A look on his face like he didn’t appreciate it at all.
But Ouyang Hong sighed in relief after dropping off the xuan coins.
Moreover, he glanced at his numerical code, and it was a little higher than some of the disciples of the Deng family. This was the benefit of giving away more money than others. He was secretly happy and said to himself, “I will definitely succeed in this selection exam!”
A few more disciples after him all bribed the old man with xuan coins in broad daylight.
Moreover, anyone who paid a bribe will be ranked slightly higher. And the more money you give, the higher the ranking you receive.
“Next.”
Lin Dong walked over and said politely, “Bai family’s disciple, Lin Dong.”
He had to say this because the Bai family was given four spots.
The old man looked up at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong stood there without moving.
The old man kept staring at him before glancing over at the large pile of xuan coins on his table.
Lin Dong knew what that glance meant, but he didn’t have any xuan coins. He had absolutely zero money on him, so what was he going to bring out for a bribe?
At this time, Bai Xiong stepped forward and smiled, “My lord, this is a small gesture from the Bai family. I hope you will accept it.”
The old man pulled back his disdainful gaze and took the bag of xuan coins. He weighed it with his hand, and his expression instantly became dissatisfied. He looked at Bai Xiong coldly and said, “That’s it?”
Bai Xiong said with embarrassment, “The Bai family recently went through an upheaval, so money has become a little tight. I hope that my lord can forgive…”
Before Bai Xiong could finish, the old man sneered, “Why are you participating when you don’t even have money? Do you think the Misty Cloud Academy is that easy to get into? What does your Bai family’s upheaval have anything to fucking do with me? Humph~!”
After saying that, he wrote a long number on Lin Dong’s wooden sign to denote a ranking at the back.
“Next!”
Lin Dong clenched his fists and glanced over at Luo Tian.
Luo Tian shook his head to show not to act recklessly.
Bai Xiong stepped forward and said, “Bai family, Bai Xiong.”
The old man didn’t even look at him and wrote down a number for a ranking in the back.
“Next!”
Bai Xiong’s heart sank when he saw his identity number.
Bai Lingling walked over and said, “Bai family, Bai Lingling.”
The old man was faintly stunned when he heard a voice that was extremely pleasing to his ears. He looked up at Bai Lingling and was immediately attracted by her beauty. He revealed a smile and said, “Little girl, you’re a disciple of the Bai family? Look how soft your hands look. Do you want to rank a little higher? If you do, come to the Skywatch Tower tonight and have a drink with me. I guarantee that your ranking will be in the top 100.”
Top 100!
This was a ranking that had never appeared in Towering Cloud City before.
These rankings were all fixed internally, either by having connections or having someone paying a lot of money to get them.
The surrounding people gasped in shock.
Bai Lingling’s hands were being held and caressed like crazy by the old man. She was angry about it, but she didn’t dare to offend the old man. The reason was that not only was her ranking involved, but Luo Tian, who was right behind her, his ranking was under the control of this old man as well.
As she was contemplating how to deal with the situation, Luo Tian stepped forward and pulled Bai Lingling’s hand back. He then said with a smile, “I’m sorry, but she’s my wife. If my lord wants to find someone to accompany you for a drink, I can come and keep you company.”
After saying that, he kissed Bai Lingling on her lips in front of the old man.
Bai Lingling tried to struggle free, but Luo Tian had held onto her tightly. She could only lower her head afterward, with her cheeks going red.
Luo Tian then said, “We’re already an old married couple, so why are you so embarrassed? The lord isn’t an outsider; he’s an examination officer of the great Misty Cloud Academy!”
The old man’s face instantly changed before he wrote a string of numbers on Bai Lingling’s identity wooden plate denoting a ranking in the back. He then stared coldly at Luo Tian and mocked, “A flower stuck on a pile of dung. What bad luck. Next!”
Bai Lingling pulled away from Luo Tian and walked off to the side.
Luo Tian then said with a smile, “Bai family, Luo Tian.”
Just when the old man was about to write it down, another old man whispered something in his ear.
The white-robed old man immediately looked up and asked, “You are Luo Tian?”
Luo Tian nodded, “That’s right. Is there a problem?”
The white-robed old man sneered, “You don’t have the qualifications to participate in the selection.”
Luo Tian was immediately stunned before asking, “Why am I not qualified?”
The white-robed old man swept his gaze on Luo Tian to sense his cultivation, then said, “Your cultivation hasn’t reached the Condensation Element realm yet. One of the tests of the selection is that participants must have reached the Condensation Element as a minimum.”
“Damn you!”
Bai Xiong leaped over and shouted, “There were a bunch of people ahead of us below the Condensation Element realm! How come they can participate and my boss can’t?!”
The white-robed old man smiled with his eyes narrowed and replied, “This was a rule that I just came up with. What about it? Unhappy with it? If you aren’t happy about it, you can forgo participating in the exam.”
Bai Xiong was furious after hearing that.
Luo Tian put his arms out to hold Bai Xiong back. He then said with a smile at the white-robed old man, “Are you deliberately making this difficult for me?”
The white-robed old man wasn’t shy about it, “So what if I am?”
Luo Tian replied, “Nothing much. What can a small Four Elements ranker like me do about it?”
Luo Tian then asked, “Can I ask if there’s going to be any more rule changes today?”
The white-robed old man then replied, “What about it? You still want to participate in the selection exam? Do you think you can break through to the Condensation Element realm in a day? Kid, don’t think that you’re invincible just because you’re a little bit intelligent. Even if you were given a year’s time, you still wouldn’t be able to break through to the Condensation Element realm.”
If a person wanted to break through to the Condensation Element 1st rank from the Four Elements 9th rank, doing it within a year was considered fast when there wasn’t any spiritual medicine or special treasures as support.
Luo Tian wasn’t in a hurry and smiled, “What if I do manage to make a breakthrough in a single day?”
A playful expression appeared on the old man’s face as he said, “Just based on you? Breaking through to the Condensation Element realm in a day? If you can break through within a day, I will definitely let you participate and give you a top 100 ranking.”
Luo Tian raised his voice, “Everyone heard it, right? You were the one that said it.”
The surrounding crowd instantly broke out into discussions.
Just as Luo Tian was about to leave, the white-robed old man smiled coldly and said, “A day’s time means before the sun sets. Right now, it is less than five hours before sunset, so I would really like to see how you are going to break through to the Condensation Element realm by then.”
Breaking through into the Condensation Element realm in five hours?
This was an impossible task!
Everyone knew that the white-robed old man was deliberately making things difficult for Luo Tian.
Lin Dong and the Bai siblings were all trying to suppress their rage.
Luo Tian smiled and said, “Before sunset is before sunset. But since my lord likes to play so much, why don’t we just play a little bigger? If I break through to the Condensation Element realm before sunset, how about adding something else besides what you’ve just said?”
The white-robed old man asked, “Add on what?”
Luo Tian replied, “Let’s bet on the xuan coins on your table. If I lose, I’ll give you this sword. If you lose, all the xuan coins on the table will be mine.”
After saying that, Luo Tian brought out the Heaven Sword.