On the ride home, Bai Yi finished dinner with his parents amid laughter and chatter, then went straight back to his room.
He opened his Terminal Access Privilege, and a succession of messages popped up.
At the very top was a notification from Li Bantou about the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam.
[Gather in front of the teaching building at eight tomorrow morning.]
"It's finally here."
Bai Yi gave the notification a long look. He sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing for a while, then lay down on the bed. With only one night left, he might as well let himself relax.
At dawn,
Bai Yi opened his eyes. After washing up, the Two Flying Swords settled on his back of their own accord. He told his parents he was leaving, then opened the door and walked out.
No. 2 Middle School's Academic Affairs Plaza
Classes had already begun. At that moment, countless heads kept poking out from the teaching buildings on either side, curious and excited.
"Just as expected, the Old Principal is leading the Four Academies and Ten Palaces exam this time!"
"I heard the Old Principal entered Foundation Establishment a hundred years ago!"
The newly enrolled First Year of High School Dao Students watched the Old Principal standing before the plaza, resting with his eyes closed, their words filled with excitement.
He was a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm, whose lifespan could reach three hundred years.
Unlike the younger Dao Students, those in the Second and Third Years of High School had their eyes on the figures arriving one by one in the plaza.
"That's Zhang Xingming. I heard his Vajra Body has reached Dao Resonance Major Accomplishment. I wonder if he has a chance of passing this exam."
"A chance?"
"No one from Lanshan City has passed the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam in ten years."
"Among the upperclassmen in previous years, Zhang Xingming could only be called above average. He can forget about passing the exam."
The two Third Year of High School Dao Students shook their heads. Perhaps compared to them, Zhang Xingming was an undisputed genius.
But in the Four Academies and Ten Palaces exam, Zhang Xingming seemed rather ordinary.
"This year, I'm afraid only Bai Yi and Hua Ming have any hope."
As the two spoke, a ball of flames fell from the sky. Hua Ming's figure appeared amid the fiery light. His gaze swept over the crowd, and when he didn't see Bai Yi, he furrowed his brows slightly.
Then he stepped forward and stood at the front of the line, cupping his hands respectfully toward the Old Principal.
"Greetings, Principal."
"Mm... Not bad. Your Blazing Fire Talisman has improved again, and your cultivation has advanced considerably too."
The Old Principal glanced at Hua Ming and nodded, quite pleased.
After losing to Bai Yi that day, Hua Ming hadn't fallen into despair. Instead, he had turned his shame into motivation and, with his family's resources behind him, made great strides.
Both his Blazing Fire Talisman and his cultivation had faintly reached the limits of his current realm. All he needed was an opportunity to advance further.
What a pity. If Hua Ming had cultivated the Minor Five Elements Art until his Five Elements Qi Vortex condensed, like that Bai kid, he should have already reached Qi Refining, Sixth Layer.
Then he would have had two or three parts confidence in the exam that followed.
The Old Principal sighed inwardly. Among the Dao Students of No. 2 Middle School in previous years, Hua Ming was already among the very best.
But with a level like this, he was still a little lacking for the Four Academies and Ten Palaces exam, filled with so many monstrous geniuses.
Still, No. 2 Middle School had a trump card this time.
Remembering the message from the previous day, the Old Principal's mouth curled upward, and even his narrowed eyes took on a few more creases.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he looked toward the distant sky.
A streak of sword light shot across the sky. The instant it reached the air above the Academic Affairs Plaza, the Sword Light vanished, and a figure flipped down, landing in the center of the plaza.
The Heart-Questioning Sword returned to its scabbard. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd and the many younger schoolmates in the teaching buildings on either side, Bai Yi took a single step to the front of the line.
"Greetings, Principal."
"Mm, take your place in line. I'll make up for the time you spent in the Secret Realm this month by giving you a Cultivation Room after the exam."
At the Old Principal's words, a flicker passed through Bai Yi's eyes. He nodded and returned to the front of the line.
The others nearby were quite startled when they heard the Old Principal's words and all turned to look at Bai Yi. They had thought Bai Yi had been away this month because he'd gained some insight and gone into Seclusion.
They hadn't expected Bai Yi to have gone to the Blue Mountain Secret Realm.
"All right, it's about time. Prepare to leave."
As the Old Principal spoke in a low voice, a silver, triangular-winged civilian airship, with air currents blasting beneath it, flew over from afar and slowly descended into the center of the Academic Affairs Plaza.
The cabin door opened. Bai Yi and the others followed the Old Principal into the airship, disappearing from everyone's sight.
"The M-55t Supersonic Cruise Airship has a speed of five thousand kilometers per hour."
"It takes just over three hours to reach Qunlan City."
Listening to Zhang Xingming beside him, Bai Yi's mind brought up the notification about the Four Academies and Ten Palaces exam that the school had sent out the previous day.
The Immortal Alliance's territory was vast, and the Four Academies and Ten Palaces were its highest institutions of learning.
They recruited students from across the entire Immortal Alliance. The Preliminary Exam was a preliminary screening of Third Year of High School Dao Students from throughout the alliance, and more than a hundred examination sites had been established across its territory.
The examination site for Lanshan City was Qunlan City, a First-Level City at the heart of the region, more than ten thousand kilometers away.
A little over three hours later, one towering tree after another, reaching straight into the clouds, came into view outside the window.
Countless buildings stood atop gigantic branches as vast as islands, while magnetic rail networks crisscrossed them, and countless smart rail vehicles shuttled back and forth.
These towering trees breathed out spiritual energy. Countless electrical lines ran through their leaf veins, which resembled pipes, connecting to the central super-breath photon terminal at the roots of the trees.
"This is Qunlan Tree, a subsidiary terminal of Nüwa, the mother of the Immortal Alliance's super-breath terminal."
Bai Yi gazed at the many colossal trees outside the window, nearly ten thousand meters tall and thrusting into the clouds. A trace of shock passed through his eyes.
A scene combining natural spiritual treasures and magnificent technology like this was probably something only the Immortal Alliance could present.
Airships landed one after another on a vast platform of leaf veins. Bai Yi and the others followed the Old Principal off the airship and saw many groups like theirs gathered nearby.
As soon as Bai Yi and the others stepped off the airship, they saw the principals of the other four advanced Dao Studies schools in Blue Mountain exchange grim looks with several old men.
When they saw No. 2 Middle School arrive, the principals of the Blue Mountain Dao Studies schools brightened and immediately came over.
"Old Qian, this time our Blue Mountain is counting on your No. 2 Middle School."
"Well, if it isn't Old Qian. I heard your No. 2 Middle School is the most outstanding in Blue Mountain this year. I wonder if you can win this year's allocated resources."
A somewhat cold voice rang out. The several old men who had been exchanging looks with the Blue Mountain Dao Studies school principals earlier walked over slowly, their eyes falling on the Old Principal.
"I was wondering who it was. Turns out they're a few old dogs from Luanshan."
The Old Principal retorted with a sneer. Lanshan City and Luanshan City were two neighboring Third-Level Cities.
Every year, they fought fiercely to obtain the Immortal Alliance Dao Studies resources allocated by Qunlan City.
Thus, the Four Academies and Ten Palaces exam, which stood at the pinnacle of Dao Studies education in each city, was an important point in the resource struggle between the two cities.
At first, victory was determined by which side passed the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam. But after no one from either city had passed for more than a decade, the contest gradually evolved into a battle between the elite disciples of the two cities.
The losers would give up their share of the additional resources allocated the following year.
It wasn't just the cities of Blue Mountain and Luanshan. Most Third-Level Cities in the region with competing claims to resources handled things this way.
Before you continue