Three days slipped quietly by in tranquil cultivation.
When the morning sunlight once again filled the inn room, Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was deep and bright, like stars in the dark of night. Every breath carried a peculiar rhythm, faintly resonating with the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
Body Refinement Fifth Level!
Mystic-Tier Mid-Grade aptitude!
Feeling the vast Spiritual Energy surging endlessly within him, as well as his unprecedented affinity with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, Lin Xiao's heart brimmed with towering ambition. Compared to three days ago, he was now as different as heaven and earth.
Knock, knock, knock.
A polite knock sounded at the door.
Lin Xiao rose and opened it. Shi Lei and Su Yue stood outside, looking full of energy.
"Lin Xiao, you're out of seclusion!" Shi Lei grinned when he saw Lin Xiao, but his smile immediately froze. His eyes widened as he pointed at Lin Xiao in disbelief. "Y-you... your aura... You broke through?!"
Su Yue had also sensed the completely different aura around Lin Xiao. It was a confidence and strength that radiated from within, several times more profound than when they had been in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range!
"I gained a little," Lin Xiao said with a faint smile, offering no further explanation.
"A little? It's far more than that!" Shi Lei circled Lin Xiao twice, clicking his tongue in amazement. "You're practically a monster! You can break through just by going into seclusion? Are you leaving us ordinary folk any way to live?!"
Colorful light flashed through Su Yue's beautiful eyes as well. She knew Lin Xiao must carry a great secret, but she was smart enough not to ask. Handing him a heavy bundle, she beamed with excitement. "Lin Xiao, I did not fail my mission! Through my father's connections, I found the best artifact-refining master in Cloud Creek City—Master Ouye. The moment he saw that Second-Tier Giant Crocodile hide armor, his eyes nearly popped out! He agreed on the spot to tailor three inner armors for us! This is the receipt for the deposit. Master said we would receive them in no more than half a month!"
"Thank you for your hard work." Lin Xiao accepted the bundle, delighted as well. With those three inner armors, his team's ability to survive would greatly improve.
"Let's go. Today is the day new students report in. We can't be late."
The three packed their belongings, checked out of the inn, and strode spiritedly beneath the morning sun toward the enormous academy standing at the center of the city.
Cloud Creek Academy's outer court covered several thousand acres and was divided into residential, cultivation, teaching, and other areas. Pavilions and towers stood amid ancient trees that soared into the sky, and every corner exuded profound heritage.
At that moment, over a thousand new students who had passed the assessment had gathered before the "Academic Affairs Hall" in the teaching district, waiting to be assigned to their classes.
Unlike the tense atmosphere during the assessment, the students now wore looks of anticipation for the future, along with the pride unique to geniuses. They gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing as they discussed their preferred instructors and future paths of cultivation.
Lin Xiao and the other two still drew plenty of attention when they appeared. Especially when people saw Lin Xiao, their gazes carried both awe and curiosity. After all, the dark horse who had burst onto the scene during the assessment had left far too deep an impression on them.
"Hmph, what is he so smug about? He was just lucky. Once the classes are assigned and he loses those two helpers, let's see how he dies alone!"
Not far away, Wang Chen stood with several children of noble families, glaring venomously at Lin Xiao as he cursed under his breath. Li Mo beside him said nothing, but the coldness in his eyes showed that he had not forgotten the humiliation of that day.
Lin Xiao had long since become too lazy to pay attention to such provocations.
Soon, a middle-aged man in an instructor's robe stepped onto the high platform before the hall. Holding a thick roster, he declared in a loud voice, "Silence! We will now announce the class assignments for the new students!"
"The outer court of Cloud Creek Academy has four ranks of classes: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. Class assignments will mainly be based on your combined performance in the aptitude test and entrance assessment."
"Those whose aptitude has reached Mystic-Tier or above, or who ranked among the top fifty in the assessment, will enter the Heaven Class."
"Those with upper-grade Mortal-Tier aptitude, or who ranked among the top two hundred in the assessment, will enter the Earth Class."
"Those with mid-grade Mortal-Tier aptitude, or who ranked among the top five hundred in the assessment, will enter the Mystic Class. Everyone else will enter the Yellow Class."
The instant those words were spoken, a commotion swept through the crowd.
The academy's hierarchy was displayed vividly from the very first day of enrollment. Everyone knew that the cultivation resources and instructor arrangements enjoyed by classes of different ranks would be worlds apart.
"Now, I will begin reading the names."
"Su Yue, Mystic-Tier Mid-Grade aptitude, ranked seventy-second in the assessment. Assigned to Heaven Class Three!"
"Wow! It's Goddess Su Yue! Of course she made it into the Heaven Class!" "The City Lord's Mansion's young lady truly deserves it!"
Amid envious cries of surprise, Su Yue winked playfully at Lin Xiao and Shi Lei before walking into the group representing the Heaven Class.
"Shi Lei, upper-grade Mortal-Tier aptitude, Innate Divine Strength, ranked ninety-first in the assessment. Assigned to Earth Class One!"
Although Shi Lei had not entered the Heaven Class, his outstanding performance had earned him a place in the best class of the Earth Class. He gave Lin Xiao a gesture of encouragement before joining his own group.
As one name after another was called, the people in the plaza were continuously divided into separate streams.
Wang Chen and Li Mo had also successfully entered the Earth Class through their family backgrounds and respectable results. Before leaving, they did not forget to turn back and cast Lin Xiao a provocative, gleeful glance.
That was because they knew that the aptitude section in Lin Xiao's records was blank! Though his assessment rank of thirty-fifth was eye-catching, according to the academy's comprehensive evaluation rules, those with unknown aptitude were usually demoted!
Sure enough, even after all the Earth Class and Mystic Class slots had been announced, Lin Xiao's name had yet to appear.
Only a little over a hundred people remained in the plaza. Most of them had mediocre aptitude or had ranked near the bottom in the assessment. They hung their heads in dejection, their faces filled with disappointment.
"Every remaining student will be assigned to Yellow Class Nine!"
The instructor finished the last sentence in a tone that was practically a verdict, then put away the roster and left without looking back, as though sparing these "poor students" another glance would be a waste of time.
Yellow Class Nine!
The worst class in the entire outer court, also known as the "bottom-ranked class" or the "dumping ground"!
The result drew undisguised sneers from many people in the distant Heaven and Earth Classes.
"Hahaha! I'm dying of laughter! That dark horse, Lin Xiao, actually got assigned to Yellow Class Nine!" "I told you, that country bumpkin with no background must have stepped in dog shit during the assessment! Now his true colors are showing, aren't they?" "From heaven to hell—wonder how he feels now?" Wang Chen laughed so hard he swayed back and forth, as though a bitter grievance in his heart had finally been vented.
Even Shi Lei and Su Yue felt deeply indignant and worried for Lin Xiao.
Yet Lin Xiao, the person at the center of it all, remained as still as an ancient well.
He calmly glanced at his bronze token. Sure enough, the words "Yellow Class Nine" had appeared on it. He did not feel the slightest disappointment; there was not even a ripple of emotion.
Class? Resources? Instructors?
To others, those things were of utmost importance. To him, they were far less real than the system in his mind.
He slowly walked into the group representing Yellow Class Nine.
The surrounding students studied him with complicated gazes. There was sympathy, curiosity, and a trace of the desolation shared by those in the same predicament.
Before long, an old man with grizzled hair, a thin frame, and two wisps of goatee slowly shuffled over to them. He wore a washed-out instructor's robe and carried a wine gourd in his hand. His entire body radiated laziness and decadence.
"Cough, cough... Everyone's here, right?" The old man let out a wine-scented burp and said weakly, "This old man is Sun Simiao, your teaching instructor for Yellow Class Nine. From now on, you may call me Elder Sun."
"There aren't so many rules in my class. Don't cause trouble and don't give me any headaches. Whether you came here to sleep or stare blankly, do as you please. After all... this is all you'll ever amount to."
His undisguised perfunctoriness and contempt made many of the new students flush red with anger, yet they dared not speak.
"Alright, follow me now. I'll take you to your first lesson."
After saying that, Elder Sun clasped his hands behind his back and slowly led the way ahead.
Yellow Class Nine's classroom was located in the most remote corner of the entire teaching district. It was a dilapidated courtyard, overgrown with weeds and permeated by an air of decay.
After bringing everyone to the classroom, Elder Sun casually tossed down a Human-Tier Low-Grade introductory cultivation method, the Body Tempering Art. Then, pointing at several training stones in the courtyard, he said lazily, "This will be your main cultivation method for the next year. Practice it yourselves. If there's anything you don't understand... don't come ask me either. It's too troublesome. Alright, dismissed!"
Having said that, he went alone to a large tree in the corner of the courtyard, lay down in a rocking chair, drank his wine, and closed his eyes to rest.
Such irresponsible teaching left all the new students staring at one another, their hearts filled with disappointment and anger.
Lin Xiao, however, did not care in the least. He did not even look at the Body Tempering Art lying on the ground, instead turning around and walking straight out of the ruined courtyard.
"Hey! New kid! The instructor told you to cultivate. Where are you running off to?" A student who appeared to be a minor leader in the class, his face covered in flesh, called out to stop him.
Lin Xiao paused and turned back, giving him a calm glance.
With just that one look, the student felt as if an ancient ferocious beast had fixed its gaze upon him. A chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, and the words that followed were forcibly lodged in his throat, unable to come out.
Lin Xiao ignored them and walked straight out of the courtyard.
He did not go to the cultivation district, nor did he return to his dormitory. Instead, following the map in the introductory handbook, he made his way to the academy's Library Pavilion.
It was an octagonal pagoda nine stories tall, ancient and solemn. It housed hundreds of thousands of volumes of cultivation methods, Martial Skills, and all sorts of ancient texts from Cloud Creek Academy. It was the heart of the academy's knowledge.
"Stop! Present your identity jade token!" At the entrance to the pavilion, two senior students with steady auras stretched out their hands to block him.
Lin Xiao handed over his jade token.
One of the senior students glanced at it, and a trace of disdain appeared on his face. "Yellow Class? You may only enter the first floor. Remember, the books inside may only be read, not taken away, and they must not be damaged. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself!"
Lin Xiao nodded and stepped into this hall of knowledge.
The first floor of the Library Pavilion was extraordinarily vast. Rows upon rows of enormous bookshelves, each thirty meters tall, rose like a forest. They were filled with dazzling books, giving off the ancient, weighty scent of ink.
Countless outer court students were immersed in the sea of knowledge. The entire floor was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Lin Xiao did not flip through the books one by one like the others.
He merely walked slowly between the shelves, his calm gaze sweeping over row after row of titles.
And each time he passed a bookshelf, the system panel in his mind frantically refreshed with information.
[System Notification: Human-Tier Low-Grade cultivation method Spirit Condensation Art detected. Learn?] [System Notification: Human-Tier Low-Grade Martial Skill Wind Chasing Sword Technique detected. Learn?] [System Notification: Miscellaneous record Monster Compendium of the Xuan Yuan Continent detected. Add to collection?] ...
Learn!
Learn!
Add to collection!
Lin Xiao silently chanted in his heart.
In an instant, the cultivation methods of book after book, the techniques of Martial Skills, and the key knowledge from volume after volume of continental secrets all transformed into the purest streams of information and flooded madly into his mind, where he absorbed and mastered them in an instant!
This was his true golden finger!
This was the greatest source of confidence that let him dare to be assigned to the "bottom-ranked class"!
To him, the entire Library Pavilion was an inexhaustible treasure vault!
When the sun sank in the west, Lin Xiao walked out of the Library Pavilion with more than a hundred Human-Tier Low-Grade cultivation methods and Martial Skills, along with a vast store of knowledge, now added to his mind.
He raised his head to look at the evening glow on the horizon, and a confident smile curled across his lips.
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