Flying Bird Academy

"Whoa, Boss is incredible! He beat the Qin Family elder so badly he couldn't fight back."

"We knew Boss was strong, but we never imagined he'd be this strong. The Celestial Firmament Realm... That's just ridiculous!"

"Brother Zhou is the best!"

Once they were out of the Qin Family gates, the Three Little Ones finally came to their senses. They stared at Shen Zhou in amazement, as if he were some rare creature.

There was something San Mazi couldn't figure out, so he asked outright, "Boss Zhou, the Qin Family thinks you got your strength from their ancestor's Divine Weapon, but we know you were already this strong before that. And your strength keeps going up and down. How exactly do you do it?"

A Dai and Xi Mei looked at Shen Zhou with the same curiosity.

Ever since leaving the Qin Family, Shen Zhou had been frowning, his expression tense. Just as A Dai finished speaking, Shen Zhou suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The three of them jumped at the sudden sight.

San Mazi hurriedly helped Shen Zhou up. "Boss Zhou, what's wrong? Don't die on me! I won't ask again, I swear!"

Shen Zhou shot San Mazi an exasperated look, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said weakly, "Relax, I'm not going to die. It's just a minor injury. Help me find somewhere to stay, then we'll talk."

The backlash from overusing Entry earlier had finally gotten the better of him.

Hearing Shen Zhou say it wasn't serious, the Three Little Ones felt much more at ease. They quickly helped him find an inn.

That evening, as the lights came on,

Shen Zhou sat cross-legged on the bed in a second-floor room at an inn. He gripped the Taixuan Sword in one hand and used the power of Entry to heal himself.

He couldn't recover completely in one go, but he could get his blood flowing again and use his vital energy to nourish his torn muscles and meridians. That counted as making good use of his cheat in more ways than one.

Nearby, the Three Little Ones sat around the table, keeping a close eye on Shen Zhou with worried expressions.

Xi Mei still couldn't put her mind at ease. She asked in a small voice, "Brother Zhou, are you really all right?"

A Dai rubbed Xi Mei's head to comfort her. "He's fine. Boss Zhou is so strong. If he says he's fine, then he definitely is."

San Mazi sighed. "Man, we've only been in Flying Bird City for a day, and we've already run into so much trouble. At this rate, who knows how much more we'll have to deal with?"

A Dai fell silent.

Thinking back on what had happened since they arrived in Flying Bird City that day—

drawing the sword to choose a husband...

fighting on the stage for the sword...

then the great battle at the Qin Family...

In just one afternoon, they'd been through more than in the entire month it had taken them to get here.

The latter two incidents had been forced on them, but Shen Zhou's decisions had played a part as well.

Thinking it over, A Dai gave a wry smile. "Knowing Boss Zhou's temperament, I'm afraid trouble will be hard to avoid from now on."

In A Dai's eyes, Shen Zhou didn't always have to be so uncompromising.

A moment's patience could bring peace, and taking a step back could open up a wider world.

After all, that was how they'd managed when they were beggars.

But Shen Zhou's view was different. I've got a cheat. If I still have to second-guess every move and be afraid of this and that, then what's the point of having it?

Why else did people cultivate and grow stronger, if not to stop being afraid of anyone or anything?

So Shen Zhou's principle was simple: he generally wouldn't pick a fight, but if trouble came to him, he wouldn't back down.

It wasn't just his own idea, either. It was one shared by many people in the world he'd come from.

"Phew..."

As the Three Little Ones chatted, a long exhale suddenly sounded in the room.

They turned to look. Shen Zhou had opened his eyes, and color had returned to his face.

The Three Little Ones brightened and gathered around him. "Boss Zhou, you're all right now!"

Shen Zhou got off the bed and put away the Taixuan Sword. With an easy smile, he said, "I'm not fully healed, but I'm about seventy or eighty percent better."

San Mazi asked, "Brother Zhou, now that you're all right, what are we doing tomorrow?"

They were new to Flying Bird City and had no plan, so for a moment, none of them knew what to do.

Fortunately, after everything that had happened that day, Shen Zhou already had an idea. "Didn't San Mazi say Flying Bird City has an academy known as the best in the Southern Prefecture? Tomorrow, we'll go sign up and start learning martial arts properly."

They'd discussed this before, but Shen Zhou was already so strong. The idea that he still wanted to start learning martial arts from scratch struck the Three Little Ones as odd.

A Dai and Xi Mei had no objections. After what they'd experienced that day, they'd realized how necessary it was to learn martial arts. Otherwise, Shen Zhou would have to shoulder everything on his own, and they wouldn't be able to help even if they wanted to.

Besides, they each had goals of their own that they could only reach through cultivation.

Only San Mazi looked utterly despairing. He threw his head back and groaned, "I really don't want to learn martial arts!"

"Flying Bird Academy is known as the best academy in the Southern Prefecture. That reputation isn't just because it has a huge campus; more importantly, it reflects the academy's strength.

"It's said that the academy's dean, who rarely appears in public, is incredibly powerful. His cultivation is already close to the Core Formation Realm, widely known as the watershed of the martial path, and he's one of the top experts in the entire Southern Prefecture.

"Flying Bird Academy has eight or nine elders and vice deans at the Celestial Firmament Realm alone.

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Flying Bird Academy the most powerful faction in the Southern Prefecture.

"On top of that, the academy's teaching record is impressive. It has produced five or six Celestial Firmament Realm experts, and there are countless Transformation Realm masters.

"With all those factors combined, it's no wonder Flying Bird Academy has earned its reputation as the best academy in the Southern Prefecture."

The next morning,

outside Flying Bird Academy's imposing gates, San Mazi, as a local, was enthusiastically telling Shen Zhou and the others about the academy's deep roots and formidable strength.

Many other youths and their parents had come to sign up, too.

Flying Bird Academy's reputation had spread far and wide, and people had been coming from other places for years to enroll their children. To spare people a wasted journey, the academy had specifically done away with its yearly registration period. Now, applicants could sign up at any time, and those who passed the entrance assessment could enroll whenever they were ready.

That certainly made things much easier for a lot of people.

After hearing San Mazi's explanation, Shen Zhou and A Dai had gained a basic understanding of Flying Bird Academy.

A Dai asked, "Is there an entrance assessment to get into Flying Bird Academy?"

"Of course," San Mazi replied. "As the best academy in the Southern Prefecture, Flying Bird Academy naturally has admission requirements. To sum them up, applicants need two things: exceptional talent and superior bone structure."

Shen Zhou said, "So they want geniuses, not mediocrities. No wonder Flying Bird Academy has trained so many experts and strong fighters. They filter applicants right at the assessment. Put that way, the children who get selected are already outstanding. If they go on to achieve something, that's only natural. It doesn't have much to do with the academy, does it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man with a refined air walked over, accompanied by a chubby boy of about fourteen or fifteen who looked like he was there to apply as well. The man cut in, "You're looking at it a bit one-sidedly, young man. As the saying goes, good material needs a discerning eye, and fine jade needs carving. Even if the children are already gifted, without good teachers to guide them, plenty of geniuses end up ordinary.

"Flying Bird Academy is famous far and wide not only because it's powerful, but, more importantly, because it can teach children to become accomplished. Otherwise, parents like us wouldn't travel thousands of miles and flock here with our children."

Shen Zhou turned to look at the middle-aged man and the chubby boy. Seeing how travel-worn they were, and hearing what the man had just said, he understood. "You're from out of town? Is Flying Bird Academy well known elsewhere, too?"

The middle-aged man cupped his hands politely. "I'm Dongfang Cheng, from the East Continent. This is my son, Dongfang Hongyu, fourteen years old. Although we're from the East Continent, we've heard the saying that's widely circulated in the Southern Prefecture: martial artists here fall into two kinds. There are the talented martial artists who get into the academy, and the mediocre ones who don't.

"My son has grand ambitions and has loved martial arts since he was young, so I brought him here to test his aptitude.

"Since we were passing by, I'd also planned to have him try drawing the Qin Family Iron Sword. But when we arrived last night, we heard that some unknown young man had already pulled it out. We just missed our chance."

As soon as Dongfang Cheng finished speaking, Dongfang Hongyu slapped his chest and declared, "Father, don't worry. With my talent, I'll definitely get into Flying Bird Academy. As for the Qin Family Iron Sword... I was only a step too late. Otherwise, I'd have pulled it out with ease!"

Seeing his son act as if he didn't know the limits of the sky or the earth, Dongfang Cheng said nothing. He only shook his head with a smile, a trace of helplessness in his eyes.

The chubby boy was clearly always this confident!

Shen Zhou and A Dai exchanged glances. They thought the boy was a bit of a fool, clearly in need of a taste of the real world. Still, with his round little face, he was rather endearing.

They were still introducing themselves when the gates of Flying Bird Academy finally opened. A middle-aged administrator in his forties walked out with several young martial artists.

The administrator cupped his hands to the crowd and briefly explained, "I expect you've all familiarized yourselves with Flying Bird Academy's registration rules. I won't go into detail. I'll just summarize the two requirements.

"First, applicants must have superior bone structure and exceptional talent.

"Second, tuition is five hundred taels per year for each student. Families with limited means should consider their finances carefully.

"Now, any young people who want to apply may come forward to have their bone structure and talent tested."

As soon as the administrator finished, many people in the crowd drew sharp breaths.

Many had already heard that applicants needed superior bone structure and exceptional talent, but not many knew about the five hundred taels of tuition per year.

A Dai was stunned. "That's so expensive!"

Shen Zhou said nonchalantly, "It's fine. We have enough to pay. We took a bag of gold leaves from that fellow named Xu outside the city earlier. What I'm curious about is how our bone structure and aptitude will measure up.

"Come on, let's get tested!"