At that moment, an old and indifferent voice sounded behind them.

"Since he is Samuel Turner, then nothing is impossible!"

"Samuel Turner? He is Samuel Turner?" The crowd was even more shocked upon hearing this name. Someone said, "He’s already ranked thirty-sixth on the Qingyun List... Why would he leave Wenshui to come to the capital? For next year’s Grand Examination? But with his abilities, entering the Heavenly Book Mausoleum would be no problem at all."

Someone explained, "Samuel Turner is the most proud and unyielding—he submits to no one. Not even the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, and not even that wolf cub from the north. Since he wants to participate in next year’s Grand Examination, he must want to change his name on the list. So... naturally, he has to come to the capital early. And since he’s here, of course he’ll join our Tiandao Institute."

When Samuel Turner's name was mentioned, the students recalled the rumors about this genius youth from Wenshui and couldn’t help but click their tongues in admiration. Someone else said, "Others may defy the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, but would he dare defy Lord Qiushan?"

"That’s hard to say. But judging by how bright the Black Stone was earlier, he probably held back. Even if he hasn’t reached the initial stage of perfection, he can’t be far off."

The crowd discussed animatedly, then suddenly remembered that old voice from before. They turned around in astonishment, only to find that the speaker was the most fearsome Deputy Dean Zhuang of the Tiandao Institute. Startled, they hurriedly bowed and saluted, then scattered like birds and beasts.

……

……

The strong, or rather the gifted, are naturally subject to the scrutiny of all. The young men and women taking the Tiandao Institute’s entrance exam didn’t recognize the origin of the youth in green, but were even more shaken by the experience. Watching his departing figure, they showed expressions of fear and awe. Ethan Brooks looked at the youth in green with deep admiration—he didn’t have such talent himself, and felt a bit envious.

The youth in green walked forward with a cold expression, soon entering the depths of the Tiandao Institute and disappearing into a building. The rest continued with their assessments, and before long, it was finally Ethan Brooks's turn. He walked up to the table and looked at the rough, dark stone with countless tiny holes. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out, grasped the Black Stone, lifted it to his eyes, and began to examine it closely.

He could clearly feel a cool and pleasant aura seeping from one of the tiny holes in the Black Stone, flowing into his body through his palm, then rapidly circulating through his meridians, trying to reach deeper places—such as the Sun Sea and Burning Wheel—to search for his true essence. That cool aura was clearly unconscious and had no malice. He didn’t resist at all, letting it search freely. Of course, even if he wanted to resist, he wouldn’t have the ability. He knew very well that there were problems with his meridians, and before he began to treat himself, that aura would never find anything. Since there was no true essence returning, nor any spiritual sense response, the Black Stone naturally would not light up.

Nothing unexpected happened. The Black Stone remained just a Black Stone, lying quietly in his palm.

He put the Black Stone back on the table and said to the Tiandao Institute teacher, "It didn’t light up."

In the eyes of the onlookers, he had simply picked up the stone and put it down. Such an obvious fact, yet he confirmed it so solemnly, which seemed a bit ridiculous. Strangely, no one laughed out loud. Looking at his composed expression, people just felt something odd. The other youths who failed to make the Black Stone light up all felt ashamed and dejected, some even wept bitterly like that boy before. But he... was just too calm.

Didn’t he understand what this meant? He didn’t look like it.

The teacher frowned slightly. He should have just waved his hand for Ethan Brooks to leave, but because of the strange silence in the hall, he inexplicably asked, "You don’t practice cultivation?"

"I don’t practice cultivation."

Ethan Brooks repeated the same words he had said twice yesterday at the Divine General’s Residence.

The teacher looked at him expressionlessly, as if to say, then why haven’t you left yet?

Ethan Brooks bowed politely, then left.

But instead of heading for the main gate of the Tiandao Institute, he walked toward that building.

The teacher was stunned for a moment before realizing what he intended to do. Furious, he shouted, "Stop!"

Chapter 6: An Auspicious Start

Ethan Brooks stopped, looked back at the teacher, a little puzzled. Then he recalled what he had seen earlier and understood the source of the teacher’s anger—those examinees who failed the marrow cleansing all left dejectedly at this stage. The teacher thought he should do the same, but he continued forward on his own, which must have displeased the teacher.

He didn’t want to waste time on pointless arguments or misunderstandings. He bowed earnestly to the teacher who was rising from his seat and explained directly, "Teacher, I am not causing trouble."

The teacher was about to scold him for making trouble in such a solemn examination hall, but was caught off guard when Ethan Brooks spoke first. He was left speechless for a moment, coughed twice, and shouted, "Then why don’t you leave at once!"

The young candidates waiting behind Ethan Brooks were already anxious. Now, seeing that he refused to leave, they thought he was being unreasonable and became angry, joining the teacher in scolding him. Some even mocked him for having lost his mind.