On the day the Akademiya Branch opened, crowds gathered from all around. It was no exaggeration to say the streets had emptied.
To maintain order, Emperor Xue Ye sent over plenty of people. He even made a personal appearance to congratulate the Akademiya Branch on its opening.
Nahida did not show herself. As a god, she had to maintain a little mystery—after all, this was Douluo Continent.
As Grand Sage, Ouyang Kong had only managed to get everything arranged with the help of the others.
There were plenty of spectators, and naturally plenty of people taking the entrance examinations too, though most of them had gathered around Cyno.
And they had gathered around Cyno not to test into Haravatat, but to become Discipline Officers.
There were few people in Douluo Continent who conducted theoretical research, and most of them studied Martial Soul Theory, which belonged to Amurta.
So there were a few people at Tighnari's table too.
Kaveh's Kshahrewar, Faruzan's School of Lore, Layla's Rtawahist, and Nefer's Haravatat were all deserted.
"Honestly, the senior herself is conducting the examinations, and nobody's interested. Is the scholarly atmosphere here really this poor?"
The School of Lore, represented by Faruzan, mainly studied linguistics, semiotics, and the like. Those subjects really had no market in Douluo Continent.
Besides, someone had initially come over to ask about it, but Faruzan scared them away with a single sentence.
"Graduates of the School of Lore must know at least twenty languages. That's common knowledge."
She still had more to say, but everyone had already run off.
"Though the requirements have been lowered considerably now... Why has everyone left? They really don't know how to respect their elders."
Just then, an old man approached Faruzan with an awkward smile. "Miss..."
"Call me 'senior.' I'm over a hundred years old, after all. Calling me that won't hurt you."
The visitor was Tai Tan, clan leader of the Strength Clan. He was quite surprised to hear Faruzan claim she was over a hundred.
Powerful female Spirit Masters could preserve their youthful appearances, but they still bore the weathered air of someone who had lived through the years. Faruzan, however, showed none of it.
"What? You don't believe me?"
"No, not at all!"
Tai Tan hurriedly denied it.
"I wanted to ask: I'm a blacksmith. Which academy should I apply to?"
"A blacksmith? You could go to Haravatat, where Cyno is, but Kshahrewar, where Kaveh is, would suit you better."
"Thank you, Senior!"
Tai Tan bowed respectfully, and Faruzan was quite pleased.
"Very good, very good. Children who know how to respect their elders are all good children."
Hearing Faruzan say that, Tai Tan couldn't help feeling that something was off.
Afterward, Tai Tan went over to Kaveh, who was quite polite.
"Please, have a seat, sir. Are you applying to our Haravatat?"
"Yes. I'm a blacksmith, and I've made a bit of a name for myself in Douluo Continent. Senior Faruzan recommended that I apply to Haravatat."
Tai Tan was trying a little trick, but Kaveh didn't mind. Instead, he quickly drew up a blueprint.
"Blacksmithing does belong to Kshahrewar. Here's a blueprint for a mechanical component. Make it within two hours, and if the finished piece is satisfactory, you'll pass the examination."
Tai Tan took the blueprint from Kaveh. It was complicated, but with his skill as a Divine Craftsman, he could still make it.
"No problem. I'll get started right away."
"Mm. There are some materials by the furnace and the ore over there. Help yourself."
Kaveh felt confident. Surely, with the Akademiya Branch opening, Kshahrewar wouldn't end up without a single student.
Meanwhile, things were rather busy at Tighnari's table. Collei, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan were helping him share the workload.
Tighnari had already explained that the Akademiya wasn't an ordinary Spirit Master Academy. It focused on theoretical research and wasn't responsible for training Spirit Masters.
Those whose main focus was Spirit Master cultivation had no need to insist on applying to the Akademiya.
Yet plenty of people were determined to give it a try. If they didn't understand the other academies, well, they didn't understand them. But perhaps Amurta's Martial Soul research could turn up something by sheer luck.
Anyone who thought that way was simply underestimating Amurta.
Just then, people from Shrek Academy arrived too, and Yu Xiaogang was brimming with confidence.
He believed he could not only pass the Akademiya entrance examination but even qualify to teach there.
Tighnari naturally knew the few people from Shrek Academy.
Yu Xiaogang in particular. The Grand Sage Ouyang Kong had personally punished him, so it was hard not to know him.
Tighnari had no intention of making things difficult for them. He simply proceeded in order and said, "Amurta's main fields are biology, ecology, and medicine. We've now added Martial Soul Theory. Which area are you good at? I can test you in that."
"Martial Soul Theory, of course. Xiaogang is a master of Martial Soul Theory."
Liu Erlong chimed in from the side, while Yu Xiaogang struck the pose of a great expert.
Tighnari completely ignored their back-and-forth and proceeded to pose the questions.
"First question: What are the existing classifications of Martial Souls? Are they correct, and is anything missing?"
"Of course, they're divided into Beast Martial Souls and Tool Martial Souls."
"So you think this classification is correct, with nothing that needs to be added?"
"Exactly!"
Tighnari nodded and marked the first question with a cross.
"Second question: What factors affect a Spirit Master's Innate Soul Power?"
"Of course, it's the quality of their Martial Soul. The quality of a Martial Soul determines their Innate Soul Power."
"That's the only factor?"
"Of course!"
Tighnari marked it as half-correct.
"Third question: What factors affect the age limit of a Spirit Master's Soul Rings?"
At this, Yu Xiaogang became even more confident.
"The limit for the First Soul Ring is 423 years, and the limit for the Second Soul Ring is 764 years..."
"Stop! Listen carefully. I asked what factors affect the age limit of a Spirit Master's Soul Rings."
"Well, it should be related to the quality of the Martial Soul. Yes, it's related to the quality of the Martial Soul..."
Tighnari shook his head.
"I don't think there's any need to continue the examination. You're not suited to theoretical research."
"What do you mean by that? Is your Akademiya deliberately picking on people?"
Liu Erlong flew into a rage again. Flender hurriedly held her back. They couldn't afford to offend anyone at the Akademiya!
"Flender, don't hold me back! The Akademiya has to give us an explanation today."
At Collei's table stood a green ornament. Nahida had made it. It could scan the people taking the examinations, identify their Martial Souls, Soul Power Levels, and other basic information, and record the results.
While Tighnari was examining Yu Xiaogang, Tang San and Xiao Wu happened to arrive at Collei's table to be scanned and recorded.
Tang San: Twin Martial Souls, Clear Sky Hammer, Blue Silver Emperor (not yet awakened) Xiao Wu: Human-Form Soul Beast, Mimicry Martial Soul, Soft Bone Rabbit
Tang San's Twin Martial Souls were already astonishing, but the moment Xiao Wu's identity as a Human-Form Soul Beast was exposed, countless greedy gazes fell upon her.