"The exam is starting. The top three cultivators of the Great Deployment Spell Competition, please come and sit here," said Xuan Yuan Mu, glancing at the crowd. Bodhidharma was standing on the main seat.
When Xuan Yuan Mu said that, all the strong cultivators who were taking the exam looked excited, wanting to see how strong the top three cultivators of the Great Deployment Spell Competition were. Each time, the three strongest cultivators of the Great Deployment Spell Competition were extraordinary. Usually new people kept challenging them, would it be the case this time?
All the strong cultivators who were taking the exam were excited. They hoped they'd also be able to sit there after the exam.
"Tian Qiong, Mu Feng, Ma Nan, come here," Xuan Yuan Mu told Lin Feng and the other two patiently.
Prince Nan and Tian Qiong rushed over and sat down on their chairs. How dazzling, how prestigious! They were so happy. The others needed to take the exam, but they could just watch!
Everybody was looking at them. They were already Half-Holy Emperors, the crowd was astonished.
"They must be so strong!" said a man in purple clothes at the foot of a stage. Someone next to him frowned and looked at him.
"How do you know?" asked that person, an examinee.
The man in purple clothes smiled at him mockingly, "You're a High-Level Holy King, how could you understand how incredible Half-Holy Emperors are? Those two people at the top of the bleachers are Half-Holy Emperors."
"Pfew… Half-Holy Emperors?" The new one frowned when he heard that and shivered. He looked at the two cultivators even more intensely.
"How strong is the third one?" asked the new one unhappily.
The man in purple clothes frowned and looked at Lin Feng. Lin Feng was slowly walking towards the bleachers. He didn't fly like the others.
Lin Feng sat down on the left, next to Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma didn't glance at him. He was as motionless as a statue.
"He's also a Half-Holy Emperor, and his strength is even more unfathomable," said the man in purple, smiling at the new one.
The new one looked disappointed and took a few steps backwards. He didn't give up though, he still wanted to take the exam.
The man in purple clothes turned to the stage again.
"These people are Tian Qiong, Mu Feng, and Prince Nan. They finished in the top three during the Great Deployment Spell Competition. They are all Half-Holy Emperors," said Xuan Yuan Mu, introducing the three cultivators. Everybody's eyes gleamed coldly.
Lin Feng didn't pay attention to them. He just looked at two people wearing plaited bamboo hats and cloaks down on the stage. They looked back at him.
"This time, the Gods Sect is going to recruit cultivators of three different layers; High-Level Holy Kings, Supreme Holy Kings; and Half-Holy Emperors.
"The three there are in charge of the first two levels," said Xuan Yuan Mu, pointing at Lin Feng and the two others. "Mu Feng, Tian Qiong, Ma Nan, you are already disciples of the Gods Sect. You're in charge of their exam."
"Yessir!" said Tian Qiong and Ma Nan, nodding back. Lin Feng didn't react. He was ready.
"Initially, there were only five positions for Half-Holy Emperors, three have been filled. Now, there are two left. Of course, you can also challenge those three, if you defeat them, you can replace them!" Xuan Yuan Mu went on. The examinees' eyes gleamed excitingly.
Those Half-Holy Emperors set high hopes on that exam. If they challenged one of the three and won, they'd become disciples of the Gods Sect!
"Alright, first flight of stairs. For High-Level Holy Kings, the highest step is the three-thousandth.
"For Supreme Holy Kings, the highest step is the six-thousandth.
"For Half-Holy Emperors, the highest step is the ten-thousandth. Alright, the exam can start for real," finished Xuan Yuan Mu, glancing at Lin Feng and the two others.
Tian Qiong and Ma Nan rose up in the air and watched.
Lin Feng slowly stood up and flew to the five-thousandth step, then said, "High-Level Holy Kings can start."
The thousands of High-Level Holy Kings started climbing up the stairs. Lin Feng had a frozen smile on the corner of his mouth. If the people back home had seen thousands of high-level Saints at once they would have been dumbstruck.
High-Level Saints were incredible cultivators in the Continent of the Nine Clouds. But here, they listened to him because he was a Half-Holy Emperor.
He was gaining a higher and higher position in the world. He was becoming a real Ruler with time. Lin Feng discovered new things everyday in this new world.
He had to assess situations with the mind of a Ruler. There were Revokers and Controllers above him, but Rulers were also quite strong.
Lin Feng unintentionally released some forbidden strength. The whole flight of stairs shook and it became more difficult for the examinees to climb up.
Bodhidharma opened his eyes and looked at Lin Feng, a smile at the corner of the mouth of his mouth.
Xuan Yuan Mu also looked over at Lin Feng. He didn't understand, but he didn't say anything either. He thought that Lin Feng had released strength to make the exam more difficult. He didn't realize that when Lin Feng saw so many strong cultivators, he had understood something.
Lin Feng took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and looked at the thousands of High-Level Holy Kings. Ninety percent had already given up. Lin Feng was stunned.
Lin Feng didn't know that when he had understood something and released a little bit of Qi, three thousand High-Level Holy Kings had given up. Only a few hundred were left and remained determined.
Suddenly, Lin Feng noticed two people. They were wearing plaited bamboo hats, but he recognized their Qi.
"Meng Qing? You You?"
Lin Feng frowned. Had his two wives decided to take the exam? Back in the days, Meng Qing protected him. She didn't want to stay a High-Level Holy King, she wanted to become stronger. Tang You You also wanted to progress.
Lin Feng didn't blame them. If Meng Qing and Tang You You wanted to take the exam, why not?
Lin Feng continued waiting for the ten best High-Level Holy Kings to finish.
Tian Qiong and Prince Nan took care of the Supreme Holy King's exam.
Three hours passed. On Lin Feng's side, the two best ones were Meng Qing and Tang You You.
At their cultivation level, with their strength, they had no enemies at the same cultivation level. Even Peerless Holy Kings couldn't really compete with them.
Finally, Meng Qing and Tang You You finished first and second.
Meng Qing climbed up 4,500 stairs, she even surpassed some Supreme Holy Kings. Many of them were angry.
Tang You You did almost the same. The two women drew many people's attention. Xuan Yuan Mu nodded happily.
The two women arrived next to Lin Feng and watched the other contestants. Lin Feng remained silent.
Finally, the third, fourth, and on to the tenth cultivators showed up, but those eight people didn't manage to get past the 3,000th step. Nobody paid attention to them.
On Lin Feng's side, the exam was over. On Tian Qiong and Prince Nan's sides, the exams were also over.