Northern Azure Spiritual Academy

Passing through the ancient gates, they crossed the barriers between spaces.

After a wave of dizziness, light flashed before the eyes of all the new students. The next moment, the scene before them abruptly changed, and an unfamiliar world appeared before everyone.

This was a stone platform nearly ten thousand zhang wide. Though several thousand new students had appeared here, they did not even fill it.

One could imagine just how vast this place was.

The moment he regained consciousness, Bai Ye looked ahead. Before him stretched a boundless expanse. Within this vast heaven and earth, countless grand halls rose from the ground, mountains and forests stood in clusters, while rivers and oceans spread out like a new world. Though the stone platform they stood upon was already immensely vast, it was no more than a drop in the ocean within this world.

This was the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy, one of the Five Great Academies of the Great Thousand World.

Bai Ye took several steps forward and arrived at the edge of the stone platform. The mountain filling his entire field of vision resembled a divine bird spreading its wings, radiating overwhelming majesty.

An intense pressure emanated from that mountain.

It was powerful. Even Bai Ye felt an invisible pressure when he looked at it.

Yet the most eye-catching sight atop the mountain was the pair of enormous stone steles standing upon the divine bird's wings.

"Divine Soul Rankings."

Bai Ye murmured softly.

It was a ranking list.

"You should look at the one on the right."

At that moment, Li Qing appeared beside him and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

Hearing her words, Bai Ye shifted his gaze toward the other stone stele on the divine bird's right wing.

Clouds and mist coiled around the stele, while golden light flickered across it.

Looking at the names upon it, Bai Ye spoke again. "Heaven Ranking."

"The Divine Soul Rankings are a list created by the academy for Divine Soul Realm students. Any student who reaches the Divine Soul Realm is qualified to be listed. It is also the most basic ranking in the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy."

Sensing Bai Ye's confusion, Li Qing quietly explained.

"But the Heaven Ranking is where all the monsters of the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy gather."

Monsters...

Bai Ye looked once more at the towering stone stele, his gaze sweeping across the names one by one.

"Heaven Ranking, tenth: Zeng Wu. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for three years."

"Heaven Ranking, ninth: Luo Lin. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for three years."

"Heaven Ranking, eighth: He Yao. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for two years."

"Heaven Ranking, seventh: Su Xuan. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for two years."

"Heaven Ranking, sixth: Baili Yue. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for three years."

"Heaven Ranking, fifth: Lin Qi. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for three years."

"Heaven Ranking, fourth: Li Xuantong. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for two years."

"Heaven Ranking, third: Lin Yu. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for three years."

"Heaven Ranking, second: Ye Yunxiao. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for three years."

"Heaven Ranking, first: Shen Cangsheng. Cultivated at the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy for two years."

The ten people on the Heaven Ranking were the true geniuses of the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

"Huh? When was the name at the top of the Heaven Ranking changed?"

At that moment, Li Qing's puzzled voice drew Bai Ye's attention.

"You didn't know? Senior Shen emerged from seclusion a few days ago. With the power of a single spear strike, he leapt over more than ten seniors ahead of him and rose straight to first place."

It was the same girl from earlier. She walked over, made a face at Bai Ye, and explained it to Li Qing.

"He's that strong?"

A trace of shock appeared on Li Qing's usually cool face. Clearly, the news had struck her hard.

"Yeah, he's insanely strong."

As one of the witnesses, the girl's eyes were filled with respect for that senior. Just days ago, golden spear light had illuminated the entire academy. The might of that one strike had directly knocked down the former top-ranked senior, who had cultivated there for three years.

A junior had trampled all the seniors beneath his feet.

How could such a feat not leave junior students like them exhilarated?

"Then where has he gone now?"

Li Qing calmed her shocked emotions and asked.

"Senior took on the third mission on the Bounty Rankings by himself and left the academy."

Third on the Bounty Rankings was another unfamiliar term to Bai Ye. Yet seeing the surprise on Li Qing's face, he could tell that this ranking must also carry great weight in the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

"Shen Cangsheng..."

Bai Ye quietly repeated the name.

Interesting.

"Don't think about it. Even if you can defeat me now, you're still far from touching the top ranks of the Heaven Ranking."

Li Qing turned to Bai Ye and said.

After all, even she was currently ranked below a hundred.

Perhaps Bai Ye could rank a little higher than her if he could defeat her, but only by a little.

After all, the weakest of those monsters at the top were already in the Heaven Transforming Realm.

Not to mention that many powerful people in the academy had yet to appear on the Heaven Ranking.

In short, this place was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

Bai Ye might claim a place here in the future, but for now, he was merely a new student.

"Still far?"

Under Li Qing's puzzled gaze, Bai Ye said those words.

His right hand lifted slightly, his palm facing the glittering Heaven Ranking.

The corner of his mouth curved upward. "Who knows?"

Dong!!!

Before Li Qing could ask anything, a bell suddenly rang out in the distance.

Within this region, the phantoms of three more stone platforms appeared in the sky.

Just like before, countless balls of light appeared, and figure after figure emerged upon the stone platforms.

Everyone on this stone platform looked toward those other platforms.

Unlike their platform, each of the other three platforms held tens of thousands of people. They were densely packed, quickly crowding their respective platforms.

Compared to them, the platform Bai Ye and the others stood upon was empty to the extreme.

"So many people."

Su Ling'er cried out in surprise. She had assumed that the number of survivors from every Northern Azure Realm would be roughly the same.

When they had entered the great hall, she had kept complaining to Hong Lingyue and Yan Meng about the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy's brutal admission rate.

But now, it seemed she had been wrong.

"Of course. This is the normal number."

According to Li Qing, this girl was named Qin Xu. Her lively personality suited Su Ling'er quite well.

"You people are a completely special case."

The moment Qin Xu mentioned this, she became animated. "How could several Heaven Merging Realm experts end up together? You even forced the academy to urgently issue missions to bring people in. This is probably the first case in Northern Azure Spiritual Academy history."

With so many powerful people gathered together, the elimination rate in that Northern Azure Realm had naturally been extraordinarily high.

After all, if they could grow stronger through plundering, which Heaven Merging Realm expert would slowly collect the spiritual energy within spirit objects and spirit beasts?

Most importantly, that Northern Azure Realm had not only an abnormal number of Heaven Merging Realm experts, but even its Divine Soul Realm experts exceeded the usual level.

For those lower-level new students, that Northern Azure Realm had simply been a hellish start.

At that moment, figures on the other platforms began to emerge one after another.

Bai Ye stood at the edge of the stone platform, watching those figures who had stepped forward as well.

There were four stone platforms, and only four people could stand at the very front.

From the southern platform emerged a man. His appearance was ordinary, but his expression was exceptionally cold.

"Chen Xiu."

Feeling the fluctuations of his spiritual energy, Yu Xiaoyin and the others remained expressionless, while Hong Lingyue's eyes flickered slightly.

Heaven Merging Realm Initial Stage.

From the western platform emerged a graceful woman. She was strikingly beautiful, with long straight black hair and purple lips curled in a charming smile. Hidden within her sleeve was a pitch-black scorpion.

"Mu Lingling."

Heaven Merging Realm Initial Stage.

The instant these two emerged, they looked directly at each other, then shifted their gazes at the same time toward the highest platform, toward the white-haired youth dressed in fitted attire.

As for the sturdy youth who had emerged from the northern platform, they could not even be bothered to look at him.

A Quasi-Heaven Merging Realm expert standing at the front was nothing more than a matter of luck.

"Duanmu Lei."

The youth gave a bitter smile. Clearly, the high-spirited him, who had fought his way out from among tens of thousands, also understood just how coincidental his status as the strongest was.

Especially on the eastern platform at the highest point, there were at least five or six auras stronger than his.

Moreover, the height of the platforms was clearly determined by the number of people on them.

The Northern Azure Realm he had competed in had not seen much fighting, so its platform was lower than the other three by an unknown amount.

As the three stepped forward, however, no voice came from the eastern platform for a long while.

Whether it was the three standing out or the other new students on the eastern platform, all looked toward the white-haired youth in confusion.

Bai Ye stood calmly in place, staring ahead as though lost in thought.

"Hey, it's your turn to speak."

Qin Xu came to his side and quietly reminded him.

The four strongest contestants announcing their names was one of the annual rituals, as well as one of the most exciting spectacles.

Bai Ye turned his head and glanced at her before withdrawing his gaze.

"Boring."

He walked to the edge and looked down from above.

His gilded gold eyes were utterly calm.

To be honest, he had held a little expectation at first, but the moment he saw these three, all his interest vanished without a trace.

One word: weak.

So weak that he could not muster the slightest interest.

"Climb up here."

His calm voice rang out, as tranquil as though he were simply stating a fact.

The other three looked at him and frowned slightly, but none of them moved.

Because they saw that several Heaven Merging Realm auras behind him remained standing peacefully in place, without the slightest reaction.

The youth's eyes were cold, as though nothing before him mattered.

"Climb up here. Until then, don't bother me."

Boom!!!

In an instant, countless gazes shot toward Bai Ye, burning with intensity.

This was a declaration from someone standing at the summit.

This was a challenge issued by the strongest.

Climb up here, then talk to me about fighting.

Qin Xu and Li Qing stood side by side, feeling the spiritual energy between heaven and earth gradually stir.

They exchanged a glance and saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

With someone like him here, perhaps this batch of new students would be truly extraordinary.