In the heartland of the Central Plains, north of Shengjing.
Looking out from Yongan Avenue, endless forests blanketed the mountains. Beneath them ran a divine path cleaved along the slope, stretching straight to the mountainside. There stood a white jade Mountain Gate higher than the forest sea, while five grand halls rose in staggered formation atop the peak, hidden amid the clouds and mist.
This was the Celestial Academy of the Great Xia Sacred Sect, passed down since ancient times, with foundations deep beyond measure.
At this moment, two opulent carriages arrived before the divine path, and two men stepped down from them.
One was nearly sixty, his hair white as frost, yet his complexion ruddy and his spirit vigorous. He wore a long purple robe. The other was broad and imposing, crowned with pearls and belted with jade, clad in an embroidered ceremonial robe, noble beyond compare.
"This old man, Wei Li, pays respects to Prince Chong."
"Chancellor Wei, please rise. There is no need for such ceremony between us."
Prince Chong stepped forward and helped this veteran minister of two reigns to his feet. "I heard His Majesty has overworked himself these past few days and is in poor health?"
Wei Li narrowed his eyes with a smile. "Isn't he simply brooding over some new reforms to restore imperial authority until worry made him ill?"
"His Majesty is just like that imperial brother of mine. In the end, he still does not understand that this realm is not his realm, but the immortals' realm. Under immortal authority, where could imperial authority possibly come from?"
"Your Highness speaks most truly." Wei Li's eyes suddenly shifted. "However, I heard His Majesty summoned Ye Sheng back from Cold Iron Pass. Could it be related to these new reforms?"
At those words, Prince Chong's brow furrowed slightly. "The war in the Northern Plains is over?"
"It is said General Ye broke through on the battlefield and has now reached Perfection of the Upper Five Realms. With one slash, he killed the enemy commander, forcing the Witch Barbarian tribes into a temporary retreat."
"He has no Dao lineage inheritance. Perfection of the Upper Five Realms is already the end of his road in this life."
Wei Li repeatedly agreed, then drew a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and handed it to Prince Chong.
Inside were Blood Pills refined by an elder of the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion. Every month, Wei Li distributed them to the Pro-Immortal Faction officials. They could nourish one's innate bones and aid cultivation.
After delivering the pills, Wei Li turned to look at the Celestial Academy's divine path. "This old man has been busy collecting tax offerings these past days and has yet to inquire—why was the Celestial Academy's entrance ceremony suddenly postponed?"
"I only just learned of it myself. During this year's selection, the Celestial Academy found another person who had reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms before turning twenty. He has just been brought to Shengjing."
"Such a thing happened? Then won't Prince Chong have to spend another offering?"
If Celestial Academy Outer Court disciples failed to enter the Upper Five Realms, they could not enjoy the offerings of the myriad people.
Yet high officials and wealthy Aristocratic Clans in the capital always rushed to offer support and build ties. After all, immortals who reached the Upper Five Realms were already supreme existences among mortals. Prince Chong understood this well, spending vast sums every year to support Celestial Academy disciples.
This time, however, he shook his head, clearly looking down on this extra candidate.
"That is strange. In the past, every person who reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms before twenty was snapped up by you."
"This time is different. That person is neither the descendant of an immortal clan nor the child of an Aristocratic Clan, but a countryside independent cultivator."
Wei Li paused slightly. "An independent cultivator?"
Prince Chong stood with his hands behind his back. "I already support several thousand Outer Court disciples, and the expense each year is enormous. Yet very few truly amount to anything. Once they enter the Upper Five Realms, every realm requires a vast supply of immortal herbs and spirit medicine. Even I cannot bear such costs."
"So Prince Chong has lost interest in them?"
"No. The other two students—I am determined to have them."
Prince Chong could not help curling his lips. "Chu He, younger brother of Chu Xian, the personal disciple of Sect Master Xuan Yuan. Everyone in that family is extraordinarily gifted. As for the other one, she has the Yunzhou Lu Family behind her, and they control Yunzhou's spirit mines."
Wei Li narrowed his eyes. "Your Highness's ambitions run deep indeed."
"Hey, do not speak such grossly disrespectful words again. Come, it is time to watch the ceremony."
Prince Chong stopped Wei Li from saying more, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked into the academy.
White-robed cultivators came and went within, some walking, some floating through the air, some riding swords. They looked every bit like immortals with transcendent bearing.
Further uphill after entering the academy stood the Ascending Immortal White Jade Platform.
The outstanding young talents from the Nine Provinces who had just entered the academy were gathered there, whispering among themselves and exchanging pleasantries.
They had arrived at the Celestial Academy three days ago and had already become acquainted, yet they were puzzled. Everyone had clearly arrived, so why had the entrance ceremony been delayed?
They knew of a rumor that the Celestial Academy had found, in distant Abundant Prefecture, an independent cultivator who had reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms before turning twenty.
They had never heard of an independent cultivator reaching Perfection of the Lower Three Realms. Beyond their shock, they were filled with curiosity and doubt.
Because even now, that person had yet to show himself.
At this time, Prince Chong, Wei Li, and the capital's Aristocratic Clans had all gathered atop the White Jade Platform. Then, in the sea of clouds deep within Mount Ni, a patch of Immortal Light suddenly spread open. Five figures appeared, flying through the air, and landed on the White Jade Platform in the blink of an eye.
These were the Five Hall Masters under the Celestial Academy Sect Master.
At this sight, the newly admitted students all straightened, their eyes revealing a trace of reverence.
Once the five Hall Masters arrived, they looked toward the disciples below. When their gazes swept over a man and woman directly before them, they exchanged a glance and nodded faintly.
The man wore a tall crown and carried a longsword at his waist, standing proudly against the wind.
He was Chu He, the second son of the Chu family whom Prince Chong had mentioned.
The Chu family was publicly recognized as a household blessed by fate. Every member of the Lineage had entered the Upper Five Realms, while Chu He's elder brother, Chu Xian, was even the personal disciple of Sect Master Xuan Yuan of the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion.
For this very reason, ever since Chu He began cultivating, countless immortal sects had fixed their eyes on him, eager to take him into their ranks.
Originally, the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion had held the best chance. After all, his elder brother was a personal disciple there. But Chu He did not want to live his entire life beneath his brother's shadow, so he unexpectedly chose the Celestial Academy.
The other woman was tall and graceful, her makeup exquisite. Even wrapped in an immortal robe, her willow waist and long legs could not be concealed.
Most eye-catching of all was the phoenix hairpin atop her head, carved from a spirit core deep within a spirit vein. She was Lu Qingqiu of the Yunzhou Lu Family.
The Lu Family had been passed down for a thousand years. They had risen through seeking veins and opening mines, possessing wealth beyond count.
Both were under twenty, both had reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms, and both were heaven-favored prodigies of their respective prefectures.
The Celestial Academy offered very few Inner Court places each year, so they were natural rivals.
Just then, a disturbance arose in the crowd. Chu He and Lu Qingqiu turned at the same time and saw a man and woman arriving late with a senior sister.
At this sight, discussion instantly erupted both on and below the platform. Countless gazes gathered upon Ji the Fierce Bandit, and even the Celestial Academy's five Hall Masters could not help lifting their eyes slightly.
"So there truly is another person who reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms before twenty?"
"They say he is a countryside independent cultivator. It is simply unbelievable."
"On the first day Chu He entered the academy, he made a grand vow that he would enter the Inner Court next year. Now he has another opponent."
"He hardly counts as an opponent. Reaching the Upper Five Realms requires spirit medicine and immortal herbs. Chu He can afford them, but how could he?"
Amid the chatter, Ji You stepped onto the White Jade Platform, looking somewhat weary.
They had set out from Yuyang, boarded an immortal ship at Changning Ferry, and only arrived in Shengjing at the hour of the dragon this morning.
Kuang Cheng had left ahead of them upon reaching Shengjing City, heading to Spring Breeze Post Station to prepare for the examinations. They, meanwhile, had rushed to Mount Ni and been brought to the White Jade Platform without even a moment to rest.
Was this training cultivators? This was practically training special forces.
"Ji You, go stand at the front with those two."
"Ruoyao, come with me to the back..."
The Celestial Academy's entrance ceremony was conducted by the Eight Outer Court Instructors, who bestowed their plaques. Then the five Hall Masters took turns expounding upon academy doctrine and regulations, lasting roughly two hours.
Once the plaques had been bestowed and the lectures concluded, the five Hall Masters departed, and it became the stage for court officials and the capital's Aristocratic Clans.
Prince Chong had long prepared invitations and headed straight for Chu He and Lu Qingqiu, inviting them to his residence for a talk. The others, too, received a steady stream of invitations from all manner of prestigious households and Aristocratic Clans.
Only Ji You, Fang Ruoyao, and the others who had gained their places through other means stood alone upon the White Jade Platform, seeming utterly out of place amid the crowd.
This was the Great Xia's rigid hierarchy, cast as if from molten iron. Even someone as astonishingly gifted as Ji You would not be their first choice. What they felt was only the discomfort of class boundaries being breached.
"I have never seen a Perfection of the Lower Three Realms with so little face."
"He is, after all, a countryside independent cultivator..."
"Chu He has already received eight invitations..."
"Miss Lu has seven as well..."
Where there was comparison, there was harm, and at this moment, all that harm seemed to gather upon Ji You.
The others not born into great households, people like Fang Ruoyao, instead felt somewhat relieved that they were not as conspicuous as someone who had reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms.
To stand on the platform with cultivation but no one taking notice, while still being watched by everyone—perhaps that was even more embarrassing than having lower cultivation.
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