Help from a Noble

"It's a shame, Chen Nan. Neither of your assessments met the standard, so you can't enter the Preparatory Academy," Li Yu said with a friendly smile. "Why not try again next year? This test is open until you're fifteen, after all."

As soon as he spoke, Zhang Hua's face immediately contorted with anger. He pulled out a wet wipe and vigorously scrubbed his hands, muttering, "What bad luck, running into this kind of lowlife!"

Li Yu chuckled and replied, "Oh, he's somewhat famous, so there's a difference between him and a mere lowlife."

The children around them, even though they knew their own fates would be the same as Chen Nan's, and that the terms "lowlife" and "scum" were being used to refer to them, still found it amusing.

Because Chen Nan was famous, he had drawn the attention of these people. Seeing a celebrity treated this way was naturally a source of great joy for them.

Chen Nan remained unfazed. He looked at Li Yu, unsure of what to do. Even if he gave it his all now, it would be impossible.

Li Yu would absolutely not let him pass, and any attempt would be futile. Unless he could kill him, but that was an even more impossible feat.

Just then, a man in white suddenly walked over.

He was radiant and so handsome that he was incredibly pleasant to look at. A man's handsomeness isn't always as fitting as a woman's beauty.

Some men are handsome like women, some are handsome with arrogance. All sorts of things can make one either nauseated or want to punch them.

This man's handsomeness, however, possessed a masculine energy without being aggressive, making people simply admire his looks without feeling any displeasure.

He arrived, smiling, and asked, "Senior Brother Li, what's going on here?"

Upon seeing him arrive, Li Yu immediately nodded, his waist seeming to lower slightly. With a fawning smile, he said, "Oh, it's Junior Brother Lu Fangliang. Nothing much, just a normal assessment, a normal assessment."

The man named Lu Fangliang looked at Chen Nan and smiled, "I find this child quite interesting. He didn't pass?"

Li Yu, a Transcendent, was less resilient than the "lowlife" he had just spoken of. His skin wasn't thick enough, and a blush crept onto his face, which, coincidentally sounding like "fresh red," had a double meaning.

He coughed to ease the awkwardness and said dryly, "Uh, yes, that, is, is, it seems he didn't pass. How about—why don't you try, Junior Brother? Perhaps I, your elder brother, am mistaken."

Lu Fangliang said with a cold smile, "Senior Brother Li is likely not mistaken, but what if he is? For these children, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It would be too regrettable to miss it.

Let me take a look, then."

With that, he performed the "Qi Gazing" technique on Chen Nan.

In fact, by the time he arrived beside Chen Nan, he already knew that the boy absolutely possessed the potential of a Transcendent. It would be strange if he didn't.

Now, performing the formal "Qi Gazing," he frowned.

Li Yu glanced sideways at Lu Fangliang's expression, puzzled. Chen Nan was obviously a Transcendent candidate at a glance; why was he frowning?

It was because Lu Fangliang sensed the strange and complex fluctuations of Chen Nan's extraordinary abilities.

Chen Nan looked at Lu Fangliang, already feeling the electromagnetic waves he emitted interfering with his body. Of course, this sensation came from the AI System's detection capabilities, which then analyzed the intensity and other characteristics of the electromagnetic waves.

So that's it! Chen Nan thought in surprise. These Transcendent abilities are related to these electromagnetic waves!

"Quite interesting," Lu Fangliang said with a smile. "He is indeed somewhat unusual."

It sounded like he was talking to himself, but Chen Nan knew it was an assessment of him.

Lu Fangliang looked at Li Yu and said, "It's no wonder Senior Brother Li made a misjudgment. This child's 'aura' is quite different. If it weren't for our Nature Master sect, which is skilled in this area, we wouldn't have been able to see it."

Li Yu thought Lu Fangliang was just offering him a way out, not realizing that half of it was true. He simply said with a look of shame, "This is all thanks to you, Junior Brother. Otherwise, I would have almost ruined a great talent. This would not only be a huge loss for this child but also a great sin for me.

Junior Brother Lu, you've saved two people with one action. Your merit is immeasurable, immeasurable!"

Lu Fangliang waved his hand and smiled, "Senior Brother Li exaggerates. This child—"

"Pass, pass, pass!" Li Yu immediately said. "He definitely passes!"

Lu Fangliang smiled and left calmly, not even waiting for Chen Nan to verbally express his gratitude.

Li Yu glanced at Chen Nan, then at Lu Fangliang, his eyes reflecting the intense thoughts in his mind. Unfortunately, Chen Nan couldn't pry into his thoughts through a window into his mind, but he knew Li Yu wasn't thinking of anything good.

He passed the assessment and naturally entered the inner courtyard of the Preparatory Academy through a special passage.

Several children who had passed the assessment were already waiting there. Some greeted Chen Nan with friendly smiles, while others wore arrogant expressions. They were all different.

Children truly reveal their inner feelings too easily. Chen Nan could guarantee that if it were a group of adults here, they would offer him full congratulations upon his arrival.

Sporadically, a few more children arrived and waited, including Zhang Hua, of course.

They came from a Transcendent family, so failing the assessment was out of the question.

They gathered together, totaling less than twenty people. This was the enrollment quota for the Wu City Preparatory Academy this year. Therefore, although the Preparatory Academy was a special school with a considerable area, it did not have a large student body.

Before long, relevant personnel began to lead these children to handle their enrollment matters. The children's parents were also allowed in to arrange everything for their children's accommodation at the school.

The first priority for enrollment was paying the tuition fees. Exactly fifty thousand yuan, covering board, lodging, and general educational resources.

At the Preparatory Academy, educational resources were very important. They could determine a student's graduation time. Although the academy stipulated that students could graduate upon reaching adulthood at sixteen, if they could meet the graduation standards earlier, they could graduate ahead of schedule.

Early graduation then led to another issue: their path after graduation.

सामान्य graduation meant obtaining a diploma from the Preparatory Academy and then entering the ordinary world.

The other option was to take the entrance examination for the five Transcendent academies in the entire Qingyang Kingdom.

Being able to meet the graduation standards early and then qualify for entry into a Transcendent academy was extremely important for a student.

The younger a student entered a Transcendent academy, the faster their growth would be, and the longer their development would last. In today's world, the top Transcendent prodigies basically entered Transcendent academies for advanced studies at the age of twelve or thirteen with exceptionally high scores.

Only with such talent could they eventually become so powerful that the world would tremble with their every move.

For those who wish to become Transcendent, entering the Preparatory Academy is merely an initiation rite. Their long journey of cultivation is vast, stretching so far into the distance that its end is almost invisible.

Within the Preparatory Academy, to be admitted into a Transcendent Academy as early as possible, aside from one's innate talent and diligent effort, another key factor is the educational resources provided by the Preparatory Academy.

These resources include general and special resources, with the special resources further divided into tiers, ranging from Special Tier One to Special Tier Five.

These resources encompass theoretical knowledge, such as cultivation techniques, martial skills, sorcery, and so on.

In addition to these, there are also equipment, medicines, accessories, training grounds, and other miscellaneous items to aid in cultivation.

Regarding the aforementioned items, if you pay the 50,000 tuition fee, you can only use general quality items; special quality items are not accessible. What should you do if you want to use special quality items?

Spend money?

This is indeed an almost universally applicable path, and it works here too, but the cost would be enormous.

Let's put it this way: if a student intends to use Special Tier One resources, the annual cost would increase by another 100,000 to 200,000 yuan. For Special Tier Two, it would be 400,000 to 500,000. We won't go into detail for the higher tiers, but such immense sums are enough to deter many.

Besides spending money, the other way is to have the "capital" to get things for free.

We have a general understanding of this. For example, a man who looks like a young lady has the capital to get things for free from girls.

Also, if a man is sufficiently "scummy" – meaning his emotional intelligence, as misunderstood by some, is high – he will understand humor, be good at conversation, know how to create romantic gestures, employ skillful methods to stir people's hearts, and be adept at deception. He can also get things for free.

Men other than these can only rely on money.

In terms of acquiring special educational resources, this "free" capital is similar to the above, belonging to one's inherent attributes. That is, one must possess exceptionally powerful talent.

However, often this exceptionally powerful talent is like a man's good looks. It doesn't always work.

Therefore, a certain foundation of "emotional intelligence" is also required.

The resources are there, and anyone who meets the conditions can claim them. But these "conditions" are set by people, and "people" are the key.

If they say you can, you can.

If they say you can't, you can't.

There is no such thing as fairness.

It is common to see those with extraordinary talent, who are poor but determined, end up at the bottom of the Transcendent world.

It's quite disheartening.

Amidst the clamor and busyness, most of the more than ten newly enrolled children are very excited, and even Zhang Hua is no exception.

They are all filled with bright hopes for their future, unaware that once they are separated from the protection of their parents, that brightness will already be a flower of yesterday.

Those lofty ideals and self-righteous ambitions will be shattered into pieces in the cold, hard society, until there is no longer any passion in their chests, and they can only eke out a miserable existence under the rules of society.

Even Transcendent are no exception. Unless