When Ling Han came out of the White Star Tower, he saw that all eyes were focused on him. He couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘It seems that pa.s.sing through the eighth level was a bit of an overkill. If I had known earlier, I would have stopped after pa.s.sing through seventh level.’
“Child, what is your name?” An old man had rushed over and almost threw himself at Ling Han. He looked at Ling Han with a heated gaze as if the latter wasn’t a full-grown man, but rather a beautiful fairy whose beauty was beyond compare.
Ling Han suppressed the impulse to throw a punch—the old man’s face was about to stick to him..
Ling Han had no choice. In his excitement, the old man did not hide his own cultivation—there was a round of suns and moons behind him, meaning that he was an elite whose cultivation was of the minor levels of the Sun Moon Tier. If Ling Han were to throw this punch, he would definitely lose his life in the next second.
Without losing his cool, he took a step back, and said, “I am Ling Han.”
Although his combined age after having lived two lifetimes would be about two hundred years old, his age wasn’t even worth mentioning in the face of a Sun Moon Tier cultivator. Actually, even if his age was to be multiplied by 100, it wouldn’t even be a fraction of the other party’s age.
“Ling Han, kneel down quickly and perform the rites of a disciple. I am accepting you as my disciple,” the old man quickly said.
“Get lost!” An angry shout was heard as another old man rushed over and directly knocked against the previous old man, sending him flying. He bellowed, “This is my disciple!”
“Nonsense!” The previous old man immediately leapt back, and came to blows with the second old man.
“Hehe!” The third old man came out, beaming at Ling Han as he said, “Kid, I am Elder Zhang Deman, Elder of Northern Inst.i.tution by rotation. Come and pay respects to me as your master. With me as your backing, in the future, you can beat up whomever you want!”
… Was this something a master should say?
“Old Man Zhang, you dare to fight with me over a disciple?” The fourth old man appeared, glaring at Zhang Deman.
“That’s right, Old Man Zhang. You are really too despicable. Taking advantage of us fighting to s.n.a.t.c.h away our disciple!” The two old men from before had stopped fighting and walked back one after the other.
“Kid, who are you taking as your master?” The four old men simultaneously turned to look at Ling Han.
This made everyone witnessing the scene filled with envy. Being fought over by four elites of the Sun Moon Tier, all wanting to take him as their disciple… wasn’t this the highest honor? If this were to happen in one’s lifetime, then what more could one ask for? Don’t look at the fact that there were also elites of the Genesis Tier in the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire—in reality, how many of these elites were there?
The Sun Moon Tier cultivators were actually the backbone of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire. Cultivators of the Genesis Tier were more for the purpose of intimidation, and in general wouldn’t make a move that easily.
Of course, the Sun Moon Tier was also divided into four levels. These four old men were all at the minor levels—the lowest level within the Sun Moon Tier.
“Stop wasting time. Go and sort out the admission procedure for everyone!” Just then, a middle-aged man was seen flying over and stood at the peak of the nine-storied tower, giving instructions to those below. Although his voice wasn’t very loud, it reverberated straight into the hearts of the people.
“Yes, Lord Deputy Head!” The four old men quickly bowed and paid their respects.
Only then did everyone realize that this seemingly younger man was stronger than the four old men. This was slightly inconceivable, but the higher one’s cultivation was, the longer one’s life expectancy would be, while the rate of aging would on the contrary be slower.
As such, in terms of real age, perhaps this middle-aged man was a lot older than Zhang Deman and the others.
Given the instructions of the Deputy Head, Zhang Deman and the others naturally did not dare to continue fighting, and quickly made arrangements for those who had pa.s.sed the a.s.sessment to be brought to the student dorms of the Northern Inst.i.tution. Meanwhile, the group including Ling Han, Ma Xing, Cheng Haofei, and Ji Yun’er was asked to stay back.
The top ten finalists were to be rewarded.
The rewards for the top seven were very simple: each person would receive a True Origin Stone. As for the top three, the rewards were much more substantial. Without a doubt, Ling Han was naturally the first, but the candidates for the second and third place, respectively, needed to be discussed.
Ma Xing, Cheng Haofei, and Ji Yun’er had all completed the challenges of the first six levels, and also pa.s.sed the first two stages on the seventh level. Who ought to be in the second place, third, and fourth, respectively?
After a round of discussion among the higher-ups of the inst.i.tution, it was decided that Ma Xing would be in the second place, while Cheng Haofei and Ji Yun’er were tied for third place. While this would require the Northern Inst.i.tution to spend more resources on them, the Northern Inst.i.tution was originally wealthy and imposing. Besides, they were cultivators of the Shattering Void Tier, after all, so the amount of resources they would consume was limited.
The top three students would get to enjoy great privileges.
For example, they would be given a chance to bathe in the Black Jade Pool once a month.
That wasn’t to let you wash yourself clean—Black Jade Pool was a Spiritual Pool, something naturally formed of the heavens and the earth, that would provide the topmost nourishment for the body and spirit of cultivators. Moreover, after being taken over by the Scarlet Heaven Academy, a lot of precious treasures had been added into the pool to further enhance its effects.
However, this pool would only be effective for those of the Shattering Void Tier and Mountain River Tier. It would have no effect for those of higher levels, or else it wouldn’t have been placed in the Scarlet Heaven Academy. Even if it wasn’t confiscated by the Imperial Clan, wouldn’t there still be the Nine Kings, Left and Right Ministers, as well as the Seven Generals?
Secondly, they would get two True Origin Stones every month as a reward.
Those were an item unique to the Immortal Realm. Due to the presence of high density of Spiritual Qi of the heaven and earth here, it was turned into an essence with the appearance of a jade, whereby its energy could be extracted to be used by cultivators. Whether for purposes of cultivation or restoration, it would be an excellent supplementary artifact.
Of course, using it to restore Origin Power would be too extravagant. As this item was extremely valuable, it was a treasure in itself.
In addition, True Origin Stone could also be used as currency to buy precious items as well as in exchange for gold and silver, but it was believed that only fools would do this.
Thirdly, there would be an extra Replenis.h.i.+ng Spirit Pill each month.
Replenis.h.i.+ng Spirit Pill could strengthen the spirit, and would be effective for the Shattering Void Tier and Immortal level. However, the Immortals were just too powerful, and the effects of the Replenis.h.i.+ng Spirit Pill were just too pathetically little. Generally, the Immortals would consume the “Star Yang Pill”—its effect was much more powerful by countless times, but the degree of its preciousness would also be more excessive by countless times.
As long as one was a disciple of the Academy, one would get a Replenis.h.i.+ng Spirit Pill every month. The third place candidate would get an extra one, the second would receive two, while the first be given three.
True Origin Stone and Replenis.h.i.+ng Spirit Pill were immediately handed out, but entering the Black Jade Pool would have to wait until the following month. This was because the time allowed for the respective four Inst.i.tutions to enter the Black Jade Pool had already been allocated earlier. The Northern Inst.i.tution had already used up its time for this month.
After Ling Han and the others had gotten their rewards, they subsequently went to the place they would be living in for the next few years, or ten years, or even decades. Unless they were able to break through to the Immortal level, they would always be staying here.
Along the way, Zhang Deman was responsible for informing them of certain rules. For example, one shouldn’t walk into the territory of the other three Inst.i.tutions for no reason… unless you were exceptionally strong. Else, you had to be prepared to be thoroughly thrashed.
The Academy would encourage its students to learn from one another, but in principle, it was forbidden for high-level students to battle with low-level students—unless the lower-level students had taken the initiative to provoke the former.
Finally, Zhang Deman said something very strange. “Also, there is a white cat here. You must not be tempted to provoke that cat by all means. You mustn’t hurt even a single strand of its hair, otherwise no one can save you!”
“Why?” Everyone was absolutely baffled.