4 Rank 9998

Lu Fengyi strolled out of the examination hall with a confident smile upon his face. The look of his examiners when he answered every single question flawlessly was priceless. Of course, he had to contribute most of this to the long term studying he had completed to write cultivation-based novels, however he couldn't help but feel a little proud about his achievement.

The only thing that worried him during the exam was the disappointed look of the examiner as he completed the physical part of the test, however that was a moot point compared to the theory. Lu Fengyi moved towards the seats that were situated outside the examination hall to wait for the results, alongside many of the other children who had just finished their examination.

As time passed by, the line of waiting children grew shorter and shorter. Eventually, the final child was sent out from the examination hall, shortly followed by a group of the examiners, each holding a long list of names.

After all the children quietened down, one of the examiners stepped forwards and announced in a composed voice, "We have finished conducting the test. Although many of you children are excellent, the Hongtian academy will only accept ten thousand students each year. That means only a fifth of you children today will pass the test and enter into the glorious Hongtian academy!"

The examiner paused for a moment before gesturing for the other examiners to step forwards as well, "We will now display all the passing participants. If you succeeded, your name shall appear upon the board and the number next to your name is your ranking during the test. As for the others, you have failed, however don't give up as you can always try again next year!"

As the examiner finished his sentence, a blooming flash of light revealed a floating board with ten thousand names, each with a little number beside it. The seated children began to scan through the names, desperately searching for their own upon the board.

Lu Fengyi looked through quickly as well. Although he knew that his cultivation and martial arts were up to standard, his perfect pass in the theory section should at least place him within the top five thousand students or so. However, no matter how much he searched through the top half of the names, he could not find his own.

Lu Fengyi looked slowly through the bottom half of the list, name by name, trying to at least see an inkling of hope that his name would be there.

Six thousandth

Seventh thousandth

Eighth thousandth

Ninth thousandth

Lu Fengyi began to feel sweat generate quickly upon his back and he felt his spine go cold with fear. If his name did not even appear on the list for successful students, his difficulty of becoming Zhang Xuan's student would multiply several hundred-fold. That would mean he wouldn't even be able to complete the first quests, possibly leaving him stranded within the world forever.

Large sweat-beads formed upon Lu Fengyi's forehead as the numbers approached the ten thousandths and the list became increasingly smaller, yet his name had still not appeared upon the board. Soon, there were only ten names left upon the list. His hopes were almost crushed beyond belief, 'Did the physical part of the examination really influence my marks so much? Then again, it is a world based around an individual's strength. I really messed up big time!'

Ju Xun - 9990

Li Xuan - 9991

Ku Lufan - 9992

.

.

.

Yuan Tao - 9997

Lu Fengyi - 9998

"HOLY SHIT!"

Lu Fengyi stood up and yelled at the same time, incurring surprised and displeased looks from the surrounding children.

"Just because he made it in doesn't mean he has to flaunt it."

"I'd say he didn't make it and is going mentally insane."

"Hmph, at least you know the calibre of us Hongtian academy students now!"

Lu Fengyi did not for the remarks from the other children, instead focusing upon the 9998th name upon the list, checking several times for authenticity. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, relaxing his entire frame and soothing his originally stressed mind.

The examiners, like the children, also threw odd looks towards Lu Fengyi's outburst of emotions, however one of them did not stare at Lu Fengyi with distaste, but rather curiosity. He was the examiner who had handpicked the questions for Lu Fengyi's theory component of the test and he himself knew that many of the questions he had picked were so difficult that even some of the second-year students would stubble over them. Yet after an entire series of the most difficult questions in the list, Lu Fengyi not only did not panic, but had not even given serious thought throughout the entire exam.

Lu Fengyi's situation only became even more surprising when he had done the physical test. Lu Fengyi, during the punching routine exercise, had not only refrained from demonstrating a punching routine, but instead had begun to hop quickly on his toes before lashing out a quick straight punch at the strength measuring pillar. From the previous flawless theory exam, they had expected Lu Fengyi to do at least average in terms of strength, if not a peerless strength value, however what they had been met with was the strength of a cultivation-less commoner.

Shaking his head a bit to clear the thoughts, the examiner stood up abruptly before shouting out to the children, "That's all for today. Congratulations to those who have passed, and we expect to see you tomorrow at the opening ceremony. To those who failed, we encourage further practice and wish for good luck on your test next year."

Soon, the originally packed area began to empty out and Lu Fengyi too, left the examination area. "Food and shelter, food and shelter..." Lu Fengyi muttered to himself repetitively, he would at least need to obtain both food and shelter to live a comfortable night.

'System, do I get any money to spend?'

[ Of course not! You should be self-sufficient enough to survive on your own by now ]

Lu Fengyi gritted his teeth as he confirmed the empty pockets before considering his options. One was to find a quick job to obtain food and shelter for a single day, while the other would be to beg for food and hope for some comfortable roof overhang to sleep under.

Of course, any sensible person would choose the first option, however remembering that he was currently within the body of a child, and a very weak one at that, Lu Fengyi could only give up the thought of quick labour.

"I guess I'll just spare myself the embarrassment of rejection and tough it out for tonight."

Life as a transcender was truly difficult.