The man's words made the surrounding teachers nod their heads.
"Hey, you aren't paying attention to my last sentence. I said that Dark Tides have been becoming more and more frequent. Do you not know what that means anymore? That means what happened twenty years ago will happen again, and very soon! Do you think with the current academy strength can hold off the Wave of Resentment? We need as many students as we can get at this point."
"Qin Dong'er, aren't you being a little too pessimistic?" The gorilla man said.
"Wang Kun, Dark Tides can only be triggered by those corrupted by the Red Sea and become a being of resentment and start transforming into a Vexed. With more and more triggers of Dark Tides, the Red Cream Sea might not be safe to live for commoners." Qin Dong'er said as she shot Wang Kun a dissatisfied look.
Wang Kun was a little angry at the look she gave him and began to argue with her. The two bickered for a while before Lu Xiaofeng had enough of it and summoned his trident and slammed it down on the ground.
His Qi swept across the darkness, illuminating it, but also causing tremendous pressure on the teachers. Though, the students who have arrived didn't feel or see a thing.
"Enough you two. Each one of you has a point. The school isn't supposed to raise weak spirit masters so we can use them on the front lines, and the resurgence of the Wave of Resentment is a huge deal and I'll talk to the principal about Qin Dong'er findings. Happy?"
Wang Kun and Qin Dong'er nodded their heads like a chicken pecking rice, and hurried to bow.
"Alright, with that out of the way, let's watch the students' performance." Lu Xiaofeng said, putting away his martial spirit and the black halo that appeared under his feat when he summoned his trident also disappeared.
All the teachers breathe a sigh of relief. Although they're also rank five spirit masters, Lu Xiaofeng Qi seemed to hold the weight of the ocean, causing their body to tremble under his pressure.
'That feeling… Was that Bitter Qi? But why would Lu Xiaofeng be able to use Bitter Qi? Only those corrupted by the Red Sea and became a Vexed can use Bitter Qi.' Qin Dong'er thought to herself, but kept it in the back of her mind.
As for Lu Xiaofeng, he also found something wrong with his Qi.
'Could it be because of the seals that have broken and the golden pool reaching over ten meters?' He thought.
It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he gained control over Bitter Qi. Since he could transform into his martial spirit which should only be possible at the seventh rank, what's wrong with controlling Bitter Qi?
'It seems that the golden pool has some origins with the Red Sea.' Lu Xiaofeng pondered.
'Could it have something to do with my birth?"
A bit of hesitation flashed on Lu Xiaofeng's face. He didn't know who his biological parents were. The only thing he remembered was growing up in the Red Sea, and yet somehow he didn't turn into a Vexed, instead he benefited from the Bitter Qi that formed in the Red Sea.
Honestly, Lu Xiaofeng has doubted himself a few times because of this.
Time ticked by fast, and now everyone has been brought to the Main Hall of the Outer Courtyard. The Main Hall was filled with pictures of massive sea creatures and white pillars that looked like pearls.
Currently there are 743 students that have passed the first exam, and Lu Fin, Lu Rensheng, and Lu Feng'er have all regrouped together.
"Feng'er, next time don't run off on us again, ok?" Lu Rensheng said as she walked up to Lu Feng'er and scolded her with a soft tone.
"Humph, who told you two to be so slow." Lu Feng'er snorted, but nodded her head reluctantly.
"The Eldest Sister is right. Especially considering our identity." Lu Fin said in a low voice.
His words made Lu Rensheng and Lu Feng'er fall silent. They've actually not paid too much attention to their identity since coming in. In fact, Lu Feng'er didn't hesitate to show off that her father was Lu Xiaofeng, though it wasn't entirely her fault because the martial soul couldn't be faked, she still could've tried to hide the fact that her father was Lu Xiaofeng.
"Enough with the depressing atmosphere. We're here to take the exam and accomplish a new journey in our life. Having a little joy won't hurt." Lu Rensheng said, defending Feng'er.
Lu Fin shook his head and sighed. His Eldest Sister has always had a soft spot when it came to family.
Just when the three of them fell silent, the ground before them started to shake.
"What's happening?" Lu Fin asked as his pupils shrank.
The three of them quickly summoned their martial spirits as three white halos appeared under their feat.
Some students did the same as them while others just stood still in confusion.
A few breaths later, the ground beneath the students slowly started to descend, and the picture in front of them began to change.
As the ground below them slowly descended, they could see a huge sea on the outside that had an eerie black gas that swirled around it. That black gas seemed to sense their presence and began attacking the glass, causing a few students to scream in fright.
"Is this the spiritual test that Senior Shu was talking about?" Lu Rensheng said as she swallowed, and she subconsciously backed up into Lu Feng'er.
Lu Feng'er felt Lu Rensheng back into her and frowned slightly, but caught something from her words.
"Spiritual test? Is that the second exam?" Lu Feng'er asked as her eyes glanced around the room.
"Hmm, Senior Shu didn't say much, he only mentioned that the second exam was a spiritual test. Did you get anything from your senior?"
Lu Feng'er lips twitched when she thought of her senior.
"No, my senior didn't even answer ninety percent of my questions." She said in a wronged voice.
Lu Fin glanced at her while Lu Rensheng was puzzled.
"Did you offend your senior?"
"No! We had a decent conversation, but she suddenly stopped answering my questions when I asked about the six floating islands and how I'll beat the elders and become the new master."