Qin Yang and his two companions took a moment to regroup. As they hunted demonic beasts, they also began searching for spirit medicines.
"Even with plenty of spirit medicines available, it's rare to encounter something as precious as the Blood Spirit Fruit," Jin Wanshan remarked, smacking his lips. Thanks to those Blood Spirit Fruits, he and Lou Mengyu had broken through to the Qi Sea Realm within just two days.
Now all three of them had reached the Qi Sea Realm. In this assessment area, they could practically walk around with impunity, completely unchallenged.
Their scores had steadily climbed into the top three. While the rankings themselves offered no rewards, only the top hundred had a chance to enter the Celestial Academy.
Qin Yang was deeply dissatisfied with this. If it weren't for his bet with Nangong Ling over first place, he wouldn't even bother hunting demonic beasts anymore.
"You're Qin Yang, Lou Mengyu, and Jin Wanshan—the top three scorers, right?"
Suddenly, a group of people charged out, surrounding Qin Yang and his companions in the forest.
A dozen young cultivators eyed them with hostile expressions.
Qin Yang and his companions returned the scrutiny, equally confused.
"What's the meaning of this?" Qin Yang demanded.
The leader, a suave man in blue robes, spoke with arrogant superiority: "Explain yourselves. How did you cheat?"
"Cheat?" Qin Yang echoed, genuinely perplexed.
The blue-robed youth sneered, "With just the three of you, how could you possibly hunt so many beasts without cheating?"
Jin Wanshan, having recently broken through to a new cultivation realm, was brimming with confidence. Seeing that the highest cultivation level among his opponents was merely late Qi Gathering Realm, he laughed derisively. "You're all trash! You don't understand the world of true geniuses!"
The blue-robed youth's eyes flashed dangerously. "Do you know who I am? How dare you call me trash?"
"Who the hell are you?" Jin Wanshan didn't mince words, rolling up his sleeves as if preparing for a fight.
The youth remained silent, but his sidekick eagerly piped up, "My brother is Li Mingyang, heir to the Li Family of Central Province! Do you know the Li Family? We're affiliated with the Gongsun Clan of the Eight Divine Clans!"
Qin Yang and his companions exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.
In terms of both cultivation strength and family background, these two groups existed in entirely different worlds.
Li Mingyang's face darkened. These three fools weren't even intimidated by his family's name?
"Are you two trying to keep a low profile?" Qin Yang asked. "Why don't they recognize you?"
Jin Wanshan shrugged. "We haven't even gone to Celestial Academy yet. What reputation could we possibly have? Even members of the Divine Clans might not know each other's names."
"You're blocking our path. What do you want? Are you going to accuse us of cheating with such righteous words?" Qin Yang asked.
Li Mingyang snorted. "You three don't look particularly strong. If you reveal your cheating methods, I won't report you."
So they wanted to cheat too!
"Report? What's the point in reporting?" Qin Yang shook his head lightly, smiling. "Go ahead if you want. Do as you please."
"You? You're not afraid?" Li Mingyang narrowed his eyes, threatening, "With my status, I can make you three unlivable at Celestial Academy!"
"Done talking? Move aside. Don't just say it yourself—have your master Gongsun Ming come here. Let's see if he dares to fart in front of me." Qin Yang pursed his lips, waving impatiently.
The mention of Gongsun Ming froze Li Mingyang.
Li Mingyang studied the trio uncertainly. Noticing Lou Mengyu, he guessed, "Could this be someone from the Lou family?"
A sidekick chimed in, "The Lou family did send two candidates for the Celestial Academy assessment—one is the direct descendant Lou Qinru, and the other might be this Lou Mengyu."
Having learned Lou Mengyu's identity, Li Mingyang's attitude turned ambiguous. He chuckled mockingly, "Oh, so you're that Lou Mengyu."
Moving closer, Li Mingyang glanced at Qin Yang and Jin Wanshan. "As a side-branch member of the Lou family, how dare you associate with two men like this? Have you forgotten your status?"
His eyes raked over Lou Mengyu without restraint. "Not bad looking," he said. "Why not come with me? The Li Family may not match the Divine Clan's prestige, but I, Li Mingyang, am worthy of you. Stay by my side, and I'll give you a life of luxury."
Killing intent flickered in Qin Yang's eyes. On the other side, Lou Mengyu's figure blurred as she lunged forward.
Slap!
A crimson imprint bloomed across Li Mingyang's face.
"You... you dare strike me?" Li Mingyang stammered, hand flying to his cheek in disbelief.
Qin Yang frowned. "Lou Mengyu, aren't you afraid to sully your hands?" He swiftly took her hand, producing a handkerchief to wipe it clean.
"How could such delicate hands touch such filth?" Qin Yang's expression turned pained. "Isn't it disgusting?"
Lou Mengyu's lips curved into a smile. "It is rather disgusting."
Their shameless behavior made Li Mingyang even more embarrassed. He roared, "My men, attack! Destroy the men, keep the women!"
"But..." his subordinates hesitated, not daring to move. These three were ranked in the top three after all. What if they truly had the skills...
"What are you afraid of? Their rankings shot up overnight, even surpassing Nangong Ling's! There must be foul play! If they were truly skilled, why would they resort to cheating to boost their scores?" Li Mingyang shouted.
His words made sense, and the subordinates immediately felt convinced.
Jin Wanshan clenched his fists tightly. He'd long despised these people. They lacked real skill yet insisted on claiming anyone stronger than them was cheating. Moreover...
How dare an affiliated family of the Gongsun Clan act so arrogantly?
"It seems you really don't know your place!"
Jin Wanshan moved like a tiger among sheep. In moments, he had everyone on the ground with three punches and two kicks. Only Li Mingyang remained standing, frozen in shock.
They were... truly this powerful!
"You useless fools! Can't even handle a single fat bastard!" Li Mingyang roared, quickly blaming his lackeys for the one-sided fight.
Just then, movement came from nearby. Two cultivators appeared, apparently chasing a beast.
"Gongsun Ming! Stop that treasure rat!" Gongsun Ming shouted.
Lou Qinru's voice followed immediately: "Capture that treasure rat! There'll be a heavy reward!"
Li Mingyang paid no attention to the treasure rat. Seeing Gongsun Ming like a savior, he shouted: "You're here just in time! These three are mocking you, saying you wouldn't dare fart in front of them!"
"Who dares speak such nonsense?" Gongsun Ming roared in anger, but his focus remained on capturing the treasure rat.
Capture that treasure rat, and they'd have everything - rare treasures, hidden spirit medicines, all manner of secrets!
His eyes fixed on the snow-white treasure rat, suddenly a person appeared beside it. For some reason, the treasure rat trembled violently and stopped fleeing!
Qin Yang bent down as if picking up an object, grasping the treasure rat by its tail and examining it with suspicion.
The Dragon Jade had merely released a wisp of its aura, yet this low-level demonic beast remained frozen in terror, its small eyes brimming with fear as it hung upside down.
"It's them!" Li Mingyang shouted, pointing at Qin Yang's group. "Those three!"
"You bastards! How dare you steal my..." Gongsun Ming's words cut off abruptly as he recognized Qin Yang's trio.
Seeing Qin Yang had captured his long-pursued target, Gongsun Ming felt as if an invisible hand had clamped around his throat, silencing him completely.
Li Mingyang burst into laughter. "Qin Yang? And that fat slob Jin Wanshan? Now that our boss is here, you gonna repeat those words?"
Gongsun Ming's face darkened, his hands itching to throttle Li Mingyang. Using my name to bully others? You don't even know who you're dealing with!
If there was any freshman in this cohort who hadn't suspected Qin Yang's trio of cheating, it was undoubtedly Gongsun Ming!
After all, Qin Yang was a man capable of taking down Zongshi Realm cultivators...