Compared with the red and yellow lines, there were not many people in the blue and green lines. Cang’er had already been waiting for a while; after three more people, it would be her turn.
“Excuse me, miss. I’ll give you one gold coin—could you let my young lady take your place and rejoin the line?” a long, narrow-faced man said, holding up a gold coin.
Cang’er gave him a cold glance, turned her head away, and said nothing.
“Hey, I’m talking to you! Where are your manners? Three gold coins—give up this spot to me!” Qi Yue’s sharp voice made Cang’er somewhat impatient.
“Three purple crystal coins, and I’ll consider it.”
Cang’er unscrewed her canteen and took a sip of water. The closer it got to noon, the hotter the weather became.
“What? Are you possessed by poverty? No wonder you won’t even throw away a canteen this wornout. I’m already giving you face by offering three gold coins,” Qi Yue kept chattering on.
“Why pretend to be some big-shot coal boss when you don’t have money?”
Cang’er’s icy voice cut in, her expression clearly saying she had had enough. Her pitch-black eyes were unfathomable.
From a distance, Miya saw a crazy woman in a red dress screaming at Cang’er. She jogged over and stood in front of Cang’er, shouting at the woman, “Ten gold coins—get lost!”
On the Moonshadow Continent, no one could bully Miya’s friends.
People around them were already drawn by the noise and began looking over. The narrow-faced man gently tugged on Qi Yue’s sleeve, stopping her from continuing to cause trouble.
“Hmph, just you wait!” With that, she flung her sleeve and walked back with a dark expression.
“Low talent, second tier. Next!” At the front of the line, a teacher in his forties sat behind a long table, stroking his curled mustache as he called out loudly.
Beside him sat a blue-haired young man with delicate features.
After rapidly inputting information on an electronic light screen, the young man smiled and handed a blue crystal badge to the boy standing at the table.
After the boy left, Cang’er stepped forward to stand in front of the table.
“Name?” the young man asked in a gentle voice.
“Cang’er.” After speaking, she waved her hand to open her light brain and shared the screen, displaying the two characters of her name for him to see.
“Mm. Place your hand on this life-testing stone.” As he spoke, he pointed to a transparent crystal on the table.
Cang’er followed his instructions and placed her hand on it. Two seconds later, the electronic screen beside the stone displayed 14.
She had thought this body was barely thirteen years old and had worried earlier that she might be underage. To her surprise, she was already fourteen! Yet she was still a full head shorter than the thirteen-year-old just tested.
Cang’er pinched the scant flesh on the back of her dry hand.
When she got back, she had to eat more. Whatever else she lacked, she could not afford to lack health. She was still young—she could still grow!
She was absolutely determined not to be short!
“Put your hand into the light pillar slot, focus your attention, and only release when you can’t hold on anymore,” the mustached teacher urged when he saw her spacing out.
Cang’er raised her hand again and inserted her slender, dry little hand into the slot. As she mobilized her mental power, a deep blue beam of light shot upward, smoothly passing both black dividing lines and reaching the very top.
Silence—absolute silence!
The mustached teacher and the blue-haired young man stared wide-eyed at the blue pillar of light, shock written all over their faces. For a long moment, they couldn’t utter a word.
“Teacher, can I let go now?” Although she could still hold on, keeping her arm raised like this wasn’t exactly comfortable. Seeing that the light beam had already stopped at the top, Cang’er patiently asked again,
“Teacher? May I let go now?”
“Y-yes… you can. Headmaster! Headmaster, come quickly—we’ve struck gold!”
As he shouted, the mustached teacher suddenly grabbed Cang’er’s dry little hand. His exaggerated behavior made it look as though Cang’er owed him a hundred million purple crystal coins—he refused to let go!
“Ow… that hurts!” Cang’er cried out as she tried, unsuccessfully, to pull her hand free.
The young man snapped out of his daze and quickly tugged at the mustached teacher’s wrist.
“Teacher Yiluo, let go quickly—you’re hurting Cang’er.”
People nearby all turned to look, and those farther back couldn’t help but crowd over. The appearance of such an exceptionally high-grade, high-tier ability user was enough to shake the entire Tower City.