Qin Yang gently touched his nose, glancing at the young man before him with a sneer. "You dare speak to me like that? Do you know who I am?"
Seeing Qin Yang hadn't moved to attack, Martial Heaven finally relaxed.
The young man's eyes widened dramatically, his face contorting into an exaggerated expression of fear. "Oh my goodness, I'm so scared!" His expression shifted instantly, turning mockingly playful. "Does it matter who I am?"
He turned to look at Lou Mengyu and Jin Wanshan, then burst out laughing while looking down his nose at Qin Yang. "I'm ranked third on the Monster Hunter Rankings! Who do you think you are?"
"So he's that third-ranked Yu Shaojie!"
"The Yu Family is a famous clan in Central Province, running a merchant guild. While they can't compare to the Gold Family, they have many powerful alchemists! They even have several unique pill formulas that no one else has!"
"In terms of pills alone, the Yu Family isn't weaker than the Gold Family..."
"Yu Shaojie is actually ranked third on the Monster Hunter Rankings? But he specializes in alchemy!"
A wave of praise filled the air, Yu Shaojie's face brimming with pride.
"Alchemy?" Qin Yang raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips.
Yu Shaojie spread his hands in a theatrical gesture, as if commanding silence from the crowd. He looked at Qin Yang with a smile and asked, "Might I inquire your rank?"
Qin Yang turned to look at Martial Heaven.
Martial Heaven produced the Celestial Token. The list now only displayed the top hundred rankings, and Qin Yang's name was conspicuously absent.
"He has no ranking," Martial Heaven announced.
The arena erupted in chaos as voices rose in a cacophony of protests.
"No ranking? We're all top hundred candidates! What right does he have to stand among us?"
"Exactly! Have him pack up and get lost!"
"We're all new recruits for the Celestial Academy! How did this imposter slip through?"
The wave of condemnation crashed over the field like a tidal surge.
"He's a special admission," Martial Heaven interjected. "His standing doesn't depend on the assessment results."
"Special admission?"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
"The Celestial Academy hasn't accepted special admissions in ten years! How did we get so lucky this year?"
Yu Shaojie stood stunned. Becoming a special admission to the Celestial Academy wasn't just difficult—it was nearly impossible. Countless powerful clans had tried to secure backdoor entries, only to be rejected outright.
Noticing Qin Yang's youthful appearance, Yu Shaojie's jealousy flared. "If you could have participated in the monster hunting assessment, why did you choose special admission?" he demanded, his voice dripping with resentment. "You must be utterly incompetent, right?"
Qin Yang's lips curled in amusement. "Correct. I'm completely incompetent. But as a special admission, I still get into the Celestial Academy. What are you going to do about it?"
"You!" Yu Shaojie roared, his face flushing crimson. A suffocating tension gripped the chests of everyone present.
Jin Wanshan regarded Qin Yang with peculiar intensity. "Have you lost your mind?" he whispered. "Or did Martial Heaven's seclusion drive you to madness?"
Qin Yang's response came in a hushed whisper. "Wu Heilian issued me a martial ban - no combat for a year. You think I'd waste breath arguing with him over what you fools believe can be settled by fists? Keep this quiet. No one must know."
Jin Wanshan fought back a chuckle. No wonder Qin Yang's behavior defied all expectations - the man's temper had become unnaturally docile.
Beside them, Lou Mengyu's soft laughter rippled through the air. Her smile embodied the ancient saying: "A single glance from her lips could bewitch a hundred charms."
The assembly of youthful warriors burned with competitive fervor, their howls rising like a pack of wolves.
Yu Shaojie's eyes blazed with jealousy. He could see the extraordinary bond between Lou Mengyu and Qin Yang, and his chest swelled with resentment.
"Prove your worth!" Yu Shaojie demanded. "You claim to be a special recruit - show us your skills! Otherwise, who would believe your claims?"
Qin Yang's laughter cut through the tension. "I possess no skills whatsoever. Yet I remain a special recruit. What's your problem?"
"Of course it's a problem!" Yu Shaojie's voice cracked with fury. "We endure brutal hunts and fierce competition, while you claim everything without lifting a finger!"
"We'll petition the academy!" The cry rose from the crowd. "We'll demand justice!"
Qin Yang found himself at the center of a storm. He had no interest in reasoning with these people; all he wanted was to smash their heads with his fists. But alas...
"If you don't like it, toughen up. Want to protest? Go ahead. I'm not stopping you," Qin Yang said impatiently.
"Such blatant injustice! Does being a special admissions student make you so superior? How could Celestial Academy tolerate such a scoundrel?"
"I say he's nothing but trash. A complete waste!"
"How could Celestial Academy possibly grant a special admissions spot to someone like this?"
"Qin Yang..." Jin Wanshan looked at him with pity.
Lou Mengyu felt conflicted. Though her heart ached for Qin Yang, she couldn't help but chuckle at his predicament.
Exchanging glances with Jin Wanshan, the man burst into hearty laughter.
"He's asking for death!" Gongsun Ming whispered to Lou Qinru as he pulled her away from the crowd. He feared Qin Yang might lose control and slaughter everyone present... and he had no desire to face Qin Yang's wrath again.
"Can't you guys calm down...?" Lou Qinru said, exasperated. These classmates truly had no sense of their own limitations. If they ever witnessed Qin Yang's true capabilities, they'd probably wet their pants in terror.
"Shut up, all of you! You think you can become special admission students too?" Qin Yang's head buzzed with the cacophony of voices.
"Heh! Now he's getting feisty?"
"I just want to know why he gets to be a special admission student!"
Qin Yang roared, "What's it to you? Why should I tell you? Who do you think you are?"
"So what if you're a special admission student? You think I can't beat you?" Someone cracked their knuckles menacingly.
"That's right! A challenge between equals - you can't refuse! If I challenge you, the academy won't stop us!" Another voice shouted, clearly itching for a fight.
"Oh, you're gonna beat me? Come at me then! Don't laugh, but I could blow you all away with a single breath! You dare test me?" Qin Yang stood with hands on his hips, bellowing at the entire crowd.
Martial Heaven frowned deeply. Qin Yang had barely been released, and the once peaceful atmosphere had devolved into a market brawl, with students shouting like street vendors. Though the academy had a martial arts ban, a gag order would have been more useful...
When Qin Yang threatened to blow everyone away, Martial Heaven's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that hellish flame technique - the fiery breath that could incinerate everything in its path. This only made Martial Heaven's headache worse.
He couldn't guarantee Qin Yang wouldn't actually breathe fire and kill everyone. These were this year's incoming freshmen at Celestial Academy—if they all got roasted here, Qin Yang would make an enemy of the entire continent!
Even Celestial Academy itself would suffer the consequences!
Watching the scene spiral out of control, with young men and women trading insults with Qin Yang, it was clear that if this continued, they might actually come to blows!
"Silence!" Martial Heaven roared, then added, "He is a descendant of the Qin Family of the Eight Divine Clans."
The hall fell silent instantly, Yu Shaojie's pupils contracting.
"The Qin Family of the Eight Divine Clans... So this brat is actually from that clan?"
"So that's how he got his special admission spot..."
"Hmph, using the Qin Family's name to get special treatment? What kind of skill is that? Ugh!"
"Celestial Academy has always stood for equality. How can he have special privileges? What precedent is this?"
"He's from the Eight Divine Clans. We have students from those clans in our year too. Why is he the special admission? Just because his family was wiped out and the academy feels sorry for him?"
Qin Yang's face suddenly smoothed into an unnerving calmness.