Demonic Demoness Training Project

Therefore, Lu Li went to Wanbaoge in the afternoon and rented several stamping machines specifically for the assessment to practice. He felt that the handling was okay, and he continued to study the materials when he got back in the evening.

This cycle repeated itself, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

……

On the day of the character assessment, Lu Li arrived early outside the examination hall to wait. A wooden crow flew in front of him, blocking his way. A sign was held in its beak, on which two lines of text were written in vermilion paint—

[Take a deep breath and immediately receive your performance insurance].

What the heck is "inhale"?

As soon as Lu Li uttered these words, the wooden crow let out a strange cry.

"Quack, congratulations, esteemed guest. We are pleased to introduce our sect's assessment insurance service to you."

"The dual-certificate exam includes insurance? Does that mean if I fail, I can get a refund?"

"No, now you only need to pay three spirit stones. If you fail the assessment, the tuition fees for all academies in the city will be reduced by 30% after the assessment. Buying now is a sure win."

"Get lost, I'm not buying it."

Lu Li was completely baffled. Old Duan told him that the so-called "inhale" meant breathing, and that breathing would trigger the advertisement.

As for why these crows were targeting him for advertising, the reason is quite simple.

These wooden crows belong to the White Moon Palace and are connected to its intelligence network. They only registered for the assessment three days ago and did not register for any academy in Maple Fragrance City. Their only expenses directly related to the assessment were a few jade slips and a few machines rented.

In Muya's eyes, he was the epitome of overestimating his abilities and cramming at the last minute, but also the most desirable customer—a nouveau riche waiting to be slaughtered.

It must be said that this targeted advertising model is very effective; anyone else might have fallen for it.

Unfortunately, they encountered Lu Li.

Because of the assessment, the square was packed with people. There were at least three hundred people who came to participate in the character assessment, and many of them had failed repeatedly but tried again.

Because he arrived early, Lu Li wanted to find a quiet place outside the venue to look at the information on the mechanics, since the real difficulty for him was not in the character assessment.

He pushed through the crowded people, only to be suddenly blocked by someone. Lu Li took a step to the right to make way, but the person took a step to the left to block his way. Lu Li took a step to the left, but the person took a step to the right.

Lu Li was not tall, and when he looked up, he saw a cynical face.

He was a man dressed in a magnificent robe, with one side of his collar open, and a flippant gaze.

"Hey, this girl downstairs is pretty good-looking. How about coming to Zui Xiang Lou for a couple of drinks with me after the exam?"

Upon hearing the word "little girl," Lu Li instinctively wanted to refute it, but considering that the gender column on his assessment list was most likely filled in as female, he decided against it at this crucial moment.

Who are you?

"Me? I am Zou Bufan from the middle-ranking Zou family..."

Before the other person could finish speaking, Lu Li suddenly took a step forward, bumped into the person's shoulder, and left without caring what the other person wanted to say.

"Hey? Didn't you hear me? I'm from the middle reaches, you little bastard from the lower reaches."

Lu Li left quickly, unaware of the offensive words the other party uttered afterward. Old Duan, however, spoke with great interest:

"He said he came from the middle reaches of the river, aren't you afraid of him?"

"Why should we be afraid... No, why would a young master from the middle class come here?"

Chapter 38 The Young Master of the Middle Stream

"To prevent people from practicing in advance, the content of each assessment is not fixed and the level of difficulty varies. So whether you can become a fitter depends on your relative ranking in this assessment."

“I know that.”

"This is a unified standard set by all the major sects. For the same character master, there are more opportunities for advancement in the middle level. However, the overall level of the middle level disciples is also quite high, making the competition fierce. In general, it is more difficult for the middle level disciples to advance than the lower level disciples."

"So they're trying to exploit loopholes downstream?"

"That's right. Those who insist on advancing to the lower ranks have limited skills. But you should know that the resources available to mid-level cultivators in terms of spiritual energy, yantu (a type of ancient Chinese painting technique), and spiritual materials are far greater than those available to those at the bottom."

Lu Li nodded slightly. The fact that downstream sects could only extract spiritual minerals from the wastewater discharged from the middle reaches was enough to show the regional imbalance in the development of the Yan Dao.

These people may not be outstanding in the middle, but they are more than capable of bullying those at the bottom and taking away their promotion opportunities.

"So, that young master must have been incredibly powerful?"

"You mean background? Hey, that's not the case. If the scions of those powerful families really want to get the double seals, even if they are truly hopeless, they don't need to take the test. It's just a matter of a word from their elders. Since this Zou family came downstream, their backing can't be that powerful, no matter how big it is."

Old Duan paused for a moment, then continued.

"Of course, I'm not saying this to encourage you to cause trouble. These guys are meek and submissive in the middle reaches, but they become arrogant and domineering when they come to the lower reaches. In their eyes, people in the lower reaches are all lowly. It's best not to provoke them if you can avoid it."

Lu Li nodded blankly, not knowing whether he had listened or not. He just silently looked at the information in the jade slip, and his understanding of the lower two chapters of the Stamping Technique became more and more profound.

"It's incredibly difficult for you to defeat these guys. You can ask your master for help."

"Get lost, you old geezer, don't think I don't know what you're up to."

……

The assessment was held at the mine in the city center. The examiners were disciples and stewards from the White Moon Palace. The disciples were busy in the square below, while the stewards stood on the balcony of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion next to the square, overlooking the whole situation.

Zhong Wenbai was one of the many deacons in charge of today's assessment. At this moment, he stood on the third-floor pavilion, with his hands behind his back.

A middle-aged man walked up behind him, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and said:

"Master Zhong, how have you been?"

The visitor was named Mo Zheng, the current head of the Mo family.

"Oh, so you are the leader of the Mo family. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please."

Zhong Wenbo returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute, then pointed to the wooden chair beside him, gesturing for the other person to sit down.

"Master Mo is as impressive as ever. If I remember correctly, your daughter participated in this month's Dual Seal Assessment. Master Mo, you are being too polite. You only needed to send a message to me about such a trivial matter. Why did you have to compete with those mortals?"

"My daughter is used to being spoiled. Letting her hone her skills will benefit her future development... How many top-tier spots are there this year? And how many average students will be selected?"

Zhong Wenbai nodded, and just as he raised his left hand, a disciple hurriedly approached, presented a jade slip, bowed, and withdrew. Zhong Wenbai subtly took the jade slip, quickly glanced through it, and said:

"A total of 23 people took the six consecutive exams, and there are still 20 places left in the top-tier quota allocated to Fengxiang City this month."

The qualification for the seal examination is divided into examination areas according to the river basin. The person who obtains the seal of character will be subject to the subsequent examinations of earthly character and heavenly character in the same river basin.

Those from the middle ranks who come to the lower ranks to try and get promotion opportunities often choose to register for the three levels of assessment (Heaven, Earth, and Man) all at once, hoping to pass them all in one go.

Therefore, by screening out those who have passed all six exams, we can roughly estimate the total number of people. Zhong Wenbai glanced at Mo Shuhan's name. This girl applied for the Heavenly Grade Fitter exam this year. Half a year ago, she obtained the seals of Heavenly Grade Welder and Earthly Grade Fitter.

This assessment is also the final step before she becomes a puppeteer.

After a cursory glance, Zhong Wenbai handed the jade slip to Mo Zheng. Mo Zheng probed into it with his divine sense, scanning the list of candidates for the Heavenly Grade Pliers Master title one by one, his brows gradually furrowing:

"The Zou family, the Yan family, the Fan family... huh?"

When Mo Zheng saw Lu Li's name at the very bottom of the list, he suddenly looked surprised.

"what happened?"

"Nothing much. I just saw an interesting young man. His surname is Lu, and he applied for all six exams. I remember that this surname is not very common in the Spirit Blood River Basin. Could he be from another basin?"

"Perhaps she is some ignorant and unknown junior. We don't need to pay attention to her. I have to say, with all these young masters and young ladies flocking to our Maple Fragrance City, this assessment is probably the most competitive one this year... no, in the last ten years."

Upon hearing this, Mo Zheng nodded slightly, and Zhong Wenbai changed the subject, saying:

"Well, it's really just a Heavenly Grade Seal. If your daughter really needed it, why would the Mo family go to such lengths? They could have just sent me a message..."

"No need. Once you owe someone a favor, it's always a hassle to repay it. Let her practice with her peers. Even if she doesn't pass the exam, it'll be good for her to gain some experience."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Wenbo was taken aback at first, but he quickly realized that the other party's words had a hidden meaning.

With two wars imminent, both sides are courting surrounding family forces. The Mo family remains neutral, its stance unclear. Using connections and incurring favors from the White Moon Palace would be tantamount to choosing sides.

"As expected of the Mo family leader, he is a reasonable person. I was wrong to have not considered things thoroughly."

As soon as he finished speaking, another disciple arrived just in time, carrying a pot of hot wine. He poured a bowl for Mo Zheng and Zhong Wenbai, and the two of them took a small sip and turned their heads to look at the square below, seemingly unintentionally.

The first round, the "Character Test," was underway. Everyone was either sighing, scratching their heads, or even lying face down on the table, giving up the struggle.

Zou Bufan calmly dipped his brush in the ink, and listening to the sighs of the people around him, he couldn't help but swing his legs and puff out his chest.

"Hey hey, although I expected this before I came, these bumpkins from downstream are really hopeless."

Although the boy was muttering to himself, his voice seemed to be deliberately meant for those around him to hear, which really angered them so much that they wanted to rush up and slap him.

But when the crowd saw the magnificent robes the young man was wearing, they realized the huge gap in their social status and, having no other choice, dared not offend him and could only pretend not to hear.

Zou Bufan flipped through the test papers with a rustling sound, his eyes occasionally glancing at several scions of noble families in the distance, all dressed in fine robes. Compared to those around him, the few from the middle class were the opponents he should be concerned about.

Although character assessment is not a big deal for them, it is still something to be proud of if they can finish faster and get a higher score than their peers in the group.

If you can become the best among your peers, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

Until, a young girl suddenly stood up.

"carry out an assignment!"

Chapter 39 You Will Eventually Rise Against the Current

Zou Bufan raised an eyebrow. He felt that the beautiful figure looked familiar. The woman walked straight to the proctor, tidied up her exam paper, handed it to him, and then turned and left the examination room.

Just as she turned around, Zou Bufan saw her profile clearly; it was the same person he had met outside the examination hall earlier.

It was her.

Did she finish it? Or did she simply give up because the test was too difficult?

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be this fast. After all, even a genius like him has only achieved half of it. Of course, it's possible that there are a few exceptional experts downstream. Lu Li's appearance always makes him think of her as a favored daughter of heaven.

However, what happened next made him burst into laughter.

As soon as the girl left the examination hall, a large flock of crows flew over and surrounded her, chattering away as they promoted their private school.

Zou Bufan had heard that these downstream wooden crow mechanisms, though crudely made and with very limited intelligence, offered services tailored to different individuals.

If that girl were truly a genius, these wooden crows would never be so frantically promoting their academy.

"She was so arrogant off the field just now, I thought she was someone important, but I was wrong. This girl is nothing special."

Thinking this through, Zou Bufan continued to answer the questions with his head down.

Meanwhile, off-site, Lu Li found a quiet teahouse nearby, ordered a cup of tea, sat down, and opened the middle section of the Stamping Manual.

At that moment, Old Duan's voice rang in his mind:

"Hmm, I've read it. Your understanding of the first part of the Stamping Technique is very good. You should have no problem getting an A grade in that competition just now. I'm very pleased."

"Old man, what are you so pleased about? You're shameless, talking as if I was someone you taught."

It's not lunchtime yet. The quality welder assessment is this afternoon, the quality fitter assessment is tomorrow morning, and the quality welder assessment is tomorrow afternoon. Time is very tight, so Lu Li reads the last two chapters of the Stamping Manual whenever he has a spare moment.

"If you're not confident tomorrow, I can give you some pointers."

"First of all, I am not your disciple, and secondly, I do not need your help."

"Sigh, I'm just giving you a couple of pointers. Whether you listen or not is up to you. You don't need to control your body. Why are you reacting so strongly?"

"unnecessary!"

There's no such thing as a free lunch. This old man is wicked and definitely has other schemes up his sleeve. The afternoon's assessment was still meaningless. Lu Li completed the exam effortlessly, filling in all the answers in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and then left the examination room early.

It was still early, so Lu Li planned to practice operating the stamping mechanism again. Tomorrow's assessment was the main event for him.

Lu Li spent most of the afternoon racing against time to familiarize himself with the operation of the stamping mechanism. Perhaps because he had recently operated the Qi-Gathering Cauldron and learned two ultimate stamping techniques, coupled with his thorough reading of the three volumes of the Stamping Manual, he quickly mastered these mechanisms and devices.

Although Lu Li's operational experience was far inferior to that of those master craftsmen who had worked for decades, he believed that passing the assessment of the ground-grade fitter was not difficult.

How to put it? It's like taking a driving test in your past life. You can pass without any problem, but you might not be a great driver. New drivers should drive slowly, and as they accumulate experience, they will gradually become more familiar with the road.

After Lu Li finished practicing for an afternoon, he walked out of the room and looked up to see thousands of golden characters in the air. These characters were divided into two groups: the left side showed the assessment results of the "Character Fitter" and the right side showed the assessment results of the "Character Welder".

The written test papers were graded by the wooden crows. The questions and answers were all fixed, and there were no open-ended questions. The wooden crows were not very intelligent, and the mechanical and repetitive grading process was very suitable for them as cheap labor.

Actually, the results of the character assessment for the fitter that morning were already out by noon, but they were only posted and announced in the evening.

Everyone looked up, trying to find their own names among the names; some were happy, while others were sad.

"Hey, it's done! I won!"

"It failed again. I'll have to try again next month. Sigh."

The list ranks the scores from highest to lowest, divided into twenty rows and several columns. Without exception, those who rank at the top of both lists are outstanding individuals.