Chapter 45: The Name Comes Before the Man (1)
Su Yu was cultivating hard to achieve his three goals.
At the same time, Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
This was an incomparably massive academy. Pavilions spread as far as the eye could see. Commerce District, Residential District, Education District, Grotto District, Social District, and so on split the massive academy into various sections. The academy was basically a small city.
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Enrollment Center.
Bai Feng had just finished his secluded cultivation session. For the first time in a month, he left his home to take in some fresh air outside. He walked into the Enrollment Center in an unhurried manner. It was still not the enrollment season, but this place was already getting busy. After all, the entrance examinations in the various cities were starting soon.
"Old Zhou, do me a favor. That's my nephew. I'll teach him myself after he's accepted into the academy. He is pretty good at the myriad languages. He is also quite talented in Divine Characters. His willpower is decent as well. You only need to be slightly lenient to him during the exam..."
"No!" A middle-aged man berated, "Even if you're going to teach him yourself, we still can't do that! If he can't even get through the entrance exam with his own abilities, it doesn't matter whose nephew he is. He can't be accepted."
"Old Zhou, you're clearly trying to make things hard for me."
"Don't try that on me. We have the records from Tianfeng City. Your nephew has spent five years in his secondary school to master only three languages. Am I right? Who are you trying to trick? He's untalented. Accepting him will be a waste of resources. If you can't accept that, feel free to go back home and teach him yourself."
"You!"
"What? Are you going to beat me up?"
"I—"
"What? You're only a junior researcher. You dare raise your voice against an intermediate researcher like me?"
"..."
The place was bustling with noise. Bai Feng shook his head. This was probably the noisiest place in the entire academy. Some were here to get someone into the academy through a backdoor. Some were here to snatch the new genius students. Not just anyone could maintain order at a place like this. Bai Feng did not bother going near the arguing duo. He looked for a shorter line and waited for a short while before it was his turn.
"Check Su Yu from Nanyuan Secondary School. See if there are any updates on his profile."
When the young woman at the counter saw that it was Bai Feng, she blushed and hastily said, "Working on it, Assistant Bai."
Bai Feng had a smile on his face, but inwardly, he thought, 'This girl doesn’t know what she’s doing. I will choose a different counter next time.'
He was unhappy that she had addressed him as Assistant Bai. Couldn't she have called him Researcher Bai?
"Su Yu, final year student at Nanyuan Secondary School, certified for eighteen languages, fifth-stage Source Opening Realm, twenty-one original earned merit points, recommended by Instructor Liu of Nanyuan. With a comprehensive grade of three hundred marks, he has a middle-low rating."
"Middle-low?" Bai Feng nodded. That was the grading given internally by the academy. In comparison with the students of the various cities, this wasn't a good rating, but it also wasn't a bad one.
"For this year's exam, two hundred marks would be enough for him to join the academy, right?"
The woman hurriedly said, "We're still unsure. But according to past trends, that should be sufficient."
One certified language would grant a student ten marks. At third-stage Source Opening Realm and below, one would earn ten marks per stage. From the third to the fifth stage, one would earn thirty marks per stage. Excluding the merit points awarded for certified languages, the remaining merit points would grant one ten marks per point. With a comprehensive grade of three hundred marks, Su Yu wouldn't have any issue entering the academy.
Of course, they wouldn't tell the students about the grading system. And if these recommended students were to somehow fail their first entrance examination, they would be given a second chance in case the first fail was due to some unexpected accident. That was the benefit of having this recommendation system in place.
Generally, someone at the third-stage Source Opening Realm with seventeen languages mastered was guaranteed to pass the examination. ?Some students with more merit points would have the requirements lowered, such as passing with only fifteen languages mastered.
Or perhaps one had a higher cultivation level, such as reaching the fourth-stage Source Opening Realm. That person would be able to get through the examination by mastering only fourteen languages.
Thus, as a third-stage Source Opening cultivator who had mastered eighteen languages, Su Yu was guaranteed entry into the academy. That was why he was considered a genius at Nanyuan. Previously, he had a low rating. That signified that he wouldn't be taken by any researcher as a student after entering the academy. With a new rating of middle-low, he could now be considered decent. If he was lucky, he could even attract the attention of a researcher and be recruited as a helper.
After a short silence, Bai Feng said, "Put Su Yu under me. I have two personal student openings, right? Give him one."
"What?" The woman exclaimed in shock. She hastily said, "Assistant Bai, he only has a middle-low rating."
"Is there a problem with that?" Bai Feng smiled, "That is good enough. He comes recommended by Nanyuan and Instructor Liu Wenyan is my martial uncle. Is there a problem with me accepting someone as my personal student?"
"No..." The woman was getting anxious. A middle-low student could be good enough for others, but for someone like Bai Feng, it would be too much of a waste for the limited openings he had.
"Assistant Bai, before becoming a full researcher, you can accept no more than two personal students. Su Yu has yet to enter the academy and has a rating of middle-low. It won't benefit you much to accept him..."
"Thank you. I know. Give him the opening."
Bai Feng had the same smile on his face as this woman was advising him out of kindness. However, he did not need any advice on this matter.
"Then..." The woman felt regretful. But Bai Feng was the one accepting a student. There really wasn't anything she could do about it.
Just as she was about to get started with the paperwork, a smiling individual walked over and said, "Bai Feng, you're accepting a newcomer as your personal student instead of someone already in the academy? And you're accepting someone with a middle-low rating? What are you thinking?
"This year, we have a lot of new students rated high. There are even a few high-high students in the list. And during the examination, even more might appear."
Bai Feng turned his head to look at the newcomer. A frown formed on his face. He was prepared to keep a low profile and leave after getting the job done. But this fellow was here creating trouble again.
"Liu Hong, I'm the one accepting a student here. That has nothing to do with you."
About five meters away was a young man standing with his arms crossed. With a smile on his face, the young man said, "That's right. But...I enjoy watching a good show."
"Shut your mouth if it has nothing to do with you." Bai Feng couldn't be bothered to waste more time on that person. He turned to look at the woman at the counter and asked, "Are you done with the registration?"
"Yes, Assistant Bai."
"Bai Feng!" Seeing that Bai Feng was ignoring him, Liu Hong said, "Are you really going to accept a freshie as your personal student?"
"That has nothing to do with you."
Bai Feng started leaving. With a frown, Liu Hong said, "Yes, it has nothing to do with me. But have you thought of how many people you will offend by accepting this person as your personal student?"
Bai Feng looked at Liu Hong with his brows furrowed.
"Last year, my younger brother tried to become your personal student. You refused. Fine. You have yet to accept any student. Maybe you're waiting for a student with high-high rating. I understand that. My younger brother is not capable enough.
"But now, you're accepting a middle-low student? Bai Feng, how do you think my younger brother will take it? How will my family take it?"
Bai Feng sneered, "And that concerns me how?"
"You're right, Bai Feng. That does not concern you." Liu Hong solemnly said, "I don't mind either. It doesn't even matter how my family takes it. But my younger brother wasn't the only one who had tried becoming your student.
"Even high-high students have been rejected by you before. Now, you're accepting a middle-low student. What will they think?
"Yes, all that won't concern you either. But have you considered this? You're making enemies for that new student. Others will question the fact that they were rejected while a mediocre student is accepted. Is he better than them? Or is there a different reason?"
Bai Feng was indifferent. "So?"
"Nothing. It's fine for you to accept him. You still have one more opening. That one student will attract too much attention alone. Why don't you accept another student?"
"Your younger brother?"
"Of course not. He has already been accepted by Researcher Hu. I recommend Wu Qi's younger sister. She has a high-middle rating. That's pretty good. We never mentioned her to you since you have never been interested in accepting students before. Since that's changing this year, you might as well accept another student. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I think...you can piss off." Bai Feng said impatiently, "So what if she is a high-middle student? What do I care about Wu Qi? Am I supposed to be impressed because she's Wu Qi’s younger sister? I will accept whoever I want!
"And if you people are unhappy...feel free to create trouble for the new student. As long as you don't kill or cripple him, suppress him however you want."
Bai Feng was completely indifferent. Suppressing Su Yu? If they could, feel free to do it.
"Who I accept as my student is none of your business. Piss off, Liu Hong. Don't bother trying to act all friendly to me. My words apply to you, to Wu Qi, and to everyone else. Go accept those students yourself instead of trying to send them my way. If you keep bothering me, don't blame me for being impolite."
Bai Feng was speaking quite loudly. He had wanted to keep a low profile, but with Liu Hong's disturbance, he had attracted quite a lot of attention.
He was very straightforward as he loudly said, "I can accept whoever I want as my student. Even if it's a cripple, so long as he can get through the entrance exam, I'll still accept him if I want. Are you trying to tell me what to do? Don't bother playing those stupid tricks on me!"
Leaving those words behind, Bai Feng left. The room sank into a short silence before sounds of discussion erupted.
"Bai Feng is accepting a student?"
"What is he thinking? He has rejected many people during the past two years. Why is he suddenly changing his mind this year?"
"I heard it's a student recommended by Liu Wenyan..."
"Liu Wenyan has recommended quite a lot of students before. Bai Feng never cared."
"I'm not sure. But after what happened here spreads, he will encounter a lot of troubles. After all, many people are paying close attention to Senior Hong."
"There's also a lot of little fellows keeping their eyes on Bai Feng. The competition for the slots three years later...Bai Feng will definitely get involved in it."
"Also, he will also be fighting for the limited positions of full researcher promotion."
An old man smiled, "What is this kid trying to do? A lot of people are wondering about that. Nobody will ignore the fact that he's suddenly accepting a student. Also, Senior Hong has quite a lot of valuable stuff. Everyone is eyeing what he has."
"True."
Someone laughed, "This is good. A good show will unfold. The academy has been peaceful for way too long. The competition for the slots seven years ago had caused quite a big ruckus. This competition only happens once every ten years. I was thinking that the show will only start in one or two years. But it looks like the show is going to start early this time."
"Great Xia only has twenty slots in total. Our academy will only be able to get five or six of them. Bai Feng will meet a lot of competitors. Let's see if he can hold them off."
"He's a seventh-stage Skysoar. He will be able to handle it."
"Nah, nothing is absolute. Also, those little fellows aren't simple individuals either. The next competition might be even more intense than before."
"..."
One person after another spoke out. Staring at the departing Bai Feng, Liu Hong remained silent. After thinking about it, he went to the counter and asked for Su Yu's records.