I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 158: Cheating Artifact

In the instant Duan Rong projected his divine sense, he immediately entered a mystical state; within a hundred meters around him, even the tiniest dust and mosquitoes, he could see clearly and know completely...

Duan Rong suddenly recalled a martial arts drama he had watched in a previous life, Chen Xiaochun’s version of "The Deer and the Cauldron."

Wei Xiaobao went to Shaolin Temple to become a monk on behalf of the emperor, tasked with teaching him martial arts and ensuring his safety was the head of Prajna Hall, Chengguan.

Chengguan told Wei Xiaobao that within a hundred steps, he could know if a mosquito flew by.

And now, Duan Rong was just like Chengguan in the drama!

With a thought, Duan Rong saw the exam paper of the skinny intern escort master as if it were in front of him, every word clear, leaving nothing out...

Duan Rong picked up the brush resting on the pen rack and began to write swiftly, not only answering the last question but also filling in the omissions in the previous five questions.

After all, Duan Rong had only completed one escort mission; even if Xiao Yu patiently taught him, it could only be superficial instruction. The knowledge of being an escort is complex and vast; it couldn’t all be crammed into his head.

After checking for errors and omissions, Duan Rong thought to himself how close it was; if he hadn’t suddenly thought to use divine sense projection to cheat, he might not have passed this written test.

After finishing his writing, Duan Rong used his divine sense to glance at Zhao Mu’s exam paper. He saw many scribbles on it, and one question completely blank, while Zhao Mu, due to anxiety, was already sweating profusely on his forehead.

Zhao Mu raised his hand to wipe his sweat, then seized the chance to reveal some of his left wrist. With his divine sense, Duan Rong saw that his exposed forearm was covered with dense, small writing.

Duan Rong felt a chill in his heart and silently thought, "The snake has its path, the rat its road."

Actually, Zhao Mu wasn’t a bad person, and he was quite suitable for the escort master profession, so Duan Rong didn’t want him to fail due to the written test.

Cheating, although disgraceful, isn’t something that warrants an absolute condemnation.

Duan Rong remembered his middle school teacher from a past life saying, "In routine exams, if you cheat, you’re an idiot, because even high scores from cheating are useless. In exams that determine your fate, if you can cheat but don’t, then you’re an idiot!"

If it had been in a previous life, Duan Rong having this divine sense projection ability would be extraordinary!

Within a hundred meters, he could see all the papers, gathering thoughts and insights. Attending Tsinghua wouldn’t be too much to ask, right?

Not just not too much, it’s way too low, isn’t it?

Any exam, in front of divine sense projection, is trash!

"It’s a pity, this world doesn’t even have imperial exams! It’s truly backward! A hero has no place to use their skills!" Duan Rong lamented regretfully, "Otherwise, maybe I could even become the top scholar myself!"

When a stick of incense burned down, the papers of the three were collected.

Xiao Zongting and the four leaders began grading the papers on the spot.

Zhao Mu was obviously somewhat uneasy and tense, while the skinny intern escort master remained calm and composed. Seeing his confidence, Duan Rong was confident too because Duan Rong knew there were two clear mistakes in his paper.

After grading, Xiao Zongting looked at the three standing in the arena and announced the results: "All three are qualified. The ranking is Duan Rong first, Zong Yong second, Zhao Mu third."

Upon hearing he was qualified, Zhao Mu immediately felt relieved, with the heavy expression on his face looking a bit better.

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong’s heart stirred slightly; he thought to himself, "So your name is Zong Yong!"

If Elder Xiao hadn’t announced it, he copied from others without even knowing their names.

Zong Yong, upon hearing the ranking, was clearly a bit stunned, his eyes showing some surprise as he glanced at Duan Rong.

Zhao Mu also turned to look at Duan Rong. This kid was somewhat mysterious; not only did he achieve Inner Breath Second Level in such a short time, but he also ranked first in the written exam.

It seems his ancestors must be grumbling!

Seeing Zhao Mu looking at him, Duan Rong smiled at him slightly. Duan Rong was genuinely pleased Zhao Mu passed the written test.

Seeing Duan Rong smiling warmly at him, Zhao Mu’s heart stirred slightly as he nodded and smiled at Duan Rong, thinking to himself: This kid is actually quite nice, easy to get along with!

After the first written test concluded, the second martial arts test was next.

The process for the martial arts test was like this: From the escort team, ten candidate escort masters were selected, and three escort masters were randomly chosen from them by drawing lots to fight the intern escort masters in the arena.

Victory or defeat wasn’t the criteria for evaluation, but rather the comprehensive strength shown by the intern escort masters during the fight was discussed by the chief tutor and leaders to determine qualification.

The ten candidate escort masters were already standing under the arena, and there were some sparse onlookers around the arena...

Xiao Zongting had already started preparing to draw lots!

The order for the martial arts test was arranged according to the written exam scores. So, the first to go was Duan Rong!

Zhao Mu and Zong Yong had already stepped off the arena, leaving only Duan Rong standing on it.

Duan Rong’s gaze swept across the faces of the ten candidate escort masters not far away. They all looked at Duan Rong with disdain; these escort masters were already at the Inner Breath Second Level realm, so naturally, they had reason to be proud.

As Xiao Zongting was drawing lots, a few of them were whispering...

Liu Song looked at Liang Wu, whispering: "You spent all night in Scarf Hat Lane last night; aren’t your legs too weak to fight later?"

"You must be joking, these intern escort masters are just babies, aren’t they? Besides, it might not even be me!" Liang Wu laughed, burping from his drink.

His face still had the flushed redness from drinking, clearly still not sober.

Xiao Zongting picked up a folded piece of paper from a small bamboo basket, opened it, glanced at the ten candidate escort masters, and coldly said, "The one going up is Liang Wu!"

Liang Wu was slightly stunned upon hearing this; Liu Song laughed and looked at him: "You feared what would come!"

"What a joke, am I afraid?" Liang Wu muttered and slowly stepped forward, but his steps were visibly unsteady, his face flushed.

Xiao Zongting looked at Liang Wu, his face dark as coal. He limped up to Liang Wu, and as soon as he stood in front of him, he smelled the strong scent of alcohol.

"Been drinking?"

Seeing Xiao Zongting’s unpleasant expression, Liang Wu felt a bit panicked, but he couldn’t lie about the smell of alcohol on him. He could only nod and say, "Just a bit."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zongting paused for a moment, then suddenly slapped Liang Wu’s face.

"Smack!" A clear sound echoed in the martial arts arena, and five finger marks immediately appeared on Liang Wu’s face.

Wang Zhuoyong, the leader of the fourth escort team, shot up from his seat. Liang Wu was part of his escort team, and Xiao Zongting disciplining Liang Wu publicly was embarrassing for him.

"Can Liang Wu still fight?" Wang Zhuoyong demanded coldly, looking at Liang Wu.

"I can, Leader!"

"Then get up on the arena quickly!" Wang Zhuoyong ordered.

"Yes!" Liang Wu immediately scrambled up onto the arena, standing opposite Duan Rong.

Wang Zhuoyong feared Xiao Zongting’s sudden anger would result in harsh punishment for Liang Wu, so he intervened. Xiao Zongting understood Wang Zhuoyong’s concerns since Wang Zhuoyong was a leader, and he couldn’t simply ignore his stance.

Xiao Zongting’s face remained cold and expressionless as he returned to his seat.