Imperial Capital Academy

Biodata

Overview

• Imperial Capital Academy stands above all other academies in the Great Yan Kingdom and is regarded as a destination for exceptional talent. Admission through the normal route requires successive provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations. 171
• Its martial examination is considered its principal and most difficult avenue of entry. 363
• Although the academy emphasizes martial strength, its leadership also recognizes the importance of the literary path following Qin Yao's palace literary duel. 465
• The academy covers approximately ten thousand mu and is divided into an outer academy for ordinary students and an inner academy for elites. 366 418
• Its banner carries sufficient authority for its special patrol team to receive immediate passage through the Imperial Capital's restricted General's Gate. 361
• The academy is exceptionally well funded, operating numerous industries whose services are free to teachers and students. 365

Admissions

Standard Examinations

The standard path to enrollment follows an imperial-examination-style sequence: provincial examination, metropolitan examination, and finally the Palace Examination in the Imperial Capital. 171

Direct Examination

The Direct Examination is a special admissions route established alongside the Foreign Repelling Camps in the northern regions.

• The Direct Examination exists to recruit young martial artists and skilled commoners into winter defense of the Three Northern Prefectures without requiring a full-scale war. 171
• For participants aged twenty or older, military merit instead converts into silver rewards. 171
• The title Foreign Repelling Spearhead is retained for the under-twenty participant with the highest military merit in that year's northern campaign. 362 366
• The academy dispatches personnel to escort exceptional Direct Examination candidates to the Imperial Capital after their qualification is confirmed. 351 352

Campus

Entrance and Grounds

• The academy entrance is a white-marble gatehouse bearing a large golden plaque reading “Imperial Capital Academy.” 364 365
• A broad bluestone road runs through the grounds, lined with ancient trees and blue-brick, gray-tiled buildings; several tall towers stand deeper within the campus. 366
• The outer academy alone requires more than half a shichen for a rough tour. 367

Inner and Outer Academies

Ten Thousand Schools Plaza

• Ten Thousand Schools Plaza is located in the inner academy and hosts major academy-wide events. 418
• Its mirror-smooth bluestone ground is surrounded by carved pillars depicting dragons, phoenixes, qilin, and other beasts. A screen wall behind its platform bears the inscription “Source of Ten Thousand Schools.” 418

Facilities and Resources

• Library Tower — A six-story repository of cultivation arts, martial techniques, military history, and reference works. It is said to contain ninety-nine percent of Great Yan's cultivation arts and martial techniques. 431 433 443
  • Official students may borrow cultivation methods of the rank permitted by their identity plaques. 367
  • Despite its extensive collection, the academy lacks authority to collect cultivation techniques above the Profound tier. 484
• Martial Skill Pavilion — A repository of martial skills and cultivation methods. 475
• Alchemy Pavilion — Handles alchemical instruction and supplies; even apprentice apothecaries are considered highly promising. 404
• Formation Hall — Academy facility for formations. 367
• Rune Hall — Academy facility for runes. 367
• Talisman repository — Stores talismans for cultivation and combat use. 475
• Alchemy rooms — Available for alchemical work and cultivation-related use. 475
• Martial arenas — The outer academy has twelve arenas. Arenas one through ten are open for daily practice, while arenas eleven and twelve are usually reserved for tournaments. 438
• Public kitchen — The academy cafeteria offers varied meals at roughly thirty percent below outside prices, reducing the time students need to spend outside campus. 418
• Academy stables — Direct-examination candidates may board mounts free of charge; the stables provide premium fodder mixed with beans, fruits, and vegetables. 365

Student Benefits

• Students and staff may use many academy-operated services without charge. 365
• During the Direct Examination period, a qualified candidate's immediate family may receive free lodging and meals at a designated inn through an academy recommendation. 365
• Academic credits are awarded within the academy and can be exchanged for rare materials or cultivation manuals. 370 413
• Credits may also be exchanged for pills, weapons, and other academy resources. 370
• Qin Yao received 300 academic credits after his assessment victories. 404
• By imperial order, the academy temporarily opened its Library Tower, Martial Skill Pavilion, alchemy rooms, and talisman repository fully to Qin Yao before the Northern Expedition. 475
• Under this special authorization, Qin Yao was permitted to borrow ten high-grade Mystic-rank cultivation arts and martial skills for twelve days and acquire substantial quantities of pills and talismans. 476

Rules and Discipline

• Private fighting within academy grounds carries consequences and is prohibited outside sanctioned contests. 367
• Riding is prohibited inside the academy; mounts must be registered and placed in the academy stables. 365
• The Direct Examination is elimination-based: candidates who lose their one-on-one combat assessments do not remain. 367

Administration

Notable Events

• Creation of the Direct Examination system — The court established Foreign Repelling Camps and the Direct Examination route within the preceding two years to strengthen northern winter defense. 171
• Qin Yao's Direct Examination — Qin Yao arrived as the Foreign Repelling Spearhead and entered through the military-merit route. His cultivation test revealed Blood Aperture Realm Level Nine, and he eventually won five consecutive duels to secure admission. 352 375 413
• Commendation assembly — The academy held an academy-wide ceremony at Ten Thousand Schools Plaza, attended by Principal Huo Enting, the Fourth Prince, Yan Yangyi, and senior military figures, to recognize Qin Yao's battlefield achievements. 418 420 421
  • Yan Yangyi awarded Qin Yao ten thousand taels of gold and a two-courtyard inner-city residence during the ceremony. 422
• Palace literary duel — By imperial decree, the academy's teachers and students entered the imperial palace to observe Qin Yao's literary duel with Qin Yuwei. Only fifty-seven instructors and students away on academy training missions were absent. 449
• Northern Expedition preparations — Following Qin Yao's appointment to lead troops north, the academy opened major cultivation resources to him for half a month. 474 475
• Special resource channel controversy — Qin Yao's extensive borrowing of cultivation arts, pills, and talismans under his imperial authorization prompted concern among Huo Enting, Han Yongshi, and Zhu Qinke that academy resources might be misused. 476 477
• Qin Yao's rapid advancement — During the period of special academy support, Qin Yao advanced from the first to the third layer of the Mystic Gathering Realm in a single day, astonishing the academy's teachers and students. 480