After finishing the explanation of the three trials, Walter continued to elaborate. The general idea was that all three trials were extremely difficult, but the true intention of the academy was not for students to perfectly complete all three. Rather, it was to observe each student's innate talent and comprehension. As long as one basically passed the first trial, and showed outstanding performance in any part of the latter two, there was a chance to pass the Shangling Exam and enter the academy.

In other words... the "talent" being tested in the entire Shangling Exam is metaphysical talent, not physical talent?

—Well, that makes sense. They don't need to test for physical talent at all, because those whose meridians are naturally blocked, no matter how many acupuncture charts they've studied or how many times they've memorized the "Qi Cultivation Classic," simply cannot sense how qi flows and gathers in the body. If it can't be done in reality, it certainly can't be imagined out of thin air in a dream.

The Shangling dream is an illusion.

That is to say, in there, he wouldn't be limited by this body's restrictions at all.

For others, if their meridians were blocked from birth, there would be nothing they could do in the first trial.

But in his previous life, the state of his body's meridians was beyond what could be described as "unobstructed." Day and night, qi had circulated through the 720 acupoints tens of thousands of times. The Ren meridian was swift, the Du meridian slow, the Chong meridian smooth, the Dai meridian sharp—he was already intimately familiar with how to guide qi through every part of the network. The entire content of the first trial was as easy for him as drinking cold water.

The second trial, however, was suffocating. For someone who found even daily conversation difficult, debating Dao with others was like a fantasy. Still, according to Walter, entering the Shangling Academy shouldn't be hard for him—after all, he had the foundation from his previous life.

In short, there was no need to bother with alchemy; he should just choose the Immortal Dao Institute directly. Not only would the Shangling Exam be no problem, but he wouldn't have to worry about any of the academy's assessments either.

The only problem was, how would he explain why, despite not being able to gather even a trace of spiritual power and being unable to kill even a chicken, he could still pass the exam?

Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson stared at Evan Carter, seeing him expressionlessly staring at the book cover for a long, long time, and couldn't help but speak up: "The Carter Brothers?"

Evan Carter let out a gentle breath and said, "Let's go."

With the Shangling Exam approaching, the bookstore owner's business had been booming lately. Almost everyone who came would buy a stack of guidebooks to take home. Seeing that these three only bought a thin booklet, the owner was quite dissatisfied. As he watched them leave, he huffed and glared: "Bah! Useless lot who won't get into the academy!"

Evan Carter walked on in silence.

Not getting in was no longer his concern.

He was afraid that he would get in, and then everyone in the academy would wonder how he managed it.

The memory of books and pens being swept to the ground in his previous life suddenly flashed before his eyes, making him feel a bit nauseous.

After returning home, he did nothing else but tried his best to use his meager language skills to teach Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson how to identify acupoints and guide qi, and also taught them the five basic sword techniques: point, thrust, chop, hack, and lift. If they truly had talent for cultivation, knowing these would naturally get them selected by the Shangling Academy.

Because of this, Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson admired and trusted him greatly, but Evan Carter felt increasingly uneasy.

That night, he had a very strange dream because of it.

In the dream, he was once again wandering aimlessly in the gloomy wilderness outside Minzhou City. Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded behind him. Turning around, he saw it was Kevin Cooper, whom he had met by chance before.

Kevin Cooper grabbed his sleeve, her face pale with fear, her voice utterly helpless.

"Senior Brother Carter," Kevin Cooper sobbed, "Young Lady was captured by the Corpse King. I managed to escape, but I don't know what to do... Senior Brother Carter, you were the top scorer in the Shangling Exam, your cultivation must be profound, your martial arts superb, you can definitely save Young Lady..."

He didn't know how to respond, and was dragged by Kevin Cooper all the way to the Corpse King's lair.

Kevin Cooper drew her sword and handed it to him.

But he, with no spiritual power at all, looked around in confusion, sword in hand.

—And then was killed by the Corpse King with a single blow.

The final scene was Young Lady hanging in midair, coldly watching his mangled body: "Useless thing, should have been skinned by me long ago."

Evan Carter felt as if fate was gripping his throat. After a moment of suffocation, he opened his eyes.

"......"

Life was unbearable.

Author's note: The academy students' conversations:

—Why is it that he knows nothing, yet always comes first in every exam???

—He must be kept by Young Lady.

—Clinging to Young Lady saves you twenty years of hard work.

—Young Lady, hug me.

Chapter 8 Letting Go

June, with the height of summer approaching, the sun blazed fiercely.

These past few days had been unbearably hot and stuffy. Many rivers had dried up, the crops in the fields were all wilted, and the whole city was hoping for a heavy rain. If it didn't come soon, a severe drought was sure to follow.

Henry Thompson came back from working in the fields, drenched in sweat. As soon as he got home, he poured water over himself and vigorously fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan in the main room.

"You dog—save some water!" Samuel Thompson poured him a small cup of cool water.

"It's your turn this afternoon." Henry Thompson gulped down the water, wiped his mouth, and said to Samuel Thompson, "Careful you don't get sunburned like a dead dog."