This definition had to be right. You could only live in the God Realm with this card. Without it, you were off the grid.
If this wasn’t a resident identification card, what was it?
Ye Zichen tried breaking it. Given his abilities, breaking a mountain was nothing at all, but he couldn’t damage the card in the slightest.
“I’ll take proper care of it,” said Ye Zichen. He put it away carefully, then continued, “What is the Skyspan Academy you mentioned?”
“The Skyspan Academy is a school the Northern Divine Mountain’s Sea of Innocence established. Their goal…. Was to reduce the death rate for ascenders,” replied Huang Yang.
“Their death rate?” Ye Zichen arched his brows.
“That’s right.” Huang Yan nodded slightly. “Ordinarily, ascenders are in the early stages of the earth supreme realm. Although that makes them ultimate experts in the Lower Lands, they’re at the bottom of the barrel on the Divine Mountains. The situation up here isn’t as wondrous as the people below think. The death rate for new ascenders is roughly seventy percent.”
Seventy percent.
That meant that of a hundred ascenders, seventy would perish. This rate was really awfully high.
“Ordinarily, ascenders only have a one-sided understanding of the Divine Mountain, and they aren’t proficient in manipulating divine power. That’s why, in order to reduce their death rate and provide a systematic education on how to use their divine power, the Divine Mountains established academies.”
“That’s awfully humane of them.” Ye Zichen couldn’t help but nod.
It was a little like when he’d first arrived in the Lower Lands. At the time, he really knew nothing at all; the only reason he’d lived this long was because he was strong enough to suppress everyone around him.
But the Divine Mountains were different. Sky Supremes were all over the place, and there were even quite a few diviners and rulers.
There were too many people who could crush him to death. Moreover, he’d already offended quite a few people.
When he ascended, he’d even considered that if he couldn’t really handle things, he could just throw away his face and go to the Sea of Innocence to beg Little Honghong and the Wish God for help. Although it would be embarrassing, at least he’d keep his life.
But now, thanks to the Skyspan Academy’s existence, he could avoid humiliating himself.
“Can you tell me how exactly I go about getting into Skyspan Academy?”
“Their student recruitment day is next month. At the time, all you’ll need is your crystal card to get in. Ordinarily, studies last for five years, but if you pass their final exams, you can choose to stay and continue your studies. Of course, that will require paying a certain amount of tuition.”
As he spoke, Huang Yang took out a jade slip and passed it to Ye Zichen.
When Ye Zichen infused it with his spiritual power, a map of the Northern Divine Mountain appeared. Its eighty-six cities were all clearly marked, and in the center of all the cities was a red dot. That ought to be Skyspan Academy.
Furthermore, in the upper left corner of the map, there was a mark labeling that area as the ocean. That was the Northern Divine Mountain’s Sea of Innocence. Little Honghong and the WIsh God lived there.
After memorizing their rough locations, Ye ZIchen passed the jade slip back.
“Brother Ye, you don’t have to give it back. Everyone who ascends receives this sort of pre-prepared map slip,” said Huang Yang with a gentle smile. He pushed the slip back into Ye Zichen’s hands.
“Oh, okay.” Ye Zichen nodded. “Thank you, then. I’m very grateful that you took the time to clear up my doubts. The student intake period starts next month, so I can’t waste any time. I’m going to head straight for Skyspan City.”
“Brother Ye, if you don’t object, you could come with us. We’ll switch shifts in half a year. Then we could escort you back. Although it’ll delay starting your studies a little, given your talent, even if you come late, the academy….”
“Thank you for your kind intentions, but I don’t want to be too high profile.” Ye Zichen cupped his hands respectfully. “Let’s part ways here.”
Ye Zichen didn’t dare stay with them for half a year. Just now, they all looked at him so intended to gobble him up, especially Liu Baihui.
If he stayed for six months, who knew what would happen to him?
Huang Yang and the others watched him fade into the distance and sighed. He was an “absolute” talent! No such monster had appeared on the Divine Mountains in at least ten thousand years. It would have been wonderful if they could use this opportunity to get closer to him.
“No need to look anymore; he’s already gone.” Huang Yang let out a helpless sigh. Liu Baihui looked dejected, and the others dropped.
Until…
“Hey, didn’t we forget to tell him something?” Fan Li suddenly furrowed his brows. “Did we tell him where he could and couldn’t travel?”
“That….” They all froze, then looked at Huang Yang.
Just now, he’d said the most to Ye Zichen, so he ought to know.
“It seems like… I didn’t…” Huang Yang gulped. This was his first time welcoming an absolute talent. In his excitement, he must have left part of his explanation out.
“What do we do? Even if we go after him, we can’t catch up, but quite a few of the cities on the way to Skyspan City are occupied by the Horse Bandits. If he goes straight ahead, well… if he obediently does what they say he’ll be fine, but if he doesn’t… then he…” Fan Li dared not go on.
The others’ expressions were grave. Huang Yang put his head in his hands and sighed.“Let’s just hope his luck is good.”
Ye Zichen, meanwhile, had already traveled for three hours based on the route marked on the map.
“It’s really strange! The Divine Mountains aren’t much different from the Lower Lands. Outside the cities, the divine power is too explosive to absorb.”
Ye Zichen had originally planned on finding a nice secluded place to meditate and recover, but the energy outside was too violent. All he could do was hurry, pushing himself in hopes of finding a town to take refuge in before nightfall.
A few more hours passed. Soon, night was almost upon him.
He couldn’t fly here, so he had to travel on foot. This took a real toll on the body. Finally, after great effort, Ye Zichen reached a town shortly before dawn.
Although it was late at night, the outside of the city was alight with lanterns.
Countless red paper lanterns hung from the city walls, as if to guide travelers even from a distance.
“There are so few people in the city!” Ye Zichen had assumed that the cities here would be like in the Lower Realms: that they’d be densely packed with people. To his astonishment, the population was pitifully low. As he walked through the city streets, he didn’t see so much as a single person.
He walked up to a tavern, his expression somewhat hesitant, and rubbed his spatial ring.
Although he didn’t know whether money was the same here or not, he at least had quite a few pills and treasures he didn’t need. Worst case scenario, he could use some of them in lieu of currency.
He walked into the bar, looking utterly composed. As soon as he stepped inside, Ye Zichen barked, “Waiter, bring everything good you have to eat and drink…. To…. to me….”
What was going on?
It seemed like he’d come to the wrong place.
