"Alright! Anyone who wants to register—step into the plaza now!"
Goku took a few steps forward, sweeping his gaze across the crowd. His voice was light, but somehow, everyone present could hear him clearly.
"Who is he? That's some impressive technique! He barely raised his voice, but we all heard it crystal clear. Incredible!"
"Could he be one of the instructors? But he doesn't look that much older than us…"
Amid the murmurs and whispers of surprise, the boys and girls began to gather in the center of the plaza. Goku's gaze scanned over them. There weren't just hundreds—there were thousands.
Once again, his calm voice echoed across the crowd:
"This year, I will be overseeing the recruitment test. I don't care about your talent or current strength. As long as you can survive my trial, you'll be accepted into Jia Nan Academy."
"A trial? This year's entrance exam sounds… different."
"Honestly, it doesn't sound too bad…" the crowd murmured with a mix of hope and uncertainty.
"Not too bad, huh?" Goku chuckled lightly. "My trial may sound simple, but let's see how many of you can actually endure it."
With a flick of his hand, a transparent barrier enveloped the entire plaza.
"In a moment, I'll increase the gravity inside this barrier. The longer you last, the better your result. Anyone who can hold out for thirty seconds—passes. Now then… are you ready?"
"This sounds easy! Let's do this!"
"Man, we're lucky! This year's test seems way simpler than before!"
"Jia Nan Academy, here I come!"
Standing off to the side, Xiao Yu turned to Ruo Lin with a puzzled look.
"What is he doing? Can this kind of test even measure anything useful?"
"We'll wait and see. Goku always has his reasons," Ruo Lin replied with a gentle smile, her voice so soft and soothing it could melt hearts.
"Hehe, time to begin," Goku grinned wickedly. With a thought, the gravity inside the barrier suddenly surged. This was one of the powers he had acquired after absorbing Whis' divine essence.
Boom.
In an instant, the sudden spike in gravity sent waves of people crashing to the ground with loud thuds. Cries of pain and confusion filled the air.
Only a few gifted or quick-reacting individuals managed to hold on for a few seconds—but even they soon fell one after another.
Not even ten seconds had passed, and more than half the participants had collapsed.
"Hey! Goku, don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Xiao Yu frowned as she looked around. "It hasn't even been ten seconds and you've already eliminated most of them!"
Her concern was genuine. The crowd had a wide range of ages and experience levels—some had talent but were too young to withstand this kind of trial. Wasn't it a bit unfair?
Goku ignored her, looking down at the fallen youths with calm detachment.
"What happened to 'this is easy'? You're already on the ground?" he called out, voice flat. "Get up! As long as you can stand again and hold out for 30 seconds in total, you pass! But if you stay down for 10 seconds without getting up… you fail!"
Encouraged by his words, the fallen candidates gritted their teeth and tried to rise. But once down, getting back up was like trying to lift a mountain. The gravity crushed down on them like iron chains—it wasn't just a test of physical strength, but of willpower, endurance, and mental fortitude.
Goku looked at those still whining on the ground and scoffed.
This level of gravity was something anyone with proper dou qi could push through if they had a bit of backbone. If they couldn't handle this much? Then they were dead weight. Why waste time on them?
Without another word, a cold glint flashed in Goku's eyes.
Suddenly, screams erupted throughout the crowd.
Some students wet themselves on the spot. Others began frothing at the mouth or thrashing like lunatics, trying to run—but the gravity kept them rooted to the ground, writhing in terror. Some simply fainted dead away.
No one knew what horrors they were seeing, but it had clearly broken their minds.
Ruo Lin's brows knit slightly as she watched.
"These… are illusions?"
She quickly understood.
"A trial of the body… and the mind. I see now. Still, those hallucinations must be terrifying—especially for kids this age."
The crowd was young—many barely in their teens. They'd never experienced trauma, much less been subjected to heavy gravity and spiritual illusions at the same time. The gravity test was one thing… but the illusion shattered even the strongest wills.
Talented students passed out like flies. Not from weakness—but from lack of mental toughness.
But Goku didn't seem concerned.
"Hey, Goku! Take it easy!" Xiao Yu shouted, alarmed. "We're here to recruit students, not hunt for once-in-a-generation prodigies! You're scaring these kids out of their minds! What are we supposed to do with the ones you break?!"
She pointed toward several poor kids lying on the ground with vacant eyes, giggling like lunatics.
Yep—some had been scared senseless.
"It's fine. Even if they die, I can bring them back," Goku said with a shrug, completely unfazed.
"Exactly!" Xue Ni chimed in, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Honestly, this is kind of thrilling!"
"You're crazy," Xiao Yu muttered, shooting her a glare. But seeing that Goku didn't plan to stop, she chose to stay quiet and wait it out.
"Goku… are you sure this is alright?" Ruo Lin asked softly, her tone tinged with concern. Some of the children were sobbing, clinging to their heads and screaming for their mothers.
Some of the parents watching from afar couldn't take it anymore and began yelling in protest. Others, particularly elders from noble clans, were red-faced with shame, watching their once-proud heirs reduced to blubbering wrecks.
The scene was… a disaster.
"Silence!" Goku barked suddenly.
His voice echoed like thunder. The air shook. Everyone—students, parents, elders—froze.
The force of his shout rattled eardrums and rang through skulls. Those too weak to handle it fainted on the spot.
The once-chaotic plaza was now utterly silent.
All eyes turned to Goku, now with awe and fear.
One shout. Just one. And this was the result?
It was terrifying.
__
As time ticked by, only a few figures remained standing within the plaza. Everyone held their breath, eyes locked on the final candidates still stubbornly holding on—until, one by one, they too finally collapsed to the ground.
Goku glanced at the time.
"The longest only lasted one minute and two seconds. Pathetic." He shook his head in disappointment.
"Tch. Looks like without the main protagonists around, the rest are just cannon fodder."
With a wave of his hand, the gravity barrier vanished. A soft white light cascaded down from above, illuminating the entire plaza.
The crowd watched in awe as those who had collapsed moments ago under the crushing gravity and horrifying illusions suddenly stirred, as if nothing had happened. Even those who had been mentally broken or physically shaken to their core now stood up as if waking from a dream—fully restored.
It was a miracle.
Astonishment rippled through the crowd. No one dared question Goku anymore. Their eyes filled with both fear and admiration. The power he wielded was simply beyond comprehension.
"You. You. And you…" Goku casually pointed at five people across the crowd. His voice was calm but final. "Only you five passed. The rest… are eliminated."
The chosen five looked as if they had won the lottery—expressions of disbelief followed by overwhelming joy. As for the rest of the participants, though they were disappointed, not a single person dared to complain.
His judgment was absolute.
"Alright, that concludes today's preliminary trial. If you haven't gone through it yet, come back tomorrow morning. We'll be here for three days. After that—we're gone," Goku announced without expression.
"Wait, what? That's it? We're done already?" Xiao Yu and Xue Ni both looked stunned. Even Ruo Lin shook her head with a helpless smile.
"Back in the day, we spent an entire day doing evaluations!" Xue Ni muttered.
"I don't have time to waste sitting around," Goku replied flatly. He plopped himself down on a nearby desk, lazily pulling out a pen and scroll. His eyes narrowed as he locked on to one of the newly admitted students—a mature-looking girl with a seductive air despite her youth. She had full curves, especially for someone her age. Goku's eyes lit up.
"Hey, you there. Name, age, and three sizes—don't leave anything out," he said with a completely straight face, his finger pointed directly at her.
"W-what?" The girl froze, blushing furiously as everyone turned to look at her. She hesitated, flustered, not knowing whether to answer or hide.
"Pervert! You dare flirt with my little sister? You've got a death wish!" Xiao Yu snapped, glaring daggers at Goku.
The flustered girl turned and gave Xiao Yu a sweet smile. "Yu-jie, it's been so long since we last saw each other!"
"Sister?" Goku raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Yu. "Since when did you have a younger sister?"
"She's part of our Xiao Clan, so of course she's my little sister," Xiao Yu replied with a roll of her eyes. Then she turned to the girl and smiled. "Xiao Mei, congrats! I'm honestly surprised you made it through that pervert's ridiculous test."
"Xiao Mei? So this is Xiao Mei…" Goku murmured, rubbing his chin as he openly sized her up again.
Xiao Mei shrank back slightly, clearly embarrassed.
"Let me handle this," Ruo Lin sighed, walking over and sitting beside Goku with graceful composure. Despite his antics, she didn't seem offended. Her mature charm, polished through years of experience, radiated elegance and calm—a stark contrast to Xiao Mei's youthful allure.
Even Xiao Mei, who had just stolen the spotlight, couldn't help but feel overshadowed by Ruo Lin's presence. It was the difference between a fresh bud and a fully bloomed flower—a true woman.
Goku obediently scooted to the side to make room for her, earning a dramatic eye-roll from Ruo Lin.
He was definitely trying to take advantage.
Still, Ruo Lin gracefully seated herself next to him, picking up the green parchment scroll and ink brush Goku had been holding, then addressed the five recruits with a warm smile.
"First of all, congratulations on passing the entrance trial. That means you've already stepped through the gates of Jia Nan Academy."
"However, we still need to assess your potential level so we can assign you to the appropriate class."
Ruo Lin raised the scroll slightly and began to explain.
"If your Dou Qi is at the eighth stage, that qualifies as an F-Rank potential.
Nine-stage Dou Qi is E-Rank.
One-star Dou Fighter is D-Rank.
Two-star Dou Fighter is C-Rank, and so on.
The highest recorded level is an S-Rank, which requires a five-star Dou Fighter under the age of twenty.
Of course, in the past ten years, Jia Nan Academy has only ever encountered one S-Rank student. I'm not expecting another today, but a B or C-Rank would still be excellent."
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the five.
"Alright, let's begin with you," she said, turning to Xiao Mei. "Name, rank, and age."
Xiao Mei stood up, her voice soft and alluring:
"Xiao Mei, One-star Dou Fighter, sixteen years old."
Ruo Lin nodded. "Not bad. D-Rank."
Next.
"Li Yuan, One-star Dou Fighter, seventeen years old."
"D-Rank."
"Lin Man, One-star Dou Fighter, eighteen."
"D-Rank."
"Feng Gu, One-star Dou Fighter, eighteen."
____
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