As Derek walked toward the massive testing boulder, no one except his family paid him any attention.
The other cultivator kids were too absorbed in their own anxiety, their parents whispering nervously, unsure if their child would even pass.
Meanwhile, the Aurans and mages weren’t concerned about failing that much. They were more worried about which class they’d be placed in.
There were two types of classes. Normal and Elite.
And the gap between them was enormous.
The Elite Class had access to more resources and far superior training grounds.
But Derek... he was calm. Completely unaffected.
He stepped past the boundary line and stopped just an arm’s length away from the boulder.
Then, without a word....
He arced his right hand back, his arm coiling like a spring.
His fist tore through the air with a sharp whistle as he threw a punch.
A thunderous explosion echoed across the testing field.
The massive boulder shattered instantly, erupting into debris and dust. Sharp shards flew in every direction.
All murmurs died on the spot. Every pair of eyes in the area turned toward Derek, who had just obliterated the test target.
"Wh.. what the hell?!" That same thought rippled through the minds of nearly everyone present.
The evaluation panel hovering in the air above the now-destroyed boulder flickered.
A dead silence spread. The wind blew gently across the silent field and its soft whistle was now the only sound left.
"W-Who... who is that kid?"
Slowly, the suffocating silence began to fade, replaced by a growing wave of murmurs rippling through the crowd.
"How is that possible? He looks younger than the rest... and he shattered that boulder?!"
"Someone needs to be at least an F-Class fighter to pull that off as a cultivator. So does that mean... he’s already F-Class?!"
Martha and Daisy looked utterly stunned. Their eyes were wide, mouths slightly open.
Even Arthur couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He just sat there, silent and shocked. "When did he get this strong?! I thought he’d only developed his dantian recently... But to do that, he must’ve developed it at least four or five years ago. But he’s only eleven now. So what... he awakened his dantian at six? Or seven? Either way, how is that even possible?
Arthur’s mind buzzed, scrambling to make sense of what he just saw.
If only he knew Derek had awakened his dantian when he was just one. Had Arthur known that, he might’ve collapsed from sheer shock.
The rest of the crowd was no different... everyone whispered, questioned, speculated.
Even Cecilia, who had been standing quietly among the group of passed candidates, couldn’t help but glance at Derek, drawn by the sudden commotion.
Afterwards, under their stunned gazes, Derek turned and began walking toward the line of candidates who had passed.
A voice cut through the noise.
"I think he either cheated... or the boulder wasn’t fully reset," a boy clad in noble robes who was standing in the line of mage candidates said.
His words struck like lightning.
Suddenly, nods and whispers spread like wildfire.
"Yeah, the boulder must’ve been weakened."
"No way a cultivator of that age can have that kind of strength."
"He should appear again!"
"We can’t let some weakling cheat their way into the academy.. it’ll ruin our reputation!"
Derek paused mid-step.
He turned his head slightly toward the gallery of onlookers first and then toward the boy who had just spoken.
His face was still calm. No hint of anger.
’What a pain... When people see someone stronger than them, they immediately assume it’s cheating.’ Derek sighed inwardly and turned back.
The announcer hadn’t said anything yet, because the judges hadn’t raised any objection. Despite the crowd’s growing suspicion, the judges weren’t convinced.
Yes, they were shocked too.
Yes, some of them were biased toward mages.
But they were still fair. And above all, they respected true talent.
They hadn’t instructed the announcer to call Derek again. But when they saw him walking back toward the testing boulder on his own, even they were surprised.
"What is that kid doing?" asked a female judge who looked to be in her thirties, raising an eyebrow. "He’s already passed. We didn’t request a retest. So why is he heading back?"
Beside her, a male judge chuckled. "Maybe... it’s because he’s a man."
"Huh? Who said he’s a girl?" another goofy-looking judge tilted his head and asked as he looked utterly clueless.
The male judge who had just spoken let out a sigh and facepalmed. "Alfred... when I say ’man,’ I mean pride, guts. He’s not satisfied with just passing. He wants everyone to know he exists." A small smile curved his lips. ’He’s interesting.’ He thought to himself. Original content can be found at Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
The female judge nodded thoughtfully. "Should we allow it then? He’s already passed this phase."
"Of course," the male judge said without hesitation. "Let him appear the test again."
The woman turned and signaled the announcer.
The announcer bowed slightly, acknowledging the command, then turned toward the arena and waved his hand.
The shattered boulder slowly reconstructed itself, as if time had reversed. In moments, it stood tall again, like it had never been touched.
Everyone waited for Derek to approach it again.
Derek didn’t walk toward the cultivator’s boulder. Instead, he stopped in front of the one assigned to the test for mages.
"What?! What’s he doing?! That’s the boulder for mages! He’s not seriously going to..."
The onlookers didn’t even get to finish the thought.
A deafening bang exploded across the arena. The towering mage boulder shattered into pieces with a single punch from Derek.
Derek then turned and began walking calmly. He didn’t say a word. Didn’t wait for applause.
He simply walked toward the group of passed candidates... as if nothing had happened.
They stood frozen... motionless.
It was as if Derek were the only living being roaming through a world of statues.