Reversing the Milky Way

Bai Cheng's heart tightened with tension. He was finally about to witness the true extent of Yue Ling's power. Yu Qing, standing in the crowd, was equally anxious, his eyes glued to Yue Ling. He was also curious about her current cultivation level. Suddenly, Yue Ling opened her eyes, took a step forward with her left foot, the immense force sending dust billowing from the ground. Then, her gaze sharpened, and she unleashed a powerful punch at the force-testing stone before her.

With a deafening boom, a tremendous force stirred up a cloud of dust around her, startling even Qin Jinghan and Zheng Tianzhuang standing nearby. As the dust settled, a number slowly appeared on the measuring stone: 46,720 jin. Upon hearing this number, everyone present gasped in astonishment. Zheng Tianzhuang, his face filled with surprise, exclaimed, "Forty...forty-six thousand seven hundred and twenty jin!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. Fu Wenhao, in particular, was horrified upon seeing the number, as even his elder brother couldn't reach that figure. He involuntarily took two steps back, and his heart trembled whenever he thought about how he had flirted with Yue Ling.

He then quickly went to his elder brother and found him equally dumbfounded. Even Zheng Wensheng, who was watching from the side, looked at Yueling with a solemn expression.

As the murmurs among the crowd grew louder, Zheng Tianzhuang shouted, "Yue Ling, go straight to the advanced class!" Seeing this, Fu Qiran and Fu Wenhao walked out of the hall and went to a secluded spot. "What should we do, brother? This Yue Ling is actually a late-stage Body Refinement Realm cultivator. Should we still proceed with tonight's plan?"

After hearing this, Fu Qiran's expression turned serious. After thinking for a while, he said, "Okay, go find a few..."

Before long, Fu Qiran returned to the main hall, but Fu Wenhao was nowhere to be found.

And so, to everyone's astonishment, the test was completely over. Zheng Tianzhuang then continued, "Here I have an announcement to make: a town-wide competition will be held in Wuling Town in one month. Each of the three schools in Wuling Town will send ten students to compete. The age limit for participation is twenty-two. The top three will receive generous rewards. To this end, I will select the ten strongest students from among you to participate. As for the participants, I have already decided on them for this competition."

After speaking, Zheng Tianzhuang went to the advanced class and selected several students: Yue Ling, Fu Qiran, Lü Qiuyue, He Tangyue, Pan Li, and Hu Boyu. The other advanced class students were all too old to participate. Then Zheng Tianzhuang went to the intermediate class and selected several more: Yu Qing, Hong Ying, He Jinchao, and Wang Heng, making a total of ten. As for the beginner class, Zheng Tianzhuang didn't even consider them.

At this moment, He Tangyue suddenly spoke up: "Professor Zheng, I have an objection."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Tianzhuang walked over and asked, "Hmm? What's the point of this?"

“I think Bai Cheng should also participate in this competition.” After listening to He Tangyue’s words, Zheng Tianzhuang looked at Bai Cheng with surprise. “Why is that? Bai Cheng has only just entered the mid-stage of Body Refinement Realm. If it weren’t for the fact that the other advanced class students are already over the age limit, I would love to let all the advanced class students go up to compete.”

Upon hearing this, He Tangyue immediately replied, "Instructor Zheng, you can't say that. Although Bai Cheng's cultivation level is not high, his combat power is not low. It should be higher than that of an average late-stage Body Refinement Realm cultivator."

Zheng Tianzhuang was quite surprised to hear this, because He Tangyue was the top student in the advanced class, and her judgment shouldn't be wrong. He had heard the principal mention before that He Tangyue could already sense spiritual energy cultivation, which showed her exceptional talent. Thinking of this, Zheng Tianzhuang fell into deep thought, because Bai Cheng had only just reached the mid-stage of the Body Refinement Realm two days ago. Could he also be cultivating spiritual energy? This had never happened in the entire academy's three hundred years.

Thinking of this, he came to Bai Cheng's side. Bai Cheng was also dumbfounded when he saw this. He hadn't heard what Zheng Tianzhuang and He Tangyue were talking about because they were too far away. He only saw that the two of them would look in his direction from time to time.

At this moment, Zheng Tianzhuang, who was standing in front of him, suddenly asked, "Bai Cheng, do you want to participate in this Wuling Town Grand Competition?"

After hearing this, Bai Cheng thought for a while and then asked, "May I ask what the rewards are for the top three?"

"I'm not sure about that either, the rewards are different every year. But I can tell you about last year's. The first place winner was a Rank 3 spirit beast mount and a Rank 1 treasure weapon. The second and third place winners were Rank 2 spirit beast mounts and a Rank 1 treasure weapon. The fourth to tenth place winners were 20 Body Tempering Pills and 30 Rejuvenation Pills. The eleventh to twentieth place winners were 10 Body Tempering Pills and 20 Rejuvenation Pills. The twenty-first to thirtieth place winners were 5 Body Tempering Pills and 10 Rejuvenation Pills. Those were the rewards in previous years."

After hearing this, Bai Cheng's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the first-place reward to be so generous. If converted to silver coins, it would be more than a thousand silver coins. However, what surprised him even more was that all thirty participants received a reward.

"However, if you want to participate, you need to choose one of these ten people, defeat him, and then you can participate." After saying that, Zheng Tianzhuang shouted to all the students, "You too, whoever can defeat any one of these ten people can represent them in the triennial Wuling Town Grand Competition."

After these words were spoken, the students began to discuss among themselves, with some even proposing a duel on the spot. Their target was either Wang Heng or He Jinchao. They had already seen Yu Qing and Hong Ying in their previous duel; Yu Qing had already reached the late stage of the Body Refinement Realm, while Hong Ying had one foot in the top.

The other intermediate-level students were no match for him, while He Jinchao and Wang Heng were in the late stage of Body Refinement. He Jinchao was also filled with anger. He had lost to Yu Qing in the village competition last year, which made him very unhappy. He never expected that Yu Qing would reach the late stage of Body Refinement before him, and he had become a target for others to challenge at will.

Thinking of this, he clenched his fists. Just then, another student stepped past He Jinchao and approached Wang Heng. "I challenge you, Wang Heng."

Upon hearing this, Wang Heng did not speak. Instead, he walked directly to the group of students and said, "Even if I am not at the late stage of Body Refinement, don't forget that I am still the third place winner in the intermediate class competition. Today's competition has already arranged the combat strength. Unless you hide your strength in the competition, you cannot defeat me."

After Wang Heng finished speaking, the student replied, "How will we know if we don't try?"

After saying that, he launched a fierce attack on Wang Heng, but just as Wang Heng had said, this student was still no match for him. Several other students then challenged Wang Heng, but all of them were defeated. As for why they didn't challenge He Jinchao, who was ranked fourth, it was because of his older sister, He Tangyue; almost no one dared to challenge him. Also, because he was the son of the village chief of Hejia Village, no one wanted to offend him.

In the end, Wang Heng defeated all those who came to challenge him, and no one else dared to challenge him. At this moment, Zheng Tianzhuang continued, "So, Bai Cheng, why don't you give it a try?"

He said this because he was also curious about Bai Cheng's combat strength. At this moment, Bai Cheng, after witnessing Wang Heng's performance, asked, "Can we challenge them before the Wuling Town Grand Competition?"

"That's right! As long as it's within three days before the competition, you can challenge anyone. But after that time, it won't be allowed. After all, we need to submit the list of participants three days in advance."

After hearing this, Bai Cheng thought for a while and replied, "There's no rush. We'll talk about it when the time comes."

Bai Cheng said this because although he was currently at the mid-stage of the Body Refinement Realm, he could defeat all ten people except for Yue Ling and He Tangyue as long as he activated his spiritual energy, so he was not in a hurry.

Upon hearing Bai Cheng's words, Zheng Tianzhuang nodded, returned to the front of the group of students, and said, "Well then, today's competition assessment is officially over. You may now leave the school."

As the music faded, the students began to leave the school. At this moment, Yue Ling came to Bai Cheng's side, and the two walked towards the gate. Just then, several female students from the literary academy approached with smiles on their faces.

At this moment, the woman in the lead said, "Yueling, we specially ordered food and drinks to celebrate your first place in the exam. If you don't come, all our good intentions will be wasted, since we basically won't see each other starting tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, the seven or eight female students around him all said in unison, "Yes, yes."

Seeing this, Yue Ling replied, "Then I'll take Bai Cheng with me."

After they finished speaking, the group of women exchanged glances. Then the woman in the lead said, "Sure, if you're worried, Senior Bai Cheng can come along too."

After hearing this, Bai Cheng nodded. After all, he had promised to take good care of Yue Ling. Given Yue Ling's performance today, no one in the school should be interested in her anymore. Fu Wenhao hadn't bothered him anymore either, and he probably wouldn't show up again after today.

Just then, Fu Qiran and several body-refining students walked over and said, "Congratulations to Junior Brother Bai Cheng for winning first place in the beginner class. I know you and my brother have had some friction, so I plan to host a banquet for Junior Brother Bai Cheng today. What do you think?"

After speaking, Bai Cheng looked at the group behind him. He didn't see Fu Wenhao, but he did notice Yu Qing and Lü Liang among them. Seeing this, Fu Qiran continued, "Oh, I was afraid you'd misunderstand, so I brought your friends along. Surely you won't hold a grudge against me?"

At this moment, Lü Liang came up to Bai Cheng and said, "Brother Bai Cheng, don't worry, Yu Qing and I are both here, and Song Xian is with us too, so he wouldn't dare to do anything funny."

After hearing this, Bai Cheng thought for a while and then said, "But I have already promised Ling'er that I would go with them."

Upon hearing this, Fu Qiran quickly approached the woman in the lead and asked, "Junior Sister Li Yuting, which restaurant are you going to for your dinner?"

The female student named Li Yuting replied, "We're going to have a meal at Xuefu Restaurant. Where is Senior Fu going?"

"Oh, what a coincidence! We're also going to Xuefu Restaurant, how about we go together?"

After hearing this, Li Yuting nodded and said, "Then let's travel together." Bai Cheng didn't think much of it after hearing this. After all, he didn't see Fu Wenhao and there were so many students with him, so Fu Qiran probably wouldn't do anything funny.

Then, two large carriages appeared in the distance. Although they were carriages, they were not pulled by ordinary horses, but by a kind of spirit beast called the Thousand-Seeking Spirit Horse, a first-grade spirit beast mount, which was twice the size of an ordinary horse.

These spirit horses can be bred, so they are quite common, but even so, they cost one hundred silver coins. Afterwards, Bai Cheng and the others split into men and women and boarded two carriages, heading towards the tallest restaurant in town.

After everyone in the academy had left, Zheng Wensheng went to the spiritual plant courtyard in the southwest corner of the academy. He stood before the artificial hill in the center, then circulated his spiritual energy and said, "Dean, Wensheng's assessment is over."

As soon as he finished speaking, the stone wall in front of the artificial hill began to tremble, and then slowly slid to the left. A man who looked to be in his forties emerged from within, dressed in a blue Taoist robe; he was none other than Su Boran, the dean of Renhui Academy.

Who were the top three in this literature exam?

Upon hearing the dean's question, Zheng Wensheng immediately replied, "The top three are Yue Ling, Fu Wenhao, and Li Cai. However, Yue Ling chose to stay and cultivate her body, and it seems she is almost at the Great Perfection of the Body Refinement Realm."

Hearing this, Su Boran wasn't surprised. He then went to his study in the academy. With a wave of his hand, a piece of paper flew down from his bookshelf. This wasn't ordinary paper; it was made from the hide of a special spirit beast. This kind of paper had a very distinct characteristic: one could write directly on it with spiritual power, and the writing was very difficult to erase. In this way, Su Boran quickly wrote a letter of recommendation.

The remaining two recommendation letters were written on ordinary paper and with a pen. Su Boran used his spiritual power, and the two brushes on the inkstone quickly flew onto the paper and began to write rapidly.

Each of these two letters of recommendation was written in four copies and sent to the four government offices in Wuling Town, while Yueling's letter was to be sent separately to the Supervisory Office in Wuling Town.

After finishing writing, Su Boran went to the window and looked up at the sky. "Brother Bai, is this your choice?"

As the carriage sped along, Bai Cheng and Yue Ling soon arrived at the center of the town.

If you were to walk, it would take at least an hour. After Bai Cheng got off the carriage, he saw the bright signboard that read "Xue Fu Restaurant".