Freshmen and Senior Students

The enormous purple-gold palace descended from the sky and landed steadily before everyone.

The instant it touched down, the earth gave a violent tremor.

Magnificent and boundless as far as the eye could see.

Purple-gold radiance surged without end.

"Northern Azure Hall."

Burning anticipation filled everyone's eyes.

This was the true gateway to the Five Great Academies.

Once they crossed this threshold, a vast blue sea and clear skies would await them.

Rumble—

Under countless gazes, the Golden Giant Gate before the purple-gold hall slowly opened.

Its momentum was overwhelming.

"Northern Azure Hall is now open. Only students whose Marks have reached Level 4 or above may enter."

An aged voice came from within, instantly igniting the passion of everyone present.

Northern Azure Spiritual Academy was right before them.

Yet strangely, although the fervor in everyone's eyes was nearly overflowing, not a single person moved forward.

Every gaze turned toward the white-haired youth standing in the center.

Reverence filled every pair of eyes.

As long as he did not move, no one dared step past him and enter the hall first.

Bai Ye smiled faintly. "Go on."

With that, he strode forward without hesitation. The several thousand people behind him followed closely, neither too fast nor too slow.

Countless figures filled the sky like dense black clouds, advancing in orderly fashion.

"Interesting."

Inside Northern Azure Hall, a white-bearded old man watched the scene outside and smiled as he stroked his long beard.

It took far more than being merely a little stronger to make several thousand students willingly follow behind someone.

It seemed this year had finally produced an interesting little fellow.

As Bai Ye crossed the Golden Giant Gate, he sensed a thin barrier.

The barrier's power moved toward the Mark on his forehead. It appeared to be a mechanism for checking whether one's Mark met the requirements.

In less than a second, Bai Ye passed smoothly through the Golden Giant Gate and entered the hall.

Hong Lingyue and the other two girls followed closely behind. At least until they entered Northern Azure Spiritual Academy, they were still traveling together.

With a flash of light, Bai Ye's vision turned white. When he came back to his senses, they had arrived in an incomparably vast space.

One orb of light after another flashed, and figures appeared here one after another.

Bai Ye looked around. This was probably the main hall of Northern Azure Hall.

"Little ones, congratulations on passing Northern Azure Spiritual Academy's test."

After the numerous light orbs dispersed and all the students arrived in this space, a kindly voice rang out from the highest point of the hall. Bai Ye looked up to see an aged figure slowly walking down.

The instant he saw this person, Bai Ye's body abruptly tensed.

This was a warning of danger. For such a reaction to arise, it meant this old man's strength had reached an extremely formidable level.

It was no exaggeration to say that if Bai Ye truly fought him now, his chances of surviving would be minuscule.

This was merely a guide, yet he already gave Bai Ye such a sense of crisis.

Northern Azure Spiritual Academy truly deserved its title as one of the Five Great Academies.

"Welcome to Northern Azure Spiritual Academy. These are the rewards you have earned."

The old man did not explain anything to the bewildered students. Instead, he flicked his sleeve, sending streams of light flying toward the crowd below.

Several thousand streaks of light landed accurately in every person's hands.

Bai Ye caught the Flowing Light flying toward him. When its glow faded, a crystalline token appeared in his hand, with the number "Five Thousand" meticulously engraved upon it.

"What is this?"

The students below asked in confusion, unable to understand the crystal token.

Bai Ye glanced over the crystal tokens held by the others. The numbers on them varied.

Su Ling'er had seven hundred, Hong Lingyue had seven hundred and fifty, while Yan Meng beside them had exactly six hundred.

Judging by those values, Yan Meng had only just surpassed a Level 6 Mark, Su Ling'er was in the middle range of Level 6, while Hong Lingyue stood at the peak of Level 6.

In other words, the size of this number was determined by the spiritual energy contained within one's Mark.

"This is a Spirit Value Token. The number on it represents the Spirit Value you possess. Spirit Value is extremely important in Northern Azure Spiritual Academy. You may use it to exchange for whatever you desire in the Spirit Value Hall—spiritual arts, spiritual artifacts, Spirit Objects, Formation Diagrams, or even Heaven-Rank Spirit Beast Essence. All of these can be exchanged for..."

Before the old man could finish, the fervor in the students' eyes below could no longer be contained. Wasn't one of the greatest attractions drawing them here, after all their hardships, the academy's top-tier cultivation resources?

"Quiet."

The old man's calm voice rang out.

All sounds around them vanished without a trace in an instant.

Under the powerful spiritual energy pressure, everyone's attention focused on the old man.

Bai Ye was no exception. That voice seemed to contain a unique power. Was it some kind of sound-wave spiritual art?

"Ahem. In short, Spirit Value is very important. If you want to obtain Spirit Value, Northern Azure Spiritual Academy has all kinds of missions. As long as you complete missions, hand in Spirit Beast Essence Souls, or conduct private trades among yourselves, you can obtain Spirit Value."

The students below nodded, understanding the nature of Spirit Value. It was Northern Azure Spiritual Academy's currency, and naturally, the more money one had, the better.

As if seeing through some people's thoughts, the old man smiled faintly. "There happens to be a good opportunity to earn five thousand Spirit Value right now. Would you like to participate? Though it is only open to those with Level 7 Marks or above."

Five thousand?

Upon hearing that number, many people could not help drawing in a sharp breath, their breathing growing heavy.

Bai Ye's eyes flickered. Even he, the sole owner of a Level 9 Mark, had received only five thousand Spirit Value, yet the reward being offered now was exactly the same.

This opportunity was likely not so easy to seize.

"What opportunity is it?"

At last, someone could not hold back and asked. It was Mo Canghai, who stood nearby, eager to try.

"Very simple." The old man's smile carried a hint of amusement. "It is merely a challenge match. Your opponents, however, will be the senior students of Northern Azure Spiritual Academy."

Hiss—

Upon hearing this, difficulty flashed through many people's eyes.

How should they put it? The moment they heard the identities of senior students, they understood the weight those words carried.

They were older, had cultivated longer, and had already trained within Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for some time.

Just then, several pillars of light flashed behind the old man.

Figures appeared within them one after another.

These people emitted no weak fluctuations. Even the weakest among them possessed Quasi-Heaven Merging Realm strength. More than half were at the Heaven Merging Realm Initial Stage, while the girl standing in the very center...

"Heaven Merging Realm Middle Stage?"

Bai Ye narrowed his eyes. The girl wore fitted cultivation clothes, her tall figure displaying her graceful curves to perfection. If one only saw that and her naturally wavy shoulder-length hair carrying a trace of allure, one might misunderstand her personality. Yet when one's gaze swept over her icy, beautiful face, all previous impressions of sensual charm instantly vanished. She was a genuine cold beauty.

"There are quite a few at the Heaven Merging Realm."

The girl swept her gaze over the freshmen below and spoke coldly.

"Yes. They seem to be the highest-quality group among the four Northern Azure Realms. No wonder Old Bai urgently called us over."

One of the dozen or so people who had emerged from the pillars of light responded to the cold beauty.

The people originally assigned to conduct the assessment were not them, but another group of Northern Azure Spiritual Academy senior students. However, a day earlier, Old Bai, the guide here, had unexpectedly discovered that the distribution of strength in this Northern Azure Realm was somewhat unbalanced. That was why he had urgently increased the Spirit Value reward and replaced the original group with them.

"Still, Li Qing, Li Qing, I found such a handsome boy. He's really so handsome."

As she spoke, the girl tugged on the cold beauty's sleeve, her face full of infatuation.

Li Qing did not need to think to know who she meant. That white-haired youth's appearance was indeed extraordinary. Even she had lost focus for a moment upon first seeing him.

But as the strongest among them, what concerned her was something else.

Though it was not very obvious, anyone observant enough would notice that, just like her position, that boy stood at the center of all the freshmen.

Although that did not necessarily mean anything, Li Qing had a feeling that this boy would be the strongest among them all.

"Draw lots to decide. Who will participate?"

Just then, the old man said with a smiling expression.

"You may withdraw."

Withdraw...

The dozen or so freshmen who had reached Level 7 Marks thought it over. A few seconds later, someone finally could not resist stepping out.

They were all at the Divine Soul Realm Late Stage. Defeating Heaven Merging Realm experts was simply impossible.

And those who remained standing in place were indeed the few at the Heaven Merging Realm.

Excluding Hong Lingyue, whose Mark was only Level 6, the remaining six stood firmly where they were without moving.

Facing seniors who were also at the Heaven Merging Realm but had cultivated in Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for an additional year, they honestly did not have much confidence.

Sometimes, cultivation resources could determine many things.

"It seems you have made your decision."

Li Qing watched everyone settle into place, her beautiful eyes coldly sweeping over those who remained.

With a flick of her Jade Hand, more than a dozen light orbs appeared in the air.

The people standing beneath the steps exchanged glances, then unanimously looked toward the youth at the front.

Bai Ye casually glanced at the light orbs and beckoned with one hand. One of them flew into his palm.

Only then did the others take their own light orbs one after another.

"You are the strongest among them."

A cold voice came from the platform. It was not a question, but a statement.

Bai Ye raised his eyes slightly and looked at Li Qing, who had spoken.

"Perhaps."

Li Qing frowned when she saw that Bai Ye had yet to open the light orb in his hand. "You do not seem very concerned about your opponent."

"To me, they are all about the same."

Bai Ye stretched lazily as the people around him opened their light orbs one after another.

"No matter whose name is inside this light orb."

He lightly tossed his own light orb in his hand, his gaze falling upon Li Qing before him.

Then, with a slight exertion of his right hand, the light orb shattered.

"I choose only you."

Coldness appeared in the senior students' eyes, while smiles spread across the freshmen's faces.

Challenging those above one's rank?