"Dong!" "Dong!"
As the lingering toll of the bell rang out, the inner academy's gates deep within Cang Mountain, long closed to the mundane world and shrouded in mystery, finally swung slowly open.
Fang Qianyuan and more than a hundred other youths from the outer academy arrived under the guidance of two inner academy stewards.
It was now the thirtieth day of the seventh month, the day of the autumn examination.
Cang Mountain Academy would hold an entrance examination for them today, which would also serve as the spirit communion ceremony.
Only those who successfully subdued a spirit creature here could become Human Rank First Turn spirit tamers and enter the inner academy.
Standing before the enormous gates, a hundred feet tall, Fang Qianyuan looked up like everyone else, yet his expression remained perfectly calm.
Thanks to his father Fang Hai's deliberate instruction, Fang Qianyuan had long possessed knowledge far beyond what his apparent standing suggested. Naturally, he would not make a fuss merely because gates as tall as a building had opened.
"The gates are open. Wait here. Someone will be along shortly to escort you."
After the gates opened, the stewards gave this instruction, then stood where they were and waited.
Suddenly, cries of surprise rose from the crowd.
Fang Qianyuan looked ahead and saw billowing clouds of dust rising in the gorge beyond the gates. Before long, the silhouettes of gray wolves emerged.
Those gray wolves were all wolf spirits some ten feet long, their bodies giving off a faint glow and brimming with spiritual potency.
Among the pack, ten blue figures stood out in particular. These were enormous wolves twenty feet long, much larger than the gray wolves.
Like cranes standing among chickens, they ran amid the pack, each carrying a rider on its back. Six men and four women, all were inner academy disciples dressed in white.
"Those... those are gray wolves and blue-eyed gray wolves!"
"So the rumors are true! Once you become a spirit tamer, you can command spirit creatures as freely as you please!"
None of them had ever seen a Wolf Rush of a hundred wolves, and excited chatter broke out. Only when the pack reached the enormous gates a short while later did they see that even the eyes of those huge blue wolves were blue. A constantly swirling breeze seemed to surround their bodies, stirring their fur with an indescribable grace.
These were blue-eyed gray wolves, one of Cang Mountain Academy's signature spirit creatures. The slightly smaller gray wolves were their unevolved kin, ordinary gray wolves.
"Senior brothers and sisters, we've brought all the disciples taking the examination. Sorry for the trouble," the two steward disciples said.
Among the ten riders on the blue-eyed gray wolves, a tall male disciple stroked the fur of the huge wolf beneath him, then straightened up and called out with a smile, "All right, stop staring! Get onto the gray wolves, and we'll take you into the valley!"
Only then did the youths snap out of their daze. Nervous or excited, they each climbed onto a gray wolf's back.
These truly were tamed spirit creatures. Throughout the process, they crouched quietly, waiting until the probationary disciples were seated securely and had a firm grip before rising to their feet.
"Remember, keep yourselves steady once we start moving. If you're really scared, just lie flat and hold tight to your gray wolf's neck. Understood?"
Once everyone was mounted, the male disciple who had spoken earlier addressed them again.
The two steward disciples who had brought them smiled and each formed the Hand Seal of Presence. Spirit essence surged through them, and blue light appeared out of thin air.
Before everyone's eyes, the light twisted and changed in midair. Within a breath, it took the shape of huge wolves like those ridden by the inner academy disciples, then passed from insubstantial light into solid form.
"Off we go!" one of the steward disciples shouted, leaping onto a wolf's back. The blue-eyed gray wolf shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
"Hahahaha..." Several of the others laughed knowingly at the sight.
The male disciple who had spoken earlier waved his hand, and the entire wolf pack raced after them like a well-trained army.
"Aaaaaah..."
Cries like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves filled the pack as the probationary disciples shouted in panic.
Before long, however, nearly all the probationary disciples had grown accustomed to the gray wolves' speed and began to enjoy themselves.
The gray wolves moved somewhat faster than a mortal running at full speed. As they raced along, the mountain wind rushed into their faces, yet it did not force their eyes shut. Instead, it brought a wonderfully exhilarating sense of release.
Exotic flowers and unusual plants covered the ground along their route, while all manner of rare marvels and beautiful scenery appeared from time to time.
Everyone exclaimed in wonder, with more to see than their eyes could take in. Before they knew it, they had reached the depths of the valley.
Members of the inner academy awaited them before a broad, trapezoidal clearing. The disciples standing around to watch had plainly come to join the excitement, and all wore white.
They were all full disciples of the inner academy, Human Rank spirit tamers. Beside them crouched or lay all manner of spirit creatures, including magnificent eagle spirits, imposing wolf spirits, and ferocious tiger spirits. Some of the tamers also bore Spirit Runes on their bodies and faces, each with a distinctive build and appearance.
At the center stood a plaza-like platform paved with blue stone slabs roughly a foot across. A row of long tables stood on it. Several dozen feet behind the tables was a viewing stand about a foot high, built from wooden posts and broad planks. More than thirty seats were arranged in three tiered rows upon it, occupied by Cang Mountain Academy's leaders and high-ranking spirit tamers.
"Reporting to the elders: all one hundred and seventeen probationary disciples from the outer academy who are of the proper age and have awakened their spiritual faculties have been brought here." Upon seeing them, a steward hurriedly jumped down from his wolf and strode forward to report to several richly dressed spirit tamers in the front row.
At a signal from the steward beside them, the youths also dismounted and stepped forward to pay their respects.
There were five men and three women, ranging in age from their thirties to their sixties or seventies. Judging by their red and blue robes, distinct from ordinary attire, these spirit tamers were the academy's elders, who governed nearly a thousand disciples and more than ten thousand servants.
At the center of the eight elders sat a man with a kindly face and a dignified bearing. He was the Institute Master, head of the academy and foremost among its elders.
The Institute Master rose with a smile and said in a clear voice, "Welcome, everyone, to Cang Mountain Academy! This is a sanctuary for spirit tamers to cultivate, and a place where our Azure Cloud Sect accepts disciples and spreads its tradition. If you possess talent and fortunate affinity, then regardless of whether your birth is noble or humble, whether you are rich or poor, you may enter our gates and become disciples of our sect."
"Now, I, the Institute Master, will personally explain the key points of this entrance examination."
"As everyone knows, cultivating as a spirit tamer is no easy task. Among ordinary mortals, only one in ten obtains a proper cultivation method. Of those who do, only one in ten develops a sense for qi and refines spirit essence. And of those, only one in ten goes on to open a spirit sea."
"Thus, for a mortal to set foot on the path of cultivation is already difficulty piled upon difficulty. Yet one final hurdle still awaits: subduing a spirit creature and successfully establishing spirit communion. A mortal who clears all four hurdles is truly one in ten thousand."
"You are all outstanding talents who have passed the first three hurdles and become probationary disciples of our academy. But on a journey of a hundred miles, ninety miles is only halfway. This examination is the final hurdle awaiting you: the hurdle of spirit communion."