Chapter 254: Ten Thousand People Vie for the Dao, Seeds of Enlightenment!

Military Martial Guard.

Inside a villa.

Zhu Lili, with her red hair, stood before the window, looking at the massive Examination Scoreboard outside.

Her military uniform was crisp and well-fitted, the exquisitely tailored fabric clinging tightly to her slender yet vigorous figure.

"I disagree," Zhu Lili said, looking at Zong Heng behind her:

"If Chen Yan had any pride, he wouldn't agree to team up with me either."

Behind her, Zong Heng's expression was stern:

"This is a military order; Chen Yan is a genius with better aptitude than you."

Zhu Lili's expression stiffened:

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"Then I still disagree," Zhu Lili said in a low voice:

"Aptitude does not mean strength!"

Her gaze was somewhat dazed:

"Today, that move Yu Changsheng used against me...

It was just one move, yet I couldn't even muster a shred of resistance!"

A lingering fear appeared in her eyes; if Zhang Luobai hadn't blocked that move for her,

she would have died.

"I am the strongest of this year's younger generation, fourth on the College Entrance Exam Heaven's Pride Ranking, but the gap between Yu Changsheng and me is too vast."

Zhu Lili said in a deep voice:

"The College Entrance Exam is my opportunity, my chance to catch up to them; I don't want to waste my aptitude because of someone else.

This year's Military Martial Guard can only rely on me."

Zong Heng frowned, not expecting Zhu Lili to be so resolute.

She had been psychologically scarred by that move from Yu Changsheng.

But Chen Yan's talent was indeed powerful, and entering the College Entrance Exam also carried risks.

Zong Heng glanced at Zhu Lili's back, about to continue speaking.

Hum!

The massive scroll hanging high in the sky slowly turned into a phantom and began to dissipate.

"Time Domain Phoenix," Zong Heng said in a low voice.

Another divine artifact of the Xia Kingdom.

Yet, just as the Examination Scoreboard vanished, above the massive dome, light smoke that looked as if it were woven from golden clothes suddenly appeared, diffusing in all directions.

Immediately after, the golden light condensed, forming a profound image.

Screech!

The high-pitched cry seemed to freeze time and space, and golden ripples suddenly spread from within the space across the entire Xiaoyang City.

A phantom of a divine phoenix, overflowing with brilliant golden light, appeared gracefully.

Its feathers were as if cast from molten gold.

Every single plume seemed to be tempered from the essence of sunlight.

Throughout Xiaoyang City, pairs of eyes looked toward the golden divine phoenix, feeling as if time and space had stopped at this moment.

By the side of Liu Nan Lake, Chen Yan spoke:

"Divine artifact, are both that Examination Scoreboard and this Time Domain Phoenix divine artifacts?"

"Yes," Chen Xiyuan said from within the hidden space.

"Is it Sun-level?" Chen Yan asked.

Azure Dome-level, Morning Star-level, Bright Moon-level, Sun-level.

The highest level of treasure Chen Yan knew of was the Sun-level.

"Divine artifacts are existences that transcend the Sun-level," Chen Xiyuan explained; ever since Chen Yan opened his heart to her earlier, her tone had become much more sincere:

"The most famous divine artifact in the entire world is the Great Xia's Xia Lord Sword, which protects Great Xia and repels foreign enemies.

This Examination Scoreboard and the Time Domain Phoenix are also divine artifacts, though they are inferior to the Xia Lord Sword."

Chen Yan nodded, suddenly feeling a strange power within his body pulling at him.

At the same time.

Above the ground, figures slowly floated into the air.

The tens of thousands of examinees who had just signed their names on the Examination Scoreboard were all enveloped by this same power, flying toward the high sky.

"Go to the city quickly; I will have He Youtong head there as well in a moment," Chen Xiyuan said.

"Alright."

Chen Yan stepped into the air and flew toward the city.

Soon, he saw familiar figures.

Shao Hengyang, Shen Youning, Xu Di, and others.

When they saw Chen Yan, they all nodded slightly.

At this moment, high above.

Tens of thousands of figures appeared, all enveloped by the energy radiating from the Time Domain Phoenix.

Everyone looked at the divine phoenix above their heads with awe.

"Is this what it feels like to soar in the air? Hahahaha!"

"No way, you haven't reached the Third Rank yet?"

"Speaking of which, are there many Third Rankers in this year's college entrance exam?"

"There are, most of them are veteran examinees who have participated once or twice, so there are definitely many Third Rankers."

"Stop chatting, the Domain Phoenix of Time is about to spit out the Seeds of Enlightenment!"

…………

Sounds of discussion rose one after another, all of them looking nervously at the Divine Phoenix above their heads.

Chen Yan's expression was calm; Old Chi had already told him about the function of the Domain Phoenix of Time during the Tianbei Boxing Tournament.

The Exam Scorecard is a test of an examinee's qualifications.

The Domain Phoenix of Time, on the other hand, spits out opportunities, granting examinees powerful capital before they enter the college entrance exam secret realm.

These opportunities are:

Seed of Enlightenment, which can improve a martial artist's comprehension, rewarded based on your own aptitude.

Seed of Severing Dao, containing fragments of Morning Star-level secret techniques, rewarded based on the examinee's courage.

Seed of Time, which can form a unique time domain to envelop the martial artist; when the martial artist cultivates within it, the flow of time is sixty times faster than the outside world, rewarded based on the examinee's willpower.

Aptitude, courage, willpower.

It seems as though everyone has not yet entered the college entrance exam, but the college entrance exam has already begun.

All around, the sound of rapid breathing grew more frequent.

Visibly to the naked eye, every examinee began to grow increasingly nervous.

Chen Yan stood quietly, yet he felt quite a few gazes looking toward him.

Chen Yan looked around.

In the distance, He You-tong glanced at where Chen Yan was, complexity appearing in her eyes, but the complexity soon turned into arrogance and pity; after seeing Chen Yan look over, she hurriedly shifted her gaze away.

Chen Yan's eyes were calm; He You-tong was going to search for the 【Youlan】, one of the Four Blood Arts of the Xia Clan.

This 【Youlan】, Chen Xiyuan needs, and Chen Changyuan needs.

He, Chen Yan, needs it just the same.

His 【Qianyuan】 is also one of the Four Blood Arts, Morning Star-level, Grade C.

Although the grade is already very high, who would refuse a higher-quality cultivation technique?

The Four Blood Arts can be merged; if 【Qianyuan】 and 【Youlan】 are merged, what grade of cultivation technique would that produce?

I am truly looking forward to it.

Immediately after, Chen Yan looked to the other side.

That girl named San Jin saw Chen Yan looking over, and her body instantly stiffened slightly, as if she were speaking with extreme effort:

"Hello!"

This time, she actually didn't stutter.

Even San Jin herself was somewhat surprised, and a look of satisfaction could not help but appear on her face.

Chen Yan nodded; this San Jin had left quite a good impression on him.

After all, when the cabin incident occurred earlier, she was the first to rush in to confirm whether he was alright.

This goodwill was inexplicable, but it made Chen Yan keep it in his heart.

He continued to look into the distance.

In the far distance, Yu Changsheng, dressed in white and handsome in appearance, was coldly eyeing Chen Yan.

When he saw Chen Yan look over, Yu Changsheng frowned slightly.

"Why would he be able to sense me? Is it an illusion?"

Yu Changsheng muttered to himself and stopped paying attention to Chen Yan.

"Caring about these lowly creatures, I am actually..."

He slowly shook his head, the indifference in the depths of his eyes almost congealing into ice.

As a strand of the soul of the Invincible Son of Luo Chen, having possessed his own disciple Yu Changsheng, that Yu Changsheng is the Invincible Son.

The Invincible Son is invincible at the same realm and is destined to be invincible in the world.

It was also at this moment.

"Brother Yu, the first trial of this Domain Phoenix of Time is the Seed of Enlightenment."

Beside him, a light laugh rang out, and An Yunan tilted his head up:

"Brother Yu, what place do you think I will take?"

Yu Changsheng glanced at An Yunan; this genius, who is rumored to have broken the limit of the Hardened Body realm, was worth his notice:

"I guess, top five?"

"Top five?" An Yunan frowned and looked around:

"I, An Yunan, am an ultimate genius; for a mere top five, Brother Yu is looking down on me too much."

He scanned the world, the arrogance in his eyes growing more intense; his expression of looking down on the world fell into everyone's sight.

No one felt comfortable in their hearts, but no one said anything either.

It was also at this moment.

Screech!

A high-pitched sound rang out.

Above the dome, the Divine Phoenix, whose entire body was overflowing with golden light, suddenly raised its head, and as it stretched its huge and gorgeous wings, golden light cascaded like a waterfall as it flapped them.

Hum!

A profound and mysterious sound resonated through heaven and earth, enveloping all the examinees present, turning this place into a massive space isolated from the outside world.

People outside could only watch, but could not intervene.

The golden light was as if the firmament had been torn open, revealing golden fissures, and that halo rippled in circles within the bodies of Chen Yan and everyone else.

Everyone held their breath, feeling themselves being washed over by a strange energy.

Chen Yan sat cross-legged, clearly feeling as if his physical body were being scanned.

In his mind, countless strands of unfamiliar knowledge suddenly appeared, but this knowledge was blurry and hazy, always separated from Chen Yan by a veil; no matter how Chen Yan tried to look, he could not see it clearly.

Even within the Saint-Breaking Realm, it was completely quiet, with no movement at all.

This was the first trial of the Time Domain Phoenix: talent testing.

Testing the physical body's aptitude, testing comprehension.

Chen Yan felt a trace of trepidation in his heart.

He had never considered his own aptitude to be excellent.

On the contrary, Chen Yan had always believed his own aptitude and comprehension were both very poor.

That he could reach this point was because of the Saint-Breaking Tree, and because of his own never-fading will.

Above the earth, beyond the high sky.

Countless people watched this scene, when suddenly someone exclaimed in astonishment:

"It has appeared, it has appeared!"

"The first one to condense an Enlightenment Seed is that girl with the twin tails!"

"Zhu Lili of the Military Martial Guard has also condensed one!"

"And Yu Changsheng has also condensed one!"

One exclamation after another rang out.

High above the sky, within the space enveloped by the Time Domain Phoenix.

San Jin, Zhu Lili, and Yu Changsheng were the three who had taken the first step to condense cyan rice grains.

The girl with twin tails, who stuttered a little, opened her eyes; when Zhu Lili had just condensed her second cyan rice grain, three cyan rice grains had already appeared before her.

In the distance, Yu Changsheng frowned slightly; he first glanced at San Jin, then looked at Zhu Lili.

"In the end, the aptitude of this body is just too poor."

He said this, paid no more mind, and continued to close his eyes.

An Yunan, however, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at San Jin in the distance, his whole person looking as if he had been struck hard.

Immediately following, he continued to close his eyes and continue meditating, but visibly, sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

"Impossible, I am a heaven-favored child, how could I fall behind others!"

…………

Chen Yan kept his eyes closed throughout, continuing to perceive that mass of unfamiliar knowledge in his mind.

He always did things with single-minded devotion.

Thinking about the people outside would only increase internal friction in vain; this internal friction could not save him, it would only disturb him.

Hum!

A crisp humming sound rang out.

Before Chen Yan, a cyan light suddenly appeared; this cyan light continuously condensed, transforming into a cyan rice grain.

Chen Yan did not open his eyes and continued to keep them closed.