Chapter 152: Chapter 149: 3-Tier Division
"You’re all bad people!"
Jin Sanpang said huffily, "Just you wait! San Pang will strip you all bare sooner or later!"
If Mo Qi hadn’t warned him not to fight inside the main hall, he would have long since beaten down anyone who dared call him a fatass.
When Mo Qi saw this, his face instantly darkened.
’I might have hinted at it, but I never explicitly told him to strip people bare!’
’That whole "Three Alls Policy" thing, and this business of stripping everyone at the drop of a hat—that’s all something you and Liu Hui cooked up in your own heads, okay?’
’Besides, shouldn’t this kind of thing be handled a bit more discreetly?’
"Huh? Brother Mo, you’re out?"
Seeing Mo Qi, Jin Sanpang immediately cast aside all his worries and looked over with a goofy grin.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze focused on Mo Qi.
They all wanted to know just what kind of great personage could make Jin Sanpang act so arrogantly.
However, Mo Qi’s ordinary appearance left them disappointed.
"So you’re that fatty’s Brother Mo?" a young man asked, walking up and sizing up Mo Qi from head to toe.
"Yes," Mo Qi nodded.
"You’re nothing special. Looking at you, you’ve just entered the Qi Refining Realm. You think you’re qualified to participate in the Empire’s annual selection?"
"Exactly. The way I see it, you’d be better off giving up now. Go back to where you came from, lest you lose your life," someone chimed in.
"Reaching the Qi Refining Realm at his age would indeed make him a top genius in some minor Sect, but compared to us? Heh, he’s trash!"
This remark sent the surrounding crowd into a roar of laughter.
If Mo Qi were truly just an ordinary Qi Refining Realm Cultivator, these people would indeed have the right to mock him.
Because aside from him, the weakest person present was at the Refining God Ninth Heaven.
Among them, nearly thirty percent had reached the Purity Realm.
They were the top geniuses selected from the entire Mountain and Sea Empire. In their respective hometowns or Sects, every single one of them was the most dazzling new star, bar none.
Thus, they were proud. They were confident. They were used to being on top.
But in Mo Qi’s eyes, this mentality was incredibly childish.
Those who have never experienced a low point will fly blindly high, soaring to a height from which they could fall to their deaths without even realizing it.
Beneath their glamorous exteriors, they were actually fragile and weak.
What Mo Qi couldn’t stand the most was how foul their mouths were.
Mo Qi couldn’t be bothered with them. He had originally planned to be a bit more "low-key," but now he looked directly at Jin Sanpang and Liu Hui.
"Remember to properly implement that Three Alls Policy. Don’t let a single one of them go!"
’You all think you’re so tough, don’t you? Think you can run your mouths? Just you wait. I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll pay for, a lesson in what true despair feels like.’
Being ignored, the crowd instantly flew into a rage.
A mere Qi Refining Cultivator daring to be so arrogant—he was simply courting death!
"Just you wait! We’ll see you Within the Pass!"
"Let’s see who strips who bare!"
The dignity of the strong cannot be provoked, and the same goes for geniuses.
What they didn’t know was that there’s a type of person known as a "genius-killer."
"Enough!" The three elders stopped the farce from continuing.
"You will be entering the Pass shortly. Before that, I will explain the rules to you. I will only state them once."
The crowd immediately fell silent, all of them perking up their ears to listen carefully.
A seventy-percent death rate was no joke. As confident as they were, they weren’t foolish enough to gamble with their own lives.
"First, based on your assessed talent, you have been divided into three levels. From highest to lowest, they are Gold, Silver, and Copper. As you would expect, if you successfully pass the annual selection and arrive at the Imperial Academy, you will receive different treatment corresponding to your level. The higher the level, the better the treatment."
As he spoke, the elder waved his wide sleeve, and tokens of different colors were distributed into everyone’s hands.
"It’s gold, so I guess I’m Golden Level?" Liu Hui said, looking at his token before turning to Jin Sanpang.
"Fatty, what about you?"
Jin Sanpang held up his token and said with a simple-minded smile, "San Pang got a gold one, too."
Their conversation drew everyone’s attention.
"I only got Silver Level. On what grounds are they Golden Level?" someone complained, unconvinced.
In fact, the vast majority of people were unconvinced.
Including Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang, only five Gold-level Tokens had been given out in total.
Of the remaining people, forty percent were Silver Level and sixty percent were Copper Level.
"I refuse to accept this! Senior, this junior requests a battle with them! I want to prove that they are not my equal!" someone declared, pointing at Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang.
"I won’t accept it either! I want to fight, too!"
"That’s right, we all want to fight!"
The Silver Levels were challenging the Golden Levels, and the Copper Levels were challenging both.
"If you want a fight, you’ll get one! You think we’re afraid of you?" Liu Hui stood with his hands behind his back, his head held high and a look of utter disdain on his face.
’Do they really take us for pushovers?’
"Silence!" The elder raised a hand, making a downward pressing gesture, and instantly, everyone found themselves unable to speak, not a single sound escaping their lips.
"I know many of you are not convinced. Therefore, in the interest of fairness, a new rule has been added to the annual selection. Once you are Within the Pass, you may snatch tokens from one another. If you want to become Golden Level, then go and seize a Gold-level Token."
"As long as you succeed in snatching one and hold onto it until the very end, then even if you are currently Copper Level, you will be promoted to Golden Level. As for those who are robbed... you will naturally find out the consequences in due time!"
With this declaration, the five people holding Gold-level Tokens became the targets of everyone’s ambition.
"Um... Senior, this junior doesn’t have a token yet," Mo Qi said, raising his hand.
Only then did the crowd realize that among all the young people present, only Mo Qi was empty-handed.
"Hahaha! Don’t tell me your talent is so poor you don’t even qualify for Copper Level, so you’re not worthy of a token?"
"So, does this mean he was eliminated during the talent assessment phase?"
"That would be a first. In all the previous years of the annual selection, no one has ever failed to even make it Within the Pass."
Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang couldn’t stand seeing Mo Qi being looked down upon.
"What are you squawking about? A bunch of trash who aren’t even Golden Level have the nerve to speak?" Liu Hui snapped angrily.
"That’s right! My Brother Mo is countless times stronger than you!" Jin Sanpang put his hands on his hips, his whole body’s fat jiggling dazzlingly as he grew agitated.
"So what if you’re Golden Level? It’ll be ours sooner or later!"
"You’re just holding onto them for a while! Once we’re Within the Pass, you’ll be sorry!"
Being called trash, the crowd was also extremely displeased.
Just as Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang were about to say more, Mo Qi stopped them.
"Don’t bother with them. It’s a waste of breath."
The elder glanced at the others, then put on a smile and looked at Mo Qi. "Kid, are you sure you want your token now?"
Mo Qi was taken aback. ’Isn’t that a stupid question? If you don’t give me a token, how will my level be calculated?’
’How will I get resources at the Imperial Academy?’
"Alright, I was planning to give it to you separately later, but since you’re so insistent, then take it."
As his voice fell, a black token appeared before Mo Qi.
Black?
The crowd was baffled.
’Could it really be Black Iron, a level even lower than Copper?’
"This is a Dark Horse Level token, a rank even higher than Golden Level," the elder said with a leisurely smile.
