"It seems that the group of disciples from the Martial Victory Academy that I met in the Barbarian Wilderness all have some notable origins," Chu Fengmian thought to himself.
If this Hao Lan is one of the junior Hall Masters of the Martial Victory Academy, then the identities of the others are also worthy of suspicion.
Mo Changhen, Yun Jialan, and Yue Zhanqing, these three, have always called each other peers alongside Hao Lan.
In comparison to Hao Lan, the statuses of these three were certainly not far behind.
Especially since Chu Fengmian participated in an assessment this time, he also noticed a point; those were Inner Sect Disciples from the Martial Victory Academy, who must possess strength of at least the fifth level of the Body Refinement Realm to possibly enter it.
The strongest person among Hao Lan’s group was merely at the peak of the Bone Consolidation Realm. Although they were very young, their ability to be promoted to the Inner Sect at such a young age clearly also signified the extraordinary power behind them.
"Half a month ago? The junior Hall Master did indeed seem to go to the Barbarian Wilderness," Yu Feng paused, then suddenly recalled this detail.
This coincided with what Chu Fengmian described, which also meant that Chu Fengmian really did know Hao Lan.
"After the junior Hall Master’s last trip to the Barbarian Wilderness, he had a miraculous encounter that greatly enhanced his strength and qualifications. He has now started cultivating in the Holy Land of our Martial Victory Academy. If you want to see the junior Hall Master, Brother Chu, I’m afraid you might have to wait some time."
Yu Feng said with a smile.
"But there’s no rush. With Brother Chu’s strength, as long as you pass the assessment, rising to the Inner Sect will pose no problem. When the time comes, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future, and a few months’ time will not matter much."
When Yu Feng spoke to Chu Fengmian now, he did so in a manner as if they were equals, rather than the condescending attitude he had when dealing with many other martial artists participating in the assessment.
Although Yu Feng was an Inner Sect Disciple of the Martial Victory Academy, his strength was not much stronger than Chu Fengmian’s.
Even Yu Feng himself knew that if he were to battle with Chu Beige, he might hold an advantage, but it would be impossible for him to force Chu Beige into such a dire state as Chu Fengmian could.
Chu Fengmian’s strength made it a certainty for him to enter the Martial Victory Academy and be promoted to the Inner Sect.
His current tone of speaking to Chu Fengmian would naturally not contain the slightest hint of arrogance.
Chu Fengmian nodded. He was well aware of the miraculous encounter that Hao Lan had—It was the Imperial Phoenix Grass.
A single Imperial Phoenix Grass could transform a waste into a genius. Given Hao Lan’s already high qualifications, coupled with the Imperial Phoenix Grass, his rapid progression in strength was to be expected.
In Chu Fengmian’s possession, there was also a plant of Imperial Phoenix Grass.
This Imperial Phoenix Grass was originally intended for Chu Fengmian’s own cultivation to improve his strength.
However, fortuitously, Chu Fengmian had condensed the Divine Veins, so naturally, he no longer needed the Imperial Phoenix Grass.
This plant of Imperial Phoenix Grass was now stored away by Chu Fengmian in his storage pouch, prepared to be exchanged for a handsome price.
"I wonder what the Martial Victory Academy’s assessment entails? This is also my first time participating, and I’m not very familiar with it."
Below the Ark, countless martial artists were still struggling, hoping to set foot within the Ark.
In this time of waiting, Chu Fengmian was also bored, so he struck up a conversation with Yu Feng.
With his strength, entering the Martial Victory Academy was indeed no issue, but to know oneself and the enemy assures an absolute victory. Chu Fengmian also wanted to clarify what the upcoming assessments would be.
"Oh? The upcoming assessments actually consist of three parts," Yu Feng replied without any impatience, smiling as he explained.
"The first part of the assessment, upon reaching the Martial Victory Academy, tests strength and realm."
"The Ark assessment, although it can filter out some people, might still allow many to slip through by muddling along. This part of the assessment aims to weed out nearly half of the participants."
Chu Fengmian nodded in agreement as he listened to Yu Feng.
Indeed, the Ark assessment was just a preliminary screening, not necessarily a thorough one.
The Ark assessment took place in a very chaotic environment, and some martial artists might just fish in troubled waters.
The first part of the assessment was to examine strength and realm.
For a martial artist, without strength, everything else is empty talk—only strength serves as the true proof for a martial artist.
"This part of the challenge, naturally, will not be difficult for Brother Chu. Generally speaking, those with strength at the eighth level of the Bone Consolidation Realm can complete the assessment," Yu Feng spoke again.
"Martial artists who pass this challenge can essentially be counted as disciples of the Martial Victory Academy, but if they cannot surpass the following two assessments, they will only be errand-running disciples, not much different from servants, performing arduous tasks daily to earn resources."
For a powerhouse like the Martial Victory Academy to sustain its expenses, it inevitably relies on countless servants.
These servants are actually the Martial Victory Academy’s errand-running disciples who must complete numerous tasks daily.
Only then can they receive resources.
But even the resources available to an errand-running disciple are far more abundant than those of many minor families outside.
Thus, many martial artists opt to join the Martial Victory Academy as an errand-running Disciple which, compared to being a genius in some remote city, is much better.
These errand-running disciples must all be martial artists above the eighth level of the Bone Consolidation Realm to qualify for the position.
"The second assessment is a hunting competition. All martial artists who pass the first part will be put onto an isolated island teeming with demonic beasts."
"Within a total span of seven days on this island, they will need to continually hunt demonic beasts."
"A different number of points is assigned based on the different Demon Cores collected, and martial artists who rank within the top one hundred by points pass the second challenge."
Yu Feng continued with a smile.
"Passing the second challenge qualifies one to be promoted within the Martial Victory Academy as an Outer Sect Disciple. Outer Sect Disciples have it much better than errand-runners and can receive abundant resources for cultivation."
"They can also attend lectures from powerful figures of the Martial Victory Academy to comprehend Martial Arts — which is already much better than disciples from many major families outside."
Just one hundred will be left after this second challenge?
Hearing Yu Feng’s words, Chu Fengmian got a clearer idea of how difficult it is to join the Martial Victory Academy.
Out of ten thousand martial artists, only about five hundred could become errand-running disciples.
To get into the Outer Sect, there were just a hundred spots available.
And for that final Inner Sect, the slots must be even scarcer.
"These two assessments, in fact, shouldn’t pose any problem for Brother Chu, but this last one is somewhat unique," Yu Feng went on slowly.