Chapter 85: Special Recruitment (Requesting Votes)

“Hmph!” Ouyang Yanran scolded with a face full of shame and anger, “What does that fat fool going to the brothel have to do with me!”

“Cousin, who are they?” asked a young man in splendid attire standing behind Ouyang Yanran.

The young man, with his sharp brows and handsome features, radiated an extraordinary bearing—it was clear at a glance he was the son of a wealthy family.

“Cousin Lingfeng, that’s Xin Lang from the Xuyang Academy in Jiuyang City!” Ouyang Feiyun explained to the young man.

“Oh, so you’re the Xin Lang who defeated my cousin Feiyun with a single punch! Good, good. You’re qualified to challenge me; I can grant you the chance to take me on!” Lingfeng spoke with an air of superiority.

“Tch!” Qian Baidu, standing to the side, retorted, “Only after you defeat me do you have the right to challenge our classmate. And you think you can demand a challenge from him? Who do you think you are—a Martial Sage?”

“A Martial Sage! You’re quite bold, aren’t you?” Lingfeng said angrily.

Qian Baidu was unfazed, casting a look of disdain at Lingfeng. “I’ll give you three moves!”

“You’re courting death!” Lingfeng snapped.

Lingfeng was a prominent figure in the Martial Academy, and no one ever dared provoke him like this. Now truly enraged, he suddenly threw a punch at Qian Baidu’s chest.

Seeing Lingfeng’s fist coming, Qian Baidu did not dodge or block. He gathered inner force at his chest and met Lingfeng’s strike head-on!

Bang! Qian Baidu was sent sliding back two meters by the force of Lingfeng’s punch.

Qian Baidu glanced at his chest, dusted off the dirt with his hand, then looked up and smiled at Lingfeng. “With strength like that, you want to challenge our classmate? Go back and train some more!”

“What? You’re unharmed!” Lingfeng was shocked. He knew well the power of his own punch; an ordinary first or second-level martial artist would have been sent flying. Lingfeng said, “Fine, you’re qualified to be my opponents. I’ll remember you. See you at the Martial Academy!”

Apparently unwilling to cause trouble on the street, Lingfeng left with Ouyang Feiyun and Ouyang Yanran. As Ouyang Feiyun passed Xin Lang, he cast him a venomous glare before following Lingfeng.

“Classmate, that Ouyang Feiyun is nothing good. We shouldn’t have saved him back then!” Qian Baidu grumbled indignantly.

“He’s a nobody. In Xiadu, he won’t be able to stir up any waves,” Xin Lang said. Having lived in Xiadu for a long time, he knew how deep the waters ran.

“Lingfeng? Xiadu Ling family, could it be that Ling family?” Xin Lang searched his memories from his previous life.

Sorting through those memories, Xin Lang immediately gained a thorough understanding of the power dynamics in Xiadu. Not only that, he knew every major and minor event that would occur in Xiadu over the next twelve years!

“Ling family, you’d better not cross me, or I’ll make you regret it!” Xin Lang thought to himself.

Fatty Gu Ge had taken that infamous book “A Guide to Flowers and Willows” compiled by Pan Xiao’an and gone off, so Xin Lang and Qian Baidu proceeded to the Martial Academy to handle their enrollment.

Xin Lang had come to the Martial Academy for the sake of the academy’s highest-level martial techniques and secret arts; if he could get his hands on the legendary “Saint-level Martial Technique,” it would be even better!

Relying on his memories from his previous life, Xin Lang found the Martial Academy. Outside the academy square, he saw several hundred people gathered.

“Why are there so many people?” Qian Baidu wondered aloud.

Someone nearby explained, “Today is the entrance test for the Martial Academy, of course it’s crowded!”

At the academy gates stood two testing platforms, each flanked by two martial instructors.

The first platform tested applicants’ inner strength; only those who’d reached the inner strength stage could qualify to train at the academy.

The second test was for bone age, conducted by specialists who assessed the age of applicants by feeling their bones.

The Martial Academy’s requirements were strict: not only did candidates have to have reached the inner strength stage, but they also had to be under eighteen years old.

Xin Lang and Qian Baidu did not join the testing line. Instead, they walked straight to the main gate, where there was a registration desk for enrollment. Those who passed both tests could present their certificates here to complete their enrollment.

Xin Lang took out the “Special Admission Certificate” given to them by Li Xuanming and handed it to an elderly registrar at the gate. Politely, he said, “Sir, these are our admission documents.”

The old man opened the certificates, examining them carefully.

“We have one more person who hasn’t arrived yet; may we complete his registration for him?” Xin Lang explained.

After reading the documents for all three, the old man asked, “Who is Xin Lang?”

“I am, sir,” Xin Lang replied.

“So it’s you? Half the tuition is waived!” The old man scrutinized Xin Lang again, muttering, “What is that little Li up to now? Oh well, he must have his reasons!”

Not making things difficult for them, the old man assigned them to classes and dormitories and handed each of them a bronze identity token. “Take these tokens and find your dormitory.”

“Thank you, sir!” Xin Lang accepted the tokens and examined them closely. The tokens were small, about the size of a jade pendant worn at the waist, each stamped with a number that could be used to find their class and dormitory.

With these tokens, they could freely enter and leave the Martial Academy.

Following academy rules, Xin Lang and Qian Baidu hung the tokens at their waists and prepared to enter. Suddenly, a rough voice boomed out from the square:

“They didn’t take the test—how were they admitted? Did someone at the Martial Academy take a bribe and let them in through the back door?”

Whoosh! Hundreds of eyes turned to Xin Lang and the registrar.

The instructors at the testing platforms, seeing this, immediately announced, “Anyone admitted without testing has a special admission certificate. If you have one, you can skip the test too!”

Another instructor added, “We have special admissions every year; it’s common knowledge in the Great Xia Dynasty. Why are you making a fuss?”

Everyone now stared at the outspoken applicant—a man as burly as an iron tower, his arms thicker than most people’s thighs, with hair so dense, especially on his cheeks, that he resembled a great ape.

Chastised by the instructors and stared at by the crowd, the “great ape” looked embarrassed but bellowed, “Why should they get special admission? I want to skip the test too!”

Seeing the man’s direct nature, the registrar showed a trace of appreciation and smiled, “If you can defeat him, you can skip the test as well—and, like him, get half your tuition waived!”

The old man pointed straight at Xin Lang!