Silence!
A silence even deeper and more unnerving than the one that had descended during the raging sandstorm!
Time itself seemed to have frozen completely.
Dai Mubai sat collapsed in the freshly turned soil at the edge of the examination ground. A dark, wet stain was slowly spreading around his crotch, accompanied by an unpleasant smell, yet he remained completely unaware of it. He simply stared blankly at the land that had been restored to its original state, his eyes vacant as though he had lost his soul.
Tang San clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms. Blood seeped between his fingers and stained the soil red, yet he did not notice it at all.
He had pushed his Purple Demon Eyes to their utmost limit, staring fixedly at the fresh soil beneath Lin Xia's feet, desperately trying to capture even the slightest trace of residual energy and understand what kind of power had produced such tremendous force, capable of restoring the earth in an instant!
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record?
The Tang Sect's secret techniques?
Faced with this single display of power that could alter the very landscape, they seemed so pale and laughably insignificant!
An icy sense of defeat and an unprecedented feeling of insignificance wrapped around his heart like poisonous vines, tightening their grip with every passing moment.
Xiao Wu covered her mouth, her pink pupils trembling violently as her body shook like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.
The fear brought about by the suppression of life levels originating from her instincts as a Soul Beast had yet to completely fade.
And now, the "miracle" before her, which had healed the earth with nothing more than a wave of the hand and restored nature to its original state, delivered another heavy blow to her heart.
She instinctively grabbed Tang San's arm even tighter, as though it were her only source of support.
Ning Rongrong's heart pounded violently inside her chest, almost as though it were about to smash through her ribs and leap out.
Her delicate little face was flushed crimson from extreme shock and a certain indescribable excitement.
Her large eyes, which normally carried a hint of pride, were now astonishingly bright, like those of someone who had discovered a priceless treasure!
A twelve-year-old Soul King!
A master who controlled a world-destroying giant beast!
A wave of his hand could heal the wounds of the earth!
Lin Xia, the City Lord of Gengxin City!
That name, along with the calm and handsome face before her, was branded deep into her soul like a red-hot iron!
The pride of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect?
In the face of absolute power and mystery, it was as fragile as a soap bubble beneath the sunlight!
Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly half a step behind Lin Xia's side. Her cold, cat-like eyes swept across the dumbfounded expressions of everyone present before finally settling on Flender, who was still maintaining a ninety-degree bow, his body as rigid as a petrified statue.
Almost imperceptibly, she raised her chin slightly, a trace of pride flashing through her eyes.
Brother Lin Xia was always meant to shine this brightly!
Flender was still maintaining that bow, his waist bent to an almost painful degree.
Sweat trickled down his lowered temple and dripped into the freshly turned soil.
His mind was completely blank, repeatedly replaying the bizarre scene of the scorched, vitrified crater transforming into a flat expanse of dark-brown earth.
Li Yusong sat collapsed not far away, as though every bone had been pulled from his body. Tears and mucus streamed down his aged face, while his trembling lips repeatedly muttered incoherent words that no one could make out.
"A miracle, It really is a miracle."
It was only when Lin Xia's calm, utterly emotionless voice flowed through the deathly silence like a clear spring that everyone finally came back to their senses.
"So, I passed, right, Teacher Zhao Wuji?"
His voice was not loud, yet it clearly pierced through the frozen air and landed precisely in Zhao Wuji's ears, who had only just crawled back from the edge of sandstorm hell.
Zhao Wuji's entire burly body stiffened.
An utterly absurd feeling, mixed with overwhelming frustration and fear, instantly crushed what little remained of his dignity.
His bruised and swollen cheeks twitched. His swollen eyelids struggled to lift, revealing the same flat examination ground that had been restored to its original state, still carrying the fresh scent of newly turned soil.
And at the center of the examination ground stood Lin Xia in his blue robes, tall and straight, looking as though everything that had just happened, the devastation that had nearly destroyed the world, had nothing whatsoever to do with him.
"What could I possibly say?"
A thought filled with grief and indignation roared through Zhao Wuji's painfully throbbing mind.
"Is this what you call an examination? You nearly uprooted Shrek Academy and replanted the whole damn place! I almost got buried alive, roasted, and then crushed into meat paste! If this doesn't count as passing, then what does? Do you have to flatten the entire Soto City before you'll consider it a pass?"
The enormous psychological gap and bone-deep fear made the normally fierce and domineering Immovable King look like a stupid bear that had just been struck senseless by a giant hammer.
However, the situation was stronger than the man!
Zhao Wuji could clearly feel the devastating injuries raging throughout his body. Every bone was groaning, and every inch of his muscles hurt as though they had been ground down by countless grinding wheels.
Even more terrifying was the mountain-like pressure that had already dissipated. The fear it had engraved into the deepest part of his soul, however, refused to disappear.
He had no doubt that if he dared to say the word "no," then in the next second, that mountain-like figure, or perhaps another terrifying giant beast, would descend once again and erase him from this world completely.
"Gulp…"
Zhao Wuji struggled to swallow a mouthful of saliva tinged with the taste of blood. The movement pulled at the wounds on his face, causing him to grimace in pain.
Zhao Wuji tried desperately to force a smile onto his face, attempting to express goodwill and acknowledge Lin Xia's words.
However, his face, swollen like over-fermented bread and covered in patches of blue and purple, made the smile he forced out look ten times worse than crying. His features twisted like a crumpled rag, radiating nothing but misery and submission.
"Of course! Of course!"
Zhao Wuji's voice was hoarse and dry, like a broken gong being scraped against metal. It trembled noticeably and carried an unmistakable hint of ingratiation.
He even instinctively tried to bend his waist a little lower, but the excruciating pain throughout his body forced the movement to stop halfway, making him look even more ridiculous and miserable.
"City Lord Lin if you still don't pass after this, then there isn't a single person in our Shrek Academy who could possibly pass! Cough, cough"
Before he could finish speaking, another violent fit of coughing shook his body, and more dark-red blood foam spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Lin Xia seemed to have expected this reaction. He merely nodded slightly, his expression remaining completely calm, as though Zhao Wuji's approval were only natural.
His gaze shifted toward the black-clad girl standing beside him like a shadow, and his voice regained its characteristic gentleness.
"Zhuqing, let's move somewhere else."
Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes swept over Zhao Wuji's miserable condition before falling upon Tang San and the others. A trace of indifference flashed deep within her eyes.
She then obediently nodded, her voice as clear and cold as a mountain spring.
"Okay."
The two of them walked leisurely, as though strolling through a quiet courtyard. After only a few steps, they retreated to a relatively clean patch of ground at the edge of the examination area.
Lin Xia casually leaned against a large tree that had escaped the destruction, his posture relaxed and languid.
Tyranitar climbed back onto his shoulder, its small dark-golden eyes curiously examining the remaining people in the examination ground as it let out a satisfied "Tyran~" from its throat.
Zhu Zhuqing quietly stood beside him, her cold gaze once again focused on the examination ground, as though waiting for a drama whose ending she already knew to begin.
Lin Xia's voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Our examination is over. Let's see how Tang San and the others do."
The words were like an invisible switch, instantly pushing the already frozen atmosphere toward another extreme.
Zhao Wuji: "!!!"
His swollen eyes suddenly widened as he stared at Lin Xia in disbelief.
A chill once again shot straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head!
So after dragging this half-dead body around, I still have to continue being an examiner?!
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