Facing Liang Dang’s pressing questions, Qi He took a deep breath.
Just as he was about to speak, Wan Long on the side laughed and spoke first, "Elder, the most powerful one here is at the Second Grade Middle Stage. On the way, Elder Lian Cheng and I mistakenly thought he was an unparalleled genius.
As a result, he got injured during a sparring session with my men and had to be carried here on a stretcher!"
Liang Dang, "..."
Wei Ling and other elders, "...."
Everyone, "...."
"Damn it, carried on a stretcher? This surely hasn’t been done before, has it?" The spectators from various academies were all stunned.
However, Wei Ling and Gu Bin discerned something else from Wan Long’s words. Mistaken as a genius on the road?
This sentence was indeed worth pondering. Who didn’t know that Qi He consistently ranked at the bottom, was it that this guy was pretending to be an elephant on the road, and then their plan backfired?
Thinking of this scenario, they nearly burst out laughing.
Clearly, Liang Dang had also thought of this possibility. He had no high hopes for Qi He, who recruited five people, and the most powerful was Second Grade Middle Stage?
He didn’t even know what to say anymore, carried on a stretcher... Qi He truly was setting a new record for Zhongnan Academy’s recruitment history, time after time.
"By the way, what is the cultivation level of the weakest among them!" Liang Dang asked.
At this moment, he was no longer concerned about the strongest at Second Grade Middle Stage. If all these recruits were at the Second Grade, that would be fine, fairly reasonable.
You must know, in the teams from the other four major districts, even the weakest were at the Second Grade Late Stages, which means, the weakest from other districts were stronger than the strongest in the Qi He’s team.
He was worried that among these five recruits brought in by Qi He, there might be some below Second Grade.
At that moment, all eyes in the venue were on Qi He’s team members, especially on Wan Long and Lian Cheng.
They only knew that Fan Zhan was the strongest at Second Grade Middle Stage and had not paid attention to who the weakest was. Could there even be a First Grade martial artist?
Qi He’s face turned slightly green, knowing that mockery was inevitable, "Ling Fan, that guy, how could he not show up yet!"
Su Qiong, Zuo Zhengqing, and a few others felt pale under such scrutiny, their cheeks puffed out.
Clenching their fists, they felt powerless and humiliated, their hearts filled with a longing for strength.
They knew that once Qi He revealed their cultivation levels, it would inevitably provoke everyone’s disdain, mockery, and even humiliation!
"What, is it so hard to report?" Liang Dang’s voice deepened.
Hearing this, Qi He’s heart jolted, he took a deep breath and, braving himself, said, "Except for Fan Zhan, the remaining four are all at First Grade Cultivation!"
Silence, deadly silence!
The whole crowd was stunned by this statement. Liang Dang felt his brain ring with a boom, and even he felt embarrassed for Qi He.
The other four elders were similarly flabbergasted. Was Qi He fooling around?
"Qi He, I mean, in the history of Zhongnan Academy’s recruitment, although it’s not a written rule to refuse First Grades, it has been an unwritten norm.
It seems that our academy has never before recruited First Grade martial artists, right? You’ve really created a record for the academy!" Wan Long said in amazement.
Lian Cheng suddenly came back to his senses, nodded, and echoed, "Indeed worthy of being recorded in the annals of Zhongnan Academy, immortalized in history!"
The revived Wei Ling and Gu Bin looked at each other. Qi He had broken a century-old record of the Zhongnan Academy, and moreover, it was a kind that others would find hard to break in the future!
By this time, Liang Dang’s entire face had turned green. He was initially in a good mood as this session had produced two Grandmasters, a congratulatory and record-breaking achievement against the common difficulty of producing a Grandmaster in the Secular World.
However, it was precisely spoiled by Elder Qi He, this "rotten mouse-dropping."
Breaking two records at the same time, one commendable and one shameful, although he wasn’t in charge of recruitment, he was the host of this session, and he didn’t know whether to be happy or to cry!
"Qi He, are you joking with Zhongnan Academy? Recruiting such mediocre talents, are you playing with me?" Liang Dang was furious.
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Being ridiculed made Qi He uncomfortable as well, and through gritted teeth, he said, "Elder Liang, I did not violate the academy’s recruitment rules, it seems I didn’t make a mistake!"
Liang Dang was rendered speechless, a surge of frustration welled up inside him, Qi He was right; indeed, there was no rule saying that First Grade Martial Artists couldn’t be recruited.
The surrounding trainees looked at Fan Zhan and the others, faces filled with shock and disbelief.
"Damn, with such trash cultivation, how do they have the face to come? If it were me, I wouldn’t have the face even if a teacher asked me to come!" someone exclaimed, unable to hold back.
"Exactly, First Grade, damn, I thought Zhongnan Academy had high standards, damn, even First Grades can get in, speechless!" another person sighed heavily.
The crowd burst into a flurry of discussion, filled with sneers and disdain, while Su Qiong and the others’ faces turned beet red, alternating between pale and flushed.
They had never felt as embarrassed as they did at that moment, and they swore inwardly to improve their cultivation.
Chao Liang and Kong Yin looked at each other, genuinely not having considered that besides Fan Zhan, the others would be at the First Grade of cultivation, deeply shocked for quite a while!
"Qi He, I am going to request the Elder Council to stop your recruitment in the Jiangbei District from the next session onwards, what kind of people are you recruiting? This is utterly unreasonable!" Liang Dang snorted coldly, his face full of disgust as he glanced at Su Qiong and the others.
"Oh, right, Elder Liang!" Wan Long suddenly remembered something.
Slapping his forehead, "I almost forgot, Elder Qi He does have one talented student, who was said to be delayed and planned to meet up at the academy, just, I haven’t yet seen this genius he mentioned!"
"Hmm?" Liang Dang frowned, sweeping a glance at Qi He.
At this moment, Chao Liang stepped forward, respectfully saying to Liang Dang, "Elder, let me explain, these few said they have an awesome boss on their way here.
Even now, they are unwilling to join our group, nor do they accept me as their leader, saying they’ll wait for their boss to arrive!"
"I am also looking forward to meeting this genius, but now that we’ve arrived at the academy, I still haven’t caught sight of this legendary figure, and it’s quite regrettable!"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding people gasped, staring at Su Qiong and the others with gaping mouths.
"Damn, really? Could this guy be even more capable than Young Master Chao?" Tao Yang couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
"Hmm? Elder Qi, you have such a talent? Don’t hesitate to present him for everyone to see!" Wei Ling said, astonished. Discover stories with freewebnovel
"Yeah, Old Ghost Qi, were you planning a surprise? You really know how to play it cool!" Gu Bin also said, his face full of shock.
Liang Dang calmed his emotions, if it were indeed true, it could redeem this failure.
"Is what Elder Wan said true, where is this genius you mentioned now?" Liang Dang asked.
"Replying to the Elder, he said he’d go to Shennong Peak for a visit, might have been delayed by something. He should be able to return before the evaluation; we had an agreement!" Qi He was also somewhat anxious.
Seeing this, Liang Dang snorted coldly, "Nothing but lies!"
"Elder, I am not lying!" Qi He was desperate.
"Hmph, you may not know, but a few days ago, several disciples from our Hidden Dragon Institute also went to Shennong Peak.
They were caught in a once-in-a-century Thunderstorm, which did not stop for a day and a night; below the cliffs, they even saw fallen bodies, unable to get close due to the storm.
They immediately abandoned their expedition and returned a few days ago; even if what you said is true, that guy probably fell victim to the storm!" Liang Dang said coldly.
Upon hearing this, Su Qiong and others’ faces turned pale, had something happened to Ling Fan?
Qi He also turned ashen, standing frozen in place!