Chapter 328 - 327: No Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals

"Finally, it’s Brother Yi’s turn! I’m so excited."

After Tang Piaomiao finished her assessment, she stood to the side. Seeing that it was finally Tang Yi’s turn, she grew excited.

"I can’t wait to see what kind of score my Brother Tang Yi gets! It’ll definitely be incredible. He’s so amazing," Tang Shu said, her face flushed with excitement.

Tang Baijie and Mu Xianling didn’t say anything. They simply watched Tang Yi, their eyes full of anticipation.

It wasn’t just Mu Xianling and the members of the Tang Family. Everyone from the North District had their attention fixed on Tang Yi, eagerly awaiting his results.

Who among them didn’t know Tang Yi’s strength? Who hadn’t seen his heroic figure as he slew Demon Beasts?

Everyone knew Tang Yi’s score would be excellent, but they were all extremely curious to see just *how* excellent it would be. After all, they knew he had killed many Demon Beasts, but they had no idea of the exact number.

Now, the moment of truth had finally arrived.

Tang Yi stepped forward and stood before the Elder in charge of the tally. He took out the Demon Beast Crystals he had acquired and placed them in the Elder’s hands.

His movements were unhurried and composed.

"So that’s the Tang Yi you all bet so heavily on? He doesn’t look like much. First place in individual scores? I’d say he’ll be lucky to make the top ten. In fact, he probably won’t even get close."

"He really is nothing special. His features are too plain, and he has no imposing aura whatsoever. Nothing like the magnificent presence of Yuh Jili."

"Looks like the people from the North District and Dui Palace are about to lose their shirts."

"They’re so full of themselves, thinking they can turn the tables with a single candidate. I know the North District has been in decline for a long time, and Dui Palace is gradually fading as well. They must be desperate, so they decided to go all-in. But this is just reckless!"

"I was watching closely. That North District candidate’s hand moved eleven times. That means he took out eleven Demon Beast Crystals. If those are all Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals, his score is just barely a pass."

"Elder Xuu is truly observant. I counted too, and it’s just as he said. Eleven movements, taking out crystals eleven times. Putting aside whether they’re all Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals, even if there are some Level 5 crystals in there, he’d have one or two at most, just like those first few candidates. That means his score will be somewhere between eleven and thirty, no higher than forty!"

"A score like that is still a far cry from Yuh Jili’s."

"More than a far cry, it’s a world of difference. They’re not even in the same league! But that’s to be expected. Yuh Jili is too much of a genius. All the other candidates this year are on a completely different level."

"..."

Due to the distance to the high platform, when it was Tang Yi’s turn for the tally, the Elders and Hall Masters could only see some of his movements. They couldn’t see how many Demon Beast Crystals he took out, nor could they tell their grade.

However, based on the way Tang Yi took out the Demon Beast Crystals, the crowd guessed his score wouldn’t be very high.

However, as the crowd made their wild guesses, constantly comparing Tang Yi to Yuh Jili and concluding he couldn’t measure up, they were completely unaware of one thing: the Elder in charge of the tally was so stunned by the Demon Beast Crystals Tang Yi had produced that he was simply standing there, dumbfounded. He had completely forgotten to announce the score, clutching a pile of crystals in a daze.

"What’s Elder Ma, the one doing the assessment, doing? Why is he just standing there like an idiot? Announce the score already!"

"Yeah, why did he freeze up the moment that North District candidate handed him the Demon Beast Crystals? How bizarre."

"Could there be something wrong with the Demon Beast Crystals?"

"Who knows? But whether there’s a problem or not, he needs to announce *something* so we all know what’s going on."

"Someone give him a nudge."

"I’ll do it!"

An Elder from Qian Palace volunteered, stood up, took a deep breath, and shouted to the expert from the West Mansion who was handling the tally in the distance, "Elder Ma! Elder Ma! What’s the matter?"

The Qian Palace Elder used half of his strength in that shout. His voice, carrying immense Penetration Power, instantly echoed across the entire plaza.

Of course, the Elder handling the tally heard it.

Hearing the Qian Palace Elder’s voice, Elder Ma was jolted from his stupor, finally snapping out of his immense shock.

He first took a long, deep look at Tang Yi, who was waiting for the results with a faint smile. Then, he let out a breath and began his announcement. "North District, Tang Yi... Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals... none!"

’No Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals?’

’He actually has none?’

ROAR!

Upon hearing Elder Ma’s announcement, the entire crowd was stunned for a moment before erupting into a cacophony of discussion.

"How can he have none? I swear I saw his hand move more than ten times. Was he just pulling out empty air?"

"How strange. No matter how weak someone is, it should be impossible to not get a single Demon Beast Crystal!"

"This is a first. The first time in the history of the exams that I’ve seen a candidate return to the West Mansion without a single Level 4 Demon Beast Crystal to show for it!"

"Useless! A Big Waste!"

"Wait, that’s not right. This is the candidate we saw at the very beginning of the House Entrance Examination. Didn’t he kill a Level 4 Demon Beast right at the start? How could he not have a Level 4 Demon Beast Crystal?"

"I remember him now, too. It’s definitely him. But why doesn’t he have any? Did he give his Demon Beast Crystals to someone else?"

"Now that you mention it, I get it. He must have given his Demon Beast Crystals to the others from the North District! That explains why several people from the North District managed to get more than twenty crystals each. He must have given his to them! This North District candidate knew he wouldn’t pass the House Entrance Examination, so he gave his crystals away before he came back!"

"Hmph. What a hopeless case. Resorting to such schemes just so a few others can get more Cultivation Resources. To think he’d just give his own Demon Beast Crystals away!"

"It seems the rules for the House Entrance Examination will have to be changed after this!"

"Not a single one. In all the years the House Entrance Examination has been held, this is a first."

"The North District is just as we remember. Even if their scores have improved a little, they still act the same way."

"..."

On the high platform, everyone except for those from the North District and Dui Palace wore expressions of contempt. They felt this was the North District they knew all too well—wallowing in mediocrity and with no desire to improve.

"Quiet down!"

However, amidst the chorus of discussion and criticism, the voice of Elder Ma, the one conducting the assessment, rang out once more.

Seeing that his announcement had caused an uproar on the high platform and apparently sparked a misunderstanding, Elder Ma felt slightly awkward.

It was true that Tang Yi had ’no Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals,’ but he hadn’t finished his announcement.

He had just been so shocked by Tang Yi’s score that he had become tongue-tied.

"North District, Tang Yi... Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals... none! Level 5 Demon Beast Crystals... forty-three!!!"