Chapter 43

Is it snowing?

No.

But in front of everyone, it was as if snowflakes were suddenly drifting.

These snowflakes were within the radius of Li Hao's location, within three feet of the sword edge.

Every snowflake was permeated with coldness; it was sword light refracting out, just like the name of the sword technique, Falling Snow.

The layer is, True State......

In front of Li Hao, the burly youth's pupils shrank rapidly, standing still on the spot.

The countless snowflakes in his line of sight were like a storm raging, extremely turbulent, but this storm was held in the young man's palm, as if wielding the power of heaven and earth! The biting cold air didn't sweep toward him; only...... a wisp of snowflake gradually rolled out from the storm, flying lightly, brushing past his cheek.

Cool.

The burly youth subconsciously reached out to touch it. There was a feeling of pain, but no blood was seen.

His gaze was frozen, his body tense on the spot, holding a sword in his hand like a brave swordsman, but his arm was trembling, without any action.

Soon, like the effort of a blink, the countless snowflakes that looked like an illusion disappeared.

Li Hao casually threw the sword back to the weapon rack, just sliding into the scabbard. With the clanging sound of the sword hilt closing, like breaking ice, the burly youth woke up as if from a dream, his body shook, and everyone present also woke up.

Just now, everyone seemed to have fallen into a dream.

But was it really a dream?

The scene was eerily quiet.

Until Li Hao's smiling voice broke it, asking: "Now, can I count as passing?"

The burly youth came back to his senses, was stunned for a moment, and said as if his tongue was tied: "You, you won."

No exchange of blows, because he wasn't an opponent for one round. In fact, he didn't even have the courage to draw his sword. He lost thoroughly.

Other Tan Palace students beside them were all looking at Li Hao in horror. They originally thought that Li Yuanzhao just now was already brave and unparalleled, but they didn't expect there to be an even more exaggerated one.

What kind of sword technique is this? First of all, it must be of the Absolute Grade, even reaching the Perfect Layer!

No wonder they would think so. Although the Falling Snow sword technique was Upper Grade, under the power of the True State layer, even the Perfect Layer sword technique of Absolute Grade was slightly inferior......

"What an exquisite sword technique!"

"Heavens, it actually made me see it like a hallucination. I just saw snowflakes!"

"Me too, this is too exaggerated!"

"The sword technique in the Divine General's Mansion must be top-tier. Could it be that he has practiced it to the Perfect Layer? How long must this have taken to practice?!"

Everyone came back to their senses, all looking at Li Hao in shock.

Long heard of the great name of the Divine General's Mansion, today they had truly opened their eyes.

Si Xiaolan looked at Li Hao blankly. With this exquisite sword technique, there was no doubt that Li Hao was qualified to pass the first two passes of the test by his own ability.

Is this the peer of the Divine General family? Could it be that they are really all monsters?!

"Brother Hao!"

Beside him, Li Yuanzhao was even more excited. He didn't expect Li Hao's sword technique to be so profound. His vision was naturally higher than these noble family disciples, and he recognized that this was the Falling Snow sword technique that Sister Xue'er had displayed.

But the layer Li Hao displayed was clearly beyond the layer Sister Xue'er had reached back then. He even felt it exceeded the Perfect Layer.

Li Hao smiled at the excited Yuanzhao and didn't say anything.

He just felt a bit nostalgic in his heart, wondering what layer that little girl in the Sword Hut had practiced this sword technique to now.

Recalling the time when he guided her in practicing the sword in the courtyard, a smile hooked at the corner of his lips, but he quickly collected his mind and said to the burly youth in front of him:

"Then...... how do I go next?"

"Ah? Oh, oh...... You just go straight this way. There are teachers waiting for everyone there."

The burly youth hurriedly replied, his eyes involuntarily revealing a trace of awe.

The starting point of a noble family was indeed not something ordinary people could compare to.

Li Hao nodded, led Li Yuanzhao around the burly youth, and walked casually step by step along the small path stairs ahead.

Behind them, everyone watched the two figures disappear before coming back to their senses.

At this time, someone suddenly thought of a question: "Why would they have an invitation? Could it be because their strength didn't need assessment in the first place?"

Once these words were spoken, the rest were enlightened, and then they were silent.

Earlier, they all thought it was because of the prominent family background of the Divine General's Mansion, and their hearts were slightly resentful, but at this moment, they were all relieved.

Si Xiaolan's pretty face changed slightly, and she bit her lip lightly, knowing that she had misunderstood the other party.

The Tan Palace Academy had stood for hundreds of years; how could it be a place that sought fame and reputation? How could it cling to the powerful and wealthy by any means?

...... Inside the Tan Palace Academy, on a vast stone tablet square.

There were many young figures gathered here, all gazing at the stone tablets on the square, contemplating the cultivation techniques on them.

At the edge of the square, two old men were sitting in a corner, setting up a chessboard and playing against each other.

"Oh my!"

Suddenly, one of the short, fat old men who was deep in thought seemed to suddenly think of something and slapped his thigh fiercely: "I almost forgot, there are still two invitations that haven't been met."

"Are you referring to the Divine General's Mansion's?"

The gray-robed old man opposite looked up and asked suspiciously: "It shouldn't matter, right? The little guys from the Divine General's Mansion can pass the test easily. Even if you don't meet them, they can still come over."

"If it were others, that would be fine, but have you forgotten? That child of Marquis Xing Wu is a cultivation piece of trash, only capable of body refinement. It was spread everywhere ten years ago, though it has quieted down now."

The short, fat old man hurriedly rose and said: "If he falls off the second pass and dies, then we'll be in big trouble!"

"This......" The gray-robed old man was also scared. That was, after all, the only son of Marquis Xing Wu. He hurriedly said: "Then you go quickly."

The short, fat old man nodded, then whistled, and a wind whistle sounded. A large bird with a wingspan of seven or eight zhang rushed over from afar, attracting many young figures in front of the stone tablets nearby to look up. The large bird landed slowly in front of the old man.

"I'll wait for you......" the gray-robed old man said.

Watching his old friend drive the bird away, his interest in the game was disturbed, and he couldn't help but mutter: "If I had known this, wouldn't it have been better to send five invitations in the first place? Why add an extra attachment?"

While speaking, he looked down at the chessboard.

Suddenly, the more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong, and he immediately cursed angrily: "You bastard, you're about to lose so you're slipping away!"

The short, fat old man was called Shen Yunqing, but in reality, he wasn't light at all. He drove the demonic bird to soar and rushed toward the second pass.

Besides escaping the game, he was indeed worried about the situation at the second pass in his heart. Hopefully, Old Tang there knew the child's situation and would send him across the cliff.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and he saw two figures walking together on the mountain path below, dressed in brocade clothes and having an extraordinary bearing.

And the pattern on their clothes, he couldn't be more familiar with; it was the Li Clan of the Divine General's Mansion!

"Mm?"

Shen Yunqing was surprised, and immediately let his mount descend.

Bird calls and fierce wind attacked from overhead. Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao both stopped and looked up, seeing a large demonic bird with three eyes landing in front of them at a distance of several zhang from the ground.

Sitting behind the bird's neck was a short old man, who stretched his head to look at the two, seemed to have found something to confirm their identities, immediately smiled, and leaped down from the bird's back.

He waved his hand, let the demonic bird fly away on its own, and then said to the two with a smile: "The two of you must be the young masters of the Divine General's Mansion. I don't know which courtyard's young masters you are, and how should I address you?"

Seeing the other party being so polite, Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao were not too surprised. After all, their family background was too prominent, and ordinary people were very gentle and polite when they saw them, even famous and powerful people.

"This is my brother, Li Hao, and I am Li Yuanzhao."

Li Yuanzhao said, having a bit of a simple and honest appearance, but his small eyes revealed a sharp and alert light.

Shen Yunqing immediately looked at Li Hao, feeling enlightened in his heart. The long-lost memory returned to his brain. The kid who was named by Emperor Da Yu of the Li Clan more than ten years ago seemed to be Hao...... Li Hao.

It was him.

Shen Yunqing's face showed no strange color. He nodded slightly to the two and said with a smile: "They didn't make things difficult for you, did they? Let's go, I'll take you to gather ahead."

He only assumed that the two had traveled all the way through the invitation.

Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao were not familiar with this old man, and there was no talk on the way.

The three walked leisurely along the way. Li Hao looked around, watching the scenery between the mountains, thinking that the environment of this Tan Palace Academy was not bad. If he stayed here often in the future, at least it would be comfortable to look at, refreshing and pleasant.

Soon, the three arrived at the end of the square.

There were hundreds of people gathered here, surrounding three stone tablets.

"This is......" Li Yuanzhao looked at Shen Yunqing suspiciously. Inside here, he also saw Li Yun and his sister who had gone up the mountain first, both surrounding a stone tablet with the fewest people.

"Those who walk here are qualified to enter the Tan Palace Academy and can be considered official disciples."

Shen Yunqing stroked his beard and explained with a smile: "But even as disciples, aptitude varies. Our Tan Palace Academy is divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D, which are sorted according to everyone's aptitude to avoid mixing the fish and the dragons, preventing those with lower aptitude from dragging down those with higher aptitude, and those with higher aptitude from bullying those with poor aptitude."

"Therefore, there are these three stone tablets, recording three cultivation techniques, which are Lower Grade, Middle Grade, and Upper Grade respectively!"

"The difficulty is different for each."

"Within three days, those who comprehend the Upper Grade cultivation technique and enter the threshold can enter Grade A, and those who comprehend the Middle Grade cultivation technique and enter the threshold can enter Grade B."

"Comprehending the Lower Grade cultivation technique within three days to enter the threshold is Grade C. If there is no cultivation technique entered within three days, they will be divided into Grade D."

Shen Yunqing smiled: "In Grade D, if you are in the bottom three of the test results every semester, you will have a make-up exam. If you fail the make-up exam, you will be persuaded to drop out."

Li Yuanzhao listened and was enlightened.

Li Hao asked: "What if you don't listen to the persuasion?"

Shen Yunqing, who had a smile on his face, was stunned. Persuaded to drop out but don't listen to the persuasion? (End of chapter)