Chapter 277
Chapter 277
His loud words reached Princess Kara’s ears. She turned around and grimaced as if with a toothache when she saw the nightmarish creature. Her beautiful garnet eyes flashed with killing intent. It was disgusting and even offensive for the first demon princess to hear the freak brag about his blood purity.
Everyone who heard his arrogant words opened their mouths, stunned at his audacity. Sacred blood? Good looks and talent? The pompous brat pulled the wool over the examiner’s eyes, ignoring hundreds of witnesses watching him! Why didn’t the old man notice anything? Because his glasses had shattered? That’s pure nonsense! He must have felt it in his soul…
It became clear now why Dick was stroking his bracelet before the test… Despite strict school rules, he had faked his cultivation with a concealment device! Dick was hoping to trick the examiner, but the soul checking formation detected his ridiculous prank, so he had to use the bodyguard’s help! It was the guard who broke the old man’s glasses… And it worked!
«Can’t you see that he is deceiving you? His stream has only one hundred points! And his cultivation is at the beginning of the second phase! Check him again, and you will see that I am telling the truth!» – Alex cried out. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He wasn’t going to let the miserable scum get more points than he had received!
The other applicants supported Alex, accusing Dick of cheating.
The princess nervously stamped her foot, boiling with rage. She had a desperate urge to kill the annoying loudmouths. Why were they screaming bloody murder? Who was cheating whom? Couldn’t they just shut up and stop infuriating her with all this fuss?
«How dare you lie to my face, young man? No applicant’s stream can possibly have one hundred points. It’s almost nothing! Don’t bother me with your nonsense!» – The examiner barked unexpectedly.
«But he…»
«Another word and I will take a point from your result!» – The old man turned to the beaming fat guy with a broad smile. – «Commendable, very commendable! Dick Baker, your cultivation for your age is even higher than Prince Charles’s at his time! Now, show me what elements you can bend, if you please.»
«Sure.» – Kyon folded his hands tight, then waved them in the air and then opened his hands. A crimson fire flashed on them.
«Oh! The advanced grade! Only geniuses have the advanced grades of elements at the age of 15! All the more, the heat element!» – The examiner had nothing but praise for the fat guy.
Alex knew what was wrong, and he couldn’t stay silent. It was outrageous. – «He has hidden a nephrite that emits flame under his hand! It’s a dirty trick! He has no advanced grade of heat! He can bend a single element at most! Am I right, guys?»
The crowd obediently nodded their heads like chickens pecking at the seeds scattered in front of them.
Kara crunched her fingers impatiently, balling her hands into fists every now and then. She could kill the screamer on the spot!
The examiner glared at Alex. – «Alex Grand, you lose a point for misconduct during the entrance exam!»
«But… No…»
«Now let me work! I am a professional in this field with many years of experience! If you keep bothering me, I will take even more points from you! By the way, you can’t use your father’s authority as an argument. It’s only his fault if his son is so ill-mannered!» – The old man’s bellow brooked no argument.
Alex swallowed his protest and looked at his friend with hope.
Sam looked away as if saying: “Don’t look at me! There’s nothing I can do!”
«I thought you were my friend!»
«He will fail me!» – Sam hissed quietly in response.
Alex continued to look for support. He turned to the boy from the Romanov family, the disgraced one.
The pale boy took a step forward. – «Dick Baker is really cheating, sir!»
The examiner put ice in his voice. – «You lose a point for interference.»
Romanov dropped to his knees, turning even paler.
Alex spat with sudden fury: {Worthless piece of scum! Didn’t they want to make friends with me? If they screamed all together, the dotard would have to double-check him!}
However, the other applicants had recognized the old examiner’s power. He didn’t hesitate to take points even from elder Arcadius’s son, and they were no better than him. No one was willing to risk their future for the chance to make friends with Alex Grand. It wouldn’t matter anyway if they failed the exam. There would be another chance.
While the examiner was yelling at Alex, Dick shamelessly threw out the used fire nephrite and put another one under his hand. Everyone stared at him, shocked by his impudence.
«Go on, young man.» – The examiner turned to the fat guy and said with a polite smile.
A dense and powerful air whirlwind appeared on his palm.
«The advanced grade of the wind! Wonderful»
Alex gasped with anger. The jerk had chosen his elements, only a grade higher! The fat bastard had outshadowed Alex with his dirty trick!
All of a sudden, the fat freak sneezed loudly. The used nephrite whooshed through the air and hit Alex right in the forehead, creased with bulging throbbing veins.
«It’s great, the advanced grade of the ether! Four elements! You are a great genius, young man!»
«Yeah, it’s me.» – Dick felt flattered. His heart swelled with pride.
He could feel the applicants around him get all butthurt
«Well, I am awarding you the well-deserved twenty points out of twenty possible! You can go and wait for the next test with the other test-takers. Next, please!»
Kyon stood in the line, his nose in the air. If it were not for the two burly bodyguards following him, the crowd would have definitely strangled him. Their killing intent pressed a bit on his neck.
When the final applicant had passed the talent test, the old examiner brought everyone to the huge running track. – «Remember, kids, a strong mind starts with a strong body! Do not forget the teaching of the ancestors. Your soul will cultivate faster if your bodies are fit. The next two exams will ensure that you’re in good shape. You will be tested for strength and endurance. Get ready for the endurance test first. Be careful, using elemental energy is strictly forbidden and can lead to expulsion! Don’t push! You are required to run a hundred laps at maximum speed. Alright, now make groups of fifty people. Each of you will be given a bracelet-formation with a built-in timer and lap tracker. As soon as you finish a hundred laps, you will hear a beep. Then you will come back to me to find out how many points you’ve earned. The applicants with the best cultivation must achieve the best possible finishing time…»
The test-takers approached the examiner, received the bracelet, and joined their group at a large running track.
When Kyon took the bracelet, he heard loud booing behind his back. His hunched back and disproportionate overweight physique didn’t promise his athletic success. – «I bet a thousand spheres that he will never do a hundred laps!» … «You overestimate him! I bet two thousand spheres that he will bite the dust before he starts the 50th» … «The 50th? Look at him! He’s already short of breath, and he hasn’t even started yet! Ha-ha-ha! I bet three thousand spheres on thirty laps!» – The test-takers were trying to outshout each other, making ridiculous bets. They all had one thing in common: the anticipation of the fat guy’s inevitable failure. It was clear as day that a powerful “peak noble phaser” should do laps like falling off a log, but regarding his physical condition, it would be a miracle if he did at least a couple of laps. He might have a heart attack.
«Out of my way! I am running with him! I want to be the first to see him collapse!» – Alex was shivering from excitement, thinking of the ways to mess with the jerk who had “honestly” surpassed his results.
Fifty test-takers took up their positions on the starting line and rushed forward after the signal.
In an instant, everyone overtook Dick Baker, who was trudging like a snail. A gust of wind almost knocked him down. It was to be expected. Their smirks turned into malicious grins at the sight of the freak who could barely drag his feet.
A few seconds later, Alex did the second lap, overtaking the fat guy again. – «Careful! If you fall, you’ll die!» – another lap. – «Move on, piece of shit!» – When Dick had almost finished the first lap, Alex threw another taunt at him. – «Come on, champion! You’ve done one percent! Ha ha ha!»
The test-takers were smiling wider and wider, overtaking the fat guy lap after lap.
~beep~
The piercing squeak announcing the end of the test puzzled everyone! When the runners found out its source, they nearly fell on the spot. Their vicious grins disappeared, and their jaws dropped to the floor. Alex was on the point of fainting. He froze in bewilderment and screamed like a banshee:
«Whaaaat?!»
The princess shuddered once again from someone’s shrill scream. She closed her eyes and counted to 10.
Kyon took a deep breath, completely satisfied with himself. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief and headed to the examiner. – «I’ve done a hundred laps, sir. I guess I deserve the honorary title of the king cheetah! Everyone had a chance to see my broad back when the mighty wind nearly blew them off the track.» – Dick bragged, his chest puffed out with pride.
The old examiner checked the formation in Dick’s bracelet and exclaimed admiringly:
«It’s an amazing result! A hundred laps in just five minutes! Your stamina is incredible! Are you a professional runner? You don’t look like an athlete!»
«Hehe. It’s all thanks to my pure Baker blood!» – Dick purred smugly.
His shameless impudence outraged everyone’s sense of justice. The angry test-takers were short of breath, which could affect their final result. Some of them were already suffocating. They prayed that the goddess would strike the cunning cheater with lightning of justice.
«I see. I give you ten points out of ten. You may go now and wait for the next test.» – The old man screeched approvingly.
«Wait! WAIT! He has done only one lap! Why do you give him ten points?» – Alex exclaimed indignantly, speaking for his outraged group and even onlookers from other groups.
Everyone looked at Alex Grand with great hope. He was a savior, a warrior of justice. May goddess bless him with health and good luck.
«Young man, the formation in the bracelet can’t lie. It says that Dick Baker has crossed the starting line exactly a hundred times, while you haven’t finished the test yet, and each second makes your result only worse. I advise you to hurry up, or I will have to take another point from you for obstructing the examination process!» – The examiner scolded the trouble maker.
Alex opened and closed his mouth, unable to utter a word. He had no choice but to continue running.
The outrageous, impudent, ugly freak got away with it. Everyone felt infinitely helpless.