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n560 Pretend!

nThe old man looked at the test tablet that had turned into a pile of rubble with a gloomy expression.

nHe looked at Lin Feng and sneered. “Hurry up and go in. You want to shatter the test tablet? Dream on!”

nIn his eyes, Lin Feng was only a dark gold level brat with peak diamond level mental strength. How could he shatter the test tablet?

nIt was probably damaged because it had been used for too long.

nWhen Lin Feng heard this, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief. If he was exposed because of this, it would really be a mistake.

nTherefore, he hurriedly ran towards the Hong family, leaving the group of people still in a daze in the square.

n“If the test tablet shatters, what should we do?”

nMany people asked. They also did not believe that Lin Feng had broken the test tablet. It had to be known that it was a test tablet that could even test divine level mental strength.

n“Quiet!” The old man roared. “It’s not like my Hong family only has one test tablet. Just wait!”

nThen, the old man hurriedly sent a message and got someone to send another test tablet over.

nAlthough the test tablet might have broken because he was too old, it was still in his hands in the end. Therefore, his expression had never been good.

nOn the other side, after Lin Feng walked into the Hong family, he saw a place that was like an examination hall.

nThe people who had entered previously were currently sitting at the table. Their mental strength surged as they wrote runes on the paper on the table.

nAs soon as Lin Feng appeared, another peak epic level expert walked over. However, this time, it was a woman who looked to be in her twenties.

nWhen the woman saw Lin Feng enter, she sent a mental voice transmission, “Don’t speak and disturb others. Find a seat and sit down. Write runes on a piece of paper. You’ll pass if you write 300 runes.”

nLin Feng nodded and found an empty place to sit down.

nIn the world, there were many types of runes, but most of them were runes used for setting restrictions and arrays. In reality, these runes were derived from the hexagrams created by Fuxi in the Book of Changes (Yijing).

nSo, in fact, the rules runes and array runes weren’t very different; they just had some differences in their foundational elements.

nLin Feng was once a Divine-level expert and had also studied many runes in Landry’s books. Now, converting them into hexagram forms was a piece of cake for him.

nNot to mention 300, he could even write 3,000 or 30,000.

nOf course, the other party only requested 300, and 300 just happened to be the requirement to set up some basic array formations. Therefore, it was obvious that the Hong family was only testing the foundation.

nLin Feng didn’t intend to write more than required. He only needed to write 300, and anything beyond that was just for himself.

nAfter sitting down, he looked at the specially crafted paper on the desk. The material was extremely sturdy, which allowed for the inscribing of runes.

nLin Feng did not hesitate. His mental strength fluctuated slightly and he began to write on the paper.

nAt the same time, he was also paying attention to the others. He discovered that some people were actually sweating profusely and scratching their ears and cheeks, thinking hard.

nThis was somewhat similar to the college entrance examination on the Blue Star.

nWriting runes on paper was not only a test of their knowledge of runes but also a test of the mental endurance of formation masters.

nAlthough 300 runes were not considered a lot, it was not a small number either. It was still not easy to brand it completely on paper.

nJust as Lin Feng was watching with interest, the invigilator said via voice transmission, “Why are you looking at others? Write your own.”

nLin Feng’s heart skipped a beat. The other party had actually noticed him?

nHe looked up and saw the woman frowning at him, as if she thought he was cheating?

nThe woman was extremely good-looking. Her facial features seemed to be exquisitely carved. Her skin was smooth and her willow eyebrows were slightly furrowed, adding a hint of playfulness.

nLin Feng sized her up curiously. This woman could actually notice him. It had to be known that he had used his mental strength to observe others just now.

nThis meant that the other party’s mental strength had reached the divine level?

nHe was only at the peak of the epic level, but his mental strength was already at the divine level. There were indeed many geniuses in the Hong family.

nSeeing that Lin Feng was actually looking up at her, the woman said angrily, “Why are you looking at me? Do I have runes on my face?”

nLin Feng could not help but chuckle. Why did this sentence sound so similar to what his Teacher often said when he was studying?

nHe stood up and smiled at the woman. He said telepathically, “I’m done.”

nThe woman was stunned. This guy had only entered for less than 10 minutes and he was already done writing?

nShe walked to Lin Feng’s side and looked at the paper on Lin Feng’s table.

nThere were a total of 301 runes written on the paper, not one more, not one less.

nOriginally, he wanted to write 400, but it seemed that it was useless to write 100 more. He might as well write one more.

nThe woman furrowed her brows slightly and nodded, “You can leave for now. Tomorrow, there will be a second round of assessments if you’re interested.”

nLin Feng nodded and prepared to leave.

nWhether one participated in the next few levels or not depended on one’s willingness.

nAfter all, after passing the first two basic assessments, he was already considered a disciple of the Hong family. The next two levels were prepared for geniuses.

nHowever, the woman suddenly shouted, “Wait, you forgot to write your name!”

nLin Feng was momentarily surprised, then used his mental power to write ‘Nie Zimou’ on the paper before leaving.

nThe woman looked at the name on the paper and huffed, “Pretentious!”

nShe had seen many geniuses, and she was even a genius herself.

nLin Feng was just a Dark Gold-level kid; why was he acting like this?

nSo, her first impression of Lin Feng wasn’t very good.

nTruly powerful individuals tended to be humble, like Hong Sen.

nThinking of Hong Sen, the woman’s mind wandered briefly, and her face turned slightly red. She quickly returned to her seat and continued her examination duties.

nAfter leaving the examination room, Lin Feng coincidentally ran into Fang Lan, Yu Anyu, and others who had just entered. Chu Sanqiang was with them too.

nChu Sanqiang was surprised to see Lin Feng. Hadn’t he just entered a moment ago?

n“Are you done?”

nLin Feng nodded and said, “It was just a small test. How could it be challenging for me? I passed easily!”

nAn Yu clapped her hands and said, “Brother Nie, you’ve become really powerful.”

nLin Feng patted Yu Anyu’s head and asked, “What do you mean? Wasn’t I powerful before?”

nChu Sanqiang quickly inquired, “Young Master Nie, what’s the content of the second assessment?”

nLin Feng replied, “It’s just writing runes. You only need to write 300.”

nChu Sanqiang let out a sigh of relief, “That’s good. I’m familiar with over 400 runes, but I’m not sure I could write more than that.”

nLin Feng patted Chu Sanqiang on the shoulder and said, “Good luck, Chu Xiong. I’ll wait outside for you.”

nLin Feng couldn’t help but smirk internally. Keep pretending.

nYu Anyu was a bit dejected, saying, “300? I only know a little over 200 runes. I’m definitely not going to pass.”

nHowever, she then smiled and said, “Fortunately, I bought insurance. Even if I can’t pass, I still have money to take.”

nBut then she laughed and added, “Well, at least I bought insurance. Even if I fail, I’ll still have some money.”

nLin Feng chuckled and shook his head, “I’ll wait for you guys outside. Good luck.”

nAfter saying goodbye, Lin Feng found a secluded spot and created his Primordial Avatar before heading over to Chen Jinwu.

n“How’s it going?” Lin Feng asked, patting Chen Jinwu on the shoulder.

nChen Jinwu was startled at first, but when he saw it was Lin Feng, he sighed in relief.

n“Minister Lin,” Chen Jinwu said with a smile, “We sold two thousand policies but lost 100,000 taels of gold.”

nInitially, not many people bought the insurance. However, as soon as someone received a payout and word spread, more people became interested.

nAt first, the people who bought insurance and received payouts were all Chen Jinwu’s acquaintances. After all, someone had to be the first to eat the crab before others followed suit.

nMoreover, although he incurred a loss, Chen Jinwu appeared quite pleased.

nLin Feng nodded. Everything was proceeding well according to Chen Jinwu’s plan.

nIn fact, this was only the first step in Chen Jinwu’s plan.

nIf he wanted to do finance, he had to establish credit first. Selling insurance and giving people money was naturally the fastest way to establish credit.

nSelling insurance was just the first step in establishing credibility. Furthermore, Chen Jinwu was collecting information about those who bought insurance and subtly gathering information about their acquaintances, all of which would be valuable in the future.

nOn the Blue Planet, there was a theory of six degrees of connections.

nIn simple terms, through six levels of interpersonal connections, one could potentially reach anyone they wanted to meet.

nChen Jinwu was planning to leverage this theory to build an intelligence network. With such information, they could control all the candidates participating in the assessment.

nThe next step was naturally to open a casino!

nIn the Hong family’s assessment, the second round was a formation battle, right? They could easily set odds and establish a gambling house to start generating profits.

nAt first, selling insurance helped Chen Jinwu quickly collect information and make adjustments to the odds. It also built trust and made people more willing to participate in the gambling.

nThrough selling insurance, they also increased their liquidity. With proper management, Chen Jinwu’s venture could become profitable, and they could continue with their other plans.

nThese were all part of Chen Jinwu’s master plan, which is why Lin Feng thought of him as a financial genius.

nEven if they eventually returned the initial investment, there would still be plenty of funds to play with.

n“By the way, where’s Jin Yang?” Lin Feng asked.

nChen Jinwu smiled and replied, “He just passed the mental strength test and went inside.”

nLin Feng nodded and then noticed that Fang Lan and the others were about to exit. He said, “I’ll leave for now. If you need anything, feel free to inform me.”

nChen Jinwu nodded and reassured him, “Don’t worry, Minister Lin. As long as there isn’t a divine-level expert causing trouble, everything should be fine.”

nDu Jinlong, now a robust figure, chimed in with a grin, “Indeed, Minister, you can rest easy. We’re here too.”

nLin Feng nodded and then turned to leave.

nAn Yu walked out of the examination hall wearing a gloomy expression because she didn’t pass.

nFang Lan tried to console her, but it was of no use until An Yu rushed toward Chen Jinwu’s area to collect the insurance and retrieve the money. It finally eased her disappointment.

nLin Feng silently nodded, noting that allowing those who failed the assessment to receive insurance not only helped establish trust but also made these individuals feel closer to Chen Jinwu’s venture. Chen Jinwu indeed had a knack for this.

nAs for Chu Sanqiang, upon learning about the insurance, he appeared lost in thought, his mind occupied by unknown considerations.

nThe following day, Lin Feng and his companions returned to the assessment square outside the Hong family’s premises.

nBy then, the vast square, capable of accommodating 100,000 people, only held a few thousand.

nThese few thousand individuals were all geniuses who had successfully passed the first level.

nToday marked the beginning of the Hong family’s second round of assessments.

nOutside the square, Chen Jinwu had set up his stall once again. However, in addition to the insurance stall, there was another one nearby.

nBeside the stall were four prominent words: “Buy to Let Go!”

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