Chapter 4241 — The Eastern Continent and Southern Continent
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"The Yellow-Rank Academy of the Eastern Continent is out recruiting students this time, and the Zhenduan sea region is the first stop. This is a golden opportunity rarely seen in a thousand years. From what those who came before have summed up, the first stop is considerably easier—far more likely to pass the test. If you wait until the end, when the academy's quota is nearly filled, the difficulty will be enormous." The blue-robed man was honest enough; even facing strangers like Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, he held nothing back, pouring out everything he knew like beans from a bamboo tube.
"And what conditions has this Yellow-Rank Academy set in the past for recruiting students?" Wei Zhao asked, his heart stirring.
"First, aptitude! Second, strength!" At the mention of this, the blue-robed man grew animated. "From past experience, no matter how the conditions change, it always comes down to these two. And one thing is certain: only those at the Golden Core stage or above may even register—otherwise, do not bother dreaming of it. As for aptitude, that is rather more elusive. We certainly cannot judge it ourselves, but they have professionals in that line, and they use five-element stones to test..."
"At least the Golden Core stage?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. He and Huang Xiaotao were precisely early Golden Core cultivators—just barely clearing that lowest threshold.
"Heh, that is only the nominal minimum—the barest condition for registering. Look at how many people have gathered in Zhenduan City now; more than eighty percent are here for this very opportunity. There are so many Golden Core cultivators, and the Yellow-Rank Academy's quota is limited. Put an early Golden Core cultivator side by side with a late Golden Core peak, great-perfection cultivator—who do you think they will choose? It has to be the great-perfection one." The blue-robed man analyzed with the air of an old hand.
Wei Zhao smiled noncommittally, privately somewhat unconvinced. True enough, by ordinary standards one would naturally pick the stronger, but if the academy of the Eastern Continent was truly so transcendent, how could its judgment in choosing people be so crude?
Besides, the man himself had just said that what they valued first was aptitude, and strength only second. If one's aptitude was poor, what did it matter even if one was a late Golden Core peak, great-perfection cultivator? Once chosen and taken to the Eastern Continent, if one thereafter made not the slightest progress, would that not ruin the academy's reputation?
Setting aside other aspects of aptitude, both Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao were Golden Core cultivators who had achieved perfect breakthroughs; among Golden Core cultivators, their aptitude and potential were absolutely top-tier. In this respect, they held no small advantage.
"Speaking of which, the timing of this Yellow-Rank Academy recruitment is a lucky coincidence—it comes right after the miasma of the Rufeng Forest disperses. That is why this year Zhenduan City has drawn far more cultivators than in years past at this time, and why it is so crowded now." The blue-robed man then drifted off into pleasant fantasy. "Heh heh, if I can get my hands on some heavenly treasures in the Rufeng Forest this time and boost my strength a bit, then go on to take part in the Eastern Continent Yellow-Rank Academy's selection trials, maybe I will be chosen—and then I will shoot straight up to the top!"
Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao exchanged a glance and could not help smiling. The notion was indeed a perfect little circle—and surely many of the crowd now in Zhenduan City harbored more or less the same fantasy.
Make a trip to the Rufeng Forest, snatch some heavenly treasures to boost one's strength, then prepare for the Eastern Continent Yellow-Rank Academy's trials, and from there ascend the heavenly ladder and astonish the world—a winner in life, no less. R1152