The Imperial God's Daughter

Chapter 8: The Heaven Dao Academy Examinations: The Last Hurdle

Startled, Ke YongAn stopped completely in place. As for the other examinees off the stage, there was regret, envy and anger. But there was no medicine in the world for defeat.

Du Jian, although extremely unsatisfied, still halted his move for Elder Rong. It showed how much The Heaven Dao Academy was worth.

After all, the Heaven Dao Academy was one of the great four powerhouses in the continent. These powerhouses appeared equal on the surface, but one was still unable to determine which one was the most powerful, as each had their secrets.

The four powerhouses in the Long continent was BrightSun Sect(YaoYanYang Sect), ShadowMoon Cult(YingYue cult), Holy Temple and The Heaven Dao Academy.

Many would die a thousand times over for a chance to enter on of these four.

Behind Elder Rong appeared two more elders of the Heaven Dao Academy, each of them with a smile of satisfaction toward the top 10, as each was a good seed to develop. That's when everyone realized Elder Rong was never alone in grading the examinees. It was just that no one noticed the two hidden observers.

Hovering in the air glowed the 10 last standing people, or, the top 10.

"10th is...Lui Bu, 6th rank!

In 9th is Mo FaGe, 6th rank.

8th is...."

Each name and place caused Ke YongAn to be nervous. Which number would she be placed in?

"And 7th is, Princess Huang Xing, 5th rank!"

The statement sent Ke YongAn into a stupor. She came in 7th!

7th!

Even with a cultivation base of 5th rank! A large grin spread from ear to ear. But then, she realized 200 pairs of eyes now rested on her.

Princess Huang Xing. The Princess Huang Xing.

Almost no one did not know her. The spoiled and arrogant princess that loves to fool around, but was also known as a cultivating genius, although they didn't know what her cultivation level was. Seeing that it was only 5th rank, many found it strange, but did not question it too much.

All except one.

There is more to this than meets the eye. The genius boy who had thought she had connections to Elder Rong. He had a deep background, but looked like an everyday passerby.

"6th place, Yu Xiu, 8th rank.

5th place, Hu Tian, 8th rank.

4th place..."

The people in the top 3 were the seedlings that mattered more to the academy.

"2nd place, Du Jian, 7th rank."

Ke YongAn was surprised at first at how highly Du Jian was graded. But then, he could probably fight against 9th rankers, so that's expected. Then Ke YongAn remembered his haughty attitude of "being number 1" and couldn't help but sneak a glance at his expression.

She suppressed her laughter at the lifeless plant that suddenly turned into a flaming ball before becoming extremely depressed.

"First place, Lan GuMi...9th rank."

The whole place went into an uproar. A 9th rank?! They were very uncommon. Even more uncommon than 8th ranks.

Ke YongAn did not miss the furrowed brows of all the elders, as though they were uncertain about something. She was curious, but could not figure out what was wrong. Her gaze instinctively landed on that genius that glared at her in the testing hall and could fight against several 8th ranks easily.

So he was a 9th rank...so powerful.

Then, Ke YongAn noticed something. Wasn't he also curiously looking over to her? No, no, not possible. Ke YongAn shook her head and turned away, back to the testing elders.

"Among the 190 of you, there is still the other 10 that can be accepted in our Heaven Dao Academy. If you can hold the pressure of my aura for long enough, you can pass." One of the elders spoke, coming forth and sweeping the 190 examinees to a distance away.

"As for the top 10, when you fall unconscious, you may begin. The time limit will be the time for an incense stick to burn. In that time, you will be presented with an picture. How much you can comprehend is up to you. This is just an extra test. If you are one of the top three, you shall be immediately promoted into the elite classes."

It was all of a sudden that the whole 10 people began to feel sleepy. Ke YongAn recognized that this scent was from the burning incense stick. She began to worriedly fantasize, so she forced herself to stay awake.

After a few long moments and she realized nothing happened, she too fell asleep in a sitting position.

Ke YongAn awoke and realized this was her sea of consciousness, the same one when she battled to take control over the body. This time however, there was another uninvited guest.

There was a painting of a life-like landscape. It was made of individual and twisting symbols, but together Ke YongAn just became increasingly confused.

What do they mean?

She stared blankly, as if afraid if she blinked the symbols would be lost.

Wrong approach, wrong approach.

Ke YongAn forced herself to break eye-contact with the mysterious symbols and concentrated on one symbol. When looked individually, the symbols resembled a puzzle piece. It was easy to remember.

Comprehend, comprehend...Ugh, how do cultivators comprehend? Okay, YongAn. Concentrate and calm down. What does this painting want to say?

She chased around, but none of the answers felt right. Ke YongAn then facepalmed, as she remembered she could walk into the painting.

When her spirit came in contact, symbols began to brand themselves into her mind. Little by little, everything, how they connected, what they individually mean, began to make sense. Without knowing it, Ke YongAn's eyes began to glimmer the same way they did back at the Battle Royale.

At the same time, everything she comprehended was also being absorbed into her body, reflecting a chain reaction to the other 9 examinees.

They were all shocked to see that the symbols were disappearing right before their eyes! However, if they awoke, wouldn't that mean they could not comprehend that much? As the prided top 10, they refused to give up, and thus hurriedly seeked enlightenment from the ones that did not disappear yet.

Lan GuMi took notice of this change as well, and became curious as to what was occuring. Of course, he was not anxious, as he already comprehended it with one glance.

As for the elder overseeing this extra test, he had not noticed, sipping a cup of tea and waiting how talented this batch of seeds were.

Ke YongAn, after absorbing the whole painting, felt her stomach feeling strangely satisfied. But she had no time to question as she felt a breakthrough was imminent. She sat cross legged and focused, her aura beginning to steadily rise...

A small thingy...

???:Why did you name the Elder, Elder Cha?

Author: Well, dear friend, he was sipping a cup of tea. Tea sounds cool, right? My friend praises it all the time. I then went, since I already gave him a tea-loving personality, how could I disappoint him? Thus the name Elder Cha was made.

???:but that doesn't quite answer my question.

Author:Hehe, but that is why he's Elder Cha.

???:? ._?

Author: You'll find out, hehe

???: Then why did you even write all this?!

Author: You'll have to also find that out, hehe