Time flew by. Great Xia Prefecture was roiled by storms and upheaval, but the small city of Nanyuan was not greatly affected. Still, with the higher education assessments drawing near, the little city had begun to bustle as well.
Nanyuan Academy.
Main conference room.
At this moment, the conference room was packed.
Liu Wenyan sat toward the front on the left side of the conference room, head lowered as he wrote and sketched. He kept a low profile and did not say a word.
The one presiding over the meeting was not the old Academy Head, but a cold-faced man in his thirties. He swept his gaze around the room and said, "The higher education assessments are imminent. By order of Great Xia Prefecture, the Seeking Realm, and the War God Hall, the higher education assessments will be coordinated by the Great Xia Prefecture Yuqiang Department, with all major academies cooperating. Does anyone have any objections?"
The Yuqiang Department specialized in handling the annual academy assessments. Its authority was not immense, but neither was it small.
Among those in the conference room were recruitment teachers from the major academies, as well as officials from Great Xia Prefecture and Nanyuan.
The meeting had been held at Nanyuan Academy because it was Nanyuan's largest source of students. Very few students from the other smaller academies managed to pass.
After the man finished speaking, someone raised a hand. Once the man looked over, they asked, "I have a question. This year, Great Xia Prefecture's policies have changed. Will the assessment standards for incoming students and local students be unified?"
The man answered swiftly, "According to previous registrations, there are a total of 418 incoming students who have settled here, while 2,892 local Nanyuan students have registered. Forty incoming students will be admitted to Civilization Academies and War Academies, while 200 local students will be admitted."
Civilization and war were the two major academy systems; there were not merely two academies.
The War Academies included Great Xia War College, Dragon Martial War College, Jifeng Academy, Oceanic War Academy... and many more.
The Civilization Academies included Daxia Civilization Academy, Nine Heavens Civilization Academy, Ask the Way Civilization Academy...
And when Su Yu and the others spoke of admission slots, they generally meant Daxia Civilization Academy or Great Xia War College. Those were Great Xia Prefecture's top two academies. The third-ranked one was Dragon Martial War College.
After stating the numbers, the man continued, "The admission ratios are set. Standards will be unified, assessments will be unified, and afterward, each academy will lower its requirements to admit Nanyuan students."
Those words stung somewhat. Liu Wenyan and the old Academy Head both remained silent.
Nanyuan students were certainly inferior to students from Great Xia Prefecture and the other major cities.
That was why requirements had to be lowered every year. Otherwise, barely anyone would pass.
Still, for the man to say that in such a setting was rather embarrassing.
The 200 slots included all slots among the major War Academies and Civilization Academies. Two hundred people was not much. The rest either went to the Internal Affairs Academy, the Research Academy, or simply found another path.
Once he had finished, the old Academy Head raised a hand and hurriedly asked, "Director Sun, then how many students will Daxia Civilization Academy, Great Xia War College, and Dragon Martial War College admit from Nanyuan this year?"
The man did not answer. Instead, he turned toward several people beside him who had remained silent all along. "Researcher Huang, what have your major academies decided?"
On the right, a young man who had been reading with his head lowered looked up at those words. Smiling, he said unhurriedly, "Daxia Civilization Academy follows the old rules. Those with an assessment score above 200 may apply!"
"Nanyuan City is weak, so admissions requirements will be lowered. Those above 180 will be admitted at our discretion!"
The old Academy Head relaxed slightly. Good. Nanyuan's difficulty had not increased; it was the same as in previous years.
"Great Xia War College will admit those above 200, with lowered admissions at 180."
"Dragon Martial War College will admit those above 180, with lowered admissions at 160."
The representatives from the two War Academies did not say much. After following the young man with a single sentence each, they fell silent.
After hearing them, the Yuqiang Department official at the front looked toward the old Academy Head. "Director Wang, do you have any objections?"
"No."
The old Academy Head responded. Liu Wenyan had not spoken before, but now he interjected, "I have a question. Su Yu and Liu Yue are students guaranteed admission through Bai Feng's slots at the Civilization Academy. According to the rules, those two do not count toward Nanyuan's quota, and Nanyuan may admit two slightly less qualified students in sequence."
Across from him, Researcher Huang looked up again. "Instructor Liu, according to the rules, that is permitted. But every year, nearly all students sent up this way are eliminated. It wastes their time and squanders their lives. Why must Instructor Liu delay their futures?"
Liu Wenyan said calmly, "Give them a chance, at least. A fish leaping through the dragon gate also needs an opportunity."
"Then do as Instructor Liu wishes. However, since Su Yu and Liu Yue have Bai Feng's guaranteed admissions, they must still pass the assessment. Their assessment scores must exceed the lowered threshold of 180. Instructor Liu has no objections, I presume?"
"None."
Liu Wenyan had no objection at all. With Su Yu and Liu Yue's scores, they could pass normally, let alone under lowered requirements.
The young man said nothing more and continued reading. In truth, it was not a book, but a compiled list of this year's Nanyuan student assessment records.
At that moment, the page he had opened was Su Yu's.
Su Yu, Kaiyuan Fifth Stage, passed assessment in 18 Myriad Races Languages, accumulated 21 Merit Points, comprehensive score of 300, lower-middle.
This information was from over a month ago and had not been updated since.
The man looked at it for a while, then flipped past it. Smiling, he said nothing.
Information from a month ago, still not updated by now—was Nanyuan planning to present him as their finale?
There was not much point!
Nanyuan was too small. No matter how well they hid someone here, once he reached Great Xia Prefecture, he would only be ordinary.
"A student Bai Feng recruited in advance... I hope there is something special about him."
The young man pondered inwardly. This Su Yu had drawn quite a bit of attention before even enrolling. Before coming here, many people had told him to take a look and see whether the boy truly possessed anything special.
Though Bai Feng had recruited him in advance, that did not mean Su Yu could not switch to someone else.
If the student himself wished to switch, could Bai Feng really object?
Whether Su Yu was an undiscovered genius or someone Bai Feng had casually taken in would be clear after one look.
If he was mediocre, then he would be a joke.
If he was a genius, some people would likely make a move to poach him.
At the front, seeing that no one had any further objections, Director Sun said, "Then make preparations and await the assessments! Nanyuan City will be responsible for security. The examinees will be gathering, so guard against a sudden strike by the Ten Thousand Races Cult!"
"Yes!"
Below, the commander of the City Guards promptly responded.
Director Sun nodded slightly, then looked toward Xia Bing with a smile. "Squad Leader Xia, the Dragon Martial Guard must also cooperate with Nanyuan in ensuring security."
"Yes!"
Xia Bing did not say much. Without looking at Director Sun, he gave a slight nod toward the recruitment teacher from Dragon Martial Academy across from him.
The Dragon Martial Guard and Dragon Martial Academy had close ties. Many of Dragon Martial Academy's teachers were retired soldiers of the Dragon Martial Guard.
The two knew each other. Seeing this, the Dragon Martial Academy teacher nodded slightly.
The meeting soon ended.
Everyone departed on their own.
Xia Bing lagged a step behind, and the teacher from Dragon Martial Academy slowly fell behind as well.
"Old Xia, have things been all right for you in Nanyuan these past few years?"
"Average. Other than the Ten Thousand Races Cult attack before, which was somewhat interesting, I've been bored enough to grow feathers!"
Xia Bing was somewhat stifled. He quickly said, "Forget that. There are a few good seedlings in Nanyuan. Keep an eye on them. Especially Su Yu—he's strong, bold, and meticulous. A few days ago, he even did something major. Liu Wenyan is dead set on sending him to a Civilization Academy and has kept it quiet. Luckily, I'm stationed here."
"What major thing?"
"He cooperated with a Jifeng Hall squad and killed a Ten Thousand Stones expert!"
Xia Bing's voice was very low. "Keep this confidential. It's enough that our Dragon Martial Academy knows. If word gets out... both of us will be in trouble. This breaks the rules. I'm only telling you because you're one of us. Find a way to admit that kid!"
The recruitment teacher was somewhat surprised. "Cooperated? Jifeng Hall actually needed a Kaiyuan cultivator's cooperation?"
"He's not merely Kaiyuan. He should have already outlined a Divine Script!"
Xia Bing spoke quickly. "Bai Feng came last time and transcribed a Willpower Script for him. He may already have fully outlined a Divine Script. Otherwise, he could not have used the power of a Divine Script."
At those words, the teacher's eyes shone like snow. "Really? Bai Feng only came here two months ago, didn't he? He transcribed a Willpower Script once, and the kid outlined a Divine Script? He completed a full Divine Script outline in less than two months?"
"That should be the case. Of course, Liu Wenyan may have taught him some basics before."
"Then he's a genius all the same!"
The recruitment teacher's face was full of excitement. It was not that he had never seen geniuses before, but he had come to Nanyuan without expecting to recruit any genius. Now one had suddenly appeared—how could he not be excited?
"Old Xia, thank you. Don't worry, I absolutely won't spread this around and drag you down, brother!"
As he spoke, the recruitment teacher said excitedly, "Our Dragon Martial Guard has always wanted to cultivate our own Civilization Masters. Dragon Martial Academy even opened a Civilization Master class, but no matter what, we can't teach any real talent. They're all leftovers passed over by Daxia Civilization Academy. This time, we'll cut in and snatch one!"
A genius who had outlined a Divine Script!
And a complete Divine Script at that!
If this had been in Great Xia Prefecture, Daxia Civilization Academy would have learned of it long ago, and he would have been admitted in advance long ago.
Of course, Su Yu had essentially been admitted in advance too.
But Bai Feng was afraid others would steal his student, so he naturally would not announce it.
Seeing his excitement, Xia Bing thought for a moment and said, "Old Xie, recruitment is recruitment, but I don't actually want to ruin the kid's prospects either. I know what the Civilization Master class at Dragon Martial Academy is like. My thought is, if the kid truly has talent in this area, we can handle his physical cultivation ourselves. But as for Civilization Master cultivation... see if the academy can have those mid- to high-level researchers from the Dragon Martial Guard return to teach?"
"You don't need to tell me that!"
Old Xie chuckled. "General Zhao got angry this time and had a furious falling-out with Director Wan! Director Wan wants to use Civilization Masters to choke us, and General Zhao said it himself: this year, Dragon Martial Academy will greatly increase its efforts in training Civilization Masters. Those Civilization Masters in the military have nothing to do now, so they will all come to Dragon Martial Academy as accompanying instructors."
"Really?"
Xia Bing was overjoyed. "Then there's no problem! Right, when you approach that kid, mention his father. His father, Su Long, is a veteran of the Demon Suppression Army and was recently recalled to service."
"Someone from the Demon Suppression Army!"
At those words, Old Xie suddenly cursed, "The Demon Suppression Army is our territory! Liu Wenyan has gone too far—he actually wants to steal one of our people!"
The Dragon Martial Guard, the Demon Suppression Army, and the Prefectural Army—these three major military organizations were all considered one family.
One of their own soldiers' children had actually been targeted by a Civilization Academy. Old Xie was furious!
Xia Bing coughed lightly and did not pick up that thread.
That was what he said, but he knew perfectly well what Dragon Martial Academy's Civilization Master class was like. It was normal for the boy to choose a Civilization Academy. Xia Bing merely had a selfish desire to keep the kid in the Dragon Martial Guard.
"I still have patrol duty, so I won't say more. Pay more attention to that kid. To reach this point in Nanyuan, I think he's no worse than those Kaiyuan Ninth Stage students in Great Xia Prefecture—perhaps much stronger. Oh, and the kid himself is already a Kaiyuan Eighth Stage cultivator!"
"..."
At those words, Old Xie's eyes shone brightly. "Then why cultivate the path of civilization at all? He should take the warrior path! Even at their peak, Civilization Masters may not be stronger than us warriors!"
"Handle it as you see fit."
Xia Bing still had a mission to attend to and did not have time to say more. He quickly left.
Outside the conference room.
Liu Wenyan turned his head and glanced behind him. He saw two figures lingering there, smiled, and dismissed them with disdain!
What were they thinking?
How could that kid possibly go to Dragon Martial Academy? This old man has taught him by word and example for so many years. If that kid switches to a War Academy, I... I'll make him compensate me for my Thunder Origin Blade. Does that kid have the money to pay for it?
The Su Family home.
Su Yu had not gone out for many days.
For more than ten days, he had opened the illustrated book once each day, absorbed origin qi, and tempered his acupoints, using more than ten drops of essence blood.
His ninth acupoint, the Baihui acupoint, was now flickering with light. Origin qi had begun gathering atop his head—this was a sign that the ninth acupoint was about to open.
It was nearly complete!
In less than half a month, he was about to complete the opening of his ninth acupoint. This speed was astonishing. Naturally, the price he had paid was not small, but to others, what were a dozen or so drops of essence blood?
If a dozen drops of essence blood could bring someone into Kaiyuan Ninth Stage, people willing to sell their homes to cultivate would line up all the way to Great Xia Prefecture.
Bang bang bang!
"Ah Yu, open the door!"
Chen Hao's voice.
Su Yu got up and opened the door.
Chen Hao was carrying food in his hands as he complained, "You haven't gone out again! Ah Yu, you haven't gone into cultivation deviation, have you? My dad told me to talk you into taking it easy. There must be balance between tension and relaxation—don't keep drilling into a bull's horn. It won't affect you even if you don't reach Kaiyuan Ninth Stage, so what are you doing?"
Su Yu smiled and said nothing. He took the food, opened it, and looked inside. Somewhat disdainfully, he said, "Braised pork again? Can't you get something lighter for once?"
"Eat it or don't! I bought it all with my own allowance!"
Chen Hao said gloomily, "Ah Yu, you're about to clean out all my allowance!"
"Clean you out?"
Su Yu chuckled. "Starting tomorrow, you won't need to buy any more. Did I clean you out? Could you have entered Kaiyuan Fifth Stage if I had? Believe it or not, if I spread the word, people bringing me food would line up all the way to Great Xia Prefecture!"
At those words, Chen Hao immediately grinned. "Ah Yu, cultivating at your place is great. Does your house have good feng shui?"
"Idiot!"
Su Yu cursed him, too lazy to pay attention. Good feng shui? I've been gathering origin qi these past days—how much benefit has this guy gotten from it?
Of course, he did not care. He could not use it all himself anyway. Chen Hao had absorbed it and entered Kaiyuan Fifth Stage instead.
Chen Hao was delighted for a while, then quickly remembered the real matter and said, "The assessment procedures are out. They're about the same as last year. Want to take a look?"
"Give it to me."
Su Yu took the procedure sheet Chen Hao handed over, scanned it, and nodded slightly. It was not too different from before.
War Academy assessment, morning of the 25th.
Civilization Academy assessment, afternoon of the 25th.
The same rules as previous years. Kaiyuan Third Stage and below: 10 points per stage, requiring assessment verification.
Kaiyuan Fourth through Sixth Stages: 30 points per stage, all requiring assessment verification.
Kaiyuan Seventh through Ninth Stages: 50 points per stage.
Myriad Races Language: 10 points for each language mastered, requiring assessment verification.
Merit Points obtained apart from Myriad Races Language counted as 10 points each.
"I'm Kaiyuan Eighth Stage, so that's 220 points. I've mastered 20 Myriad Races Languages, 200 points. I've accumulated 10 Merit Points apart from Myriad Races Language, 100 points. Also... outlining a Divine Script gives an extra 100 to 300 points?"
Su Yu spotted a rule—a tiny bonus-point rule that he had nearly overlooked.
Perhaps because they had not expected Nanyuan to have anyone qualifying for that bonus, the printed text for the rule even seemed smaller.
"Then doesn't that mean I have at least 620 points?"
Su Yu looked it over and smiled.
Under the usual Nanyuan assessment rules, scoring above 200 points meant one could practically apply to any academy. Of course, the War Academies and Civilization Academies had slightly different bonus-point rules, but they were broadly similar.
However, the bonus points for Myriad Races Languages were capped at the War Academies, with no more than 100 bonus points possible.
Likewise, the Civilization Academies had certain restrictions. At minimum, one had to master no fewer than eight Myriad Races Languages.
All this was to prevent students with great strength from running to Civilization Academies and students who mastered many Myriad Races Languages from running to War Academies. They taught according to talent; if someone was not suited for something, applying recklessly to an academy could easily waste their gifts.
"It has nothing to do with me. I meet the requirements for both sides anyway."
Su Yu did not care much. His assessment was merely going through the motions. The key was the reward for first place.
As for Chen Hao, he was Kaiyuan Fifth Stage, worth 90 points. He had three basic Myriad Races Languages, worth 30 points, plus 30 bonus points, for a total of 150. His bonus came from the three Merit Points he had obtained separately, so those three Merit Points were no longer counted for additional points.
Besides that, the War Academies had other assessment bonus categories. Receiving an excellent assessment rating would also grant bonus points; under normal circumstances, gaining another 30 points would not be difficult.
That put him at around 180 points.
"Great Xia War College was hard to get into, but the other War Academies weren't nearly as difficult."
Su Yu did the math for him. Chen Hao had never considered Great Xia War College before anyway. There were plenty of War Academies, and with over 150 points, he could get into almost any of them except Dragon Martial and Great Xia War College.
So Chen Hao was under little pressure. As long as he passed the assessment, he could enroll in a War Academy.
For the other Kaiyuan Fourth or Fifth Stage students, their chances of getting into an ordinary War Academy were also high. Those at the Third Stage... had little hope, unless they performed exceptionally well in every other aspect.
Therefore, the students from Nanyuan who got into War Academies in previous years were almost all at Kaiyuan Fourth Stage or above.
Even at Kaiyuan Fourth Stage, whether one could get in still depended on luck.
Su Yu continued reading as he ate, looking at the rewards for first place.
Previously, first place on the War Academy side received three drops of Qi Liquid from Nanyuan.
For the Civilization Academy, the reward was an original copy of Myriad Races Thousand Jun.
These were all rewards provided by Nanyuan itself. As for the various academies... there was no explanation above, so he did not know whether they offered rewards as well. He had heard that those rewards were only given after entering the academy.
"Additionally, first place will be awarded 10 merit points, counted as accumulated merit!"
Su Yu spotted another reward rule. This was a standard reward. His eyes lit up—if he took first place in both, wouldn't he get an extra 20 merit points?
Was he about to strike it rich?
Before you continue