Chapter 31

Lu Ping and his three companions encountered quite a few things on their journey, from the invitation by the city lord to the encounter with Chancellor Balayan. However, these events didn't actually take up much time. The only thing that really cost them time was that they couldn't ride the hired carriage and had to walk all the way back to Zhaifeng Academy, which took a considerable amount of time.

Lu Ping walked briskly, and Su Tang pushed Xi Fan, also walking briskly. In the end, only Mo Lin lagged behind, sighing and complaining all the way, though he was tired, he didn't fall behind.

Zhaifeng Academy was located at the foot of Xiashan Mountain. The entire city of Xiashan was built along the mountain. Abandoning the carriage halfway and walking, they practically traversed half of Xiashan City, which took about four hours. When they returned to the academy, the entire campus was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Zhaifeng Academy had only been established for about twenty years, with no significant background. Chancellor Guo Youdao seemed to have no substantial financial resources. The only thing he could boast about was his origin from Xuanwu Academy.

Perhaps it was thanks to this background that Guo Youdao managed to secure a sum of money from somewhere and eventually established Zhaifeng Academy. Initially, he proclaimed the goal of surpassing the four major academies, which indeed misled many people. Since Xiashan District was relatively remote, people's knowledge and understanding of the four major academies were limited. Guo Youdao's claim led many to believe him.

However, after twenty years, Guo Youdao no longer mentioned the goal of surpassing the four major academies. The people of Xiashan District had also rapidly increased their knowledge over these years and now considered such a claim a joke. In Xiashan District, people still recognized Xiashan Academy. When families had children of the right age, they would try to send them to the academy. If the children passed the tests and showed potential for cultivation, the future of the entire family would be secured. Even if they graduated from the academy with average realms, having a Second Heaven or Third Heaven level of Soul Power would give them a significant advantage over ordinary people. A Second Heaven level Soul Power person could plow the fields faster than an ox!

However, this kind of comparison was not what the academy wanted to see. Despite the positive reviews from the simple people of Xiashan, Zhaifeng Academy itself had not been at ease in recent years. This was because Zhaifeng Academy, which had been established for twenty years and was much smaller in scale, had consistently produced outstanding students who outshone those from Zhaifeng Academy. These talented and excellent students were what the academy truly expected.

Despite having more students and better mentor resources, Zhaifeng Academy could not cultivate top-notch talents. What did this mean?

Chancellor Balayan could only be grateful that Zhaifeng and Zhaifeng Academy were in this remote area with a sparse population and only two academies. If they were in the neighboring Zhiling District, which had eighteen academies of various sizes, including Tianzhao, Shuangji, Ningyuan, and Qingqu, the competition would be extremely intense. Zhiling District had established the Soul Power Ranking List, which ranked students from all academies in the unified exams. The list only took the top fifty students out of thousands, and the competition was fierce. However, this ranking list accurately reflected the strength of the academies and was widely adopted by all districts.

This was also the source of Zhaifeng Academy's anxiety. In Xiashan District, there was no such clear comparison between the two academies. They only knew their own performance in the exams. If they were to participate in such a competition, the large number of students at Zhaifeng Academy would be meaningless. Not a single student from Zhaifeng Academy would make it to the top fifty. Zhaifeng Academy, despite being only one-fifth the size of Zhaifeng Academy, would immediately receive more attention if even one or two of its students made it to the top fifty.

In recent years, Zhaifeng Academy had been planning to participate in the Soul Power Ranking List in Zhiling District, but without any outstanding students, it would only bring shame. This was why Balayan's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Ping, and he was extremely eager to recruit this student.

Zhaifeng Academy had been unable to take this step, but Zhaifeng Academy had Lu Ping, Su Tang, and Xi Fan, as well as an unknown advanced student. If they took the first step...

The unified exams were over, and Balayan became even more anxious and restless.

The destruction of the Soul Towers for the first and third grades meant that the students of these grades had no results. For the second and fourth grades, Zhaifeng Academy had managed to outshine Zhaifeng Academy, but what was the point? Neither academy had any standout students. Students who could reach the 12th floor of the Soul Tower were already proud, but to make it to the top fifty on the Soul Power Ranking List in Zhiling District, they needed to reach the top of the Soul Tower. This was the minimum qualification for competing on the list.

The only student Balayan saw with great potential was Lu Ping. He eagerly went to mend their relationship, but it was like hitting an iceberg.

The other party didn't seem to have any grudge against him, but he didn't give Balayan any chance to get close. Despite being only sixteen years old, Balayan felt at a loss with him.

Then he noticed the city lord's secret agents.

This excellent card had attracted attention beyond just the academies. What actions would the city lord take? Did they notice Lu Ping because of his displayed strength, or because of the trivial matter of knocking down Wei Tianqi...

On the way back to Zhaifeng Academy, Balayan kept thinking. He really couldn't accept this.

Lu Ping, this name had already been remembered by many people that day.

After the unified exams, another morning arrived.

Lu Ping woke up in the morning light. For him, nothing had changed. The academy's studies were unnecessary for him. For three years, he had been working hard to break free from the Soul Lock.

Ding dang ding dang...

He had heard this sound twice yesterday. To him, this grating sound was once very familiar. In the organization, every time he was taken to be experimented on, he would hear this sound. Accompanying this sound was endless pain. Everyone around him would just observe and record expressionlessly.

Pain, stop pain.

They operated on him like they were flipping switches, day after day, year after year. He endured the pain, numb and calm, not knowing what other choices he had. From the moment he had memories, this was the life he had lived.

Before that, where was he? What kind of life did he live? Lu Ping had no idea. He didn't even know his age or have a name. It wasn't until the day he escaped that he saw the words "Continent 1847, April 24, three years old" on a record sheet. He wasn't sure if it was about him, but he took it as a mark of his life, giving him an age.

Then, while carrying Su Tang through the endless snow, he hoped for a path that wouldn't make him suffer so much, a path that would let him walk steadily.

Lu Ping.

This was the first time he had such a real expectation.

He named himself after this hope.

(Thank you all for the support. I hope to have the chance to answer your questions under better conditions next time.)

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