Chapter 9

The Warrior Academy, as its name suggests, is naturally a school for training warriors. Due to the martial culture of the Longhua Kingdom, there are countless such academies.

Ning Cheng’s Warrior Academy has a history of only about two hundred years, not very long. However, its ability to survive and become a neutral force amidst the complex family struggles here is no small feat.

The main reason for this lies in the mysterious and extremely powerful background of the academy’s president, who might even rank above the heads of the major families. Additionally, the president has no particular bias, allowing the elites of the major families to study and fight in a relatively fair environment. Thus, everyone tacitly accepts his existence.

Because of this, the academy is not a place one can just enter. There are fixed quotas for enrollment each year, and once the school year starts, it’s very difficult to get in.

Fortunately, not long ago, the president of the Warrior Academy owed Hu Zhen Tian a significant favor. With the clan leader’s personal intervention, getting Hu Gao admitted should not be a problem. However, some necessary procedures need to be completed, and he cannot go directly.

The Elder of Martial Transmission sent Hu Gao back to Qing Gao’s residence and mentioned that there were some urgent clan matters to handle. He then took out a book called "Totem Origin" from his chest and handed it to Hu Gao.

"This book, though basic, is suitable for your current situation. Read it today, and I’ll come to teach you tomorrow morning." The Elder of Martial Transmission then hurriedly turned and left.

"I’ll arrange your admission to the Warrior Academy. For now, follow the Elder of Martial Transmission. I’ll notify you once the procedures are completed!" Hu Yin Xue also left, moving even faster than the Elder of Martial Transmission.

"Damn, I didn’t know you guys were such snobs, treating me like a waste of space just because you think I’m a failure! Hmph, I’ll show you the power of a failure!" Once he was sure they were far enough away, Hu Gao let out a long breath, spat on the ground in what he thought was an elegant manner, and muttered to himself.

Qing Gao’s residence looked decent, especially the large bed. Without a second thought, Hu Gao pounced on it.

It was so comfortable, giving him a sense of ease like returning to his dorm after an all-nighter at the internet cafe. If only he could have some soy milk and fried dough to fill his stomach first.

"Damn, come to think of it, I haven’t even had a single meal in this world!" Hu Gao rubbed his stomach, wondering why the treatment of people who had crossed over varied so much. Sigh, truly different fates for the same crossing.

Tossing and turning in bed for a while, Hu Gao found he couldn’t fall asleep. It seemed his nerves were not as thick as he thought.

"Well, since I’m bored, I might as well take a look at the cultivation methods in this world."

With that, Hu Gao grabbed the "Totem Origin" left by the Elder of Martial Transmission, turned over, propped his head up with one hand, and started reading in bed.

Unlike the martial arts manuals in his previous life, which were full of cryptic phrases like "The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao," this book was written in a very simple and straightforward manner, almost like a primary school science book.

Hu Gao skimmed through it quickly, finishing in less than half an hour. For a scholar like him, understanding the book was not a problem, but it still left him quite impressed.

It turned out that the power in this world came from totems. Before cultivating the elemental energy of heaven and earth, everyone had to first awaken their heart soul and condense a totem. The higher the totem’s rank, the faster the cultivation speed, and the more terrifying the future strength.

All totems were divided into nine ranks, from the lowest first rank to the ninth rank. The higher the totem’s rank, the greater the potential of the warrior, and the higher the combat power at the same rank.

The strength of totems affected the purity and power of elemental energy, so they could be easily distinguished by color. From first to ninth rank, totems were divided into nine colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, black, and gold. Don’t underestimate this; quickly identifying the strength of an opponent’s totem in battle could determine the outcome.

As a warrior’s strength increased, their totem would become stronger, and their physical strength would also grow. Besides the increase in physical strength, totems had magical effects, allowing those who possessed them to control fire and water, among other incredible abilities.

In addition to the nine ranks of totems, there were many more mysterious totems, known as variant totems, which were not detailed. It was said that warriors who condensed variant totems would have astonishing cultivation speeds, and all of them would become influential figures on the Totem Continent.

Finally, the book mentioned that there were two ways to condense totems: one was to awaken the heart soul through self-cultivation, which was suitable for those with high affinity and greater cultivation potential, or to cultivate by capturing the souls of beasts, which depended on the beast soul and compatibility. Such experts were rare on the continent.

"Phew, if I could condense a variant totem, I could turn my life around, stomp on people, and date beautiful women! What a wonderful life that would be!" After fantasizing, Hu Gao sighed. This body was originally meant for sacrifice, so it probably had poor potential. Unless he got incredibly lucky, it was unlikely.

WTF, since there’s nothing else to do, I might as well try to awaken my heart soul according to the book.

Hu Gao excitedly sat up in bed, quickly flipped to the section on awakening the heart soul, and found it quite simple. It involved meditating to sense the energy of heaven and earth, then guiding it into the body to see if it could awaken the heart soul. If the heart soul was awakened, its power would automatically condense into a totem.

Hu Gao followed the posture described in the book, crossed his legs, and began to try.

After half a day, Hu Gao found himself unable to sense any of the energy of heaven and earth, feeling quite helpless.

"Is there something wrong with the meditation method?" Hu Gao picked up the book and carefully flipped through it again. After all, this was just a basic read on totems, and the cultivation methods were described in a very vague manner, like snot, scattered in hard-to-notice places.

Self-proclaimed as an experimental cultivation scholar, Hu Gao tried various angles and methods described in the book, combining them with the various techniques for guiding energy into the body he had read in martial arts novels. In the end, he gave up.

"God makes those he wishes to destroy first mad," Hu Gao recalled this classic quote by Herodotus, suppressing his restless heart. It’s right to have a strong desire to learn about new things, but it’s not his style to make things difficult for himself.

"Naive youth, giving up so quickly?"

Just as Hu Gao was at a loss, a strange voice suddenly sounded in his head.

"Who are you?"

Hu Gao was so startled he almost fell off the bed! Could it be the soul of the original body coming back for him? Oh my God!