Yin-Yang Academy is a place known to every scholar who has infiltrated the literary circle. It is a place that can truly change the fate of scholars, and can turn an ordinary person into a true superior person, someone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with those from noble families.
Very few spots available!
The Great Jin Dynasty admits 300 scholars to the imperial examinations each year, but admits fewer than 30 apprentices in the Yin-Yang school!
Generally, when a candidate becomes a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), the education commissioner will make a recommendation. In reality, many scholars do not know that when they become Juren, they have already been determined to have certain qualifications in various fields.
Once you arrive in the capital, you will be examined by more professional sorcerers, and then recommended by a prominent family of sorcerers before you can be admitted to the academy!
Yes, it's a monopolistic industry. Whether you can get in depends not only on the court's review but also on recommendations from major aristocratic families. Otherwise, no matter how capable you are, you won't be able to cross that threshold.
This results in very few non-aristocratic families being able to enter the Yin-Yang Academy each year. Unless they possess exceptional talent, they are simply not considered by aristocratic families. After all, if they could, who wouldn't want to recommend their own child?
Even if they don't recommend their own children, the children from aristocratic families who have received specialized training since childhood are far more qualified than children from ordinary families. In many cases, no children from ordinary families will be among the admitted students in a year.
This monopoly is far more extreme than that of the ordinary upper class.
Children from ordinary scholarly families certainly had a huge advantage over those from farming and studying families, but this advantage could not completely prevent children from ordinary families from rising to prominence. Every year, more than half of the three hundred successful candidates in the imperial examinations were still children from ordinary families.
But the house of sorcerers.
All the teachers looked at each other. Over the years, among all the scholarly children in Liuzhou, only Wang Ye, who was not from a prominent family, had been able to enter the Yin-Yang Academy!
And today, this fat man in front of me actually said he wants to open a Yin-Yang Academy in Liuzhou?
Lord Zhou, leading the Master Wei, widened his eyes. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Uh..." Zhou Haitao scratched his head. He came from a merchant family, and his father had traveled all over the country and knew some rumors about sorcerers. He also saw the female sorcerer named Chen Ying every day. Indeed, he didn't find this matter particularly strange.
Seeing Zhou Haitao's bewildered expression, the other teachers shook their heads. Indeed, such a thing was most likely just a publicity stunt; how could it possibly be true?
But just as the teachers were shaking their heads to sit down, an unexpected figure appeared.
But it was Chen Qing, dressed in a blue robe.
"Do any of you teachers have any questions?"
"Your Excellency, Prefect?"
The group quickly stood up and bowed, while Zhou Haitao kept a little distance. The Chen Qing on the city gate didn't seem quite the same as the real Chen Qing; he always felt there was something eerie about him.
" The Yin-Yang Academy in Liuzhou was established out of necessity in this emergency." Chen Qing gestured for the teachers to sit down and then sat down himself. He continued, "As you can see from the current situation, we don't know how long Liuzhou will be under lockdown. Besides needing to increase military strength to protect the city, one sorcerer like Lord Chen Ying is not enough. What if this lockdown lasts for a year or even several years?"
"We need more sorcerers to prevent any unforeseen events from happening in Liuzhou. Relying solely on manpower to defend Liuzhou will inevitably lead to loopholes. Liuzhou should have its own defensive magic array, just like the capital or Nanyang City, to protect everyone's safety. But this requires more sorcerers."
The dozen or so scholars exchanged glances, and finally, Master Wei spoke first, "But does Liuzhou have the conditions to train a large number of sorcerers?"
"Of course they possess it," Chen Qing said with a smile. "Among our rescue team, there are over a hundred scholars who have passed the imperial examinations, not counting many younger students. In fact, they also have the aptitude. The teachers are all highly educated and should know that ninety percent of those who passed the imperial examinations actually possess the aptitude for magic!"
The scholars nodded in agreement. This secret was known to many in the circle. In the Great Jin, the key to becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) was not how good your essays were, but rather that after the education commissioner and his apprentices examined you and determined that you had the aptitude of a sorcerer, you would have one foot in the door of becoming a Juren!
"All the successful candidates in our country's imperial examinations are potential sorcerers. The reason they aren't admitted is obvious to everyone: it's simply because powerful families want to monopolize the profession."
The scholars fell silent again. Many dared not speak these words, for no matter how outrageous the sorcerer families had been, the reason the scholar lineage was able to stand firm was because of them; otherwise, the world would have been crushed by those bloodline families long ago.
"My lord," one of the teachers couldn't help but speak up, "Since you've brought this up, we won't hold back anymore. You yourself said that the Yin-Yang Academy has few places because the sorcerer families want to monopolize it, which is natural. When Duke of Song established the Yin-Yang Academy, the sorcerer families provided a large amount of valuable Daoist scriptures. For these concessions, the court should naturally give preferential treatment to the sorcerer families, otherwise no one would be willing to give them up. If Liuzhou wants to open the Yin-Yang Academy, putting everything else aside, where will the resources for training come from?"
"That's right," Master Wei added. "To train sorcerers, aside from the auxiliary tools, they need at least the basic Daoist scriptures, right? I've heard that the Yin-Yang Academy has tens of thousands of Daoist scriptures on basic techniques, and they train students in a specific direction based on each student's individual attributes. Only Yin-Yang Academy with many families of sorcerers could provide such resources, right? Who can Liuzhou rely on? Could it be that female sorcerer?"
Listening to the conversation from afar, Chen Ying gritted her teeth slightly. Although she was already a respected sorcerer, people still distinguished her by gender. This world was never so friendly to women starting out.
"You're all right," Chen Qing said with a smile. "We certainly won't have a Daoist canon like the Capital Yin-Yang Academy Liuzhou, but will that have any impact?"
The others were taken aback. How could it not have an impact?
"What Liuzhou needs now are sorcerers who specialize in spell arrays. Lord Chen Ying has studied this subject extensively and will provide relatively complete basic teaching materials. If we only focus on one aspect, why can't Liuzhou open up new avenues?"
"Only attack one path?" Everyone frowned, still puzzled. "Wouldn't that limit our options? Perhaps many people aren't suited for this approach?"
"If it's not suitable, then we won't admit you." Chen Qing chuckled. "What's there to agonize over? Liuzhou has provided a Yin-Yang Academy that anyone can study at, even if they're not a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). It allows students to be exposed to the arts of magic from a young age, and those with talent in magic formations can receive specialized training. What more could you want?"
"Firstly, if there are those with talent in this area, Liuzhou will do its utmost to cultivate them. I can guarantee that those who graduate from the Liuzhou Academy will be no less skilled in magic and formations than those from the capital. And if there are students who don't have this talent, it won't be a waste of time. They will have been exposed to the basics of magic and can see their talent in advance. If they pass the imperial examination in the future, it will also help them enter the Yin-Yang Academy in the capital. Isn't that a good thing?"
Upon hearing this, all the teachers were immediately speechless in their rebuttal.
That's right, no matter how you calculate it, it's a profit!
Hearing this from afar, Chen Ying blushed. This Chen Qing really dared to say anything without thinking. What kind of magic array was he that was no less powerful than the Capital Yin-Yang Academy? Although she had talent in this area, she wouldn't dare to make such a boast. When the masters of magic arrays in the capital were making their debut, she wasn't even born yet.
The other teachers had also considered this point, but they didn't want to say it outright. Only Master Wei probed indirectly, saying, "Does Your Excellency mean that our Yin-Yang Academy in Liuzhou mainly focuses on magic and formations? Then, if I may ask, what can Your Excellency provide for students with exceptional talent?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing immediately laughed. These old guys were quite cunning; they were clearly testing the strength he could provide.
"I intend to name the new Yin-Yang Academy Tsinghua Academy, divided into four academies: the Foundation Academy and the Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow Academy. Those with superior aptitude will be admitted to the Heaven and Earth academies, where I will provide them with superior artistic and spiritual inheritance."
"What level do you mean by 'superior'?" Master Wei pressed.
"Of course, it's exactly what it sounds like!" Chen Qing laughed. "Since we're establishing an academy, we need to have something to offer. Our academy focuses on magic arrays, so the magic arrays we produce will naturally be no worse than those in the capital. Are the teachers satisfied?"
"Are you sure, sir?" All the teachers' eyes blazed with fury!
"Of course!" Chen Qing replied without hesitation.
"Are you kidding me? All those magic array inheritances in the capital are utterly worthless. As the designer, Chen Qing knows that, not to mention the capital, in the current version, all the magic array inheritances in the entire sorcerer world, except for the Shen Family's, are utterly worthless!"
In the current version, no matter how skilled the array masters are, what they have researched are only the superficial aspects of array formations. The true inheritance lies in the Dragon Palace!
After the Dragon Palace dungeon was opened, warlock players were further strengthened, the most important of whom were the spellcasters and rune masters. At that time, the spellcasters who had just been released were weapons of war between nations. They could not only create the current defensive spell arrays, but also be used in battles between two armies.
In the future, various troop types, when combined with formations created by magic masters, will have the effect of increasing their combat power several times over.
For example, the famous Martial Edge Formation can instantly more than double the soldiers' health and strength, greatly increasing their speed and power. The resulting blood array impact also has a demon-repelling effect, leaving those ancient sorcerer families battered and bruised. Not to mention the Three Forces Formation, Eight Gates Golden Lock, and other formations that provide various extraordinary effects, including the Azure Dragon Grand Formation with the Azure Dragon Inheritance bonus, which can enhance the effects of Azure Dragon Spell dozens of times. After the Dragon Palace version was released, it once again freed sorcerer players from being overwhelmed by bloodline warriors, representing a comprehensive upgrade for the entire sorcerer community!
Although Chen Qing follows the Divine Path Style, he naturally wouldn't let go of these two powerful new classes. If possible, he intends to monopolize these two classes when the Dragon Palace opens this time!