Chapter 1521: "Jostling for a Candidate (3)"
People from several palaces stepped forth one after another to voice out their intentions to invite Jun Wu Xie, and the others were naturally unable to hold themselves back any further, one by one making their wishes clear. In the blink of an eye, Jun Wu Xie had actually received an invitation from all the Twelve Palaces.
Such a situation, was completely unprecedented from before.
Seeing that one candidate was in such high demand, the other nine youths were all flabbergasted at the situation. They had thought that they would be warmly welcomed by the Twelve Palaces. When they saw the people from the Twelve Palaces stepping forward so politely, they had thought that they were in luck, never having expected that all the luck was only Jun Wu Xie's alone! !
However, as there were too many people jostling for the same candidate and the Elders from the Twelve Palaces had come here well prepared, trading barbs with each other incessantly without anyone among them willing to give in, wishing they could just thrash the others right into the mud, to make their own palace appear stronger.
The more heatedly they continued to vie, the more they made the others youths who were given the cold shoulder to boil with jealousy. Seeing all the men caught within such a fierce tussle to merely invite Jun Wu Xie to join them and the affected party himself standing indifferently at the side, the youths felt hatred start to rise within their hearts, but they did not dare to do anything to Jun Wu Xie before the men from the Twelve Palaces.
Su Jing Yan looked on smilingly as he watched the men from Twelve Palaces almost going to throttle each other and he walked over to stand beside Jun Wu Xie to say with a smile: "Kid, you're really very popular."
The Twelve Palaces had each sent out their Elders and it could be seen from this how much importance they attached to the Spirit Reinforcement. It did not matter which palace Jun Wu Xie picked today, it was sure to result in the other eleven palaces being displeased.
"Being too highly sought after isn't really a good thing. Regardless which palace you choose in future, before you are admitted into the palace, you will have to cultivate within the Cloudy Brook Academy for a period before that. If you offend the other palaces, you might have to suffer quite a bit in there." Su Jing Yan said as he rubbed at his chin. People from the Twelve Palaces were not known for being magnanimous or forgiving, things that they were unable to get, they would naturally not wish others to have it.
But throughout the Middle Realm, people who could use Spirit Reinforcement was only Jun Wu Xie alone. Even if any others had similar inclinations, they might not have such a good grasp of it.
Jun Wu Xie swept her gaze to look at Su Jing Yan, not knowing whether he was trying to be kind or he was there just to enjoy the show.
"You don't have to look at me like this. I am just voicing out my thoughts about this." Su Jing Yan went on to say with a smile, his eyes narrowed up and the emotions in them could not be seen.
"But, if I were you, I would definitely choose the Palace of Flame Demons. Although the might of the Twelve Palaces do not differ by that much between them, but if we are looking only purely at might, the Palace of Flame Demons had comfortably surpassed the other palaces. So, if you are looking for a good place to roost, the Palace of Flame Demons might not be a bad choice as they would at least pick up quite a number of talented candidates from this Battle of Deities Grand Meet and even when you go to the Cloudy Brook Academy after this, those people picked by the Palace of Flame Demons would have to follow the palace's orders to watch out for you, wouldn't you then have something to rely on at least?" Su Jing Yan suggested, seemingly trying to be helpful.
Jun Wu Xie saw that Su Jing Yan was not saying anything more. The Nine Palaces' attitude was rather strange in this situation.
Among the Twelve Palaces, the Palace of Fire Demons held the greatest power. But even if Jun Wu Xie was intending to infiltrate herself into the Twelve Palaces, she would never choose the Palace of Flame Demons.
For no other reason but the revenge she seeked to exact from the incident back in the Cloudy Peaks had made her hold irreconcilable differences with the Palace of Flame Demons.
"If the Heavenly Wolf Temple truly so leisurely and free, wouldn't you rather choose a few candidates as well?" Jun Wu Xie asked, rather tonelessly.
Su Jing Yan was slightly taken aback as he looked at Jun Wu Xie but then immediately broke into a laugh.
"What? Little fella, don't tell you you intend to join our Heavenly Wolf Temple?"
"Not interested." Jun Wu Xie replied as she glanced at the people from the Twelve Palaces, thinking that they've gone at each other's neck long enough and she reached her hand into her sleeve.
Chapter 1522: "Jostling for a Candidate (4)"
"Gentlemen, have you finished chatting?" Jun Wu Xie's voice suddenly rang out within the premises.
The group of people from the Twelve Palaces who had been arguing till their faces turned red and had veins almost bursting on their necks immediately turned their gazes onto the figure of Jun Wu Xie. Having two palaces setting their sights on the same candidate during the Battle of Deities Grand Meet was not uncommon at all and most of the time, the choice was handed over to the candidate being chosen. Although that was not what the Twelve Palaces would have liked, but that was the rules set for the Battle of Deities Grand Meet.
Now that all the Twelve Palaces had expressed their interest towards Jun Wu Xie, the number of palaces that Jun Wu Xie could choose from was not a small number at all. Such a situation where all the Twelve Palaces seeked to recruit the same person, was truly rare.
"I'm sorry, but I've already chosen the palace I want to be admitted into." Jun Wu Xie said slowly as she looked at the men from the Twelve Palaces.
"Oh?"
Hearing Jun Wu Xie saying that, everyone suddenly became excited.
The other youths who had been completely ignored secretly clenched up their jaws, wishing that Jun Wu Xie would just hurry up and finish her selection so she could get out from there as quickly as possible. With her around, these proud sons of the Heavens on any other day were being treated like dirt and completely disregarded.
It was said that comparing goods, one just had to discard, comparing people, one would only kill himself with anger. They really did not want to stand there together with Jun Wu Xie!
Jun Wu Xie slowly pulled a jade pendant out from her sleeve and she then lifted her eyes to look into the anticipating eyes of the group of men to say: "When the competition ended, someone handed this to me, and my choice is the palace that the owner of this item is in."
Jun Wu Xie's words caused the people from the Twelve Palaces to be stunned for a moment as they subconsciously stared at the jade pendant.
However, at the moment that they saw the jade pendant clearly, the faces of the Elders from the Twelve Palaces instantly turned pale.
"Kid, do you know who is the owner of that jade piece you are now holding in your hand?" The face of the initially excited Elder from the Purple Thunder Palace had turned rather dark.
Jun Wu Xie slipped the jade piece back into her sleeve and raised her head to look at the displeased group of Elders and said: "The Lord of the Spirit Jade Palace."
"Kid, you're still young and ignorant, so we'll not hold it against you. You hold highly extraordinary abilities, how could you not know what kind of a place the Spirit Jade Palace really is? A palace that does not even have a place to stand firmly upon and you choose them?" The Elder from the Flamboyant Palace said with his brows creased together, thinking the kid had either gone mad or was dumb.
[All the Twelve Palaces had extended an invitation to the kid and he could very well choose whichever palace he wanted! But he just had to go make the worst choice possible!]
Spirit Jade Palace, the palace that was kicked out by the Twelve Palaces from more than a thousand years ago. The palace they had persecuted and oppressed for a thousand years and they could only hide and not dare reveal themselves while they seeked to survive, the Spirit Jade Palace..... Even an idiot would know that the Spirit Jade Palace would be a wrong choice to make.
Jun Wu Xie ignored the question from the Elder of the Flamboyant Palace. She merely turned her head to look at Su Jing Yan who had been watching the show unfold from the side.
"Does the Spirit Jade Palace possess the right to choose?"
Su Jing Yan who had been at the sidelines and just observing did not think that Jun Wu Xie would suddenly throw such a question at him and his face froze up for a brief moment. His long and slanted eyes narrowed up as he looked at Jun Wu Xie's clear and cold little face, unable to fathom what the little kid really meant by those words.
But.....
"The Spirit Jade Palace would naturally have that right." Su Jing Yan said with smile on his face. Although the Nine Temples had chosen not to interfere with the Twelve Palaces' recruitment, but that did not mean that they were above muddying up the waters by stirring things up.
Su Jing Yan's reply caused the faces of the Elders to turn a highly ugly shade. Although the looks they gave Su Jing Yan was filled with displeasure, they did not dare to say anything.
Afterall, Su Jing Yan was a member of one of the Nine Temples, the Heavenly Wolf Temple!
Chapter 1523: "Jostling for a Candidate (5)"
Even the Elders of the Twelve Palaces would not dare to directly go against the Nine Temples at that moment.
Moreover, though the Spirit Jade Palace was being oppressed by the Twelve Palaces, their rights in the Battle of Deities Grand Meet had never been wiped away from the start. Hence, even if their hearts had already felt that the Spirit Jade Palace was an entity that had become a thing of the past, but if the Nine Temples threw the book at them based on the rules, the Twelve Palaces would be powerless to deny it.
"Am I then able to choose the Spirit Jade Palace?" Jun Wu Xie's gaze swept over the Elders of the Twelve Palaces, seeing the faces of those people who had initially been bright with glee to now turn dark with gloom and a cold chill rose within Jun Wu Xie's eyes.
[Do all of you really think that everyone must capitulate under the hands of the Twelve Palaces?]
Apologies, she had come here today to deliver a slap across their faces.
Refusing to choose from the Twelve Palaces that was rising like the sun but to instead pick the Spirit Jade Palace that had gone into decline. If it had been someone else who was choosing to do this, the people from the Twelve Palaces would have laughed at the person for not knowing what's good for him and was just being unbelievably dumb. Having been snubbed so completely before everyone, the faces of the Elders were not looking too pretty and they would naturally not spare the person who had spurned them.
But when the person doing that was substituted with Jun Wu Xie.
The entire matter suddenly turned into something rather intriguing.
The allure of Spirit Reinforcement was just too strong to the Twelve Palaces and although the Elders of the Twelve Palaces wished for nothing more than to teach that little brat who did not know what's good for him, they could not do anything else but to hold themselves back in the face of Spirit Reinforcement.
The Elder from the Palace of Flame Demons saw that the situation was becoming out of control from Su Jing Yan's interference and he suddenly laughed out aloud, and looked at Jun Wu Xie with a amiable smile.
"There isn't anything wrong with the little Young Master's choice. But as the current circumstance of the Spirit Jade Palace is not too great, we are afraid that it will impede the little Young Master's bright prospects. But since the little Young Master's intentions are such, we will not continue to force the issue. But if the little Young Master finds anything that is not right or feel that the Spirit Jade Palace isn't up to your expectations, then please remember that the door of the Palace of Flame Demons will always remain open to you. Anytime that you deem to come to us in the future, the Palace of Flame Demons will always welcome you warmly." Compared to the stiff minded Elder of the Flamboyant Palace, the Elder from the Palace of Flame Demons was a lot more slick in handling the situation, knowing that it was impossible for them to force Jun Wu Xie to change her mind with Su Jing Yan being present. Hence, he had gone with the flow of things and gave in to Jun Wu Xie to win her favour, and gave her a high amount of leeway in case that Jun Wu Xie would change her mind in the future.
From the perspective of the Elder of the Flame Demons, the Spirit Jade Palace was already a highly spent force at the end of their tethers who had no chance of rising up again. Although he was curious how the people from the Spirit Jade Palace had come into contact with Jun Wu Xie, and how they had convinced Jun Wu Xie to join them, he concluded that the completely worthless Spirit Jade Palace would still not be able to achieve anything in the end.
Once a period of time passed, Jun Wu Xie would quickly realize that her choice had been wrong and from the moment she was to leave the Spirit Jade Palace, the time for the Palace of Flame Demons would then come.
Spirit Reinforcement, would be the Palace of Flame Demons'!
With the Palace of Flame Demons having taken the lead, the Elders from the other Palaces were no fools and they immediately understood what the Elder from the Palace of Flame Demons was doing. All of them immediately wiped away the expressions of displeasure from their faces and spoke a few more gentle lines to Jun Wu Xie, indicating that the palaces they belonged to was the same, who would warmly welcome Jun Wu Xie to join them.
Seeing that the recruitment was reaching its conclusion, the nine other candidates who had been coldly neglected were then invited by the Twelve Palaces. But these youths were different from Jun Wu Xie as they just absolutely could not wait to accept, wishing that they could immediately swear their loyalty to the group of Elders.
The youths in the Innate Gift competition quickly ascertained the final places they were to go to and the people from the Twelve Palaces left after that, with the nine other youths who had been picked tottering to follow behind their respective Elders.
Chapter 1524: "Cloudy Brook Academy (1)"
"Spirit Jade Palace? You're sure you have not heard wrongly? That kid went to the Spirit Jade Palace?" Inside the Cloudy Brook Academy, the little old man was seated within his courtyard to sip at tea when in the end, he heard such an unbelievable piece of news.
The man who brought the news to him then said: "It's true as can be. Your subordinate definitely heard Spirit Jade Palace."
The little old man's face was filled with bewilderment and he then lowered his head to look into the cup of tea he held in his hand before suddenly laughing out loud.
"The Spirit Jade Palace indeed! The Twelve Palaces had really lost a big one this time, ha ha ha..... That kid, I do not know whether it was intentional or not for him to have actually found the Spirit Jade Palace. I can just imagine it now, how ugly the faces of those little scoundrels from the Twelve Palaces must be looking right at that moment." The little old man grew more bemused the more he thought about it.
Ever since he knew that Jun Wu Xie possessed such a thing called Spirit Reinforcement, he had immediately known that the Twelve Palaces would surely do everything in their power to fight for ownership of Jun Wu Xie's ability. But no one could have expected that every one of the existing Twelve Palaces would come out empty handed when Jun Wu Xie did not choose a single one of them, instead have chosen one that had almost ceased to exist but in name, the almost non existent Spirit Jade Palace in the eyes of people in the Middle Realm.
That must have really swept the legs out from under the Twelve Palaces.
"Looks like this little kid is rather intelligent." The little old man said with a chortling laugh, as he poured out a cup of water for himself in a rather good mood, to finally sip at it leisurely.
"My Lord..... What do you mean by that?" The man did not really understand. Though it might stir up a little trouble if Jun Wu Xie had chosen one of the Twelve Palaces, but compared to the might of any of the current Twelve Palaces, the Spirit Jade Palace was really nothing much to speak about at all. Without talking about anything else, the Spirit Jade Palace had gone into seclusion for so many years that it would be highly difficult for them to protect Jun Wu Xie in any way out here. Any normal person thinking with their right toe would know that choosing the Spirit Jade Palace was one of the worst choices.
The little old man leaned back in his chair and leisurely watched the koi fish swimming in the pond.
"What would a dimbulb like you know? The Spirit Jade Palace might be weak, but being weak has its own advantages. If that kid had chosen any one of the palaces among the twelve, the other eleven palaces would definitely harbour hatred and would seek to get rid of the kid before he even leaves the Cloudy Brook Academy. Afterall, the Twelve Palaces have been secretly locked in endless tussles among themselves for so many years and none of them would be glad to see any other palace rise up to surpass them. Even if the little kid was to have chosen the strongest Palace of Flame Demons, in the Cloudy Brook Academy, the powers of the Palace of Flame Demons would not be able to reach inside. All that she would have been able to depend on would only be the other youths that the Palace of Flame Demons had selected . But do not forget, besides people from the Palace of Flame Demons, the Cloudy Brook Academy has people from all the other eleven palaces as well. When it's one against eleven, which palace do you think would be able to hold out against such odds?"
The little old man was smiling at the corners of his eyes, thinking that Jun Wu Xie whom he had the fortitude to have met once before had a really rather astute mind.
"But it will be different for the Spirit Jade Palace. Who doesn't know that the Spirit Jade Palace is already a thoroughly spent force and that the kid will be the only one from the Spirit Jade Palace in the entire Cloudy Brook Academy. Even with this kid joining them, the Spirit Jade Palace still has absolutely no chance of surpassing any of the other palaces. Moreover, with the weak state the Spirit Jade Palace is in, the other palaces will still stand a chance to snatch up a win midway by winning the kid over to their side. Hence..... with the kid having chosen Spirit Jade Palace, not only would he avoid being oppressed by the other palaces in the Cloudy Brook Palace, he will also be keeping the Twelve Palaces on tenterhooks, making the people from the Twelve Palaces to keep trying to win her over. Don't you think that the kid is really very smart?"
Chapter 1525: "Cloudy Brook Academy (2)"
Enlightened by the little old man, it immediately dawned upon the man the subtlety involved. "But based on what you have said..... The kid had chosen the Spirit Jade Palace because he wanted to avoid the Twelve Palaces? But if that's the case, why had he even come to take part in the Battle of Deities Grand Meet?"
The man understood some of it, but he was still feeling rather confused in some parts of it.
Jun Wu Xie's choice, based on the little old man's analysis, showed that Jun Wu Xie did not want to have anything to do with the Twelve Palaces at all. But she had still gone ahead to the part in the Battle of Deities Grand Meet organized by the Twelve Palaces, wasn't that a contradiction in itself?
The little old man then harrumphed indignantly. "How am I supposed to know that? Who knows what is really going through that little brat's mind? He might very well be eyeing the tranquil mountain air and calm water we have here at the Cloudy Brook Academy and just wants to enjoy some days of peace here. You'll never know."
The little old man's voice suddenly filled up with strong pride.
The man stared at the little old man who was shamelessly heaping self praise upon himself and he froze in his spot with his mouth open, unable to say a word.
"That's right. After so long, I still don't know that kid's name. What's he called?" The little old man asked.
"Jun Wu."
"Jun Wu?" The little old man repeated as his eyebrow arched and he stroked at his white streaked beard.
"Anyway, when Jun Wu is admitted into the Cloudy Brook Academy, he would be a member of our Cloudy Brook Academy. Have someone look out for him a little in the future."
The man nodded without a word, but he could not help grumbling in his heart.
[The Lord has always said he didn't want to interfere with the affairs of the Twelve Palaces and could not be bothered about the running of the academy. But this person had not even been admitted into the Cloudy Brook Academy and you're already making arrangements to start building a little stove. Is this still being impartial?]
However, those words in the man's heart would never be brought out into the light.
Not long after the curtains came down for the Battle of Deities Grand Meet, the Cloudy Brook Academy then opened their doors to receive the lucky candidates the Twelve Palaces had selected.
In this Battle of Deities Grand Meet, the people from the Twelve Palaces had picked up candidates from the beginning till the end, with the number of disciples coming to almost a thousand. Among them, the Palace of Flame Demons had the most number of people and the Graceful Swan Palace had the least. At the end of the Battle of Deities Grand Meet, quite a number of the palaces were met with situations where they had set their sights on the same candidates and these candidates had chosen based on the might of the palaces.
The Middle Realm where the most powerful reigned had made the youths taking part in the Battle of Deities Grand Meet develop a tenancy to lean towards the mighty. The more powerful the palace was, the more talents they were able to attract. Hence, based on the length of the lists of candidates received from the palaces for admission into the academy, one would be able to see the disparity between the palaces.
And among all the youths sent by all the different palaces, the one that attracted the most attention was a young thin looking youth.
When the Cloudy Brook Academy opened the academy's doors, the various palaces had sent out several of their men to accompany these reserve strength of their into the Cloudy Brook Academy, and to brief and remind them of a few matters just before they were admitted into the academy.
Just one person stood alone on his own outside the Cloudy Brook Academy's main doors, looking highly conspicuous.
"That's the guy from the Spirit Jade Palace?" Several youths could not help themselves but whispered when they spotted the tiny figure standing there all by himself.
"Besides him, who else could it be?"
"So it's true? Someone actually chose the Spirit Jade Palace? I had almost completely forgotten that there was such a place called the Spirit Jade Palace. What is that kid thinking? Did he choose the Spirit Jade Palace as a joke?"
"You know nuts! Let me tell you. I heard from some guys who went to the Innate Gift competition venue that the kid had received invitations from all Twelve Palaces but in the end, he did not pick any of them but just pulled out a token of authentication he received from the Palace Lord of the Spirit Jade Palace. It's really strange I tell you." A group of youths gathered together to talk in hushed whispers, their gazes locked upon that solitary figure of Jun Wu Xie.
Chapter 1526: "Cloudy Brook Academy (3)"
After every Battle of Deities Grand Meet ended in the past, there would always be some highly outstanding youths who would end up being the focus of heated debates. But this time, things were instead slightly different.
Most of the fiercest debates this time was not about which youth's skills had completely overpowered everyone, or, was it about someone or another's Ring Spirit had dominated in some outstanding fashion, but had been focused on that one youth who since time immemorial, was the first person to have received invitations from all Twelve Palaces, but had also given them all up to choose the spent force that was the Spirit Jade Palace.
Jun Wu Xie's actions, in the eyes of these youths, were just too foolish in the extreme!
Man climbed to higher heights while water flowed to lower depths. This was a rule all the youths knew well but someone just had to take the unorthodox route, choosing to ruin his own bright future, and squeezing himself into such a unremarkable place.
Not knowing how many of the youths had been overcome with envy who had not been able to serve the ideal palace of their choice, every single one of them wishing that they could take his place.
The surrounding voices were raised in debate around but Jun Wu Xie's gaze remained cold and clear. She stood at her spot alone, her face expressionless against the chilly wind, like the voices all around her had nothing to do with her at all.
Her silence and chill indifference made all those busybodies to become more bold, the words they said becoming more and more intrusive.
"What in the hell is Spirit Reinforcement? I think you guys should not believe everything that you hear. I, for one cannot make myself believe that there could possibly be a moron who would give up on an invitation from the Palace of Flame Demons and choose to join the Spirit Jade Palace. I think..... it's most probably due to the rumours being distorted. All this nonsense about not caring to join the Palace of Flame Demons, I think he doesn't even possess that kind of ability! So what if he possesses some strange and weird ability? Doesn't that mean he's just trash with his powers? I seriously think that that kid is far below our Qiao Chu in might!" One of the youths exclaimed as he stared at Jun Wu Xie in disdain, and then turning with his face beaming with a brilliant smile to look at the big and tall youth standing beside him.
Qiao Chu's brows were slightly furrowed up as he looked at youth intentionally buttering up to him, almost wanting to smash the idiot so deep into the mud that he would have to be dug out.
How dare you question their own Little Xie's ability? Where had this fool come from?
Although his heart wanted to strangle this youth who was talking bad about Jun Wu Xie behind her back, but Qiao Chu remembered the reminders Jun Wu Xie had told them before and he pretended to maintain a show of calm upon his face.
"Hah!" Qiao Chu laughed derisively.
"Heh heh. Qiao Chu, your performance at the Spirit Power competition was just absolutely fantastic! And only people like you are qualified enough to become a member of the Palace of Flame Demons. I heard that six palaces had extended an invitation to you. Is that true?" The sycophantic youth went on to say hurriedly.
Qiao Chu did not want to pay the youth any heed but as he could not put on a good act, he just mumbled dismissively: "Mm."
"I have said it before....."
Qiao Chu was getting rather bothered by this person and his gaze unconsciously seeked the crowd for familiar figures. Besides the "greatest attraction" that was Jun Wu Xie, he quickly spotted Hua Yao and the others, his eyes discreetly smiling when he caught sight of them.
Just as the youths were whispering excitedly among themselves, the disciple from the Palace of Flame Demons who was in charge of escorting them to the Cloudy Brook Academy came walking over with a stern expression on his face.
"Quiet." The man saw in a deep voice.
The youths who were still making a whole lot of noise immediately clamped their mouths shut, turning their gazes onto the man with trepidation in their hearts.
"The things that are supposed to be said, have been told to you clearly by the Elder yesterday and so I will not waste my breath on them. There is just one point that I have to remind all of you about. That person joining the Spirit Jade Palace, I do not want any of you provoking him carelessly, and you are not to go create trouble with him." The man said through narrowed eyes, his tone chill.
The man's words, immediately cause the bunch of youths to become completely stunned upon hearing them.
Chapter 1527: "Cloudy Brook Academy (4)"
The man's words, immediately cause the bunch of youths to become completely stunned upon hearing them.
Not to provoke Jun Wu? Why? !
The group of youths stared at the man, stunned and their faces filled with bewilderment.
Jun Wu Xie had snubbed the Palace of Flame Demons' invitation before everyone and based on the Palace of Flames Demons' past way of doing things, shouldn't they be told to "take good care" of Jun Wu properly in the Cloudy Brook Academy? How did it..... suddenly turn out like this?
The man from the Palace of Flame Demons did not go on to explain anything and just walked over to the side after saying what he wanted to say in a deep voice.
The youths were all suddenly confused but they did not dare to ask any further. They just shut their mouths tight as their minds whirled with puzzlement.
Except for Qiao Chu, who was silently laughing in his heart.
[Little Xie plot was really just great!]
All the youths had gathered outside the Cloudy Brook Academy's doors for a long time. Although the main doors into the Cloudy Brook Academy were wide open, not a single person dared to enter inside carelessly.
In the Middle Realm, all kinds of academies had popped up everywhere. Regardless whether it was the Twelve Places or the Nine Temples, the various powers had academies that supported the respective powers and most of their disciples were promoted from those academies that the individual palaces supported.
Academies that were supported by the Twelve Palaces and the Nine Temples held great advantages over the more common academies but one lone academy surpassed all others to become the most unique and most elite establishment for education!
And that was the Cloudy Brook Academy.
The Cloudy Brook Academy did not belong to any one power but was intricately linked to the Twelve Palaces and the Nine Temples.
It was situated upon Mount Fu Yao which was the place that held the densest spirit power throughout the Middle Realm, controlling the entire Mount Fu Yao. From the summit to the foot of the mountain, it all fell under the control of the Cloudy Brook Academy. Besides the days that they opened the mountain to people and the times when the Battle of Spirits Grand Meet was to be held, the place was completely closed off to any outsiders from entering. Anyone who dared to trespass into Mount Fu Yao, usually did not return back out. Although the Cloudy Brook Academy was not considered as a force on its own, they held power fearsome enough to have a deterrent effect on people.
And youths who come out from the Cloudy Brook Academy were always far more superior to any from other academies.
Just because the Cloudy Brook Academy had an unwritten rule.
Anyone who was admitted into the Cloudy Brook Academy would never be allowed to end his cultivation before he satisfies the standards set by the academy. That also meant that from the first day that the youths are admitted into the Cloudy Brook Academy, they would be tied to Cloud Brook Academy indefinitely. Unless their powers met the Cloudy Brook Academy's standards, they would then be released from the Cloudy Brook Academy to leave. Otherwise, even if they were to die within the academy, they would not be given a chance to leave at all!
Everytime the Battle of Deities Grand Meet was held, the Twelve Palaces and the Nine Temples would send a large batch of youths into the Cloudy Brook Academy. But the number of those who were really able to walk out from the Cloudy Brook Academy were a minority. Some of them had even spent ten years and were still unable to meet with the Cloudy Brook Academy's standards and were still trapped within the academy.
Even if the people from the Twelve Palaces and the Nine Temples came forth to ask for them, the Cloudy Brook Academy would not pay them any attention.
People who were sent into the Cloudy Brook Academy would have to follow the academy's rules!
It was an academy that was easy to be admitted into, but hard to come out from.
But it was the route the Twelve Palaces and Nine Temples chose to hone and temper their elites.
All those who were able to successfully graduate from the Cloudy Brook Academy enjoyed great prospects in the future within their respective palaces. With the badge of the Cloudy Brook Academy upon their bodies, they started off on a higher rung than others!
Although the potential hardship in the Cloudy Brook Academy was well known, the youths who were eager to pursue better prospects for their future still rush and scramble over each to participate in the Battle of Deities Grand Meet, seeking to see the day when they graduated from the Cloudy Brook Academy and they would immediately be shot straight into glory!
Chapter 1528: "Not That Simple (1)"
The glorious sun hung high in the sky, and not a single person was within the Cloudy Brook Academy's premises behind its wide open doors. The youths waiting outside were antsy with anticipation but they did not dare say much, but only continued to wait there with the sun high above their heads.
After a long while. A man came walking slowly out from the main doors of the Cloudy Brook Academy. His appearance immediately caused the youths to get excited once more after having become tired from waiting.
The man swept his gaze one round over the huge group of youths and when his eyes passed over Jun Wu Xie, they hovered over her for a very brief moment before shifting his gaze away without being noticed. After having surveyed the whole group an entire round, he finally said: "All of you here are intending to be admitted into the Cloudy Brook Academy today. I will not speak much about other things but just one point. All who come to the Cloudy Brook Academy are not allowed to leave unless they have fulfilled the standards set by the Cloudy Brook Academy. There will be one day of rest and relaxation every month but only those who pass the monthly assessment will be allowed to leave the academy to move about freely. I hope this point is clear to all of you. Starting from the moment you all step into the Cloudy Brook Academy, you will all have to adhere to the rules set by the Cloudy Brook Academy and if anyone of you are displeased or find this questionable, you can just leave here now."
That man's voice was not loud, but his words were carried clearly into the ears of every single person there.
The strange rules the Cloudy Brook Academy had were already well known to everyone there and since they have come all the way here, they would naturally not give up on such a chance of a lifetime.
After waiting for a few moments, the youths gathered outside the main doors of the Cloudy Brook Academy did not see anyone stepping out to leave.
Having waited for a while, the man then said slowly: "All of you can now follow me inside the academy."
He turned around Immediately after saying that and the men from the various palaces then urged the youths to hurry up and go inside the academy. The youths then gathered together with others from the same palace they were in as they walked inside, with Jun Wu Xie walking by herself at the end of the group, looking completely at ease.
Su Jing Yan stood under a tree just outside the Cloudy Brook Academy as he watched Jun Wu Xie gradually disappearing within the crowd from the back, his face split into the same fox like smile. He then rubbed at his chin and whispered something softly.
"I am somehow feeling that a great show will be coming up soon."
The group of youths were led into the Cloudy Brook Academy, their hearts boiling with excitement, unable to stop their eyes from peering at everything around them.
The Cloudy Brook Academy sat upon a vast tract of land. Instead of saying that it was an academy, it might as well be called a small city. Within the academy, blocks upon blocks of loft units stood stylishly with its simple and minimalistic design. In front of the lofts, quite a number of youths wearing the uniform of the Cloudy Brook Academy came and went, their gazes cold and distant, like they could not be bothered with these youths who had just been admitted, treating the freshmen like they did not exist at all.
It was quiet and silent within the vast academy and only the sound of shuffling steps reverberated within the ears of the youths. Although their hearts were filled with anxiety and nervousness, they did not dare to speak much in the place and could only suppress the blood boiling within them as they treaded tentatively step by step behind the man leading them.
In the end, they were brought to come before a block of lofts, the pure white lofts standing neatly, shoulder to shoulder.
The man who led the group here stopped before the block and then turned to look at the youths behind him.
"Now, all of you are to split into smaller groups based on the competition venue you were in." The man said as he raised a hand and pointed, indicating four separate areas for spirit power, Ring Spirit, medical proficiency and innate gift, the four different categories.
The youths who had bunched themselves together based on the palaces they belonged to were immediately split up be this classification. After they split up, they gathered themselves into group with their comrades once again, their intentions to form a clique highly obvious.
At that moment, from inside the loft right in front of them, three men walked out. They then stood themselves before the spirit power, Ring Spirit, and medical proficiency groups.
"Now that all of you are now in your respective groups, you will then follow the person standing right in front of your team." The man then said.
Chapter 1529: "Not That Simple (2)"
"Har?"
The man's words caused a wave of protest to erupt from the groups of youth who had thought that they had been led to come here before the lofts to allocate places for them to reside in. But..... the situation was not exactly what they had thought it to be.
"Be snappy about it and stop the nonsense." The man said in a stern tone as his face darkened.
The different teams were then quickly led away from the place by the people from the Cloudy Brook Academy.
The Innate Gift group that Jun Wu Xie was in was led by the man who had been leading them right from the beginning, where they walked out from an exit on the other end, to go onto a wide broadwalk. Disciples of the Cloudy Brook Academy were coming and going quietly, completely treating these brand new freshmen as if they were invisible.
After walking for almost half an hour, Jun Wu Xie and her group came to a mountain cave. When several disciples who happened to be passing by saw them, their steps paused slightly, finally showing some reaction.
Without knowing why, Jun Wu Xie seemed to have detected that the gazes of those disciples had showed traces of pity.
"Those of the Bone Shifters Tribe go inside here." The man said to the youths behind him as he pointed at the pitch dark cave before him.
Over twenty youths who were from the Bone Shifters Tribe stared at the pitch black cave and secretly gulped. A slightly more courageous one among them could not help but ask: "Teacher, may I ask what..... we are supposed to do?"
The man's brows suddenly creased up and said in a cold voice: "You'll find out when you go in there."
The youth from the Bone Shifters Tribe turned pale as he walked hesitantly inside with his other companions. As he walked, he continued to look back many times at the rest of the group of youths till all their figures were swallowed up by the darkness and disappeared from sight before everyone there.
"The rest of you continue walking." The man turned to tell the other youths.
The group that had just stopped moved forward once again. They had just taken barely more than ten steps when they suddenly heard a ear piercing scream of terror come out from the cave behind them!
That scream sounded mournfully terrifying which shattered the peaceful tranquility of the Cloudy Brook Academy as they reached their ears, causing the faces of the youths to all turn deathly pale and goosebumps raised up on the bodies of their bodies. The youths wanted to ask what had happened inside there but the man leading them away did not even slow in his steps and just continued his way forward without a care.
After that they came before another cave and this time, it was the youths from the Witch Doctor race who were ushered inside. The number of people from the Witch Doctor race were much lesser in number and there were only slightly more than ten of them. They looked like they had been frightened by the screams from before as they stood shivering before the cave's mouth, not daring to take a step inside.
"If you do not want to go in, all of you can just stay put at this cave's mouth then." The man said in a cold voice, his tone stern.
Without even waiting for those youths to open their mouths, the man immediately raised his foot and led the others to continue on their way.
Next was the Wind Riders race, then the Great Ape race.....
The youths who were picked out from the Innate Gift competition were further split up into smaller groups to be dumped inside pitch dark caves one after another. They did not know what would welcome them in there and no one explained anything to them, with just one fact placed before them. Either they went in, or remained standing at the cave's mouth for good.
Walking the entire way, the team was finally left with the man who led them and Jun Wu Xie alone. After the man sent the last batch of youths out, he stopped walking and turned to look at Jun Wu Xie who had been following behind him.
"Jun Wu?" The man looked at the youth with clean and attractive features before his eyes. If truth was to be told, this little youth's presence was extremely low. With his short and petite size and his penchant to remain quiet, his expression cold and distant all the way from the beginning, it was highly easy to forget this kid even existed if one did not pay more attention.
Jun Wu Xie nodded slightly.
"Spirit Mastery Race?" The man continued to ask.
Chapter 1530: "Not That Simple (3)"
"Spirit Mastery Race?" The man went on to ask.
Jun Wu Xie then nodded at him.
The man's stern face came to show a rare moment of perplexity.
"You are the first person from the Spirit Mastery race that the Cloudy Brook Academy had admitted and we do not have a kind of assessment that is suited for you." The man said as he looked at Jun Wu Xie.
Assessment?
Jun Wu Xie thought back about those youths who had been split up into the different tribes and races they were from and those pitch dark caves they had been made to go into. Could all those places be the tests that were used to assess them?
What went on inside the Cloudy Brook Academy was very much a secret to many people outside and even for those people who came out from the Cloudy Brook Academy, they never spoke a word about what went on within the walls of the Cloudy Brook Academy. Jun Wu Xie had stayed at the Phoenix Academy and Zephyr Academy before but it was clear that the Cloudy Brook Academy was nothing like those two academies.
At least, in those two academies, Jun Wu Xie had never heard that anyone who were just barely admitted into them would be shoved straight into a test that assessed them at the moment when everyone was still befuddled about what's even going on.
"But, I heard that your Spirit Reinforcement needs you to expend powers from your soul?" The man then asked as he looked at Jun Wu Xie to say.
"Yes." Jun Wu Xie replied.
"Then, we have a place that just might be suitable for you." The man said and suddenly turned to walk in a different direction, while Jun Wu Xie just followed behind him.
The man did not just shove Jun Wu Xie into any old cave but had instead brought her to come before a huge door. That large door look rather old and worn, like it had not been opened for a long time. On both sides of that door, stood two men from the Cloudy Brook Academy. When they saw the man walking over to them, they nodded their heads at each other and the men turned to open up the worn and tattered looking door.
Behind the door was pitch black darkness and nothing could be seen as a musty scent that had been sealed up too long wafted out through the opening from inside.
"This place was actually prepared for spirit bodies. You will only need to complete one task after going in and you will be considered to have passed." The man said seriously as he looked at Jun Wu Xie. "There are many items scattered upon the floor inside. All you need to do is to put them back onto the shelves and that would do. Knock on the door once you have finished and these two men will check if you have completed the task. If you're unable to finish the task, you will have to remain inside. Only after completing that will you then be given a dormitory room that belongs to you."
Pick things up? This mission sounds highly simple but Jun Wu did not fail to notice the tinge of subtlety in the man's words.
Prepared for spirit bodies, what kind of place would it be?
Things would surely not be as simple as he said.
Jun Wu Xie did not say anything but just glanced at that man before she went on towards the large door and walked inside. The two men immediately closed the door behind her.
"Teacher Tian Ze, could this kid be that..... Jun Wu?" After the door closed, the two men standing guard outside the door could not help but look at the man who brought Jun Wu Xie here, Tian Ze.
Tian Ze nodded slightly.
One of the men then said looking rather perplexed: "Isn't it said that she is from the Spirit Mastery race? Is it really alright to put her in there? This place is....."
Tian Ze shook his head and said: "It's the Lord's idea."
Upon hearing the word "Lord", the expressions of the two men showed traces of bewilderment but they did not dare question any further but just threw each other a glance.
"The two of you stand watch here and if any problem crops up, just come look for me. If nothing happens, just leave him be." Tian Ze told the two guards.
"Yes!"
Tian Ze then nodded in satisfaction and his face was stern as he left. However.....
After turning his back, Tian Ze's face was looking rather unsure.
[Will it really be fine?]