58: Chapter 58 You're digging up the roots of the Great Xia!

Suddenly interrupted, the Hard-Soled Proctor's face darkened with displeasure as he turned his head to look behind him.

"Who's so arrogant that they dare interfere in my... business..."

Before he could finish, he saw Professor Li and several other professors walking over in a rage. The Hard-Soled Proctor was startled and hurriedly forced a fawning smile, calling out, "Professor Li, Professor Zhang, professors, hello, hello..."

At the same time, he noticed the Invigilator badges worn by Professor Li and the others, and he was struck with surprise.

My goodness!

Why are these seniors working as Invigilators?

Even though they were all Invigilators at the moment, he knew that without that title, he was just an ordinary Breeder in the Research Institute, a bottom-tier existence even among Intermediate Cultivators.

If not for his connections, he wouldn't even have been able to enter this Research Institute.

Compared to a big shot like Professor Li, he was just a small fry.

Professor Li ignored his outstretched hand and walked straight past him, asking Li Yu with a face full of concern, "What happened? Why have they seized you?"

The Hard-Soled Proctor turned back, and seeing the warm familiarity between Professor Li and Li Yu, a chill rose in his heart.

Professor Li.

Li Yu.

They both have the surname Li; it couldn't be such a coincidence...

In an instant, he shuddered, the color draining completely from his face, with only one thought left in his mind—it's over.

Facing the inquiry, Li Yu shrugged and said, "I'm also very confused. During the Junior Exam, he said I cheated and canceled my exam results. Just now when I walked by, he said I let go of the Research Institute's pet beasts, causing property damage, and was about to arrest me."

As soon as he said this, the candidates around them who had just finished their Advanced Cultivation looked on with strange expressions.

Professor Li was so angry that smoke practically puffed from his nostrils. His old face flushed red as he barked, "This is absolute nonsense! With your strength, becoming a Senior Cultivator is a breeze. For a mere Primary Cultivation Examination exam, he actually says you cheated! Bah! Who would even bother to cheat!"

The other professors nodded one after another, their expressions turning grim as they turned their gazes toward the Hard-Soled Proctor.

"It's you, isn't it? You're the one who said he cheated!"

Professor Li grabbed the Hard-Soled Proctor's collar, but unfortunately, being old and frail, he couldn't pull him down, so he barked, "Bend down for me!"

The Invigilator hurriedly hunched over to cooperate with Professor Li. His bloodless face was now covered in cold sweat, his eyes darting around as he stammered, unable to say anything.

"Speak! What exactly is going on!" Professor Li pressed.

The Invigilator braced himself and said, "I... we were proctoring and saw this, this gentleman passing notes with someone else..."

Professor Li frowned and asked, "Who was passing notes to whom?"

With Li Yu's level, the assessment was naturally a piece of cake, but what if he was helping others cheat?

If that were the case, then it wouldn't be strange for his results to be canceled.

However, Professor Li sincerely hoped this wasn't the case; if it were, then as someone who helped others commit fraud, even the Senior Cultivator badge and certificate he just received would have to be revoked.

"It's... it's..."

Seeing Professor Li's expression shifting, the Hard-Soled Proctor thought it was an opportunity and immediately added fuel to the fire, "Someone passed a note to him while he was cultivating a Yellow Mountain Beetle. I saw with my own eyes someone toss a note to him, and inside was the evolution method for the Yellow Mountain Beetle."

"Where is the note?"

"Thrown, thrown away."

"Thrown away?"

Professor Li's chest heaved with rage, and he trembled all over as if he might collapse at any moment. The other professors rushed to support him.

The Invigilator lowered his head, not daring to make a sound.

In fact, the note was still in his pocket, but he didn't dare take it out because the evolution plan written on it was completely different from what Li Yu had ultimately evolved.

Just then, the short-statured Zeng Huohuo squeezed in from the outside of the crowd.

"I saw him stuff the note into his pocket!" she shouted.

Professor Li turned to look, a hint of surprise on his face.

"Huohuo? Why are you here?"

"Hey! Old man, I was in the same exam hall as this brother, and I even helped him vent his anger. You can't scold me this time," Zeng Huohuo said with a grin. "But for now, search this bastard first. That note is definitely on him."

A flash of panic appeared in the Invigilator's eyes, and he unconsciously took a small step back. This movement was caught clearly by another professor.

He waved his hand, and several people who were originally holding Li Yu immediately went to search the Invigilator. Not just this Invigilator, but the others were searched as well.

"Found it!"

A Beast Tamer pulled a folded note from the Invigilator's back pocket and handed it to Professor Li.

Professor Li opened it.

It was an earth-elemental evolution path. With his wealth of experience, he could tell at a glance that the result was a C-rank Rock Crushing Beetle.

"Earth-element evolution, Rock Crushing Beetle," one of the professors read aloud.

A commotion broke out around them. Many candidates for Primary Cultivation Examination showed surprised expressions and began whispering.

"That's not right. I remember he cultivated a new species. What was it called again..."

"Spirit Probing Armor!"

"Right, right, Spirit Probing Armor, an S-rank new species. Why is something else written on this paper? It doesn't match!"

"My goodness, is it what I think it is? A Breeder from the dignified Research Institute actually acting out of self-interest to frame a candidate?"

"..."

The crowd buzzed with discussion. At first, the voices were low, but they grew more excited as they spoke. After all, they were also candidates; from a certain perspective, they and Li Yu should be on the same side.

If the Invigilators would intentionally target Li Yu, then as long as they had a proper excuse, they could just as easily target people like them.

The expressions of several professors grew increasingly grim. Professor Li gripped the note tightly, his withered hands trembling.

Looking back at the Invigilators...

Their faces were as pale as death, and they were shaking like sieves.

Zeng Huohuo felt it wasn't enough and continued, "That's not all. I think these guys were intentionally targeting Li Yu. During the written exam, they were always hovering around him, and the exam monitoring machines would concentrate their light right in front of Li Yu to shine in his eyes. Over the course of one exam, it happened at least thirty or forty times."

"That's true! We can testify to that!"

"Me too! I was right behind him at the time, and I got hit by the light too!"

"..."

The other candidates spoke up one after another.

Professor Li trembled with rage and threw the paper at the Invigilator. The lightweight paper felt like a stone, making the Invigilator shudder in fear, his face ashen.

Professor Li said:

"Good, very good. The unhealthy trends in the Research Institute have been increasing over the years..."

"A great cultivation talent who can produce an S+ quality Lord-tier Pet Beast in the Advanced Cultivation assessment actually became someone whose results were canceled for cheating in a Primary Cultivation Examination assessment. Truly wonderful! You've really brought honor to the Research Institute!"

"Calculating and malicious! Not only did you want to ruin his results, you even wanted to ruin his eyes. How dare you? How could you possibly dare!"

The Invigilator was sweating profusely, hunched over and shivering, stammering, "S-sorry, I didn't know..."

"You didn't know!" Professor Li raised his voice. "Then do you know what a pair of eyes means to a Breeder? Do you know what they mean to a top-tier Breeder?"

"Do you have any idea what a young, top-tier Breeder means to the entire Great Xia? What a malicious heart you have! You are digging up the roots of Great Xia!!!"

Boom!

This single sentence stunned everyone.

But on second thought, it seemed perfectly reasonable—a Senior Cultivator under the age of 20 who passed the assessment with an S+ cultivation.

As long as he didn't stray from the path or die young, his achievements would be second to none!

Thud!

Everyone looked over to see that the Hard-Soled Proctor had already fainted from fright.