Ch. 63 - Everyone Present

The elder glanced at Xu Zimo and his companions, looking rather troubled.

Although he was the academy's vice dean, expelling students in front of such a large crowd would damage the academy’s reputation.

After all, these people had traveled great distances to take the entrance test. If Yu Zhe had spoken to him about this in private, he might have considered it.

But with so many eyes watching, the elder had to think about both the academy’s image and his own.

Yu Zhe seemed to notice the elder’s hesitation and quickly added, “Teacher, I’m not trying to target them on purpose. It’s just that their conduct is improper. Last night, they arrived late and didn’t have a room. They took advantage of their numbers, slandered me, and stole my room. How can people like that be admitted into the academy? That would only tarnish our reputation.”

The elder nodded in agreement upon hearing Yu Zhe’s explanation and walked toward Xu Zimo’s group.

The crowd parted to create a path, and Xu Zimo watched it all with a calm, amused expression.

“What he said just now, was it true?” the elder asked sternly, his presence overwhelming and deep as the ocean.

“While I’d love to say ‘don’t slander people without proof,’ I thought about it and figured, why bother,” Xu Zimo replied with a smile. “It’s true. So what?”

“Where are you from?” the elder frowned, displeased with Xu Zimo’s attitude.

“True Martial Sacred Ground,” Little Gui answered proudly from the side.

The moment he spoke, those in the crowd who had been waiting to watch the drama unfold were all stunned.

Compared to Celestial Tiger Academy, the name of True Martial Sacred Ground was far more illustrious and prestigious.

Ever since the man named Zhen Wu founded the sect tens of thousands of years ago, the sect had been like a blazing sun over the entire Western Region.

Even during the sect’s low points, before the reign of Grand Empress Hongtian, no one dared to challenge it.

Even during the era of the Grand Emperor Shen Ri, who bore the Heaven’s Will, he still treated True Martial Sacred Ground with respect.

Of course, Celestial Tiger Academy’s philosophy was to teach all, regardless of background, be they heirs of great clans or mere beggars from the roadside. As long as they passed the entrance test, they could be admitted.

But in reality, disciples of major sects rarely cared to attend the academy.

……

“Since you admit what happened, we at Celestial Tiger Academy cannot accept you,” the elder said with a grim face.

“No need for you to say it,” Xu Zimo replied with a light chuckle. “Even if your academy wanted to recruit me, I wouldn’t join.”

“What do you mean by that?” A flash of light passed through the elder’s eyes as a powerful aura of the True Meridian Realm steadily rose from his body.

“You’re rejecting a student solely because of a flaw in their conduct? What is a school for? What is the duty of a teacher?” Xu Zimo laughed and slowly said, “A teacher’s job is to pass on knowledge, explain principles, and resolve confusion. If everyone were already gifted and well-behaved, why come to school? Isn’t your responsibility to plant the seed today and nurture a tree over a hundred years? And by the way, I’ve taken a look around your school, the students you’ve trained aren’t exactly impressive.”

The elder was silent for a long moment before slowly replying, “Young man, don’t speak too arrogantly.”

“How about this,” Xu Zimo turned to the crowd, then said to the elder, “Let your academy’s strongest student come out and fight me. I’m just an ordinary outer court disciple from True Martial Sacred Ground. I’m not betting anything, I just want to prove a point.”

“Prove what? That you look down on my students?” the elder snorted coldly.

“No, no, don’t misunderstand,” Xu Zimo quickly waved his hands and grinned. “I’m not targeting any specific person here, I'm saying all of you are trash.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the elder’s face darkened, and the students erupted into chaos.

Glaring eyes, clenched fists, and indignant roars, everyone was furious at Xu Zimo’s arrogance.

“Fine then, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance,” Xu Zimo smiled. “Pick your strongest student. If he can make me take even one step back, I’ll admit defeat.”

“Go get one of the Heaven Ranking students,” the elder said after a short pause, turning to the teacher in charge of the test.

His tone was calm, but there was a storm brewing beneath that calm, a stillness before a violent tempest.

Inside Celestial Tiger Academy, there were two student rankings: the Heaven Ranking and the Earth Ranking. The Heaven Ranking was exclusively for third-year senior students. It listed the top 100 strongest among them.

The competition was fierce, and the rankings changed often.

……

Not long after, a young man in a purple robe strode over confidently.

He carried a long spear on his back, his expression stern and unyielding, walking with the rigid posture of a trained soldier.

The spear on his back was seven feet long, entirely black. Its tip was forged from high-grade Black Tortoise Iron and gleamed with a chilling, deadly light.

Along the spear’s shaft was a carved silver dragon with eight claws, so fierce it looked ready to burst from the weapon at any moment.

“Vice Dean,” the youth greeted respectfully upon approaching the elder.

“Vice Dean, the top three Heaven Ranking students are still out training and haven’t returned yet,” the searching teacher said. “This one is ranked fourth on the Heaven Ranking, at the peak of the True Meridian Realm, an elite among our senior students.”

The elder nodded. Anyone who made the Heaven Ranking was undoubtedly extraordinary, especially those in the top ten.

Still, he couldn’t help feeling some regret. The top three were all in the Desolate Meridian Realm, true monsters.

……

The youth stepped forward toward Xu Zimo and said coldly, “Heaven Rank No. 4, Zhang Xianjun.”

“You’ll need to survive three of my moves before you’re worthy of knowing my name,” Xu Zimo replied with a smile and shook his head.

Zhang Xianjun studied him for a moment, then snorted and slowly unslung the long spear from his back.

The crowd instinctively backed away, giving the two enough room to fight.

“Can Senior Zhang really handle this guy?” a newly admitted student asked curiously.

“Yeah, that guy’s so arrogant, he must be strong.”

An older student who knew the situation sneered and explained, “Senior Zhang is ranked fourth on the Heaven Ranking. Though he’s not on par with the top three monsters…

He did create his own three-move technique called Threefold Spear Art. Just watch.”

“He created his own technique?” The new students were stunned.

To them, who had just started their cultivation journey, even practicing someone else’s technique was difficult, let alone inventing their own.

Comments