Northern Azure Spirit Academy

This world was just that unfair.

Liu Bai silently watched the battle between the two above, then waited for his own turn.

"The third match of the quota battle! Contestants, enter!"

At the command, Liu Bai slowly walked onto the central arena.

His opponent, Zhang Jie, also stepped up with a grave expression...

"Dad, Second Brother, look, look! It's Big Brother's turn!" Liu Yang shouted excitedly to his father and second brother beside Liu Qingtian.

Liu Mubai was also staring intently at the arena. He wanted to know just what level his eldest brother had reached by now...

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Jie forcibly steadied himself. Looking at the calm-faced Liu Bai opposite him, he said in a low voice, "Liu Bai, this time, I'll let everyone see your true colors!"

As soon as he finished speaking, powerful spiritual energy surged wildly from his body. Its sheer strength made many Northern Spirit Academy students secretly click their tongues. This guy really was strong.

Liu Bai's expression remained unchanged as he watched Zhang Jie rush toward him. While charging forward, faint yellow spiritual light rose over Zhang Jie's palms, and a heavy aura spread from his body. It was as if each of his palms weighed a thousand pounds!

"A soil-attribute Spiritual Art..."

From the aura of his spiritual energy alone, Liu Bai could tell that Zhang Jie cultivated a Spiritual Art centered on heaviness. Such arts were highly effective in both attack and defense, and judging from the fluctuations in his spiritual energy, it should be a Spirit Grade Spiritual Art.

Liu Bai calmly watched Zhang Jie charging straight at him...

His body leaned slightly forward. Then, many people around him seemed to hear a low explosive boom erupt beneath his feet.

In the next instant, his figure became a streak of red light and shot forward.

Liu Bai was incredibly fast. Zhang Jie only saw a flash of red before his eyes, then watched in horror as a figure appeared directly before him...

A slender hand then drifted lightly toward him... Zhang Jie had no time to react at all. In the blink of an eye, he saw that palm land on his chest.

Immediately afterward, violent spiritual energy erupted like a volcano.

Bang!

A dull impact shook the surrounding air. Zhang Jie, who had just been charging forward, was sent flying backward in an instant. He spat out a mouthful of blood and scraped a long trail across the ground in a miserable state.

One strike!

Zhang Jie, who had broken through to the Spirit Wheel Realm, had already lost his ability to move...

"Hm?" A soft cry of surprise came from Mr. Lin, the recruiter from the Five Great Academies.

"What is this student's name?"

Dean Xiao was startled, then inwardly delighted. He hurriedly said, "Mr. Lin, this student is Liu Bai, the son of the Domain Lord of Liu Domain in the Northern Spirit Realm. He only broke through to the Spirit Movement Realm half a year ago, and he is the number one genius of our Northern Spirit Academy!"

"Oh? He went from the Spirit Movement Realm to the middle phase of the Spirit Wheel Realm in just half a year?" Mr. Lin nodded, without showing much of a reaction.

To be honest, such cultivation speed was fairly decent even in a force on the level of the Five Great Academies. Of course, it was merely decent. Before the Three Heavenly Realms, as long as one had sufficient resources, it was hard for cultivation to progress slowly.

Only in a place like the Northern Spirit Realm could someone in the Divine Soul Realm become an overlord capable of dominating an entire region.

Meanwhile, the area beneath the arena had already erupted into an uproar.

"Zhang Jie's spiritual energy just now was so terrifying. I thought he had it in the bag, but he was defeated in one move... Isn't Liu Bai's strength too horrifying?" A student from the East Academy said with a stunned expression.

"Yeah, yeah. Zhang Jie's strength could at least rank in the top three of our East Academy. Even Xu Ling couldn't defeat him that quickly. Doesn't that prove Liu Bai is the strongest person in our Northern Spirit Academy?" Someone voiced what many were thinking.

Quite a few people agreed, and this scene caused an inexplicable fire to rise in Xu Ling's heart as he waited for his turn.

Hmph, what a bunch of ignorant fools. I'll show you what true strength is next! Xu Ling thought to himself.

Still, it was a pity that his opponent this time was not Liu Bai.

"Big Brother won!" Seeing Liu Bai defeat his opponent in one strike, little Liu Yang happily jumped up and down.

Liu Mubai also let out a long breath before a smile appeared on his face.

Compared to Liu Yang, he was clearly much more composed. Perhaps he was unconsciously learning from his eldest brother, always keeping his emotions hidden from his face and looking rather impressive.

Little did he know that Liu Bai simply could not be bothered to act as childish as those little brats...

At this moment, several Domain Lords nearby also congratulated Liu Qingtian. Liu Bai clearly already possessed the qualifications to enter one of the Five Great Academies, which meant Liu Domain once again had a chance to produce a powerhouse capable of suppressing the entire Northern Spirit Realm. Those who had been growing restless had no choice but to lie low again.

Liu Qingtian naturally understood this perfectly, but that did not stop him from exchanging polite pleasantries with them.

After what Liu Bai had said before, Liu Qingtian had also begun to understand something. It seemed that being a local tyrant in the Northern Spirit Realm was not all that appealing after all...

Of course, what choice Liu Domain would ultimately make depended on how far his father, Liu Jingshan, and his son, Liu Bai, could go from here on.

The battles continued.

After Liu Bai, the one who entered the arena was Xu Ling, who had always been known as the strongest of Northern Spirit Academy. His opponent was surprisingly Zuo Yue, the only girl in this selection!

This clearly left Xu Ling very dissatisfied. He had actually drawn the "weakest" opponent...

"Just admit defeat. I don't like fighting women!" Xu Ling frowned and said directly.

"Please enlighten me."

Unfortunately, Zuo Yue, the cold-faced girl, seemed not to have heard him at all. She spoke directly, her voice utterly devoid of emotion.

This made Xu Ling's expression darken. A vast aura of spiritual energy had already begun rising around him, making many people nearby feel as if they could barely breathe.

Zuo Yue, who was bearing the brunt of that aura, also felt her body grow much heavier.

"The middle phase of the Spirit Wheel Realm..." Zuo Yue could not help gritting her teeth.

"Hmph. With your strength, you are completely insignificant before me. Admit defeat!" Xu Ling said again.

Liu Bai had defeated Zhang Jie in one move, so Xu Ling would make his opponent yield without even fighting. No matter what, he had to outdo that guy!

A struggle flashed across Zuo Yue's face, but it soon turned resolute. With a raise of her hand, one Spirit Seal after another appeared before her...

"Hm?"

At that moment, many people around them cried out in surprise.

"A Spirit Array Master?" Liu Bai raised an eyebrow. He truly had not expected this girl to be a Spirit Array Master.

"I just wonder whether she has become a Level 1 Spirit Array Master. If she really has, then Xu Ling may truly be in danger."

Likewise, Mr. Lin finally showed some interest, his gaze settling on Zuo Yue.

After all, Spirit Array Masters were highly sought after even in the Five Great Academies. If he could recruit a student with talent in Spirit Arrays, it would benefit him greatly as well.

Unfortunately, Zuo Yue's array formation was clearly nowhere near as fast as someone like Liu Bai, who had cheats. Seeing the fine sweat appearing on her delicate forehead, Liu Bai could not help shaking his head.

At that speed, if Xu Ling attacked, the array would probably be interrupted before it could even be completed.

Yet Xu Ling was bold enough to simply stand there and watch, as if he disdained interrupting her.

After around a dozen breaths, ten Spirit Seals had appeared between Zuo Yue's small hands. She swiftly threw them out, causing the air before her to ripple and transform into an icy blue Spirit Array that emitted a frosty chill.

"Ice Break Spirit Array!"

With the girl's clear shout, icy energy swept through the blue Spirit Array, and several ice arrows suddenly shot out toward Xu Ling.

At last, Xu Ling moved.

He formed a hand seal, and a surge of azure spiritual energy swiftly poured forth, forming a circular Light Screen in front of him.

"Wind Spirit Sword Art!"

In an instant, a massive Spirit Sword slowly emerged from the Light Screen. The ice arrows struck the blade and shattered immediately, while only faint traces of frost were left on the sword itself.

The giant sword rose into the air. In the next instant, it slashed down upon the icy blue Spirit Array...

There was no surprise. The icy blue Spirit Array exploded with a roar, and Zuo Yue, as its creator, was naturally caught up in the backlash. She spat out a mouthful of blood.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the crowd below exploded into commotion.

"Isn't that too strong?" Someone could not help shouting.

Clearly, although both had defeated their opponents in one move, Xu Ling's victory was far more spectacular. Naturally, it appeared much more shocking than what Liu Bai had done earlier.

Moreover, Xu Ling had obviously waited until his opponent's Spirit Array was complete before acting, then broken it with such an overwhelming method solely to display his strength.

All the Northern Spirit Academy students were naturally deeply shocked, but the Nine Great Domain Lords, Dean Xiao, and the others did not share the same thoughts as a group of students.

As far as Liu Bai was concerned, such a method had no meaning whatsoever.

When facing a Spirit Array Master, the correct approach was to attack before their Spirit Array was complete, interrupt them, and force them into close combat.

"The victor has been decided!"

Dean Xiao, acting as referee, stepped onto the arena again and announced Xu Ling's victory.

Then Liu Bai saw Xu Ling cast him a deliberately provocative glance before stepping down from the arena...

Liu Bai was instantly speechless.

Such childish behavior would probably only work on little kids like Liu Mubai and Liu Yang.

Well, that was indeed the case, because Liu Bai could already see Liu Yang beside their father hopping around in anger...

Soon, the quota battle came to an end.

There had been no clash between true powerhouses, only mediocre fighters pecking at one another.

Even so, the Northern Spirit Academy students around them watched with rapt attention, while the Nine Great Domain Lords had all witnessed the true strength of many talented youths from the Northern Spirit Realm.

Although only the final five victors could enter the Five Great Academies, the other five might not necessarily fail to achieve something in the Northern Spirit Realm in the future.

Zuo Yue in particular had successfully formed a First-Grade Spirit Array. Becoming a Level 1 Spirit Array Master at such an age made her a "one-of-a-kind" genius Spirit Array Master in the entire Northern Spirit Realm.

After a brief period of rest, Mr. Lin, the recruiter from the Five Great Academies, stepped onto the arena.

His gaze swept over the ten people who had participated in the quota battle...

Among the ten, the victors all wore excited expressions, while the losers hung their heads in dejection.

"Very good. Today's quota battle has produced its final results."

As soon as he said this, the entire plaza fell silent, quietly awaiting the results.

However, Mr. Lin's gaze first landed on Zuo Yue, the only girl among the ten. He then smiled and said, "To become a Level 1 Spirit Array Master at such a young age, I can give you an opportunity in consideration of your talent in Spirit Arrays..."

The young girl, who had been full of disappointment, was immediately delighted and lifted her head.

"However... I have one condition..."

Zuo Yue froze and blurted out, "What condition?"

"Hehe, don't worry. It is very simple. You may only choose to join Myriad Phoenix Spirit Academy," Mr. Lin said.

Myriad Phoenix Spirit Academy was the only one of the Five Great Academies that accepted only female students.

It was precisely for this reason that Myriad Phoenix Spirit Academy always recruited the fewest students whenever the Five Great Academies held admissions.

This was easy enough to understand just by looking at Northern Spirit Academy now.

Of the ten people from Northern Spirit Academy qualified to participate in this quota battle, only Zuo Yue was a girl!

This was not an isolated case, but an extremely common phenomenon.

There were already few girls among the recruited students, and some of them would choose one of the other Four Great Spirit Academies. As a result, even fewer chose Myriad Phoenix Spirit Academy.

As recruiters for the Five Great Academies, if they could not gather enough students for Myriad Phoenix Spirit Academy, they would have a hard time answering to those above them.

Thus, recruiters like Mr. Lin often gave more opportunities to young girls who appeared talented. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

Faced with such an opportunity, Zuo Yue naturally would not refuse. She nodded repeatedly with a delighted expression.

Mr. Lin smiled faintly at this. He could be considered to have completed his task.

He then turned his gaze toward Liu Bai and the other five and asked, "And what are your choices?"

"I choose Sacred Spirit Academy!" Xu Ling was the one who spoke, clearly having prepared for this long ago.

"I choose Martial Spirit Academy..."

"I choose Azure Heaven Spirit Academy."

"..."

Liu Bai, the last one, did not hesitate either. He said directly, "I choose Northern Azure Spirit Academy!"

As a transmigrator, what was the greatest advantage besides cheats?

Everyone could probably answer that question. Naturally, it was the ability to know the future!

Having read the original story, Liu Bai naturally knew where the benefits lay. Unless absolutely necessary, he certainly could not give up such an advantage.