In the spacious, brightly lit room, bookshelves crisscrossed one another, lined with all kinds of ancient, timeworn books that filled the place with a rich scholarly atmosphere.
At the center of the room, Xiao Li and the others stood quietly. Behind the desk before them, a white-haired old man slowly leafed through the documents in his hands. The entire room was steeped in silence.
The quiet lasted for nearly ten minutes before Vice Dean Hu Gan finally lifted his gaze from the papers.
"You are all the most outstanding students of this year's class. This old man is very pleased."
Hu Gan's smile grew more pronounced. To have received a peerless talent like Xiao Li this year was like having a huge pie drop out of the sky.
Closing the book in his hands, Hu Gan smiled. Then he looked toward Xiao Li and the others. "When you enter the Inner Academy, you may well have to strive alongside one another. So don't let your relationships sour. Every year, if the new students entering the Inner Academy don't band together, things don't end well for them."
"Also, in the Inner Academy, strength reigns supreme. Whoever has the harder fists gets the best cultivation conditions. None of your backgrounds will matter there—not even mine!"
Hu Gan's words were pointed, and his gaze fell on Xiao Li.
Xiao Li gave a slight nod to show he understood.
Li Hao laughed. "We're all outstanding talents among our peers. We can hardly wait to befriend someone like him, let alone make an enemy of him."
Hu Gan nodded. "Good. Come with me. I'll take you to obtain your Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills."
With that, Hu Gan walked to the wall behind him and casually tapped it several times. A deep rumble sounded, and then a pitch-black passage appeared before Xiao Li and the others.
Only after entering the passage did Xiao Li notice the enormous luminous pearls embedded in the walls. Their faint glow left the passage dim and hazy, but it was more than enough light for him and the others.
They walked through the passage for nearly half an hour. At last, a glimmer appeared at the far end. Seeing it, the group quickened their pace. A moment later, they reached the end and stepped out.
Blinding sunlight poured down from the sky, making Xiao Li and the others instinctively squeeze their eyes shut. After a while, they slowly opened them and looked at the scene before them, somewhat astonished.
Though they had already read about this scene in books, seeing it with their own eyes was an entirely different experience.
Before them was a sunken valley. The steep cliffs climbed all the way up, vanishing at the edge of sight. Between three sheer rock faces lay a vast open space, and standing upon it was an enormous, imposing old pavilion, so massive it was almost jaw-dropping.
Xiao Li's gaze swept slowly across the huge, timeworn pavilion before coming to rest on the ancient-looking plaque above its entrance.
Library Pavilion!
Though the ancient lettering had been weathered by time, Xiao Li and the others were still shaken by the archaic grandeur it held. It truly was the mysterious Library Pavilion of Jia Nan Academy's Outer Academy. The plaque alone made its identity unmistakable.
Xiao Li had come from Wutan City, where even the strongest were only Da Dou Shi, to Jia Nan Academy. This was the greatest difference he had felt so far.
One plaque alone revealed the might of the continent's number-one academy!
If Xiao Li remembered correctly, Jia Nan Academy's mysterious dean was a Half-Saint of the Thunder Clan. He was on a whole different level from the Jia Ma Empire.
Hu Gan led the five of them toward the Library Pavilion. But when they were about twenty meters away, he suddenly stopped, clasped his hands toward the pavilion, and said, "The top five of this year's Inner Academy Selection Tournament have been chosen. In accordance with the rules, I've brought them here. Elders, please open the door!"
Hu Gan's words, carried by Dou Qi, echoed endlessly through the little valley.
Not long after Hu Gan finished speaking, Xiao Li's eyes, fixed intently on the Library Pavilion, suddenly narrowed. His gaze snapped over to the entrance, where two gray-robed figures sat cross-legged on the ground. When he had first arrived, he had clearly seen that there wasn't a soul there!
Even though he had been prepared, even though he had kept a close watch, he still hadn't seen the slightest trace of them.
Yet now, the two gray-robed men sat there as if they had been there all along. The bizarre sight made Xiao Li's heart tighten.
Elder Bai turned his gaze toward the five young people. When he saw Xiao Li, his brows lifted slightly. "Fifteen years old. A fine sapling."
Elder Qian gave an almost imperceptible nod. A trace of regret flickered in his eyes. "If all my efforts weren't focused on breaking through to Dou Zun, I might not be able to resist taking him as my disciple."
After speaking, the two fell silent. They slowly extended a pair of withered hands from their sleeves, then began forming hand seals, one gesture at a time. As their fingers moved, Xiao Li could clearly sense two immensely powerful, invisible waves radiating from their hands like ripples.
"Let's go." Seeing the spatial doorway take shape, Hu Gan waved his hand and stepped in first. After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Li and the others followed cautiously through the invisible frame.
The fluctuations of space swept across Xiao Li's body. His heart stirred. The power of space—what a wondrous sensation.
Elder Qian opened his eyes. "What a freak. He actually sensed the power of space with the strength of a Da Dou Shi."
Elder Bai looked at his old friend, waiting for him to continue. He knew his friend had something unusual in mind.
Sure enough, Elder Qian paused, then spoke. "Bai Lie."
Elder Qian called Bai Lie's name with grave solemnity. Elder Bai had already guessed what his friend wanted to say.
Elder Qian continued, "A genius like him could lose his way for who knows how long if he cultivates alone. Even with our guidance, we still ended up where we are. I don't want to see a young man more talented than us get stuck at this bottleneck."
Elder Bai fell silent. "We're old, but the Black-Corner Region is still in turmoil. Earth Demon Old Ghost and Old Man Eagle Mountain are both still alive."
Elder Qian nodded. "That's why I want to nurture a young man who can shoulder the burden."
The two fell silent again. They already had their answer.
Jia Nan Academy needed a new leader.
Elder Qian's gaze seemed to pierce through layer upon layer of space, following the little fellow who had walked away.
"But we should wait a little longer. Acting too hastily wouldn't suit our status."
Even so, once the first spark of an idea had been kindled in their hearts, it was impossible to hold it back.
The two men vanished and appeared in a corner no one else could detect.
"Tell me, would it be better to give him a Cultivation Method or a Dou Technique?"