Chapter 624: 99

Outside the Celestial Spirit Valley.

Many mentors and students had gathered, even more than when Luo Tian had first come.

Last time, quite a few mentors hadn’t shown up, but this time, nearly everyone was here.

“How did the three of you do with your cultivation in the Celestial Spirit Pool last time?”

Luo Tian looked at Zi Qing and the other two.

After cultivating for ten days in the Celestial Spirit Valley and then spending another ten days in seclusion, all three had made breakthroughs in their cultivation.

Deng Xiaoqian’s cultivation was now at the Earth Element Realm Eighth Layer.

The resolute Zhao Gang was at the Peak of Earth Element Realm Eighth Layer.

Zi Qing had reached the Earth Element Realm Ninth Layer!

Among all of Luo Tian’s students, Zi Qing’s cultivation was on par with Guan Hongfei’s.

Luo Xiaoting had the highest cultivation, at the Peak of Earth Element Realm Ninth Layer.

The higher one’s cultivation, the harder it was to break through. Luo Xiaoting had yet to advance since her battle with the genius from Zhengyang Palace.

She had a high chance of breaking through to the Half-step Celestial Pool Realm before the Chuyang Grand Competition.

“Master, the way the other mentors are looking at you is a bit strange.”

Zi Qing glanced around.

‘Of course they are.’

After all, the first batch of slots for the Celestial Spirit Valley had fallen into Luo Tian’s hands, and he had answered all ten questions correctly, leaving a deep impression on everyone.

Now, probably no mentor would dare to underestimate Luo Tian. They might even see him as a formidable rival.

‘Huh? Peng Yuweng is here again?’

Luo Tian spotted the senior mentor from the War Martial Institute.

“Master Peng failed to secure the slots for the second batch. They were taken by Master Cao from the Qian Jun Branch.”

Hu Chao had just arrived and overheard Luo Tian’s musing, so he offered an explanation.

The ten branch institutes had many elite mentors. Moreover, since each test was different, luck was also a major factor in winning first place.

If not for the unexpected appearance of Luo Tian during the first test, Peng Yuweng might have taken first place.

The second test, however, was not in an area Peng Yuweng particularly excelled in, so he had failed.

“The third test will now begin.”

The person in charge of the test was once again Middle Level Tutor Ye Shuiyun.

BUZZ!

A scene suddenly materialized on the glowing green screen.

In the dark of night, several figures clashed back and forth amidst flashes of blades, swords, fist techniques, and finger beams. The battle was exceptionally fierce.

The brilliant flashes of light occasionally illuminated the faces of the martial artists: a student from the Wuji Saint Institute and four enemies of a foreign clan.

The battle ended quickly. The Wuji Saint Institute student was victorious, and all the enemies were annihilated!

“The video you just saw was of a student from Zhengyang Palace of the Wuji Saint Institute clashing with enemies during an external mission.”

“Mentors, you are to provide guidance on his Martial Arts. The mentor who provides the most accurate and extensive guidance wins!”

“The judge for this test is the Advanced Tutor from the War Martial Institute… Master Yan Feixiao!”

Ye Shuiyun finished her introduction.

“Yan Feixiao?”

“Advanced Tutor Yan Feixiao is here to be the judge?”

The many mentors and students were all shocked!

Advanced Tutors held an extremely high status in the Wuji Saint Institute and were highly respected in the outside world as well.

This was even more true for a renowned master teacher like Yan Feixiao!

Yan Feixiao’s willingness to be a judge here was likely related to Ye Shuiyun in some way.

WHOOSH!

A figure in a Golden Robe descended from above. It was none other than the handsome and elegant master teacher, Yan Feixiao!

The moment he appeared, his intangible aura and bearing made him the center of attention, like a dazzling star!

“All Junior Tutors have the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn to submit your answers.”

Yan Feixiao spoke with a gentle expression.

Instantly, all the mentors fell into deep thought, and the scene became silent.

“That genius was using a Hammer Technique!” a mentor suddenly shouted.

“Hmph. Cheap tricks,” Peng Yuweng sneered.

The person who had spoken was clearly trying to deliberately interfere with the other mentors!

Peng Yuweng was certain that the student in the video who had annihilated all the enemies was using Swordsmanship!

‘The Swordsmanship is at least Celestial Level Middle Grade. It seems to be the Saint Institute’s Light Chasing Sword Technique, and the Body Technique is either the Celestial Cloud Step or the Illusory Cloud Shadowless…’

The footage just now consisted of fragmented clues.

The mentors needed to piece together this limited information and use their own experience to deduce more details.

Not only that, but they also had to provide guidance.

This test was also extremely difficult.

But if the test were too simple, it would be harder to distinguish the skilled from the unskilled, and it wouldn’t be very interesting.

“Master…”

Luo Xiaoting, Guan Hongfei, and the others stared at Luo Tian, eagerly anticipating his performance.

But they discovered that Luo Tian seemed to be in a daze, not thinking seriously at all.

“Master, did you not see the footage clearly?”

Deng Xiaoqian asked.

She suspected Luo Tian hadn’t seen it clearly and was therefore giving up on this round.

Luo Tian realized his behavior had made his students suspicious.

The truth was, this test wasn’t particularly difficult for him.

Luo Tian closed his eyes slightly and began to make his deductions.

His students knew that Luo Tian possessed this kind of ability. They were just surprised that Inference could actually be used in a situation like this.

“He even knows Inference?”

“This guy really is something else.”

The other mentors noticed this. Their expressions turned grim as they felt a faint pressure.

To a certain extent, Inference could provide more clues. If Luo Tian’s analytical and guidance skills weren’t too poor, he would definitely be a strong contender for first place.

But what outsiders didn’t know was…

…the thing Luo Tian was using Inference for was merely the name of the student in the footage.

‘Hua Wusheng!’

Luo Tian quickly got his answer.

Immediately after, his consciousness entered the Celestial Book World.

“Celestial Book, use Inference on all of Hua Wusheng’s information!”

Luo Tian commanded.

BUZZ!

The Celestial Book consumed over a dozen pages of Energy and fulfilled Luo Tian’s request.

Densely packed words appeared, containing almost every major event in Hua Wusheng’s life. The more recent the event, the more comprehensive the information.

‘This makes things much easier…’

‘Deduce the flaws in Hua Wusheng’s Martial Skills and provide a general improvement plan.’

Luo Tian once again used the power of the Celestial Book.

…

The time it took for half an incense stick to burn passed quickly.

Nearly all the mentors finished their contemplation, took out their Identity Tokens, and transmitted their answers.

BUZZ!

A swath of text appeared on the glowing green screen—the answer from one of the mentors.

All the mentors stared intently, wanting to see how they measured up against the others.

Peng Yuweng, Liu Lu, the sallow-faced old woman from the Celestial Blade Institute, and many other mentors instantly broke into smiles.

Yan Feixiao glanced over it unhurriedly and gave a simple evaluation, “Sixty-seven points!”

SNAP!

He snapped his fingers, and the next answer appeared.

“Seventy-two points!”

“Seventy-seven points!”

…

Yan Feixiao gave a score for each Junior Tutor’s answer.

“Ninety-two points!”

Suddenly, Yan Feixiao announced an extremely high score.

It was the first score above ninety so far.

“Hahaha, thank you for your critique, Master Yan. If you were the one taking the test, you would surely score a perfect hundred.”

Peng Yuweng laughed heartily while laying on the flattery.

Everyone realized it was Peng Yuweng’s answer. A score like that from him was to be expected.

“Three points higher than mine,” the sallow-faced old woman muttered with a sigh, her head lowered.

“It looks like Master Peng will take first place this time.”

“Teacher Peng’s insight is sharp, his analysis is unique, and his guidance is precise. It’s truly admirable!”

Many mentors praised him with genuine admiration.

So far, only Peng Yuweng had scored over ninety—and ninety-two at that. First place should be his.

Suddenly, Yan Feixiao announced, “…Ninety-nine points!”

Every eye in the crowd was fixed on Yan Feixiao and the glowing green screen.

‘Ninety-nine points? Is this a joke?’

Even for a Middle Level Tutor, achieving such a standard would be incredibly difficult!

But after reading the description on the glowing green screen, everyone fell silent, completely and utterly convinced!

It was just too rich, too detailed!

Who on earth could it be? How could someone deduce so much information and provide such brilliant guidance based only on that blurry footage?!

Yan Feixiao did not reveal the name.

Instead, he continued to browse the other mentors’ answers, methodically announcing one score after another.

But all the mentors were now absent-minded.

There was no way they could surpass that score of ninety-nine!

‘Who in the world got ninety-nine points?’

The students were the same, stunned by the score.

Luo Tian’s students had completely given up hope.

They weren’t disappointed, however, since Luo Tian had already won first place once before.

“Master, what score did Master Yan give you?”

Zi Qing asked curiously.

“Ninety-nine,” Luo Tian said nonchalantly.

Zi Qing was dumbfounded and didn’t know how to respond.

The other students were also stunned.

Luo Tian’s voice was quiet, but the venue was so silent that many people heard him.

“Master Luo, you can’t just say things like that! The real person is right here, so don’t you go falsely claiming the credit!”

“Shameless!”

Many mentors shot him looks of contempt.

But a very small number revealed looks of disbelief.

Just then, Yan Feixiao suddenly announced the result.

“It’s over. First place goes to Luo Tian!”

In that instant, countless gazes from all around focused on him, filled with shock, amazement, doubt, and admiration!

“Damn it, how could this happen!”

Peng Yuweng’s face twitched, his eyes dark and sullen.

He had been on the verge of taking first place, only to lose to Luo Tian yet again. Peng Yuweng was filled with extreme indignation!

He wasn’t the only one; several other senior mentors felt the same way!

‘Ninety-nine points!’

‘He must have cheated, right?’

But Luo Tian’s answer was impeccable, and it had been personally reviewed by Advanced Tutor Yan Feixiao.

To question the result would be to question Yan Feixiao’s authority.

“Master Luo, congratulations.”

Ye Shuiyun was also incredibly surprised.

She was certain she couldn’t have performed to Luo Tian’s level.

This made her even more curious to understand just what kind of person Luo Tian was.

“I remember you. To have people spread rumors to frame you, you must truly have something extraordinary about you.”

Yan Feixiao stared at Luo Tian and offered a faint compliment.

But that was all.

He had no interest in Luo Tian because he believed himself to be a hundred times more outstanding. If he had participated in this test, he was certain he could have given an even more perfect answer than Luo Tian’s.

“That’s great! Master, you’re amazing!”

Deng Xiaoqian, Luo Xiaoting, and the others cheered.

This time, Luo Tian chose three different students to enter the Celestial Spirit Valley for cultivation.

Nearby, Hu Chao was unable to describe his current feelings.

He had entered the Celestial Blade Institute at the same time as Luo Tian and had thought himself superior. Why, then, was the gap between them now so enormous?

The crowd dispersed.

「A month passed quickly.」

With only two months left until the Chuyang Grand Competition, Luo Tian attended every new round of tests at the Celestial Spirit Valley that he was able to participate in.

In the beginning, no one had paid any attention to this new mentor, but now, all the mentors took Luo Tian extremely seriously.

However, in the subsequent tests, Luo Tian kept a much lower profile, toning things down to avoid attracting too much attention and being resented by the other mentors.

He no longer excessively used the power of the Celestial Book.

In the final two months, Luo Tian only took first place twice.

In total, Luo Tian had won first place four times, allowing all of his students to take a turn in the Celestial Spirit Valley.

And now, the Chuyang Grand Competition had finally arrived!