Chapter 43 : Chapter 43
Chapter 43. I Just Want to Slack Off. I’m Really Not Hiding My Strength.
【Choice One: Disable the Void Mirror’s cultivation-concealing effect and reveal your Fifth-Realm Grandmaster cultivation, Chaos Body... and every other trump card you possess. Make everyone value you and become the chosen prodigy entrusted with the great duty of safeguarding Huaxia. Reward: the title ‘Guardian God of Huaxia.’
Choice Two: Skip the test and directly give up on the martial exam. Go home and continue slacking off. Reward: ‘Low-Level Slacker Gift Pack.’
Choice Three: A slacker’s life does not need too much attention. The people at the very top and the very bottom are the ones who attract the most notice, so only by being ordinary—neither good nor bad—can you avoid standing out.
You decide to display the average cultivation realm of a graduating student, fade into the crowd, and focus on slacking off while enjoying life. Reward: ‘Advanced Slacker Gift Pack.’】
Jiang Yichen’s steps halted, and he slowly drew his foot back.
His gaze swept across his mother, Shen Qingyue, on the high platform, and in an instant, everything became clear to him.
That was right. If he exposed his Fifth-Realm Grandmaster cultivation and top-tier talent, the family would definitely start valuing him, pour all kinds of resources into him, push him to cultivate, and force him to devote himself to the family and shoulder the responsibilities of being the heir.
At that point, all those elders in the family would come one after another to persuade him not to slack off. Who could stand that?
Uncle Feng alone was already annoying enough. If they all came, Jiang Yichen really would collapse.
Besides, with the system, as long as he kept slacking off, he would get everything anyway. As for the family and all that, he could not care less.
You fight over your things, and I will slack off in peace. If you insist on interfering with my life, then that is your fault.
With a thought, Jiang Yichen activated the Void Mirror in his sea of consciousness and suppressed the aura of his cultivation to the Fifth Layer of the Third Realm, just barely above the line for being advised to withdraw.
Perfect.
He believed that Heaven gave every man a talent for a reason—
but not using it felt even better.
Jiang Yichen stepped into the testing gate.
Everyone in the plaza wore looks as though they were waiting to enjoy a good joke.
“Haha, Young Master Jiang was only at the Fifth Layer of the Second Realm some time ago. He probably will not even qualify for the martial exam.”
“To be honest, with strength like that, standing next to Goddess Su makes him totally unworthy. I am stronger than he is.”
“I bet the Su family definitely will not agree to their marriage, which is why the head of the Su family came to watch the graduation assessment. It was never this grand in previous years.”
“...”
Hearing the whispers from the students around her, Su Linyu, who had already finished her test, looked incomparably worried.
Brother Yichen had only broken through to the Third Realm two days ago. In a moment, he would definitely be advised to withdraw.
“Brother Yichen, please do not listen to them. Once we enter the Monster Battlefield, I will protect you.” Her heart was tense with anxiety, and her eyes remained fixed tightly on Jiang Yichen.
Chu Xingchen and Tang Long looked at Jiang Yichen with concern, their expressions somewhat helpless.
Jiang Feng and Lin Wan, on the other hand, wore smiles on their faces, waiting to see Jiang Yichen be advised to withdraw.
“Man, the martial exam is not like the written exam, where you can scrape through by rote memorization. As long as your cultivation has not reached the Fifth Layer of the Third Realm, Principal Zhou will personally advise you to withdraw.”
Jiang Feng laughed to himself.
His father had long since made arrangements with Zhou Mingyuan of the Zhou family.
If Jiang Yichen had not reached the Fifth Layer of the Third Realm, Principal Zhou would use safety concerns as the reason to advise him not to take the martial exam.
And Shen Qingyue, who doted on her child the most, would agree without even needing to think about it.
Ha. Jiang Yichen, I told you—you cannot compete with—
“Jiang Yichen, Fifth Layer of the Third Realm! Passed.”
W-What?!
The moment the result was announced, Jiang Feng went completely blank.
He immediately looked up at the testing gate.
The words displayed there were clearly: “Fifth Layer of the Third Realm.”
How was that possible?
Jiang Feng stood there in a daze.
The entire plaza erupted as well.
“Holy shit! Young Master Jiang is exactly at the withdrawal line. Wasn’t he only at the Fifth Layer of the Second Realm in the last mock assessment? He jumped an entire Major Realm just like that!”
“No way. How could someone possibly rise an entire Major Realm in just a month? Young Master Jiang definitely hid his strength. No wonder he was able to control his score in the written exam this morning.”
“My god... Young Master Jiang hid it for four years. Is he finally done keeping it secret?”
“...”
The students below the stage all started talking at once. Everyone who knew Jiang Yichen’s past strength wore expressions of complete shock.
Even the expressions of the four people seated firmly on the high platform changed completely.
All the worry and disappointment in Shen Qingyue vanished, and her eyes lit up with a brilliance never seen before.
“Well done, son. What a wonderful surprise you have given your mother,” she could not help saying.
As for how Xiao Chen had broken through to the Fifth Layer of the Third Realm, it was probably because of that divine treasure, the Nectar of Jade.
Jiang Zhentian, you even lied to me and said Xiao Chen fed that divine treasure to his pet. Just wait until we get home. I will deal with you then!
Shen Qingyue’s smile was radiant. Seeing her son, who had seemed like a lump of useless mud, suddenly reveal a bit of brilliance made her happier than words could express.
By contrast, Zhou Mingyuan and Jiang Dongnian looked darker than crows. The two of them exchanged a glance, and each seemed dissatisfied with the other.
Since Jiang Yichen had just barely passed the martial exam withdrawal line, there was no longer any way to stop him from participating, and it would also allow Su Zhan to see a glimmer of hope in him.
From the Fifth Layer of the Second Realm straight to the Fifth Layer of the Third Realm—there was not a second person in all of Huaxia who could do that.
Jiang Dongnian was deeply puzzled.
Before the graduation assessment, he had people keep watch on Jiang Yichen.
He had spent all his time indulging himself and slacking off. He had not cultivated at all, so how had his realm risen so quickly?
Could it be that Jiang Zhentian had given Jiang Yichen something to help raise his cultivation?
Looking at Jiang Yichen below, Jiang Dongnian could not understand it at all.
Feng’er worked so hard and strove so diligently, while Jiang Yichen slacked off and enjoyed himself all day. So why was Feng’er still being suppressed by him?
Still, even if Jiang Yichen now had the strength of the Fifth Layer of the Third Realm, passing the martial exam was almost impossible.
Feng’er would still crush him!
Of the four of them, the most shocked was probably Su Zhan.
With only A-grade martial talent, even with Jiang Zhentian’s help, it should have been impossible for Jiang Yichen’s realm to rise this quickly.
Su Zhan frowned, recalling what his daughter had said before—that the martial opportunity at Qinglin River had been fished up by Jiang Yichen.
If that was true, then he had probably obtained an opportunity of his own and improved his martial talent.
Hiss!
Su Zhan fell into deep thought. Jiang Yichen’s unusual behavior had actually begun to shake his resolve to cancel the engagement between the two of them.
“I should watch his performance in the martial exam first. The Fifth Layer of the Third Realm is still not enough to pass the martial exam. With strength like that, he still is not worthy of my daughter,” Su Zhan thought.
On the testing platform—
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Your test must be wrong! He was only at the Fifth Layer of the Second Realm in last month’s mock assessment. How could he have risen that much?!”
Jiang Feng rushed over and shouted, then pointed at the instructor and barked an order, “I will give you three seconds. Test him again immediately!”
The testing instructor frowned, clearly displeased. “I already tested him three times. The result is not wrong. Go back.”
Jiang Feng froze, then turned his head toward Jiang Yichen, who looked completely at ease.
The surrounding students also began whispering about how impulsively he had rushed up to question the result.
“You bastard. You hid your strength on purpose to provoke me, just so you could watch me lose control?”
Jiang Feng walked up to Jiang Yichen with a cold face, grabbed his hand, and let his scorching breath brush across Jiang Yichen’s face.
“I am giving you one last chance. Show me all those abilities you have been keeping hidden. Do not force me to do it myself and strip away every layer of your disguise.”
As he spoke, Jiang Feng’s hand slowly tugged at his clothes.
??
Looking at their fingers interlocked together, Jiang Yichen immediately felt physically revolted.
Damn it, he had forgotten this bastard had gotten involved with Ye Chengyu in his previous life.
He instantly shook Jiang Feng’s hand off. “Little brother, if I made you angry, that is your problem. Stay the hell away from me.”
Jiang Yichen could not be bothered to explain. He brushed past him and walked away.
“Man, stop right there!” Jiang Feng roared behind him.
Jiang Yichen did not stop. He headed straight for the entrance to the Monster Battlefield.
That left Jiang Feng alone on the testing platform, gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, and looking like a complete clown.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yichen was filled with delight.
The system reward had arrived.
【Ding! Congratulations, Host, on making your choice. You have received an ‘Advanced Slacker Gift Pack.’ Would you like to open it?】
Perfect. He could open it together with the intermediate gift pack from earlier.
Jiang Yichen thought to himself, “Open the intermediate one first, then the advanced one.”
【Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: ...】