“This is… Jia class talent!” (Equivalent to A)

“My gosh! How many students of Jia class talent has our academy had since its founding?”

“It isn’t just our academy. Jia class talent is rare and invaluable across the whole country!”

… 

Those gathered around the testing area were astonished. Even the teacher who had conducted the test saw him in a new and positive light. With a warm smile, he began asking Hong Xingying for his personal details.

This was simply what reality was like. For someone who was sufficiently strong, a minor flaw meant nothing.

Not to mention, there was no evidence to back up Zu An’s allegations. The truth could have been something very different.

Hong Xingying walked down the stairs with a gleeful smile on his face, basking in the limelight. It felt like eating a chilled watermelon on the hottest day of summer. At the same time, he felt a twinge of regret. If only he had known it would be like this, he would never have wasted his time serving humbly in the Chu Estate.

No matter how well I do, the First Miss thinks of me as nothing more than a servant. If only I had entered the academy a little earlier! I might have become of equal standing with the First Miss by now.

Such thoughts only made him feel greater rage toward the fellow who had conveniently benefitted from his mistake. He walked up to Zu An and said coldly, “Do you finally understand the difference between the two of us?”

You have successfully trolled Hong Xingying for 66 Rage points!

Zu An was a little perplexed. Shouldn’t Hong Xingying be feeling fulfilled and overjoyed right now? Why is he still contributing Rage points? Could it be that he’s suffering from a hormonal imbalance or something?

“Next, Zu An!”

Upon hearing the teacher’s call, Zu An stepped forward. The teacher pushed the crystal ball to him with a frigid expression. “A man should rely on his own strength to defeat his opponent. Stooping to make petty reports is truly unbecoming.”

“Who is the strongest person in your academy?” Zu An asked calmly.

The teacher was taken aback by the question. “It’s the principal, of course.”

“If the principal were to slap you for no reason one day, how will you respond to it?”

“I…” The teacher was at a loss for words. “The principal would never do something like that. Even if such a thing happens, I believe that there would be a deeper reason behind the principal’s actions.”

Zu An smiled wryly in response. “If I were you, I would report it to his superior. I don’t know how you can criticize others when you don’t even have the courage to make such reports!”

You have successfully trolled Ni Dian for 233 Rage points!

“Calm down, calm down.” The teacher beside him tried his best not to laugh as he pulled his fuming colleague aside. He cleared his throat, then turned to Zu An. “Let’s get straight to the test, all right?”

Now that he could examine the crystal ball close-up, Zu An noticed a few nearly indiscernible lines on its surface. It was most likely a formation of some kind. He pricked his finger and squeezed a droplet of blood onto the crystal ball. 

“What aptitude could that fellow possibly have?” Hong Xingying sneered coldly, craning his neck to take a look.

There was a brilliant burst of light, as if the crystal ball had turned into the sun itself! Those who hadn’t been blinded by this would have been astounded to see that the light was still growing visibly brighter.

“What the hell! I’m turning blind!”

Similar cries echoed out from the onlookers as they covered their eyes in terror.

With a jarring sound, the crystal ball blew up. The blinding light faded, leaving behind glass fragments and a trail of smoke that rose slowly from the charred tabletop.

“W-what happened?”

“Is that… upper Jia class?” (Equivalent to A+)

“That’s impossible! Even a cultivator of upper Jia class talent couldn’t possibly destroy the crystal ball!”

“Then, is this the legendary transcendent class talent?”

“The transcendent class talent is just a rumor. No one has seen it for the past few centuries!”

… 

Walking along a street some distance away, a beautiful figure came to a halt. Her lips curled up into a graceful smile. “The son-in-law of the Chu clan sure is an interesting man.”

While the teachers of the academy huddled together, discussing the matter intently, Zu An walked over to Hong Xingying and said calmly, “Do you finally understand the difference between the two of us?”

You have successfully trolled Hong Xingying for 999 Rage points!

Hong Xingying felt his hands and feet turn icy-cold. His eyes reflected confusion, rage, and embarrassment all at once. He couldn’t understand how such a situation could have happened. It should have been his turn to shine and make a name for himself, but now he was a mere sidekick to the man he’d looked down upon all this while. Why is the world so unfair to me?!

Meanwhile, Zu An clasped his fist toward those around him and said, “Thanks for going easy on me.” He spoke as if they had held back during their own tests so as not to outdo him.

You have successfully trolled Wei Suo for 66 Rage points!

You have successfully trolled Ma Zhu for 66 Rage points!

You have successfully trolled… 

He looked at the stream of Rage points he had just earned. Attending the academy suddenly seemed like a decent idea. After all, he had such adorable classmates from whom he could milk Rage points whenever he needed to.

While Zu An gloated, a voice spoke up weakly, “Young master, weren’t you only at lower Ding the last time Master tested your aptitude?”

Zu An turned, and saw Cheng Shouping staring at him with eyes full of confusion.

How can anyone be so bad at reading the situation… Once again, Zu An found it miraculous that Cheng Shouping had managed to survive all this while.

Cheng Shouping’s revelation was a bright ray of hope piercing through Hong Xingying’s despair. He burst into laughter. “I remember now, I remember now! He has been through the aptitude test before, and he’s only at lower Ding class…”

He exposed Zu An’s identity, and the notorious reputation he had in Brightmoon city. 

“He’s the young master of the Chu clan?”

“What young master? He’s just a drafted son-in-law!”

“How in the world did someone like him catch the eye of the First Miss of the Chu clan?”

“Perhaps he might have some exceptional strengths?”

… 

The male students smiled crudely at each other, a knowing glint in their eyes.

The other female students whispered to each other excitedly.

“That man is quite the looker. He isn’t as bad as the rumors put him out to be.”

“You don’t say! How else could he have caught Chu Chuyan’s eye otherwise?”

“Heh. No matter how capable Chu Chuyan is, she still ended up marrying such a useless husband.”

“Hehehe…”

The teachers who were managing the aptitude test were familiar with the rumors surrounding the drafted son-in-law of the Chu clan. The teacher known as Ni Dian scoffed disdainfully. “I knew it! The crystal ball must have been faulty. Since the Brightmoon Duke has tested this rascal himself, there can’t be any mistake. Zu An, lower Ding, Yellow class!”

The academy was divided into three grades, and each grade was further divided into four different classes, namely Yellow, Black, Earth, and Sky. Those of Hong Xingying’s talent were bound to be allocated to the Sky class, and so too was the student with upper Yi class talent. As for Wei Suo, his Ding class talent would likely see him allocated to the Yellow class, just like Zu An.

Another teacher was to protest this decision when his ears suddenly pricked up. Far beyond the gathered crowd, in the forested grounds of the academy, a beautiful figure had caught his attention. He gazed at her for a moment, then chose to hold his tongue. With that, the matter was decided.

Zu An had all but given up on his plan to maintain a low profile and survive. However, his frustration slowly dissipated as those around him slowly came to the conclusion that he was indeed of poor talent, despite what the most recent test had revealed. Naturally, he welcomed such a misunderstanding, and did not argue.

Hong Xingying walked up to Zu An and snorted derisively. “A crow is, in the end, just a crow. No matter how desperately it flaps its wings in an attempt to scale higher, it’ll never morph into a phoenix.” With that declaration, he left. It was almost as if continuing to speak with Zu An would besmirch his honor. 

Zu An, still celebrating that one of his worries had been resolved, chose to let Hong Xingying have the last word for now. He turned to Cheng Shouping, “I’ll be entering the academy now. You can return to the estate on your own.”

“Young master, did I say something wrong?” Cheng Shouping asked with a quaver in his voice.

Zu An patted his shoulder lightly and smiled. “Not at all. You did well.”

A brilliant smile broke out on Cheng Shouping’s face. “Young master, you’re the best to me!”

Zu An immediately pushed him away. “Hey, speak properly. I forbid you from speaking in such an effeminate manner in the future!”

A staff member walked over and led them into the academy. Along the way, the staff member provided them with a reminder. “There are activated formations around the perimeter of the academy. Their main purpose is to guard against intruders, but it would be best if you did not wander around. Accidentally triggering them could be dangerous.”

Those words alarmed Zu An. He had been extremely fortunate not to have wandered into one of them and triggered it the day before. However, he was a little curious as to how formations in this world looked like. Could they be similar to the formations that Huang Yaoshi set up on the Peach Blossom Island?[1]

“How dangerous are these formations?” Zu An was curious to know.

“You’ll find out in the future,” the staff member replied with a smile that could almost be described as dark. He looked as though he had read Zu An’s mind.

As they continued on, they passed by an empty field that resembled a schoolyard from his previous life. Curiously, there was a group of youths squatting right in the middle of the field.

“Squat properly! Let’s see if you dare arrive late again in the future!” A middle-aged man glared at the bunch of youths, a ruler in hand.

The middle-aged man had a bald patch in the middle of his head, but he had combed his hair across it aggressively to try to cover it up. It was a feeble attempt, as he had very little hair on both sides, and the few miserable strands did little to cover up the big, shiny spot. 

The man seemed to sense Zu An’s intent gaze, and whipped around to glare at him. “What are you looking at?!”

Oh my, what fiery temper!

Zu An wasn’t the type to take such provocation lying down. He loaded up a retort and was just about to fire away when the young man named Wei Suo tugged on his sleeves urgently. “You mustn’t offend him!”

Surprised, Zu An turned to look at Wei Suo. “Why? Is he a formidable figure?”

Wei Suo lowered his voice. “He’s the discipline master of our academy, Lu De, nicknamed Baldhead. He’s known for being extremely strict with students. Do you see the ruler he’s using to beat the students?”

“I see it.” As Zu An looked on, one of the students in the field was struck by the ruler wielded by the middle-aged man, and wailed in pain.

“The word ‘Virtue’ is inscribed on the ruler. Every time he teaches the students a lesson, he claims that he’s using ‘Virtue’ to win over the students. It’s said that getting hit by that ruler is even more excruciating than being struck by the Wailing Whip, the weapon of the Second Miss of the Chu clan. He’s not like the teachers we met earlier on; he wields great authority in this academy. It’s best for you not to provoke him,” warned Wei Suo.

“What era are we in? Is physical punishment still in fashion?” Zu An retorted. “Is no one going to stop him?”

“Shhh, don’t speak so loud!” Wei Suo rushed over anxiously to cover Zu An’s mouth. “In the academy, he’s the one who boasts the greatest authority after the principal. Furthermore, he’s a sixth rank cultivator. Who would dare to butt into his affairs? Besides, there are plenty of arrogant students in this academy who like to cause trouble, and the academy needs someone like him to keep them in line. Because of this, his superiors implicitly approve of his behavior.”

Zu An nodded as Wei Suo’s explanation sank in. Curious, he asked, “Aren’t you a new student in the academy as well? Why are you so familiar with all this? For you to even know about my sister-in-law’s Wailing Whip…”

“Of course, I did my homework before coming here!” Wei Suo replied proudly. He thought that he saw respect in Zu An’s eyes, and that spurred his desire to show off. He nudged Zu An’s shoulder. With a conspiratorial smile, he said, “Have you heard of the Ten Great Beauties of our academy’s Sweetheart Ranking?”

1. This is a reference to the Legend of the Condor Heroes and Return of the Condor Heroes.