Admission Test

The sun was rising, coloring the sky with beautiful shades, promising to bring a day with bright weather. Hui Yue was looking out the window and enjoying the breathtaking scenery

while feeling happiness within. No matter where he was, a sunrise would always be beautiful.

He was in a city for the first time in ten years. However, this city was nothing like his old multicultural, technological world. So for him, everything was new. Looking at the sunset reminded him of the previous day when they had arrived.

The Rong entourage had entered the previous day and moved through the city. On the way, Hui Yue had seen a number of shops and stalls, and marketplaces that appeared to be owned by the different noble families within the city.

Hui Yue was unable to have a good look at anything as they traveled rather quickly. Everyone within the city made space along the populated roads for the City Lord’s guards and the Rong twins to pass through undisturbed.

Arriving at the City Lord’s mansion shocked Hui Yue quite a bit. The mansion was styled very much like a Chinese palace.

It was big with multiple buildings, with some surrounded by walls and others by moats. Some of the buildings were one level, while others were towers. Four pagodas could be seen within the outer wall.

As soon as they passed through the gate, Hui Yue noticed that each of the buildings housed their own courtyard. Some of these courtyards appeared to be small businesses while others were residential areas.

Between these different kinds of buildings were beautiful gardens and elaborate statues. In the middle of the palace was a big building that was erected on a hill with hundreds of steps leading up to the entrance. The palace looked incredibly similar to the Hall of Supreme Harmony that Hui Yue had seen in the Forbidden City. The difference was that this building had been erected on a hill twice as tall as that of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but the building itself was not as big.

“That is the city office,” Bu Huang explained. “It is the place where all business that has to do with the city is decided.”

Hui Yue nodded. It was obvious that a city had an unusually large amount of land under its protection, and it would definitely need quite a large hall to house every scholar and government official that worked for the city.

Bu Huang, Rong Ming, and Rong Xing were heading for another gate, the Donghua gate. It was heavily guarded by Duke ranked experts.

Behind this gate was the City Lord’s personal living quarters, and was bigger than what Hui Yue would ever have expected.

The city guards that had followed the entourage along on the trip were left outside the Donghua gate. Now they headed towards the barracks for a few days of rest.

Bu Huang, Rong Ming, Rong Xing, and Hui Yue continued forward together, moving towards a corner of the residence where the City Lord’s stables were erected. On the way there, Hui Yue was placed on the ground and told to stay behind so that he would not cause fear amongst the other magical beasts within the stables. Staying put as he was told, he admired the beautiful surroundings. He felt as if he had traveled back in time.

‘This style has been in this world for thousands of years’ Lan Feng said with a silent voice, only daring to speak now that they were alone. ‘The reason it has become popular in your world is most likely because an expert visited this plane and returned home with the designs or the other way around.’

‘You can travel between the worlds?’ Hui Yue asked shocked. This would definitely be amazing.

‘Yeah,’ Lan Feng answered as if it was common knowledge. ‘If you are strong enough, then you can create your own path between the different planes. Because of that, you will see a lot of different styles and cultures all over the different planes. Everyone borrows their ideas from other places.

Hui Yue nodded. Now he knew how and why every part of Earth had different designs and styles.

‘When you become an expert your lifespan increases. The stronger you get, the longer you can live. When you become a God, you can live for eternity if that is what you want,’ Lan Feng continued. ‘Imagine living out eternity in one place. That is really no fun. After a couple of thousand years, you ought to have seen every little stone of your home plane. Then most experts travel to other planes.’

Hui Yue furrowed his brows. ‘Earlier you said that there were only four Gods, the four divine beasts. How can there have been other Gods then?’ he asked inquiringly.

‘I have only seen four Gods,’ Lan Feng explained, ‘and while I lived on this plane only four Gods existed here, but there are so many continents in the many various worlds and Gods are able to create planes if they wish too. This plane is considered a very young one, and it is around the same age as the one you came from.’ This knowledge shocked Hui Yue, as he did not consider millions of years to be young, but before he commented, Lan Feng continued, ‘It is obvious that so many planes will create an insane amount of experts. Not even I know how many Gods there are or where they live. If I were to travel around outside of this place, I would be considered a weakling, even though I am a Saint ranked expert.’

Hui Yue could not help but gulp as he was shocked by the knowledge Lan Feng had shared with him.

‘Don’t worry too much about it,’ Lan Feng sighed while quickly slipping back into the qi cave as he saw Bu Huang and the twins coming closer. ‘When you reach God rank, we will go grab your girlfriend’s soul, and you two can tour the different planes as much as you want,’ his voice became quieter and quieter as he descended into the dantian and hid once again.

The Rong twins were both much older now than they had been when they first met Hui Yue. Their maturity had changed them greatly, but even those two youths were grinning shamelessly and laughing aloud while dragging the young Hui Yue around, showing him their favorite places within the gardens.

It was long past dinnertime before they finally reached the main house where Lord Rong Liang himself resided, and they hurried into the dining room where an extravagant feast was waiting for the three youngsters.

Lord Rong Liang was anticipating them and quickly greeted the three children before he and Bu Huang moved into another room as they had some business issues to discuss.

Hui Yue looked at the table and saw so many different foods such as he had never seen before, some were shellfish, while others were meat of unknown origin. There were salads, sauces, vegetables, and stews, with different types of soups and breads. It was the biggest feast that Hui Yue had ever seen.

“Don’t be too nervous about tomorrow,” Rong Ming said while waving around something that resembled a chicken drumstick.

“Your cultivation is high enough for you to join the academy, and we will go with you to make sure that everything is fair,” he continued with a smile, before biting half of the meat off the bone, and chewing it with delight.

“I hope it is not Elder Wang that is administering the admission test,” Rong Xing said with a quiet voice. Hui Yue looked at her questioningly. “He does not like commoners,” she explained, “so he will sometimes cheat a little on the test marking to make sure that they don’t get into the academy.”

“But don’t worry!” Rong Ming assured, while still nibbling on his food. “We will make sure that no one cheats when it is your turn.” Rong Xing gave a determined nod, showing that she, too, agreed upon this important issue.

“When you get accepted just stick to us at the start,” Rong Ming continued. “We will make sure you get to your classes at the right time. With us around no one will even think about bullying you,” he had a big smile on his face and quickly grabbed something that looked like mashed vegetables and handed it to Hui Yue. “Try this, it tastes really good!” he said despite a mouthful of food.

The three children spent the rest of the evening enjoying eating the food on the table, but no matter how hard they tried, it was impossible to eat it all. Eventually, it had turned completely black outside, and Rong Xing led Hui Yue towards a small two story house with a personal courtyard that was placed close to the wall surrounding the residential area of the City Lord.

“Stay here tonight,” she said with a smile and clapped her hands, causing crystals to light up all over the building, both inside and outside. “We will come and pick you up tomorrow,” she said before wishing Hui Yue a good night and walking towards her own home.

Although Hui Yue tried hard to fall asleep, it was impossible as he kept worrying about what could happen the following day. The admission test was incredibly important for him as he needed the extra help from the academy to quickly get past the Student rank. If anyone from the academy noticed Lan Feng, then there would be trouble for him.

‘Bu Huang is a five star King ranked expert, and Rong Liang is a nine star King ranked cultivator. They both know that you hide something, but they have been very considerate so far. Don’t expect to find other considerate people,’ Lan Feng warned, and Hui Yue nodded at the warning.

‘If we see anyone else who has unlocked the upper dantian then we need to scram,’ the blue phoenix continued, and in the end the two of them ended up spending the night planning a number of escape plans in case they were noticed. Before they realized how much time had passed, they saw the sunrise was painting the beautiful sky in a warm light.

Had he still been in the village, then he would already be on the hillside by now, looking after the goats. Although it had been only two days since he had last done his chores, already his past village life felt as if it had been in a completely different world.

Being in Riluo City was like moving within a dream. Everywhere he looked things were so familiar, but at the same time so foreign. He saw chickens, which gave him a sense of familiarity, but as soon as he looked closer, he noticed a horn on their heads and a scaled tail behind. Even if things seemed familiar, there was always something else hidden beneath.

Hui Yue spent time cultivating while listening to the tranquil morning sounds. He had expected the city to be bursting with sounds, but the city’s mansions were so big, and the City Lord’s residence was located so far away from the busy city that the sounds didn’t reach them.

At first, the only thing that Hui Yue did hear, was the sound of the guards casually talking together while switching from one shift to another. Slowly the mansion woke up. Servants rushed back and forth to ensure that everyone’s breakfast and necessities were ready for yet another morning.

Scholars were soon running around picking up scripts and scrolls for their teachers, intent on being ready for another busy day Suddenly the whole mansion was filled with life and energy, much like any other day.

A servant arrived at Hui Yue’s courtyard and brought an invitation to join the Rong family for breakfast, which Hui Yue quickly accepted. As soon as he entered the dining room, he halted slightly upon noticing that Rong Liang and Bu Huang were both present.

The young white-haired boy quickly cupped his hands and did a slight bow towards the two adult men, which both responded with a gentle nod before they returned to their conversation.

The Rong twins and Hui Yue finished a hearty breakfast filled with fruits, yogurt, cured meats, and bread, together with some kind of milk and fresh pressed juice. Hui Yue could not help but be surprised upon seeing the enormous amount of food created for each meal.

“Don’t worry, the leftovers from the buffet always go to the martial arts schools that dad manages,” Rong Ming said proudly, upon noticing Hui Yue’s judging look. “All children below ten years old can go to the martial arts schools and learn how to cultivate then get a meal,” Rong Xing explained. “Dad wants to help them learn how to cultivate so they can help their family earn money instead of remaining poor.”

“But Elder Wang hates the martial arts schools,” Rong Ming whispered. “There are a lot of poor commoners who get the right to join the Royal Academy. He thinks it is stupid to teach martial arts to commoners instead of ruling over them.”

Hui Yue understood that this was not a subject to talk about while at school, but he instantly felt more positive towards the intimidating Lord Rong Liang.

“It is because Elder Wang’s family is a part of the Great Hundred Names,” Rong Ming complained, however, he still kept his voice low enough, so the two adults did not hear what was said. At least he was convinced of that.

Rong Xing sighed. Her twin brother kept saying things of which Hui Yue had no concept, so she once again took the role of the translator. “The Great Hundred Names are one hundred families who can follow their ancestry all the way back to the Dark Age. It is only one hundred noble families that survived whatever happened back then. They are in all three allied countries, so it is quite astonishing to be from one of the Great Hundred Names families.”

Hui Yue nodded. It meant that their family history was at least four thousand years old. It was indeed quite a history for any noble family, and he imprinted the name Wang in his heart, ensuring that he needed much more caution whenever he was going to deal with those people.

The meal was quickly eaten while Rong Ming was busy telling Hui Yue about some of his friends at the Royal Academy.

Hui Yue had worn some of his usual clothes today, and although they were wearing out, they were incredibly comfortable. But a maid quickly brought his new set of white clothes to him. They had been cleaned during the night, and the Rong twins both wanted him to wear the white clothes. They wanted to show off their friend’s beauty.

So, with a sigh, Hui Yue followed their suggestions and quickly changed into his most beautiful pieces of clothing. Hopefully, they could convince the notorious Elder Wang that Hui Yue was a person worthy to study at the Royal Academy.

Outside the City Lord’s mansion was a carriage awaiting them. It was being pulled by four kirins. They were related to qilins but were much more elegant. Where the qilin was like a horse and dragon mixed together, the kirin was more like a deer mixed with a dragon. It was gracious and elegant while the lean muscles were bulging beneath the scaled skin.

“The Royal Academy is located on a mountain range behind the city,” Rong Xing explained. “It is not too far away, but we are expected to ride in a carriage when we travel from the city to the academy.”

The travel through Riluo City was much like the previous day. Hui Yue still did not have time to see anything in detail, but he comforted himself with the fact that he had no money to entertain himself with. Cities were only fun for the rich people.

The travel to the Royal Academy did not take overly long. As soon as the carriage exited the city walls, they gained in speed and almost flew towards the distant mountains. With the kirins pulling the carriage it only took half an hour to reach their destination.

The carriage stopped right at the foot of the mountain where large fields were filled with young children and their entourages. Some of the children had come in groups and looked poor, which caused Hui Yue to assume that they were the commoners that Elder Wang disapproved of, while other children were bringing a wide array of experts and servants with them to the examination.

There were seven elderly figures set apart from these children and their entourages, and these figures were positioned in a straight line in front of the mountain entrance. There were exactly three meters between each of the elders, and in front of each of them was a small table.

On the table was a book, a pen, and a white stone slab. In front of the elders was a queue of around ten children. One child at a time went towards the elder and stated their name and age. Then the elder ordered them to lay their hand upon the stone slab, before they inserted some of their qi into the slab, forcing it to write down the child’s real age and cultivation rank.

Hui Yue furrowed his brows slightly. The highest ranked of those elders was a four star Duke, the others were nine star Grandmasters. None of these elders would be capable of detecting Lan Feng.

‘Their skilled experts must be hiding within the academy,’ Lan Feng said with relief.

“Oh no,” whispered Rong Ming next to Hui Yue, who had been busy worrying about being noticed. “Elder Wang is here. Let’s go queue up over there,” he continued and grabbed Hui Yue’s arm, dragging him towards one of the elders at the other side.

Hui Yue was confused. Elder Wang was supposed to have a high standing within this academy, however none of the experts here were any real threat to Hui Yue and Lan Feng. Suddenly a thought hit Hui Yue, and he narrowed his eyes slightly while asking, “What rank are the teachers

at the academy?”

“Hmm, most of them are Grandmasters. A few are Masters, and we have a couple of Duke ranked experts,” Rong Xing answered after thinking for a bit. Hui Yue felt relief washing over him, as he had realized why. This was, after all, only the outer disciples. The students here all depended on the lower dantian to train, while the students who had already opened the middle dantian would be moved to the main Royal Academy within the capital city.

It made perfect sense that any instructor or teacher with a higher cultivation would teach the best students. For now, it did not seem as if Lan Feng and Hui Yue would have any problems while moving around at the academy.

Hui Yue was in a great mood when he stood in the queue, waiting for his turn to be tested. The Rong twins were standing next to him. Although they were already students and allowed to enter the Royal Academy, they would not go before Hui Yue had been accepted.

The two children of the City Lord who stood next to the unknown beautiful child did cause quite a commotion, and many noble families started guessing as to what the heritage of this unknown child could be.

Neither Hui Yue, nor the twins had any interest in the gossip that was going around, as all three knew that his origin was to be kept a secret, and as soon as it was their turn, Hui Yue strode towards the elder with a calm radiating from within that was unlike anyone his age.

“What is your name?” the elder asked with a friendly voice. This child was after all being guided by two students of high profile.

“Hui Yue,” was the clear answer.

“Place your hand on the stone slab,” the elder ordered, and Hui Yue did as he was told. A second later, the elder placed a finger on the same stone slab and allowed some of his qi to pull out a bit of Hui Yue’s qi from within his body. Suddenly letters appeared on the surface, and Hui Yue removed his hand.

“Five star Student rank. Boy age ten,” the elder said with a mumbling voice while recording the result within the book on the table. He opened a bag and pulled out an emblem. The emblem was small and shaped like a pentagon. Printed on the emblem were five flower petals that surrounded a sun in the middle.

“Here you go,” the elder said while handing the emblem to the child in front of him. “Keep this for the years you study at our academy. Make sure to keep it safe.” With a wave of his hand, the elder moved his attention towards the next child in line for the admission test, and Hui Yue quickly moved forward, following the Rong twins towards the entrance leading up the mountain.

The entrance was simple. The three children moved through a stone pavilion, and Hui Yue noticed how his student emblem started shining as soon as he entered, but nothing else happened, and as soon as they had walked through, the weird shine had vanished.

“It is a key,” Rong Xing explained. “Only the ones who have an emblem that belongs to the Royal Academy can enter the academy grounds.” The Rong twins found their own emblems, both looked identical to Hui Yue’s.

“A golden one shows that you are an inner disciple from the Royal Academy in the capital. The teachers and instructors all have white symbols,” Rong Xing continued to explain.

“This is the worst part of the academy,” Rong Ming said with a sigh while looking up in front of him. Hui Yue moved his gaze towards the front, only to see endless stone steps leading towards the mountain top.

The three children smiled to each other before they slowly started moving up, one step at a time. It has to be said that they were all cultivators, so it required quite a bit for those three children to be tired, but Rong Ming was often bored, and he had had enough after just half an hour of climbing the stairs.

“We have a lot of friends at the academy, and I am sure that they will like you, too,” he started while looking disapprovingly at the many steps in front of him. “Quite a few of them are commoners, but your family background does not matter if you are strong. That is what father has always taught us.”

“I usually hang around with Gao Yan, Ma Kong, and Deng Wu,” he continued while the three climbed one step after another, “Gao Yan’s family is really poor, but his talent is as good as mine and Xing’s. Dad asked us to look after him at the start, and he is a really good guy. Most of the commoners at the academy look up to him. Ma Kong is from the Ma family, they are nobles, but they gained nobility quite recently so most of the other nobles look down upon them, and then there is Deng Wu. He is a weirdo. The Deng family is one of the Great Hundred Names, but Deng Wu is such a skirt chaser. He has followed us from the start because he fell for Xing.”

After getting a quick explanation of the different friends’ family backgrounds, they had arrived at the top of the stairs, and Hui Yue sucked in a deep breath.

This was supposed to be a mountaintop, but instead, it was a city bustling with youngsters everywhere. Every mountaintop had been connected with long bridges, and there were flying magical beasts hovering around, waiting for their masters.

Four of the mountaintops were filled with small houses, counting at least a thousand on each, which Rong Xing explained to be dormitories. Each student had their own room. There was also a canteen placed on each mountaintop that would offer food three times a day free of charge.

These four mountaintops were all to the left from the staircase while the right side was filled with tall buildings. Each building had a different nameplate. One said ‘Martial Arts Skill Hall,' while another said ‘Qi Theory Lessons,' yet another said ‘Cultivation Methods.'

Several mountaintops had been completely flattened and changed into training grounds while others were made into fighting arenas.

Right in front of Hui Yue was a big pagoda which was the Royal Academy main building. It housed the most important martial arts skills, and all the instructors and teachers lived within.

Everywhere Hui Yue looked he saw students. Some were young and scared while traveling around in groups, others were older and much more comfortable while moving with a certain feeling of belonging.

Here was the new place for Hui Yue to live, and he could feel joy bubbling inside. A whole new world was waiting for him, just waiting to be explored.

“Rong Ming!” a voice called from the side, and Hui Yue turned around to see a youngster rushing towards them.