The sun shone brilliantly above the sky.

As the first candidate who made a move, Li Yuanzhen was applauded by the crowd alongside the imperial pathway. He was the first rock that made a splash in the otherwise quiet lake.

The payout for betting on Li Yuanzhen was not that high as many people were confident he would be the grand champion.

He had an outstanding background: the best student of the Imperial Academya rank higher than Jiang Linglong, the right administrator's son, the best spell master in this Imperial Examination

His payout was not high, but with his exceptional qualities, those who bet on him would not lose much. He was like a sprouting leafling that would eventually grow into a giant tree, everyone knew that.

Therefore, there were roaring cheers from all directions.

Fang Lang and Liu Bubai who went in right after him were ignored.

Fang Lang had a bit of fame as he came first in the combat and theory assessments. However, the leverage was too high. No one wanted to bet on him, thus he was not their main focus.

No one recognized Liu Bubai, who was beside Fang Lang.

The tumultuous crowd fell silent the moment the green-robed boy withdrew the sword effortlessly from the forest of swords as though he was picking a leaf.

The young man emerged from the sword forest casually. He had solved the test set by Chao Xiaojian from the Sword Guild effortlessly.

Li Yuanzhen was still struggling with the sword.

A pin-drop silence filled the entire square.

Liu Bubai also grabbed a sword. He felt a weight against his body when the sword intent charged towards him. The core in his energy center paused as if it was blocked by something!

Liu Bubai's face paled!

'This seems rather difficult.'

Was he so useless that he could only depend on others to win?

'No!'

Liu Bubai felt a surge of anger rising in him.

The spark in him was able to scorch grass plains!

'I need to overcome this!'

Finally, he felt the sword intent weaken as if it was bitten by something. Liu Bubai took this window of opportunity to work the core in his energy center.

He managed to suppress the weakened sword intent!

Liu Bubai opened his eyes and was met with the forest of swords. He grabbed the sword with his chin held high and walked out confidently, following closely behind Fang Lang!

The crowd's attention shifted from Li Yuanzhen to both of them.

Li Yuanzhen was still frowning, trying his best to suppress Chao Xiaojian's sword intent.

The other two boys had cracked it.

That

That was all?

That was what the best spell master in this cohort could do?

What a letdown.

The officials and great cultivators from different sects frowned at his performance. However, it was excusable when they considered the fact that Li Yuanzhen was a naturally gifted spell master and rarely dabbled in sword mastery.

The civilians and gamblers did not make such a connection and started sighing. Some of them even pounded their own chests and almost cried out loud.

They made the wrong bet.

On the imperial pathway, Chao Xiaojian's expression froze as he watched Fang Lang walk through the forest of swords casually with Liu Bubai close behind.

Chao Xiaojian was baffled.

He did not set this test lightly. He would not dare to do so under the watchful gaze of the Emperor.

In the end, Fang Lang solved his test without any hesitation. His test was like a thin membrane was easily popped by Fang Lang with an awl.

Fang Lang walked on the white jade tiles on the imperial pathway calmly under the bright sun.

The vibration stopped abruptly when Li Yuanzhen successfully held the sword after suppressing the sword intent.

The corner of his lips curved slightly, thinking that Chao Xiaojian's sword intent was nothing great after all.

He raised his head to look ahead, thinking of leaving the forest of swords. His footsteps faltered midway.

Liu Bubai was standing further ahead with his chin held high. The boy turned around and glanced at Li Yuanzhen like a proud swan.

Li Yuanzhen was triggered by his arrogant gaze.

Even though Liu Bubai did not utter a word, his smugness irked Li Yuanzhen.

'I can accept that Fang Lang managed to overcome the sword intent quickly but who the hell is this guy? How did he manage to surpass me?'

In the preparation area, Jiang Linglong gasped lightly under her veil, "Ah."

Then, she started walking to the first obstacle set by Chao Xiaojian. Others followed suit and walked towards the forest of swords.

Ximen Xianxian opened his paper fan with a flick and entered the sword forest.

Lu Ze who was beside Ximen Xianxian muttered, "Playboy," before entering the sword forest together with a chuckling Wei Sheng.

The students started battling the sword intent with their eyes closed, similar to what Li Yuanzhen had gone through.

No one managed to fight the sword intent and grab a sword as effortlessly as Fang Lang.

Chao Xiaojian let out a sigh of relief.

It was not his problem but Fang Lang's.

After some time, there were several students in the sword forest who managed to control the sword intent and drew a sword to continue on to the next stage.

Some of the students were pale-faced, coughing up blood as they collapsed in regret. Those were the ones who failed the first test.

There were three figures on the imperial pathway.

Fang Lang and Liu Bubai walked alongside each other while Li Yuanzhen was a step behind them.

The polite smile on his face was somewhat awkward.

Li Yuanzhen stared at Fang Lang's back and wondered, 'This is the young man who single-handedly fought against a few dozen students from Changan Academy and the Imperial Academy in the demon portal's hunting grounds? Even the third prince'

Li Yuanzhen's eyes sparkled and a grin spread across his face. 'Sword mastery is not my forte. I'll definitely outclass you in the following tests.'

Li Yuanzhen was very confident but unlike Liu Bubai, he was more reserved.

His father, Li Puyi, was a supporter of the third prince while Fang Lang had support from the Jiang family. He could not afford to lose, not only that, he needed to defeat and crush Fang Lang like the ants beneath his feet.

The smile on Li Yuanzhen's face widened as he thought of this.

The tension surrounding the three candidates thickened.

The imperial pathway was like a river and Li Yuanzhen and Fang Lang were competing to cross it.

After the Sword Guild was the Sky Cloud Sect, which ranked ninth among the sects of the Tang Dynasty. This sect was founded by a flight sword master. Their test included high-difficulty maneuvering and flight sword techniques. The three candidates passed the test swiftly as it was not too challenging.

The eighth sect was the Four Rings Tower, a sect with similar expertise to the Sky Cloud Sect. Hence, their test was more or less the same.

Medicine Valleyknown for alchemywas ranked seventh. The alchemists had eccentric personalities, thus their test was rather weird. The three of them swallowed the pills given by the alchemists and managed to control the after-effects. After a round of cold sweat, Fang Lang and Li Yuanzhen emerged unaffected but Liu Bubai followed them with much difficulty.

Finally, they reached the sixth sect. After this round, they would be qualified to compete in the second segment of the final battle.

Therefore, this test was crucial!

Fang Lang was very familiar with this sect as he frequently visited their storethe Jade Pavilion.

The sect leader of the Jade Pavilion was an alluring beauty with a jaw-dropping figure. She wore a skin-tight long dress with a split that ran up her thigh. The fair skin of her thighs was elusive underneath the sheer fabric, indulging others in their wildest dreams. Most men would flush red in her presence.

Fang Lang was reminded of Manager Yu from the Jade Pavilion.

When the sect leader saw Fang Lang, Liu Bubai and Li Yuanzhen arrive, she raised her hand with a beguiling smile. There was an intricate silver space ring on her delicate fingers.

"The Jade Pavilion's quest is not difficult either."

After that, she removed her ring and waved gently in the air.

Suddenly, the ring started duplicating and growing. The rings spun continuously, finally turning into two identical doors that were several meters apart.

"If you can walk from end to end you will pass the test," the woman said with a chuckle as she pointed with her slender fingers.

On top of the tower, the first prince had his eyes fixated on the imperial pathway. Lu Taixuan, Li Puyi and the other officials were seated not too far away from him.

"The Jade Pavilion's specialty is space manipulation. This test is rooted in that fundamental skill," an official stated.

The others around him nodded in agreement.

"Space manipulation falls under the category of spells. Yuanzhen is Administrator Li's son and ranked first in spell mastery for this Imperial Examination. He will definitely ace this test."

"Right, sword mastery is not Yuanzhen's forte, but he's the best in spell mastery."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the apple tree, don't you worry, Administrator Li," one of the officials told Administrator Li with a respectful smile. They had high hopes for Li Yuanzhen.

Li Puyi nodded lightly with a polite smile as he responded.

Lu Taixuan scoffed before dozing off again. He felt drowsy without liquor in his blood.

Changan City was no longer covered in the misty rain.

The Vermillion Street glittered brightly under the brilliant sun rays.

Yu Xiao wore a modest long robe that was the uniform of the Jade Pavilion. She strolled through the street and headed in the direction of the palace.

She came all the way from Luojiang City for one person.

Ever since she saw Fang Lang's improved flight sword rune in the recall spell, Manager Yu had been finding an opportunity to speak to Fang Lang about it.

Initially, she wanted to contact Fang Lang after he had completed the theory and combat assessments. However, when she visited the Fang Manor after the exams, Fang Beihe informed her that his son had left for Changan to undergo intensive training for the final section.

She panicked after hearing that. The greatest cultivators would be gathering in Changan to watch the final battle of the Imperial Examination, including those from the Four Rings Tower and the Sky Cloud Sect who were experts in flight swords.

If the Four Rings Tower got their hands on Fang Lang first, the Jade Pavilion would have no hope of advancing their flight sword division!

Therefore, she came to Changan City for this sole purpose.

Yu Xiao squeezed through the crowded Vermillion Bird Gate and tiptoed to get a better view of the imperial pathway.

Space manipulation?

Fang Lang's heart sank when he saw the space ring transformed into two doors. He was not very confident in spell mastery. After all, his spiritual sense was only enhanced due to the destruction of the Tang Code's red arrow. The sudden improvement made his spiritual sense too irritable and difficult to control.

He hesitated for a moment and did not enter the test immediately.

Li Yuanzhen also remained rooted in front of the door. His spiritual sense started peeking out like a snake. It entered the door and explored the surroundings.

A crowd started gathering behind the trio, including Jiang Linglong, Lu Ze, Ximen Xianxian, Ni Wen

They seemed to have all returned to the same starting line.

'On the surface, it seems as if they are testing us on space manipulation, but it all depends on the strength and depth of one's spiritual sense.'

Li Yuanzhen retrieved his spiritual sense and smiled softly.

After the door was a maze created by space manipulation. They needed to go through the maze and reach the other door at the end.

In comparison to Chao Xiaojian's test, Li Yuanzhen had more confidence in this.

Space manipulation was part of the curriculum in spell mastery.

This was what he did best.

'I might be lacking in sword mastery, but in spell mastery, I'm ten times better than Fang Lang. Maybe even more"

Li Yuanzhen glanced briefly at a frowning Fang Lang. He smiled politely and waved his sleeve confidently before entering the door.

He disappeared into the mist.

Fang Lang remained grounded, Liu Bubai too.

Liu Bubai looked terrible. He was purely a sword master and wanting him to break a spell was simply too much.

Jiang Linglong, Wei Sheng, Ximen Xianxian and the others followed suit. They glanced at Fang Lang and Liu Bubai shortly before entering the space.

After a long while, Fang Lang clenched his jaws and decided to give it his all!

Fang Lang and Liu Bubai entered one after another. Both of them vanished into thin air once they entered the magic realm created by the space ring.

They were engulfed by a grey, misty void.

Fang Lang was also aware that this was a test of their spiritual sense strength. They would need to find their way out by using their spiritual sense.

He walked for quite some time with the guidance of his spiritual sense. However, he took a wrong turn and found himself back where he started.

Fang Lang frowned. If he continued to use his spiritual sense to find his way, he would be able to walk out of this contraption. It was just a matter of time.

However, that would take ages. He might lose his qualification for the second segment of the final section if he spent too much time inside the maze.

"This leaves me with no choice" Fang Lang took a deep breath.

"If I can't do it by the books. I need to think out of the box! Either way the only thing that matters is that I make it out of here!

"Spell: Spirit Awl!"

'Ding! Spell usage activates the equipped Instant Casting Staff.'

The System notification came up.

Without the help of a seal, spiritual sense merged into a triangular awl that was aimed at the walls obstructing Fang Lang.

"Spirit Awl! Spirit Awl!"

Fang Lang's eyes glimmered while he continued to cast the spell. It managed to drill big holes through the walls ahead of him. The holes were slowly mending themselves.

Nevertheless, it was sufficient.

Fang Lang followed the holes and continued to clear his path with the Spirit Awl aided by the Instant Casting Staff.

This was basic knowledge.

Displacement is the shortest distance between two points!

The winding path was just too time-consuming. It was better to dig his way through!

Li Yuanzhen closed his eyes, his robe billowing in the air as he breezed through the maze.

His spiritual sense flowed out fiercely to help him scout the right path.

Space manipulation was a complicated spell but he had toyed with it since young and grew tired of the art after the age of ten.

The spiritual sense would guide him to the best path.

Soon, his spiritual sense felt a ray of light from the exit!

As expected, this maze was too easy for him.

He must be the first candidate to exit the maze.

No one could compete with him.

Not Jiang Linglong, not Ximen Xianxian.

Not even Fang Lang.

Li Yuanzhen walked towards the exit with confidence.

Suddenly, his footsteps halted.

A strong wave of spiritual sense exploded near the exit and a huge hole appeared.

Fang Lang emerged from it and stepped out of the exit, greeting the glorious sun.

Li Yuanzhen stood there in shock as he watched Fang Lang rob him of his first place.

He raised his hand to cover his chest.

Li Yuanzhen was heartbroken.