Chapter 4302 — Blood Aflame

If it was the latter, then anyone seated beside her—a top-tier expert of the Initiator Stage—must without question be a figure of tremendous consequence. Perhaps another Initiator Stage expert was about to emerge.

"So they really are all masters. This outing has broadened my horizons considerably." Wei Zhao suddenly smiled. It was an unexpected turn of events, but the sight of so many top-tier experts gathered in one place set the blood in his veins boiling with instinctive excitement.

"Mm, yes." Huang Xiaotao nodded. Given the circles she had moved in before, Mystic Ascension Stage experts were out of the question—apart from the elders of the Triple Stack Pavilion, she had rarely even glimpsed Nascent Soul Stage experts, let alone Initiator Stage experts who stood above the Mystic Ascension Stage. Before this, she could never have imagined that the world was so vast, or that Cloud Terrace Island was so immense and sprawling.

There is a saying that a person's stage is as large as their heart—but what determines all of that is their experience and breadth of vision.

If one were nothing but a frog at the bottom of a well, never knowing how vast the world was or how mighty its experts were, then no matter how great one's talent, how fine one's potential, or how diligently one cultivated, one could never stand at the peak of the powerful. If you do not even know where the summit lies, how could you ever reach it?

In this respect alone, the experience gained on this trip to Zhenduan City was of importance to Wei Zhao and his companion that might even rival the rich haul from the Rufeng Forest—at the very least, this was the first time they had witnessed what the top-tier experts at the apex of Cloud Terrace Island truly looked like.

Just as Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao's hearts surged with emotion, the academy head on the raised platform—Ling Yuanqing, the object of so much attention—suddenly cleared his throat and spoke.

"Very well. The hour for registration has arrived. Seal the plaza; no one may enter or leave." Without any amplification device, Ling Yuanqing appeared to speak as casually as anyone else, yet his voice came rolling in from every direction, clearly and distinctly, into the ears of nearly ten thousand cultivators present.

The moment Ling Yuanqing's words fell, a group of experts clad in uniform silver martial robes swiftly spread out in all directions, encircling the entire Zhenduan Plaza. An aura of solemn, austere authority instantly descended upon the plaza, leaving everyone afraid to make the slightest move.

Everyone present fell cautiously silent. No one dared resume the murmuring and chatter of moments before, for fear of bringing disaster upon themselves. Yet looking at the experts stationed around them, all felt a surge of astonishment they could not suppress—even Wei Zhao's eyelids twitched violently.

These cultivators performing guard duty were all Nascent Soul Stage experts!

Looking across the whole of Cloud Terrace Island, Foundation Establishment was the starting line, and Golden Core already meant one had entered the halls of the proficient. As for the Nascent Soul Stage—even the weakest Nascent Soul cultivator was no common, run-of-the-mill commodity. Wherever they went, they were a force to be reckoned with, at the very least qualified to serve as an elder of some faction.

Experts of the Nascent Soul caliber were usually the ones being fawned over—who would ever think to use them as guards? Never mind whether they themselves would be willing; in fact, there was simply no precedent for such a thing. At least in all the time Wei Zhao had spent on Cloud Terrace Island, and on his one trip to the Central Island, he had never seen such an outrageous display.

A full hundred or more Nascent Soul Stage experts, moving in unison and garrisoned on all sides of the plaza—such an astonishing spectacle genuinely overawed everyone present.

Add to that the Mystic Ascension Stage masters on the platform, and above all the three Initiator Stage experts headed by Ling Yuanqing, and not a word more needed to be said. There could be no advertisement under heaven more compelling than this.

As expected of the mysterious and unfathomable Eastern Continent—the foundation of this Morning Star Yellow-Rank Cultivator Academy was truly extraordinary. No wonder it inspired such longing.

In an instant, Zhenduan Plaza fell utterly silent. Everyone wore an expression of anticipation, their gazes fixed on Ling Yuanqing, waiting for him to continue.

"Cultivators of the Southern Continent, since you have all gathered here, you must surely already know quite clearly what comes next." Ling Yuanqing smiled faintly. His accent carried a certain softness characteristic of the region, yet when it reached everyone's ears, it felt both genial and imposing, heavy with authority—drawing their minds irresistibly to him and leaving no room for stray thoughts.

The crowd below nodded unconsciously. In but a brief moment, this vast assembly had been brought entirely under Ling Yuanqing's control with just a few words.

Watching this, Wei Zhao was secretly astonished. The ten thousand people present were no ordinary crowd—over seventy percent of them were Golden Core experts, and among them Nascent Soul experts were far from few.

Out in the world, these people were one and all proud, unruly characters. Never mind gathering ten thousand of them—even a mere dozen or twenty would be no easy task to quiet down and make obey.

Yet now, this academy head Ling Yuanqing had, in the space of a few sentences, made every last person in the hall docile and obedient. On the one hand, this was surely due to the intimidating display of power; on the other, it proved just how unfathomably skilled he was—truly worthy of being an Initiator Stage expert of unfathomable depth.

"To save you all time, I will dispense with superfluous words. We of the Eastern Continent's Morning Star Yellow-Rank Academy have come here today for one purpose: to select disciples. Those among you who are chosen will enter the Morning Star Academy to continue your cultivation. You have all seen, I trust, just how many Nascent Soul experts the Eastern Continent has—it would be no exaggeration to say they are as numerous as the hairs on an ox. A glance around you will tell you as much." Ling Yuanqing paused with a faint smile, then continued: "Therefore, any disciple who gains entry to the academy—if your talent is sufficient and fortune does not forsake you—may well become an Initiator Stage expert like myself in days to come. It is not impossible."

These words set the blood of everyone present racing; breaths quickened, eyes shone.

Having already set foot on the path of cultivation, who would not wish to advance further? Not a single person would say that reaching today's Golden Core realm was enough to satisfy them, that they desired no further progress.

The distant Initiator Stage they might not yet dare to imagine, but the Nascent Soul Stage—and even the Mystic Ascension Stage above it—look at these experts from the academy all around them, living precedents standing right before their eyes. It meant that so long as they could pass the selection and join the academy, all of it seemed within reach. Who would not yearn for that?

Not only those present—even Wei Zhao, whose temperament was ordinarily so calm, could not help but feel his heart surge at these words. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come)

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