"Brother Yi..."
Seeing that his punch had absolutely no effect on Tang Yi, Tang Piaomiao pouted, his eyes welling up as if he was about to cry.
At that moment, he was like a defeated little rooster, completely dejected.
Although Tang Piaomiao had good Talent and the pride of a genius, he was still just a teenager. Faced with an insurmountable mountain like Tang Yi, he reacted with a child’s temper, feeling utterly wronged.
It was like two children playing a game where one could never win against the other, no matter what they did, and ended up throwing a tantrum.
This was precisely Tang Piaomiao’s state of mind.
"Alright, I have a good sense of your strength now. It’s completely normal that you can’t beat me. After all, my Level is far, far higher than yours..." Tang Yi stated the plain truth, completely ignoring the wronged looks from the others.
Then, his tone shifted as he offered encouragement, "But don’t be discouraged. With your strength, your chances of passing the qualification exam are still very high. Keep working hard."
With that, Tang Yi made a cool exit from the Martial Arts Arena, leaving a stunned Tang Baijie and the others behind.
Staring at Tang Yi’s retreating back, Tang Piaomiao ventured a question, "Brother Yi, has your Level reached the Spirit Level?"
His voice was loud enough for Tang Yi to hear, but Tang Yi didn’t reply or turn around. Instead, he raised a hand to the sky and made a ’V’ sign with his middle and index fingers.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day before the qualification exam.
In the Fengyue City West Mansion Branch, Wang Zongyao sat in a grand master’s chair, his eyes closed in a brief moment of rest. Having finally finished the matters at hand, he could at last catch his breath.
Being the Chief Examiner from the West Mansion Inner Mansion wasn’t easy. Not only did he have to understand the local distribution of Influence, the strength of various parties, and so on, but he also had to communicate with the heads of the Branch Mansion. After all was said and done, even a Battle King Powerhouse like him couldn’t help but feel mentally exhausted.
Just then, Wang Zongyao suddenly remembered that the qualification exam was tomorrow. He had been here for so many days without seeing Tang Yi even once, which didn’t feel right.
Over the past few days, through various inquiries, Wang Zongyao had confirmed Tang Yi’s identity. He was indeed from the Tang Family and hadn’t lied, which made Wang Zongyao value him even more.
After some thought, Wang Zongyao called out to the person outside his door, "Uncle Shi, please go and ask Zhu Yan to come see me."
"Yes." Uncle Shi acknowledged and immediately turned to leave.
A few minutes later, Uncle Shi returned with a somewhat portly, middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man was named Zhu Yan, the Steward of the West Mansion’s Fengyue City Branch. In other words, this little patch of land in Fengyue City was all under his jurisdiction, so his authority was not insignificant.
However, compared to Wang Zongyao, Zhu Yan’s status was a notch lower.
His strength was a whole Level lower—only at the Battle Spirit stage. Furthermore, in terms of status, even though Zhu Yan was a Branch Mansion Steward and older than Wang Zongyao, he still had to address him as ’Senior Brother’.
"Senior Brother Wang, may I ask why you’ve summoned me?" Zhu Yan asked respectfully as soon as he entered.
"It’s like this, Junior Brother Zhu. On my way to Fengyue City, I encountered a promising young talent. I saw that his strength was extraordinary and his bearing was exceptional, which sparked my interest in befriending him. After some conversation, I learned he is from the Tang Family. However, I’ve been busy with official duties these past few days and haven’t had the time to visit the Tang Family, so... I was hoping you could help me invite him here for a chat," Wang Zongyao said slowly.
There was nothing false in his words, but he did conceal some key details, such as the true extent of Tang Yi’s strength, the fact that Tang Yi had killed a group of black-robed men led by a Battle King, and so on.
In fact, Wang Zongyao had previously asked Tang Yi about the identity of those black-robed men, wanting to help him out and smooth over the trouble. But Tang Yi only said they were enemies and deflected with other topics. Realizing Tang Yi didn’t want to talk about it, Wang Zongyao didn’t press the matter.
"The Tang Family? A promising young talent?" Zhu Yan paused for a moment, then thought about it.
’He had heard about the promising young talents of the Tang Family. Tang Mingtian had already broken through to the Battle Grandmaster level and could be considered a great talent, but he was no longer a youth, so he could be ruled out. Then, in the Tang Family... the only one who could be called a promising young talent is the Third Young Master, Tang Piaomiao! Tang Piaomiao is only fourteen, yet he has already cultivated to the level of a Nine-star Battle Master. He truly is a great local talent. To think that Tang Piaomiao actually caught Wang Zongyao’s eye... The Tang Family is about to rise!’
Thinking of this, before Wang Zongyao could even finish, Zhu Yan cut in, "Senior Brother Wang, I have some dealings with the Tang Family. Since you’re interested in nurturing talent and wish to meet one of their younger generation, I’ll go and bring him here."
With that, he got up to leave, but Wang Zongyao spoke up and stopped him.
"Wait, Junior Brother Zhu, wait."
Wang Zongyao was taken aback. ’I haven’t even said who I want to see, yet this Zhu Yan is already rushing off to fetch someone. Does he even know who to invite?’
"What is it?" Zhu Yan turned back and asked, puzzled.
"Junior Brother Zhu, I haven’t told you who this promising young talent is yet," Wang Zongyao said with a laugh.
"The Tang Family only has two great talents. One is already an adult, so the one Senior Brother is talking about must be the other one. Does that even need to be said?" Zhu Yan said with a smile, wearing a knowing expression.
"Oh?" Wang Zongyao thought. ’It seems Tang Yi is like a crane among chickens in the Tang Family. His reputation has even reached this place.’
Thinking this, Wang Zongyao figured Zhu Yan must have the right person in mind. He said no more, simply waving his hand. "In that case, Junior Brother, you may go. Remember to be polite."
"Of course, Senior Brother!" Zhu Yan nodded and rushed out, full of vigor, to extend the invitation.
At the Tang Family estate, Tang Haotian had been in high spirits these past few days. With a string of joyous events and Tang Yi’s recent rise to prominence, he was gleefully savoring his tea when a disciple came rushing in.
"Clan Leader, Mansion Master Zhu requests an audience."
"Zhu Yan?"
Tang Haotian was slightly startled, then hurriedly said, "Quick, invite him in! Take him to the main reception hall and treat him with the highest courtesy!"
"Yes!" The disciple acknowledged and quickly ran out.
Watching the disciple’s retreating back, Tang Haotian felt a flicker of doubt. ’The qualification exam is about to begin. Why would Zhu Yan leave the Branch Mansion at a time like this to come to the Tang Family? Could it be... that more good news has come knocking?’
At this thought, Tang Haotian straightened his martial attire, ensuring his appearance was dignified and imposing, then strode quickly to the Tang Family’s main reception hall.
When he arrived at the main reception hall, Tang Haotian saw Zhu Yan, who had come to extend an invitation.
"Mansion Master Zhu, a pleasure to meet you." Tang Haotian was the first to speak, clasping his fist to Zhu Yan in greeting.
"A pleasure." Zhu Yan also smiled and returned the fist-clasping gesture.
After they exchanged pleasantries, Tang Haotian asked, "Mansion Master Zhu, the qualification exam is about to begin. This must be a busy time for you. What brings you to visit my Tang Family today?"

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