Rise of The Demon General

The hall became silent. They never expected to hear another fifteen years old reaching the Peak Strength stage so soon. One that had even higher progress than the Yan youth.

Yan Long looked over at Amon. He wondered who was this youth. He had never heard of him. Lin Mo from the Lin clan? He knew of a Lin clan that was a second-rate clan from a small city. How dare this backwater kid stole his spotlight?

After the initial silence, mutterings soon returned.

Lao Zen looked at Amon with scrutiny. His previous estimation had been off. This youth was actually younger than Zhuan San. With his current body size, the boy might grow up to become a giant.

Lao Zen looked around. Amon's batch seemed to be the last to come forward. It was nighttime already outside. Everyone was tired. It's time to end this first exam. When he was about to announce the end of the first exam, a loud voice was heard, "He is cheating! He is not fifteen years old!"

Everyone looked to the source of the voice and saw a young girl pushing herself to the front row. All the while kept on shouting, "He is not fifteen. No way he is that young. He is seventeen years old!"

She continued to advance until she was stopped by the officials before the orb testing ground.

"His name is Lin Mo. He is seventeen years old!" Lin Fen yelled.

"We are well aware of his name," Lao Zen said.

"He should be disqualified!" Lin Fen shouted. "He is cheating about his age!"

"And how do you say he achieve this… cheat?" Lao Zen asked.

"I… I don't know…," Lin Fen's voice trailed off for a moment before her certainty returned. "He must have done something to the orb that tested him!"

Lao Zen waved his hand and the orb before Amon floated to him. He inspected the orb and said, "Looks fine to me."

"He… He is seventeen years old. The same as us! As me! You have to believe me… Ask him, ask him to do the test using another orb!"

Lao Zen frowned. He was being polite for entertaining a protest, but what kind of authority would people see him wield if he just complied with this request? But before he could say anything, another voice again beat him to the punch, "Which one?"

"What?" Lin Fen asked. Amon had finally responded, but she didn't quite catch his question.

"You said I rigged the orb and asked me to test using another orb? Which one do you want me to use?" Amon asked.

"Tha… That one!" Lin Fen pointed. It was the orb opposite where Amon was standing. The furthest away from him.

Amon grinned and walked over. He then touched the orb. The official on that side study the reading and then said, "Lin Mo. Age fifteen, 27% within the Peak Strength stage of Human realm."

"What…?! No! No, he must have done something to that orb as well!" Lin Fen uttered. "Use that one!" Lin Fen pointed to another orb.

"Enough!!" Lao Zen's voice reverberated in the hall. Those with lower cultivation felt their ears ringing and in pain. "I've entertained this charade long enough. The reading is final!"

"But… But he is truly not fifteen years old," Lin Fen insisted.

"Little girl, what's your name?" Lao Zen asked.

"Her name is Lin Fen. He is from the same clan as that boy," One of the nearby officials told Lao Zen.

"Yes! I am from the same clan as him, so you have to believe me!" Lin Fen uttered.

"Are you implying that my orbs are faulty and that I make mistakes in this exam?" Lao Zen asked.

"I… That's not what I meant, but… He is truly a seventeen-year-old!"

"I've said it before that I accept no argument and the reading is final. If you said another word, I will take it that you are opposing my authority."

"He… He is lying about his age! Why don't you believe me?" Lin Fen was unwilling.

"That's it! You have been warned. Lin Fen, you are disqualified! Take her out!" Lao Zen's voice boomed.

Lin Fen was taken aback by the decision. She froze and didn't say anything until one official came and grabbed her arm. "Wait… wait! What are you doing?! I still have to take the second and third exams! No…! Let me go! Let me go! He is the one who is cheating, why am I the one getting disqualified?! No, let go…!"

The official was much higher in cultivation. He didn't care about Lin Fen's protest. The girl continued to be dragged to the exit. There were now two people from the Lin clan that had been chased out today.

'Foolish girl,' Amon thought. He didn't even bother to give Lin Fen a look.

"I didn't blame people for mistaking you for seventeen years old," Lao Zen said to Amon. He himself had made the same mistake earlier. "But this orb is unmistakable in gauging one's age. I wonder why you lied to your clan."

Amon didn't answer. He didn't exactly lie. He simply never bothered to correct the misunderstanding.

Aside from Lin Fen, a few others were also greatly surprised by Amon's age reveal. Lin Anwen was one of them, but unlike Lin Fen, he stayed quiet. Another two were Yang Li and Xin Wuming. They were finalists in the White Cloud tournament with Amon. They assumed everyone there was fifteen years old at that time.

The limit of joining the White Cloud Tournament was youths with a maximum of fifteen years old. Younger youths were admissible, but no one sent younger youths because younger youths were generally weaker. Everyone picked their strongest amongst the oldest permissible age.

This reveal meant that Amon had joined the White Cloud Tournament at the age of thirteen years old. Two years younger than everyone else, and he still got first place in that tournament.

Yang Li and Xin Wuming already had a degree of respect for Amon, especially Xin Wuming. With this reveal, their admiration turned up another notch.

"This concludes the first exam," Lao Zen declared. "In a few minutes, the scores of the top ten and number one-thousandth will be announced. We announce the score of rank one thousandth so that everyone knows the lowest score to be accepted into the academy at the current stage. So at the next exam, those with a score below the one-thousandth rank will know that they have to strive harder to catch up."

"After the announcement, all candidates that are not disqualified are to follow the officials to rest in the dormitories that we have prepared. For adults who oversee your youths, you have to leave and find your own lodgings outside. You can come back again tomorrow morning to watch the second exam. Candidates outside of the ones being announced will have their scores given to them when they are grouped for the dormitories."

Lao Zen stored his orbs and then flew away, leaving his officials to summarize the scores. The candidates themselves intermingled as they waited for the score announcement.

"Big brother!" Amon heard Xin Wuming call him. Xin Wuming had come over to Amon's side after the exam was over. Yang Li stayed away.

"Congratulations on getting the best score in the first exam," Xin Wuming said.

"That is not yet certain," Amon said.

"I'm certain that it is!" Xin Wuming announced.

"I'm of the same mind," Zhuan San approached with his smile.

"Who are you?" Xin Wuming asked.

"My name is Zhuan San, Brother Lin Mo's partner of mutual protection in this academy," Zhuan San answered.

"That is yet to be decided," Amon clarified.

"What about you, friend? May I know your name?" Zhuan San asked Xin Wuming.

"I am Xin Wuming. I am brother Lin Mo's first underling," Xin Wuming introduced himself.

Zhuan San froze for a second before laughing loudly. "Brother Lin Mo, I know you are not simple. You are only fifteen years old, but you already have someone that so willingly calls himself your underling. This is a first for me, please accept my admiration."

Amon gave no response.

Zhuan San chuckled. He didn't seem offended at all by Amon's coldness. At this time, a large banner with calligraphic letters was hung up high, allowing everybody to see. It contained the scores of the top ten as well as the one-thousandth rank.

*

First: Lin Mo - 927 points

Second: Yan Long - 909 points

Third: Wong Cou - 902 points

Fourth: Zhuan San - 857 points

Fifth: Xing Fei - 834 points

Sixth: Wu Lang - 825 points

Seventh: Tuang Yin - 816 points

Eighth: Sima Fang - 815 points

Ninth: Xa Jien - 812 points

Tenth: Jin Hua - 808 points

One thousandth: Wo Kui - 516 points

*

After the rank announcement. The officials started to call candidates' names one by one. The candidates were given their individual scores before being separated into several groups marked with different colors. These colors marked which dormitory they would be spending their night in.

"See? I said big brother will get the best score in this first exam!" Xin Wuming said proudly.

"Hmph, first or not is inconsequential. All I need is to enter this academy," Amon said. He honestly didn't think it was a big deal. He cared not for such ranking.

"Don't say it like that," Zhuan San said. "Making a name for yourself is a good way to build a reputation. Reputation is useful if it is utilized properly."

"It can also easily attract troubles," Amon said. He had detected several hostile glares after the rankings were announced. Among which was Yan Long and Wu Yang. This was unavoidable, jealousy was a common thing. Amon was never one who was afraid of conflict. He kept a low profile because his strength had not yet matured, but it didn't mean he would intentionally pretend to be weak.

"Lin Mo!" Amon heard his name being called by the officials.

"Big brother, good luck on tomorrow's exam!" Xin Wuming said.

"I need no luck," Amon replied. He started walking but stopped halfway. He said to Xin Wuming while pointing at Zhuan San, "Do not tell him anything about me."

"Ah… How do you know what I plan to do after you left?" Zhuan San said with a sigh.

"Ye… Yes, big brother," Xin Wu Ming replied.