C6 The First Person in a Hundred Years

"Hey, buddy, wanna be friends?"

"Big bro, take me under your wing, will ya? I'll be your right-hand man from now on."

"Boss, I'm counting on your support in the future."

Witnessing Ye Tian's formidable presence, a crowd gathered around him, eager to curry favor. If they could get into his inner circle, having his protection would make things a lot safer.

Otherwise, who knows when the wrath of a ruthless author might leave them crippled during a confrontation.

"You want to be my underling? That'll depend on whether you've got the courage and the chops. This guy owes me several months' wages, and I'd rather not lay eyes on him again," Ye Tian stated coolly.

The crowd was taken aback. Was he suggesting they oust Hu Chuan and collect his debt for Ye Tian?

They lacked the nerve. Ye Tian was a force to be reckoned with, but his connections were unknown. Crossing someone with potential backing was risky business.

In an instant, their bravado waned.

"Cowards," Ye Tian sneered, looking down on Hu Chuan. "Time to settle up, don't you think? You owe me tens of thousands, right? Out of pity, let's call it an even twenty grand."

"Twenty thousand?" Hu Chuan gasped. Ye Tian's entire salary wouldn't even come close to that. Now he was demanding twenty thousand?

"You can refuse, but you're aware of the consequences," Ye Tian warned.

"I'll pay," Hu Chuan said through clenched teeth, inwardly cringing as he transferred twenty thousand yuan to Ye Tian.

"Master, twenty thousand yuan has been deposited," Meiniu informed.

With a smirk, Ye Tian addressed Hu Chuan, "You can scram from the alliance now. I told you I'd make sure you were out."

"You..."

"Looking for another beating, are you?" Ye Tian cocked his fist, eyeing the already battered Hu Chuan. He was buzzed.

"No, no... I'm going."

"That's 'get lost.'"

"Get lost..."

And with that, Hu Chuan tumbled out of the alliance. The exam was about to start, and the seasoned examiner arrived at the school, calling out names. Ye Tian's was absent; he hadn't registered beforehand.

"Eh... Isn't that guy here to take the exam?"

"Could he have become an examiner already?"

"No way, right? He looks way too young."

Confused murmurs rippled through the crowd as Ye Tian remained unsummoned.

"Is there anyone else who hasn't been called?" inquired a strikingly beautiful examiner.

"Me." Ye Tian stepped forward, facing the attractive female examiner. "I'd like to take the immediate test."

A collective gasp filled the room as he spoke, and all eyes turned to him, their expressions a mix of shock and awe.

The immediate test was notoriously difficult, randomly drawing high-level questions directly from the alliance's computer and serving as a shortcut to the core section. No one had ever passed it since the alliance's inception.

The examiner's eyes widened in astonishment. "You're aiming to go straight into the core?"

"No, I'm shooting for the Alliance Leader's tier," Ye Tian replied calmly.

The room inhaled sharply, the air tinged with disbelief. The Alliance Leader's tier was the pinnacle of achievement, demanding not just wealth but formidable strength, and the exam was notoriously stringent.

The examiner's gaze hardened as she considered Ye Tian. In the alliance's century-long history, he was the first to request direct entry to the Alliance Leader's tier.

"What's your name?" she asked, her curiosity piqued by the confident young man before her.

"Ye Tian," he responded.

"Do you realize the enormity of the challenge you're facing? In the hundred years since the alliance was founded, despite the presence of a fast-track option, no one has ever managed to break through to the core, let alone the Alliance Leader's tier," the examiner cautioned with a note of concern. "You only get one shot. If you fail, it's a three-year wait."

"I'm aware. Let's begin," Ye Tian said with a light-hearted smile.

The examiner, intrigued by his self-assured demeanor, nodded. "Very well, your personal test for the Alliance Leader's tier will commence immediately."

The arrangements were swiftly made. Ye Tian proceeded to the elite testing area for a one-on-one session with the examiner, a privilege beyond the reach of the other candidates, who were redirected to other instructors.

In the initial stage, the literary test would take place within the Alliance's computers, drawing a hundred questions at random from over ten thousand novels, including obscure ones.

A score of 90 or above was required to pass and advance to the next round; failure meant going home.

"How was Medusa defeated in the battle?"

"Damn..." Ye Tian, upon seeing the first question, was momentarily at a loss for words but quickly got down to answering.

The first ten questions were a breeze, but the difficulty ramped up considerably with the more obscure titles. It was impossible for Ye Tian to have read all 10,000 novels, and this being an advanced-level exam, it was significantly tougher than the standard ones.

"Ye Tian, if you'd like to stop now, I can allow you to take the regular exam instead, as if this one never happened," the attractive examiner offered, looking after Ye Tian with a kind gesture, noting his handsome appearance and charisma.

"No need," Ye Tian replied with a smile. With a beauty like Meiniu present, what challenge could possibly stump him?