42: Chapter 42 will show you what cruelty truly means!

"Chen An!!!"

Watching Chen An walk down from the mystic light stele and head towards her with a calm expression, Shen Qinglan's beautiful eyes shifted, a flash of brilliance crossing them.

Immediately after, a bright smile bloomed on her pretty face. She reached out and punched his chest, saying in a seemingly carefree manner, "Not bad. I didn't expect you to have broken through to Condensing Qi Stage 6. You didn't embarrass this young lady!"

"That goes without saying!"

Chen An shrugged and said, "You are already a powerhouse in the Acquired Realm. If I hadn't even passed the first round, wouldn't I be too ashamed to stand by your side in the future!"

Hearing Chen An's words, Shen Qinglan didn't know what she thought of, but her earlobes quietly flushed a faint crimson. Rolling her eyes at him, she said, "Don't get too cocky. It's merely Condensing Qi Stage 6; you're still far off from this young lady!"

"Yes, yes, yes. I will continue to Cultivate hard in the future and strive to catch up to you!" Chen An curled his lips, his gaze carrying a hint of playfulness.

"You only know how to be glib!" Shen Qinglan glanced at him, suppressing the smile at the corners of her mouth, and said with a touch of coquettishness.

Just as the two were chatting and joking, not far away, Liu Qingyun stood with his arms crossed, watching them with a dark, gloomy expression, his eyes filled with deep resentment and killing intent.

"The first round of testing is over!!!"

Not long after, an Instructor stepped out and loudly announced the official conclusion of the first round of cultivation testing.

As the voice fell, all the County Academy students who failed to reach the fifth stage of Condensing Qi during the test stood to the side with dejected expressions, their heads hanging low and their faces full of regret and unwillingness.

They knew that they had failed to cross the first threshold of the County Exam and had been eliminated, losing their chance to participate in the subsequent Martial Examination matches.

The remaining students who met the cultivation requirements secretly breathed a sigh of relief, smiles appearing on their faces.

Chen An stood in the crowd, scanning the entire arena with a calm expression.

Just this single cultivation test had eliminated over seventy percent of the County Academy students.

In other words, more than seven hundred County Academy students had been eliminated in this round, and out of the entire County Academy, only about three hundred students had passed.

These three hundred successful students still had to endure the layer-by-layer screening of the upcoming practical combat assessment.

Only those who stood out and made it into the top thirty would be entered into the Prefectural Academy registry and gain the qualification to go to Chengtian Prefecture to participate in the higher-level martial arts competition.

At this moment, the Instructor spoke again, saying loudly:

"Students who have been eliminated, withdraw from the Martial Arts Arena immediately. You may leave on your own, or you may stay and watch the next round of practical combat tests!"

"Students who passed the first round of tests, line up immediately and prepare to draw lots for the second round of duels!"

Upon hearing this, the eliminated students looked even more dejected. They walked out of the Martial Arts Arena, heads hanging, gathering in twos and threes outside. Some left in despair, while others, harboring unwillingness and curiosity, stopped at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, wanting to see the upcoming second round of ring battles.

The three hundred successful students left in the arena all had solemn expressions, collected their thoughts, and lined up neatly.

Under the guidance of several Instructors, everyone slowly walked to the front of the three rings, arrived at the prepared drawing boxes, stepped forward in turn, and reached in to draw their duel number tags.

Before long, it was Chen An and Shen Qinglan's turn. Chen An stepped up first and drew a wooden tag, on which the words "Ring A No. 26" were written.

Chen An first handed the wooden tag to the Instructor in charge of registration nearby to be recorded, then took the tag and walked to the side.

"Chen An, which ring did you draw?!" After Shen Qinglan finished drawing and registering, she walked over and asked Chen An impatiently.

"Ring A No. 26. What about you?!" Chen An flipped the wooden tag over for Shen Qinglan to see and asked casually.

"I am Ring B No. 31. It looks like we aren't at the same ring!" Shen Qinglan shook the wooden tag in her hand and smiled.

Chen An glanced at the ring number in Shen Qinglan's hand and nodded slightly with a faint smile.

This second round of the Wurong County County Exam adopted ring battles, divided into three rings: A, B, and C. Each ring had over one hundred students. Through step-by-step duels, ten winners would eventually be selected from each ring, totaling thirty people.

These thirty people would be entered into the Prefectural Academy registry and simultaneously gain the qualification to head to Chengtian Prefecture to participate in the stronger martial arts competition.

"If you encounter an opponent you can't defeat when you get on the ring later, just raise your hand and concede. Do you hear me?!"

Shen Qinglan looked at Chen An, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes, and exhorted, "Although you are already at Condensing Qi Stage 6, the remaining people are at least at Condensing Qi Stage 5, and most have higher cultivation than you. When you are dueling, absolutely do not let your guard down."

"Also, don't try to be brave. If you should concede, then concede. You don't need this one spot anyway!"

Looking at the worried gaze in Shen Qinglan's eyes, a warmth welled up in Chen An's heart. He nodded with a smile and said, "Don't worry, I won't try to be brave. If I really can't beat them, I will definitely concede!"

"That's right!"

Seeing Chen An being so obedient, Shen Qinglan finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, a smile of reassurance appearing on her pretty face.

Just as she finished speaking, the Instructor's voice rang out from the front, telling students who drew rings A, B, and C to wait in front of their respective rings.

Chen An nodded to Shen Qinglan, then walked towards the direction of Ring A.

Coincidentally, upon arriving in front of Ring A, Chen An actually saw Liu Qingyun.

Seeing that Chen An was also at Ring A, a sinister sneer immediately appeared on Liu Qingyun's face.

He didn't expect that Chen An would actually be at the same Ring As him.

His eyes flickered, and Liu Qingyun walked towards Chen An.

"Chen An, you are dead!"

Arriving in front of Chen An, Liu Qingyun looked at him with a sneer and whispered, "You had better pray that you don't meet me on the ring. Otherwise, I will definitely let you know what cruelty is!"

In Liu Qingyun's view, even if Chen An really had the cultivation of Condensing Qi Stage 6, it didn't amount to much.

After all, he had opened up nine meridians and possessed the cultivation of the Ninth Stage of Condensing Qi. Even just relying on his cultivation, it was enough to crush him.

Moreover, in a duel between Martial Artists, what matters is not just the cultivation Realm; the grade of Martial Skills mastered, the level of refinement in cultivation, and on-the-spot combat experience, etc., are all keys to victory or defeat.

He was not only proficient in seven or eight types of Yellow Rank Martial Skills, but he also possessed two Low Grade Profound Rank and one Medium Grade Profound Rank Martial Skill, all of which had been practiced to the Entry Stage or even the Minor Achievement stage.

More importantly, he had grown up under the personal guidance of his father, a powerhouse in the Acquired Realm, and had at least ten experiences each month of practical combat training against Acquired Realm experts.

With such a background, Martial Skills, and experience all having the advantage, how could Chen An, a student at the bottom of Geng Class, contend with him?!

Facing Liu Qingyun's provocation, Chen An just glanced at him indifferently, as if he were looking at an ant jumping around, and then, without stopping his pace in the slightest, he walked slowly past Liu Qingyun...