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As soon as the mother beast charged forward at tremendous speed —

Splurt —

There was a strange sound.

Looking over her shoulder, Feng Wu saw that sure enough, the thread had indeed left a deep cut in the beast’s throat.

Feng Wu’s heart sank. The hides of Spiny Frost Beasts were thicker than she expected!

Before the mother beast could recover from the shock, Feng Wu charged at it with her Flaming Sword in hand! She was unbelievably fast!

Whoosh!

She followed with another slash to the beast’s throat.

Its skin was really hard to cut through, but thanks to that Ice Thread, there was already an existing open wound in its throat.

Feng Wu only had to make it larger!

The mother beast stared at Feng Wu in disbelief!

That was impossible…

How could this be?

Up until its death, it still couldn’t believe that it was going to be killed by this human girl!

The family of three had been so confident of victory that they had underestimated the girl.

But —

She was actually able to —

Krrr…

The mother beast tried to make a sound to warn its husband of this sinister and crafty human girl, but —

Before she could make a sound, Feng Wu’s Flaming Sword swung down once more!

She slashed a third time!

Whoosh!

The mother beast’s head rolled off its shoulders.

And it didn’t even have time to close its eyes.

Just then —

The father beast jumped out of the pit.

And the first thing it saw was the head rolling around on the ground.

At that moment —

The father beast’s head went blank!

That was impossible!

He couldn’t believe it!

One of its eyes had been hurt by the explosion, but it could still see.

Its partner was…

Looking up, the beast stared at Feng Wu with a savage look on its face, its remaining eye spitting flames of hatred!

“Roar!” The father beast went berserk!

Feng Wu smiled coldly.

Three Spiny Frost Beasts were too much for her to handle all at once, but there was only one left now.

And this one was already injured.

Just as the beast pounced at Feng Wu —

Feng Wu activated all her spiritual essence and acted like a real Level 5 Spiritual Grandmaster!

All the spiritual energy around her was sucked into her body.

And she slashed at the beast with Flaming Sword!

It was a bloody and relentless battle.

One human, one beast. Both tried to kill the other.

This Spiny Frost Beast was a Level 5 Spiritual Grandmaster as well.

But it was injured.

In the pine tree grove on the vast snowfield —

The girl and the beast both gave as good as they got.

It wasn’t so obvious at first, but —

Before long, Feng Wu had gotten the upper hand!

Thud!

Flaming Sword pierced the beast’s chest!

The beast’s spiritual essence surged out toward Feng Wu’s headband!

Two stars lit up when Feng Wu killed the mother beast.

With the father beast dead, another two stars lit up!

Feng Wu was baffled when she realized this.

Was it that easy to light up the stars?

But!

Feng Wu’s stomach turned and she mumbled, “My secret will be exposed when they see my stars lit up.”

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They had just been thrown in and the other candidates probably hadn’t started hunting magical beasts yet.

What was more, they might not yet know what was going on.

But she had obtained four stars right away. Wouldn’t that be a bit too…

Just then, Feng Wu heard a voice in her head.

“Xiao Wu, do you need to conceal your stars?”

It was Grand Secretary Fang!

That was…

Right on time! Grand Secretary Fang was such a friend in need!

“Yes!” Feng Wu said affirmatively.

“Alright.” And that ended the conversation.

But Feng Wu knew that no other words were needed. Grand Secretary Fang would take care of everything for her.

That was a very reliable old man.

Imperial College.

There was a board in the college, where the teachers could see the real-time ranking of the candidates.

The system would score and rank all 1000 students according to their performances.

This was the restricted area and only the seven bosses were allowed inside.

Right now, there were only two people here.

One was Grand Secretary Fang, the acting principal.

And the other one was Priest Wu.

As for the other bosses…

They had no interest in or the time to pay attention to this tryout.

Even if they did care, they would only show up on the last day.

Priest Wu rubbed his eyes. “Old Fang, am I seeing things? Why did I see Feng Wu’s name jump to the top just then?”

Grand Secretary Fang said, “Yes, you were seeing things.”

“I was?”

Priest Wu found it rather odd. He swore he had seen Feng Wu’s name at the very top, but the next second, it wasn’t there.

How strange…

Grand Secretary Fang smiled a little.

He had only been granted this level of clearance after he became the acting principal, and he could manipulate the system a little.

“Old Fang, your granddaughter is doing a good job. She’s second already.”

Priest Wu pointed at the screen.

There were two screens on the wall.

The one on the left showed what the candidates were doing in Proud Snowfield at that very moment, and Grand Secretary Fang had full control over the system. He would only have to think of the candidate’s name and the person would show up on the screen.

And a rectangular screen on the right had the candidates’ names on it.

It only showed the first 200, for those ranked below 200 were meaningless to Imperial College.

Every year, only 100 candidates were admitted, and that had never changed.

Grand Secretary Fang looked at the screen on the right at Priest Wu’s words.

He was right. Mu Yaoyao’s name had indeed risen to second.

The first was a teenager called Xuanyuan Yi.

Grand Secretary Fang’s gaze brushed past Mu Yaoyao’s name and lingered on Xuanyuan Yi instead.

“The Xuanyuan family always produces promising candidates.” Grand Secretary Fang nodded.

Priest Wu nodded. “After all, the Xuanyuan family is one of the nine major clans and they have more capable members than we can count. It’s only normal that one of their youngsters should stand out, or they’ll be a joke.

“Zhangsun Jing isn’t bad either. She’s ranked third.” Priest Wu smiled. “They only just entered and Xuanyuan Yi has already obtained three stars. Zhangsun Jing has two. We have some high-quality candidates this year.”

Grand Secretary Fang nodded and agreed with Priest Wu. Although… getting three stars and two stars was nothing. Xiao Wu had four already. It was only that Grand Secretary Fang had acted quickly and concealed her name right away!

Grand Secretary Fang gloated. He was the only one who knew about Xiao Wu’s real capability.

“But —” Priest Wu frowned. “Isn’t Yu Mingye one of the candidates, too? Why isn’t he on the screen? He’s supposed to be as talented as His Royal Highness!”

He should be at least 90% as talented as the crown prince!

Grand Secretary Fang smiled and shook his head.

Yu Mingye had always been an unpredictable kid and no one knew what his plan was.

An “internal list” was provided for leaders of Imperial College to check the real-time performances of the candidates and their rankings.

And there was an “external list” as well.

It was hanging on the wall of Imperial College.

Everyone outside could see the real-time rankings of the candidates.

Xuanyuan Yi was first.

Mu Yaoyao was second.

And Zhangsun Jing was third.

That was to say, not only Grand Secretary Fang, but everyone in the imperial capital who wanted to know the rankings could see it.

Right now, a large crowd had gathered outside Imperial College.

The square was packed with people, and everywhere one turned, they were met with other faces.

Apart from the families and friends of the candidates, there were also related forces and curious onlookers.

“Master Xuanyuan is going to make his name this time!”

“Not necessarily. You’ve forgotten about the written exam. Feng Wu got first in that one.”

“Big deal. Feng Wu is a good-for-nothing with no spiritual essence. I don’t even have to guess. She’s going to be at the bottom in the physical tryout.”

“That’s right. The written exam only makes up 300 points and the physical tryout is worth 700. That way… Feng Wu is sure to be eliminated.”

“Do you remember how arrogant she was? She offended Princess Mu right in this square and bet her own life.”

“Oh god, I bet she didn’t expect that Grand Secretary Fang would become the vice-principal and the acting principal. He’s Mu Yaoyao’s grandfather!”

“So, even if Feng Wu can get in, she’ll be…”

They could only see the rankings and not the actual combat, so they had to make small talk to kill time.

Many took pleasure in Feng Wu’s predicament.

Her success had come too suddenly and unexpectedly that these people didn’t think her capability was worth the renown. That was why she had drawn a lot of criticism.

In the imperial palace, Lady Northern Feng was keeping the empress dowager company.

Seeing that Lady Northern Feng’s mind kept wandering off, the empress dowager asked curiously, “What’s going on with you today?”

Emperor Wu was in the room as well and he also eyed Lady Northern Feng in bewilderment.

Lady Northern Feng couldn’t wait for these two prominent figures to get to know Feng Wu better, so she gave them a wry smile. “Imperial College’s physical tryout starts today.”

The empress dowager said, “Ah Xun isn’t a candidate. Why are you so fidgety?”

Lady Northern Feng said, “Ah Xun isn’t, but Xiao Wu is. I can’t stop worrying about her.”

Xiao Wu? The empress dowager frowned involuntarily when she heard the name. “She’s a candidate this year?”

Lady Northern Feng nodded. “That’s right. She was first in the written exam and she got full marks! Your Majesty, Xiao Wu is an awesome girl!”

The empress dowager said grumpily, “Are you kidding me? Full marks? Only Baby Jun is able to do that. You’re not going to fool me.”

“Your Majesty, I’m telling the truth.”

“Not buying it.”

“But…”

“It’s impossible!”

The empress dowager had taken the exam herself when she was young and she knew how hard those questions were. Full marks? Who was Lady Northern Feng kidding?!

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“Mother —” Emperor Wu just happened to know about it and he smiled bitterly. “Mother, it’s true. Little Feng Wu did indeed get full marks.”

“You know about this?” The empress dowager was intrigued.

As a matter of fact, Emperor Wu happened to overhear Feng Wu and Mu Yaoyao’s bet when he went out in plain clothes.

He nodded. “I do.”

Emperor Wu said it in the most casual tone, but the empress dowager was astonished!

“What do you mean by that?”

“Feng Wu was really first and she really got full marks,” said Emperor Wu affirmatively.

The empress dowager’s eyes widened. “How is that possible? Is that girl really that smart?!”

The girl was as bright as Baby Jun. That was a first.

“Grand Secretary Fang,” said Emperor Wu.

“Grand Secretary Fang?” The empress dowager frowned. “If I remember correctly, he’s one of the seven education board members and has been an examiner many times.”

Emperor Wu nodded.

The empress dowager’s good impression of Feng Wu disappeared largely upon hearing that.

She said stubbornly, “I’m sure Grand Secretary Fang helped her with the exam.”

Well… Emperor Wu couldn’t actually deny the accusation.

“Well, she did have practice, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a very smart girl.”

The empress dowager wanted to retort, but didn’t have the words.

What more could she say when the girl’s intelligence was beyond challenge?

But the empress dowager wouldn’t admit defeat. “Isn’t she a cripple? She’ll never make it through the physical tryout!”

Emperor Wu looked disappointed.

Lady Northern Feng heaved a sigh as well.

The Feng clan.

Feng Liu ate one more bowl of rice than she usually did.

“Mum, Feng Wu’s life will be miserable from now on. She may not walk out of Proud Snowfield alive!”

Lady Wang said, “Are you sure?”

Feng Liu gloated. “Candidates die every year, don’t they? That’s inevitable.”

“But Feng Wu…”

“Mum, rest assured. I’ve planned everything out!”

Lady Wang looked at Feng Liu in pleasant surprise.

The Duan family.

Duan Chaoyin said, “Mum, don’t worry. Duan Chaoge is never going to get in!”

Mrs Duan frowned. “How do you know that? That girl’s cultivation level…”

Duan Chaoyin smirked. “Mum, I hired a few candidates…”

Mrs Duan was glad to hear what Duan Chaoyin told her next.

The Zuo family.

Zuo Ming, Zuo Qingluan’s father, knelt on a rush cushion, and his eyes burned with hatred as he stared at Zuo He’s memorial tablet.

“Brother, I’ve learned how you died; I swear to God that I won’t rest until Feng Wu is dead!”

Many in the imperial capital were concerned with the physical tryout.

Little did Feng Wu know that a lot of people were trying to use this chance to kill her.

Back in the vast Proud Snowfield, Feng Wu had killed two Spiny Frost Beasts.

Right now, she was ready to leave.

However, at that moment —

The son of the two beasts had finally pulled its paw free of the spike and caught up to her.

It was astonished when it saw its dead parents.

They had been pursuing this human girl, but why were its parents the ones who were dead?

It had anticipated tasting juicy human flesh.

Staring at Feng Wu, its eyes glistened!

All of a sudden!

“Roarrrr!” The cub charged at Feng Wu with burning hatred in its eyes.

Feng Wu frowned.

She knew the temperament of Spiny Frost Beasts. They were narrow-minded and vengeful. Once they fixed on a target, they would never let it drop!