Chapter 69: Upcoming Examinations (1)
Time flew by while chaos raged in the capital. As a small city, Nanyuan was larged unaffected. But as the day of the entrance examinations drew near, the entire city started bustling with activity.
Nanyuan Secondary School.
Meeting room.
The room was filled with people. Liu Wenyan was seated to the left of the front row. His head was lowered as he silently wrote. He had not spoken once, keeping a low profile during the meeting.
The person hosting the meeting wasn't the principal. Rather, it was a man of about thirty years old. With a stern expression, he said, "The entrance examinations are near. Under the command of the capital, the Knowledge Seeking Realm, and the War Shrine, the Talent Fostering Bureau of the capital will take charge while assisted by the various secondary schools. Any objections?"
The Talent Fostering Bureau was the department in charge of the yearly entrance examinations. They weren't too powerful a department, but they still had a decent level of authority in the prefectural government. In the room, the recruiters of the various academies, the officials from the capital, and the officials of the local government were present.
Nanyuan Secondary School had been chosen as the venue of the meeting because this was the biggest secondary school in Nanyuan, also the main supplier of students for the various academies. The other secondary schools in the city had never provided much students to the academies.
The moment the man finished speaking, someone raised his hand. When the man looked over, that person spoke, "I have a question. This year, Great Xia's policies are changing. Will the guest students be subjected to the same standards as the local students during the exams?"
The man replied, "According to our records, there are 418 guest students in Nanyuan. Locally, you have 2,892 students. The cultural research and war academies will take 40 guest students and 200 local students from Nanyuan."
There were more than one cultural research academy and war academy in Great Xia.
For war academies, there were Great Xia War Academy, Martial Dragon War Academy, Windcatcher Academy, Marine War Academy, and so on.
For cultural research academies, there were Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, Nine Heavens Cultural Research Academy, Daoseeking Cultural Research Academy, and so on.
The slots that Su Yu and the others had spoken of before generally referred only to the positions in the Great Xia War Academy and Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. That was because those two were the top two academies in Great Xia, with the Martial Dragon War Academy being the third best academy in the prefecture.
The man continued, "That is the ratio with which the students will be accepted. All students will be judged using the same standard. All tests will be standardized as well. The academies will be recruiting from the two pools of students until the quota is filled, reducing the passing mark for the local students as necessary."
Those words were rather insulting for the locals, but neither Liu Wenyan or the principal said anything. There was no doubt that Nanyuan students were not as good as those from the capital or the other big cities. Thus, the various academies would reduce the passing marks for their students each year.
However, it was still somewhat humiliating for the man to speak of that so frankly in such a public setting. Two hundred openings. Split among the various academies, that wasn't a big number at all. That only left the internal affairs academies, the scientific research academies, or a completely different alternative for the rest of the students.
When the man was done talking, the principal raised his hand and said, "Bureau Head Sun, how many students are the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, Great Xia War Academy, and the Martial Dragon War Academy accepting from Nanyuan this year?"
The man did not reply. He looked to the side where a few individuals had been seated silently. "Researcher Huang, what's your answer?"
To the right, a young man who had been busy reading a book looked up and smiled. In a calm and unhurried manner, he said, "Nothing is changing for the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Those above 200 marks will be accepted. Since Nanyuan's students are weaker, our requirements are lower as well. Those with 180 marks and above will be conditionally accepted."
The principal exhaled in relief. Fortunately, the difficulty level for the local students had not been raised this year.
"Great Xia War Academy, 200 marks and above will be accepted. For Nanyuan, the requirements will be lowered to 180 marks."
"For Martial Dragon War Academy, those above 180 marks will be accepted. For Nanyuan, the requirements will be lowered to 160 marks."
The two war academies did not have much to say. After giving a short answer, they stopped talking.
When the official from the Talent Fostering Bureau heard their answers, he looked at the principal and asked, "Any objections, Principal Wang?"
"No."
Liu Wenyan suddenly said, "I have a question. Su Yu and Liu Yue have been accepted under Bai Feng's slots. According to the rules, those two will not be using Nanyuan's slots. Thus, two additional students can be accepted from Nanyuan."
Researcher Huang looked up again and said, "Instructor Liu, the rules do allow that. But most of the students we accepted through such channels in the past have ended up eliminated. Why waste the youth and time of these students?"
Liu Wenyan calmly replied, "You need to at least give them a chance. Even a young dragon needs to be given ample opportunity before it can freely soar in the sky."
"Suits you. But even if Su Yu and Liu Yue have been accepted under Bai Feng's slots, they still need to get through the exam. They need at least 180 marks to enter the academy. Do you have any issues with that, Instructor Liu?"
"No."
Su Yu and Liu Yue were students that could enter the academy even if they were subjected to the same requirements as those from the capital. Thus, he wasn't worried. The young man said nothing else and returned to his reading. In truth, he wasn't reading a book. He was merely looking at the summary and list of the students that will be taking the examinations in Nanyuan.
At that moment, he just happened to reach the page with Su Yu's profile. Su Yu, fifth-stage Source Opening Realm, certified in 18 languages, 21 original earned merit, with a comprehensive grade of 300 marks. Evaluated as a middle-low student.
That was the information from a month ago. It had yet to be updated. The man read through the contents of the page before silently flipping to a new page with a smile on his face. He did not voice the contempt he was feeling.
Since the profile was last updated a month ago, it was clear that Nanyuan was trying to use this student as their ace. But it was pointless. Nanyuan was a small city. No matter how good this student was, he would only be comparable to an average student in the capital.
A student accepted by Bai Feng in advance...let's hope there's something special about him. The young man mused inwardly.
This Su Yu had yet to enter the academy yet he had already attracted the attention of many people. In fact, before this young man left the capital, a lot of people had told him to see if there was anything special about this student.
Even if this student had been accepted by Bai Feng in advance, that didn't mean that he couldn't choose a different teacher. What could Bai Feng do if the student himself wanted a different teacher?
Whether Su Yu was an undiscovered genius or a random student Bai Feng had accepted on whim would be made clear soon. If Su Yu was merely a mediocre student, the researcher would simply consider this a joke Bai Feng played. And if Su Yu turned out to be a genius, many people would try stealing him from Bai Feng.
When Bureau Head Sun saw that nobody had anything else to say, he opened his mouth, "Then we'll end the meeting here and wait for the examinations to start. Nanyuan will be in charge of security. With so many students gathered in one place, you need to watch out for the Myriad Race Cult."
"Roger." The commander of the city guards answered.
Bureau Head Sun nodded before looking at Xia Bing. With a smile, he said, "Squad Leader Xia, I'll need the Martial Dragon Guards to help with security as well."
"Roger."
Xia Bing agreed without even looking at Bureau Head Sun. Instead, he nodded at the recruiter from the Martial Dragon War Academy seated opposite of him. The Martial Dragon Guards had a close relationship with the Martial Dragon War Academy. Many of the teachers in the Martial Dragon War Academy were retired veterans from the Martial Dragon Guards. It was natural that the two knew each other. When the teacher from the academy saw Xia Bing, he nodded as well.
Before long, the meeting was adjourned. Everyone started leaving. Xia Bing intentionally moved slower. The teacher from the academy also slowed down to move behind the crowd.
"Old Xia, how has Nanyuan been treating you?"
"It's okay. Apart from the attack not too long ago, life is boring most of the time."
Xia Bing had a sour face. He moved on from the topic and said, "Let's not talk about that. There are a few promising students here. Take note of them, especially Su Yu. He is strong, brave, and smart. He even did something big not too long ago. Liu Wenyan has been trying very hard to send him into the cultural research academy without revealing his talent. Luckily, I noticed what he's doing."
"What did that student do?"
"He worked with a team of Windcatcher officers to kill an Infinite Strength cult member." Xia Bing spoke with a soft voice, "Keep this secret. If news of what he did spread, both of us will pay for it. It's against the rules to even talk about this. I'm only telling you because we're on the same side. Try to get that kid into the Martial Dragon War Academy."
The teacher was astonished, "He worked with the Windcatcher Department? Why were they working with a Source Opening cultivator in the first place?"
"He's not only a Source Opening cultivator. I believe he has formed a Divine Character as well." Xia Bing explained, "When Bai Feng visited previously, he wrote a willpower text for that kid. I believe that the kid has already formed a complete Divine Character. He wouldn't have been able to utilize the power of a Divine Character otherwise."
The teacher's eyes lit up, "Are you serious? It has only been two months since Bai Feng's visit, right? He formed a Divine Character from a single willpower writing session and completed the character in two months?"
"I think so. But Liu Wenyan has probably taught him a bit before as well."
"That won't change the fact that he's a genius." The teacher was getting excited. It wasn't like he had never seen a genius before, but he had not expected to encounter one here. His excitement was understandable.
"Old Xia, thank you. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this. You won't get in trouble."
The more the teacher spoke, the more excited he became. "We have always been trying to nurture our own cultural researchers. We even have our own cultural research course in the Martial Dragon War Academy. Unfortunately, we have never been able to train any talented cultural researchers. Most of our students are rejects of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. This time, we'll try to steal from them!"
A genius that had formed a Divine Character! A complete Divine Character at that! If this was the capital, the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy would have learned about that student long ago. The student would have been accepted before the Martial Dragon War Academy could do anything.
Of course, technically, that was also the case for Su Yu. However, Bai Feng was worried that others would try to steal his student. Therefore, he had been keeping Su Yu's matter a secret.
When Xia Bing saw how excited the teacher was, he said, "Old Xie, it is important to recruit new students, but I don't want to ruin the kid's future either. I know very well how terrible our cultural researcher course is. This is what I have in mind. If that kid is really talented enough, we can be in charge of his physical cultivation. As for his willpower cultivation, will the academy be able to invite the senior researchers from the Martial Dragon Guards to teach him?"
"Of course!" Old Xie laughed, "General Zhao was furious and he has been busy creating trouble for Principal Wan. As a response, Principal Wan threatened to cut our supply of cultural researchers. Therefore, the general said that we'll be putting more focus on nurturing cultural researchers this year. The cultural researchers in the army are pretty free right now so most of them will be transferred to the academy."
"Really?" Xia Bing was overjoyed, "Then everything will be fine. Also, when you get in contact with that kid, try to mention his father. His father is Su Long, a veteran of the Devil Subduing Army that answered the recall order not long ago."
"Someone from the Devil Subduing Army?" Old Xie started cursing, "Then he’s as good as ours. That Liu Wenyan is pushing it too far! Why is he trying to steal our people?"
The Martial Dragon Guards, Devil Subduing Army, and Great Xia Army have always been considered a single family. Thus, Old Xie was furious to learn that the cultural research academy was trying to steal one of their own.
Xia Bing coughed awkwardly, but he did not say anything. Sure, that was true, but they both knew how terrible Martial Dragon War Academy's cultural researcher course was. It was only natural that Su Yu would try to get into the cultural research academy. This fellow was merely angry because he wanted to keep the kid in their fold.
"I need to return to my post. You can ignore all the other students but not this student. Since he's able to accomplish this much at a place like Nanyuan, I believe he is as good as those ninth-stage Source Opening students from the capital. He might be even better. Oh, I forgot to mention that he's already an eighth-stage Source Opening cultivator."
"..."
Old Xie's eyes lit up as he said, "Why the fuck is he practicing willpower cultivation? He should just focus on physical cultivation. Those cultural researchers might not necessarily be stronger than us warriors at the latter stages."
"Just do what you think is right."
Xia Bing still had work to do so he left after finishing his words.
...
Outside the meeting room.
Liu Wenyan looked behind him to see the two individuals that were talking softly to each other. He merely sneered indifferently. What were they thinking?
That kid would never enter the Martial Dragon War Academy. After all, Instructor Liu had personally taught that kid for so many years. If that kid really ended up joining the Martial Dragon War Academy, he would have to...what could he do? Tell that kid to compensate him for the Lightning Source Blade? Would that kid be able to afford it?
...
Su family's residence.
Su Yu had been staying home for many days. It had been about ten days and he had been activating the book in his head once per day to cultivate his acupoints and used over ten drops of blood essence in the process.
The ninth acupoint, known as the One Hundred Openings, was shining brightly. Above his head, source qi started converging. That was the sign that his ninth acupoint was on the verge of being opened.
He was going to reach his goal soon!
It had been less than half a month since his last breakthrough and he was going to open his ninth acupoint. That was a terrifying speed. Naturally, he had paid a high price for it. However, over ten drops of blood essence was really nothing compared to his progress.