Sword Light surged, and fierce Sword Qi burst through its restraints. With a long ringing cry, a single strike cleaved open the void and pierced through beneath the statue.
As Sword Light surged, Bai Yi endured the excruciating pain, following its trail as he leaped forward and crossed the final thirty meters.
When a pearl hung high beneath the Heavenly Pool statue, the pressure that had felt as if the heavens were collapsing abruptly vanished.
The Heart-Questioning Sword fell powerlessly, and the Azure Edge Sword shattered, its fragments scattering to the ground. Having already pushed himself past his limits, Bai Yi braced himself with one hand on the ground. Blood seeping from his pores stained the water red. Then, with effort, he opened his eyes and looked up at the pearl before him.
"I did it..."
Just as Bai Yi's vision was about to go dark, the pearl before him rose into the air and enveloped him.
Beneath its radiance, Bai Yi felt the torn flesh all over his body rapidly healing. His Meridians and Dantian, damaged by the intense pressure, also returned to their former state.
A moment later, the pearl's radiance faded. Bai Yi stood tall in the Heavenly Pool, and just as he was about to look around-
A vast, profound aura instantly spread to the very end of the Immortal Ascension Stairway, and clouds and mist surged and rolled outward.
Amid the mist, the eyes of two of the fourteen True Lord statues suddenly shone with dazzling brilliance.
In an instant, Bai Yi sensed two indescribable gazes, seemingly ethereal and formless, fall upon him.
The Heart-Questioning Sword had just begun to protect its master when it froze in midair beneath those two gazes.
The two gazes collided in the air. Bai Yi felt an overwhelming force, far surpassing what he had experienced before, clash for an instant before vanishing.
"Good. With this token, you may enter Zhenyi Palace."
"With this token, you may enter Qianyuan Palace."
Immortal music echoed across the rolling sea of clouds. Two beams of light flew from the statues and hovered directly before Bai Yi.
As the two beams of light descended, the statues sank back into silence, just as before.
"What are these?"
Bai Yi reached out and caught the two beams of light. As they faded, they turned into two jade tokens engraved with mysterious seal script. Each bore the character "Upper" on the front, while the backs were engraved with the characters "Zhenyi" and "Qianyuan," respectively.
"These are Upper Palace Tokens. They signify that a True Lord has chosen you. With one, you may enter one of the Ten Palaces without taking the entrance examination."
An aged voice came from beside him. Bai Yi turned his head and saw the White-Haired Youth looking at the two tokens with a rather wistful expression.
"I didn't expect that, under that kind of pressure, you would ultimately manage to fuse the complete Dao Resonance of that Lower Vehicle Sword Art into your sword."
The White-Haired Youth gave Bai Yi a deep look, though turmoil surged within him.
At the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, he had passed the trial for the sixtieth level of the Immortal Ascension Stairway and stood beneath the statues of fourteen True Lords. Even when he had taken the Four Academies and Ten Palaces entrance examination, he had rarely seen such talent.
Those two True Lords had probably each bestowed an Upper Palace Token on him for that very reason.
After all, under the restrictions of the Immortal Alliance, even True Lords had to record the recipient of every Upper Palace Token.
"Can I only enter one of the Ten Palaces with these tokens?"
Feeling the Upper Palace Tokens in his hands, Bai Yi looked up at the Golden Core True Person before him. He already had an idea, but since this True Person had appeared here, he was probably going to give him some pointers.
"Of course. The two tokens in your hands, for Zhenyi and Qianyuan, correspond to Zhenyi Palace and Qianyuan Palace."
"With these tokens, you can enter those two palaces without taking the entrance examination."
"Do the Four Academies have corresponding tokens too?"
Seeing Bai Yi's interest wane after hearing the news, the White-Haired Youth couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Throughout the Immortal Alliance, more than ninety-five percent of Dao Students would be overjoyed to receive even a single Upper Palace Token.
Yet this young Sword Cultivator before him didn't care in the slightest. His heart was set only on the Four Academies.
"This pride of yours is just like that of the Sword Cultivators from the outer regions. No wonder you've cultivated such a Sword Dao."
The White-Haired Youth nodded and said, "Since the Ten Palaces have Upper Palace Tokens, the Four Academies naturally have corresponding Immortal Academy Tokens."
"However, Immortal Academy Tokens have been exceedingly rare over the past ten years. Every recipient has been an outstanding prodigy who towered over their peers."
Hearing the Golden Core True Person's words, Bai Yi pondered for a moment, then put away the two Upper Palace Tokens.
Whether or not he obtained these Upper Palace Tokens, the Ten Palaces had never been his goal. From the very beginning, he had set his sights only on the Four Academies-the Four Academies standing at the pinnacle of the Immortal Alliance's academies.
"It seems your ambitions are much greater than I thought..."
"I am the principal of Skywave Academy and an elder of the Cui Household in Ancheng City, Cui Tianyuan."
"Greetings, True Person Cui. Thank you for enlightening me." Bai Yi cupped his hands respectfully.
"It's nothing. I see you possess a Secret Art. Where are you from?"
Cui Tianyuan looked at Bai Yi. He had initially thought Bai Yi was just an ordinary Dao Student from a Third-Level City.
But during the final pressure trial, the fluctuations of that Secret Art had made him abandon his assumption. Still, if Bai Yi came from an Aristocratic Clan, how had someone with such talent only reached this level of cultivation?
"This student comes from a branch of the Qing River White Household in Blue Mountain."
"The Qing River White Household... So you're a descendant of Brother Bai. People say the White Household has been short on successors, but after meeting you today, it's clear that rumor couldn't be further from the truth."
Cui Tianyuan sighed at this. Then he flipped his palm, and a green Flying Sword glimmering with a sharp edge appeared in it.
"Since you're the descendant of a friend, I'll give you this Flying Sword. Consider it a reward from an elder."
"I only hope that one day you'll look out for the younger generation of Skywave Academy and the Cui Household..."
Bai Yi accepted the Flying Sword with both hands. The moment his gaze fell on the blade, he couldn't look away. The basic instincts of a Sword Cultivator caused information about the Flying Sword to appear in his mind at once.
The top-of-the-line custom model in the First-Tier Azure Edge Series from Wehua Manufacturing Group: the Azure Immortal Sword Series S-00TX Ultimate Limited Edition.
It had been forged from an alloy made primarily of First-Tier Supreme-Grade Jade Mountain Rock Iron, with powder from Second-Tier Upper-Grade Azure Origin Stone. Mounted on it were six advanced Formations that Wehua Group had derived over a thousand years, along with four spiritual energy processing units, a cutting-edge combat anti-vibration algorithm, and an intelligent reduction algorithm.
In terms of technology alone, it soundly surpassed the other major manufacturers and could be called the pinnacle of First-Tier magic artifacts.
Its list price was 990,000 Spirit Value, but getting one would cost at least 2,000,000.
"True Person Cui, this is far too valuable!"
Cui Tianyuan looked at Bai Yi, whose eyes were fixed on the Flying Sword and who, despite his words, was clutching it tightly with both hands. He couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"An elder's gift must not be refused. Besides, I still hope you'll look after the young ones from Skywave Academy and the Cui Household in the future."
Hearing Cui Tianyuan say it again, Bai Yi was puzzled, but he didn't ask further.
"Very well. Now that you've crossed these sixty levels, my part in this examination is complete."
"Once you enter the Academy, if you're interested, you can come to Skywave Academy for an exchange sometime."
Cui Tianyuan chuckled twice and flicked his sleeve. The two of them suddenly appeared in the plaza. Then he lifted the entire Heaven-Climbing Stairway in his palm. It trembled violently, shrank back to the size of a palm, and settled into his hand.
"In this examination, one person obtained an Upper Palace Token, twenty-one passed the fiftieth level, and everyone else was eliminated."
"Those who passed the examination may take the Four Academies and Ten Palaces entrance examination in a month. They may also choose to enter a First-Rate Academy without an examination as specially recruited students."
Cui Tianyuan stepped through the air. Once he had finished speaking, he swept his sleeve and flew straight into the battleship with the students.
Watching the battleship gradually disappear in the distance, the many Dao School principals and Third Year of High School Dao Students finally came back to themselves. They murmured under their breath, then widened their eyes and shouted,
"An Upper Palace Token?! Someone obtained an Upper Palace Token in this examination!!!"
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