Chapter 1: Entering the Institute (1/2)

Book 2: Studying for the Rise to Prominence of the Human Race

Chapter 1: Entering the Institute

Long Coiling City was the most beautiful towards the end of the ninth month of the year.

Every year around this time, the iris flowers would begin to bloom, forming a colorful sea of flowers.

Past the rippling sea of flowers towered a red brick wall, reaching all the way to a mountain five kilometers away. The wall effectively separated the two sides into worlds of their own.

The wall snaked and wound all over the place, like the Great Wall. It appeared like a dragon with its head and tail connected, forming a large circle. It had the horns, head, body, claws, and tail of a dragon. Because it looked like a hidden dragon, the school became known as the Hidden Dragon Institute. There were even walls specially built to form the eyes of the dragon. Altogether, the Hidden Dragon Institute was composed of six parts.

The Hidden Dragon Institute was extremely lively today.

People crowded the main entrance. Many candidates entering the school were present, along with family members seeing them off. Traffic flowed ceaselessly and countless people were engaged in conversation. Carriages with the names of the clan engraved on them filled the road as far as the eye could see.

Of those who walked to the main entrance, eight out of ten people were from Inherited Bloodline Nobility Clans.

Under these kinds of circumstances, the Su Clan’s small carriage had no right to be publically seen. It was squeezed into a very remote corner. Mingshu stood inside the carriage, anxiously gazing out the window. “Why isn’t Young Master here yet? Today’s the last day to enroll! If he misses it today, he might as well not have attended the Hidden Dragon Battle at all!”

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Li Shu laughed. “Young Master is extremely disciplined. If he says he will come today, he will come. Just be patient.”

Time flew by and before they knew it, the sun was inching closer to the horizon.

As large numbers of students poured into the main gates, their clamor disappeared. The sun was about to fall behind the horizon when two silhouettes could be seen in the distance.

“It’s Young Master! Young Master, we’re here!” Mingshu’s eyes were sharp. When he saw Su Chen in the distance, he began to yell excitedly.

Hearing that voice, Su Chen lifted his head and glanced over. He revealed a trace of a smile.

When Su Chen neared them, they discovered that after two months of traveling, his temperament had become much more concise. His eyes reflected the changes that had occurred to him, changes abnormal for a child of his age.

Li Shu respectfully said, “It’s been two months since I last saw you, Young Master. You seem to have gotten slimmer.”

Su Chen laughed. “Not really, but thank you. How is the clan, and how is Mother?”

“Everything is fine. Did Young Master broaden his horizons during your trip?” Lin Shu asked with a smile.

“I was just confirming some thoughts and ideas I had,” Su Chen replied as he gazed off into the distance, his expression distant. “Although some things were never a mystery, I still had to personally witness them in order to truly understand.”

“Young Master, let’s forget about these things for now. Hurry up and enroll; if we delay any longer, the institute won’t let us in anymore,” Mingshu said coaxingly.

Su Chen headed towards the institute’s enrollment area.

Perhaps because it was already late, there was only one person at the enrollment table. The person sitting there was a middle-aged man with some facial hair, sitting there majestically.

When he saw Su Chen walking towards him, the middle-aged man said, “Show me your identity tablet.”

Every student had an identity tablet. They had received it after the Hidden Dragon Battle.

Su Chen handed him his identity tablet. The middle-aged man said, “Su Chen, fifth place in the Three Mountains Region’s exam, second-tier seedling. You’ll be living in the Clear Sky Tower, room 12.”

Su Chen already knew that the Hidden Dragon Institute separated its students into three different tiers. Tier one was composed of the elite, with two more tiers close behind. The rest were just regular exam candidates. Those who placed in the top three in their exam region were placed into tier one, the top ten into tier two, and the top twenty into tier three. The rest became common students.

Different levels of students possessed different authority.

Common students were not allowed to bring servants into the institute. They lived in the normal student residences and did not receive any special allowances. This was all in accordance to the school’s rules.