Chapter 17

When Ning Cheng followed a group of students to the square of the Cangqin Second Star Academy, there were already tens of thousands of people gathered here, and even more students were continuously arriving.

In the center of the square was an enormous golden arena, with rows of chairs behind it. Ning Cheng roughly counted and found that at least a hundred people were seated behind the arena. Ning Cheng thought to himself that, just like on Earth, those sitting behind the arena were probably some leaders. It was possible that even the king of Cangqin was there, but he could hardly remember what the king of Cangqin looked like.

Ning Cheng stood in a corner, not recognizing anyone on the arena, and not knowing the specific details of the selection process. At this moment, he could only hide in the corner and listen to others' discussions.

"Did you see? The senior in the gray robe sitting in the middle of the first row, and the two seniors next to him, are from the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy. I heard they are all experts at the Foundation Establishment stage."

"I heard that the students of the Fifth Star Academy are all outstanding. The fact that the teachers of the Fifth Star Academy are willing to come here to wait for students shows that the higher the level of the academy, the more they desire talented students."

"What do you know? If it weren't for Senior Lian Huoyan from Pingzhou, how could the experts from Yuxing Academy come here to wait for students? They might not even know if our Cangqin Second Star Academy exists."

"Stop talking, Dean Yan Yuankai is about to speak. I heard that Dean Yan is already at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Condensation, just one step away from advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage."

...

Ning Cheng had been listening to others' discussions all along. He paid special attention to the three teachers from the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy. The one sitting in the middle was a middle-aged man in a gray robe. He was slightly overweight and had a smile on his face. The man on his left had a stern expression, showing no emotion. The woman on his right was quite graceful, wearing a light pink dress with gold patterns, and her hair was styled in a flipped knife bun. She looked very calm, but Ning Cheng could sense the fierce aura around her.

What made Ning Cheng feel a bit strange was that this woman reminded him of Ji Luofei. Thinking of Ji Luofei, Ning Cheng felt a bit worried. He had come here to see if Ji Luofei would participate in the selection. Otherwise, in such a large academy, it would be impossible for him to find Ji Luofei.

When Dean Yan Yuankai stood up to speak, the square, which was crowded with tens of thousands of people, instantly fell silent. Ning Cheng had a vague impression of Yan Yuankai's name but had never seen him before. This was the first time he saw the dean of the Cangqin Second Star Academy. He was wearing a brown robe, looked very energetic, but was clearly quite old, with gray hair.

"Dear elites of the Cangqin Second Star Academy, everyone knows that today I am here to announce good news. Yes, the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy from Huazhou has come to our academy to select ten students. These selected students will enter the Yuxing Academy to continue practicing higher-level cultivation techniques and spells. Every student who can enter the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy has a bright future. I am very grateful that the seniors from the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy arrived three days early, giving our students a sense of anticipation..."

Yan Yuankai's words were drowned out by enthusiastic applause. Ning Cheng also raised his hands and clapped a few times. He already understood what was happening. Normally, if the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy came to recruit students, the Cangqin Second Star Academy would have made sure that both students and teachers were present long before this. However, it seemed that the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy did not follow the usual procedures and arrived early.

The Cangqin Academy, not wanting to keep the Yuxing Academy waiting, hastily organized the selection event.

After the applause subsided, Yan Yuankai continued, "Now, we will invite Senior Wen Qilue from the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy to speak about the key points to note in the selection process."

The slightly overweight man in the gray robe stood up, walked to the center of the huge arena, and said with a smile, "Dear students of the Yuxing Academy, you are probably the most talented group of cultivators in Cangqin. However, the requirements at the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy are a hundred times higher than here. Now, on behalf of the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy, I will give you a few simple conditions. First, the age must not be too old; we do not accept those who are too old. Second, those without a main spirit root or with a turbid main spirit root will not be considered. Third, those who do not meet my approval will not be considered."

After Senior Wen Qilue finished speaking with a smile, he did not say anything more and retreated to his seat.

The students of the Cangqin Second Star Academy were discussing among themselves, but no one dared to stand up and speak. In the Cangqin Second Star Academy, even if a teacher did not like a student, they would not say it outright. Now, the Yuxing Academy was directly stating that they would not accept those who did not meet their approval. Even if you had extraordinary talent, if they said you did not meet their approval, you still could not enter the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy.

Yan Yuankai, the dean of the Cangqin Second Star Academy, did not dare to contradict Wen Qilue's words. Seeing that Wen Qilue had already gone down, he quickly stood up again and said, "Now, I will announce the selection rules. The academy will select ten core students. Each student can accept three challenges. Those who challenge must be under 20 years old, have a main spirit root, and be at the Third Layer of Gathering Qi or above. Whoever wins will continue to stand here."

Many students in the audience were discussing the conditions. Even with a good spirit root, very few people under 20 years old had reached the Third Layer of Gathering Qi. This condition almost excluded 99.99% of the students.

Ning Cheng, being quick-witted, immediately understood what was happening. The people from the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy were clearly impatient and did not want to wait here for long. For them, coming to the Cangqin Second Star Academy to select students was a necessary task, and no one would be willing to wait for each individual to complete their challenges, which could take more than ten days.

Yan Yuankai, as if he did not hear the noise below, continued to announce, "The ten core students are Qiu Yingguang, Gu Yiming, Jian Sujie, Zhuang Tianya, Yong Yingrui, Hou Chuan, Ye Shaoxi, Zhong Yi, Yong Ruili, and Tan Xiangling."

The ten names were announced without surprising anyone. These ten students were always the best in the Cangqin Second Star Academy. The only point of contention was Yong Ruili, who was at the Third Layer of Gathering Qi. However, Yong Ruili was the princess of Cangqin, and no one would dare to challenge her on the arena. If they won, it would be fine, but if they lost, they would not be able to survive in Cangqin.

If there was one poor student among the ten, it was Hou Chuan. Hou Chuan came from a poor family and had lost his parents at a young age. He was now alone at the Cangqin Academy. However, Hou Chuan had astonishing talent and was already at the Fifth Layer of Gathering Qi at the age of eighteen, unmatched by anyone except Qiu Yingguang from the Qiu family.

Because the selection event was organized in a hurry, the ten students who were called up quickly went to the arena without much preparation and stood behind it, ready to accept challenges.

Wen Qilue from the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy nodded, clearly satisfied with the speed at which the Cangqin Academy's dean handled the situation.

"The challenges will now begin," Yan Yuankai said, clearly understanding Wen Qilue's intentions. He knew that Wen Qilue did not want to stay in this place for long and wanted to leave as soon as possible, so he did not waste any more words.

"Lu Pengyun wants to challenge Zhong Yi." As soon as Yan Yuankai stepped down from the arena, a tall male student jumped onto the arena. Ning Cheng recognized him as Lu Pengyun, who had previously tried to pick a fight with him. Lu Pengyun was also at the Fourth Layer of Gathering Qi, and the person he wanted to challenge, Zhong Yi, was also at the Fourth Layer of Gathering Qi, but Zhong Yi was much younger.

Zhong Yi was not tall and looked to be only at the Fourth Layer of Gathering Qi. The fact that he was selected as a core student suggested that he was not as simple as he appeared.

"Wait a moment." Just as Zhong Yi was about to step forward to accept the challenge, Wen Qilue from the Yuxing Fifth Star Academy interrupted.

He waved his hand, and a crystal pillar about ten feet tall appeared at the corner of the arena. "First, you need to test your spirit root."

Lu Pengyun clearly did not expect to have to test his spirit root, but since he was familiar with the process, he extended his hand to the handprint area at the base of the crystal pillar and channeled some true qi.

A thumb-thick yellow light rose along the crystal pillar, stopping at three feet. Next to the thumb-thick yellow light were two thin, turbid yellow lights, each less than two feet long.

Lu Pengyun removed his hand, still looking somewhat proud. He had a main spirit root, and it was not turbid yellow but pure yellow.

However, before he could be happy, he felt a powerful force hit him, and the next moment, he flew off the arena like a broken kite, landing heavily on the hard ground below.

"Only a three-foot yellow spirit root and you want to enter the Yuxing Academy? This is the first time. If anyone dares to waste time with such a spirit root again, it won't just be a slap," Wen Qilue's icy voice echoed, devoid of the previous smile.

Some people who were about to step up were intimidated by this severity and, for a moment, no one dared to step onto the arena.

Ning Cheng was also intimidated, but unlike the others, he was amazed by the fact that Wen Qilue had casually produced a crystal pillar over ten feet tall. He had only seen Wen Qilue pat his waist, which was truly incredible. Could this be the legendary Sumeru space, where large objects could be stored?

Not everyone was intimidated by Wen Qilue. After a brief silence, another male student jumped onto the arena and loudly declared, "Jiang Tu challenges Yong Ruili."

Everyone, including Ning Cheng, was drawn to Jiang Tu. Not only did he dare to challenge Yong Ruili after Wen Qilue's stern warning, but he was also challenging Yong Ruili.

Yong Ruili was a princess of the royal family, and although her cultivation was the lowest, who would dare to challenge the princess of Cangqin? Even if they won, they might not be safe, but if they lost, it would mean complete ruin. Not just their own lives, but their entire families would be at risk.

"Don't look, come with me quickly." A soft hand grabbed Ning Cheng's hand, and a low voice whispered.

"Luofei..." Ning Cheng was thinking about why Jiang Tu dared to challenge Yong Ruili when he realized that Ji Luofei had found him. However, Ji Luofei's hand was slightly trembling, indicating that something had happened.

(Chapter 2 is here, craving for recommendations and support from everyone. Old Wu thanks you.)...