20: Before the test!

“Has anyone ever managed to produce this many Demon Cores in previous assessments?” Cheng Ran suddenly asked.

Gai Chong smiled and pushed up his glasses, “Indeed, this many Demon Cores have broken all previous assessment records of the Demon Subduing Division.”

Meng Ruo’s face fell slightly. She had just denied that Lu Ze could produce so many, and now she was directly proven wrong.

“The Demon Subduing Division’s assessment has never been about who has more Demon Cores, the more Demon Cores the higher the ranking. Even if he has so many First-Level and Second-Level Demon Cores, it still can’t compare to…”

Before Meng Ruo could finish her sentence, Lu Ze took out the last Demon Core and held it in his hand.

The Demon Core was slightly larger than a Third-Level Demon Core. Its dark purple aura flickered, and a few red light spots swirled around it.

“A Tier 4 Demon Core?!” Another gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd. Everyone’s gaze towards Lu Ze changed again and again.

Just now, seeing Lu Ze produce so many Demon Cores, they might have only felt a slight sense of admiration. But now, they clearly saw the vast difference between themselves and the man before them.

Although it wasn't unheard of for people to produce Tier 4 Demon Cores in past assessments, those individuals were all from prominent families. From the moment they were born, they possessed far more abundant resources than ordinary people.

Many who entered the Demon Subduing Division would not acquire as many resources in their entire lives as those from prominent families.

With such resources, it was reasonable for those from prominent families to take down Tier 4 Demons.

But what about Lu Ze? He was not some scion of a prominent family, yet he could produce a Tier 4 Demon Core as his assessment submission.

They didn't even care if Lu Ze was the one who killed this Tier 4 Demon. After all, the Demon Subduing Division’s assessment only looked at the results. If Lu Ze could produce it at this time, then he was amazing, he had his methods!

Without a doubt, Lu Ze was the first-place winner of this assessment!

Even more undeniably, Lu Ze’s name would resound among the various forces in Xuanyuan City!

“Young Master, the Tier 4 Demon Core was taken by this kid!” A Tang Family member, limping, approached Tang Chenyi and whispered.

“I’m not blind!” Tang Chenyi glared at him fiercely, his heart filled with anger. His gaze once again fell upon Lu Ze.

That day, he was slapped away by the Purple Flame Scale Lion and then passed out, unconscious.

When he regained consciousness, the Tier 4 Demon was already dead, its Demon Core taken, and the Qin Family members had vanished without a trace.

Tang Chenyi naturally suspected Qin Wan, but after he found her, she had been unwilling to speak to him.

All the Tang Family members were injured and couldn't confront the Qin Family forcefully. Tang Chenyi had suppressed his anger until now.

He had expected the Tier 4 Demon Core to be produced by Qin Wan, but he never thought it would be an unknown nobody.

What was this kid’s background?

The Demon Subduing Division personnel standing opposite Lu Ze finally came to their senses and went to find others to help tally Lu Ze’s score.

At this moment, a clear and gentle voice sounded from mid-air, “I don’t think there’s any need to tally Lu Ze’s. With a Tier 4 Demon Core, the first-place position is already decided.”

The speaker was Cheng Ran.

Gai Chong also nodded, in complete agreement with Cheng Ran’s words.

Meng Ruo pursed her lips, her face still slightly cold, and remained silent.

Lu Ze collected all the Demon Cores, crossed his arms, and waited for the subsequent results.

Five minutes later, all the tallies were complete. The three individuals in mid-air browsed through the collected information one by one, discussed briefly, and then decided on the top three.

Gai Chong stepped forward, and a Spiritual Pressure spread out. The people below, who were gathered together whispering, all fell silent, and the square became incredibly quiet.

“The top three in this assessment are: Lu Ze, Fu Liang, and Qin Wan!” As Gai Chong’s voice fell, the assessment was finalized. “Please, the top three, step forward!”

Lu Ze and the other two walked forward, stopping in the center of the square.

At this moment, Gai Chong and the other two also landed on the ground, standing before the three.

Gai Chong looked at Lu Ze with a gentle expression, “Lu Ze, you are first place. You may choose one person to be your mentor first.”

Lu Ze’s gaze swept over the three of them one by one, but he didn’t speak.

Meng Ruo looked at Lu Ze, her face slightly frosty.

She estimated in her heart that Lu Ze would most likely choose her.

Her father was a high-ranking official in the Demon Subduing Division, a fact well-known in Xuanyuan City.

For this assessment, she, Meng Ruo, was present as a mentor. Countless people came for her, hoping to snatch a top-three spot and become her Disciple, in order to gain a better future.

Lu Ze was just a student from an academy with no backing. If he could choose a mentor who was the daughter of a high-ranking Demon Subduing Division official, he would definitely choose her.

Meng Ruo frowned. Lu Ze’s talent was indeed good, and he had opportunities.

But ultimately, he was not from a prominent family, and he was somewhat arrogant, even publicly shattering her probing Spiritual Qi.

Such a person, she, Meng Ruo, was unwilling to teach.

However, the rules set for this assessment were that the top three chose their mentors, not that they chose the top three.

If Lu Ze really chose her, she couldn't refuse.

Seeing Lu Ze remain silent, Gai Chong said softly, “Lu Ze, I think highly of you. If you choose me as your mentor, I will use all my resources to cultivate you.”

“I myself am accustomed to using long blades and have collected many Martial Skills related to blades. I also possess Earth Rank ones.”

“Moreover, you now have a spirit beast. You must cultivate it well. I have a good friend of many years who knows extremely well how to cultivate spirit beasts. I can take you to see him and let him guide you properly.”

Lu Ze looked at Gai Chong but still didn't say anything.

Gai Chong’s smile became a little stiff. He himself didn't have much of a background, and what he had just said was practically everything he had accumulated over the years.

After a few breaths, Lu Ze’s gaze turned towards Meng Ruo’s direction.

Meng Ruo’s brows furrowed even tighter, and she sneered inwardly.

She had shown her dislike so clearly, yet this Lu Ze still wanted to choose her because of her background. Such a sycophantic person actually surpassed many scions of prominent families and won first place?

Indeed, the world was declining, and people’s hearts were no longer pure!

After a brief internal struggle, Meng Ruo spoke, “If you wish to be my Disciple, you must respect your teacher and the Dao, and cultivate diligently. Only then will I consider guiding you. Don’t think that by winning first place today, you are above all your peers. You should know that there are always people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens. One day you will realize that your achievement today was mostly due to luck. If it were other scions of prominent families, there are many who could do better than you.”

After Meng Ruo finished speaking, she realized that Lu Ze wasn't looking at her at all, but at Cheng Ran beside her. Throughout, Lu Ze hadn't even given her a single glance, and she had just spoken so much to herself.

Gai Chong, standing nearby, felt a bit awkward for her.

“Are you done?” Cheng Ran turned her head to look at Meng Ruo. “It’s my turn when you’re done.”

Meng Ruo nodded.

Lu Ze was only very interested in this mentor named “Cheng Ran”. He could clearly feel that the Spiritual Qi fluctuations around this person were more restrained and stable than those of Gai Chong and Meng Ruo.

Today, Cheng Ran was not wearing her hair in pigtails as before, but had let it down, held in place by a bamboo hairpin, very casually.

“My name is Cheng Ran, and I want to take you as my Disciple.” Cheng Ran got straight to the point.

Gai Chong twitched his lips, sighing inwardly. It seemed Lu Ze was destined to be her Disciple.

Cheng Ran took out many certificates from her Storage Ring, a stack of them, and handed them all to Lu Ze. “These are mainly what I’m skilled in. If you choose me, I will naturally teach all of these to you.”

Lu Ze flipped through the certificates one by one, giving them a quick look.

Alchemist certificates, Talisman Master certificates, Artifact Refiner certificates, and so on, and all were high-level certifications.

Lu Ze’s eyes lit up.

In this world, these professions were very rare. The basic knowledge of these professions was taught in various academies, but advanced knowledge and methods for improving cultivation were held by a few people, passed down through generations, and never leaked.

For Cheng Ran to have official Demon Subduing Division certified documents not only proved her extraordinary talent in these areas but also indirectly demonstrated the powerful forces behind her.

Behind this high-level expert in multiple professions, there were likely Great Master-level figures in various professional Domains!

Lu Ze’s lips curled into a slight smile. Such a person appearing by his side, could he resist not taking advantage of it?