28: Purpose of assessment

Noon.

The group from Anqiu City arrived at a nearby pavilion to eat.

Many of them looked somewhat listless.

"Li Fangnan, what's wrong with you?"

Zhang Dawei asked.

"Sigh, don't even mention it. I cast my line five times all morning, and it nearly killed me. I didn't see a single Dragon Fish."

Actually, it was the same for most people. Aside from Grade 3 Techniques, most Extraordinary Talents didn't come with their own Qi Absorption Methods. Cultivating Spiritual Qi was too difficult, and recovery was slow.

Throughout the morning, the gap had already become apparent.

"Sigh, I really envy you people with Grade 3 Techniques."

"I'll probably have to go to the Lower Academy this time. I was originally planning to give it my all to see if I could enter the Middle Academy, but now it seems there's no hope at all."

"Yeah, everyone's in a similar boat. After all, among Grade 3 Extraordinary Talents, too few come with a Qi Absorption Method besides Techniques."

They knew now that while this Dragon Fish assessment was said to test Spiritual Qi, in the end, it still came down to Extraordinary Talent.

Qin Sheng walked over carrying a tray. "You're telling me. Plus, this fishing thing depends on luck. Even though I don't have as much Spiritual Qi as a Technique Cultivator, I can still cast about ten lines. In the end, I only caught one Dragon Fish, and all that Spiritual Qi was wasted."

Zhang Dawei rubbed his chin and said, "It does seem to require some luck. Brother Qing has so much Spiritual Qi and cast over twenty lines this morning, but he only caught one Dragon Fish—less than me."

Everyone was surprised and turned to look at Xiao Weiqing.

Xiao Weiqing glared at Zhang Dawei.

Zhang Dawei shrank back.

Wei Lan also started laughing secretly upon hearing this.

Xiao Weiqing said helplessly, "One foot one inch, 12 points. Laugh if you want."

Hearing this, everyone lowered their heads to eat, but the corners of their mouths curled up uncontrollably.

They hadn't expected this outcome.

Actually, it wasn't just them; most people thought Xiao Weiqing would have a huge advantage in this assessment because they had witnessed the density of his Spiritual Qi. As it turned out, his gains throughout the morning were better than nothing, but barely.

This was even worse than them; it turns out even a Genius has things they aren't good at... Afternoon.

The scorching sun shone brightly.

A certain tributary of the Luo River.

On the Dragon Fish Platform, many people were fishing with rods.

Seeing them wearing blue school uniforms with the words 'Luo Jiang' embroidered on their chests, it was clear they were all Trainees of the Luo Jiang Academy, mostly sophomores.

Suddenly.

A Trainee exclaimed, "Whoa, what's wrong with these Dragon Fish?"

Everyone looked at the river surface.

Beneath the surface, hundreds and thousands of dark shadows were swimming rapidly in one direction.

By visual estimation, they were all over two or three feet long, and occasionally some Dragon Fish were even longer than a person.

These Dragon Fish completely ignored the Spiritual Qi clumps of the Luo Jiang Academy Trainees, and even the Dragon Fish that had been lingering there swam away with them.

"What's going on? A Dragon Fish riot?"

A junior Trainee packed up his fishing rod. "Let's go. No need to come for the next few days."

"Why?"

"Did you forget what day yesterday was?"

"Yesterday... yesterday the new Trainees enrolled?"

"Correct."

"Are you saying this year's entrance assessment is at the Dragon Fish Platform?"

"Yeah."

"The Dragon Fish surely know there's a free feast over there. Why would they risk their lives playing mind games with us?"

"Let's go. We'll come back after the freshman assessment is over. We'll stay here then."

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

They understood the underlying meaning.

Those new Trainees definitely wouldn't be a match for these Dragon Fish. Over the next few days, the Dragon Fish would certainly be fed to their hearts' content, and their sizes would definitely grow significantly... Dragon Fish Platform, New Trainee Assessment Area.

Suddenly.

Waves rose on the calm river surface without any wind.

A large swarm of dark shadows swept quickly across the riverbed. Wherever they went, the Spiritual Qi clumps on the hooks were sucked away directly, with none spared.

"Holy crap?"

"What's the situation?"

"This..."

"Are these all Dragon Fish?"

Looking at the wave after wave of Dragon Fish beneath the surface, the Class of 2122 new Trainees of Luo Jiang Academy got goosebumps all over.

Xiao Weiqing also noticed this situation.

He had just caught a one-foot-seven-inch Dragon Fish, which gave him 28 points. He felt like he had grasped a certain knack for it, but he hadn't expected a massive wave of Dragon Fish to arrive, and they all looked quite large.

"Just what I wanted."

Spiritual Qi overflowed from Xiao Weiqing's hand, forming a Spiritual Qi clump at the hook. Then, with an elegant cast, he threw the hook into the river.

A passing Dragon Fish's eyes lit up. Seeing such a good thing, it immediately sucked it in. The Spiritual Qi dissipated, forming a current that entered the Dragon Fish's belly.

Thank you for nature's bounty.

Then, this Dragon Fish swam toward the next Dragon Fish Platform.

Unfazed, Xiao Weiqing channeled Spiritual Qi into the rod again, forming a Spiritual Qi clump at the hook. But this time, the clump was even more condensed than before, nearly materialized.

A passing three-foot-three-inch Dragon Fish sucked it in, but this time the Spiritual Qi clump didn't dissipate; it only trembled slightly.

Sensing the vibration on the rod, Xiao Weiqing instantly understood. This was the so-called test.

Fishing for Dragon Fish with Spiritual Qi tested one's Spiritual Qi.

But for these Dragon Fish over three feet long, having Spiritual Qi alone wasn't enough; the Spiritual Qi clump had to be condensed. Otherwise, it was just a buffet for the Dragon Fish.

This tested the control of Spiritual Qi, which was mental strength.

And wanting to pull these behemoths up from the bottom obviously tested physical strength.

Unbeknownst to him, Wei Lan was already exhausted after catching several Dragon Fish in a row. Although she still had enough Spiritual Qi, she had, after all, just stepped into the extraordinary realm, and her physical body was far from that powerful.

"It's here."

Now.

The three-foot-three-inch Dragon Fish underwater swallowed the hook in one gulp, and Xiao Weiqing yanked the rod up.

A massive force came from underwater.

"What incredible strength."

But since the Dragon Fish was already hooked, Xiao Weiqing wasn't about to let it get away. He immediately unified his waist and stance, "Come up!"

"Whoosh!"

The rod snapped back violently, nearly hitting Xiao Weiqing.

The fishing line snapped!

Xiao Weiqing's face darkened.

He had no choice but to take out a spare line.

However, others weren't so lucky.

These Dragon Fish over three feet long didn't just sweep away the Spiritual Qi; they also drove away the smaller Dragon Fish.

This left them unable to catch small Dragon Fish while being helpless against the large ones. As soon as their Spiritual Qi hit the water, it vanished.

Everyone's Spiritual Qi dropped sharply.

"Holy crap, what do we do? I'm almost sucked dry."

"Yeah, these Dragon Fish over three feet are so hard to deal with. One open mouth and the Spiritual Qi is sucked away."

"More than that, these three-foot Dragon Fish simply can't be pulled up. My fishing line snapped, and pulling it nearly gave my arm a cramp."

Xiao Weiqing believed his hypothesis was correct and decided to try again.

He followed the same procedure.

He threw the hook into the river.

In less than ten minutes, a Dragon Fish was hooked, roughly the same size as before.

Xiao Weiqing lifted the rod again, and it was bent into a staggering arc.

Man and fish were at a stalemate for over twenty seconds.

"Snap!"

The fishing line snapped again.

Xiao Weiqing panted heavily.

Then he tapped his Wristband, found Jiang Peng's contact, and sent a message: "Senior, is it impossible to catch a Dragon Fish over three feet with a 10-meter rod line?"

"Almost impossible."

Xiao Weiqing immediately received Jiang Peng's reply.

"It looks like I'll have to change the line then. I just don't know if I need to change the rod along with it."

Xiao Weiqing retracted his rod, planning to go to the pavilion to ask.

Turning his head, he saw Wei Lan gritting her teeth and pulling the rod with both hands. Her rod was also bent into a staggering arc, and her feet were slowly sliding. One could only imagine the immense strength of that Dragon Fish.

Just as Xiao Weiqing was about to advise Wei Lan to give up, he seemed to see a flash of red light in her eyes.