’s displeasure.
However, he still had no intention of telling Elder Lu the truth, wanting Tang Yi to make a grand, shocking debut at the West Mansion.
He just offered a vague defense, "Elder Lu, while the caliber of candidates from the North District’s cities has indeed improved significantly this year, Fengyue City is no slouch either. Our average Level may seem a bit lower than the other cities right now, but... perhaps we have a pleasant surprise in store. In any case, I guarantee we won’t let you down."
"Oh?"
Hearing Wang Zongyao’s words, Elder Lu felt a stir of interest. He scanned the candidates from Fengyue City once more, but aside from the one whose strength Level he couldn’t discern, he came up empty. There didn’t seem to be any other particularly outstanding candidates.
"Nephew Wang, I noticed one of your candidates whose strength Level is indiscernible. Is he using some sort of item for Concealment? Could it be... he is the ’pleasant surprise’ you mentioned?"
Elder Lu glanced at Tang Yi before turning his head to ask Wang Zongyao.
Wang Zongyao smiled mysteriously and said, "You’ll find out in due time."
"Oh!"
Elder Lu shook his head noncommittally. Since Wang Zongyao put it that way, there was no need to press the matter.
He gave a quick order for the Fengyue City candidates to find a place and sit down, then turned and left, heading toward the bow of the Warship.
The candidates from Fengyue City followed Elder Lu’s command, finding a random spot on the deck of the great Warship and sitting down. All twenty of them sat together, maintaining a slight distance from the candidates of other cities, clearly forming their own little clique.
Although Fan Wei, Yuan Qiong, and the others were not on good terms with Tang Yi, they all came from the same city. Naturally, they would sit together.
The candidates from the other cities were the same. Though they were all sizing each other up, no one left their own city’s group to mingle with candidates from another.
At that moment, Tang Yi was sitting on the great Warship beside Tang Piaomiao, Tang Shu, and Tang Baijie. He was just about to ask Tang Piaomiao about his cultivation progress when a faint, sweet fragrance wafted over.
Tang Yi turned his head and saw Mu Xianling slowly walking over to him before sitting down by his side.
While Mu Xianling wasn’t as devastatingly beautiful as Tang Lian or Shangguan Siyu, she was still quite attractive.
Mu Xianling sitting next to Tang Yi inevitably drew the envy of many. However, Tang Yi’s Talent was undeniable, so even if they were jealous, they didn’t dare to do anything to him.
Tang Yi gave Mu Xianling a puzzled glance, then turned away without a word.
Mu Xianling didn’t speak to Tang Yi either. She just sat quietly beside him, lost in her own thoughts.
Just then, Elder Lu walked to the bow of the ship and leaped onto the dragon-head sculpture at its prow. He looked down upon the assembled candidates and declared, "Since everyone has arrived, we will now depart for the West Mansion Headquarter!"
With that, he waved a hand and commanded, "Set off!"
WHOOSH!
At Elder Lu’s command, the Void Warship shot high into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it had flown past the limits of Fengyue City, heading in the direction of Jiuji City.
The Void Warship’s Speed was incredible; it was said to be able to travel over ten thousand li in a single day. Although Tang Yi, having advanced to the Battle King Level, could also fly, his Speed was still somewhat lacking compared to this Void Warship.
After all, his Body Technique Martial Technique enhanced his footwork, not his flight.
All the candidates sat on the great Warship. Despite the Void Warship’s immense speed, there was no turbulence at all. This meant no one had to worry about being thrown off balance, and they were free to gaze at the passing scenery, looking down on the lands they called home.
In just over half an hour, Fengyue City had already faded from the candidates’ sight as they entered an endless wilderness.
"Brother Yi, the Heaven-Overturning Earth-Trembling Technique is truly incredible! I’ve only been practicing it for a few days, and I’ve already broken through from a Nine-star Battle Master to the Battle Grandmaster Level! Look, my Power is so much greater than before!"
Once they were settled, Tang Piaomiao leaned in and whispered excitedly in Tang Yi’s ear.
Earlier, when Elder Lu’s scan had detected five Battle Grandmasters from Fengyue City, he hadn’t actually included Tang Yi—since he couldn’t discern Tang Yi’s Level—but had counted Tang Piaomiao among them.
After switching to the Heaven-Overturning Earth-Trembling Technique, an Earth Tier Lower Grade Cultivation Technique, Tang Piaomiao’s Cultivation Speed had increased dramatically. As a result, he had naturally advanced to the Battle Grandmaster Level after the qualification exam ended.

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