Decision

"Hmm?" Zong Ling and Tong San both looked at Dongbo Xueying, waiting for his decision.

From an emotional standpoint, they truly did not want to be separated from Xueying. After all, Changfeng Academy was over thirty thousand miles away from Snow Eagle Territory. Once enrolled, one had to live within the academy grounds, usually for over six years, with some even requiring over a decade before being permitted to graduate. How could they bear such a long separation?

Neither of these two old men had children of their own, and they shared a deep bond with Dongbo Lie and his wife. In Tong San's heart, Moyang Yu was his most important master. Zong Ling had actually harbored a secret affection for Moyang Yu as well, though obviously, a Six-Armed Snake Demon... was something Moyang Yu could not accept. Back in their adventuring days, Moyang Yu had ultimately chosen to be with Dongbo Lie.

Later, when Moyang Yu became pregnant, these two old men were overjoyed! They followed her here, and as they watched Xueying grow up, they had come to treat him like their own child in the depths of their hearts.

Did they really have to be separated for so long? They truly could not bear it.

However, Changfeng Academy was the best place in Anyang Province, and it would be of great help to Dongbo Xueying's growth.

"I have decided not to go," Dongbo Xueying said.

"Why?" Zong Ling asked urgently.

"Why wouldn't you go? You want to become a powerful knight, and Changfeng Academy is the best place for that. We wouldn't even be able to get in if we wanted to. After the New Year, you will be eleven, and you won't be able to enter anymore," Tong San added anxiously.

The weak have no future.

This is a world of the strong! All the great noble families possess formidable martial power.

"Are you reluctant to leave Shi Tou?" Zong Ling suddenly asked.

Dongbo Xueying nodded. "I am indeed reluctant to leave Shi Tou. He is only four this year, and he isn't close to you... he is most attached to me. Even now, he sleeps with me every night. Shi Tou has no memory of Father or Mother anymore; he only has me, his older brother. I don't want him to lose his parents and then his brother too during his childhood!"

Zong Ling and Tong San fell silent; they could truly feel the protective love Xueying had for his younger brother.

"I at least had Father and Mother until I was eight. My brother is four, and he has no parents and no brother... I cannot do this to him," Dongbo Xueying said.

"Besides—"

"I want to save my parents. Will going to Changfeng Academy help with that?" Dongbo Xueying asked. "I don't think so!"

"Hmm?" Zong Ling and Tong San looked at him, puzzled.

"The training at Changfeng Academy is indeed good; it can produce large batches of Sky-Rank Knights, and some even become Meteor Knights. But... even if I become a Meteor Knight, can I save my parents? Hmph, my uncle is a Silver Moon-level Archmage, and even he is helpless against the clan rules of the Moyang Clan," Dongbo Xueying said. "To save my parents, I fear I must be stronger than my uncle. I must become a Title-Rank Knight! Or perhaps even an Extraordinary lifeform!"

Zong Ling and Tong San exchanged a glance, somewhat startled.

They had never spoken to him in detail about the true strength of the Moyang Clan, yet Dongbo Xueying had deduced that one needed to be at least a Title-Rank Knight or an Extraordinary lifeform to have any hope. This child was truly clever, for his deduction was correct!

"Title-Rank Knights are extremely rare."

"Extraordinary Knights are even more legendary. I have collected many biographies and stories about Extraordinary Knights. While some plot points are exaggerated or fictional, their paths of growth are real," Dongbo Xueying said. "I have organized the growth trajectories of these Extraordinary powerhouses."

"Of the one hundred and twenty-five Extraordinary powerhouses in history, one hundred and nine of them explored and cultivated on their own, achieving the Extraordinary realm through countless life-and-death trials!"

"As for those from the academy system, there were only sixteen!"

Dongbo Xueying looked at Zong Ling and Tong San. "What does this mean? To become an Extraordinary lifeform, the academy system is actually a disadvantage!"

Zong Ling and Tong San were shocked.

They had never considered this point. They only knew that an academy founded by an Extraordinary powerhouse was an absolute holy land! How wonderful it was, producing batches of Sky-Rank Knights, even Star-Rank Knights... yet, the vast majority of the Extraordinary powerhouses recorded and celebrated throughout history had never even stepped foot in an academy!

They had all cultivated and explored on their own!

"How can this be?" Tong San was stunned, unable to believe it.

"The books are in my study. I even specifically ordered people to search Yi Water City for records regarding Extraordinary lifeforms," Dongbo Xueying said. "The facts are just like that. Although many with great talent join academies, they rarely become Extraordinary!"

"I have also carefully studied why this is the case."

"Based on the spear technique book for Extraordinary Knights that Father left me, I have formed a hypothesis," Dongbo Xueying said. "To become an Extraordinary, one must walk a path of one's own! The knights in the academy system have it easier in their early cultivation under the guidance of teachers, constantly breaking through and improving. But when they need to forge their own path, they suddenly lose that guidance and become blind! They don't know how to move forward!"

"Whereas those outside the academy system have no systematic guidance!"

"They have to explore on their own. Every hurdle they encounter, they must ponder and overcome by themselves. Every step is difficult. But on this path, they gain their own insights! This path is walked and realized by themselves! And in doing so, they eventually stumble their way into the Extraordinary realm!"

Dongbo Xueying's eyes were bright. "Detailed and systematic guidance is beneficial for training knights in large batches. But to train a true Extraordinary powerhouse! Those detailed instructions actually become shackles! It is very difficult to break through such shackles."

Tong San stared blankly at Dongbo Xueying and said foolishly, "As expected of the Master's son, you speak with such logic."

Zong Ling smiled. "I never expected that those biographical stories would contain such truths! At the very least, I think... your deduction makes a lot of sense."

"My deduction might be wrong!"

"But the data cannot be wrong!"

"Of the one hundred and twenty-five Extraordinary Knights who left their names in history, one hundred and nine never joined an academy! Therefore, I will not join an academy either," Dongbo Xueying said.

"Haha, that is because your standards are high. For many children, becoming a Sky-Rank Knight is already good enough, and becoming a Star-Rank Knight is extraordinary. How many dare to set their goal as high as 'Extraordinary lifeform'?" Zong Ling laughed. "Looking at the training of knights below the Extraordinary level, the academy system is clearly helpful. At the very least, large batches of knights are products of the academy system."

"Hmm," Dongbo Xueying nodded.

He agreed with that point.

But his goal was much further!

"You even summarize data when reading those biographies. You are truly Yu's son. If you were to become a mage, you would likely have a bright future," Zong Ling praised. Mages need to analyze and study the mysteries of heaven and earth, so this type of thinking is vital. Every truly powerful mage is extremely wise.

"Unfortunately, my spiritual power is not enough," Dongbo Xueying laughed. "I am not cut out to be a mage."

Unlike being a knight.

For a knight, as long as one trains hard and has determination, anyone—regardless of gender—can give it a shot.

Mages have extremely high requirements for talent. First and foremost, the requirement for spiritual power is very high! Without sufficient spiritual power, one doesn't even have the qualifications to try.

"Shi Tou will be five after the New Year. We can test him now to see how his spiritual power is," Dongbo Xueying said. "Perhaps he can already reach the threshold."

The earlier one reaches the threshold of spiritual power, the higher their talent.

Generally, if one cannot reach the threshold before the age of ten, there is no hope! Mother had reached the threshold when she was six.