Inside the Institution
A man, one of the teachers at this school, walked alone down the hallway.
Tall and handsome, with white, flowing hair and slanted eyes. This was Mr. Clover Cleaveland. A Professional Cultivator, 8th Grade Falcon.
Desmond Dekker, on the other hand, was a 9th Grade Falcon.
"Mr. Clover! Mr. Clover!" He stopped walking when a student greeted him.
"Oh, Heji. What's the problem?"
Heji Mo. A noble student from the Mo Family of the Tiger Fang Clan. And he was already a 7th Grade Serpent Cultivator.
"It seems like we're going to have a problem with the new cultivators. Because out of the five hundred applicants, more than half of them gave up and went home."
Clover frowned at what he heard. "And how many of them passed?"
"N-none of them have passed yet."
Because of that, Clover sighed. "Don't tell me Desmond is the one who faced those kids again."
"That's right."
Clover quickly walked towards the direction of the school's gate.
"What's gotten into that old man's head again, ordering this."
When Clover arrived at the scene, he just sighed.
Each student was flinching in fear because they couldn't maintain their concentration as they were quickly consumed by the energy Desmond was releasing.
"I don't want to anymore!"
"I don't think I want to try anymore."
"Wow. I didn't think they were this strict."
"I'm just going home."
Whispers continued among the remaining cultivators.
"Next!" Desmond shouted again. Until Sai sat down in front of the teacher.
"Start."
At the man's command, Sai quickly immersed himself in intense concentration. Everyone watched him as each second passed.
Simultaneously, Desmond began to disrupt the young man's energy with his spine-chilling aura.
But fifty seconds passed, and Sai remained calm in his seat.
Even if he were to be tickled, he wouldn't be disturbed anymore by his incredibly intense concentration.
Until one minute passed, to everyone's astonishment, because they witnessed a new cultivator pass this seemingly impossible test for the first time.
"You've passed! Next!" But it seemed like that didn't matter to Desmond, who remained calm.
Sai stood up and bowed to the teacher with a smile. "Thank you very much."
Then, a soldier guided him to stand on the side, where he was now beside Clover, who was silently watching.
Loan and Eris bumped fists before Loan spoke, smiling. "Looks like it's my turn next."
"Good luck." Eris said calmly.
And like Sai, Loan passed. After that, it was Eris, who passed without breaking a sweat.
The three of them were admired and whispered about because of their extraordinary strength, even at their low strength level, they could match the strength of a Falcon Adventurer.
But of course, no one knew that Desmond had only released twenty percent of his strength earlier to test how tough this year's newcomers were.
The headmaster had told him to create a test that would be enough to see how tough and acceptable these new cultivators were to become full-fledged adventurers someday.
So, for Desmond, twenty percent of his strength was enough for these newcomers to prove they were ready to face the real hardships on the road to achieving their dreams.
After Sai, Loan, and Eris passed, the other remaining cultivators began to feel a burning desire to show off their own strength.
Their previously dejected and nervous expressions were replaced by determination in their hearts, and their eyes blazed as they challenged Desmond's strength.
"You've passed! Next!"
"Alright!" A young man shouted when he managed to withstand the teacher's aura.
"You've passed! Next!"
"Ugh! This is annoying!"
"Next!"
But there were also some who couldn't withstand the unusual fear caused by the teacher's power, so not everyone passed in a row. If there was anyone, it was only two out of fifty people.
"You've passed! Next!"
When the new young man sat down in front of Desmond, he stared at him for a while.
There was no emotion in the young man's eyes. He wasn't even looking at the teacher, his attention was fixed on the floor.
He had black hair and obviously came from a heavyweight clan, judging by his luxurious attire. This was Lucien Li. From the Royal Li Family of the Dragon Sage Clan.
"Start when you're ready." Desmond said to him.
The other soldiers bowed to the young man, except for Desmond. Even Clover paid his respects to this young man because the Dragon Sage Clan was considered the most powerful clan in the history of Galendray since nine centuries ago.
Lucien closed his sleepy eyes and began to immerse himself in intense concentration.
When Desmond tried to disrupt him, a very bright energy seemed to explode from the young man's body, causing Desmond's energy to disappear immediately, along with his slight recoil.
The cracks around them widened. And the onlookers were worried when blood began to flow from Desmond's nose.
"You've passed. Next." The teacher said calmly, adjusting his position again as if nothing had happened.
Lucien stood up and walked silently to stand beside the cultivators who had already passed.