Only Luo Shuihan was the only one who didn’t have any half saints to propose an intention to take on a disciple.
Because, the old ancestor of the Luo Sacred Clan, Luo Xu, was originally from the Sacred Courtyard, Luo Shuihan had long been Luo Xu’s heir. Those other half saints, even if they wanted to take on a disciple, they couldn’t compete with Luo Xu.
In the Holy Academy, it was divided into twenty-seven faculties.
Eighteen faculties of martial arts and nine faculties of spirituality.
Wudao eighteen departments, respectively: sword department, knife department, palm department, boxing department, finger method department, gun department, whip department, stick department, Buddha department, Taoism department ……, and so on.
Nine departments of spiritual power, respectively: weapon refining department, alchemy department, beast control department, illusion department, thunder and lightning department, wind and fire department ……, and so on.
As the saying goes, all avenues lead to sainthood.
Whether it was cultivating the Sword Dao or the Blade Dao, when they reached a certain realm, they could all become saints.
In the Heavenly Extreme Realm, a martial artist’s cultivation speed would be greatly reduced, and even if they were a genius, it might take several years to break through a realm.
If one continues to cultivate various martial arts, one’s ultimate achievements will be very limited, being able to break through the Fish Dragon Realm is already remarkable, and being able to break through the Half-Saint Realm is a phoenix in the sky.
Therefore, the biggest role of the Holy Academy is to allow martial artists to choose a road that best suits them, abandon all distractions, and specialise in one.
At the same time, the best lecturers were invited to preach to the saints and provide the best environment for them to bring out their greatest potential.
Only in this way would a martial artist’s cultivation speed be faster.
Zhang Ruochen of course chose the Sword Dao Department.
Along with Zhang Ruochen, those who chose the Sword Dao Department were Huang Yichen and Duanmu Xingling, Chen Xi’er chose the Finger Technique Department, and Si Xingkong and Chang Qiqi chose the Buddhist Department.
Originally, Zhang Ruochen thought that Luo Shuihan would choose the Fist Dao Department, but to his surprise, Luo Shuihan chose the Dao Department.
According to Luo Shuihan, the inheritance of the Luo Sheng Sect Valve seemed to have some relationship with the Taoism. Elder Luo Xu also suggested that she choose the Dao lineage.
The Sword Dao Department, which could be called the number one department of the Sacred Academy, had the most students applying for the examination, and even after the first round of screening, at the registration site, there was still a long queue.
At the registration desk, there were no lecturers, only six previous Holy Academy Saints, who were considered to be at the level of Senior Brother and Senior Sister, and each one of them was a top-notch expert.
Zhang Ruochen glanced over and saw through the martial cultivation of all six of them.
Five of them were at the Heavenly Extremity Realm Grand Circle, and one was at the Fish Dragon First Transformation Realm.
Of course, the trainees of the Sacred Academy, after ten years of further training and experience, were far from being comparable to ordinary Heavenly Extremity Realm Great Circle martial artists.
After Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yichen, and Duanmu Xingling signed up, they received the scrolls for the second round of exams.
That one Fish Dragon First Transformation trainee, named Xu Hai, was a Half Saint disciple, who was already forty-five years old this year, yet still looked like he was only in his twenties, wearing a golden trainee robe, with a profound and inscrutable aura about him.
For a martial artist of the Fish Dragon Realm, even at the age of forty, he still looked like he was twenty.
Xu Hai integrated his true qi into his voice and stood on top of the stone platform as he said, ”This year, the cadets who have come from the south and north of the heavens to the Holy Academy to take part in the examination are as many as 60,000 in total, and each one of them is a genius who has been selected through layers and layers of selection. With their qualifications, most of them, should be able to pass the first round of examination.”
“The Sword Dao Department, is the number one department in the Holy Academy, and every term, almost one-third of the people apply for the examination. However, for each term of the Sword Dao Department, only five thousand people are enrolled. That’s why the Sword Dao Department has the greatest competition, and more than seventy per cent of the people, end up not being able to pass the three rounds of examination.”
“Before announcing the exam questions, let me ask one more time, do you really want to continue applying to the Sword Dao Department? Right now, there is still a chance to choose, if you enroll in the Gun Dao Department, Whip Dao Department, and Stick Dao Department, your competitive pressure will be much less.”
The Sacred Academy, which only admitted one class of students in ten years, had to be careful.
If you miss this term, and apply for the next term, you would probably be over the age.
The Sacred Academy had put the age limit very wide in order to give a chance to those senior martial artists who were thick and thin, but it was only limited to those under the age of forty-five.
Above the age of forty-five, even if one’s talent was high, they would not have a chance to enter the Sacred Academy.
After hearing Xu Hai’s words, a portion of those trainees who were not confident enough in their own strength quietly put down their scrolls and left the Sword Dao Department’s enrolment office, preparing to apply for another department.
Seeing those trainees who left, Xu Hai gave a cold smile and shook his head.
Below, Zhang Ruochen said in a low voice, ”In fact, the examination has already begun, and just now, that one Senior Brother Xu Hai was testing the crowd’s determination and self-confidence. Those who couldn’t withstand the pressure, as well as those who didn’t have confidence in themselves, have already withdrawn on their own accord, and belong to the group of people who were eliminated in this round of the examination.”
Xu Hai seemed to have heard Zhang Ruochen’s voice and glanced in Zhang Ruochen’s direction, revealing a few unfriendly looks as he continued, “Now, let me tell you all about the second round of the Sword Dao Department’s examination. Above the scrolls in your hands, there is a set of Spirit Grade Upper Grade Sword Technique Martial Skills recorded, named ‘Soul Chasing Thirteen Swords’.”
“This set of sword techniques, although it is only a Spirit Grade Upper Grade, it is extremely difficult to cultivate. Once it is successfully cultivated, it is also definitely considered to be the pinnacle martial skill amongst Spirit Grade Upper Grade Sword Techniques, and it is enough to counteract Ghost Grade Lower Grade Sword Techniques.”
“Now, you have three days to cultivate this set of sword techniques. Within three days, if you are able to cultivate three of the ‘Soul Chasing Thirteen Swords’, you will be considered to have passed the second round of exams.
“So, this round, the test is, your enlightenment, as well as your qualifications above the sword path.”
“If you are unable to complete the exam, it means that your enlightenment isn’t high enough, or your qualifications above the Sword Dao aren’t excellent enough, so naturally, you won’t be able to enter the Sword Dao Department of the Holy Academy.”
A Spirit Grade Upper Grade Sword Technique was also quite a subtle martial skill for a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artiste, not something that could be successfully cultivated in three to five days, and it required a great deal of time to be comprehended and practiced.
This round of examination was considered to be quite strict, and there would definitely be a large number of people brushed off.
One of the trainees, stood out and asked, “Since the second round is to assess everyone’s enlightenment, will there be anyone who has already been enlightened ahead of time?”
The words he asked were also the questions that the other cadets, too, wanted to ask.
Xu Hai said in a deep voice, “The Soul Pursuing Thirteen Swords is a sword technique that was created by a Half-Saint of the Sword Dao Department only seven days ago, moreover, it has always been kept in the Sacred Courtyard, and has never been circulated. Therefore, absolutely no one will cultivate it in advance, so everyone can rest assured.”
“In addition, in order to encourage everyone to work hard at comprehending the sword technique, the Great Elder of the Sword Dao Department, has taken out a ‘Sword Heart Pill’, as a reward. The student who performs the best in the second round of the examination will be able to receive this one elixir.”
“Boom!”
All the cadets, all of them, shook.
The Sword Heart Pill, a seventh grade elixir, was worth more than a million spirit crystals, incredibly expensive, even many Fish Dragon Realm martial artists couldn’t afford it. Moreover, even if you had the money, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to buy it.
The main purpose of the Sword Heart Pill was to help Sword Dao martial artists to condense the “Heart of Sword Intent”, and impact the realm of Sword Heart.
Of course, the Sword Heart Pill is only an aid, and whether or not one can cultivate to the Sword Heart is mainly dependent on the martial artist’s own understanding of the Dao of the Sword.
Even so, the Sword Heart Pill was still a treasure that made all martial artists below the level of Half-Saint grab their heads, and even the beautiful eyes of Duanmu Xingling and Huang Yichen revealed a shining light.
Taking a Sword Heart Pill, even if one could not reach the Sword Heart Realm, it would still be able to raise the Sword Dao Realm by a large step.
Only Zhang Ruochen appeared calm, after all, he had already reached the Sword Mind Enlightenment, so he looked down on the Sword Mind Pill.
The trainees below opened their scrolls one after another, and started to comprehend the “Thirteen Soul Pursuing Swords”.
Zhang Ruochen opened the scroll sleeve, and on it, there was indeed a tiny textual heart method printed on it, with more than a thousand words.
Below the heart method, there were thirteen sword drawings, corresponding to the thirteen sword techniques.
At a glance, the thirteen sword-wielding villains on top of the scroll, as if they were coming to life, emerged from the top of the scroll and began to rehearse the sword techniques.
“A pinnacle set of Spirit Grade Upper Grade Sword Technique, in the Heavenly Demon Ridge, it is definitely a first class treasure, once it comes out, it will definitely cause multiple parties to fight for it and blood will flow. The Holy Academy is just extraordinary, actually casually taking out a set of sword techniques and handing them over to all the students who have come to enrol for enlightenment.”
The martial artists who came to the Sacred Academy were all trainees of the Martial City Palace, and the Sacred Academy certainly did not care that the sword technique would be circulated.
With Zhang Ruochen’s attainments in sword dao and the strength of his spiritual power, it was already a breeze to cultivate a Spirit Grade Upper Grade martial art.
After spending only half a day, Zhang Ruochen had already fully comprehended the first three sword moves. All the subtleties of the sword moves were clear to him, and even some of the details could not be hidden from that one heavenly eye of his.
However, he did not immediately start practising the sword techniques, but continued to comprehend the fourth sword technique.
The Thirteen Soul Pursuing Swords corresponded to a total of thirteen sword strokes, and Zhang Ruochen was prepared to comprehend all of them in a bid to win the first place in the second round.
Even if he didn’t need the Sword Heart Pill himself, he could still use it to give it away.
In the distance, Nie Wenlong stood beside Xu Hai, staring at Zhang Ruochen’s direction with a few cold colours in his eyes as he transmitted, “Senior Brother Xu Hai, that person is Zhang Ruochen, having attained the Sword Heart Compassion, and at the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase, he defeated the heirs of the four great Sage Sect Valleys with the strength of one man, and your younger brother, Xu Qing, was even seriously injured by him. Your Xu Sacred Sect Clan, you’ve lost a great deal of face this time.”
Nie Wenlong was also a Saint of the previous term, and had already been cultivating in the Holy Academy for ten years, his cultivation reaching the great circle of the Heavenly Extremity Realm.
Although he hadn’t broken through the Fish Dragon Realm, he had entered The Heavenly Ranking and was quite powerful.
Xu Hai smiled coldly and said, ”So what if the Sword Heart is clear? Compared to the Saint Sect, he’s still very young.”
Xu Hai was the heir of the Sage Sect Valve of Xu from the generation ten years ago, and his natural talent was a few points higher than Xu Qing’s, so naturally, he did not place Zhang Ruochen in his eyes. With his current strength, it was just an easy task to play Zhang Ruochen to death.
