Chapter 185: Qualification Exam

The First Xuanmen Teacher Qualification Examination.

Yun Jiao casually handed the thick stack of test papers in her hands to Elder Jiao in the front row. “Class monitor, distribute the papers.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The class monitor immediately stood up, took the stack, and began handing them out row by row.

Yun Jiao swept her gaze across the hall at the gathered sect leaders and continued, “I’m sure everyone has already heard from Hall Master Xu about the importance of this exam, so I won’t repeat it. Today’s is a closed-book test lasting three—no, one and a half hours. When time’s up, you must hand in your papers. Everyone is to complete their exam independently—no discussions, no talking. Anyone caught doing so will be considered cheating. The official exam starts in five minutes.”

As she spoke, she drew a formation on the lectern that projected a timer array while Elder Jiao finished distributing the papers.

The moment she finished speaking, over a hundred pairs of eyes turned in unison toward Xu Qingfeng, the poor hall master sitting in the front row, stabbing at him like a field of knives. The air was thick with resentment.

Sect Master 1: Liar! You said we’d meet for tea, chat, and a little drink. Turns out you tricked us into sitting for an exam?! Despicable!

Sect Master 2: Beast! You claimed it was urgent business and begged us to come. Urgent, yes—urgent to kill us!

Sect Master 3: Worse! Three days ago, I was at the Tianshi Hall gate when this shameless hall master dragged me back in person!

Sect Master 4: Scum! You said there were disturbances between the demon and underworld realms and summoned us to discuss countermeasures! I even brought my senior elders with me!

Sect Master 5: We trusted you! How could you betray us like this, you heartless fiend!

…

The air grew darker with every heartbeat. In the few minutes it took to pass out papers, the entire room looked ready to flay poor Xu alive with their eyes.

Xu Qingfeng silently lowered his head, nearly burying his entire face in the exam sheet. What could he do? If he had told the truth—that they were coming to take an exam—would any of them have shown up? They’d have torn up his transmission talisman and ignored him completely. They were all classmates once; if they had to die, at least they could die together.

Meanwhile, Class Monitor Jiao finished distributing papers but found one extra copy left. He handed it back to Yun Jiao.

“Huh?” Yun Jiao frowned as she flipped through it. She had calculated the number precisely—how could there be an extra? “Hall Master Xu, is someone absent?”

Xu blinked, slowly poking his head up from behind his paper. After a pause, he said, “Oh—probably Chang Yang from Medicine Valley. He couldn’t come.”

“Chang Yang?” Yun Jiao asked blankly.

“He’s the head of the Chang family,” Xu explained. “One of their medicinal fields had some trouble recently, and he’s still handling it. Couldn’t make it in time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the already bitter exam hall filled once more with dagger-like stares.

Sect Master 1: What a coincidence! He escaped? Must be Xu’s insider buddy. Shameless favoritism!

Sect Master 2: Corruption!

Sect Master 3: Degenerate!

Sect Master 4: Beast!

Sect Master 5: There’s something fishy going on between them…

…

Feeling the chill down his back, Xu Qingfeng thought miserably, What did I even say wrong this time?

Yun Jiao, however, didn’t think too much about it. She simply nodded. “Then let’s begin.” She activated the timer array beside her. A beam of white light rose up before descending slowly, marking the countdown.

The sect leaders finally retracted their death glares and resigned themselves to their fate, beginning to write.

The grand hall instantly fell into silence. Yun Jiao, with nothing else to do, pulled out a stack of talisman papers and began grading. Yuan Shishu had returned to the upper realm, leaving a few unfinished lessons for Class Three’s talisman course, so she’d taken over temporarily. These papers were their homework.

After reviewing over a hundred, Yun Jiao’s eyes were starting to blur. She couldn’t imagine how her uncle managed to mark so many assignments every day—and even found every tiny flaw. She sighed softly, calculating the remaining lessons. Not many left. Maybe I should just give them an exam instead.

After all, drawing talismans was only the first step. Only by creating new ones themselves could they be considered real talisman masters.

Yes, she decided happily. Let’s do that!

The unsuspecting students of Class Three: …

Why do our backs suddenly feel cold?

———

The teacher qualification exam went smoothly. Before noon, the one-and-a-half-hour test was over. Yun Jiao collected all the papers, dismissed the crowd of exhausted sect masters and elders—each looking like their souls had been drained—and returned to Qingyang.

She planned to start grading immediately so she could select the qualified instructors as soon as possible and officially open the academy.

But just as she sat down, a deafening boom thundered from the back mountain, shaking the ground. Yun Jiao jumped, almost dropping the entire stack of papers.

The old man, who had just finished teaching, burst out of his study looking startled. “Girl! What was that sound just now?”

“I don’t know. It came from the back mountain.” Yun Jiao’s expression turned serious. She quickly set down the papers. “Let’s go check.”

The two hurried toward the back, the sound of multiple explosions echoing along the way. When they finally crossed the rear hall, they saw the mid-slope of the mountain engulfed in dust clouds—like it had been bombed.

“Wait! That’s the vegetable field!” the old man gasped. “Could it be Ying Lun?!”

Yun Jiao also felt an intense surge of life force from that direction and quickened her pace. When they reached the site, the dust had mostly cleared. Two figures stood amid the chaos, and Ying Lun’s voice echoed miserably through the air—each shout more pitiful than the last.

“Ah—wait, wait! Ow ow ow! Night Abyss, listen to me, I can explain! I didn’t mean it! For old times’ sake—ahhhh, it’s breaking—it’s breaking! I swear I didn’t mean to! How was I supposed to know you’d pass by just then?! I didn’t mean to blow it up—ahhhhhh~~~!”

The once lush and thriving vegetable garden was now a battlefield of craters, the earth pocked with half-meter-deep pits. In each hole oozed reddish fluid and the faintly sweet scent of—something that definitely wasn’t fertilizer.

Ying Lun was sprawled in one such pit, while beside him, Night Abyss had one boot planted firmly on his back, pinning him halfway into the dirt. Icy spiritual pressure radiated from him, freezing the very air. His normally cold eyes blazed with a fury that bordered on murderous.

The two who had rushed over stopped dead in their tracks—it was the first time they’d ever seen their grandmaster this angry.

Then came a sharp crack!

A bone-breaking sound echoed from Ying Lun’s body. His screams rose another octave. “Ahhhh—! I’m dying! I’m dying!”

“Grandmaster!” Yun Jiao finally reacted and hurried forward to intervene. “What happened?!”

Night Abyss paused mid-step, his glare flicking toward her. The frost in his aura deepened, but the fire in his eyes dimmed just slightly—revealing, beneath all the rage, a flicker of something else.

Something that looked suspiciously like… hurt feelings.

(End of Chapter)