Autumn wind blew in the air and the wild grass was dried yellow.
At this moment, the Tiger Martial Institute was in turmoil.
Today was the half-year assessment, and everyone could be seen moving in a hurry towards the arena.
As Ye Mo left his house, he could see the faces of many students moving in packs around him.
Some were excited, some showed worry, some were in doubt, and others expressed calm and serenity that could only stem from pure confidence.
"I reached the 5th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm, and I even filled my dantian up to 80% with wisps of qi. Too bad I didn't have enough time to breakthrough the 6th layer or I would feel much more at ease."
Ye Mo thought to himself as he moved with the rest of the students.
He wasn't scared or worrying about anything nor particularly self-assured either but when he plans, he liked that everything went smoothly, and the best way for it to happen was to have the strength to deal with any complications that may arise.
For two months he cultivated every day, only stopping to eat and settle his bowels. Every few days, when his body reached its limits, he would rest and fall asleep for some time and restart all over again.
It was very intense, and Ye Mo could hold out only thanks to the medicinal baths and his resilient body.
When compared to the surrounding students, he seemed especially collected, moving at a pace neither too slow nor too fast.
The constant chatting between the students plunged the institute in an unceasing cacophony.
However, once they reached the arena, everyone quieted down.
On the elevated platform stood Hong Li, accompanied as usual by Han Zhen Jun.
At the first row of the bleachers sat the instructors while the thousands of students stood on the ground below the battle stages.
This time it was a private event of the Tiger Martial Institute and only their members participated so no outsiders were present to spectate
On the central battle stage, an instructor stood by with a patient gaze, his hands folded behind his back.
After a few minutes, when all the students were present, he introduced himself.
"My name is Han Shan, some of you might already know me, I will be supervising this mid-year examination."
With a clear voice Han Shan introduced himself. Besides being an instructor in the Tiger Martial Institute, he had another identity as he also was the vice dean, Han Zhen Jun's nephew.
Without any delay, he explained how the competition will unfold.
It was separated into two parts.
One for junior students below sixteen and the other for seniors above sixteen.
The senior students for the majority weren't able to reach the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm before sixteen but decided to stay as members of the institute nonetheless. With the benefits of being a member, few would be willing to let it go.
There was also a small part of them who reached the 8th layer and were sent to the Raging Saber Sect but once in place, they showcased very poor results and couldn't adapt to the intense competition, unable to match the other disciples.
In shame and disappointment, they were sent back to the Tiger Martial Institute.
In both cases they could stay at the institute, but the higher-ups didn't have any expectations for them anymore so besides their cultivation, they also had to work and complete missions like standing on guard at the gates or cleaning the training areas after other disciples' passage to earn their keep and be allowed to stay.
If at some point they were able to breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm, they would be eligible to become instructors.
They could either accept the post or leave the institute.
Now many senior students were above twenty years old and have been cultivating for years. They had much more time to learn martial arts and enjoy the institute's resources. The assessment would be biased if they were allowed to compete with juniors.
Institutions were primarily known to enforce fairness.
Only through fairness could you differentiate the good from the bad, the strong from the weak, the worthy from the waste.
Hence, juniors and seniors would fight separately.
The juniors would battle from dawn to the afternoon and the seniors from the afternoon up to dusk.
Apart from that, the rules weren't any different from the last time.
Junior students drew lots one by one, Ye Mo picked the number 33.
Soon students rose on the stages and battled each other.
Ye Mo watched quietly among the crowd. Overall the fights were of much better quality compared to the recruitment competition however, he couldn't recognize anyone.
Fan Yuxiang picked the lot number 14 and fought before Ye Mo. He was the only one he was susceptible to identify as they enrolled the same year and he reached 8th place but Ye Mo was unconscious during his last fight and didn't have any impression of him.
In the end, Fan Yuxiang lost miserably against a girl who enrolled in previous years.
"Number 33, come onto the stage."
With the referee's signal, it was Ye Mo's turn.
He leisurely walked the stairs and went on the battle stage.
On the other side stood a black-robed cultivator with a pale face, shoulder-length black hair, and a sword hanging at his waist.
Around him, an air of arrogance mixed with subtle killing intent could be felt.
"It's Li Qiang!"
"It's already his turn? Let me see!"
"I wonder how the Li clan's young master will fare this time. Hey, don't push!"
"He must have been pretty pissed off to have been eliminated at 5th place last time. He's going to go all out in this tournament."
Once his name was heard in the arena, many students that were resting and looking somewhere else immediately reacted.
Some pushed each other, trying to walk to the front and have a good view of the fight, while some stood on tiptoes, raising their heads to have a look at the scene.
Obviously they were very excited to see his prowess. Even instructors payed attention, wanting to evaluate his abilities.
"Who is he facing though?"
"I don't know, I never saw this face before."
"Didn't the referee say his name is Ye Mo?"
"Ye Mo... It is the first time I hear it."
Among the thousands of students, barely anyone knew Ye Mo.
To start, only a small part of them were interested enough to watch the newcomers' recruitment tournament, the majority would rather cultivate or deal with other matters. Most of them came only to watch the four young masters and Ma Shinfei.
His fight with Ha Jun caught people off guard, and at first it was discussed sometimes among the students, but even that quickly faded.
Adding to that, the person concerned holed up at home the whole time and almost never interacted with someone else in six months and inevitably quasi no one remembered him.
Yet, Li Qiang couldn't help but smirk as he recognized his opponent.
"Li Cheng being defeated by you is his own weakness."
"But that you thought you could shame the Li clan and leave scot-free was your own mistake."
"Today, I will teach you there are forces you should never offend."
Li Qiang slowly drew his sword as he stated with malicious intent.
Li Cheng's defeat was felt as an humiliation for the Li clan, and Li Qiang who witnessed everything was left in anger and frustration, which he all reported to Ye Mo.
Now he finally had the chance to settle the score!
𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘨!
The gong rang, and the fight officially started!
Ye Mo stood unmoving with a cold expression.
Li Qiang instead took position as he held his sword above his head.
Just when he was about to close the distance...
"I give up."
At this moment, a soft breeze blew on the Tiger Martial Institute's disciples as the arena entered a deep stillness.