The Decision

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

From an emotional standpoint, they didn't want to be separated from Xueying. Changfeng Academy was more than thirty thousand li from Snow Eagle Territory, and once he enrolled, he would have to live there full-time. Students generally spent more than six years at the academy, and some weren't allowed to graduate until they'd been there for over a decade. How could they bear to be apart for so long?

Neither of the two old men had children, and both had been very close to Dongbo Lie and his wife. In Tong San's heart, Moyang Yu was his most important master. Zong Ling had also harbored a faint affection for Moyang Yu, but she clearly couldn't accept a Six-Armed Snake Demon. In the end, back when they were with the adventuring group, Moyang Yu had gotten together with Dongbo Lie.

Later, when Moyang Yu became pregnant, the two old men were overjoyed! They had come along with the family, and watched Xueying grow up. Deep down, they had come to think of him as their own child.

Could they really bear to be apart for so long?

But Changfeng Academy was the best place in Anyang Province, and it would greatly benefit Dongbo Xueying's growth.

"I've decided not to go," Dongbo Xueying said.

"Why?" Zong Ling asked urgently.

"Why not? You want to become a powerful knight, and Changfeng Academy is the best place for that. We'd go if we could, but we can't. Once the New Year passes, you'll be eleven, and you won't be able to get in anymore," Tong San said anxiously.

The weak had no future.

This was a world of the strong! The wealthy and powerful all possessed formidable strength.

"You can't bear to leave Shi Tou?" Zong Ling asked suddenly.

Dongbo Xueying nodded. "I really can't bear to leave Shi Tou. He's only four years old, and he isn't close to you two... I'm the one he clings to most. He still sleeps with me every night. Shi Tou barely remembers our father and mother anymore; all he wants is me, his older brother. I don't want him to spend his childhood without his parents and then lose his older brother, too!"

Zong Ling and Tong San fell silent. They could certainly see how much Xueying cared for his younger brother.

"I at least had our father and mother until I was eight. My younger brother is only four, and he has no parents and no older brother... I can't do that to him," Dongbo Xueying said.

"And besides—"

"I want to save our parents. Would going to Changfeng Academy help?" Dongbo Xueying said. "I don't think so!"

"Hmm?" Zong Ling and Tong San looked puzzled.

"Changfeng Academy does provide excellent training. It can produce large numbers of Heaven-Rank Knights, and some even become Meteor Knights. But... even if I became a Meteor Knight, could I save my parents? Hmph, my uncle is a Silver Moon Rank Archmage, and even he can't do anything about the Moyang Clan's rules," Dongbo Xueying said. "To save our parents, I'll probably have to become stronger than my uncle. I'll have to become a Title Knight! Or even a transcendent being!"

Zong Ling and Tong San exchanged a look, startled.

They had never explained the full truth about the Moyang Clan to him, yet Dongbo Xueying had deduced that he would need to be at least a Title Knight, or even a transcendent being, to have any hope. The boy really was clever; his conclusion was correct!

"Title Knights are exceedingly rare."

"Transcendent knights are the stuff of legend. I've collected many biographies and stories about transcendent knights. Some of the events in those stories are exaggerated or made up, but their paths to growth are real," Dongbo Xueying said. "I've organized the paths taken by these transcendent experts."

"Of the 125 transcendent experts recorded in history, 109 became transcendent after exploring cultivation on their own and enduring countless trials of life and death!"

"As for those from academies, there were only sixteen!"

Dongbo Xueying looked at Zong Ling and Tong San. "What does that tell us? When it comes to becoming a transcendent being, academy-trained knights are actually at a disadvantage!"

Zong Ling and Tong San were both stunned.

They had never considered this. They only knew that academies founded by transcendent experts were sacred places! They were wonderful places, producing large numbers of Heaven-Rank Knights and even Star-Rank Knights... Yet most of the transcendent experts whose names had been passed down and recorded since ancient times had never attended an academy!

They had all explored cultivation on their own!

"How could that be?" Tong San said, dumbfounded.

"The books are in my study. I even sent people to Yi Water City to collect books about transcendent beings," Dongbo Xueying said. "That's the truth. Many talented people join academies, but in the end, few become transcendent!"

"I've also carefully studied why this happens."

"Based on the book of transcendent knight spear techniques my father left me, I've come to a theory," Dongbo Xueying said. "To become transcendent, you have to find your own path! Academy-trained knights have teachers to guide them, so their early training is easier. They keep breaking through and improving, but when the time comes to find their own path, their teachers' guidance suddenly ends, and they're left blind! They don't know how to move forward!"

"Those who don't attend academies, on the other hand, have no systematic guidance!"

"They have to explore on their own. At every obstacle, they have to figure out how to overcome it themselves. Every step is difficult. But along the way, they gain insights of their own! They make their own path, discover it for themselves! And they, too, may find their way to transcendence!"

Dongbo Xueying's eyes shone. "Detailed, systematic guidance is useful for training large numbers of knights. But if you want to train a truly transcendent expert, then all those detailed lessons can become shackles! Breaking through those shackles is difficult."

Tong San stared blankly at Dongbo Xueying and said foolishly, "No wonder you're the master's son. You really know how to make a convincing argument."

Zong Ling smiled. "I never expected those biographies to hold such a lesson! At least, I think... your theory makes a lot of sense."

"My theory might be wrong!"

"But the data can't be wrong!"

"Of the 125 transcendent knights whose names were recorded in history, 109 never attended an academy! So I won't attend one either," Dongbo Xueying said.

"Haha, that's because you've set your sights high. Most children are happy just to become Heaven-Rank Knights, and becoming a Star-Rank Knight is already an impressive achievement. How many would dare set their sights as high as becoming a transcendent being?" Zong Ling said with a laugh. "When it comes to training knights below the transcendent level, academies clearly help. After all, large numbers of knights come from them."

"Mm." Dongbo Xueying nodded.

He agreed with that.

But his own ambitions reached much farther!

"You even draw conclusions from the data in those biographies. No wonder you're A Yu's son. If you became a mage, you'd probably do well, too," Zong Ling praised. Mages needed to analyze and study the mysteries of Heaven and Earth. That kind of thinking was crucial, and every truly powerful mage was exceptionally intelligent.

"Too bad I don't have enough mental strength," Dongbo Xueying said with a smile. "I'm not cut out to be a mage."

Knights were different.

As long as they trained hard and had enough determination, anyone could give it a shot, regardless of gender.

Mages had much higher requirements for talent. Their mental strength, in particular, had to be high. If it wasn't, they weren't even qualified to try.

"Shi Tou will turn five after the New Year. We can test his mental strength now and see how he's doing," Dongbo Xueying said. "Maybe he's already reached the threshold."

The earlier one reached the threshold for mental strength, the higher one's talent.

Generally, if you hadn't reached the threshold before turning ten, you had no chance! Mother had reached it when she was six.