Chapter 7: The Academies Fight Over a Student
The instructor in charge of this round of entrance testing, Instructor Guan, quickly notified his superior and asked whether they could send over a higher-grade testing stone.
The news immediately alarmed the Five Great Elders of Black Tortoise Academy. Elder Xuan Yi moved fastest—he grabbed the testing stone and rushed over at top speed.
Elders Xuan Two, Three, Four, and Five followed close behind, together blocking off the testing platform.
“Where is he? Where’s that golden-grade genius?”
Seeing the commotion, the instructors from the other academies hurriedly sent messages to their own superiors as well.
The last time the Four Great Academies had encountered a student with golden-grade talent was over two thousand years ago. As soon as the news spread, elders and deans from every academy rushed over.
The five elders of Black Tortoise Academy knew this too, so they stared fixedly at the children near the edge of the line, afraid that if they so much as blinked, the genius might be snatched away.
Instructor Guan quickly pulled Si Er forward.
“Here! Here! This is the student who tested with golden-grade talent—Si Er!”
“So it’s him!”
Ten sharp eyes locked onto Si Er at once. He felt their gazes blaze over him like ten laser beams scanning his entire body, forcing him into the most upright posture of his life.
“Don’t be nervous, young one. We’re not bad people.”
The elders put on what they believed were their most benevolent smiles—terrifying enough to make the surrounding teenagers shiver.
Si Er could only nod awkwardly yet politely.
“Of course. All of you elders look very kind.”
[Though when you smile like that, you look like creepy uncles and aunties trying to kidnap children. It’s honestly a little scary.]
Huh? What was that voice?
The five elders instantly grew alert and scrutinized Si Er again.
The two sentences had sounded identical in voice—yet one had reached their ears, while the other seemed to land directly in their hearts.
But when that second voice sounded, the exquisitely carved-looking boy before them hadn’t even opened his mouth. Could this be the legendary art of ventriloquism?
But why would a child learn ventriloquism? That seemed unlikely.
If it wasn’t ventriloquism… could they really be hearing his inner thoughts?
That sounded even more ridiculous.
Not sure. Try again.
The elders exchanged glances. Elder Xuan Two, who fancied himself the most approachable, stepped forward.
“Young one, how should we address you?”
Si Er smiled obediently.
“My name is Si Er. ‘Si’ as in commonplace, ‘Er’ as in renowned far and wide.”
[Didn’t Instructor Guan just announce my name? Didn’t this elder hear it?]
Oh ho! There it was again—double audio!
The five elders exchanged another glance, signaling Elder Xuan Two to continue.
“And how old are you this year? Where are you from?”
“Sixteen. I came from Xiangshan City.”
Hmm? No second voice this time?
The elders grew confused again.
Elder Xuan Two kept smiling. “Xiangshan City? That’s in the west, isn’t it? Quite far. It must have been a tough journey.”
“Not at all, not at all. I’m already satisfied just being able to enter the city.”
[It was exhausting. I’m dead tired. Xiangshan City is literally mountains everywhere. I trekked over peak after peak just to get out, and then I ended up straight in Sand City. And Sand City is one giant desert!
The desert was crawling with massive venomous snakes and scorpions—terrifying. Sigh. Just to contract a mount, I had to race all sorts of magical beasts in the desert. So exhausting.]
The five elders: “……”
Wait. Why would a human race magical beasts? Was there something wrong with this child’s brain?
They glanced at the Wind-Flame Ostrich standing beside Si Er.
So… who won?
Suddenly very curious.
Seeing the elders’ attention drifting wildly off-topic, Instructor Guan quickly reminded them,
“Elders, perhaps we should let this student test his talent again?”
“Ah, right, right. Old age makes the memory unreliable.”
Elder Xuan Yi slapped his forehead and handed the testing stone to Si Er.
“Try again, young one. Same method as before.”
Si Er obediently placed his hand on it.
The scene repeated itself. A dazzling beam of golden light shot into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, the elders of the other three academies descended beside Si Er.
“Oh my, what a handsome young student. Did you walk to the wrong place? What you really want is Vermilion Bird Academy, isn’t it?”
“Stop causing trouble! This young man looks gentle. He’s not suited for you hot-tempered people of Vermilion Bird Academy.”
“Young one, come to Azure Dragon Academy instead. We are the foremost of the Four Great Academies—full of talents and rich in resources. We can provide the best learning environment.”
“Who says you’re the foremost? Did you appoint yourselves? Have you asked White Tiger Academy?”
“Young one, do you like petting cats? Any feline you can think of—we have them. Even owls—though in large flocks.”
Si Er’s eyes lit up.
Petting cats? That was tempting!
Although he liked dogs more, cute cats could absolutely make him stop in his tracks. Even owls—so long as they didn’t have human faces but cat faces—would still be adorable.
But cute animals could be found anywhere. Something that guaranteed longevity? That was rare.
Tilting his head, Si Er asked the White Tiger elder, Elder Bai Jin, “Does White Tiger Academy have longevity turtles?”
Elder Bai Jin: “……”
Could they? Could they?
If they did, wouldn’t he have gotten one for himself first? He wanted to live longer too!
Each of the Four Great Academies had its own signature magical beast: Black Tortoise Academy’s Longevity Turtle, Azure Dragon Academy’s Greenwood Flood Dragon, Vermilion Bird Academy’s Flame Bird, and White Tiger Academy’s Gold-Seeking Tiger.
These were all high-tier magical beasts, sometimes even containing higher bloodlines that could evolve into top-tier beasts.
They weren’t abundant, but not extremely rare either—each generation of disciples typically had two or three fortunate enough to contract one.
Since they were signature beasts, only disciples of that academy could contract them. Other academies naturally didn’t have them.
When young, people usually chased strength—so the other three academies’ combat-oriented beasts were more popular.
But Si Er was a bit of a slacker. He wasn’t interested in battle beasts. He only had eyes for the Longevity Turtle.
Thus he said firmly, “No, thank you for your kindness, elders. But I still prefer Lon— I mean, Black Tortoise Academy.”
[That was close. Almost told the truth.]
Heh. We heard it.
Though the elders of the other academies were unwilling, they couldn’t do anything about it. Si Er was firmly set on the Longevity Turtle.
From that choice alone, they could tell this child—though talented—was lazy by nature. Perhaps he wasn’t suited to their academies anyway.
Talent was important—but it wasn’t everything.
If the child slacked off in cultivation, he might end up no better than a hardworking purple-grade genius.
The five elders of Black Tortoise Academy also felt something strange. They should have been delighted by Si Er’s firm choice… so why did it feel just a tiny bit off?
Instructor Guan, however, was genuinely thrilled.
“Si Er, please come fill out this form. We also need to register the soul beasts you’ve already contracted, along with their strength levels.”
“Okay.”
Si Er took the form and pen obediently, then began filling it out with utter seriousness—making things up as he went.
What the heck is ‘Great Melon-Munching Rabbit’? I don’t think such a beast exists on the Continent of Ten Thousand Beasts…
The rabbit in his arms looked displeased at the form.
[Then what should I write? Mingxi Holy Rabbit? I don’t think that exists either.]
[It does! It’s appeared once before. That’s better than inventing a new species!]
[I don’t think so. Mingxi Holy Rabbit would be top-tier among top-tier beasts. Writing that down would just invite disaster.]
[Guagua, we need to learn to keep a low profile.]
