“Bai Chen, Human-Grade innate talent!...”
“Ye Mei, Human-Grade innate talent!...”
“Bai Wen, Earth-Grade innate talent!...”
“Sheng Xuefan, Hu…”
The voice of the Celestial Academy’s elder, echoed out as multiple children ranging from ages of 12 to 13, march up towards the large podium and placed their hands on three stone pillars.
In front of the large podium, stood several hundred boys and girls around the same age, that all had mild looks of nervousness on their faces as they heard the announcements.
The Celestial Academy’s Disciple Selection Ceremony had started over an hour ago, and during that time, not one person was found to have a Sky-Grade innate talent.
All of whom that went up with the hopes of entering the Celestial Academy, had their dreams shattered when they placed their hand on the first stone pillar, and the light that shone wasn’t green.
These three stone pillars were ancient tools used to measure someone’s innate talent.
Each measures the grade of a person’s foundation, soul, and comprehension using the same color scheme to identify the different grades of a person’s attribute.
The color orange signifies that one of the person’s attributes is at the Human-Grade, yellow signifies that it’s at the Earth-Grade, green is Sky-Grade, blue is Heaven-Grade, and Violet signifies the rarest and practically a myth level grade, the Supreme-Grade.
The Celestial Academy states that all three attributes of a person, their foundation, their soul, and their comprehension, should be in the Sky-Grade to be qualified to enroll in their school.
With that fact, the youths that went up and saw that the first stone pillar, that tests their soul grade, didn't glow green in color, had understandably become mortified. What further nailed it in the coffin for them, was the elder’s piercing shout that announced their innate talent.
With their heads hung low, they trotted off the podium feeling more bitter than they have ever been in their entire lives.
As time tick by, with more and more people being rejected, the remaining youths below the podium started to feel a palpable sensation of dread wash over them.
Thoughts of ‘will I be able to enter?’ and ‘I have to enter’, echoed out in their minds as they waited for their turn to be tested.
Aside from the youths that were participating in the ceremony, several leaders of small and large clans that had members participating, were seated within luxurious pavilions watching the events unfold.
“Bai Luo, it looks like no one from your clan would be able to enter the Celestial Academy this year as well.”
On the top floor of a large pavilion, seven men who had looks ranging from someone in their early twenties to late sixties were dressed in luxurious attires, as they sat within chairs that overlook the ceremony down below.
The man that just made the rude comment took a swig from his wine cup, as he glanced at a burly middle-aged man five seats to his right.
The receiver of the rude comment, who was called Bai Luo, shot a furious glare towards the man who was casually sipping his wine.
With a cold tone, Bai Luo said, “Zhong Hua, who are you to make such a comment when your clan hasn’t produced a Sky-Grade genius since the year before as well?”
The man call Zhong Hua removed the cup from his lips before he sneered at Bai Lu Fong and said, “At least my Earth-Grade geniuses had surpassed yours in number, in fact, it was twice as many.”
Zhong Hua then made a ‘tsk tsk’ sound before he continue.
“Brother Bai Luo, if this continues, I’m afraid your clan will lose the right to call itself one of the Seven Major Clans on the Maple Continent. You might even be reduced to a third-rate clan in the near future.”
When Bai Luo heard those words, a huge vain bulge from his forehead while the wine cup in his hands shattered in his grip.
‘Tremble!!’
The sound of the pavilion shaking suddenly echoed out as a mighty force erupted from Bai Luo's burly body.
Creaking sounds came from the pavilion as if it was about collapse. The people who were on the lower floors couldn’t help but scream out in shock and alarm.
The five other men who were in the middle of this just look on with varying looks of amusement and disinterest.
While glaring at Zhong Hua, Bai Luo said, “Zhong Hua, do you think my Bai Clan is filled with a bunch of trash like your Zhong Clan?!”
In the face of Bai Lou's intense pressure and biting cold words, Zhong Hua only let out a loud laugh then said, “Bai Luo, you can’t handle the reality of your situation so you resort to insults? I expected nothing less from someone of the Bai Clan, you're all just a bunch of brutes that have shit for brains!!”
“Bastard!! You dare insult, my clan?!!”
Bai Luo roared as a piercing red light shot from his eyes while his aura skyrocketed, causing the pavilion to sway violently.
Bai Luo was about to get up from his seat and savagely beat this bastard Zhong Hua, but one of the five men suddenly spoke.
“Enough the both of you.”
The person who spoke was an old man that had gray hair at his temples, though despite looking like he was in his late sixties, his eyes still held a shining glow of vitality that shattered his frail old man persona.
As he sat there, he turn to look between the two men before he continued and said,
“What kind of example are you two setting for the younger generation when you're both bickering like little children? You both should start acting like someone of your statuses.”
Bai Lou's stopped releasing his pressure after hearing the old man’s words. He might be willing to argue with Zhong Hua, but this old man was the leader of the number one clan on the Maple Continent, old man Ghuanyu of the Ming Clan.
Bai Luo didn’t dare to come into conflict with him, else he bring trouble to his clan. However, he still gave Zhong Hua a fierce glare before he poured himself any other cup of wine.
As the commotion quieted down, the people who had felt the sudden pressure from the pavilion all look towards the pavilion’s top floor with a mix of emotions ranging from respect, trepidation, and utter fear.
The people who were invited to the Celestial Academy’s Disciple Selection Ceremony, all knew that the people staying up there were the Clan Leaders of the Seven Major Clans on the Maple Continent.
The strongest of the major clans was the Ming Clan, followed by the Sun Clan, the Lin Clan, the Sua Clan, the Fei Clan, and the weakest two being the Bai and Zhong Clan.
“Every time you two meet, it’s as if you both become two peacocks that want to flaunt their power and statuses.”
Ming Ghuanyu wasn’t finished as he continue to scold the two men.
“It’s like you both can’t go a second after seeing each other without turning complete idiots! If you two are going to continue to behave like children, then the both of you should just crawl back up your mother's robes and disappear from my sight, you fucking imbeciles!!”
The more he spoke, the more his words turn from reprimanding the two men, to insulting them. As Ghuanyu's face changed from calm to a contorted expression of disgust, he continued and said,
“You two dogs should go bark somewhere else the next time you decide to start prancing around in front of me!!”
As Ghuanyu’s voice echoed out, all the Clan Leaders sported strange expressions on their faces.
Bai Luo and Zhong Hua were both fuming on the inside, but they didn't dare show it.
Ming Ghuanyu was known to have a mouth so foul, that if anyone ever manages to catch his ire he would just start spouting profanities so obscene that even Buddha himself would go wide-eyed with shock.
As the Sect Leaders shift uncomfortably in their seats while Ghanyu drone on and on, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from over the horizon.
Everyone in the Celestial Academy looked up in the sky to see a silver streak headed in their direction. After only a breath's worth of time, that silver streak appeared above Celestial Academy’s Outer Sect, where the Disciple Selection Ceremony was being held.
The silver streak turned out to be Fu Wei, who was still holding Xi Shen captive with his multicolored palm.
Without pausing, Fu Wei ignored the stares on him and headed for an inconspicuous Pavilion nearby.
Even though the Pavilion didn’t have luxurious designs and flamboyant craftsmanship, the other pavilions with the affluent families were significantly further away from it, and no one came into a hundred meters of it.
Not that they couldn’t, but they just wouldn’t dare to.
Everyone was unusually silent as they watched Fu Wei and the multicolored palm holding Xi Shen pass overhead. Everyone’s eyes followed them as they entered the top floor of the Pavilion.
Afterward, everyone collectively released the breath they were holding.
From that alone, one could tell the level of status Fu Wei and the Li Royal Family held.
Even the indifferent elder of the Celestial Academy and the seven Sect Leaders had solemn expressions as they stared at the Pavilion.
Ghuanyu’s voice suddenly sounded out, “So the rumors are true, the second prince is going to participate in this year’s Celestial Academy's disciple selection.”
As he spoke, he thought back on the image of the youth held within the multicolored palm.
A feeling of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart, that threatening to drown him.
‘The royal family’s crown prince is already a monster, who had shocked the Maple Continent with his Heaven-Grade innate talent. If the second prince turns out to possess similar talents like him, then things will become troublesome.’
Ghuanyu’s expression remained the same, as he contemplated several things while looking at the plain pavilion with flashing eyes.
*******
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