Zhen Sheng City's wilderness, at the entrance of the Demon Qi Secret Realm, a large open space has been cleared, with countless soldiers patrolling around.

Examinees are continuously being transported out of the secret realm, and doctors immediately check the Spirit Beast's injuries. Those in need are quickly placed on a surgical table at the field hospital, while the uninjured are sent to a simple apartment constructed with Earth Attribute Skills to rest, until the joint examination officially ends seven days later, returning with the troops to Zhen Sheng City.

At the center of the military camp, Kong Guofeng, the director of Zhen Sheng City's Education Bureau, stood at the window, hands behind his back, silently gazing at the calm space rift.

He wears a set of old-fashioned, mid-20th century common wear, not revealing his specific age. His face, skin, and hairline resemble a young man, but his face is extremely mature, with deep eyes that leave a strong impression at a glance.

In fact, he has been standing here for three days without eating or drinking, and without moving, as if rooted like a stabilizing needle, seeming to suppress or tie down something.

And indeed, that is the case.

If he weren't suppressing it with his power nearby, the space rift would be somewhat unstable, posing a threat to the students entering and exiting. The residual Demon Qi might leak into the wilderness, affecting the ecological environment and causing the Spirit Beasts to become frenzied.

Suddenly, Kong Guofeng spoke: "How is the overall situation?"

A voice suddenly came from behind him.

"The examinees who have withdrawn, the Spirit Beasts' injuries are more severe than in previous years. The prolonged stay in the Demonic Qi environment causes considerable mental stress. You were right to preemptively mobilize more medical resources and contact Miracle Masters who can heal spiritual injuries."

"Hmm."

Kong Guofeng neither affirmed nor denied: "What about the score distribution?"

"24% are examinees from prominent families or related to them, 76% are civilians."

His assistant, a steady middle-aged man, his glasses flowing with various dense data and information, replied, "That's the current data."

Kong Guofeng nodded, showing a somewhat satisfied expression: "Hmm."

The annual joint examination of Zhen Sheng City naturally cannot be solely funded by the official Great Xia or the Zhen Sheng City Education Bureau, considering the expenses for preparing the exams and exchanging the rewards afterward.

In fact, prominent families and various enterprises also contribute.

Families do so to promote their own geniuses, while enterprises offer quality products in the exchange list to advertise to these future pillars of Great Xia, for the advertising effect is quite good from past observations.

This year's reward share, families took 30%, enterprises 20%, the military 25%, with the remaining 25% handled by Zhen Sheng City Education Bureau, which is Kong Guofeng's responsibility.

He is undoubtedly pleased that prominent families only provided a little over 20%, incurring a loss.

"You must have 'seen' it, among the examinees not belonging to prominent family forces in the secret realm, the most outstanding is a young man named Lin Guang."

Upon mentioning this name, Kong Guofeng's deep eyes seemed to shine with starlight, nodding slightly, as if his gaze pierced through space, staring at someone's face: "Hmm, the student Liu Feifan strongly recommended."

"Yes."

"He is also Lin Zian's son." The assistant paused, a hint of curiosity flashing across his face, "You surely know this matter, right? Is this why the Upgrade Secret Realm quota was allocated to him?"

"..."

Kong Guofeng did not respond.

A few seconds later, he sighed slightly.

"If Lin Zian had been more tactful in the past, he wouldn't have been ostracized, forcing him to build his research lab in the suburbs. Then, that incident ten years ago wouldn't have occurred, perhaps granting Zhen Sheng City an additional Water Spirit Beast Doctor."

"Forget it, let's not talk about these dispiriting things."

"His son is truly remarkable. If they were aware in the afterlife, they would surely be very gratified."

At this moment, Kong Guofeng's words carried unmistakable praise and approval, displaying a clear smile on his typically calm face.

This left the assistant somewhat stunned.

In all the years of working together, he had almost never seen Director Kong express such satisfaction towards a youngster.

Typically, the status of a True Man resides in a different dimension than those beneath them.

They occupy high positions, enjoying a lifespan of over three hundred years, observing the rise and fall of tides, not lacking exposure to various geniuses during their lifetime.

Or rather, aside from a few exceedingly lucky individuals, each True Man was one of the most dazzling geniuses of their time.

Yet, such a person actually praised a civilian Spirit Master?

He paused for a moment before continuing with Kong Guofeng's words: "Yes, currently, Lin Guang ranks just below the strongest participants from the three prominent families, with not much difference in score. He solved one of the dominant Magical Beasts at the four villages arranged in the Purple A1 venue we set, and the duration of the battle wasn't very long, not too strained. He should have some remaining strength."

"No, you don't understand, he..."

Halfway through speaking, Kong Guofeng suddenly paused, slightly surprised: "Hmm?"

The assistant respectfully asked: "What happened?"

Kong Guofeng did not speak, only gazing at the flag.

The assistant realized something, turning around to look at the banner on the open space.

Seeing a clear flame emerge around Lin Guang's information, along with a chain binding him and Huai Shouren together.

Furthermore, they wagered all their scores!

After a few seconds, Kong Guofeng chuckled with a hint of meaning, "Luck's not on our side, huh?"

"Um, Lin Guang shouldn't take such a risk. Liu Feifan said..."

The assistant's words were interrupted by an unexpected guest.

"You're placing such high hopes on a commoner's genius."

The assistant was suddenly startled. He stood at the door yet failed to notice this person's arrival.

Kong Guofeng finally moved, no longer rooted to his spot, and slowly turned around.

Before him stood a man looking about twenty-five or twenty-six, dressed in exquisite modern luxury attire, with exceptionally handsome features that even rivaled Lin Guang, albeit with a somewhat androgynous delicacy, and thin lips that gave his face a somewhat harsh appearance.

The education bureau in Great Xia is undoubtedly an authoritative department, managing the allocation of various educational resources and student information.

It's important to know that 95% of the Spirit Masters employed in the military and various institutional units come from public schools.

Zhen Sheng City, as one of the three pillars of Fenghai Province, holds the position of the education bureau chief far above many seemingly similar ranks, and if Kong Guofeng weren't an old-school True Man with formidable skill and strategy, he simply couldn't hold this position.

And for someone to speak to him with such attitude, this man was undoubtedly also a True Man.

This individual was the Six-star Spirit Master sent by the three major families to oversee the joint exam, named Huai Risheng. Although he appeared young, he had taken the Face Stabilizing Pill long ago and was actually 150 years old.

He and Kong Guofeng were acquaintances, but not old friends; rather, they were arch-rivals, conflicting since their youth and having crossed paths numerous times.

However, with over a hundred years passing and their contemporaries almost vanished, even old rivals have found some mutual appreciation, and not even today's increasingly tense relationships between the official Great Xia and the families could halt the rise of such an extraneous sentiment.

For this reason, among the True Men of the three major families, he was always the one in charge of this matter.

After all, the joint exam is a collaboration, and there's no need for things to become too tense.

Huai Risheng crossed his arms, showing no concealment of his curiosity and surprise, speaking more like a young, modern person than someone over a hundred years old: "Kong Guofeng, you're so sure Lin Guang can defeat Shouren? What did you 'see' in there?"

The assistant was stunned again.

He understood the meaning behind this True Man's words.

Could it be that when Kong Guofeng spoke of bad luck... he was referring to Huai Shouren, not Lin Guang?!

"How about making a bet with me?" Kong Guofeng said calmly, "I'll wager a Reverse Scale from the Tier Six Blue Silver Dragon King."

"..."

Huai Risheng noticeably paused, seemingly truly surprised, squinting slightly: "A Reverse Scale from the Blue Silver Dragon King is a rare Tier Six Purple Spiritual Material. If you find a skilled Miracle Master, even a small piece can serve as a key material for a Tier Six Spiritual Artifact."

"So will you bet?"

He looked at Kong Guofeng with an expression as if he were staring at an idiot and said bluntly, "No bet."

"Everyone knows your style, Kong Guofeng, rigid and never reckless. Suddenly setting up a bet... I've fallen for you several times back in the day, but now? Do you take me for a fool?"

Then, Huai Risheng displayed his unabashed curiosity: "Exactly what kind of genius is it that you're taking them so seriously?"

"You know, even though my cousin's great-grandson is a disappointment, he's at least a key cultivation focus of the Huai Family's current generation. I'm very curious about how that kid plans to defeat him."

"Want to see? Fine."

Kong Guofeng raised his hand slightly, and formless power began to rise, seemingly about to envelop Huai Risheng. The latter, however, waved his hand, "While you're at it, bring in the others outside too."

"Is that necessary?" Kong Guofeng raised an eyebrow, "If your junior loses, the Huai Family will lose face among the other two families."

"Why would I care about winning or losing?"

Huai Risheng waved his hand with a nonchalant expression: "If losing means the younger generation learns to be shamed and then motivated, it wouldn't be a bad thing."

"They've won too long; it's time to ring the warning bell."

"..."

Kong Guofeng shook his head, "Alright then."

This guy is an anomaly among the three major families, which is why he can get along well with him.

With Kong Guofeng's consent, a group entered the military camp. They were guards dispatched by the Wang and Jiang families to oversee the joint exam, mostly Four-Star Peak, with a few elderly Five-Star Peak individuals, whose seniority even matched that of Huai Risheng. Although their qualifications and courage didn't allow them to reach the True Man level, they were still willing to continue contributing to their families.

"Is everyone here? Then let's go."

Kong Guofeng nodded slightly, waving his right hand, and a heavy, ancient Bronze Bell appeared beside him, inscribed with dense Great Xia characters, with lotus petal and dragon pattern castings on its shoulder, emanating an ethereal glow, extremely mystical.

This was Kong Guofeng's Spirit Beast, the Spiritual Element Beast King, named the [Great Xia Five Extremes Bell], a native Spirit Beast of Blue Star with Purple Legendary Level Potential.

Bong——

All sounds fade, but the bell's sound lingers.

In the next moment, everyone's Spiritual Power was drawn, cast into the distant spatial rift, and their perspective immediately shifted.

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