The bustling New Student Plaza was crowded with people and Liu Bai's group occupied one section of it.
Unlike other factions their thousand people did not wear unified clothing nor did they bear identical emblems which clearly showed that they were not like the other areas where everyone belonged to a single power.
"Boss look at them then look at us. Why does it feel like we're just a ragtag bunch?" Guo Xiong's broad face showed some hesitation as he glanced several times at the locations of the Xuan Gang and the Demon Gate before finally leaning toward Liu Bai and speaking with implied meaning.
Liu Bai gave a faint smile. The reason why these thousand people were gathered together was because they were all under the charge of the same mentor. In a while when they participated in the New Student Assembly they would need to be led there by their mentor so they had gathered here.
Previously Liu Bai had indeed entertained the idea of gathering these new students to form a faction but in the end he realized it was nothing but trouble for himself. Moreover after the previous competitions no blind veteran students came to cause trouble so the matter had been left aside.
However judging from now it seemed Guo Xiong had been thinking about it all along.
"Alright if you're interested you can form a faction for fun. But let me say this beforehand when the time comes I will not have time to handle such trivial matters. I'll just be a hands-off boss."
"Hehe I was just waiting for you to say that. Don't worry Boss leave it to me!" Guo Xiong pounded his chest with a thudding sound.
Liu Bai smiled again and did not bother with him any further. His gaze turned toward Su Xuan beside him.
After a few days apart Su Xuan's aura was now even more condensed and her connection with the surrounding heavens and earth seemed to have grown closer. Liu Bai suspected that she had most likely broken through to the middle-phase of the Heaven Fusion Realm.
"Congratulations it seems you have grown quite a bit these days."
Su Xuan smiled gently and lightly twirled her hair between her fingers. "If I do not work harder I fear I won't even be able to see your back in the future."
Although Liu Bai still appeared to be at the Early-phase of the Heaven Fusion Realm Su Xuan could sense a terrifying power within him like a dormant volcano. If it erupted it would likely shock everyone.
"What about me what about me Liu Bai big brother I also broke through to the Divine Soul Realm!" Beside them the petite Su Ling'er bounced up and down trying hard to make her presence felt.
"Mm Ling'er is amazing too!" Liu Bai looked at the lively young girl and immediately showed a bright smile patting her little head in praise.
"Hehe."
Su Ling'er grinned broadly clearly very pleased with the compliment.
This time whether it was the Su sisters or Li Qing, Guo Xiong and An Ran they had all improved greatly. Except for the little Su Ling'er the rest had all broken through to the Heaven Fusion Realm which was far beyond the strength they had in the same period in the original story.
The greatest reason for this was naturally Liu Bai. Without the Spiritual Values he provided to exchange for Spirit Soul Pills even Li Qing and Guo Xiong would have needed another month or two to break through.
As for An Ran she would have needed even longer.
For cultivators in the Great Thousand World resources were simply too important.
"Most likely everyone aiming for first place in this New Student Assembly has their eyes on you. Once we enter the assembly we must be careful." Su Xuan softly reminded.
This was also meant for Li Qing and Guo Xiong to hear. With their current strength gathered together they were already quite a formidable force.
"Hmph I don't care what they think this first place will definitely belong to the Boss!" Guo Xiong's rugged face showed a hint of ferocity and an oppressive aura burst forth.
Although their group did not have many people it would not be easy for the Xuan Gang, the Demon Gate or even the low-key Judgment Hall to gather a number of experts equal to theirs.
"Alright students if you are ready then follow me."
In the distance a streak of light shot over and Qiu Zongsheng's figure appeared in midair. Looking down at the many students he gave a warm smile.
"Let's go."
Liu Bai waved his hand and was the first to shoot forth.
At once figures flashed below as silhouettes soared into the sky. Under Qiu Zongsheng's lead they swept like a vast tide toward the northwest of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
At the same time new students from other areas also moved out their dense numbers surging forth in a magnificent spectacle.
Within the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy many veteran students had also paused their cultivation to watch this New Student Assembly. Their numbers were several times greater than those of previous assemblies.
There was no helping it. This year's new students had been so troublesome. In less than a month after arriving they had already caused so many incidents and even rumors spread that they were the "strongest batch ever". This made many veteran students unconvinced and eager to see for themselves just how strong these junior brothers and sisters truly were.
Liu Bai's group followed Qiu Zongsheng westward for over ten minutes before slowing down and gradually descending.
Before them was a vast and boundless mountain range. Within it a colossal and towering mountain stood a hundred thousand feet tall. The mountain was so immense it seemed to blot out the sky itself.
Above the mountain the air appeared turbid and there were faint flashes of thunder and gales. Liu Bai and the others could sense an extremely shocking spiritual energy fluctuation spreading from there giving an oppressive feeling.
Before the mountain range lay a broad plain which was their destination. The plain was already filled with figures as all the new students had gathered there. The countless noises merged into a deafening roar.
Whoosh.
After waiting for a while just as all the new students had arrived a beam of light slowly approached from the distance. Although it seemed slow in the next instant it appeared in the sky above them. That teleportation-like speed left many wide-eyed.
Soon the light faded revealing three figures.
Liu Bai looked up. The two on the left and right were elderly men in azure robes their hair and beards white their expressions solemn. When their eyes closed and opened it was as if lightning flickered within them an extremely strange sight.
Between them was a white-robed old man with crane-like hair yet a youthful face. Although his hair was snow-white his features were as handsome as a young man's his skin fair without the slightest sign of age and paired with his smiling expression he gave an impression of great kindness.
Liu Bai's gaze grew somewhat solemn. He could feel that when these three appeared the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in this area seemed to constantly surge toward them like swallows returning to their nests. Such control over the world was clearly beyond the reach of the Three Heavens Realms.
"That is our Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy's three Elders especially the one in the middle who is ranked among the Heavenly Seat Elders."
Qiu Zongsheng looked at the three figures in the sky with a respectful expression and spoke to Liu Bai and the others beside him.
"Heavenly Seat Elder?!"
Su Xuan and the others were visibly shaken when they heard this.
By now, they had gained some understanding of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. For example, the position of Elder was divided into the Heavenly Seat and the Earthly Seat, and Heavenly Seat Elders were extremely rare within the Academy. They had not expected that the white-haired, youthful-faced elder before them would possess such a status.
Liu Bai, however, did not find this particularly surprising.
After all, he had already met Elder Chi Huo, the Head of the Artifact Refining Institute and the most powerful artifact refiner in the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. Elder Chi Huo was also ranked among the Heavenly Seat.
However, if one were to speak purely in terms of strength, this Heavenly Seat Elder's cultivation should be much stronger than that of Elder Chi Huo.
This was nothing strange, as Elder Chi Huo was a reclusive old man who cared for nothing but artifact refining. In his eyes, nothing existed beyond artifact refining.
It was precisely because of such a status and personality that the incident of Liu Bai being personally taken away by Elder Chi Huo last time had caused such a great stir within the Academy.
Very soon, the white-haired, youthful-faced Heavenly Seat Elder in the sky looked down at the endless sea of people gathered on the plain below. With a casual wave of his sleeve, the deafening noise instantly fell silent.
"You little newcomers, this old man's name is Zhu Tian. First, I welcome you all to becoming new members of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. In addition, this time I will be the one presiding over this year's New Student Assembly."
"In the past, the New Student Assembly was always held in the form of a tournament. Originally, this year's was decided to be the same. But after discussions between the Dean and many of the Elders, it was decided that there will be a slight change for this year's assembly."
These words left not only the many new students below momentarily stunned, but even many veteran students and quite a number of mentors showed astonishment on their faces.
Zhu Tian did not elaborate further on the matter.
In truth, the Academy had originally planned to reform the New Student Assembly starting from the next batch. However, because this year's batch seemed to have an exceptional number of geniuses and even produced monstrous talents like Liu Bai, Li Xuantong, and Shen Cangsheng, Dean Tai Cang decided to move the reform ahead by one year.
Of course, this was something known only to a few high-ranking members of the Academy, so even Liu Bai was momentarily stunned when he heard the news.
Zhu Tian looked at the crowd's expressions, smiled faintly, and raised his hand to point toward the mountain range behind them, specifically the towering central peak.
"This year's New Student Assembly is very simple. At the summit of that Northern Spirit Mountain stands a Spirit Flag. Whoever can be the first to ascend to the peak and seize that Spirit Flag will be the champion of this New Student Assembly."
Once these words fell, the plain immediately erupted with murmurs of surprise.
What was going on? Was it really that simple?
"Of course, there are still quite a number of spiritual beasts living within that mountain range, and on the summit of Northern Spirit Mountain, there seem to be a few Heavenly-tier spiritual beasts as well." Zhu Tian paused deliberately, as if teasing the new students, before continuing with a smile.
"Heavenly-tier spiritual beasts?"
Most of the new students were momentarily stunned before their expressions turned bitter.
Do not be fooled by the fact that Liu Bai and his group had all broken through to the Heaven Fusion Realm and were being hailed as the strongest batch ever. In truth, they were only a tiny fraction. Among the current new students, more than eighty percent were still at the Spiritual Wheel Realm. The remaining ten percent or so had just entered the Divine Soul Realm, and only about half a percent were at the mid to late-phase of the Divine Soul Realm.
As for those who had truly reached the Heaven Fusion Realm, there were just over ten in total, less than one in ten thousand among the hundreds of thousands of new students.
"Anyone who reaches the summit among the first five will receive a reward. The first place will receive five hundred thousand Spiritua Values, the second will receive four hundred thousand, and so on."
Zhu Tian continued his introduction. "Of course, the most important part is that the top five will also have the exceptional privilege of entering the Divine Codex Temple. There, if your luck is good, you might even obtain a Deity-grade Spiritual Art."
"Deity-grade Spiritual Art?"
Those four words made countless new students draw in sharp breaths, as though the temperature of the entire plain had dropped by several degrees.
In the next instant, fervent light surged in everyone's eyes.
That was a Deity-grade Spiritual Art. It was something capable of driving countless experts into madness, and for these new students, it was a legendary existence. It possessed an irresistible allure.
Even Liu Bai's heart was stirred.
This might be his chance to obtain a second Deity-grade Spiritual Art for himself, and naturally, he intended to seize it firmly.
"There's no need to say any more. The rules for this year's New Student Assembly are not complicated. Everything will depend on your own abilities." Zhu Tian smiled, then waved his sleeve. Immediately, a crisp bell tone rang out through the heavens and earth.
"Now, I announce that the New Student Assembly begins!"
Boom!
As Zhu Tian's amused voice echoed across the world, the entire plain instantly shook.
In the next moment, countless beams of spiritual light shot into the sky. Densely packed figures swept out like a swarm of locusts, surging toward the mountain range ahead.
Naturally, Liu Bai and his companions were not about to fall behind and joined the crowd rushing into the mountains.
However, instead of heading straight for Northern Spirit Mountain, they stayed within the flow of people.
"I have a feeling that this matter will not be as simple as Elder Zhu Tian says…" Su Xuan, ever keen-minded, noticed something amiss and could not help but speak to Liu Bai and the others.
Liu Bai nodded in agreement, though he smiled inwardly. He knew very well it would not be so simple.
Elder Zhu Tian had only said that there were a few Heavenly-tier spiritual beasts on Northern Spirit Mountain, but he had not mentioned their true strength. In Liu Bai's memory, the Heavenly-tier spiritual beasts up there were far from easy to deal with.
Meanwhile, after everyone had set out, one of the two white-haired old men standing behind Zhu Tian suddenly said, "There seems to be a certain big fellow at the summit of Northern Spirit Mountain, is there not? You did not tell them that part."
"Uh?"
Zhu Tian seemed momentarily taken aback before a look of regret appeared on his face as he patted his head.
"Oh dear, I actually forgot. How careless of me. I must really be getting old. But it's nothing. Young people always need a bit of excitement to awaken their potential."
The two white-haired elders exchanged a glance and shook their heads helplessly. This fellow was clearly doing it on purpose. Those new students were in for a real challenge this time.
...
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