Moo WuZheng was waiting, and he had only one goal. Li Tianyi. ’With potential like that, he’s good enough to join the outer circle.’

After a little over two hours, the Fire Gate students gradually got to their feet. Their expressions varied, but it was clear they had all experienced what made the new Cultivation Technique different.

Li Tianyi was the center of attention. A hero’s origins don’t matter. ’Who cares which Sect he came from? He has a bright future ahead of him now.’

Li Tianyi walked out, but he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he was waiting for Wang Meng.

’Logically, he should have been the fastest to finish, unless he was just incredibly dense.’

"Li Tianyi, you remember me, don’t you?"

Moo WuZheng appeared before Li Tianyi in a flash, deliberately projecting an air of authority to intimidate him.

Li Tianyi tore his gaze away from Wang Meng and glanced at Moo WuZheng. "Who are you?"

Moo WuZheng struck a flamboyant pose and nearly stumbled. ’We just met a few days ago, and he’s already forgotten me???’

"Ahem, I’m Moo WuZheng. I was the one who brought you all here. Any interest in joining the Empress Faction?"

Moo WuZheng smiled. To a newcomer, this was an unparalleled honor. Envious glances came from all around.

"Not interested." Li Tianyi was blunt and decisive. He turned his back on Moo WuZheng to wait for Wang Meng, his disinterest palpable.

’What the hell?’ Moo WuZheng was one of the Empress’s Five-Star Monarchs, a man of great renown in the Cultivation Academy. This was the first time he’d ever been ignored so completely. ’Does this kind of arrogant punk really exist?’

’This is the Cultivation Academy, not some garbage heap like the Four Directions Small Thousand World. Even with his decent talent, he could easily perish without the right protection and guidance.’

’Does this guy have a brain?’

Wang Meng had his back to the crowd. Flames that seemed almost tangible burned in his eyes as he slowly stood up and walked forward.

"How did it feel?" Li Tianyi asked.

Wang Meng looked at Li Tianyi. "Maybe we really came to the right place."

"I’ve already lost to you twice, but there absolutely won’t be a third time! Wang Meng, prepare for my challenge a year from now!"

Li Tianyi was as full of fighting spirit as ever.

Wang Meng smiled faintly. "So eager to rack up another loss, are you? I’ll be waiting."

The two exchanged a knowing smile. Their expressions were relaxed, but their rivalry was very real.

In their pursuit of power, they wouldn’t let themselves be distracted by something as trivial as a win-loss record.

"Ahem, Li Tianyi, won’t you reconsider my offer? You’re new here, so you might not understand..."

"Moo... whatever your name is, I’m not interested in you. Until I defeat him, I’m not interested in anyone."

Li Tianyi coolly walked away. Wang Meng shrugged helplessly. "Looks like you’re out of luck."

Moo WuZheng stared blankly after them. ’...What the hell kind of place is this Holy Hall? Their standards aren’t even that high, so how do they keep churning out such arrogant fools?’

And on that point, Moo WuZheng was absolutely right.

Holy Hall was a very special place. Its ranking in the Great Yuan Realm may have been poor, but it always managed to produce passionate disciples, at least starting from Wang Meng’s generation.

Tang Wei’s results weren’t good either, but still better than Wang Meng’s. At the Gold Gate, he made it five zhang past the first golden line. He was the type of person whose full potential couldn’t be unleashed back at Hengshan Hall.

Mingren made it nine zhang past the first red line, showing surprisingly impressive talent. The Five Elements Sect test was a measure of aptitude, not raw power, and his result was even slightly better than Ning Zhiquan’s.

Ma Tian’Er, however, was a complete and utter surprise. She had almost passed the third green line at the Wood Gate.

A rare Wood of the Five Elements attribute.

Regardless of her past or her current level of strength, Ma Tian’Er’s standing changed in an instant. A result like that was enough to attract the attention of a soul mentor, marking her as a key person to watch.

The Cultivation Academy always granted certain privileges to the highly talented. After all, even rules could be bent for special circumstances.

Among all of them, Wang Meng had suddenly lost his former brilliance and fallen from grace. News of their results quickly reached the senior disciples from Holy Hall.

Upon hearing the results, Hex Zui and Mu Ziqing immediately contacted Ning Zhiquan. They told him to invite Ma Tian’Er and Li Tianyi out, as they wanted to treat them.

Ning Zhiquan was incredibly flattered. He had wanted to invite the others along as well—after all, they came from the same Sect and needed to stick together—but Hex Zui and Mu Ziqing refused. They saw no need to waste time or precious resources on "trash."

In this Cultivation World, a place of both opportunity and danger, the best thing the useless could do was disappear.

Dejected?

Even without a Godhood, such feelings didn’t exist in Wang Meng’s mind. For someone who had "crawled" his way into Holy Hall with nothing but a Second-Layer Life Mark Physique, obstacles like this only fueled his drive.

In a way, Wang Meng was a natural-born narcissist; no matter the time or situation, he always felt good about himself.

’The Fire Burning Technique, hmm?’

Back in his Quiet Chamber, Wang Meng focused his mind and sank his consciousness into his Sea of Heart.

Previous Cultivation Techniques began in the Sea of Fate, whereas the techniques here all started from the Sea of Heart. This was a major difference.

If anyone could see inside Wang Meng’s Sea of Heart, they would likely be scared to death. A vast Heaven and Earth Spirit Locking Array was suppressing a Godhood, and above that array floated Wang Meng’s own Lifebound Five Elements Formation.

To practice these Cultivation Techniques, one first had to cultivate a Five Elements Heart Soul by using a Five Elements Skill.

Floating in Wang Meng’s Sea of Heart, being nourished by the Godhood, was his Five Elements Heart Soul.

For others, they only needed to cultivate their most prominent Five Elements attribute to unleash their full power. But for Wang Meng, he had to cultivate all the components of his Five Elements Heart Soul. Otherwise, it would be like a barrel with one short plank—the amount of water it could hold would be determined by the shortest piece.