Translated by Kollumceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
From above were the vast sky and woodlands, from beneath were the roars of demon beasts. Looking down, they could even see demon beasts running about in the mountains. Looking ahead, there were mountains as far as the eye could see.
You XiaoMo had not been into the deep mountains before. Now that he was looking upon them, he then realized that the deep mountains that everyone constantly talked about could not be compared to the size of an ordinary mountain range, and he estimated that it stretched for thousands of miles.
No wonder everyone always said that the distance between Ward B and Ward A was far. He heard the Fifth Elder saying just a moment ago that Ward A was on the other side of the mountains, and he assumed it was quite near.
The Gigantic Firebird flew over the woodlands, and across the mountains. It finally slowed down after flying for close to two hours. Looking backwards, he could not even see a shadow of Ward B, but…
You XiaoMo looked at the endless greenery. He could also see no sign of Ward A.
Beside him, Tong YueXu realised his confusion and started to explain, “Ward A is DaoXin Academy’s nucleus, so there’s a barrier on the outside. If there’s no one to lead you through, you won’t be able to find it.”
Feng ChiYun calmly said, “I had heard that the security in Ward A is very tight. It seems like when we go in, it will be hard if we want to come out at some other point.”
You XiaoMo recalled BaiLi TianYi. Since he was able to come out once every month, surely there had to be a way. Sure enough, Tong YueXu once again started his explanation.
Tong YueXu said, “The regulations in Ward A is more stringent than Ward B. There is a list of the top hundred students in Ward A, and the top fifty have a chance to go out once every month. The rankings will be counted on the first day of every month. If on that day, your name is still in the top fifty, you will be able to gain that once-in-a-month chance.”
You XiaoMo said, “Then that shouldn’t be too hard.”
Tong YueXu shook his head, “You’re wrong if you think like that. Ward A is completely different from Ward B. Every student’s strength is greater than that of the top student of Ward B. Don’t even talk about the top fifty, even getting into the top hundred is extremely arduous.
You XiaoMo mused, “Don’t tell me that Ward A has more students than Ward B?”
If it this was the case, DaoXin Academy’s depths may perhaps be deeper than he thought.
Tong YueXu had a good laugh, “How can that be? There are no lack of geniuses in this world, but is it not to the extent of it being so banal as geniuses appearing everywhere in the main street. Otherwise, they could not be considered geniuses. But the competition for the top hundred rankings is very fierce. There are some who go up and are kicked down on the very same day.”
You XiaoMo looked at Ling Xiao, and whispered, “With your strength, you would be able to enter into the top ten right?”
Ling Xiao glanced at him, and gently asked, “Are you questioning my ability?”
You XiaoMo did not know why, but he felt that there was some hidden landmine in the sentence. Finally he decided to comply with his conscience, and vigorously shook his head, and guiltily smiled, “I don’t mean to question you. I was just asking only, you just need to listen.”
Ling Xiao squeezed the ticklish area on his waist.
You XiaoMo violently twitched and wriggled, nearly shouting out loud. However, he did not dare to flail about as Tong YueXu and Feng ChiYun were just beside him.
Tong YueXu and Feng ChiYun had long been aware of the strange interaction between the two, whose actions did not give off the impression of being friends. Nevertheless, the two tactfully pretended that they did not see anything – one looked up at the sky, and the other looked down at the ground.
You XiaoMo seized Ling Xiao’s immoral hand and ferociously glared at him with teary eyes, but his glare did not seem the least bit convincing.
The Gigantic Firebird alighted in a clearing surrounded by dense trees. Occasionally the outraged roars of demon beasts could be heard. The Fifth Elder threw a black plaque out in mid-air. The black plaque appeared to have been dropped into water, as ripples instantly formed around the plaque.
After five seconds, a green-colored passageway emerged before them.
The passageway was five meters wide. It stretched onwards into an unknown direction and the end of the passageway could not be seen with the naked eye.
The Fifth Elder turned to the crowd, “Everyone should remember not to wander off after entering and should follow behind me. Now, come with me.”
When he finished speaking, he took the lead and entered. All the students followed after him in succession. Although their eyes were filled with curiosity, they obediently followed instructions and did not wander about. The entrance of the passageway disappeared after everyone entered, and then the other elders proceeded to return by riding on the Gigantic Firebird.
You XiaoMo looked back. That patch of forest outside could no longer be seen, and was replaced by a world full of greenery, making him recall the Paradise Realm.
Ling Xiao had told him how the Paradise Realm was created. By using a boundary somewhere and encircling it with great magical powers a separate dimension was formed. Ward A could also have been created with the same method.
As the dimension was enormous, they currently did not know how large the area enclosed was.
However, You XiaoMo visually estimated that it definitely was bigger than the Paradise Realm, and may even be several times larger than it.
You XiaoMo covertly swallowed before he followed after the rest. A group of high-rise buildings finally appeared before their eyes half an hour later.
But in front of the buildings was a single ten meters wide limestone path. There were five small stone platforms on the path and standing in front of these stone platforms was a group of solemn-looking people.
The Fifth Elder walked up. The two old men standing in the lead immediately clasped their hand and respectfully called out a greeting of ‘Fifth Elder’.
In the academy, whether it was Ward A or B, practically everyone had to salute the Fifth Elder when they saw him. The only ones excluded were the seven other Giants. This was, of course, a type of courtesy.
The Fifth Elder nodded at them, and shortly said, “Everyone has arrived. We can start now.”
One of the elders turned to face everyone, and coldly said, “Firstly, congratulations to everyone for coming to Ward A. This is the place you are all going to live from today onwards. The regulations here are much stricter than Ward B, so all of you should put away former undisciplined attitudes in here. But before entering, you have to go through a checkpoint. This checkpoint is just to test everyone. Whether one passes or fails, everyone can still enter Ward A. Next, I will give an explanation about the rules.”
His words suddenly incited the crowd into an uproar.
No one would have guessed that there would still be checkpoints to clear. They had obviously never heard of this before.
You XiaoMo was awfully astonished. He looked at the person who was most likely to know about this, Tong YueXu. The latter received his message, and explained to everyone.
“He is correct. Every year, those who rise to Ward A will experience the clearance of this checkpoint. The objective is to repress the prestige of the new students, and drown their unbridled arrogance, to let the new students know that they may be the strongest in Ward B, but in here, they are the bottommost existence. In addition, we also have to pay a toll of ten points. If we lose, the points would belong to them. If we win, they would have to pay us ten points.
You XiaoMo exclaimed, “Then what would count as clearing the checkpoint?”
Tong YueXu replied, “That’s easy, Ward A would send out five students. If we last for five blows with them, then it would constitute as clearing the checkpoint, otherwise it’s a fail. Generally, less than three people are able to clear the checkpoint every year.”
You XiaoMo could not refrain from asking, “Then if the opponent is unable to last for five blows from us?”
Tong YueXu was somewhat taken aback.
Ling Xiao who was next to You XiaoMo gave him a scornful stare, “Then that person would pass.”
You XiaoMo asked again, “Can we clear the checkpoint with other people?”
Ling Xiao replied, “Sure!”
You XiaoMo excitedly said, “Really?”
Ling Xiao, “Of course it’s false.”
You XiaoMo, “… …” He had wanted to ask ‘How did you know’, but the question rolled around twice in his throat before he swallowed it back down. He must have had a brain spasm just now, that’s why he believed Ling Xiao’s words.
Tong YueXu and Feng ChiYun, “… …”
The two always felt that You XiaoMo was a buffoon, enjoying the daily task delivering himself to Ling Xiao’s door to be bullied by him and never tiring of it.
At the side, the other students were already ready to go. The seniors from Ward A were standing on the stone platforms as the students from Block One had arrived first. The Fifth Elder randomly chose five new students. The expressions of the five were not too well. They could feel that their opponents were quite strong, and it would be a bit difficult for them to last for five blows.
As predicted, the new students were outclassed. Even if the gap in strength was not particularly large, the seniors had significantly more combat experience. The longest the first student had lasted was three blows.
The students behind went up successively in a few batches, which included first and second ranked students from Ward B. Even they could only last for four blows with their opponents. Repeatedly suffering a crushing defeat, everyone’s morale dropped to an all-time low.
As expected, Ward A consisted of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. If the seniors acting as the clearance officials were already so strong, wouldn’t the other students be even stronger? Those few who originally had some arrogance were now hanging their head dispiritedly.
t/n: crouching tigers and hidden dragons mean talented individuals in hiding
Finally, it was down to the last three students and Ling Xiao’s turn. The students in the batch were Rong Xuan, Qin Zhang and a student in the top ten ranking.
Once they stepped out, everyone’s dead-fish eyes brightened.
In the competition, when Ling Xiao was dealing with that many people in one go, the opponents did not even manage to touch his clothes. If he went up, he may be able to withstand five blows from his opponent.
However, the four students on top of the stone platforms who had noticed their expectant looks let out gentle expressions.
