Mei Hongyi had no choice but to believe that there was someone with frightening power who looked just like Feng Luotian. He flew back onto the stage in front of the scoreboard and checked.
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1st Rank – Mei Hongli [920 points]
2nd Rank – Ying Lizhua [500 points]
3rd Rank – Mei Yue'er / Sun Wuji [470 points]
…
74th Rank – Feng Luotian [0 points]
…
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Mei Hongyi pondered to himself, mulling over the identity of the mysterious figure. "If he truly were Luotian, he would not remain at zero points, especially with almost half the time elapsed. No, he must be an imposter. But why? What motive could he have for assuming such a guise?"
As Mei Hongyi inwardly tried to deduce the situation, there was a change on the scoreboard.
One of the Alchemy Center's disciples tremblingly said: "Milord!! Please look at the score."
Not only Alchemy Center's disciples but also the rest of the participants who were watching the screens were all trembling with the change on the scoreboard.
"What are you riled up for?" Mei Hongyi was busy thinking about the 'fake' Feng Luotian. When his men disturbed him, he became quite irritated, but after he laid his eyes on the scoreboard …
There was one person whose rank was shot up like a rising star.
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10th Rank – Feng Luotian [150 points]
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Mei Hongyi's jaw dropped. Once the crowd snapped out of their trance induced by Feng Luotian's score, they erupted into chatter, their voices reverberating through the arena.
"So that guy was really Feng Luotian."
"Isn't he a cripple?"
"Did he leech of someone's party?"
"Idiot!! If he leeched, then why others' scores did not increase?"
The group of ten, previously bullied by the Cai trio, had also been expelled. After their leader fell to Cai Long, they were left with only a Three Fangs Fighter as their strongest member.
Later, they could only defeat one more clone of Five Fangs. Then shortly after that, they ended up being ambushed by another clone, completely wiped out.
Despite failing to gain enough points to pass the exam, they had managed to earn some points while their leader was still with them, landing them a respectable 15th rank on the scoreboard. Their leader had fared slightly better, coming in at 24th with a one-point difference.
The group, however, was not disheartened by their failure. Rather, they were excited as they could witness the first rising moment of God's Son. So, they began to arrogantly brag to the crowd in his stead.
"That's his real ability!!" One at the party started.
"We saw him defeating three Five Fangs in a row!!"
"With a minute without even using Theríon at all, no less."
"Yeah, with our own eyes!!"
"He sent a Five Fang Fighter out with just one punch and one kick!" Another proclaimed.
They continued boasting, claiming credit for the feat as if it were their own.
"What?! How can that be?" The crowd was overwhelmed by the news.
"Yeah, he was just a commoner one month ago."
"How do you know that? He might be hiding his cultivation using treasures for a long time, tricking us in the process."
"No, my big brother is a city guard. A month ago, he saw GCS return from Warland Thicket with Goddess Mei and Sun Wuji, drenched in blood. Later that day, he asked the city guard captain about it and got a quick look at the incident report. It came directly from the city lord's office and couldn't be fabricated. GCS was a commoner just a month ago."
"Really?"
"That's impossible, right? How can someone get that strong in a month?"
"Well, that's God's Son for you."
In a matter of moments, their disappointment in Feng Luotian had transformed into unbridled admiration. Humans, it seemed, were quick to succumb to their impulses.
The chatter of the crowd carried on.
As for Mei Hongyi, because the screens randomly projected the area within the exam site, he quickly swapped the middle one for an image projection with his son in it.
Since Feng Luotian had defeated all of his son's men, then the boy's next target would be none other than his son. That was why he was worried and wished to confirm Mei Hongli's status.
After the desired image was depicted on the screen, what Mei Hongyi saw took him to another level of anxiety as it was a standoff between his own son and Feng Luotian.
"Look! It's God's Son!! He really has an aura on him. He's not a cripple anymore!!"
When the crowd was about to start another commotion, Mei Hongyi stumbled backward by two steps before blurting out: "S-Six Fangs? Feng Luotian was now a Six Fangs Fighter? How is this possible?"
He stammered in disbelief.
With his cultivation and experience, even though he could not directly sense the boy's cultivation level from here, he could figure it out by looking at the radiating aura.
"Six Fangs?"
A slip from Mei Hongyi threw another bomb at the crowd.
"Six Fangs?! Are you kidding me?"
"From a commoner to Six Fangs within a month? That's not a human feat. That's GOD!!"
"Yeah, it took me five years just to become Four Fangs!! How despairing!!"
"As expected of God's Son!! At this rate, we will have another God protecting us again in no time."
"On the other hand, Mei Hongli, is it? Look at his score!! His father is an exam proctor. He is definitely cheating."
"Yeah, how can he get more points than Goddess Mei, who is much stronger than him?"
"Even if she was partying with someone, there shouldn't be that difference in points. The greatest genius, Ying Lizhua, was still behind for more than 400 points. And that guy said that he would win us fair and square. Hmph!!"
"I hope he is thrashed by God's Son."
"Yeah!! God's son!!"
"God's son!!"
"God's son!!"
"God's son!!"
Once the chant had started, there was no stopping it.
Mei Hongyi spun around to lash at the man who had insulted his son. But before he could speak, a voice sounded from the side. "Hongyi, care to share what's happening?"
Mei Hongyi's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the voice. He turned to face six people making their way towards him on the stage.
They were not just important figures in the Peacock School, but also the most powerful individuals in Divine Bird City.
Leading the group was Peacock Lord, Mei Xuankong, who had addressed Mei Hongyi earlier.
Without hesitation, Mei Hongyi greeted the six newcomers with his utmost respect: "C-Clan Chief? Greetings, Clan Chief! Greetings, Milady, Supreme Elder, and First Elder! Even Eagle Lord and Heron Lord are here as well! Welcome!"
Peacock Lord had brought five individuals with him, all of whom held great power and influence.
The one Mei Hongyi called "Milady" was Peacock Lord's wife and also Mei Yue'er's mother, named Mei Xue'er.
Her countenance was dazzling, her body was very seductive, and even with the age of almost forty, she still looked like she was in her teen. No wonder why Mei Yue'er was so beautiful. She got it all out from her mother. Nevertheless, her strength came along with her charm. Mei Xue'er was a One Wing Master. And as the wife of Peacock Lord, her title was Peacock Lady.
As for "Supreme Elder" Mei Hongyi was regarding, he was Peacock Lord's father and also Mei Yue'er's grandfather, Mei Hengkong. Although he seemed like an ordinary old man with a walking stick, he was the previous generation's strongest and was at Four Wings before he gave his leadership to his son. Currently, no one knew how strong he had become.
The First Elder, Mei Changkong, was a senior consultant of the Mei clan overseeing the city together with Peacock Lord. He was also someone from the previous generation as he was Mei Hengkong's younger brother and Peacock Lord's uncle. He was now a Three Wings Master.
The other two were honored guests Peacock Lord brought. Although they were not from Mei Clan, their strengths could still be considered to be the creams of the crop amongst all cultivators within Divine Bird City.
Ying Tianzheng, was Ying Lizhua's grandfather and another Four Wings Master. He was from the previous generation like Mei Hengkong, and he had the title [Eagle Lord].
Ying Tianzheng himself also wanted to retire, but, unfortunately for him, the following generation after him was disappointing. There was no one qualified enough in his eyes to lead the clan, so he had no choice but to hold on to his seat as a Clan Chief; however, there was no one in this world who only got bad luck.
Once his grandson, Ying Lizhua, became the first in history to awaken his bloodline at nine years old and was crowned as the greatest genius, Ying Tianzheng almost choked himself to death with joy. He promptly promoted Ying Lizhua to be his successor right away, albeit only their clan knew about this.
As for the last guy, Clan Chief He was named He An. Although he was at Two Wings right now, and he was in the same generation as Peacock Lord, his age was much younger than the chief of the other clans, so his talent was enough to carry around some prestige for his clan, and people started calling him [Heron Lord].
Together with the current Clan Chief of the Sikong, known as [Sparrow Lord], these four titled individuals were collectively referred to as the [Four Lords of Divine Bird].