Chu Liuyue did not have a single clue about what was happening outside. The moment she picked up the flag, fireworks immediately flew up and exploded in mid-air.
She raised her brows in confusion. She initially thought that only the top scholar would have such treatment, but she did not expect that second place would be announced in such a high-key manner.
She purposely came in second to not get into too much trouble. However, this was not bad as well. At the very least, there would be no ignorant people that dared to cause trouble for her from now on.
“Are you Chu Liuyue?”
Chu Liuyue turned around and saw a kind old man sizing her up.
Behind him were two other middle-aged men.
A mini Xuan formation floated beside them.
She realized that these three men were the Xuan Masters controlling the Xuan formation in the forest.
She bent her knees and bowed. “Greetings, teachers.”
“Elder Sun is one of our academy’s five most esteemed elders,” reminded one of the middle-aged men.
Chu Liuyue immediately changed her phrasing. “Greetings, Elder Sun.”
Sun Zhongyan waved his hands and chuckled. “This isn’t important. It’s normal for Liuyue not to know about this since it’s her first time here. I didn’t expect the academy to be able to accept such a talent. It was no wonder that kid—Bai Chen—likes you so much. You… are very capable!”
‘That kid…’ It seems like this elder is pretty senior here. She did not really hear about the five elders before, but it was obvious that they held a prominent status. Chu Liuyue thought this in her heart, but her facial expression did not change. She said, in neither an overbearing nor a humble manner, “Thank you, Elder Sun, for the compliment.”
Sun Zhongyan liked her even more after hearing her words.
Even though she was young, she was very calm and collected. Most of the students that came in first or second during an examination would have a hard time hiding their proud expressions even though they spoke in a humble manner. However, judging from Chu Liuyue’s calm eyes, it seemed like she really did not care about it.
It was either she did not know what her ranking meant, or she did not even care about the difficulty of the examination.
“I’m not praising you. You do have the talent to become a Xuan Master. You would definitely be very different if your talent had been unearthed and cultivated earlier.”
What is wrong with that Chu family? How can they delay such a rare talent? If Chu Liuyue did not suggest entering Tian Lu Academy herself, her talent would’ve been buried for the rest of her life.
The two middle-aged men beside him looked at each other and saw the other party’s shocked look.
Elder Sun looked kind and gentle, but he had very high expectations; it was rare for him to admire and praise students. Even though Chu Liuyue’s performance was decent, Elder Sun’s comments were a little too much.
Chu Liuyue smiled. “You’re really thinking too highly of me. I’m already very happy to be able to enter the academy and learn.”
Sun Zhongyan stroked his beard and smiled at Si Ting. “Si Ting, you need to work a lot harder from now on.”
Si Ting tightly pressed his lips against each other and looked down slightly. “I will remember your teachings.” It seems like Elder Sun saw something in her. There’s an 80% chance that Chu Liuyue hid her true abilities during the examination.
“Since you’ve finished the examination, come take a look at the Xuan formation,” said Elder Sun as he pointed at the floating silver Xuan formation.
Si Ting and Chu Liuyue readily agreed and followed him over.
Sun Zhongyan personally arranged this Xuan formation, and it was very detailed and complicated. One would definitely benefit a lot if they could personally examine it and learn from it.
After an hour roughly passed, hurried footsteps could be heard from the woods.
Chu Liuyue looked over and smiled.
The person coming was actually Si Yang. The current him had his hair in a mess, and his clothes were stained with blood. It was obvious that he had a hard time inside. He looked very different from his initial arrogant expression.
His gaze swept across the row of flags and discovered that there were two empty spots. This meant that only two people were ahead of him.
I’m third! A smile finally appeared on his face when he thought of this as he hurried over and took one of the flags. Even though the journey here was very difficult, it was worth it to get such a result.
He then looked up.
In the woods, one could not hear sounds that came from outside the Xuan formation. Thus, he did not know who had come in first place and second place.
He looked up and saw a familiar, bulky figure. As expected, it’s Si Ting. He directed his gaze to the side, and his entire person froze when he saw the pretty face.
“Congratulations.” Chu Liuyue clapped her hands and smiled happily. “Third place.”
Si Yang was completely dazed as he asked instinctively, “Why are you here?”
Chu Liuyue blinked. “Because… I came in second place.”
“You…”
“It’s such a pity. You said we would battle it out on the examination grounds, but you didn’t catch up with me after I waited for you for so long. Thus, I could only make a move first.” Chu Liuyue shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t expect you to be so… slow.”