“How could this happen? The exam hasn’t even started, and they’ve already stolen your ‘Candle Flame’?”
Xiao Mengyu’s angry voice rang out.
No one responded.
The entire banquet hall seemed to have turned into a silent play.
Xiao Mengyu drew her longsword and shouted,
“Who did this? If you’ve got the guts, stand up!”
Still, no response.
She swung her sword around, but there was no target to strike.
It was like an under-the-table deal.
Everything had already been decided.
A deep sorrow and anger surged in Xiao Mengyu’s heart, and her hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
A wild laugh echoed through the hall.
“Hahahaha! I told you, he will die a miserable death. Before us, he won’t even have a chance to resist!”
The white-robed youth wore an expression of smug satisfaction, his face twisted like a demon’s.
Meeting Xiao Mengyu’s gaze, he stretched out his hand and pointed at Shen Ye from afar, speaking in a mocking tone:
“Soon, he’ll silently disappear into the darkness.”
“I’m guessing it’ll happen during the exam.”
“Look at him. He’s so scared he can’t even speak.”
“Maybe—”
“He should kneel and beg for our forgiveness?”
Suddenly, he lunged into the crowd, grabbed a civilian examinee, and sent him flying with a punch.
“See?”
Like a deranged specter, the white-robed youth let out a crazed laugh:
“You lot—no knowledge, no skills, no connections to any big names—I’ve seen plenty of people like you. At first, you act all tough, but in the end? You still end up kneeling before me.”
“Shen Ye, your fate will be the same!”
Xiao Mengyu could no longer hold back. Killing intent surged within her as she reached for the longsword at her waist.
Suddenly—
A hand grabbed her.
Shen Ye.
“Let me handle this,” Xiao Mengyu whispered.
“No.” Shen Ye shook his head slightly. “Stay calm. This was expected.”
His voice was steady, firm—an anchor in the storm.
With swift strokes, his warm, strong fingers traced two words in her palm.
Xiao Mengyu instantly calmed down.
Before countless watching eyes—
Shen Ye’s gaze seemed unfocused.
For some reason, he recalled the battle at the Maple Inn.
In their final moments, though already dead, they had still blessed the one who remained.
“Thank you…”
“If you get the chance, avenge us. But first, you must survive.”
“You have to live a long life, free of illness and hardship.”
“May you gain even greater strength and destroy the one behind all this.”
“We’ll be watching over you from the underworld.”
“Live well.”
Those innocent souls had thanked him, had wished him well.
Shen Ye remained silent for a moment, then refocused, scanning the crowd.
He saw the civilian examinee who had been struck.
He saw Guo Yunye, bruised and swollen.
He saw Zhang Xiaoyi.
And he saw more young men and women, dressed plainly, their expressions filled with sorrow, unease, or fury.
Amidst the crowd—
Guo Yunye suddenly grabbed Zhang Xiaoyi and whispered,
“Shen Ye is looking at me.”
“He’s looking at us—like he has something to say.” Zhang Xiaoyi’s voice was calm.
“Now’s not the time to talk,” Guo Yunye said, both worried and anxious. “If he pushes back now, those noble heirs won’t let him go.”
“He has no choice,” Zhang Xiaoyi said bleakly.
Guo Yunye froze.
Zhang Xiaoyi was smarter than him.
So, his judgment was probably right.
But—
This was too much.
Would pretending to be ignorant not work? Would enduring still not be enough?
Then what was left to do?
Guo Yunye’s mind buzzed. If he were in Shen Ye’s place, he wouldn’t have a clue what to do.
Suddenly—
Shen Ye’s voice rang out, carrying through the silent banquet hall.
His voice was loud, firm, and powerful, his speech slow yet filled with unshakable resolve:
“A gentleman understands fate and does not fear it. He remains steadfast in his will and never ceases in his actions.”
Silence.
The audience listened, lost in thought.
The ordinary examinees looked at each other.
—They had never heard words like these before.
Who said them?
Where were they from?
Yet, some had already lifted their heads.
Zhang Xiaoyi exhaled sharply, muttering a vulgar curse under his breath. The gloom in his eyes vanished, replaced by a fierce determination.
Guo Yunye, unable to fully grasp the meaning, repeated the words softly, feeling something stir in his heart.
In this silence—
Shen Ye stepped onto a chair, then onto a table. His stance was as firm and sharp as a nail driven into a wall.
He gazed at the countless examinees in the hall and raised his exam card high.
The words on the card were now visible to all.
“Classmates,”
Shen Ye continued in a calm voice,
“Earlier, tens of thousands died, disappearing from this world without a sound.”
“And yet, no one was punished.”
“Now, I am the next one to be killed during the exam.”
“My apologies for forcing you to see the truth about the noble families ahead of time.”
“But I believe this knowledge will benefit you.”
“Now, you understand—there are people in this world who, when they look at others, do not think about making friends, do not consider peaceful coexistence, and do not admire the strengths of others.”
“Instead, they think about how to enslave, kill, and steal everything from them.”
“—Those are the ones who will soon take my life.”
“Fortunately, I am the only one facing this fate tonight.”
“You all will go on to work for the major institutions, beyond the control of the noble families. You have bright futures and can pursue the lives you want.”
“But fortunately, you have seen the truth today.”
“I hope you will remember this day. Remember my words before this exam—”
“I declare that I will never take my own life.”
“If I do die in the end, you don’t need to mourn me.”
“Just ask yourselves—if you were in my place, would the outcome be any different?”
Silence.
Then, suddenly, he laughed.
Scanning the entire hall, he spoke again:
“The words I just said were for the ordinary examinees—to show that I stand with you, and I support you.”
“As for myself, of course, it’s different.”
Under the lights.
He tilted his head, lazily glancing at the aristocratic students, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smile.
“If you couldn’t get rid of me in such an open setting, do you really think you’ll manage in the exam?”
His gaze landed on the boy in white robes. Waving a hand, he said,
“Someone saved you just now—when the real exam begins, who’s going to save you then?”
At those words, the crowd suddenly realized something.
Many people turned to look at the ranking board.
But the board didn’t move.
—Shen Ye had hidden his true star level!
Then, considering his ability to activate his Heavenly Eye and fight opponents along with their spirit beasts—
Just how terrifying was his real strength?
Even the fourth-ranked contender wasn’t a match for him!
If someone tried to target him during the exam…
“By the way, Examiner, if someone attempts to kill me during the test, can I defend myself?”
Shen Ye asked.
“Of course, that’s allowed,” the examiner replied.
A genuine smile spread across Shen Ye’s face as he swept his gaze over the aristocratic students and spoke:
“Come on then, whatever you plan to do—I’ll be waiting for you in the exam.”
This was a public declaration of war.
He jumped off the table and returned to Qian Rushan and Xiao Mengyu.
The banquet hall fell into silence.
His words seemed out of place at this grand event, out of step with the atmosphere of the candidates—so mismatched that they carried a hint of awkwardness.
Yet, it was precisely this sense of discord and awkwardness that made it unforgettable.
The aristocratic students still wore expressions of disdain, exchanging glances as if watching a show.
But if they really ran into this guy in the exam…
Would they be prepared to fight to the death?
That was the real question.
Meanwhile, the other candidates were lost in thought.
Some lowered their heads, others looked up, some closed their eyes, and others lightly rubbed the cards in their hands.
None of those who had made it this far were ordinary.
—They simply hadn’t been born into noble families!
The crowd remained silent.
Yet it felt as if an invisible force had begun to stir among them.
From the moment they arrived at Yunshan Port, these students from civilian institutions had suffered one humiliation after another.
And today, they had witnessed something truly unprecedented unfold in the banquet hall.
This day would not be easily forgotten.
Something had been planted in their hearts.
Perhaps it would never sprout.
Or perhaps, one day—
When they had grown strong, when they had power of their own—
When making certain decisions, they would remember this moment. Remember this person. Remember the madness of his actions.
The future would take care of itself.
The influential figures who had been observing from the sidelines finally changed expressions.
“This is bad… I didn’t expect it to turn out like this.”
An elderly man in a tailcoat sighed.
“Indeed. It was supposed to be just a little appetizer, but instead, a seed like this has been sown.” The long-haired woman beside him, wearing an earpiece, replied.
“It’s too late to fix it now. Tsk, what a headache.”
“Even if you kill that boy, so what? Countless people will still remember him.”
“Sigh, I didn’t think he’d use this kind of method.”
“Miss An is going to be punished when she gets back.”
Then, a male voice rang out, drowning out all the murmurs:
“Now that you’ve awakened your Heavenly Eye, don’t bother with these weaklings. You should be aiming higher, not rolling around in the mud.”
Shen Ye looked over.
On the other side of the banquet hall, seven or eight girls surrounded a breathtakingly handsome young man.
The young man sat leisurely on a sofa, his expression indifferent, as if nothing around him truly mattered. He simply watched from a distance.
Someone couldn’t help but exclaim:
“Nangong Sirui!”
“It’s him—he’s the top of the ‘Newcomer’ rankings, Nangong Sirui, with a six-star strength!”
“They say he also awakened the Heavenly Eye.”
“No wonder!”
Nangong Sirui raised his glass toward Shen Ye from afar and smiled.
“The aristocratic families aren’t entirely as you think—”
“I’m quite curious what kind of Eye you awakened. After all, on the entire newcomer ranking, only you and I have one.”
Shen Ye, sensing that Nangong Sirui didn’t seem hostile, replied,
“This isn’t the right place to discuss that.”
“Indeed, not here,” Nangong Sirui nodded. “A flawless heavenly Eye—many high schoolers can’t awaken one, and even among professionals, most never do in their lifetime.”
“We’ll talk more later.”
With that, he lost interest in the scene before him.
Then, a deep, resonant voice echoed across the hall, silencing all discussion:
“Hahaha! As expected, our group’s candidates are the best.”
“Qian Rushan, you did well this time!”
As the voice rang out, a man carrying a birdcage stepped out from the shadows.
He walked into the center of the hall with a smile, clapping Qian Rushan on the shoulder.
Qian Rushan was so excited his face turned red.
“Shen Ye, this is the president of our group, known as the ‘Dragon King’—Cang Nanyan, President Cang.”
He quickly introduced him.
Shen Ye looked at the man, noting his squinted eyes and seemingly excellent mood. Even his thick beard trembled slightly as he smiled.
—He had been smiling the entire time.
As if today’s events had thoroughly delighted him.
The Dragon King, Cang Nanyan!
A legendary figure.
The leader of the Mortal Martial Arts Group, a man known across the world.
He had once fought alone against a hundred foes, single-handedly halting a catastrophic invasion and saving tens of millions of people.
“President Cang, I’ve long heard of your name.”
Shen Ye greeted him politely.
Cang Nanyan patted his shoulder. “Feeling confident about the exam? You can’t see right now—your life might be at risk.”
“If it’s just at the level of what I saw earlier, I could take them down even with my eyes closed,” Shen Ye replied.
Cang Nanyan roared with laughter.
“Young man, you’ve got spirit!”
“Unfortunately, with the divine artifacts monitoring everything, I can’t slip you twenty mobile battle mechs—you’re on your own for the test!”
“I’ll do my best,” Shen Ye said.
“Don’t push too hard—failing the exam doesn’t matter,” Cang Nanyan lowered his voice. “Staying alive! That’s what matters most. You hear me? You make sure you come back alive!”
“Understood.” Shen Ye nodded.
Cang Nanyan saw the determination in his expression and grew even more satisfied. He swept his gaze across the room, his face full of triumph.
“A Heavenly Eye at fifteen—tsk, you lot don’t stand a chance anymore! Hahaha!”
He threw his head back and laughed once more.
Then, magnificent beams of light descended from the sky, enveloping every candidate.
In the next moment—
All the candidates vanished.
The exam had officially begun!
