Chapter 17 - Annual Assessment (2/2)
“His identity is a little special,” Yunshang sighed. “As the commander of the State Guardians, it is not appropriate for me to become his teacher. To be honest with you, he is the eldest grandson of Duke Jingguo, the natural son of General Feilong.”
“I see,” Jia Rong said, enlightened, “I’ve heard that Duke Jingguo’s eldest grandson is a martial arts idiot, and because of that, he was the laughing stock in the capital a few years back. But Lord Yunshang, you should know that a martial arts idiot has a weak physical quality, and that makes it difficult for him to achieve any success in alchemy as well.”
Yunshang nodded and said, “Yes, I know that. But, this student does have something special about him. Even if he can’t become Lord Jia’s personal disciple, I hope you can give him some simple guidance, at least to let him become an apprentice alchemist, which is the only way for us to keep our promise to Duke Jingguo.”
Jia Rong’s eyes darkened as he said coldly, “In this case, I’ll meet this student. But, he has to go through a soul power test. If he reaches the minimum standard of an apprentice alchemist, I’ll take him as my personal disciple. It’s all for Lord Yunshang’s sake.”
Elated, Yunshang said, “Thank you, Lord Jia! I’ll remember your kindness!”
Jia Rong nodded slightly and said impatiently, “When you are free, bring him to a soul power test. I’ll take him as my disciple if he is qualified. But, if he doesn’t meet the minimum standards, he won’t have to see me.”
Looking at Jia Rong’s back as he left, Yunshang thought, ‘He’s the youngest alchemist and has a great future. By letting Yunxiao follow him is a way of me repaying the favor, and at the same time, will ease Duke Jingguo’s mind. I just wonder what’s the situation with that kid’s soul power…I hope he doesn’t disappoint me. That’s all I can do.”
…
Three days later, it was finally time for the academy’s annual assessment.
After the assessment was the annual two-month holiday. The students who passed would be promoted to intermediate class in the next semester, while those who failed would have to pack their things and leave the campus. Every year, a large number of students from powerful families were eliminated, while most of the poor students passed. After all once they failed, what awaited them was a fate of being completely reduced to mortals, so every one of them cultivated like madmen.
The assessment was held in the largest martial arts arena of the academy. It was one of the iconic buildings within the campus, and its construction was presided over by the former president of Tianshui’s Alchemists Association, Lord Yang Di himself. Built with several kinds of extremely rare ores, the arena covering an area of over a thousand meters squared looked magnificent.
Not far from the arena was the most striking structure in the campus—the giant statue of Gu Feiyang.
With one hand rested on the hilt of the sword, the statue looked out into the distance with a knowing smile at the corners of his mouth. It was forged by Gu Feiyang’s student, Yang Di, after he died fifteen years ago.
Yunxiao stood still in a corner, looking up at his own face. His thoughts seemed to have crossed the layers of the void and become one with his past life.
“Well, Yang Di is kind of thoughtful,” Yunxiao muttered to himself with a wry smile. He looked a little dispirited though.
Just then, two students walked past him as they gave him a look, then began to discuss with one another.
“I can’t believe you’ve condensed Primordial Qi and become a warrior after only a few months in seclusion!”
“Haha! It’s all for the assessment. You should know that warriors can go straight to the elite class in the intermediate grade.”
“Yeah, I know that! By the way, I’m screwed, because I’ve only opened two chakras. Do you think I’ll be eliminated?”
“Don’t worry! As long as you have opened one chakra, you can be promoted to the next grade. Look at that guy, the legendary young master of the Li Family, the typical loser! He’s the one who will be eliminated.”
“Are you sure the young master of the Li Family will be eliminated?”
“Of course! What do you think this place is? This is the Jialan Academy! Even His Majesty has to obey the rules if he’s here!”
“Damnit!” Yunxiao cursed, but he would naturally not argue with these lesser people. He walked quickly to the arena, where he found a large number of students gathered, many of whom were here to watch. They were pointing at the students who were about to be assessed and talking with one another.
“Young Master Yun, why are you so late?” Han Bai walked over to him.
Yunxiao frowned and asked, “Why are there so many people?”
Han Bai snorted coldly as he glanced at the onlookers. “They are here to watch us. As you know, our class has always been called the trash-stricken class, and these students from the poverty-stricken class are all here to witness how many of us would leave. More than a dozen people have given up this assessment and packed their things to go home.”
Yunxiao looked around him. Sure enough, there were a lot fewer people.
All those who could join their privileged class had great backgrounds in the empire. Even if they could not become warriors, they were still well provided for and had bright futures.
So, the students in their class, although few in the academy dared to provoke, were quite unlikable. Many people loved to see them make fools of themselves.