Chapter 82 of 100

Chapter 82

11 min read2,677 words

After chatting with Wei Tianchong for a while, Tang Jie finally learned that during his seclusion, quite a few events had taken place at the academy.

The most exciting event was undoubtedly the start of the trials!

The students' trials have always been a major event at the academy. The true status of the students often begins to change from this point on.

From the start of the trials, the students are basically divided into two categories.

One category consists of those with poor aptitude and insufficient resources, who aim to become students and strive to advance in their cultivation. This group includes Wei Tianzhi, Wu Xing, and others, who are the most typical representatives.

The other category consists of those with decent aptitude and personal effort, for whom becoming a student is almost a certainty, and their goal is to become a disciple or a direct disciple.

For the latter group, the trials are the moment to showcase their abilities.

At the Xiyue Academy, the trials are divided into two types.

One type is individual practice. Individual practice is a challenge-style event, with the Divine Armament Arena having seven levels. After students enter, they will face corresponding tests, and upon completion, they will receive an evaluation, with scores ranging from zero to one hundred.

If a student can score one hundred points, they will receive a reward. However, regardless of who it is, they can only receive the one hundred-point reward once per level. The earlier they achieve it, the higher the quality of the reward.

Above the one hundred-point reward, there is a record reward, which is the highest score for that level in the academy. As long as a student can break the record, they can leave their name and receive the record-breaking reward.

Depending on the level, each level will have seven records: Spirit Spring, Spirit Lake, Spirit Sea, Transcendence, Hundred Refinements, Nine Transformations, and Enlightenment.

Since the Xiyue Academy has never produced a student who reached the Heavenly Heart level within ten years, there is no Heavenly Heart level record.

The second type is paired practice, which is the competition between students and is the most exciting. It is also an important standard for measuring practical combat skills.

The academy selects the top five students each day based on their paired practice performance, and awards them one to five Qi Nourishing Pills of the corresponding level, which can be used to slightly increase cultivation speed.

Every three months, there is a minor competition, selecting the top ten students and awarding them one to ten Primordial Qi Pills, which is the type Wu Xing initially bought.

Every year, there is a major competition, selecting the top twenty students and awarding them one to twenty True Qi Pills. The top student can also choose a corresponding level magical artifact or treasure, but at the first level, they can only choose one. If they win again without advancing, their right is passed to the second place, and the qualification does not accumulate.

After one year of enrollment, the academy formally evaluates all students based on four criteria: major exam scores, points, cultivation level, and overall trial performance, selecting the top three hundred students.

These three hundred students are the so-called reserve disciples and direct disciples. One thing is certain: being one of the three hundred does not guarantee becoming a disciple, but those who do not make the list have no hope.

After ten years, the academy adds a potential assessment, which is to see if the students have used extreme methods to advance their cultivation at the cost of their potential.

If they have done so, the academy will not punish them, but they will have no hope of becoming a disciple.

Therefore, from this point on, the competition at the academy truly begins.

Every day, every month, and every year, the trial results directly determine everyone's resources. The more times one is on the list, the more resource rewards they receive, and the faster their strength improves.

To prevent a few strong students from monopolizing the resources, the academy stipulates that in paired practice, a student can only be on the list five times in a month.

After all, the academy is well aware that unless the students are of similar strength, they might have a chance of winning each other. When the strength gap is significant, the weaker party often loses every time. If there were no restrictions, there would be no need for trials; they could just select the strongest few and give them rewards every day.

Fortunately, this restriction only applies to daily rewards, while minor and major competitions have no such limits. If you have the ability, you can dominate the top spot for ten years.

For this reason, the academy has implemented a points system in the Divine Armament Arena.

Each student starts with ten points. Winning a match earns one point, losing a match deducts one point. If the points are depleted, the student's practice rights for the day are revoked.

The arena points are reset daily, and the list is based on the day's points, not past accumulations.

To prevent cheating, the allocation is done by lottery, with the principle of matching students of similar strength.

At the same time, the students are divided by level: Spirit Spring against Spirit Spring, Spirit Lake against Spirit Lake. Lower-level students can challenge higher-level students, but the rewards do not change—challenging rights are a form of support for the weaker party.

In addition, there is another type of practice, which is live drills in some special areas designated on Qingyun Mountain. This is considered the safest initial trial, but entering requires payment.

Overall, the Xiyue Academy has many rules, each with its own purpose. They aim to encourage competition but not to overly rely on it.

During the half month Tang Jie was in seclusion, Wei Tianchong had already visited the Divine Armament Arena several times.

Since individual practice tests one's own strength and does not allow the use of any external items, he mostly went to the paired practice arena, but still lost miserably.

"They're all so ruthless!" Grabbing Tang Jie, Wei Tianchong cried, "They're all so polite and friendly in daily life, but once they step into the arena, they turn on each other and hit so hard, especially aiming for the face!"

Seeing Wei Tianchong's dejected expression, Tang Jie began to understand why he had waited for him for half a month.

However, Tang Jie also found it strange: "That shouldn't be the case. You have a puppet now, which is much better than using spells."

"The problem is, those guys are all very cunning! They know I control the puppet with the Spirit Guidance Spell, so they use a Spirit Disturbance Spell to disrupt my control, making it impossible for me to command the puppet properly, and then they beat me up!"

"..." Tang Jie was speechless: "What Spirit Disturbance Spell? It's just a minor reaction of the surrounding spirit energy, like a shout causing a slight vibration in the air. How effective can it be? I think you're just lacking confidence and not using your spells properly!"

Wei Tianchong blushed and lowered his head, not saying a word.

Tang Jie was right. The other students had not learned any specific Spirit Disturbance Spells. It was ultimately his lack of practical experience and fear in combat.

Lack of confidence leads to weak qi, and one might not even be able to use ten percent of their strength.

Wei Tianchong, being a young master, had never experienced hardship. His character was somewhat reformed by his mother, so while he was a bit spoiled, he was not overly arrogant, unlike some of the more domineering students.

As a result, he was neither at the top nor the bottom, and when it came to real combat, he naturally performed worse than others, leaving his puppet as a mere decoration.

"This isn't a big deal," Tang Jie consoled him. "Just practice more and get used to the atmosphere."

"But I'll get beaten up many more times," Wei Tianchong complained.

"If you don't actively adapt, I can't help you."

"How can that be?" Wei Tianchong jumped up: "You promised to help me become one of the top ten, but now my evaluation is 'incompetent.' How can I become one of the top ten?"

"..."

Now you want to be one of the top ten.

Tang Jie was speechless.

After thinking for a moment, Tang Jie finally said, "By the way, you should have entered the Spirit Spring stage, right?"

"Yes, I entered the Spirit Spring stage a few days ago."

"Have you learned any spells?"

"Not yet, I was waiting for you to help me choose."

"That's good. I have an idea. Let's go, I'll help you choose a spell." Tang Jie said, pulling Wei Tianchong.

"What spell?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"Tell me now."

"Ah, why are you so nagging? You'll know once I help you choose. By the way, where's Shidream?"

"Oh, he's still in class. He didn't pass the major exam."

"..."

"——"

Leaving the Tianyi Pavilion, Wei Tianchong was still pestering Tang Jie: "Are you sure this spell is useful?"

"Trust me, young master, it's absolutely useful." Tang Jie answered seriously: "Why don't you try it now?"

"Now? I haven't practiced this spell yet."

"You don't need to practice it much. The Fearless Spell is a pain-reducing spell that remains effective for a period after use. You only need to cast it once in a battle, and you don't need to be particularly proficient." Tang Jie explained calmly.

The Fearless Spell!

This was the spell Tang Jie chose for Wei Tianchong. In simple terms, it is a pain-reducing spell. Even if one is cut by a sword, the pain will be greatly reduced, and it may even have a stimulating effect, providing a sense of pleasure.

Tang Jie had already enlightened him: "Before having powerful martial skills, one must have a strong mind. Your problem is fear of combat and pain. You must solve this problem first before considering combat strength. With this spell, you won't have to worry about pain. As for the rest, just command your puppet to fight well!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure, young master!" Tang Jie answered confidently.

Encouraged by Tang Jie, Wei Tianchong indeed returned to the Divine Armament Arena.

The Divine Armament Arena is located in a valley on Qingyun Mountain. One end of the valley is the individual practice arena, and the other end is the paired practice arena.

This was Tang Jie's first visit to the Divine Armament Arena. He found the scenery beautiful, with no trace of the violent atmosphere. If someone didn't tell him, he wouldn't know this was the place where the Xiyue Academy students shed blood.

Wei Tianchong, familiar with the place, led Tang Jie into the paired practice arena, where they first saw a large training ground.

This was not a place for paired practice but for training and demonstrations. Students could practice and make friends here, and of course, they could also challenge others.

Around the training ground were rows of practice rooms, each protected by an array. Before entering, one must register, and there were officials to supervise and doctors to prevent accidents.

The Divine Armament Arena is not a trial ground; it strictly prohibits fatal incidents.

Wei Tianchong went directly to the practice room, and an official student arranged his opponent by lottery.

Tang Jie, meanwhile, observed the layout of the arena and the students practicing there. He was accustomed to planning before acting and always valued information. Regardless of who would become his opponent in the future, he wanted to observe their practice and determine their style to formulate tactics.

He was not worried about Wei Tianchong. During this period, Wei Tianchong had performed very poorly, and according to the principle of matching students of similar strength, he would only be paired with a beginner.

Sure enough, after a while, Wei Tianchong came out excitedly, waving his arms and shouting, "I won! I won!"

However, he was covered in blood, even his nose was broken, looking very disheveled.

Behind him, another student came out, also bruised and battered, muttering, "What the hell, what did this guy take today? He was so fierce, like he didn't care about his life."

Wei Tianchong hugged Tang Jie, "Tang Jie, you're amazing, I really won!"

"Congratulations, young master, on your first victory. But I believe this won't be the last." Tang Jie replied formally.

"Of course, the Fearless Spell is really useful. It's great that you chose this spell for me!" Wei Tianchong said excitedly.

At that moment, his joyful expression made Tang Jie's heart tighten. He cautiously reminded him, "The Fearless Spell is good, but..."

"But what?" Wei Tianchong didn't pay attention, rolling up his sleeve to show his biceps.

Tang Jie smiled bitterly, "But the Fearless Spell only masks pain temporarily, while injuries usually last much longer..."

"What?" Wei Tianchong was stunned, and the smile on his face slowly faded.

At that moment, the effect of the Fearless Spell wore off, and the delayed pain flooded over Wei Tianchong like a tidal wave.

Wei Tianchong screamed, "Ouch! It hurts so much, Tang Jie, you bastard, why didn't you tell me earlier!!!"

"Because if I told you, you wouldn't have chosen it. Young master, life always involves things you don't want to face. Being able to experience them afterward is actually a form of luck. After all, you won this time, which is better than losing and getting beaten up."

"I know, but the problem is, I felt good being hit and even asked him to hit me a few more times!" Wei Tianchong wailed, holding his nose.

"..."

——