“Forget it, forget it. Right now, this battle energy is only at the level of a fourth-level swordsman, so it probably can’t stir up much trouble. I’ll take another two months to break through the twenty-eight acupoints of the Governor Vessel, open up the Ren and Du meridians, connect the bridge between heaven and earth, and enter the innate realm. By then, it won’t be too late to disperse this power.”

While William Lincoln was deep in thought, Lincoln suddenly burst in as if he’d gone mad, pushing open the door and rushing inside: “Oh my god, we’re doomed, we’re doomed!”

Carrie Lincoln glanced at him, and seeing how lively he looked, knew he was nowhere near death. Curling his lips, he said, “Even if the sky falls, don’t bother me.”

“I’m telling you, Carrie Lincoln, if you don’t let me bother you now, don’t regret it later.”

Hearing this, the familiar Carrie Lincoln immediately sat up, his eyes shining: “Don’t tell me you saw a beauty? Were you bewitched by a beautiful woman?”

“Heh heh, you really know me, Lincoln. Guess, just guess who I ran into today?”

“Could it be the Snow Beauty?”

“Although it’s not the Snow Beauty, compared to her, this one is even more stunning.”

Carrie Lincoln frowned and muttered for a moment: “A beauty even more beautiful than the Snow Beauty? You’re kidding… In our Blazing Sun City, I doubt there’s a second one. Alright, stop teasing, tell me, who is it!”

“Can’t guess, can you? Heh heh, let me tell you, today I saw Senior Emily Lincoln from Radiance Academy.”

“No way, Emily Lincoln!? The goddess of nature from Radiance Academy!?”

Lincoln looked smug: “That’s right, it’s her!”

“Oh my god, you’re really lucky. Senior Emily Lincoln is the pride of our entire Ziyun Empire. It’s said that even the gods marvel at her beauty, and there have even been natural miracles because of her. Even if those miracles are exaggerated, you can tell just how influential she is.”

“Haha, don’t be jealous. It won’t be long before you see her too. Senior Emily Lincoln is the examiner for new students at Radiance Magic Academy this year. Any third-level swordsman who thinks they have potential can go take the test. By then, won’t you get to see Senior Emily Lincoln too?”

Hearing this, Carrie Lincoln’s first reaction wasn’t to be happy about such a chance encounter, but rather surprise: “What, so soon? This semester is almost over already?”

“Of course. The examiners from Radiance Magic Academy are already here, so the semester must be ending soon.”

Carrie Lincoln did a quick calculation and suddenly felt a bit sentimental: “This is already our last term. If we can’t get into one of the three advanced academies, our schooling will be finished.”

With this reminder, Lincoln’s excitement from seeing the beauty faded as well: “Yeah, the admission standard for advanced academies is fourth-level swordsman. If a third-level swordsman has amazing potential, there’s still a chance… But both of us only awakened our battle energy at ten or eleven years old, so our talent is just average. When the time comes…”

Thinking about how the two of them would soon graduate, leave the academy, and step into society, their enthusiasm for conversation quickly waned.

“The battle energy fluctuations from Acheng are now beyond even my detection. He’s clearly a level higher than me. As a fourth-level swordsman, he should be able to continue his studies at Radiance Magic Academy.”

Lincoln said enviously, “That guy is really lucky.”

“You can’t just call it luck. You should see how hard Acheng works. Ever since he was defeated by the Snow Beauty, it’s like he’s been driven—he does nothing but train all day except for eating. With such crazy training, it’d be strange if he didn’t reach level four in three months.”

“That’s true, he’s got real perseverance. We don’t have that kind of patience—he can sit for days on end.”

“People are just different, can’t compare. But Acheng really has changed a lot.”

Lincoln nodded in agreement, speculating, “Maybe after that battle with the Snow Beauty, he’s finally matured.”

While the two were chatting, the academy’s broadcast suddenly sounded: “Attention all students, attention all students. The assessment for applying to Radiance Academy will officially begin tomorrow. All students who are confident and capable, please bring your ID card to register at Trial Field No. 23 within the next two days… Attention all students…”

“It starts tomorrow…” Lincoln and Carrie Lincoln exchanged a glance. Time was tight—even if they wanted to cram at the last minute, it was already too late.

Volume One, Nine-Nine Supreme, Chapter Seven: Taking Action

Since coming to this academy, William Lincoln had rarely gone out, and for the first time, he realized there were actually so many students here.

Looking at the densely packed crowd at the entrance to the trial field, even Carrie Lincoln and Lincoln couldn’t help but swallow hard, shocked by the terrifying sea of people.

Staring at the dizzying mass of figures, Carrie Lincoln cried out, “Are you kidding me? Didn’t they say that even for the potential test, only third-level swordsmen are eligible? When did our academy get so many third-level swordsmen!? By my count, there must be three or four thousand people here—almost half the whole academy!”