Heavenly God Academy, Heavenly God Hall.
When Chu Jiang arrived, he found Vice Dean Martial Madman and several other academy elders already seated in the hall. Wu Yue, Heavenly Phoenix Girl, Xie Hongchen, Zhan Tianxing, and the other eight peerless geniuses of the Top Ten Sequences had all arrived as well.
"The Barren Heaven Secret Treasure is about to open. Entry will be restricted to those below the Quasi-Saint Realm. This is also to ensure that the Barren Heaven Secret Treasure is not fished dry."
In truth, under the Barren Heaven Secret Treasure's secret realm rules, Quasi-Saints could enter as well, but Saints could not—they would be rejected.
The Barren Heaven Secret Treasure existed to temper the younger generation. Letting Quasi-Saints enter would instead strip it of its meaning.
Elder Mu Yunzi continued, "Apart from the top thousand geniuses in the grand competition, who automatically receive slots, the academy will also, as per custom, release an additional hundred slots for the major forces within and beyond the domain to bid on, giving their elite disciples a chance to enter and seek opportunities."
His expression was slightly solemn. "Although the academy has done its utmost to scrutinize the backgrounds of those holding these 'additional slots,' the secret realm is fraught with ever-shifting variables. It is impossible to guarantee that there will be no ill-intentioned individuals or unexpected incidents. Once you enter, you must remember at all times to act with caution and never let down your guard."
This was also a helpless measure for the academy to maintain its operations. Nurturing peerless geniuses consumed a staggering amount of resources, and auctioning off some of the slots was an important source of income, used to balance the immense expenditures.
It was not that the academy could not release more slots—four or five