"What's your name?"

"Uh." Sky Qi scratched his head. "Xu Yueyin."

He casually gave a fake name.

The examining girl nodded. Sky Qi squinted slightly, spotting a badge pinned to her chest.

Its silver-white border framed a longsword flanked by wings. Sunlight glinted harshly off the metal, impossible to ignore.

Anyone wearing this wasn’t an ordinary student. Sky Qi dared not activate his detection skill now, but he guessed she was at least A Rank.

"Place your hand on the magic crystal ball," the girl said flatly, pointing beside her.

He gently pressed his palm to the sphere. Blue light flickered inside, coalescing into a glowing orb.

The orb split instantly, forming a "B".

The girl’s eyelid twitched slightly. A B Rank student? That strength was formidable on Arcana Continent—enough to join the national knights.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. People grew restless.

"Whoa? A B Rank expert!"

"This girl’s crazy strong. A girl her age shouldn’t be this powerful."

"Yeah, insane. She looks barely sixteen."

"Tch. Nothing special. The Continent Strongest hit S Rank at fourteen."

"Hey, don’t bring him up. He’s a total freak."

Sky Qi’s other identity took an innocent hit. He shot a glare behind him. Seeing the culprit silenced the whisperers.

No one dared provoke a B Rank powerhouse—she might be from a major clan.

But Sky Qi’s delicate disguise was strikingly handsome, radiating martial vigor. Girls in line swooned instantly. Was this what "charming both genders" meant?

"Go in," the examiner waved, stealing extra glances at him.

Sky Qi felt uneasy, lowering his head further.

...

Sky Qi had queued near the end. Hundreds had passed, nearly five hundred after filtering out fakes—a significant number.

About thirty were B Rank like him. Two even reached A- Rank. This recruitment test truly had everything. Sky Qi sighed inwardly.

Regaining B Rank felt trivial now. Though his skill mastery and tactics surpassed theirs, it still wasn’t enough.

He’d once been the Continent Strongest—undisputed. Even without his absurd luck stat, he remained peerless.

Damn it. He kept his distance from the crowd to avoid exposure and mana drain. The mask slowed the leak, but it still hampered him.

He should’ve brought men’s clothes to switch back. But carrying them here would look bizarre—who lugs spare outfits to a test?

Sky Qi shook his head in frustration. Damn that bastard William. If not for seeking old man Adolf to break his seal, he’d never stoop to mingling with trash.

"Congratulations on passing the first test," Adolf’s holographic screen beamed warmly. To Sky Qi, that smile reeked of cunning.

The voice snapped him from his silent cursing.

"But don’t get cocky. The second test begins now." Wrinkles crinkled into a strange grin on Adolf’s face.

Seriously? "Don’t get cocky"? Was this guy even trying to recruit? Sky Qi seethed internally.

Hiding in the corner, he found those words deeply unsettling.

"Second magic test: strength assessment!" The girl strode toward the crowd, eyeing them with disdain. "Use any spell. From one hundred meters, hit every target and register over one thousand on the counter."

Silence fell. Then whispers erupted.

"One thousand? Magic fluctuation that high?"

"Hitting the target matters more."

"Impossible. My strongest blast barely hits one thousand—and I’d miss."

"Those targets are tiny. Hitting them from that range makes you a magic sniper."

"Even at full power, fluctuation might not reach one thousand that far."

What kind of recruitment was this? Stricter than army enlistment. Many felt lost.

A boy stepped up nervously. His face flushed red, hands trembling as he gathered magic. A fiery orb formed slowly.

He roared, hurling it toward the target.

The fireball wobbled in the wind, crashing down before fifty meters. It exploded, heat waves absorbed entirely by the ground.

Whoa—mana stone flooring? Sky Qi’s eye twitched. This academy was filthy rich. Mana stone absorbed most magical fluctuations.

"Fail." The girl waved dismissively, a cold smirk on her lips.

The boy trudged away, head bowed.

This test crushed spirits. Sky Qi frowned. What was old headmaster Adolf playing at? This was talent destruction.

It demanded both power and pinpoint accuracy. Below B Rank, no one could throw that far—or hit one thousand fluctuation.

For him, though, it was trivial. Five thousand fluctuation? No problem.

"Can I try?" Sky Qi raised both hands high, tiptoeing to stand out in the crowd.