Peacock Lord then turned to his father, Mei Hengkong, his posture straight and respectful. "Lord Father, I have many questions."
"You want to know about the boy's aura and his skills," Mei Hengkong replied, recognizing the questions his son was about to ask.
"Yes," Peacock Lord confirmed. "I know where he comes from, but the aura he just showed is nothing like what his parents had. The movement skill he used to dodge those attacks is one I have never seen before. And that cyclone ability—it looks a bit like the ability used by the Evil Wind Dusk Chasing Owl bloodline cultivators, but it should be impossible for him to have any link to them."
Mei Hengkong slowly stroked his long white beard, his eyes deep with thought. "There are many skills in this world that can boost a person's speed by a huge amount. He may have met someone outside the city who taught him. As for the cyclones, while they look like that other bloodline's power, there are thousands of skills hidden across the land that we don't know about. It might look the same but work in a totally different way, perhaps with different costs or needs."
Peacock Lord listened in silence, nodding every now and then as he thought it over. Mei Hengkong went on, his voice becoming more serious and heavy. "What is truly strange is the feeling of his aura. A person's aura is the mark of their bloodline. A different aura almost always means a different bloodline has woken up. But there is simply no way he could have a bloodline that did not come from his mother or father."
"Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing," Peacock Lord agreed.
Mei Hengkong went into more detail. "The way he dodges attacks, combined with that blue light in his eyes—that is definitely the Momentum Eyes of the Blue-Eyed Heavenly Royal Swan. That was his mother's bloodline. However, that purple gaseous flame coming off him... that doesn't belong to his father or his mother."
"Mhm," Peacock Lord muttered, his face looking more troubled by the second.
Suddenly, Peacock Lady, Mei Xue'er, joined the talk with her usual relaxed and fun tone. "Maybe he just made his own bloodline?"
"Impossible!" Peacock Lord and Mei Hengkong shouted at the same time, their voices echoing across the stage.
Mei Hengkong let out a long sigh and decided he needed to explain it simply. "Xue'er, creating your own bloodline means becoming the start of a whole new family line. It is a massive task that takes thousands of years of deep study and dangerous tests."
"Not to mention," he added, his voice low, "it requires a piece containing the original Theríon from one of the twelve divine beasts. Such things are almost gone from our world today. And also, making a new bloodline usually means you lose all the powers of your old one. To keep the skills of an old bloodline while building a new one is something no one has ever heard of. Not even our God was able to do such a thing."
Mei Xue'er nodded her head, though she still looked like she wanted to argue for fun. "I'm just saying... anything might be possible. Tian'er is that God's son, after all. Maybe he can do things no one else can."
Peacock Lord and Mei Hengkong exchanged a serious look. For a moment, neither dismissed her suggestion, unsettling though it was. After a long pause, they both shook their heads.
The idea that a fourteen-year-old boy could create a brand-new bloodline while still keeping his old powers was just too wild to believe, even for someone as special as Feng Luotian. It was a thought they simply could not accept—not yet.
* * *
Within the exam site, Feng Luotian brushed the dust from his hands with a slow, deliberate motion. A sharp smirk played on his lips as he looked at the empty space where Mei Hongli had just been. "And who said these muscles are just for carrying rice bags?" he remarked to the quiet trees. "Relying on Theríon alone will get you thrashed for the rest of your life."
He took a moment to stretch his arms casually, his movements as fluid as water. His voice carried a strange mixture of youthful confidence and the deep wisdom of an old soul. "Without a solid body foundation, how do you plan to use Theríon to its fullest potential? Your body is the cup that holds the water. If I hadn't pushed my body through hellish training this past month, my combat abilities would be nowhere near what they are now. Go back and build some muscles."
The clearing had fallen still, with the scent of disturbed earth and fading ozone lingering around him. As he finished speaking, Luotian noticed something overhead. His head snapped up, and his eyes narrowed as he looked toward the sky. "Hmm?"
Thirty minutes into the exam, a massive change occurred. High in the air, a glowing display began to form, cutting through the clouds. The current standings on the scoreboard were being projected into the sky, shimmering with a bright light that made it visible to every single participant still moving within the site.
Across the forests and ruins, hundreds of students paused to look up at the glowing text. Some took heart from their standings. For others, the names and numbers made it clear that they needed to change their strategy if they were to pass in the remaining half hour.
====================
Score Ranking List
1st Rank – Mei Hongli [920 points]
2nd Rank – Ying Lizhua [540 points]
3rd Rank – Mei Yue'er / Sun Wuji [500 points]
5th Rank – Tu Lingxi [280 points]
6th Rank – Wei Ci / Wei Gang / Wei Hao / Wei Yan [215 points]
10th Rank – Feng Luotian [150 points]
…
====================
* * *
"Luotian got 150 points?!" Mei Yue'er exclaimed. She stopped in the clearing and tilted her head back, searching the glowing list again to make sure she had read his score correctly.
"This… How did he do it? Did he find a party to carry him?" Sun Wuji frowned, his face looking heavy and confused.
Both of them were completely stunned. Feng Luotian himself had told them he would lay low and hide, waiting for their help to crawl through the exam. Yet, here he was, having cleared the passing mark within the first thirty minutes of the trial.
Wuji turned the idea over in his mind, his brow furrowing. "Who in the top ten would ever help my brother pass this fast?" he wondered aloud. He immediately crossed Mei Hongli and Ying Lizhua off the list for obvious reasons. That left only Tu Lingxi or the Wei group—names he had never even heard of before today. The idea that his brother was secretly working with strangers didn't sit right with him.
Meanwhile, Yue'er recovered from her initial shock first. A bright, genuine smile curled her lips, making her face glow even more than the sky above. "I don't care who he's partying with. What matters is that we all passed! We're all going to be together!" Her joy came from the simple thought that the three of them would finally enter Peacock School as a group, just like they had dreamed.
Wuji, however, could not hide the sour taste in his mouth as he looked at the 1st Rank name. "Hmph! Mei Hongli! Who in their right mind would believe he's not cheating? Sister Mei, we can't stand around. We need to hurry and push past him on that board!"
"Why?" Yue'er asked, her tone flat and indifferent. "I'm not interested in some Talon core. If you want one so badly, I can just ask my father to get one for you later. Besides, we're already sitting in the top three. What else do you want?"
Wuji stumbled over his words, his face turning a dark shade of red as he struggled to find a good reason. Finally, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "D-Don't you feel bitter seeing a guy like Mei Hongli ranked higher than you?"
"Not at all. Why would I care about something so small? Wait—" Yue'er's expression suddenly turned sharp and suspicious. She stepped closer, her eyes narrowing as she looked him up and down. "Is there something you're not telling me, Sun Wuji?"
Wuji tensed up, his heart hammering against his ribs. Her suspicion was getting dangerously close to the secret bet between Mei Hongli and Luotian. Growing desperate to hide the truth, he blurted out an excuse. "No! I just thought that if we could actually take first place, Brother Feng would be really happy and proud of us, right? Wouldn't that be a great gift for him?"
Yue'er stayed silent, her quiet stare only making his discomfort grow.
Feeling the pressure of her gaze, Wuji finally resorted to a loud, fake anger to cover his tracks. "It's true! You're a girl, so you just don't understand how a man's pride works. I'd rather die than let that guy stay ahead of us for another minute! If you don't want to go any further, then just unlink your Theríon right now, and I'll do it all by myself!"
Yue'er let out a long sigh, giving in but looking at him with a steady, knowing look. "Fine! If you insist on this, I'll help you. But you'd better give me a full, honest explanation once this whole thing is over."
"What explanation? Let's just go!" Wuji yelled, already rushing ahead into the thick trees in a frantic attempt to run away from the conversation.
"Wuji, wait! Don't go alone!" Yue'er called out, moving fast to catch up with him. Her face was a messy mix of curiosity and a growing frustration at her friend's strange behavior.
* * *
"Wow!! Mei Hongli, ah, Mei Hongli!! Have you no shame at all? Why did you have to make it so obvious?" Feng Luotian muttered with deep disdain. He shook his head, his jaw tightening at the blatant unfairness displayed in the sky.
Turning his gaze toward the glowing scoreboard, he began to calculate his next steps. "Most of the low-level clones have already been taken down by that guy. With only about thirty minutes left, catching up by defeating high-level clones alone might be impossible. However…"
His gaze shifted northward as he considered the strongest clone. "We're not out of options, are we?"
With a confident sneer that showed his teeth, Luotian declared, "Mei Hongli, if you're going to play it this way, I'll make sure you drop out of the top three entirely. It is time for you to learn a lesson you won't forget. But first, I need to find Yue'er and Wuji."
He dashed eastward, his boots thudding against the dirt as he headed toward the area where Mei Yue'er and Sun Wuji were last seen. While running, Luotian pulled out a few Moon Lotus Seeds and tossed them into his mouth to replenish his energy. He could feel his Theríon levels dropping and carefully weighed his choices. If I use Pinnacle Flash Lightning to travel, I could reach the east in seconds. But if I do, I'll completely run out of energy, and that would leave me vulnerable in a place full of enemies.
Just as he was thinking of a solution, a figure approaching from the south caught his eye. Luotian narrowed his eyes, his body tensing for a moment before recognition dawned. "Hmm? Hehe. Just in time."
Before he could greet the newcomer, a furious shout rang out from the south. The voice was loud and unmistakable as it carried across the clearing.
"Feng Luotian!! Explain yourself!!"
The voice belonged to none other than Ying Lizhua. The sheer intensity in his tone promised a violent confrontation.
As soon as he skidded to a halt in front of Luotian, Lizhua demanded an answer. Ever since the sky projection had appeared, he had been bothered by the impossible sight of Luotian's 150 points. Now, standing face-to-face with him, Lizhua's confusion only grew deeper—he sensed absolutely no aura or power coming from Luotian at all.
Is he still a cripple leeching points from others? Lizhua wondered. But if that were true, the only people who would let him leech points would be Yue'er and Wuji. However, their scores didn't match up, and neither of them was anywhere nearby. Frustrated, Lizhua demanded the truth.
Luotian, completely unfazed by the other boy's domineering tone, responded casually. "You'll find out sooner or later. But isn't there a more pressing issue we should be talking about?"
"A more pressing issue?" Lizhua raised an eyebrow, his grip on his weapon tightening.
Luotian gestured subtly toward the scoreboard in the sky. "At this rate, Mei Hongli might actually take the top spot in this exam. Don't you think that's worth addressing?"
"Hmph!" Lizhua scoffed, turning his gaze toward the numbers. "Once I reach that One Talon clone, Mei Hongli can kiss his top ranking goodbye!"
His tone was full of confidence, fitting for the person with the highest cultivation level in the entire exam. With his hidden trump card, Lizhua believed he was more than capable of crushing a Talon clone.
But Luotian's next words hit him like a physical blow. "Wow, Lizhua, you're quite confident. But how do you know the clone the Second Elder mentioned is just a One Talon clone? He only said it was a Talon clone, didn't he?"
"!!"
Lizhua's expression stiffened as a cold doubt crept into his mind. He realized Luotian was right. While he felt sure he could defeat a One Talon clone, anything stronger—a Two Talon or beyond—would be a nightmare. Would the Second Elder really put a monster of that level in a school exam? It wasn't impossible, especially if it was meant to stop anyone from catching up to his son.
Seeing Lizhua's hesitation, Luotian seized the moment and held out his hand. "Form a party with us and defeat the strongest clone together. Look at the scores—you'll take the top spot either way, even if we share the points."