Rules Mean No Rules

Upon hearing this, Lin Suchou led Luo Li and Wen Qingxuan as they sped toward the northwest of the Spirit Academy.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

It was not just them. The students from the other Freshman Districts also shot into the air at this moment. Hundreds of thousands of figures swept across like a locust swarm, casting an enormous shadow.

The sight was truly spectacular.

At the same time, many old students from the inner region of the Spirit Academy flashed out as well.

The Freshman Tournament made it easy to see which new students performed exceptionally and would become elite students in the future.

They could also use this opportunity to recruit outstanding freshmen and strengthen their societies.

Following Mu Ling westward, Lin Suchou and the others slowed down after more than ten minutes and gradually descended.

Lin Suchou raised his head and surveyed the area ahead. An incomparably vast mountain range entered his view.

Within the range stood a towering mountain nearly ten thousand zhang high.

The mountain was so enormous that it seemed to blot out the sky at a glance.

Lightning faintly raced through the sky above it, while fierce winds howled. An astonishing wave of spiritual energy spread outward.

Before the mountain range lay a vast plain.

The plain was now packed with freshmen. Countless clamors mingled together, their momentum shaking the heavens.

Whoosh!

Once all the freshmen had gathered, a streak of light swept over from the distant sky.

It appeared slow, yet in the blink of an eye, it had instantly crossed over to this stretch of sky.

When the light faded, three figures were revealed.

The two on either side wore green robes, their hair and beards silver-white, their expressions solemn.

Whenever their eyes opened and closed, lightning seemed to flicker within them.

Ahead of them stood a white-haired figure with the face of a youth.

His skin was fair, without the slightest trace of age. His smiling expression gave off an exceptionally amiable feeling.

"Supreme?"

Lin Suchou looked at the white-haired youth in the center, his heart jolting.

"Those are the three Elders of our Northern Cang Spirit Academy. In particular, the one in the middle is one of the five Heavenly Seat Elders."

Mu Ling looked respectfully at the three figures in the sky as she introduced them to Lin Suchou and the others beside her.

"Mm. The Academy's Elders are divided into Heavenly Seats and Earthly Seats. However, the Heavenly Seat Elders are merely first-grade Supremes, putting them at the bottom among the Five Great Academies."

Wen Qingxuan shook her head, seeming extremely familiar with the Northern Cang Spirit Academy.

Lin Suchou nodded in agreement.

Though it was one of the Five Great Academies renowned throughout the Great Thousand World, the Northern Cang Spirit Academy still had far too much room for improvement compared to the other four Spirit Academies in terms of teaching strength.

"Hehe, this year's Freshman Tournament is much livelier than usual."

In the sky, the Elder in white robes and with a youthful face smiled at the sea of people below. With a sweep of his sleeve, the excited youths immediately quieted down.

"New little fellows, this old man is Zhu Tian. On behalf of the Spirit Academy, I welcome you all.

"Also, I will be presiding over this Freshman Tournament."

Zhu Tian said with a smile, "This Freshman Tournament differs from previous years. It will no longer be a simple arena challenge."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pointed toward the towering mountain at the center of the range and smiled. "This Freshman Tournament is even simpler. Whoever is the first to reach the Mountain Peak and seize the Spirit Flag will be this tournament's champion.

"Of course, there are quite a few Spirit Beasts within the mountain range, and several Heavenly Tier Spirit Beasts reside at the summit of North Spirit Mountain."

"Heavenly Tier Spirit Beasts?!"

Countless freshmen froze upon hearing this, then their faces turned bitter.

Those were Spirit Beasts comparable to the Three Heavens Stage!

Every one of them possessed formidable power. This Freshman Tournament truly was not simple.

"Any student who reaches the summit among the first five will receive rewards. First place will receive five hundred thousand Spirit Value, second place four hundred thousand, and so on, decreasing in order."

Having said this, Zhu Tian tossed out another bombshell. "Of course, the most important thing is that the top five will be granted an exception to enter the Spirit Art Temple. If you are lucky there, you might obtain a Divine Spirit Art..."

"Divine Spirit Art?!"

On the plain, countless freshmen sucked in a breath. In the next instant, blazing excitement filled their eyes.

Lin Suchou, however, did not particularly care. He already had three divine arts, let alone Divine Spirit Arts.

"Mm, I cannot be bothered to say anything more. The rules mean no rules. Everything depends on your own abilities."

Zhu Tian smiled and swept his sleeve. A crisp bell chime immediately resounded between heaven and earth.

"I now declare—the Freshman Tournament begins!"

Boom! Boom!

The moment Zhu Tian's voice spread out, the plain instantly shook.

In the next moment, countless pillars of spiritual light shot into the sky. Dense figures surged out in overwhelming numbers, rushing toward the layers of mountains.

Even the ground trembled at this moment.

Zhu Tian stood in the air, watching this imposing scene with a teasing grin. "What vigor. I wonder whether they will be scared shitless when they face that big fellow later. Hahaha."

The two White-haired Elders behind him exchanged glances as they watched Zhu Tian act like a child, then helplessly shook their heads.

These freshmen were in for a busy time...

As the freshmen advanced, a large number of figures flashed out in the northern sky.

They were clearly old students who had come to watch the competition.

"Come on, everyone, place your bets! Bet on who will take first place! This round pays three to one, so do not miss out!"

A slightly plump young man shouted loudly to the crowd.

"Fatty Song, put five thousand Spirit Value on Yang Hong for me!"

"Haozi, I'm betting four thousand Spirit Value on Mu Kui!"

"I'm going all-in on that little girl from the Ice Spirit Clan. Anyone who comes from such an ancient clan must be extraordinary."

"..."

The old students crowded around, each naming the dark horse they favored.

"Line up. One at a time."

Song Hao smiled as he collected the money. In any case, he had also placed one hundred thousand Spirit Value on Lin Suchou.

He had to fleece Lin Suchou dry before he became truly famous.

At the foot of the mountain range, the groups in front were the Dust Group led by Mu Chen and the Flying Dragon Society led by Yang Hong.

These were currently the two societies with the most freshmen.

Mu Chen looked around, yet he unexpectedly did not spot Lin Suchou.

That shouldn't be right...

He muttered to himself. Given Lin Suchou's cultivation, shouldn't he have been at the front?

But in the very next second, a golden-red Flying Boat tore through space. After a few flashes, it overtook them and rapidly widened the distance.

"What is that?!"

"Damn it, using such a good Spirit Artifact—doesn't that count as cheating?"

"Probably not. After all, having money is also a kind of strength..."

The crowd overtaken by Lin Suchou's Flying Boat spoke up one after another, most of them angrily denouncing the tournament as unfair.

"Damn it, he actually has such a good Spirit Artifact."

Yang Hong watched the Flying Boat race straight toward the summit, his expression turning ugly as he accelerated again.

"Tsk, that Spirit Artifact can actually tear through space. Has it reached the level of a Divine Artifact already?"

In the sky, Zhu Tian watched the golden Flowing Light flying at terrifying speed, his expression astonished.

"Mm, it is indeed a Divine Artifact."

A White-robed Old Man behind him answered.

"Hehe, it looks like he will probably take first place this time."

Zhu Tian smiled and shook his head, while gazing enviously at that Fiery Red Flying Ship.

After all his years at the Northern Cang Spirit Academy, he still did not own a Divine Artifact.

He only had a Quasi-Divine Artifact to keep up appearances, and it had been with him for nearly half his life.

At his salary, he would probably have to wait several more decades...