Chapter 466: Unexpected

But despite their nerves, most of them still wore faces full of confidence.

"Look at their expressions. I bet a lot of these candidates don’t even take this Memorial Stele seriously."

The older students who had come along to watch all had looks of schadenfreude, as if waiting for a good show to start.

"Let them be smug for now. They’ll probably be miserable when it’s their turn."

"It’s not easy to leave your name on the Memorial Stele."

The older students said with smiles.

Ye Xuan also gazed at the stone stele before him. At first, he hadn’t felt anything special, but as soon as he came within a hundred meters of it, he felt a powerful, oppressive aura bear down on him, as if he were carrying a small mountain on his back.

’This stele actually contains such a terrifying pressure. It’s definitely no ordinary object.’

Ye Xuan was secretly amazed, and a sense of anticipation began to grow within him.

The Gale Light Realm, the Memorial Stele—each of these tests made Ye Xuan increasingly interested in Gale Light Academy.

’An academy that can devise such trials must have amazing resources and cultivation methods,’ he thought.

"Time’s up. Let the test begin."

When Qingfeng’s authoritative voice rang out again, a young man in his early twenties was the first to step forward, stopping a hundred meters from the stele.

His expression was grave as he stared at the Memorial Stele, and then his figure shot forward.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Upon entering the stele’s range, his body visibly faltered. Ye Xuan knew this was due to the Memorial Stele’s pressure, but the young man quickly adjusted. Like an agile leopard, he took a few great leaps and flew to the front of the black Memorial Stele.

"Up!"

With a low cry, he flipped into the air like a swallow. His movements were ethereal and graceful, and in an instant, he soared above the ten-meter line on the Memorial Stele. He seemed like a drifting leaf, showing no sign of strain.

"Such graceful movements."

"Perfect explosive power."

"Truly amazing."

Many people cried out in admiration.

The first two rounds of Gale Light Academy’s assessment had tested only the candidates’ fundamentals, so no one had yet demonstrated their true combat strength.

But right at the start of this third trial, the first candidate’s Body Technique and power had already drawn thunderous applause from the spectators.

"That’s Zhang Tian, from the Qingfeng Empire. He’s a twenty-four-year-old Tier Five First Layer Martial Sect. The geniuses who made it to the third round are truly on another level."

"Look at his movements—so graceful, like a soaring swallow. It’s clearly a very advanced Body Technique."

"Look, he’s about to leave his name on the Memorial Stele!"

In an instant, everyone’s eyes were riveted on Zhang Tian’s finger.

WHOOSH!

Bursts of Gang Qi erupted from Zhang Tian’s short finger as he jabbed it hard against the Memorial Stele.

BANG!

To everyone’s astonishment, Zhang Tian’s finger failed to even scratch the black stone stele. Instead, a black shockwave erupted from the stone and sent him flying.

With a heavy THUD, Zhang Tian crashed to the ground.

"Zhang Tian, failed to leave a name. Eliminated!"

Qingfeng glanced at the list in his hand and announced impassively.

How could this be?

Everyone was stunned.

Zhang Tian’s aura had been extraordinary, and the Gang Qi gathered on his hand was terrifying. It could have pierced a hole through solid steel, let alone a stone stele. Yet in the end, he couldn’t even leave his name on the Memorial Stele?

This...

The crowd was completely dumbfounded.

It was unbelievable.

"No, impossible!"

Zhang Tian shook his head, a dazed and incredulous look on his face.

He couldn’t believe that with his power, he was unable to even leave his name.

"Those who are eliminated, please leave the stele’s vicinity."

Qingfeng said coldly. With a wave of his hand, an invisible force manifested and pushed Zhang Tian out of the testing area.

"Next!"

Then, Qingfeng spoke impassively.

The candidate behind Zhang Tian had a clear look of panic on his face.

He had originally thought that leaving one’s name on the Memorial Stele would be simple, but now it was clear that it was not.

Taking a moment to regulate his breathing, he gritted his teeth and charged into the black stele’s range.

SWOOSH!

He stomped hard on the ground, his eyes locked on the Memorial Stele ahead as he furiously circulated the Profound Power in his body.

The crowd stared intently at him.

It was clear that due to Zhang Tian’s recent failure, this person was highly focused. His movements were steady and cautious, and he made no rash moves.

A few breaths later, the man reached the Memorial Stele and leaped into the air, reaching a height of ten meters in the blink of an eye.

"Go!"

His eyes were piercing. With a thunderous shout, his palms, shimmering with a golden light that made them look like they were forged from metal, stabbed viciously at the black stone wall.

CLANG!

A black halo suddenly materialized on the stone wall, blocking his fingers.

’Not good!’

The man’s expression changed drastically. He tried to exert more force, but a powerful shockwave threw him backward.

"He failed. Another failure."

Everyone looked at the man on the ground, his face ashen. A heavy mood fell over them all.

The candidates taking the test, in particular, felt a sense of dread, and their expressions turned grim.

They had all thought leaving their name on the Memorial Stele would be easy, but the successive failures of the candidates before them made them realize this third trial was anything but simple.

"Heh, looks like they’re finally waking up to reality."

"Look at the candidates, their faces have all gone pale. Hahaha."

"They should have thought about it. If it were that easy to leave your name on the Memorial Stele, why would it be the third trial?"

The older students commented with smiles.

As for Chu Jian, Feng Guang, and the others, their faces were filled with mockery, their disdain obvious.

Next, three more candidates attempted the trial. To everyone’s despair, all three failed to leave any mark on the stele and were eliminated.

Five people in a row, all failed.

It was a massacre.

A pessimistic atmosphere spread among the three hundred or so remaining candidates.

By now, not a single candidate dared to underestimate the black stone stele.

Some even began to wonder if anyone among them could actually leave a name on it at all.

"I refuse to believe it’s impossible to leave a name on this Memorial Stele."

Just then, a young man in red martial robes slowly stepped forward and spoke, his voice cold.

His expression was filled with confidence.

WHOOSH!

His figure moved like a gust of wind, drifting into the stele’s range with lightning speed.

"Rushing in so fast at a time like this? Isn’t he just asking for it?"

"The last five people all failed. This kid doesn’t know how to be cautious."

"That’s Zhang Lie, right? I heard he’s from the Celestial Peace Kingdom. A twenty-year-old Tier Five First Layer Martial Sect who was ranked near the bottom in the second round."

"Reckless. Far too reckless."

Many people shook their heads and sighed, but their eyes remained fixed on Zhang Lie.

At that moment, Zhang Lie shot skyward.

After reaching a height of ten meters, he didn’t stop. Instead, he continued to ascend.

WHOA!

The crowd gasped, their faces showing their speechlessness.

The previous five couldn’t even leave their names at the ten-meter mark. This guy was sixth in line, so he couldn’t be that much stronger than them, yet he dared to go even higher?

What no one saw was that, not far away, Qingfeng gave a slight nod.

Facing the crowd’s skepticism, Zhang Lie’s heart was as calm as still water.

’My ranking in the second round was so low because my strength lies more in my Body Technique. In an environment like the Gale Light Realm, which restricted Profound Power and was full of pressure, I couldn’t display my full abilities at all.’

’My true ranking is definitely not that low.’

’Others might not be able to leave their names on the Memorial Stele, but I refuse to believe that I, Zhang Lie, can’t!’

With a silent roar in his heart, Zhang Lie pushed against the immense pressure of the black stele until he could rise no further.

He channeled his Profound Power to its absolute limit and jabbed his finger fiercely into the black stone wall.

A powerful recoil force blasted against him, but he gritted his teeth and used every ounce of his strength to carve two palm-sized words.

Zhang Lie!

The next moment, he was violently thrown back and crashed to the ground.

"He did it! He left his name!"

"Look! Zhang Lie’s name is on the Memorial Stele!"

Countless people grew excited. The two words, "Zhang Lie," though blurry and extremely shallow, were clearly engraved on the Memorial Stele fifteen or sixteen meters up, where anyone could see them.

"Zhang Lie passes. Please step aside for now. Congratulations, you are the first to become a student of our Gale Light Academy."

Qingfeng’s voice, now tinged with a hint of warmth, drifted over.

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Lie suppressed his elation, quickly moved to the side, and began to treat his injuries.

"He passed. He’s the first one."

"He’s a Gale Light Academy student now. From now on, his future will be limitless."

"The others couldn’t even leave a mark at the ten-meter line. So how could Zhang Lie leave his name at fifteen or sixteen meters?"

"Doesn’t it get harder the higher you go?"

The onlookers were all incredibly envious of Zhang Lie, but at the same time, they were deeply puzzled.

The next candidate, trying to copy Zhang Lie, attempted to leap to an even greater height.

However, to everyone’s surprise, before he could even attempt to carve into the stone, the terrifying pressure from the black stele simply knocked him out of the air.

This scene left everyone dumbfounded.

So it isn’t easier the higher you go?

"Senior Qingfeng, please give me another chance! I just..."

The candidate pleaded, an innocent look on his face, hoping for another chance.

"Step down. Everyone gets only one chance. Fail, and you are eliminated."

Qingfeng’s voice came, cold and devoid of any emotion.