Chapter 9: Retesting Aptitude

If Fang Che really had been a terrorist spy, then he definitely wouldn't have felt guilty at all for forcing him unconscious with his mental pressure. Instead, it would've felt cathartic for him, and he would've only wished that he could kill the spy on the spot.

However, it seemed like this was a child with a pure heart, and he had just made them suffer for nothing.

With that in mind, he hurriedly began rummaging through his own pockets.

This was a kind and upstanding child with a heart of gold, and he had just forced him unconscious on his first day at the academy...

As a Monarch, his mental pressure would've been sufficient to force an Emperor into submission, let alone a Warrior Master.

Such immense mental pressure would've undoubtedly harmed Fang Che's soul, and Huang Yifan was scrambling to make amends while cursing Chen Ruhai internally.

He pulled out all of the pills that he was carrying, but even the lowest-grade pills for soul restoration were meant for the consumption of King tier warriors, making them far too strong for a mere Warrior Master.

If he were to open the door now and instruct Lü Jiaoshan to fetch pills for him, then it would become obvious that he had screwed up, and his reputation would be dragged through the mud.

Hence, he had no choice but to use his own spiritual qi to burn a King-tier Divine Soul Pill, incinerating the majority of its medicinal properties before feeding it to Fang Che while carefully mending Fang Che's spirit sense with his own mental power.

By the time he was done, he was already sweating profusely.

As it turned out, the pill was still a little too efficacious, and as a result, Fang Che's spirit sense had been enhanced, but that was of no concern to Huang Yifan. He was just happy that Fang Che's condition had been rectified.

After that, Huang Yifan used his spirit qi to smooth over Fang Che's meridians.

In the process, he noticed something strange.

His meridians seem to be intercepting and absorbing my spirit qi!

Right at this moment, a dull thud rang out, heralding a breakthrough.

"WTF!"

Huang Yifan was astonished.

I just triggered a breakthrough in an unconscious person? I didn't even know I could do that!

Huang Yifan was becoming more stunned and perplexed by the second.

The Divine Soul Pill was a little too efficacious, and he had personally assisted Fang Che's in absorbing the pill, so it wasn't too far-fetched for his spirit sense to have been enhanced.

However, this was completely different. He was only injecting his spirit qi into Fang Che's meridians to remedy any potential internal injuries, how had that led to a breakthrough?

It didn't make any sense!

I've just helped him cheat on the cusp of the tournament!

***

Fang Che awoke to a blissful sensation, like that of bathing in a hot spring on a cold day.

Every single muscle fiber in his body was in a state of blissful comfort, and his consciousness had widened by twofold!

Furthermore, his cultivation base had progressed from the pinnacle of the third rank to the mid-fourth rank!

What happened? Why am I more powerful than before?

Fang Che was rendered momentarily speechless. This had thrown a complete wrench into his plans!

He had intentionally suppressed his cultivation base to avoid making a breakthrough.

In any case, he would've been able to make a breakthrough whenever he pleased, and he had planned to make a breakthrough at the tournament.

That way, he would be able to forge a resounding reputation for himself, attached to which was a legendary story of a prodigy who had made a breakthrough after being backed into a corner, stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.

That would've surely made for an unforgettable story, and it would've also helped him secure better cultivation resources.

With such a stunning performance, his name would be known far and wide, and even if the top brass of the academy had been informed that he was a member of the One Heart Church, they would've been forced to give him his just rewards.

What reason would the academy have to deny a prodigy of this caliber the best resources? Where's the justice?

He was still useful to the academy and the Protectionists, so there was no way that they would openly blow his cover, and that would ensure that he received the benefits he was entitled to.

This was a plan that Fang Che had hatched out of necessity.

Everyone in the academy thought of him as a terrorist spy, so they would've been sure to deprive him of resources, and that could hinder his future cultivation.

However, his plan had been completely foiled now, and that left him with a bitter taste in his mouth, despite his breakthrough.

It wasn't that he was concerned that he would be unable to make a breakthrough during the tournament. There was still at least a week before the tournament's commencement, and that would be enough time for him to reach the pinnacle of the fourth rank.

However, the problem was that he would be too powerful for his own good. He highly doubted that any of the new students would be able to pose a threat to him with his current cultivation base, and it would seem rather contrived and braggadocious if he were to make a breakthrough mid-battle while under no real pressure.

With that in mind, Fang Che took a resentful glance at Huang Yifan, only to discover that the latter was also observing him with a resentful expression.

"You're awake, are you?" Huang Yifan asked in a glum voice.

Fang Che blinked in a dazed manner.

My eyes are open, so what do you think?

"I'm awake."

"You've passed the test," Huang Yifan declared.

"Thank you, Assistant Dean Huang."

"No need to thank me," Huang Yifan replied. "How much of the test do you remember?"

"I don't really remember anything," Fang Che replied as he feigned a concerned expression. "I didn't say anything inappropriate, did I?"

Huang Yifan was quite relieved to hear this, and he smiled as he said, "No. If you had, then you wouldn't have passed the test."

"As expected of a top-tier warrior academy, the testing methods are so profound and mysterious," Fang Che praised in an earnest manner. He truly did remember nothing of the test, but it seemed that he had passed.

"Of course," Huang Yifan replied.

You think everyone gets tested like this? If I had to personally test every single student like this, I wouldn't have time to do anything else!

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Huang Yifan as he said, "Now that you're here, I may as well test your aptitude as well."

He removed the soundproofing enchantment as he spoke, then called out, "Come in, Superintendent Lü Jiaotian' we're ready for the aptitude test."[1]

"My name is Lü Jiaoshan, not Lü Jiaotian!" Superintendent Lü snapped as he stormed into the room. "Can you not call me that in front of students? I'm the superintendent, for heaven's sake!"

"Alright, Jiaotian, let's begin."

Lü Jiaoshan was furious, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Huang Yifan was a Guardian that had been appointed assistant dean out of the blue.

He normally took no part in the management of the academy as he wasn't interested in politics and logistical matters, but he was a warrior of unmatched power.

As long as you didn't plot against him, you were fine, and even if you did, you were fine as long as he didn't find out. However, if he were to find out, then only the gods would be able to save you.

There was one occasion where he had beaten Lü Jiaoshan for no reason after getting drunk, and Lü Jiaoshan had no choice but to stomach the beating in silence, just as he was doing now.

He pulled out a miniature purple jade pagoda, which was clearly of a far higher caliber than the one that Sun Yuan had used, and he asked, "Have you tested before?"

"I have, my master told me that I was a bit above high A-grade aptitude," Fang Che replied.

"There are a lot of counterfeit Dragon Fish Pagodas out there, so let's get you tested again with this twelve-level one," Lü Jiaoshan said.

High A-grade aptitude wasn't anything special in White Cloud Warrior Academy, so Fang Che's answer didn't impress him.

"Inject your spirit power into the pagoda," he instructed.

Fang Che did as he was instructed, and this Dragon Fish Pagoda felt far easier to inject his spirit power into than the one that Sun Yuan had him use.

The bottom seven levels of the pagoda instantly lit up, filling the entire room with a dreamy purple glow.

Lü Jiaoshan's eyes lit up slightly upon seeing this.

In the next instant, the eighth and ninth levels lit up in unison, and the purple light was continuing to climb rapidly.

That's already high A, and he's still not done!

An intrigued look had appeared on Huang Yifan's face.

The tenth level quickly lit up, indicating Heaven-tier aptitude.

From there, the purple light stagnated slightly, but neither Lü Jiaoshan nor Huang Yifan were disappointed to see this.

This was what others called legendary aptitude, and there were some Heaven-tier students in White Cloud Warrior Academy, but certainly not many, and all of them were considered super prodigies.

Right at this moment, the eleventh and twelfth levels also lit up!

Immediately thereafter, a burst of purple light erupted out of the tip of the tower, shining directly upon Huang Yifan's astonished face, giving him a ghastly appearance.

His mouth was so wide agape that the purple light shone all the way down his windpipe, and his eyes were on the verge of bulging out of their sockets.

Lü Jiaoshan wasn't looking much more composed than him, and both of them strongly suspected that they were in a dream.

"Is... Is the Dragon Fish Pagoda broken?" Huang Yifan stammered after a long silence.

Lü Jiaoshan grabbed the Dragon Fish Pagoda out of Fang Che's hand, and he was just about to inject his own spirit power into it for reference when he stopped before handing it to Huang Yifan.

"I don't think it's broken. Do you wanna try?"

Huang Yifan accepted the pagoda in a daze, and he was just about to inject his spirit power into it when he realized what Lü Jiaoshan was up to.

He kicked Lü Jiaoshan away as he yelled, "You sly bastard! You tried to trick me!"

"It can't hurt to try it," Lü Jiaoshan said in a sheepish manner.

"Why don't you try it then?" Huang Yifan snapped.

Lü Jiaoshan rolled his eyes in response.

How? I know my own aptitude! If I test myself right after what just happened, I'll be completely shown up by a new student, one that's only a Warrior Master, at that!

"Go find someone else!" Huang Yifan yelled, and Lü Jiaoshan immediately fled the scene.

After that, Huang Yifan also departed, leaving Fang Che behind on his own.

Both of them had gone to test other people.

A short while later, the two of them returned to the office, and both of them were staring at Fang Che as if they had seen a ghost.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Your master told you that you were high A-grade?" Huang Yifan asked.

1. This is a nickname that Huang Yifan invented for Lü Jiaoshan, which literally translates to "donkey braying to the sky." ☜