Hearing the voices outside gradually fade away, Lin Shen secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
After all, he killed Tian Dian and destroyed his corpse. It was inevitable that he would feel a little guilty when he encountered the members of the Martial Enforcement Hall who had been pursuing Tian Dian.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to remember him at all.
After calming himself down, Lin Shen walked toward Kong Hong's desk.
Kong Hong also noticed Lin Shen, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.
"I was just looking for you. You haven't signed up for the competition, right?"
"I forgot about it before and only remembered it just now."
Kong Hong couldn't help but laugh. He took out a form and asked Lin Shen to fill in the registration information.
As Lin Shen wrote, he pretended to ask casually, "Sir, I saw the people from the Martial Enforcement Hall just now. What are they doing in the academy?"
Kong Hong didn't suspect anything. He sighed and said, "There was a murder in the Northern District yesterday. One of the victims was a student from our academy. The people from the Martial Enforcement Hall came to ask about that student."
Murder in the Northern District?
Lin Shen's eyes narrowed, and he immediately asked, "What happened?"
"I'm not too sure either." Kong Hong shook his head. "The people from the Martial Execution Hall said it was confidential and couldn't reveal the details of the case."
After a pause, he glanced at Lin Shen and reminded him,
"You'd better stay clear of the Northern District for a while."
Lin Shen's heart skipped a beat. He thought Kong Hong was referring to his trip to the black street.
However, he quickly realized it was impossible for Kong Hong to know about this. Kong Hong was most likely referring to the welfare institute in the Northern District and asking him not to return there for the time being.
As expected, Kong Hong continued, "When things come down over there, you can find an opportunity to visit the welfare institute again."
Lin Shen relaxed slightly and nodded in agreement.
"By the way," Kong Hong suddenly remembered something and looked at Lin Shen with bright eyes. "I heard some students discussing you this morning. They said you had reached Proficient in Blazing Sun Palm. Is that true?"
When he used the Blazing Sun Palm at Blue Rose, Lin Shen was mentally prepared for the news to get out. He wasn't surprised when he heard this. He nodded and said, "Yes, I reached Proficient a few days ago."
Hearing Lin Shen admitted it himself, Kong Hong looked like he couldn't conceal his surprise.
Lin Shen's previous two breakthroughs had already surprised Kong Hong a lot. Who would have thought that in less than a few days, Lin Shen would actually surprise him again?
He was Proficient in Blazing Sun Palm and had reached Level 5 in the Qi Transformation Stage. Such capability was enough to rank him in the top five among the ordinary students in the entire Willow Academy.
In fact, he was even more outstanding than some disciples of influential families!
Kong Hong couldn't help but feel secretly amazed. Why didn't he realize Lin Shen was a genius before?
"Good. You've improved much faster than I expected!"
Kong Hong looked at the student in front of him with admiration in his eyes.
"It shouldn't be a problem for you to get into the top five in this competition. If you work hard, you might even get into the top three!"
Lin Shen smiled without denying it.
If Kong Hong knew he had already reached the seventh level of the Qi Transformation Stage and was only one step away from mastering the Blazing Sun Palm, his eyes would definitely pop out.
However, Lin Shen was constantly using Mortal Restrain in front of others. The cultivation level he displayed was only at the fifth level of the Qi Transformation Stage. No matter how sharp Kong Hong's eyesight was, he couldn't see through Lin Shen's true cultivation level.
"The exam is still two months away. I presume you're going to register for the exam, right?" Kong Hong asked.
"Yes, I am."
Kong Hong nodded and didn't ask Lin Shen which of the three academies he wanted to apply for.
Generally speaking, if one chose to cultivate the fundamental cultivation technique of a sect, they would definitely apply to the academy affiliated to that sect in the future.
On the other hand, Lin Shen cultivated the Blazing Sun Palm, so it was obvious which academy he would apply to.
"The notice of the examination has been sent out. Our academy has been allocated 30 spots this year."
]Kong Hong took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued,
"I won't lie to you. Out of these thirty spots, twenty-three have already been occupied by the disciples of influential families. The remaining seven spots will be divided among ordinary students like you."
Lin Shen nodded calmly.
This kind of thing was very common in various academies. It was already common knowledge that the disciples of influential families would occupy most of the spots in the examination.
In fact, this wasn't unfair.
After all, the cultivation conditions of the disciples of influential families far exceeded that of ordinary students, so their strength naturally far exceeded that of ordinary students as well.
Very few disciples had cultivation levels lower than the fifth level of the Qi Transformation Stage.
Their achievements in martial arts techniques also far surpassed ordinary students.
Judging by their capability, it wasn't strange for them to occupy a large number of spots in the examination.
Kong Hong continued, "There are only a few ways for ordinary students to get a spot in the examination."
"Firstly, students at Level 6 of the Qi Transformation Stage or higher can be exempted from the assessment and obtain a spot in the examination!"
When he said this, Kong Hong's tone was very ordinary, and he didn't notice the flash of light in Lin Shen's eyes.
From Kong Hong's point of view, having one such ordinary student a year was already a big achievement.
Ordinary students who could reach the fifth level of the Qi Transformation Stage were already considered outstanding.
This year, there were only five or six people in Willow Academy who had reached this level.
Therefore, he would never have thought Lin Shen had already risen to the seventh level!
"Secondly, if you obtain the top two positions in the competition, you can also be exempted from the assessment and obtain a spot in the examination.
"The last method is to pass the academy's assessment after signing up. Only after that can you obtain a spot in the examination."
After saying the three methods, Kong Hong looked at Lin Shen and smiled.
"With your current capability, you'll definitely get one of the remaining seven spots. The only difference is whether you get it in the second or third way.
"If you can get into the top two in the competition, it'll save you a lot of trouble. You can also obtain the reward of the Origin Pill. It'll be very beneficial to you. Therefore, you have to work hard in the competition!"
"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Kong!" Lin Shen nodded calmly.
Seeing Lin Shen's "determined" expression, Kong Hong nodded in satisfaction.
He admired this student from the bottom of his heart because Lin Shen had a poor family background but relied on hard work to become the best among ordinary students. Naturally, Kong Hong looked forward to seeing Lin Shen shine in the competition.
The teacher's work made him yearn to see his students breaking the cocoon and turning into butterflies with his help.
While drinking tea, Kong Hong had already thought about it. If Lin Shen didn't get into the top two in the competition, he would personally buy some Origin Pills for Lin Shen.
He believed with his help and encouragement, Lin Shen would quickly recover from the frustration of losing the competition. He would be reborn from the ashes and make breakthroughs. Then, he would shock the world and enter the Nine Yang Academy in the final examination.
After that, Kong Hong himself would also become famous because of Lin Shen and became a great teacher whom everyone respected. He would be promoted to the headmaster of Willow Academy. He was almost done thinking about his speech after that.
Kong Hong was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.