Yoriichi's eyes immediately found Xiao Yu. She was sitting at a long wooden table, her elegant legs crossed, a quill in her hand as she rapidly wrote down logistical notes. She looked incredibly professional and mature.
Seated right next to her was a woman who commanded the entire atmosphere of the pavilion.
She appeared to be in her late twenties, possessing a mature, gentle beauty that was distinctly different from the vibrant youth of the teenage girls. She wore a modest, flowing blue dress. But what caught Yoriichi's attention was the aura radiating from her body.
'It's likely she is a water attribute Da Dou Shi,' Yoriichi analyzed instantly. Having spent the last few days deeply meditating on the Water element, he was highly sensitive to its frequency. 'Her Dou Qi is very fluid, yet possesses a gentle pressure. Like a calm ocean hiding a trench. She is strong.'
This was Teacher Ruo Lin, the lead recruiter.
At that moment, Xiao Yu glanced up from her paperwork. Her eyes scanned the passed candidates' area and immediately locked onto Yoriichi.
The professional, strict academy senior facade instantly melted. A bright and happy smile spread across Xiao Yu's face. She subtly raised a hand, offering a quick, excited wave to her brother.
Yoriichi nodded calmly in return. Seeing her practically vibrating in her seat with pride, Yoriichi raised a single finger to his lips and offered a subtle, downward pressing motion with his hand—a silent, playful signal telling her to calm down and not get overexcited while she was on duty.
Xiao Yu huffed playfully, her cheeks flushing slightly, but she obediently turned her attention back to her ledger, though the smile refused to leave her face.
The peaceful wait was suddenly shattered by a massive, collective uproar from the crowd outside the assessment zone.
Yoriichi and the other three candidates turned their heads toward the commotion.
Stepping up to the transparent assessment crystal was Xiao Yan. The young man placed his hand on the stone.
Unlike Yoriichi's stable light, the crystal reacted to Xiao Yan's potent, uninhibited fire attribute with a blinding, aggressive flash. The light surged upward, filling the stone with a brilliant, golden-red hue that forced the nearby spectators to shield their eyes.
The senior student managing the crystal stumbled back half a step, staring at the readings in absolute shock.
"Three... Three-star Dou Zhe?" the senior raised, his voice crack loudly over the silenced crowd. "Heavens... what a dense fire attribute!"
Before the crowd could even process the incredibly high cultivation level for a youth of his age, a melodic, chillingly proud voice cut through the air.
Xun'er stepped up beside Xiao Yan. She looked out at the stunned academy officials and the gaping crowd, her golden eyes gleaming with unhidden, absolute pride.
"If you had thought mine is a great talent," Xun'er declared clearly, ensuring her voice carried directly to the main azure tent, "then you should know the full truth of my Xiao Yan ge-ge's achievement. He did not cultivate this over a lifetime. Just more than a year ago, his cultivation was crippled at the third-star of Dou Zhi Qi. He climbed from the absolute bottom to a three-star Dou Zhe in just 15 months."
The announcement fell over the square like a detonating bomb.
Gasp!
Hundreds of people drew a collective, sharp breath. Just more than a Year? From the third stage of Dou Qi to a full-fledged Dou Zhe?! It defied all known logic of human cultivation. It was a speed that shattered common sense.
Beneath the main azure tent, the mature, gentle aura of Teacher Ruo Lin instantly spiked hearing the commotion.
She stood up abruptly from her wooden chair, her blue dress fluttering. Her eyes were wide, fixed entirely on the calm youth. She walked out from beneath the shade of the tent, stepping to the edge of the platform to get a better look at Xiao Yan.
She observed his steady breathing, the sharpness in his dark eyes, and the sheer density of the Dou Qi lingering around his hand.
Slowly, an incredibly approving, brilliant smile graced Ruo Lin's mature features. She nodded deeply. "A true monster," she murmured to herself, her heart racing with the thrill of discovering an unprecedented genius for the academy.
In the passed candidates' area, Xiao Mei was cheering happily, her eyes shining with renewed admiration for her former idol.
Yoriichi simply stood with his arms crossed, watching the spectacle with mild, stoic amusement. He was not surprised in the slightest by the duo's antics. Xun'er dropping a lore bomb to elevate Xiao Yan's status was perfectly in character for the fiercely protective girl. Yoriichi simply enjoyed watching the "young dragon" finally flexing its claws for the wider world to see.
The rest of the morning assessments paled in comparison to Xiao Yan's shocking reveal.
When the sun reached its zenith, the grueling filtering process finally concluded. The senior students loudly declared the testing phase over. The failed youths and their families were ordered to clear the perimeter, leaving the massive central square suddenly echoing and empty.
Out of the hundred likely who had tested, only a grand total of seven individuals remained standing in the passed candidates' area.
It was a staggering statistic. Four youths from the Xiao Clan (Yoriichi, Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and Xiao Mei), two from the Jia Lie Clan, and one from the Ao Ba Clan.
As the space cleared out, a few senior students approached the seven successful candidates. They moved efficiently, holding clipboards, noting down their specific backgrounds, primary elemental affinities, and double-checking their ages to finalize the academy ledgers.
When the bureaucratic work was finished within a few minutes, the atmosphere in the square shifted.
Teacher Ruo Lin stepped down from the elevated platform. She walked with a fluid, graceful elegance, stopping a few paces in front of the seven youths. The gentle, yet incredibly oppressive weight of a Da Dou Shi settled over the area, instantly demanding their absolute attention.
She smiled warmly, a mature, comforting expression that immediately put the nervous youths at ease, though Yoriichi's eyes remained critically sharp.
She raised her delicate hands and clapped them together once. The sharp smack echoed loudly, officially signifying the start of their new lives.
"Listen closely, young ones," Ruo Lin spoke, her voice melodious yet carrying an undeniable authority that washed over them like a cool wave. "My name is Ruo Lin, and I am a tutor of the Jia Nan Academy. Since you seven have proven yourselves capable of standing here today, you are no longer just members of your respective clans. You are now prospective students."
She let her gaze sweep across the seven faces, lingering slightly on Xiao Yan's fiery determination, Xun'er's ethereal calm, and finally, stopping on Yoriichi's deep, stoic crimson eyes.
"However," Ruo Lin continued, her smile hardening just a fraction, "passing the crystal is just the entry ticket. Before we embark on the long journey to the academy, I will now mention the strict rules of our prestigious institution. And I expect every single one of you to crave in your minds."