Ever since Xiao Feng's cultivation broke through to the Three-Star Dou Emperor level, the emotional avatars that split from his body also reached the strength of a Two-Star Dou Emperor.
With the current strength of "Accumulated Fury" and the augmentation from Incursio, the lightning attacks he unleashes rival the full-power attacks of a Five- or Six-Star Dou Emperor.
After enduring more than half a month of relentless lightning tempering, the once fully dark-green humanoid puppet has now transformed into a silver-white entity halfway through, and its strength has advanced from Six-Star Dou Ancestor to around Eight-Star Dou Ancestor.
While "Accumulated Fury" was busy refining the humanoid puppet, Qing Lin and Zi Yan weren't idle either.
Qing Lin was using her Blood Ghost Technique to craft crystal vials capable of summoning sixth-tier snake-type magical beasts. Whenever her Dou Qi was depleted, she would practice the Green Snake's True Scripture to replenish it.
Through this process of Dou Qi being repeatedly consumed and restored, Qing Lin's cultivation speed greatly accelerated, allowing her to naturally break through to the Four-Star Dou Emperor level.
As Qing Lin reached the Four-Star Dou Emperor stage, the most powerful snake-type magical beast she could summon using her Blood Ghost Technique also reached the strength of a Four-Star Dou Emperor.
If Qing Lin were to summon hundreds of sixth-tier snake-type magical beasts simultaneously and combine them with the Ten Thousand Snake Formation in battle, even Dou Ancestor-level experts would likely shiver in fear.
Meanwhile, Zi Yan was devouring elixirs in a frenzy, striving to break through to the Dou Emperor level as soon as possible.
Jia Ma Empire, Wutan City
Since the recruitment team from Jia Nan Academy arrived in Wutan City yesterday, the city's population surged severalfold.
The team wasn't solely recruiting in Wutan City; instead, Jia Nan Academy had dispatched dozens of recruitment teams to major nations surrounding the Black-Corner Region.
The team stationed in Wutan City was led by none other than Instructor Ruo Lin, Xiao Yu's mentor at Jia Nan Academy.
It was precisely out of consideration for Xiao Yu that Instructor Ruo Lin chose Wutan City as her base of operations. Nearby cities also fell under the scope of their recruitment efforts.
When Xiao Yan and his companions finished breakfast and arrived at the designated recruitment plaza, they were stunned by the sight before them.
The massive plaza was packed with tens of thousands of people, including students here for the recruitment exam, accompanying family members, and onlookers.
Had it not been for soldiers from the City Lord's Mansion maintaining order, the scene would have descended into chaos.
"Damn! This is insane. Guess we can forget about passing the test today."
Staring at the winding lines that seemed to go in circles, Xiao Yan couldn't help but wear a mask of despair.
Seeing Xiao Yan's dejected expression, Xiao Yu, who had been laughing and chatting with Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Mei, smirked smugly. "So even you can't handle this, huh?"
"Cousin Xiao Yu, do you have a solution?"
Before the two could start bickering, Xiao Mei quickly changed the subject.
"Of course!"
Xiao Yu said proudly, "The instructor leading this recruitment team is my mentor at Jia Nan Academy. I'm one of her star pupils, so cutting in line will be easy. Follow me!"
Under Xiao Yu's lead, the group bypassed the crowd and entered the recruitment plaza to meet Instructor Ruo Lin.
Although Instructor Ruo Lin's appearance was slightly less striking than Xiao Yu's, her mature and graceful demeanor, coupled with her curvaceous figure, exuded an allure far beyond that of the younger girls.
"Instructor Ruo Lin, I've missed you so much!"
Seeing the gentle, green-robed Instructor Ruo Lin, Xiao Yu immediately dashed over, hugging her waist with a playful grin.
Instructor Ruo Lin gently stroked Xiao Yu's hair and asked with a smile, "Yu'er, how was your break?"
"It was great!"
Xiao Yu nodded cheerfully. "The family has been developing rapidly over the past six months, and I've received plenty of resources for cultivation. I'm now a Six-Star Dou Practitioner."
As the granddaughter of the Xiao Clan's Great Elder, Xiao Yu naturally received far more cultivation resources than an average clan member.
"Not bad! Not bad! Advancing three stars in just half a year—seems like you haven't been slacking off!"
Instructor Ruo Lin nodded approvingly before turning her gaze to Xiao Yan and the others, curious. "Yu'er, are they your clan members?"
"Yes!"
Xiao Yu replied with a sly smile. "Instructor Ruo Lin, their strength is incredible. You're in for a surprise!"
"Oh? Then I'm looking forward to it."
According to Jia Nan Academy's rules, the better the talents recruited by an instructor, the greater their rewards upon returning to the academy.
Naturally, Instructor Ruo Lin hoped Xiao Yan and the others would exceed expectations.
Curious about Xiao Yu's confidence, Instructor Ruo Lin decided to personally oversee their tests.
After preparing the equipment, she turned to the group and asked, "Who's first?"
"I'll go!"
Xiao Mei, the weakest among them, stepped forward confidently.
Instructor Ruo Lin smiled gently. "Don't be nervous. The test is simple. State your name, cultivation level, and age."
"Teacher, my name is Xiao Mei. I'm a One-Star Dou Practitioner, and I'm sixteen years old."
"Good heavens! A sixteen-year-old One-Star Dou Practitioner!"
Instructor Ruo Lin exclaimed in surprise. "Yu'er, you've given me quite a shock! Your cousin's potential value is rated S!"
Jia Nan Academy evaluated new students based on their cultivation and age, assigning potential ratings from F to S.
A twenty-year-old with Dou Qi Stage 8 would rate F, while a twenty-year-old Five-Star Dou Practitioner would rate S.
Although Xiao Mei was only a One-Star Dou Practitioner, her age of sixteen granted her an S-rating due to her immense growth potential.
In the past decade, only one other freshman had received an S-rating—the infamous Little Demoness from the Outer Court.
Xiao Yu struggled to suppress her laughter. "Instructor Ruo Lin, don't get too excited yet. There are still two more to go!"
(End of Chapter)
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