"Yes, just as Miao Yuan said, my name is Ma Long. I ranked first in the Pingnan City qualification exam. As for being thirteenth among the East District candidates... that’s a ranking someone else came up with. I haven’t actually fought them, so I don’t know if I truly deserve that spot." Ma Long said modestly, then looked at Miao Yuan and asked, "And you are...?"
"I’m Jiang Kangcheng. I ranked seventh in the qualification exam for Yanghuang City in the South District. My overall rank in the South District is... probably around one hundredth..."
Jiang Kangcheng said, a hint of embarrassment in his voice.
"Oh."
At that, Ma Long merely nodded, his interest already gone. He pointed to a candidate on his team and said, "In that case, your strength is probably on par with Shan Hua’s."
The candidate named Shan Hua glanced over as Ma Long pointed at him. Jiang Kangcheng met the gaze of the candidate named Shan Hua, and a fresh wave of embarrassment washed over him. The situation felt incredibly awkward.
Ma Long’s meaning was clear. He was implying that with Jiang Kangcheng’s level of strength, he would only qualify as a regular member of his team. He had no right to speak to him as a fellow Squad Leader.
Such strength wasn’t even worth Ma Long’s notice. Yui Mu, standing off to the side, also understood Ma Long’s implication. Having seen Jiang Kangcheng’s public humiliation, he wasn’t about to go up and make a fool of himself. He simply stood there quietly, saying nothing.
Ma Long, for his part, paid Yui Mu no mind, not even bothering to acknowledge his presence.
Even though they were both leaders of their respective teams, Ma Long’s position was clearly superior. After all, his strength spoke for itself.
"Miao Yuan, what was this difficult situation you mentioned earlier?" Ma Long asked.
"There."
Miao Yuan gestured subtly with his hand toward Tang Yi and the other North District candidates. "It’s them."
"Hm?"
Ma Long followed Miao Yuan’s gesture. When he confirmed that he was, in fact, pointing at the candidates from the North District, he frowned in displeasure. "Miao Yuan, you’re really losing your touch. You can’t handle a few candidates from the North District? You have more than ten people here, and they only have a handful. And you’re telling me you’ve run into a difficult situation?"
"But... Brother Ma, I’m not lying! Those North District candidates are a real problem. We’ve run into someone incredibly tough," Miao Yuan argued.
"Oh? A tough opponent? In what way?" Ma Long asked.
"That candidate is no ordinary person."
Miao Yuan looked toward Tang Yi, then pointed at the ten corpses of the candidates from the Three Major Zones. "You see them? Those ten candidates... they were all killed by that one guy from the North District."
"Him? By himself?"
Ma Long glanced at Tang Yi, his expression full of doubt. But no matter how he looked, he couldn’t see anything special about Tang Yi. He couldn’t sense any powerful aura from him either. In fact, he seemed just like an ordinary person.
This made Ma Long frown again. "A guy who looks like that? Killed ten of you? I don’t think he’s strong; I think you’re all just trash!"
"Uh, Brother Ma, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s not that we’re weak; it’s that he’s too strong. Among those ten dead candidates, two of them were Battle Spirits! And yet, they were killed instantly by that guy from the North District. That should tell you how powerful he is," Miao Yuan explained.
"Really?"
Ma Long was still skeptical.
"It’s the absolute truth!"
Miao Yuan nodded. He thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, "And... he has... he has something else..."
"Hm? What else? Why are you hemming and hawing?" Ma Long glared at Miao Yuan and demanded, "Spit it out."
Miao Yuan considered for a moment before finally saying, "That candidate from the North District... he has a Demon Beast Crystal from a Level 5 Demon Beast! That’s why we confronted them. We wanted that Demon Beast Crystal, but... we can’t handle them on our own."
By revealing this, Miao Yuan was admitting they could no longer claim the Demon Beast Crystal for themselves.
’Of course, even if I didn’t tell him, we still can’t deal with Tang Yi. We’d never get the Level 5 Demon Beast Crystal anyway. It’s better to just tell him. Maybe if Ma Long is in a good mood after he snatches it, he’ll even share some of the spoils with us.’
"What did you say? Are you serious? How could a bunch of candidates from the North District possibly obtain a Demon Beast Crystal from a Level 5 Demon Beast?"
Hearing this, Ma Long froze for a second. Then his eyes went wide in utter shock.
"Brother Ma, I swear I’m not lying! I don’t know how those North District candidates did it, but they killed a Level 5 Demon Beast and got its Demon Beast Crystal. Look, Brother Ma, the Crystal is in that guy’s hands right now," Miao Yuan said, pointing at Tang Yi.
Ma Long whipped his head around to look toward the North District candidates, and he immediately spotted the Demon Beast Crystal Miao Yuan had mentioned.
Just then, one of the North District candidates was casually tossing the Demon Beast Crystal in his hand. The silver crystal glittered dazzlingly in the sunlight.
Normally, Demon Beasts didn’t have anything like this inside their bodies. There was no such thing as a Demon Beast Crystal. The West Mansion had used Great Divine Techniques to implement them for the House Entrance Examination, using a special method to create these magical Crystal Stones inside the Demon Beasts to foster a sense of competition among the candidates.
The Demon Beast Crystal of a Level 4 Demon Beast was red, while a Level 5 Demon Beast’s was silver, making them very easy to tell apart.
But besides being the sole basis for judging a candidate’s score, the Demon Beast Crystal also had another purpose.
It could accelerate a Martial Artist’s Cultivation Speed!
Holding one while cultivating would make one’s Cultivation Speed much faster than normal, and the higher the quality of the Demon Beast Crystal, the better the effect.
Rumor had it that after the House Entrance Examination, as long as a candidate passed, they could keep all the Demon Beast Crystals they had acquired, regardless of their final score. The crystals would be their personal reward.
That was why all the candidates would desperately hunt Demon Beasts during these seven days to obtain Demon Beast Crystals. Beyond just wanting a good score, they also wanted more Cultivation Resources. This would allow them to cultivate faster after entering the mansion and get a head start.
It was no wonder, then, that Yui Mu, Miao Yuan, and Jiang Kangcheng were so incredibly envious of the Level 5 Demon Beast Crystal. And now, so was Ma Long.
This wasn’t just about passing the House Entrance Examination anymore; it was about acquiring more Cultivation Resources.
After seeing the silver Demon Beast Crystal, Ma Long fell into thought for a moment. He then turned to his team and ordered, "Shan Hua, go test his strength. And while you’re at it, snatch that Level 5 Demon Beast Crystal for me."
"Yes!"
Upon hearing the order, Shan Hua stepped out from the group and began walking toward Tang Yi.

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