Jia Nan Academy Recruitment

Early the next morning, Ye Xiu left home and headed toward the north of the city.

Ya Fei had told him yesterday that Jia Nan Academy's recruitment team had set up camp at the square in the northern part of the city.

When he arrived at the enormous square, it was packed with a sea of people. Rows of armored soldiers stood around the edges, gripping long spears as they held back the crowds trying to squeeze forward.

Ye Xiu stood at the outskirts and swept his gaze over the scene. There were far too many people.

But he could not be bothered to push through them. He simply went around the crowd and headed toward the back of the square.

After making his way around to the western side of the square, he saw a group of soldiers forming a tight perimeter. Ye Xiu walked over, only for an officer to stop him at once.

"Stop! What are you here for?"

Ye Xiu glanced at him and replied calmly, "I'm here for recruitment."

The officer sized him up, his gaze fierce. "You think you can use the back door?"

Ye Xiu was in no hurry. Just as he was about to say something, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Senior Ye Xiu?"

Ye Xiu turned around and saw Xiao Yan approaching with several others. Xiao Yan was the one who had spoken.

The officer froze when he saw Xiao Yan and his group. Then his gaze shifted past them and landed on a tall woman.

"Xiao Yu? So it's you."

The woman named Xiao Yu stepped forward, took out a green badge, and handed it over. "Senior Ke, these are the people I brought."

The officer accepted the badge and examined it. He nodded, then looked at Ye Xiu and asked Xiao Yu, "Is he one of yours too?"

Only then did Xiao Yu notice Ye Xiu. She frowned. "Who are you?"

Before Ye Xiu could speak, Xiao Yan hurriedly stepped forward. "Cousin, this is Senior Ye Xiu—the one I told you about before."

Xiao Yu froze at his words, her eyes widening as she looked at Ye Xiu with respect.

"You... you're that..."

Ye Xiu nodded. "Mm."

Xiao Yu quickly took a step back, her tone turning respectful. "So it is you, Senior. Please forgive my rudeness."

Seeing Xiao Yu's attitude, the officer grew quite curious about Ye Xiu's identity. He stopped blocking the way and waved his hand. "Let them through."

The soldiers opened up a path, and Ye Xiu followed Xiao Yan's group inside.

Once they passed through the wall of soldiers, the space inside was much more open. Several large tents had been set up in the middle of the square, while young people stood around in small groups. They were probably new students who had passed the test.

Xiao Yu led them toward a large green tent.

The moment they reached the entrance, a woman in red lunged forward and threw her arms around Xiao Yu.

"Yu'er! I missed you so much!"

Xiao Yu smiled and pushed her away. "Stop messing around, Xue Ni. We have business to attend to."

Xue Ni released her and looked Xiao Yan's group over. Her eyes lingered on Xun Er and Xiao Mei as she clicked her tongue. "Your family really has a lot of beauties. If they enter the academy, those animals are going to go crazy, aren't they?"

Then her gaze fell on Xiao Yan, and she paused. "This is the Xiao Yan you mentioned? He's pretty handsome."

Xiao Yu's face darkened, and she pinched her hard.

Xue Ni yelped and rubbed her wrist, though her eyes were still roaming over Xiao Yan.

Ye Xiu stood at the very back without saying a word, simply watching.

Xue Ni glanced at him but did not pay much attention. Since she had never heard Xiao Yu mention him, she assumed he was just an ordinary member of the Xiao Clan.

The group entered the tent. It was fairly spacious, and twenty or thirty new students were already standing inside, all of them behaving themselves.

A woman sat farther inside the tent. She wore green, was quite beautiful, and had a gentle smile on her face.

The instant Xiao Yu saw her, she immediately rushed over. "Instructor Ruo Lin!"

Ruo Lin smiled and embraced her, patting her back before sweeping her gaze over Xiao Yan's group.

Her gaze paused on Xiao Yan, then moved to Xun Er before finally settling on Ye Xiu.

Ruo Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.

She said nothing, but Ye Xiu could sense that she was probing him.

Ye Xiu did not avoid it. He was already a three-star Dou Ling, far stronger than this woman. No matter how she probed, she would not be able to discern anything about him.

Sure enough, after probing him briefly, Ruo Lin furrowed her brows slightly, seemingly puzzled.

At that moment, a man's voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

"Xiao Yu, you finally came."

Ye Xiu turned his head and saw a young man in academy robes, around twenty years old.

The moment Xiao Yu saw him, her expression fell. "Luo Bu, why are you here too?"

Luo Bu smiled. "Of course I had to come for this recruitment. I've been thinking about you the whole way."

Xiao Yu rolled her eyes and could not be bothered to respond.

Luo Bu shifted his gaze to Xiao Yan, curling his lips into a smile. "So this is that useless cousin of yours? I heard he was stuck at the third stage of Dou Qi for three years? Someone like him came to take part in recruitment? He must've gotten in through the back door, right?"

Xiao Yan frowned. Before he could speak, Xiao Yu flared up first. "Luo Bu, watch your mouth!"

Luo Bu spread his hands. "I'm only telling the truth. A piece of trash like that would only embarrass the academy if he got in."

Xiao Yan sneered and stepped forward. "Your mouth reeks so badly. When you were eating military rations outside the square this morning, did you happen to swallow some shit too?"

"You motherf—"

Luo Bu's face darkened. Midway through his curse, he caught sight of Xiao Yu beside him from the corner of his eye. He forcibly swallowed his anger and pulled out an ugly smile.

"Fine, Xiao Yan, I won't lower myself to your level." He took a step back and spread his hands theatrically. "For Xiao Yu's sake, I won't hold it against you today. But since you've entered this tent, you should at least show everyone whether you deserve to stand here."

He took another step back and spread his hands with feigned magnanimity. "I'll let you strike first, so no one can say that I, Luo Bu, bullied a piece of trash."

The moment the words left his mouth, Xiao Yan attacked.

His body flashed, and his fist smashed toward Luo Bu's face.

Luo Bu was a four-star Dou Zhe after all, and his reactions were not slow. He immediately raised an arm to block.

But he had underestimated Xiao Yan's strength.

With a bang, Luo Bu staggered back several steps. His arm went numb, and his expression changed drastically.

"You... you're a Dou Zhe?"

Xiao Yan sneered. "That's right. So what?"

The tent immediately erupted in uproar.

The new students were all stunned. This youth, who looked about their age, was actually a four-star Dou Zhe?

Luo Bu's face alternated between green and white. He still wanted to make a move when a hand suddenly reached out from beside him and pressed him down.

"That's enough."

The speaker was a middle-aged man wearing an instructor's robe, presumably a teacher from the recruitment team.

He glanced at Xiao Yan and nodded. "It's normal for young people to have some temper, but don't fight inside the tent."

Xiao Yan snorted and withdrew his fist.

Luo Bu swallowed his anger, but he did not dare make any more trouble. He retreated to the side.

At that moment, Ruo Lin spoke, her voice exceptionally gentle. "All right, all right, stop arguing. New students, come inside. Don't stand outside in the sun."

The group of new students hurriedly poured into the tent.

Ruo Lin returned to her seat at the head, took out a scroll of parchment and a pen from her Storage Ring, and said with a smile, "Congratulations on passing the preliminary test. You are now provisional students of Jia Nan Academy. However, the academy needs to distinguish your potential ratings, so your strength must be registered."

She paused, then continued, "The eighth stage of Dou Qi is F-rank, the ninth stage is E-rank, a one-star Dou Zhe is D-rank, two stars are C-rank, and so on. The highest, S-rank, is for five-star Dou Zhes. Of course, the age limit is under twenty."

"Jia Nan Academy has only encountered one new student with S-rank potential in more than ten years, and that person is quite extraordinary in the academy now." Ruo Lin smiled. "I don't expect to encounter someone like that. I'll be satisfied if I can recruit B-rank or C-rank students."