The lowest level of the wooden puppet stage was the mid-level soldier level, followed by the high-level soldier level, then the low-level general level …
The mid-level soldier level wooden puppet stage was the stage for the new batch of disciples to pass.
Now that they had become disciples of the academy, they naturally wouldn't attempt such a stage again. At the very least, they would start from the high-level soldier level.
On the first day, many disciples were beaten black and blue, crying for their parents!
Even Guan Changyun, a cultivator who had successfully become a high-level Yuan Scholar, failed to pass the stage and was beaten into a mummy once again. It was too horrible to look at!
As for Yao Yue, he didn't dare to be careless when he entered the stage because of his injuries. He directly strode forward, wanting to use his speed to pass the stage.
However, this time, he only wanted to test the waters and didn't directly go deeper before giving up.
It wasn't because the wooden puppet stage was too difficult, but because he didn't want to implicate his injuries. At the same time, he didn't have the confidence to pass the general level wooden puppet stage.
After all, once he successfully passed the stage, he would have to face the low-level general level wooden puppet stage. His injuries hadn't healed yet, so he couldn't force himself!
One-third of the students from Class D passed the stage in the first round. They entered the next stage with a victorious attitude.
As long as they passed the low-level general level, they would be given a period of time to cultivate on their own. Only then would they enter the mid-level general level wooden puppet stage.
Zhang Mengfei was the only fierce person in Class D who passed two stages in a row. He also received half a month of quiet cultivation because of this. Everyone knew that Zhang Mengfei definitely had the strength of a Yuan General.
This also made him a figure that everyone in Class D wanted to curry favor with.
Because such a person was destined to become a personal disciple of one of the elders in the academy.
Zhang Mengfei was a forthright person. He didn't refuse the enthusiasm of others, but he didn't care about those who were too eager to please him.
As for Yao Yue, who had been thought highly of, he unexpectedly stopped at the first stage, which surprised everyone.
However, when they saw that Yao Yue wasn't injured, they felt that he might have done it on purpose.
However, Yao Yue stopped at the first stage for five consecutive days. This was inconceivable.
This was a valiant existence who had defeated a pseudo general. How could he not even pass the warrior level wooden puppet stage?
One had to know that the majority of people had already passed the trial.
Because of this incident, Yao Yue once again became the focus of the new batch of disciples.
"Did you hear? Yao Yue, who defeated Shi Gangchong, couldn't even pass the first stage."
"Of course I've heard about it. Could it be that that guy still hasn't recovered from his internal injuries after that battle?
Given his strength, he shouldn't be so weak! "
"Isn't it?
I heard that Zhang Mengfei, who is very close to him, passed two stages on the same day, just like that genius from our class. What a monster! "
"If you can't pass the first trial in ten days, there will be a good show. The teachers have the right to expel any disciple."
"Lan Jing must be blind to have taken a liking to such a pretty boy. Shi Gangchong is in for a tragedy. His face was smashed, and he won't be able to cultivate for a month."
After nine days, almost everyone from the four classes passed the first stage.
There were also quite a number of people who broke through during the process and became high-grade Yuan Scholars.
This was also the result of nearly a month of tempering after entering the Imperial Academy. They had all made a qualitative leap.
However, there was still one person who hadn't passed, and that person was Yao Yue.
According to the rules, if one couldn't pass the first stage in ten days, they could be expelled from the academy.
After all, the Imperial Academy was a place where geniuses gathered. There was no need for trash.
Tomorrow would be the tenth day, and everyone was waiting to see Yao Yue make a fool of himself.
In a courtyard, Guan Changyun and Zhang Mengfei were drinking together.
After passing two stages on the first day, Zhang Mengfei became a popular figure among the new batch of disciples. He was on the same level as the other Celestials from the other classes and had a chance of becoming an elder's personal disciple.
Guan Changyun also passed the second stage two days later, but he was destined to be injured every day.
After passing the first stage, he had to pass the second stage three times a day, which was the low-grade General stage wooden puppet stage. Getting beaten up by the wooden puppets had already become a habit.
"I say, Old Zhang, what do you think Boss is doing? It's already the ninth day and he hasn't even passed the first stage. Could it be that he wants to leave the academy?" Guan Zhangyun asked as he drank.
As the three of them spent more time together, Guan Changyun's greeting of Zhang Mengfei became more casual.
"Yao Yue, it's fine if he doesn't pass the second stage, but once he does, he'll definitely shock the world. Just you wait!" Zhang Mengfei replied after taking a sip of wine.
"I hope so!"
Guan Changyun sighed. He continued, "Old Zhang, I heard that some elders have begun to summon you. Have you decided which elder's personal disciple you want to become? You have to take care of us brothers in the future!"
Zhang Mengfei kept him in suspense. He smiled and said, "You can't rush this. However, we are brothers from the same rich family. If I don't take care of you, who should I take care of?"
"Good. When I'm done flirting with all the beauties in the academy, I'll leave one for you!" Guan Changyun said narcissistically.
Zhang Mengfei glanced at Guan Changyun in disdain before glancing at Yao Yue's room. He thought to himself, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
In Yao Yue's room, the little monkey was sleeping by the window. Yao Yue was naked on the bed, his eyes closed as he cultivated.
After nine days of recuperation, his injuries had long since recovered. The reason he did not pass the first stage was because he was waiting for an opportunity.
That opportunity was the day he devoured the blood of a mid-tier mid-tier demon.
After nine days of tempering, he had already assimilated the various characteristics of the low-tier mid-tier demon he had devoured and stabilized his strength. Only then would he be able to prepare for his next breakthrough.
The Monster Clan was different from the Human Clan. The Monster Clan only needed to accumulate enough power to make a breakthrough, unlike the Human Clan who needed to break through bottlenecks and comprehend various key points.
Therefore, after devouring the blood of a mid-tier mid-tier mid-tier demon, Yao Yue successfully became a mid-tier mid-tier mid-tier demon cultivator.
After reaching this stage, his strength increased by another level. Just his demonic energy alone had reached 250 kilograms of strength, which was already comparable to a Prime General.
After all, demonic beasts and humans had different innate talents. Demonic beasts were naturally much stronger, while humans had the advantage of intelligence. They could create all sorts of elemental martial techniques and forge all sorts of high-grade weapons to use in battle.
Generally speaking, in terms of pure strength, the Demon Clan was superior to the Human Clan at the same level.
This was also the reason why Yao Yue could be so strong.
Other than the increase in demonic energy, in these nine days, Yao Yue had opened two more meridians, reaching seventy-six meridians. However, he was still quite far from the one hundred and eight meridians. It was estimated that he would need another two to three months to reach the true power of a Yuan Scholar.
However, with his demonic energy and elemental energy, he could definitely fight against a normal Prime General!
This was the great advantage of his dual cultivation.
The fire lion was an offensive type demonic beast. Yao Yue had learned a sound wave attack from its habits — Lion's Roar!
This sound wave attack could cause a great impact on the enemy's senses in battle, causing the enemy to be momentarily at a loss and allowing him to take advantage of the situation to defeat the enemy.
Other than the Lion's Roar, the fire lion's Lion's Pounce attack was also very domineering. Yao Yue would integrate it into the first form of the Demonic Aura Art, increasing the power of this move and increasing the variations of this move.
In the middle of the night, Yao Yue woke up from his meditation. His eyes were filled with a demonic look, and there seemed to be a faint flame. His eyesight had become very sharp.
After absorbing the innate demonic techniques and habits of various demonic beasts, Yao Yue already possessed quite a bit of demonic ability.
"Middle-tier demonic beasts. My strength has indeed increased by a lot. However, to reach high-tier demonic beasts, I need to absorb at least twenty more types of blood. I only have a few left. Looks like I have to think of a way in the future!" Yao Yue muttered to himself.
Suddenly, he glanced over, and his expression instantly became stupefied!
"Demonic, demonic core!" Yao Yue was extremely shocked!
The little monkey in front of the window had goosebumps all over its body. Its skinny body had grown quite a bit, its eyes were no longer scarlet, its tail was raised high, and a pure and holy round ball of light appeared above its head.
This round ball of light was faintly warm red. It was only the size of a finger, but the power it exuded was quite vigorous!
This should be the legendary demonic core. It was resonating with the power of the moon hanging in the sky, bringing with it a kind of hazy and holy power.
"Is the little monkey already a Demonic Beast King?
That's impossible! "Yao Yue was in disbelief.
Demonic beasts could only form demonic cores after reaching the Demonic Beast King level. Each demonic core was the key to the demonic beast's power, and also had various miraculous uses for humans.
It was definitely not easy to obtain a demonic core. After all, every Demonic Beast King was comparable to a human Xiantian Yuan King. It was undoubtedly very difficult to kill them.
Now that the little monkey suddenly formed a demonic core and absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, Yao Yue was shocked!
Yao Yue took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
He searched through the memories of the Demon Emperor that he had obtained. After a while, he finally understood what was going on.
In the memories, there were some high-level demonic beasts that were born with demonic cores. Some of them could also form demonic cores after reaching the Great Demonic Beast King level.
These demonic beasts were the royalty of the Demonic Beast Clan. Their combat strength was definitely the strongest among their peers, or they had some kind of special talent that ordinary demonic beasts could not compare to.
As an innate spiritual monkey, the little monkey was the emperor of the demonic beasts. It should have been born with a demonic core, a top-level demonic beast!
Now, it might have just awakened its cultivation talent and embarked on the true path of cultivation. As long as it did not die, it would definitely be a terrifying Demonic Beast King in the future.
"No wonder this little guy could recover so quickly from serious injuries. And it didn't become stronger even after eating so many of my essence medicines. So it's a high-level demonic beast. It's not that it can't become stronger, but the energy it needs to absorb is several times more than ordinary demonic beasts, maybe even more than ten times!" Yao Yue suddenly became enlightened.