"Impressive, it's nearly five incense sticks now, and Su Ba and Xi He are still hanging in there."
A graceful female recruitment officer covered her mouth in surprise as she watched the image on the array screen in the hall.
At this moment, due to the sweltering heat within the illusion, Su Ba and Xi He were completely surrounded by steaming white mist. Their faces and expressions were obscured, leaving everyone to judge their conditions based only on their posture and aura.
"Mhm, their martial willpower is clearly far beyond their peers. From the looks of it, they can hold on even longer."
A middle-aged examiner with a bristly beard marveled, "Looks like Brother Xia and Brother Qu will be rewarded handsomely by the Martial Academy this time. These results are more than enough."
"Indeed, quite enviable," several examiners echoed, all eyes filled with admiration.
"Heh, you flatter me."
Qu Tai gave a faint smile. "Xi He lasted this long is within expectations. But Su Ba… I'll admit he surprised me. Still, based on my investigation, Xi He has never accepted defeat since childhood. He trains ruthlessly—his willpower is second to none!"
...
...
"Heh."
Xia Hang curled his lips in a faint sneer.
"What? Feeling unconvinced, Brother Xia?" Qu Tai noticed Xia Hang's expression and raised a brow, just about to press further—
When suddenly, Xi He's figure flickered and vanished from the illusionary space.
"Ha! Well then, what now, Brother Qu?" Xia Hang's eyes lit up as he cast a sidelong glance at him, grinning from ear to ear.
Tch.
Qu Tai's expression froze, and his face immediately darkened as he said coldly, "Don't get ahead of yourself. When was martial will about equality, talent was what truly mattered. Xi He's future is definitely brighter than Su Ba's!"
"Oh? 'About equal' martial will?"
Xia Hang muttered under his breath.
"Heh, five incense sticks is already a top-tier result in the academy's history. What more do you want?"
Qu Tai scoffed, shooting Xia Hang a mocking look. "Don't tell me, Brother Xia, you actually think Su Ba is the next Qin Jiuyue? Gonna break six incense sticks?"
"Uh…" Xia Hang hesitated when she was mentioned, falling silent.
Hmph.
Qu Tai snorted coldly. Seeing Xia Hang quiet, he took the chance to plant his flag. "I'll tell you now — Su Ba won't last more than a dozen breaths longer! If I'm wrong, I'll walk on my hands around the hall!"
"Er, Elder Qu, maybe don't go that far…" some examiners advised.
"No worries. I believe in my judgment!" Qu Tai declared boldly.
But what happened next taught Qu Tai a painful truth—
Flags should not be casually raised.
Three breaths passed… Su Ba was still in the illusion.
Qu Tai's face remained stiff.
Five breaths… Su Ba still hadn't come out.
Qu Tai forced a smile.
Ten breaths… still no sign of Su Ba.
Now Qu Tai was starting to sweat.
Ten-plus breaths… Half an incense… a full incense!
Su Ba stayed in the illusion for an entire incense stick plus ten more breaths!
Inside one of Yunmeng Martial Academy's side halls—
The atmosphere fell eerily silent.
All the examiners stared wide-eyed at the screen, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Even Xia Hang was stunned.
Five incense sticks, plus an extra incense and ten breaths…
Over six incense sticks!
"Impossible…" Qu Tai murmured, dumbfounded.
Everyone knew—
In nearly the past ten years of advancement trials, the best record had been held by none other than the current core disciple, Qin Jiuyue.
She had managed to last exactly six incense sticks — a feat that had shocked all the elders of Yunmeng Martial Academy at the time.
Apart from her, no one else had ever reached that mark. Most others topped out at five.
Now, Qin Jiuyue might not yet be the strongest among the core disciples, but she was certainly the youngest and the most gifted.
At just nineteen, she had already stepped into the seven-star master realm.
Her status was even higher than that of many Academy elders. She was a once-in-a-generation genius.
It was no secret that in a year or two, the position of top core disciple — currently held by Bu Biao — would likely become hers.
And now—
The record this monster-level genius had just set a year ago… had already been broken.
"Incredible…"
After a long silence, many of the examiners finally snapped out of their daze, their voices filled with awe.
Xia Hang, on the other hand, burst into raucous laughter, elated.
"Hahaha! I knew I wasn't wrong about him! Su Ba, that brat, really pulled through! He actually broke Qin Jiuyue's record — absolutely amazing!"
"Congratulations, Brother Xia! I'm sure Su Ba's results will reach the inner court elders — maybe even the Academy Lord himself!"
"Yes, Brother Xia, you'll have to treat us to a big meal when that happens!"
The surrounding recruitment officers all wore sour expressions despite their teasing.
"Haha, no problem at all!"
Xia Hang agreed cheerfully.
Su Ba's record-breaking performance would earn him generous rewards from the Academy — treating these guys to a meal was nothing.
"Brother Qu, you'll come too, won't you?"
Xia Hang turned with a smile to the stiff-faced Qu Tai.
"Hmph, you all go ahead. I've got something else to do."
Qu Tai waved a hand darkly and left, his back stiff with frustration.
Xia Han smiled victoriously, then shouted after him:
"Don't forget, Brother Qu — you owe us a handstand walk!"
Bang!
Somewhere outside, a loud crashing sound echoed…
…
At the same time.
In a quaint courtyard within Yunmeng Martial Academy—
A serene, delicate young woman was crouched down, playing with a snowy-white pup.
Just then—
A sound transmission talisman lit up before her.
Upon hearing its contents, Qin Jiuyue's gorgeous face froze in surprise.
The message informed her that the record she'd held for one year had just been broken — by Su Ba.
"Six incense sticks plus ten breaths… That guy… really something."
She muttered with a slight pout, but her bright eyes shimmered faintly with interest.
…
The advancement trial came to an end.
In the end, only a little over one hundred students passed — nearly seventy percent were eliminated.
You had to remember — everyone here had already been handpicked from top academies across the nation. Even so, the majority had failed.
It was clear — Yunmeng Martial Academy only walked the elite path.
Those eliminated left with drooped heads, off to seek other martial academies.
Those who remained, however, were full of smiles.
But when word spread that someone had lasted over six incense sticks in the illusion, everyone cried out in disbelief.
Their gazes toward Su Ba instantly changed.
Xia Hang came forward and distributed identity tokens and jade slips to the students who passed.
The white token marked them as outer court disciples of Yunmeng.
The jade slip contained the academy's rules, rankings, resource allocations, and reward structures.
When Xia Hang handed Su Ba his token and jade slip, he paused for a moment. His previously cold face melted into a bright grin as he clapped Su Ba on the shoulder.
"Well done, kid. That was amazing!"
"Just doing my part," Su Ba replied with a faint smile, accepting the token and jade slip.
Seeing Xia Hang's joyful expression, he figured his performance had earned the man some face—and probably quite a few rewards too.
After handing everything out, Xia Hang gave the new disciples a final glance and said,
"One month from now is the Outer Court Cultivation Tower Ranking Battle. Let's see if any of you can make a name for yourselves. The better your rank, the more resources you'll receive—so do your best."
With that, he turned and walked off.
The new Yunmeng disciples glanced at one another and began heading toward their assigned quarters, guided by the jade slip's information.
"Ranking battle, huh…"
Su Ba muttered, his eyes glinting with anticipation. He turned to leave.
But before he could take more than a few steps—
He suddenly felt a sharp, oppressive gaze lock onto him.
Su Ba's heart tensed slightly as he stopped and looked up.
Not far away, a handsome young man in white slowly approached him, smiling coldly.
"Well, well, you must be Su Ba — this year's advancement trial champion, right? I heard you even broke the record. How impressive."
Though the words sounded polite, the tone was sharp — like a drawn blade.
This man was not here to make friends.