It was Qin Chen's turn to take the stage.
Lin Tian and Zhang Ying cheered, "Young Master Chen, you've got this! Let's make it to the martial trials together!"
Qin Chen gave a faint smile.
Whoosh!
He stepped lightly onto the stage, joining the twenty others, his expression calm.
Gripping the fifty-stone bow, Qin Chen nocked an arrow and drew it with ease, the bow bending into a half-moon shape.
"Haha, just a half-moon? A failure's still a failure."
"That kind of draw won't pass the assessment."
"Hey, don't be so sure. Maybe he's doing it on purpose, scared of passing and facing us in the next round."
"Makes sense. What a coward."
Qin Fen and his cronies jeered loudly, their mockery unrestrained.
Elsewhere, Li Qingfeng raised an eyebrow. "Wei Zhen, this is the guy you want me to deal with?"
"Qin Chen's strength is definitely more than this," Wei Zhen said, frowning as he studied Qin Chen.
He knew Qin Chen's capabilities far exceeded this feeble display. There was no way he couldn't fully draw a fifty-stone bow.
Is he genuinely afraid of Qin Fen and trying to fail the first round?
As doubts swirled, Qin Chen acted.
Twang!
He released the bowstring, sending the iron arrow soaring.
The black arrow flashed like lightning.
Thud!
To everyone's astonishment, the arrow, drawn only to a half-moon, struck the target's center. A third of its head embedded into the steel, holding fast.
Qin Chen lowered the bow and returned to his group, unfazed.
"What the—Qin Chen's luck is insane! It hit dead center, with just a third embedded. Any less, and it would've fallen!"
"A half-moon draw passed the assessment? How…?"
"What's going on? I drew a full moon, and my arrow still fell off. Qin Chen's half-moon shot stuck?"
"His luck's so good it's infuriating. This isn't fair!"
The students erupted in frustrated complaints. Many who'd drawn full moons had failed, their arrows slipping from the target. Yet Qin Chen's half-moon shot had succeeded, leaving them seething.
"Such exquisite control. This boy's no ordinary talent," Lord Xiao Zhan said from the platform, his previously casual demeanor sharpening. His piercing gaze flashed with intensity.
"Indeed," Dean Chu Weichen agreed, his own expression grave as he studied the target, growing more astonished the longer he looked.
"You saw it too?" Xiao Zhan asked, his voice low.
Chu Weichen nodded, shocked. "To embed a ten-pound iron arrow into a steel target typically requires five horsepower, meaning a full-moon draw. But Qin Chen's shot, with only thirty stone—three horsepower—hit the mark. The key was a rotational force he imparted to the arrow, doubling its penetration. Yet…"
He frowned. "At his age and cultivation, achieving this seems impossible. Could it have been a fluke?"
"If he did it intentionally, his mastery of force is staggering. Few peak Earth-level martial artists could match that precision," Xiao Zhan said.
"Intriguing. This gets more interesting by the moment." Xiao Zhan's lips curved into a smile. "His Majesty gave me a daunting task, and I was worried I'd fail. Now, it seems surprises are in store."
"You're not picking him already, are you?" Chu Weichen asked.
"Too early to say. Let's keep watching," Xiao Zhan replied with a chuckle.
Nearby, Prince Kang smiled. "Master Liang, Qin Chen's luck is remarkable."
Prince Kang, though a skilled expert, lacked the keen perception of Xiao Zhan and Chu Weichen to discern the subtleties.
"Not bad," Liang Yu said with a smile, though inwardly he scoffed. Luck, my foot.
Unlike the others, Liang Yu was certain Qin Chen's shot was deliberate. How he'd done it eluded even Liang Yu, but it didn't shake his conviction.
Qin Fen was the most thrilled. "Haha, perfect! Qin Chen passed the first round. In the next, I hope he faces me. I'll show him what regret feels like!" he roared inwardly, praying to encounter Qin Chen in the elimination battles.
Qin Chen's performance caused a brief stir but soon faded as the assessment continued.
Finally, Li Qingfeng took the stage.
Graceful and composed, he drew the bow to a full moon with minimal effort, the bow creaking as if straining under his power.
Whoosh!
The black iron arrow, imbued with terrifying force, pierced the five-centimeter-thick steel target, punching a hole through it. The arrow's momentum carried it beyond the plaza, only stopped when a mentor guarding the rear caught it, preventing injury to the crowd.
Li Qingfeng set down the bow and leapt lightly back to the platform.
Whoa!
The crowd gasped, awestruck. Piercing a five-centimeter steel target was unheard of.
"Earth Level. I heard Li Qingfeng's reached Earth Level."
"My heavens, doesn't that make him the exam's top contender?"
"Comparing people is maddening. We're all students—why's the gap so huge?"
Eyes on Li Qingfeng shifted, filled with awe. At Earth Level, he could graduate from Tianxing Academy. The final arena duels seemed a foregone conclusion—who could challenge him?
"Hmph, show-off," Qin Fen, Wei Zhen, and other senior students muttered, irked by Li Qingfeng's arrogance. They'd started on equal footing, but now he'd surpassed them, fueling their resentment.
"Not bad, this Li Qingfeng," Xiao Zhan said, nodding with a smile. A seventeen-year-old Earth Level martial artist was undeniably a prodigy.
The assessment pressed on.
When Zhao Lingshan took her shot, Xiao Zhan's eyes lit up. She didn't reveal her full strength, merely embedding the arrow in the target, but Xiao Zhan's sharp perception saw through her.
"Another Earth Level, and only sixteen! Haha, excellent!" Xiao Zhan's smile widened with excitement.
"Lord Xiao, that's Prince Kang's daughter. Her talent is exceptional, with a third-grade bloodline," Chu Weichen said, smiling.
"With talents like these, His Majesty's task is starting to look achievable," Xiao Zhan said, a weight lifting from his heart, his mood buoyant.