Flying Bird Academy

"Damn, the boss is way too strong, even that Qin Family elder couldn't fight back."

"We knew the boss was tough before, but we didn't think he'd be this tough. Celestial Firmament Realm... that's insane!"

"Brother Zhou is the best!"

Once they were out of the Qin Family's main gate, the three little ones snapped back to reality and stared at Shen Zhou in awe, their eyes looking at him like he was some rare species.

San Mazi couldn't figure some things out and bluntly asked, "Boss Zhou, the Qin Family thinks you got your strength from their ancestor's divine weapon, but we know you already had this power before that, and it keeps fluctuating between strong and weak. How did you actually do it?"

A Dai and Xi Mei also looked at Shen Zhou with equal curiosity.

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

The three little ones were startled by the sudden scene.

San Mazi fumbled to support Shen Zhou and said, "Boss Zhou, what's wrong? Don't die on us! I won't ask anymore, I swear!"

Shen Zhou gave San Mazi a helpless glare, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said weakly, "Don't worry, I'm not dying. Just a minor injury. Help me find a place to settle down first."

The backlash from the earlier 'Entry' overexertion had finally caught up with him, and he couldn't suppress it anymore.

Hearing Shen Zhou say it wasn't serious, the three little ones felt a bit relieved and quickly led him to find an inn.

Night fell, and the lights began to flicker on.

In a second-floor room of an inn, Shen Zhou sat cross-legged on the bed, gripping the Taixuan Sword in one hand, using the power of the 'Entry' to heal himself.

Though he couldn't fully recover in one go, he could at least circulate his blood and energy, using his yuan power to soothe the torn muscles and meridians. It was a case of the golden finger being 'versatile in use.'

Beside him, the three little ones sat at the table, watching Shen Zhou's condition closely with concerned expressions.

Xi Mei still couldn't relax and whispered, "Is Brother Zhou really okay?"

A Dai patted Xi Mei's head to comfort her and said, "It's fine. Boss Zhou is amazing. If he says it's okay, then it's definitely okay."

San Mazi sighed and said, "Sigh, 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 many more problems we'll face."

A Dai fell silent.

He thought back to everything that had happened since they arrived in Flying Bird City that day.

Drawing the sword to choose a groom...

The arena fight for the sword...

Then the battle at the Qin Family...

In just one afternoon, they had experienced more than they had in the entire month-long journey here.

Although the last two events were forced on them, they were still tied to Shen Zhou's choices.

Thinking about it, A Dai let out a bitter laugh and said, "With Boss Zhou's temperament, trouble is probably unavoidable from now on."

In A Dai's view, Shen Zhou could have been less stubborn sometimes.

Endure for a moment, and the wind calms; step back, and the sky opens wide.

That was how they used to handle things when they were begging.

But in Shen Zhou's mind, since he had a 'golden finger,' what was the point of having it if he still had to tiptoe around, afraid of this and that?

Why did people cultivate and grow stronger? Wasn't it so they no longer had to fear anyone or anything?

So Shen Zhou's current principle was: generally, don't go looking for trouble, but if trouble comes, he wouldn't back down.

This wasn't just his own idea—it was the mindset of many people from the world he came from before crossing over.

"Hoo..."

Just as the three little ones were chatting, a long, slow exhale sounded in the room.

They turned to look and saw Shen Zhou's eyes open, his complexion restored to a healthy flush.

The three little ones lit up with joy and crowded around him, saying, "Boss Zhou, you're okay!"

Shen Zhou got up from the bed, casually put away the Taixuan Sword, and smiled easily. "Not fully healed, but I'm about seventy or eighty percent better."

San Mazi then asked, "Brother Zhou, since you're fine now, what are we doing tomorrow?"

Can't find the book by title? Try searching by author—maybe it just got renamed!

The group had just arrived in Flying Bird City with no plan, so they didn't know what to do.

Fortunately, after the day's events, Shen Zhou had already formed an idea. He said, "San Mazi mentioned that Flying Bird City has the academy known as the best in Southern Prefecture, right? Let's go sign up tomorrow and officially start learning martial arts. What do you think?"

Even though they had talked about this before, the fact that Shen Zhou was already so strong yet still wanted to start learning martial arts from scratch felt strange to the three little ones.

A Dai and Xi Mei had no objections, though. After the day's experiences, they realized the necessity of learning martial arts. Otherwise, Shen Zhou would have to shoulder everything alone, and even if they wanted to help, they couldn't.

Besides, they had their own goals that required cultivation to achieve.

Only San Mazi looked utterly defeated, tilting his head back and sighing, "I really don't want to learn martial arts!"

"The Flying Bird Academy is called the best in Southern Prefecture, and that's not just about its size—it's about the academy's strength.

Rumor has it that the rarely seen headmaster is incredibly powerful, with a cultivation level approaching the so-called 'watershed of martial arts,' the Core Formation Realm, making him a top-tier expert across all of Southern Prefecture.

The academy also has eight or nine elders and vice-headmasters at the Celestial Firmament Realm."

It would not be an exaggeration to call Flying Bird Academy the top power in Southern Prefecture.

Beyond that, the academy's teaching results are also brilliant—it has produced five or six Celestial Firmament Realm experts, and countless Transformation Realm masters.

With all these factors combined, Flying Bird Academy has earned its reputation as the 'Number One Academy of Southern Prefecture.'"

The next morning.

In front of Flying Bird Academy's grand and imposing gates, San Mazi, as a "local," was enthusiastically explaining the academy's deep background and strength to Shen Zhou and the other two.

Around them were many other youths and parents who had also come to enroll.

Thanks to Flying Bird Academy's widespread fame, people constantly brought their children from other regions year-round. To prevent some from making a wasted trip, the academy had abolished its annual enrollment deadline, switching to a policy where anyone could enroll at any time—as long as they passed the entrance assessment.

This truly made things much more convenient for many.

By now, after listening to San Mazi's introduction, Shen Zhou and A Dai had gained a basic understanding and awareness of Flying Bird Academy.

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

San Mazi replied, "Of course. As the Number One Academy of Southern Prefecture, Flying Bird Academy naturally has requirements for enrollment. To sum it up, there are two points: exceptional talent and superior bone quality."

Hearing this, Shen Zhou said, "So they want geniuses, not mediocrities. No wonder Flying Bird Academy can produce so many experts and strong fighters—it turns out they filter people out during the assessment. If that's the case, then the children who get selected are already excellent on their own. Even if they achieve something in the end, it's only natural. That doesn't have much to do with the academy, does it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a refined, scholarly-looking middle-aged man stepped up from the side. He was accompanied by a chubby boy of about fourteen or fifteen, who also seemed to be there to enroll. The man immediately interjected, "Young friend, that's a bit one-sided. As the saying goes, fine timber needs a discerning eye, and good jade needs carving. Even if the children themselves are outstanding, without a good teacher to guide them, it's not uncommon for geniuses to end up as ordinary people.

The reason Flying Bird Academy's fame has spread so far is not only because of its own strength but, most importantly, because it can teach children to succeed. Otherwise, we parents wouldn't travel thousands of miles, flocking here with our children."

Shen Zhou turned to look at the middle-aged man and the little fatty. Seeing their travel-worn appearance and recalling the man's words, he understood and said, "You're from out of town? Is Flying Bird Academy also famous in other regions?"

The middle-aged man gave a slight fist-and-palm salute, displaying good manners. "This Humble One is Dongfang Cheng, from East Continent. This is my son, Dongfang Hongyu, aged fourteen. Although we are from East Continent, we have also heard a saying widely circulated in Southern Prefecture: that martial artists in Southern Prefecture can be divided into two types—those who enter the academy and become genius martial artists, and those who cannot enter the academy and remain mediocre in the martial path.

My son has lofty ambitions and has loved the martial path since childhood, so I brought him here to test his talent.

Originally, I also planned to have him try to pull the Qin Family Iron Sword along the way, but I didn't expect that when we arrived last night, we heard the sword had already been pulled out by an unknown youth. What bad luck."

As soon as Dongfang Cheng finished speaking, the little fatty Dongfang Hongyu thumped his chest and said, "Dad, don't worry. With my talent, I'll definitely get into Flying Bird Academy. As for the Qin Family Iron Sword... I was just one step too late. Otherwise, I would have taken it easily!"

Looking at his son's arrogant, clueless attitude, Dongfang Cheng said nothing, only shaking his head with a smile, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

Clearly, the little fatty was always this overconfident!

Shen Zhou and A Dai exchanged glances, feeling that this little fatty was a bit naive—clearly lacking some harsh lessons from the world. Plus, his round, chubby face was rather endearing.

As they were introducing themselves to each other, the gates of Flying Bird Academy finally swung open. A middle-aged steward in his forties walked out, followed by several young martial artists.

The steward gave a brief fist-and-palm salute to the crowd and then said simply, "I believe everyone here already understands our Flying Bird Academy's enrollment rules, so I won't go into detail. I'll just summarize two points.

First, to enter the academy, you need superior bone quality and exceptional talent.

Second, after enrollment, the annual tuition is five hundred taels per person. Families with limited means should carefully consider their finances.

Now, any youth who wishes to enroll may step forward to test their bone quality and talent."

After hearing the steward's words, many in the crowd gasped sharply.

The requirement for superior bone quality and exceptional talent was already well known to many, but the annual tuition of five hundred taels per person—that was something few had heard of.

A Dai's expression froze for a moment as he sighed, "That's really expensive!"

Shen Zhou said nonchalantly, "No problem. We grabbed a pouch of gold leaves from that guy surnamed Xu outside the city earlier, so we have enough for tuition. Right now, I'm curious about what our bone quality and talent will be like.

Come on, let's go test!"