It was a newcomer who came to join the conversation.
As Mei Hongli turned toward the owner of that voice, his countenance turned ugly: "Feng Luotian!!"
As soon as Feng Luotian arrived, the crowd recognized him from a mile away. He was one of the most famous people in Divine Bird City, and the murmurs started.
"Oh my god, it's God's Son!! Don't tell me he comes to take the test of Peacock School as well?"
"He's already here, so he should be."
"But he's a cripple!!"
"Shush!! Keep your voice down!! He's Goddess Mei's sworn brother. If you want to be hated that much, say it while you're by yourself. Don't drag us down with you."
"Anyway, I don't think he can pass the Peacock School's exam."
"So what? With all the connections between him and Mei Clan, do you think he needs to take the exam at all? Peacock Lord dotes on him even more than his own daughter. Do you think it matters whether he has the strength to pass?"
"Well, I was just saying. I only feel that it's a little unfair."
"If you want to be treated fairly, then go tell your father to become the god of this city."
"What did you say?!"
The quarrel was boiling within the crowd, but it was cooled down when Feng Luotian arrived in front of Mei Hongli.
Although most of the cultivators here did not know Mei Hongli, all of them knew their God's Son, so they were interested to see what was going on.
Feng Luotian continued his previous sentence by spouting it to Mei Hongli's face: "Mei Hongli, you will definitely cheat in this exam, via your father's means, of course. But even with that, if someone manages to surpass your result and take the top rank without any cheating, then you must be even less capable than me, right?"
"That is exactly what I meant when I said that it would be really embarrassing if you can't take the top." Sun Wuji confirmed the answer.
After that, Sun Wuji walked over to Feng Luotian and did his usual unique handshake combo with his brother: "Long time no see, Brother Feng. From the look of it, you've become much stronger."
"Well, pretty much!!" Feng Luotian replied with a smile.
They both moved towards Mei Yue'er to chat, completely ignoring the enraged Mei Hongli.
"You bastards!! Who said that I would cheat?" Mei Hongli rebuked the accusation.
Indeed, being caught cheating on the exam would be even more embarrassing than failing it.
Spreading his hands, Sun Wuji calmly stated: "No one said it, but everyone is thinking it. It's not that hard to deduce such things as your father will be the one giving the exam, right, everyone?"
Mei Hongli quickly swept his eyes across the crowd.
After their eyes met, the crowd turned their eyes the other way, not confirming nor rejecting Sun Wuji's statement. They only whispered to their friends in low voices.
"Who is this guy?"
"I don't know, but from what God's Son said, his name is Mei Hongli, so he must be someone from the Mei."
"I know a bit about the guy. His name is Mei Hongli, alright. Not only that, but he's also Mei Clan's Second Elder's son. He's two years older than us. He's already failed the exam twice, giving his father a lot of humiliation."
"Heh. What you know is not a bit, man."
"If he's Second Elder's son, then what Sun Wuji said about his father will be an exam proctor should be true as well."
"Well, having a father as a proctor, there's no way he'll take this test seriously. He'll pass no matter how useless he is."
"And he also thinks he'll take the top ranking as well."
"Yeah, I think he will definitely cheat this time around."
The gossip was spreading wider and wider as the mumbling sounds continued to echo across the city hall.
Flustered, Mei Hongli loudly justified himself: "I will not cheat this exam. I will beat you all fair and square!! You hear me?! And you, Feng Luotian, don't forget about our bet."
"Of course!!" With a smile, Feng Luotian said before he crossed his arms over his chest, causing his firm muscles to stand out.
Looking carefully, Mei Hongli noticed a clear change in Feng Luotian's body compared to the thin body he got last month.
Feng Luotian right now was of a firm build and seemed pretty strong. However, Mei Hongli still did not sense any Theríon from him, which meant he was still a cripple.
Mei Hongli snickered: "Heh!! Look at you, building muscle and all that. Without Theríon, the best you can do with that would be to carry rice bags behind the low-level restaurant for the rest of your life!!"
After giving a harsh speech to his opponent, Mei Hongli satisfyingly left the scene along with his men.
Even being insulted in such a way, Feng Luotian only sent him off with a carefree chuckle.
As for Ying Lizhua, even though he was very competitive, he would not bother quarreling with someone with inferior potential and would only fight words with someone he was familiar with, like Sun Wuji.
Nevertheless, Ying Lizhua was also confident in his own style that he would definitely take the top ranking in this exam because as a matter of fact, he had the highest level of cultivation among the participants.
Ying Lizhua gave one glance to Feng Luotian and "Hmph!!" After that, he found his own corner to rest, waiting for the application period to end.
"I'm glad you're here, Luotian. But what happened between you and Hongli?" Mei Yue'er was thrilled to see Feng Luotian but noticed their conversation hinted at an unresolved issue, prompting her to inquire.
"Just a minor conflict," Feng Luotian replied indifferently.
Mei Yue'er sensed Feng Luotian didn't want to reveal more, so she dropped the matter.
She also noticed the differences in Feng Luotian's appearance and body, so she asked about it: "What did you do in this past month to change by this much?"
"Nothing but training." Feng Luotian answered.
"What kind of training did you do anyway? Don't tell me that you only built your muscle as that bastard said? Because I still don't sense any Theríon from you." Sun Wuji sharpened his sense and tried to detect any Theríon fluctuation from his brother's body, but to no avail.
"You'll find out soon enough," Feng Luotian teased with a hidden meaning.
Sun Wuji gave his brother a glance: "What's with you, acting all mysterious? Anyway, since you have come, that means you have something under your sleeve."
Feng Luotian chuckled before asking Mei Yue'er for an extra application form, claiming to have lost his original when lightning struck his home.
Mei Yue'er obliged, knowing that the lightning story was more plausible than all other possibilities combined.
After filling out his form, Feng Luotian rejoined his friends and talked about their past month of training. He avoided discussing his training and focused on Mei Yue'er and Sun Wuji.
After about fifteen minutes, the Peacock School's officer announced that the application period had ended, and they would proceed to the exam site. Those who passed the test would become Peacock School disciples.