Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted, and they all craned their necks to look ahead. Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and all they could see were layers of lush green peaks.

"You will descend ahead. What awaits you next is the Azure Dragon Academy's entrance examination!" With a light chuckle, Mo Bin issued a command to the Azure Cranes, and the three cranes immediately flew downward.

They eventually landed on an enormous open ground.

Tang Yan squinted his eyes. This ground was densely packed with people.

"Tomorrow morning, the Azure Dragon Academy's selection officially begins. These people below are all candidates who have obtained the qualification for the Azure Dragon Academy selection," Mo Bin explained. "You must stand out from this crowd to truly enter the Azure Dragon Academy. If you fail, you'll be sent straight back home without even seeing the gates of the Azure Dragon Academy."

The landing of the three Azure Cranes attracted the attention of many. In particular, Lin Dongxue and Wan Fei drew the gazes of many members of the opposite sex.

"Find a place to rest. Be careful and do not cause any trouble tonight." Anyone who stirs up conflict will have their selection qualification directly revoked," Mo Bin warned.

After giving a few more instructions to the five, Mo Bin mounted his Azure Crane and left.

Once Mo Bin was gone, Fang Xuan and the others were momentarily flustered. Tang Yan smoothly caught the psychological changes of the four and smiled slightly. "Let's go. Find a place to rest for the night."

With that, he took the lead and walked forward.

Wan Fei and Lin Dongxue were already close to Tang Yan, so they immediately followed after he spoke. Fang Xuan and Du Shu, being newcomers as well, instinctively followed Tang Yan forward out of a human tendency to stick together.

After walking for a while, Tang Yan found an empty spot. He called out to the four, and the five of them sat down to rest.

"Have something to eat." Tang Yan took out food from his Spatial Spirit Ring and distributed it to the four.

"Thank you, Young Master Tang," they all expressed their gratitude.

As Tang Yan ate, he observed his surroundings. Walking through the crowd just now, among so many people, he could hardly find anyone below the Third Grade of Black Rank!

This selection was destined to be a fierce battle.

"Five of you, this is our spot. Please move somewhere else." Just as the five were eating, a grating voice rang out.

Tang Yan looked up and saw five young people standing before him.

As if intending to intimidate, the five did not conceal their auras, displaying the power of the Fifth Grade of Black Rank before Tang Yan and the others.

All five were at the Fifth Grade of Black Rank!

The people around looked at these five with a hint of fear, and their gazes toward Tang Yan and his group carried a touch of schadenfreude.

Fang Xuan and Du Shu wore serious expressions. Just feeling the pressure emanating from the other side made one want to retreat. The strength of the two sides was clearly not on the same level. If a fight actually broke out, it would be more than enough trouble for the people from the Eastern Region.

However, Fang Xuan was also a favored son of heaven in the Eastern Region. How could he tolerate such provocation? He sneered, "If I'm not mistaken, you've just arrived as well, haven't you? If you want to rest, you can easily walk further away and find a place to settle in this area."

A tall youth among the opposing group narrowed his eyes, staring at Fang Xuan, his tone gradually turning icy. "It seems this brother is unwilling to give us this face?"

As he finished speaking, the auras of the five erupted like a volcanic explosion, bearing down on Tang Yan and his group.

The faces of the Eastern Region group changed slightly.

"Fighting is prohibited here. Do you want to defy the Azure Dragon Academy's regulations and get sent packing immediately?" Tang Yan raised an eyebrow, and his "Force" suddenly burst forth, dispersing the oppressive pressure imposed by the other side.

The five were momentarily stunned. They were well aware of the Azure Dragon Academy's rules against causing trouble here. They hadn't actually planned to fight, only to scare Tang Yan and the others away. They hadn't expected this group to completely disregard their face.

"Kid, get lost now. If we happen to run into you during the selection, we might show mercy and let you off. But if you don't know your place, don't blame us for being rude once we're inside!" the tall youth threatened.

"Annoying," Tang Yan spat out two words.

"Fine. Just you wait!" Seeing Tang Yan's stubbornness, the tall youth coldly swept his gaze over the five, having made up his mind to make things difficult for Tang Yan later. With a wave of his hand, the group walked away.

"We've only just arrived and already made such a strong enemy. It would have been better to just give up the spot. I was too impulsive just now," Fang Xuan sighed, shaking his head.

"If it's an elimination match, even without making enemies, they'd still be opponents. They're only at the Fifth Grade of Black Rank. If we don't even have the courage to resist, then we'll only be eliminated next. What Brother Fang did was what we all had in mind. Don't regret it," Tang Yan said with a serious expression.

"Tang Yan is right. I wasn't planning to give up the spot either," Lin Dongxue chimed in.

Fang Xuan looked at the group with gratitude. The appearance of those five hadn't dampened the morale of the Eastern Region group; instead, it had gradually brought their hearts closer together.

The next morning.

After cultivating through the night, everyone in the field had adjusted to their best state.

"Dong"--A strange sound suddenly came from above. The young men and women in the square all looked up at the sky.

"Whoosh!"

A light screen suddenly lit up, and an old man with graying temples stepped out from within it.

"Little ones, sorry to keep you waiting." The old man slowly descended, and a high platform suddenly appeared beneath him, onto which he landed.

Tang Yan's spirits lifted. That light screen just now was likely a teleportation Formation. The Azure Dragon Academy truly had abundant resources.

"Now, raise your tokens," the white-haired old man said softly.

Seeing everyone raise their tokens, the old man smiled slightly, took out a bead from his storage space, and scattered a vast expanse of white light downward.

The tokens in everyone's hands also emitted a white light, resonating with the bead in the old man's hand.

"At the top of the jade token in your hand, there is a light blue five-pointed star. On each five-pointed star, there is a '1.' This means your token has one star. As the stars increase, the color of the five-pointed star will deepen. The number of stars determines your results in the selection."

"How do we obtain stars?" someone in the crowd asked.

The white-haired old man said gently, "This open ground you're on is a barrier. Once the barrier is lifted, the selection officially begins, and everyone will be randomly teleported to different locations in the mountain forest.

There are many Spirit Beasts in the competition area, ranging from Second Rank to Fourth Rank. Killing Spirit Beasts will earn you a certain amount of Star Value. Killing a Third-Rank Spirit Beast earns you 0.1 Star Value. Killing a Fourth-Rank Spirit Beast earns you 1 Star Value.

Those whose Star Value ultimately falls below 30 will be eliminated. Those with Star Value exceeding 30 will officially become Azure Dragon Academy students!"

"Thirty Star Value!" Hearing this standard, many showed a hint of worry in their eyes. Killing a Fourth-Rank Spirit Beast only earns one star? Isn't this too outrageous!

Not to mention how difficult it is to kill a Fourth-Rank Spirit Beast"-does this area even have that many Spirit Beasts?