For seven days, Tang Yi didn’t cause any major trouble or go out wandering. He spent every day in his room playfully bossing Mu Xianling around, having her do this and that. The two bickered and teased each other, and their days were quite enjoyable.
Their bond also deepened rapidly.
Meanwhile, Mu Xianling’s cooking skills had also improved considerably.
At the very least, she now remembered to add salt when she cooked and no longer burned the rice.
This was a huge improvement...
Thanks to Tang Yi keeping a low profile, while people still enthusiastically discussed the incredible power of Candidate 59416, the buzz surrounding him had died down significantly.
The Fighting Palace in Dui Palace no longer drew such large crowds of spectators. Everyone went back to their own business, and as time passed, everything returned to normal.
Just like that, seven days flew by in a flash, and the annual House Entrance Examination had finally arrived.
Shuangyong Square. This was the central square of Dui Palace, and it was incredibly vast. Even with over ten thousand candidates gathered here, it didn’t feel crowded in the slightest.
Right now, the qualified candidates had been led to Shuangyong Square by the Elders in charge of their respective districts, arranged into four square formations.
The first formation on the left was composed of candidates from the East District, three thousand in total. Every one of them wore an expression of extreme confidence, holding their heads high with immense pride.
The second formation was made up of candidates from the West District, also three thousand strong. They were by no means inferior to the East District candidates; in fact, their entire formation exuded a solemn air. Each person was unsmiling and reserved, looking incredibly serious.
Then came the third formation, the candidates from the South District. They also numbered three thousand. Compared to the first two districts, they appeared much more uneven in quality. However, they still had an imposing presence—at least, they did when compared to the North District.
This was because the North District candidates were right next to the South District candidates, and the two groups formed a stark contrast in terms of both numbers and presence.
That’s right. The fourth formation consisted of the North District candidates. Under Elder Lu’s leadership, each of them looked to be in high spirits. However, due to the disparity in numbers, their presence was significantly weaker than that of the other three districts.
Furthermore, because of the Heaven-Devouring Thief’s attack, the number of North District candidates had shrunk from the original seven hundred and twenty to just over five hundred—a loss of more than two hundred people. This made the North District’s formation look pitifully small compared to those of the other three districts.
But even so, the North District candidates were not discouraged.
They knew that despite their small numbers, they had a very high chance of entering the West Mansion in this year’s House Entrance Examination. After all, among their ranks was someone special, an individual who would help them get into the West Mansion!
"So those are the North District candidates. They’re just as pathetic as the rumors claimed, with only just over five hundred of them. And judging by their strength, they’re nothing special either."
"They’re from a barren wasteland. What do you expect? That they’d be like us? I bet before long, they won’t even have five hundred people left."
"I heard they started with over seven hundred people, but they ran into the Heaven-Devouring Thief on the way. Over two hundred of them died, and even a number of experts from the West Mansion were killed. If some mysterious expert hadn’t stepped in to save them, the remaining five hundred or so would have gone to see King Yama."
"Hmph, serves them right. A bunch of country bumpkins actually dreaming of entering the West Mansion. Why didn’t the remaining five hundred-odd just die along with the rest? It would’ve saved us the trouble."
"Heh, look at them, all brimming with confidence, acting as if they’re guaranteed a spot in the West Mansion. It seems we haven’t put enough pressure on the North District candidates in the past. And despite losing over two hundred of their comrades, they don’t seem very discouraged at all."
"Hmph, it pisses me off just looking at their confident faces. They’re clearly just a bunch of worthless country bumpkins, yet they insist on pretending to be powerful and composed. It’s pathetic."
"That’s called not knowing their place. You think that’s confidence? Let’s see if they’re still so confident once they enter the Secret Realm. We, the other three districts, will be sure to teach them a lesson."
"Haha, that’s right! We’ll teach them their place once we’re inside the Secret Realm."
"Once they’re in the Secret Realm, they’ll wish they had died in the Heaven-Devouring Thief’s attack! They’ll regret ever coming to the West Mansion for the House Entrance Examination!"
"Hahahaha..."
Whispers arose from among the South District candidates, all of them aimed at their North District counterparts. The words were as vicious as could be, and the South District candidates’ gazes were filled with nothing but utter disdain; they didn’t even consider the North District candidates a threat.
Since the South and North District formations were adjacent, the North District candidates heard every word. They immediately glared at the South District candidates, gritting their teeth, their hearts filled with stifled fury.
Their life-and-death encounter with the Heaven-Devouring Thief was a traumatic event, a memory seared into their minds. It was this memory that pushed them to train even harder, so that they would never have to endure such agony again.
To have others rub salt in that wound now made them furious.
They wanted to retort, but a single glance from Elder Lu stopped them.
"If you want to earn others’ respect, if you want to live freely and without feeling stifled, you must rely on your own hard work, not on momentary impulses. What’s the point of winning a verbal spat right now? Without strength, your situation won’t change. So there’s no need to argue. Just wait quietly for the House Entrance Examination to begin," Elder Lu said calmly to the North District candidates.
Hearing this, the North District candidates, no matter how furious they felt, turned their heads and ignored the South District candidates.
They knew Elder Lu was right. So what if they won a war of words now? If they failed to enter the West Mansion, their lives wouldn’t change, and they would be forced to live as failures.
This wasn’t the time to argue with others. It was the time to focus all their energy on the House Entrance Examination, fight for a place in the West Mansion, and then train twice as hard. Once they were strong enough, they would repay every bit of this humiliation.
For a gentleman, ten years is not too late to take revenge. That was the proper way to strike back, not just with empty words.
"Don’t worry, everyone." Tang Yi suddenly stepped forward, speaking to the North District candidates with pride. "I’ll make sure they all know that anyone can be a failure, but the candidates of our North District absolutely are not!"
His voice wasn’t melodic or forceful—it was utterly ordinary and plain. And yet, it instilled immense confidence in the North District candidates!
Upon hearing his words, the stifled anger in the hearts of the North District candidates vanished instantly. They clenched their fists and looked at Tang Yi, their faces filled with excitement.
"That’s right! Anyone else can be a failure, but the candidates of our North District absolutely are not!"
It’s unclear who started it, but someone repeated Tang Yi’s words.
Immediately after, everyone from the North District began to repeat the phrase. And with those words, every single one of them grew stronger!

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