And several mentors from the academy were standing on different platforms at this moment, conducting the same test in an orderly manner. There were too many people, so they had to be divided into several batches for the process to proceed.

Chen Ling and Sui Li’er settled down behind the crowd.

“Wow! So many people…” Sui Li’er looked around, feeling somewhat surprised. In front of them were all young boys and girls under the age of 18, not just from the Aries Academy and Misty Rain City. There were also people from surrounding cities, so there were a lot of people.

It was a big place, and there might only be one or two registration points. The talent and strength of these people were all top-notch! After all, the requirements were stated very clearly, so anyone who dared to come was capable enough. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to come here.

As soon as Sui Li’er spoke, the people around turned to look at them. They were all shocked by her and Chen Ling good looks. Damn, what kind of divine appearances were these? Just one glance wasn’t enough, and they couldn’t help but take another look.

Seeing their heated gazes, Sui Li’er felt a bit scared and leaned towards Chen Ling. She held his arm, like a shy child, who kept getting closer her guardian.

Chen Ling looked down, glanced at her, and lightly touched her little head: “It’s okay.”

〚 Ding~ Target: Sui Li’er, points +100,000! 〛

“Hehe~ Okay then!” Sui Li’er held Chen Ling’s arm tightly and wasn’t afraid anymore. With him around, what was there to fear?

Then, she looked ahead and immediately noticed a familiar face. One of her idols: Yan Ran!

“Hey? Should we go queue over there? It’s Sister Yan Ran!”

Yan Ran happened to be one of the invigilators for today’s test. Standing on a platform in front, she is conducting the test in an orderly manner.

Chen Ling frowned when he saw this. He really didn’t want to see Yan Ran. He felt that if she saw him, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble. But he couldn’t bear to refuse Sui Li’er, so he said lightly: “Then I’ll turn invisible later. I don’t want to see her.”

“Hmm? Why? Sister Yan Ran… um? Are you two…?” Sui Li’er looked up at him.

Chen Ling panicked for some reason and quickly explained: “We’re nothing, don’t overthink it!”

After speaking, he paused for a moment: Damn, why did I explain? There was nothing to explain in the first place.

“Oh~” Sui Li’er believed him and happily pulled Chen Ling to the front of the line where Yan Ran was.

At this moment, there were thousands of people lining up in front, divided into several columns. On each testing platform, there were machines emitting strange light and energy. They were used for multiple people to test at the same time, so the efficiency was quite fast. However, people were still coming in continuously, and many people had already stood behind Chen Ling and Sui Li’er.

They saw a young boy in front infusing his own mana. Immediately, several words appeared on the machine, visible to everyone.

〚 Luo Shengqiang, Age: 15, Magic Level: Intermediate Mage, Curse Star: Fire Constellation Leo 8839, Curse: *** (The curse is considered a private matter in this world, so it’s hidden and not visible to anyone.) Mana Power: 3332 (Mana Power is equivalent to spiritual power/curse power. The more mana power, the stronger the strength at the same level.) Mana Affinity: 22 〛

Mana Affinity represents talent, comprehension, and other comprehensive qualities. Affinity ranges from 0 to 100, with most people falling between 10 and 30. This talent represents whether you’re a genius or not.

Some people may level up quickly in the early stages but struggle later on. It’s all because their talent is insufficient. Above 30 is considered talented. Above 40 is considered excellent talent. Only those who reach 50 or above can be called geniuses.

The individuals with the highest known affinity are the Forbidden Curse Masters From a young age, their affinity reaches 75 or above, and their lives are like a cheat code!

Of course, judging a person surely cannot rely solely on this one value. It’s also possible for someone to have a sudden enlightenment and their affinity could rapidly increase.

So the criteria have been relaxed a lot. The current level of mana power for this Luo Shengqiang is acceptable, but his talent is a bit low.

Then his current ranking appeared in the projected light above the machine:

〚 Current National Ranking: Luo Shengqiang: 23,000th 〛

This basically announced the end of the assessment.

The twelve academies only admit a total of 1,200 students each year. An average of 100 students per academy. Only those within the top 12,000 rankings qualify for the next round of elimination.

Luo Shengqiang clearly knew that he had no chance and sighed before walking down from the testing platform dejectedly.

At this point, everyone on the platform had finished their tests.

“Wow, he’s 250!”

Someone suddenly exclaimed, and everyone turned to look.

They saw a large number on the screen:

〚 Lin Ming, Ranking: 250〛

Ranking 250 was already very impressive. The machine displayed Lin Ming’s age as 18. However, he looked like he was in his thirties, with a thick stubble and unwashed hair. His eye sockets were sunken, and he had dark circles, looking very untidy. It was hard to imagine that he was an 18-year-old teenager.

But he seemed unconcerned about his appearance. After seeing his ranking, he was quite happy and about to step down from the platform. However, upon hearing someone shout, he couldn’t help but glare at them: “Who the hell are you calling 250?!”

“Hahaha~”

The people around immediately burst into laughter.

At this moment, someone said: “Wait, isn’t this person way older than 18? At least 30! Did the machine make a mistake?”

Upon hearing this, Sui Li’er and Chen Ling also looked at Lin Ming. Yan Ran glanced at Lin Ming too but didn’t say anything.

Lin Ming got angry and pointed directly at the person who had spoken earlier, cursing loudly: “So what, my appearance doesn’t match my age!”

The person didn’t back down either: “This is unfair!”

“This is my damn curse! If you don’t accept it, let’s fight! I’ll beat you so badly that your mom won’t recognize you!”

Just then, Yan Ran spoke up: “Get out of here.”

Lin Ming felt a chill down his back and turned to look, only to see the cold gaze of Yan Ran. He quickly jumped off the testing platform, not daring to say anything else. As he passed by Chen Ling and Sui Li’er, Sui Li’er kept stealing glances at him.

Chen Ling noticed and asked: “What’s wrong?”

“He seems really impressive! He’s ranked 250!”

Lin Ming, with his sharp ears, heard someone praising him and immediately grinned, even the corners of his beard were raised: “Hehe! Little girl, you have good taste! Don’t worry, you’ll definitely achieve a good ranking too. Let’s charge into the elimination rounds together!”

Sui Li’er was taken aback. Inner thoughts: Oh my goodness! Someone actually talked to me!

Feeling a mixture of excitement and timidity, she nodded: “Yeah! Thank you!”

Lin Ming, seeing Sui Li’er’s cuteness, smiled and made a cheering gesture before planning to leave. Before he left, he glanced at Chen Ling beside Sui Li’er and his heart suddenly panicked!

If looks could kill, he felt like Chen Ling had killed him a million times over. The oppression was so strong, even stronger than the pressure he felt from Yan Ran earlier. Can’t mess with him, can’t mess with him! Gotta run.

After he left, Sui Li’er happily pulled on Chen Ling’s arm. “Chen Ling, Chen Ling! Someone talked to me! Wow! I’m so happy.”

Chen Ling just nodded lightly and didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked at the machine in front of them. He was thinking about how to cheat for Sui Li’er later.

“Hehe~” Sui Li’er gently shook Chen Ling’s arm, her mood so joyful. As she continued to shake it, she arrived at the testing platform.

Yan Ran was stunned when she saw Sui Li’er!

She exclaimed in surprise: “It’s you!”

“Uh?” Sui Li’er’s hand trembled for a moment, and she timidly glanced at Yan Ran before turning her head away.

“Huh?”

Where’s Chen Ling!?

She didn’t even know when, but Chen Ling had already disappeared.