Chapter 49: Humiliation
“This…” Hall Master Xu Qingfeng frowned slightly, as if something troubling had just come to mind. “This is exactly why I summoned you all.”
He lifted the remaining exam papers in his hand. “After receiving this extraordinary test script, I immediately sent disciples to investigate the candidate. It turns out the one who wrote it… is just a young woman in her early twenties, and this is her very first time taking the registration exam.”
“What?!”
The elders collectively froze. Even the formation master Jiao Hengyi’s enthusiasm faltered, shock washing over his face.
“How could that be? This formation work clearly came from someone who step by step derived it themselves — such deduction requires immense foundational knowledge. A girl barely past twenty…”
Formation study was notoriously difficult; the calculations and refinements involved took decades to master. Anyone achieving real accomplishment in the field was usually well into their fifties or sixties.
“Hall Master, could the lower disciples have mistaken her identity?” someone asked, skeptical.
Xu Qingfeng shook his head firmly. “I confirmed it myself, multiple times — even reviewed the scrying stone recordings of the exam. The script unquestionably came from this girl.”
A heavy silence followed. After a while, Jiao Hengyi ventured cautiously: