Ever since the Tian Shu Alliance had become the overlord of the Northwest Continent at a near-mad pace, Jia Nan Academy had benefited enormously.
No one had forgotten that the alliance's leader was also a guest elder of Jia Nan Academy.
That connection alone had let Jia Nan Academy climb aboard the Tian Shu Alliance's fast-moving train.
In the past, Jia Nan Academy had recruited only from the Black-Corner Region and a few neighboring empires. Drawing even a handful of talents from the Central Plains on the strength of its reputation had been quite an achievement.
Now, however, Jia Nan Academy drew most of the talents from the Northwest Continent and the neighboring Northern Region.
It was not because the academy's teaching resources had improved.
In fact, some of its new students came from factions backed by Dou Zun experts.
They had joined Jia Nan Academy entirely because graduates could be recommended to the Tian Shu Alliance.
Of course, if the leader of the Tian Shu Alliance happened to take notice of them while they were at the academy, they would have struck a fortune.
After all, as time passed, word of the alliance leader's deeds had traveled from the Central Plains back to the Northwest Continent.
He was a friend of the Burning Flame Valley's Dou Sheng ancestor, the Music Valley Master's lover, and, most importantly, an Eighth-Rank Peak Alchemist and elder of the Pill Tower.
The leader of the Tian Shu Alliance stood among the continent's finest. Earning his regard would be no less than a heaven-sent opportunity.
Unfortunately, he had not appeared in a long time, so everyone could only set aside that unrealistic dream.
In a plaza of Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy.
At the edge of the plaza, a young woman in a simple